DARABONT just axed the entire writing staff for TWD

[kortick]

Might not be a bad idea. Twin Peaks had a huge first season and was considered the best show on TV. Then David Lynch begun work on the movie, Wild at Heart and therefore couldn't devote time to writing/directing/overseeing the show. The second season suffered for this. By the time Lynch came back it was too late. If Lynch had stayed focused on TP it more than likely would have continued on being an excellent show. Maybe this move will save season 2 of TWD from suffering the same fate as Peaks, seeing the creator is being more involved with the new season.

[bassman]

Kor....I didn't get a word of that. Something about humping, spanking, and Olivia Munn?

[Doc]

What are you guys talking about? Have you never read the books? The writing for the show hasn't been up to par with the books and has actually been god awful at points. This decision is a step in the RIGHT direction. Too be fair, the first 12 or so issues weren't so hot, but they did get better. As, for the characters in the show. Honestly, I've found most of them uinteresting, and bland. Dale, Glen, and Daryl stand out of the rest though. Rick when a loner is pretty cool too. Though I still the development we get from the rest is rather forced especially, from the beginning scene with Andrea and Amy in episode 4. It's like, the writers were "shhh....pay attention audience this is important!", and did we really need to see about 5 minutes of Andrea grieving over Amy? Yeah, I know it was suppose to be more development for Andrea, but could have defiantly been handled better, and quicker. Not to mention we know very little about them that I found it alittle hard to really, really symathize. But maybe, this is all just me. :-/ Episode 1 is still the best of the bunch imo.

[bassman]

Now we get some truth. From Kirkman Himself. "It's kind of unfortunate that it's being reported that our writing staff has been fired because that's not the case," Kirkman, who created the comic book series on which the AMC zombie drama is based, tells TVGuide.com. "It makes Frank look bad. I don't think Frank wants it out there that he's just firing people off of a successful show seemingly for no reason." Kirkman says Eglee, whose previous credits include Dexter, Dark Angel and The Shield, chose to leave the show after Darabont decided to stay on as the showrunner for the The Walking Dead's second season. "Chic Eglee is a high-level television writer. He was brought onto The Walking Dead with the idea that Frank was going to work on the first season and then go off and do movies," Kirkman says. "Chic didn't want to be second-in-command on a show when he's used to being a top dog, and so he decided to go off and do something else, which is something that happens and is not a big deal." Kirkman says he's excited to continue working with Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) and credits him with creating a unique vision for the show. But it's too soon to tell what other writers the duo will work with in Season 2, Kirkman says. "It's a little premature to be nailing down. I don't know if it's going to be a freelance situation or if we're going to have writers in a writers' room," he says. "That's something that's being worked on now. As was suggested a few days ago. Just wait it out and the truth will be revealed... I didn't know Darabont was only interested in the first season. Great to know he's coming back.

[Wyldwraith]

Much of this is beside the point, People can SAY that a 10-11 month hiatus for the series simply means that those who're fans will be back, and those who lose interest would've fallen by the wayside anyways, but that reasoning doesn't necessarily hold water. What about all the viewers who aren't really zombie-movie fans, aren't hardcore about zombie movies/TV/comics/novels, and are simply looking for something enjoyable to watch? These folks do not NECESSARILY (they may, or they may not) have the same burning drive to see this show endure and continue to improve over a 10-season run. If a percentage of that portion of the viewing base doesn't return come next Fearfest, it's jumping to the same sort of conclusions people are criticizing to at this point declare "Meh, anyone who doesn't wait until next Fearfest to get re-immersed in the show wasn't going to remain a fan/viewer anyways." 10 months is a LONG time in Cable TV viewing. In that intervening span, there will CERTAINLY be other new shows emerging in the Sunday-at-10pm slot. If not on a first run, then as a two-hours-later encore of the new episode run at 6-8pm. Ruling out the possibility that one of these shows could very well induce potential TWD: Season 2 viewers to commit/make a habit of watching something else on Sunday at 10pm doesn't make sense, especially when one of the possible factors in AMC's decision to go the "Next Fearfest Route" is to make room for A DIFFERENT NEW SHOW. Ie: The Killing. Season 1 of TWD hasn't even concluded and the network already has a planned replacement for its time slot. Here's a basic yet reasonable What If: What if The Killing (for example) develops a major following on Sundays at 10pm? Are all those individuals automatically going to redirect their viewing decisions to co-opt what (to them) has become The Killing's time-slot? How do we, or would we know if the unusually long downtime between TWD seasons costs the show some of the impressive momentum its accrued to date? Worse still, what if the "Next Fearfest Release" causes people to expect that at the end of EVERY TWD season there will be a 10-month-long gap until the new season airs? Isn't it reasonable/valid to wonder if, instead of next Fearfest being a great platform for TWD's return, a large percentage of those history-making 18-49 viewers won't be interested in essentially watching the show begin again to work from the ground up? Of course the opposite view/possibility is equally valid at this juncture. My point was, and remains, that not all expressed concerns with a negative element are Chicken Little-ing. AMC *is* taking a chance with a 10-month interval. There IS something to be said for the "Strike when the Iron is hot" methodology, as Darth Los pointed out. That's all.

