Fear the Walking Dead -- TV Series Thread

[Edward64]

Eh, I'm ambivalent about tonight's episode. No action but the tension is building up.

[PilotMan]

Just finished watching this week's show and I thought it was one of the best. They are certainly setting the table differently than the other show. The whole thing feels different and I love it. Right now it's just some dark mayhem sewn around a familiar plot line.

[stevew]

Junkie Depp was getting annoying. I hope they kill him offscreen and we never think of him again

[stevew]

I do like the Lady that plays the evil doctor. She's been really good in a few things I've watched.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by stevew

Junkie Depp was getting annoying. I hope they kill him offscreen and we never think of him again

"was getting annoying"? He left annoying at the station sometime halfway through Episode 1. I want that kid to be zombie meat. He's worthless.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I'd take the junkie kid over the camera kid. He's the worst.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I'd take the junkie kid over the camera kid. He's the worst.

He's a pretty crappy son, but at least he is helping to pull Travis out of his own ass (with help from the junkie's mom). The junkie kid is just worthless.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

"was getting annoying"? He left annoying at the station sometime halfway through Episode 1. I want that kid to be zombie meat. He's worthless.

Just caught up. Thank god he got taken away. 100% agree with CR.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I'd take the junkie kid over the camera kid. He's the worst.

Not to mention he bears no resemblance to his mom or dad. Time to see if Maury is still alive.

[stevew]

Shaping up for an interesting finale.

Guys on other forum bitch about the portrayal of the military on this show. I don't really think it's that bad, but I guess one could perhaps feel that way if he was inclined to think the world is skewed by liberals.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I think the portrayal of the military has been pretty balanced. The one leader guy is a complete ass, but Opehlia's boyfriend was a good dude as was the one guy who wanted to see his family in San Diego.

I am a big fan of The Closer. He's clearly TV's best Closer since Kyra Sedgwick.

[Edward64]

The episode was okay ... ready for a zombie fest in the finale.

The series so far is fun to watch but when I think about what I would do in the same situation, the characters just seem way off.

[MacroGuru]

So again, we sat and watched.

And my GF who is a Walking Dead junkie (Was into it before the TV Series) she stated that the world didn't have Zombie movies, they didn't know about Zombies until the outbreak.

I took that combined with what you guys told me to, the approach of Travis and it makes it easier for me to watch.

My GF who is ex-Army did bitch about the portrayal of the military, but she did add a however in it. If they were National Guard, she could see it.

[Edward64]

Pretty good episode. Lots of action, violence and zombies. Looking forward to the yacht in Season 2 but ready to get back to Walking Dead next Sun.

[stevew]

The teenage girl character really benefitted from some anti-rape plot armor. I kinda feel like she would have ended up with the guys deserting.

And I felt like it was pretty convenient to have the ex wife be bitten. Will be interesting if they do use the Yacht. I doubt it goes in that direction tho


A++ on the helicopter suicide. That was great

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by stevew

The teenage girl character really benefitted from some anti-rape plot armor. I kinda feel like she would have ended up with the guys deserting.

And I felt like it was pretty convenient to have the ex wife be bitten. Will be interesting if they do use the Yacht. I doubt it goes in that direction tho


A++ on the helicopter suicide. That was great

That whole scene with the military guys taking their SUV confused me. Why would they want/need that specific car in a garage full of vehicles?

[Kodos]

Only one they had a key to maybe?

We watched the whole season, but can't say that I'm all that into it.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by stevew

The teenage girl character really benefitted from some anti-rape plot armor. I kinda feel like she would have ended up with the guys deserting.

I swear can't they think up better ways to have scumbag rapists portrayed? Its like cartoonish or something..."hey mama wanna ride with ME?" while he raises his eyebrows with the 1950's sinister villain cliche.

I can't claim to be a student of rapist (let alone child rapist) psychology but something just seems so non-serious when they portray them in that cheesy caricature. Instead of creeping me out, it makes me lose interest in the show because they are resorting to unoriginal (and seemingly inaccurate) cliches.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

That whole scene with the military guys taking their SUV confused me. Why would they want/need that specific car in a garage full of vehicles?

Low hanging fruit. They saw the kids in the truck. They figured they had the keys, so they went for it. While it's possible the other vehicles may have had keys in them, it seems unlikely since who leaves their keys in their car? Also, it was a nice sized SUV loaded with supplies.

[MacroGuru]

Loved the final episode.

Travis actually grew to me, he had to make some hard choices last night, one of them was spur of the moment, I trusted you type decision and you destroyed it all.

Then the fact he knew his ex wife was bit, and he chose to pull the trigger was big to me.

I think it's going to get better.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

Loved the final episode.

Travis actually grew to me, he had to make some hard choices last night, one of them was spur of the moment, I trusted you type decision and you destroyed it all.

Then the fact he knew his ex wife was bit, and he chose to pull the trigger was big to me.

I think it's going to get better.

She still had time. I personally would not have pulled the trigger until she really started to collapse (e.g. she could have spent more time with son). The quickness of the act really wasn't well thought out.

There were some great scenes though so I liked it.

[Flasch186]

I also think the saying goodbye couldve been done in a much more empathetic way. They couldve gotten the son there to say goodbye. It couldve been a much slower goodbye and been able to really bind the group together around her death.

[Chief Rum]

I enjoyed the final episode. Great action, lots of zombies, finally some zombies actually eating people.

While I hear you guys on how some of the stuff at the end could have been done better for more emotional impact, I personally found it fairly moving. Great final shot, too.

Seems to me they have finally reached a "Walking Dead" stage of the story, and I will be interested to see where they go with it. Please don't go to some deserted island though, guys, okay?

[MacroGuru]

I agree with you guys, it could have been handled much more empathetic, more slowly, the fact it was so fast...and it was Travis, was the impact I think was needed.

Remember this too, it was the wife that wanted it done fast and without anyone knowing.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Yeah, it was done a little quickly, but MacroGuru was right, that's how Liza (the wife) wanted it. She'd just spent a few days watching people get sick and die from bites. She didn't want to go down like that and wanted it over sooner rather than later.

[Mota]

I thought the season had a great beginning, although I was not a fan of the "protected suburb" part. I would have much rather seen the inhabitants of an apartment building in downtown LA dealing with stuff. I guess that would have been a one season show though, no one would make it out of there alive.

I did think the last episode was excellent though. You finally got to see the beginning of the fall of man. Very cool (and thankfully we are watching it on TV and not real life).

[chrisj]

Originally Posted by Edward64

She still had time. I personally would not have pulled the trigger until she really started to collapse (e.g. she could have spent more time with son). The quickness of the act really wasn't well thought out.

Of course they really don't know when people turn - to them it could be minutes, hours, days, etc. They've been pretty locked up and haven't seen how long it goes from bite to turn (and of course we know that the bite isn't even relevant).

At this point clearly no one knows much - hence the military guy who killed himself after being bit.

[stevew]

Millions of Americans were crushed when that key card worked to save junkie pants. Then again, Strand might be the best character on either show. At least until he gets eaten because there can only be one.

[panerd]

So what is the deal with Strand? I assume he is a wealthy guy with the beach house and boat but I don't recall ever hearing how he ended up in the detainment center. Is he a con man? Are we supposed to know more than smooth talker who owns a really nice house?

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by panerd

So what is the deal with Strand? I assume he is a wealthy guy with the beach house and boat but I don't recall ever hearing how he ended up in the detainment center. Is he a con man? Are we supposed to know more than smooth talker who owns a really nice house?

I don't know anything more than anyone else but I have a hunch that Strand doesn't own that house or the boat.

[PadresFan104]

I'm really surprised to see so many positive comments about the episode and the series in general. From beginning to end, it did not live up to my expectations. And that terrible CGI with the boat at the end... I mean, you couldn't just get actual footage of a yacht... not moving... in an empty ocean?

I'll continue to watch, but both my wife and I were left wondering if it would even continue on to a second season. If the reaction here is any indication, I guess it will!

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

I'll continue to watch, but both my wife and I were left wondering if it would even continue on to a second season. If the reaction here is any indication, I guess it will!

A second season was already green lit the day the first episode premiered. I have no idea what they numbers look like.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

A second season was already green lit the day the first episode premiered. I have no idea what they numbers look like.