[bassman]

The Killing is not taking TWD's timeslot. All of AMC's shows play at 10pm on Sunday nights. They're just working each series to where there's always a new show. Never one taking over the other. And have you guys ever watched a series from season-to-season? It's always a big interval between seasons. True, it would be great it AMC could "strike while it's hot", and I'm sure they would if they could, but it's just not that easy. They haven't even completed writing for Pete's sake. Maybe not even started. Then you've got to plan the budget from there, organize, set up schedules, etc, etc. It's not as easy as saying "Let's go to Atlanta, point the camera at some shit, and get it on the air QUICK!". Just like every other series, these things take time and planning. It would be great to have it sooner and I'm sure they want it as soon as they can get it. But it's just not possible, fellas. This being the first big zombie series that we've always wanted doesn't change the fact that it's still just a tv series and it has to go through the same cycles as the rest of them....

[DEAD BEAT]

See bass? NOW you're thinking! I can see it now: 300 Dawns of the house of the dead, in 3D. Muahahahahahahahahaha! lol did you just blow Bass a kiss! lmao

[BillyRay]

. It's not as easy as saying "let's go to atlanta, point the camera at some shit, and get it on the air quick!". Just like every other series, these things take time and planning. BUT I WANNIT NAAAOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!

[bassman]

Is it just me, or does that kid have unusually sharp teeth? And just to further my point, look at AMC's Mad Men season start dates. Season 1: July 19, 2007 Season 2: July 27, 2008 Season 3: August 16, 2009 Season 4: July 25, 2010 All of which were thirteen episodes. Just like season two of TWD. See a pattern forming here?

[darth los]

lol did you just blow Bass a kiss! lmao A kiss would be MUah ! The addition of the hahahahahahahahaha denotes a sinister chuckle.

[MinionZombie]

Good to see official word from Kirkman himself - as I assumed, no biggie ... christ, the doomsaying didn't have take off quick, eh? At least people are passionate about the show ... perhaps too passionate. Also, some shows are dragged out for so long that there's only a 3 month gap between one season ending and another beginning - like The Simpson's or Family Guy, which rack up something like 20-24 episodes a season typically ... however, that number of episodes doesn't last 9 months without endless fucking gaps within the season, which is the really bad thing to do to a show - you can't get any continuity with that bullshit. So TWD's scheduling is entirely normal. Why is it even being considered an issue? I mean yeah, I want more now too, but we'll just have to wait - it's just like Christmas.

[DEAD BEAT]

Is it just me, or does that kid have unusually sharp teeth? And just to further my point, look at AMC's Mad Men season start dates. Season 1: July 19, 2007 Season 2: July 27, 2008 Season 3: August 16, 2009 Season 4: July 25, 2010 All of which were thirteen episodes. Just like season two of TWD. See a pattern forming here? I wish those chicken shits would've started TWD out with 13 episodes as well! :/

[bassman]

I wish those chicken shits would've started TWD out with 13 episodes as well! :/ Dude...seriously? Those "chicken shits" started TWD with more episodes than most TV series' get. Usually a pilot episode is ordered and then they judge from there whether or not they want a whole series. So basically we were lucky. Otherwise we'd still be waiting... They took a tremendous leap of faith on Darabont and company. Jeesh....there's no pleasing some people.

[MinionZombie]

Considering there'd never been a zombie TV series before, and considering some of the content, ordering six episodes off-the-bat, and not doing a Pilot, is a considerable leap of faith. Luckier still is that it found a strong audience.

[ProfessorChaos]

i really don't see what all the fuss is about. like bass pointed out, mad men and breaking bad typically have 13 episode seasons (BB's 1st season only had 7 due to the writer's strike) with almost a year between season premiere airings. TWD has been averaging 5 million viewers per episode, way up compared to the numbers BB and MM pull in. darabont is very talented, and having kirkman on board will ensure the integrity of his vision. while i agree that it sucks that we've gotta wait that long for a 2nd season, just be thankful we're getting one, and that they are keeping the big creative names attached, and they plan to do the series justice. it's like some of the people on this board live for pissing and moaning about every minute aspect of this series...i really don't understand what their objective is, other than to make themselves sound like assholes...