They've been fine. Not breathtaking like the original has become, but fine.

Premiered to 10.13m live then steadily fell for a few weeks and then stabilized
8.18m ep2
7.19m ep3
6.62m ep4
6.66m ep5
6.86m finale

If things hadn't leveled off between 4-5 then I think you might hear at least a little bit of concern but since they did, it's fine. And the show does well in terms of increase on the +3 numbers, so that helps.

[Edward64]

Eh. The kid wandering off by himself to search the plane was complete BS.

But I'll continue to watch just because its zombies.

[MacroGuru]

I am growing very very bored...moving to slow...

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Eh. The kid wandering off by himself to search the plane was complete BS.

But I'll continue to watch just because its zombies.

That kid is the worst.

You know who I don't care about on this show? Everyone. I give zero fucks about pretty much every single person on that boat. Any of them could die and I wouldn't care. But that emo kid is the worst.

They finally found a potentially interesting character - the Asian woman from the airplane/Flight Whatever Commercial Episodes - and, of course, they just leave her floating in the middle of the ocean.

[Ned Doolittle]

The reason why I stopped watching after episode 2 of this season is this:

The Walking Dead is too far along in the "how to act and survive in a zombie apocalypse" (trust no one, your "family" is your first priority, can't save everyone, etc) for me the viewer to go back to how it was. There are too many "wtf are you doing?! Stop trying to be a hero!" moments in FTWD for me and I couldn't take it anymore. But it took TWD many seasons (and yrs) to get to this point and the viewer has grown along the way, it's too much to ask the viewer to go back and pretend/suspend disbelief that the "good guy/hero" way of doing things is viable.

The only real character on that show was the black guy yacht owner. But everyone else was too annoying. Anyway it's good to have a break from zombies. The only way this show would work would be as a 4-5 episode series at the start of every September/October. At that point ppl are in full "I can't wait for TWD to start!!" mode that a short series in the month preceding the season premiere of TWD would be very welcomed. And it would hit home the fact that it's a prequel, it'd be cool to see early days of that universe and quickly "fast forward" to the shit hole the world has become when TWD starts. But to have FTWD come on immediately after TWD ends is too backwards. So no thanks, between Vinyl and Game of Thrones it was very easy to bypass FWTD.

[panerd]

I like the theme of last night's episode, it's one that hasn't been done on the other show. It could all blow up next week but it is a new one at least. Long hair kid is also growing on me, he was my least favorite season 1 but seems to have more personality this season. I also like how they seem to be trying to move a little faster than The Walking Dead moves. I think Rick and company would have been on that yacht for at least a full season with the hostage trade taking 2-3 episodes. Maybe they are learning and trying different things with this show? I hear the complaints and realize this isn't everyone's cup of tea but Fear has been enjoyable for me.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I still have issues with this show.

What theme are you referring to exactly that hasn't been done on the other show? I may be missing something, but I sort of had the exact opposite reaction. Maybe not theme, but set up. The whole - the zombies aren't really dead, but still sort of people thing - has been done on the Walking Dead a few times, most specifically during season 2 in the barn at the farm. This feels like bit of a retread of that.

I think Nick - the druggie - has developed into one of the stronger, more interesting characters. I like him and Strand.

I have no idea what's going on with Chris. He's gone from being tore up about his mom dying to becoming a pyscho really, really really quickly. He's an annoying hot mess of a character. Just die already.

Also, I feel like they have advanced things too quickly. The scene at the village, for example. A heard of zombies shows up, they all grab improvised weapons, and kill them all. It's only been a few weeks since the outbreak, they've spent a large amount of time isolated on a boat, but they are already a team of bad ass zombie slayers? It felt like Rick's group had to slowly evolve into that. They had a handful of bad asses right away - Rick and Darryl primarily - but the rest of the group either died or earned their way to becoming tough, hard core zombie killers. This group just sort of became one super quick.

And now it feels like society has largely broken down and we'll be going over similar ground in terms of survival and the like.

I feel like the show is nothing more than methadone to Walking Dead's heroin.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I still have issues with this show.

What theme are you referring to exactly that hasn't been done on the other show? I may be missing something, but I sort of had the exact opposite reaction. Maybe not theme, but set up. The whole - the zombies aren't really dead, but still sort of people thing - has been done on the Walking Dead a few times, most specifically during season 2 in the barn at the farm. This feels like bit of a retread of that.

I think Nick - the druggie - has developed into one of the stronger, more interesting characters. I like him and Strand.

I have no idea what's going on with Chris. He's gone from being tore up about his mom dying to becoming a pyscho really, really really quickly. He's an annoying hot mess of a character. Just die already.

Also, I feel like they have advanced things too quickly. The scene at the village, for example. A heard of zombies shows up, they all grab improvised weapons, and kill them all. It's only been a few weeks since the outbreak, they've spent a large amount of time isolated on a boat, but they are already a team of bad ass zombie slayers? It felt like Rick's group had to slowly evolve into that. They had a handful of bad asses right away - Rick and Darryl primarily - but the rest of the group either died or earned their way to becoming tough, hard core zombie killers. This group just sort of became one super quick.

And now it feels like society has largely broken down and we'll be going over similar ground in terms of survival and the like.

I feel like the show is nothing more than methadone to Walking Dead's heroin.

By theme I meant foreign country, foreign "customs". Seems like TWD is always in some wooded area of Appalachia while this is LA, the ocean, and now Mexico.

It's definitely not the Walking Dead but not a bad companion. I would say I care about Strand, Nick, and Travis about as much as anyone besides Rick and Daryll on the other show. (Oh and Alicia who I feel bad ogling over since she is playing a high school aged character)

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by panerd

By theme I meant foreign country, foreign "customs". Seems like TWD is always in some wooded area of Appalachia while this is LA, the ocean, and now Mexico.

It's definitely not the Walking Dead but not a bad companion. I would say I care about Strand, Nick, and Travis about as much as anyone besides Rick and Daryll on the other show. (Oh and Alicia who I feel bad ogling over since she is playing a high school aged character)

Ah! That's a good point. It will be interested to see if what they do with all of that, assuming the group spends some more time in Mexico. That could be really cool.

I hear you on Alicia. I still have much stronger ties to a large portion of the Walking Dead crew - Rick, Darryl, Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Michonne...

I kind of liked Miguel. I was hoping he'd last, but... Alas, it was not meant to be.

[PilotMan]

This first half of the season was generally weak, imo. I mean, there were some strong points, but I only really care about a couple of the characters, the storyline dragged on the boat and then this whole Mexico area just felt forced and recycled.

I'll still keep watching, because the Mrs likes it, and I have hope that they can steer this thing back toward something entertaining.

[MacroGuru]

They almost lost me going towards the end of the season. I personally feel it was a poor move to show it immediately after a season of Walking Dead, it could have waited a bit.

The finale was enough to keep me watching, but I am growing weary of it.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I kind of liked the finale. It was interesting to see the various characters have these psychological breakdowns and to see the group splinter like it did.

[Edward64]

I'm liking this season so far. The Johnny Dep wannabe still is pretty bad but am enjoying the ranch main arc so far.

[panerd]

Yeah I'm guessing a lot of people understandably dropped out after season 2 but since arriving at the ranch the show has been pretty enjoyable with some interesting new characters. I thought the Brand/astronaut conversation was pretty well done though I'm not exactly sure where his character is headed out on the road alone with no weapons. AMC's mid-season finale during the summer is a bit much. What's the return date? September?

[Edward64]

This is a pretty good season of Fear. Interesting situations at the compound and dam.

Walking Dead has better acting but Fear is improving each season.

[Edward64]

Great season finale tonight.

Looking forward to Walking Dead next week.

[Edward64]

An okay premiere.

They introduced a couple new characters and I am intrigued by them. Looking forward to Morgan integrating with Madison & crew.

The MRAP thing with machine guns is over the top though.

[Edward64]

Nice episode this past week.

I think Fear has more interesting characters and more "open" zombie world to it.

I'm glad they finally got rid of the Johnny Depp wannabee. I am concerned for the Morgan crossover if all that happens is brings his moodiness into Fear.