Hits & Misses: How'd Darabont Do?

[Ghoulman]

Overall, I think the show was a tremendous success and looking back, I can point out some things Frank Darabont, IN MY OPINION, did really well and some things he totally missed the mark on. First up, The Hits: -Days Gone Bye. Beautiful, amazing and powerful!! -Daryl Dixon. This new-to-the-series character steals the show as he efficiently dispatches walkers with his crossbow! -The Shane, Lori, Rick Triangle. -Extending Shane's role. -The CDC arc. Although not in the comic, was welcome to give some closure had the series NOT been picked up for a second season. -The use of a thermobaric weapon. -Capturing the essence of the comic. Misses: -Merle Dixon loose end. (Unless he returns in a major way in Season 2 this character imo was pointless) -Ed. Wasted character development on yet another stereotypical white trash douchebag who wasn't even in the source material. -Jim. Darabont could have made this character far more sympathetic and far less creepy had he only followed the source material on this one. -Not enough background ghouls in urban settings. -The poor thermobaric weapon FX and effects on those nearby. What's your hits and misses with the show?

[Legion2213]

Regarding the effects, they probably could be better, but they eat a lot of budget, especially when you are probably using a fair chunk of that on exceptional zombie effects. The show isn't perfect, no show us, but for every negative or gripe I see, I get a dozen things that make up for it. I have no real complaints. Not read the comics so I am coming at this from the perspective of a fresh viewer with no pre-conceptions or comic-based expectations. Stand out characters for me... Rick: Straight up guy, good morals, trying to retain his humanity and do the decent thing while protecting his family. Dale: Same as Rick for me, a genuinely decent man who I have become fond of over the series...he and Rick are the only two characters I would really trust with my life. Daryl: Great "loose canon", loads of ability when it comes to killing...two legged or four legged, it's all the same to him, would'nt trust him too much though. Looking forward to how they handle him in season 2. Shane: Good "dark horse", some very questionable behaviour, yet he did try to save Rick at the hospital...then again, when they were doing a sweep, he was seriously considering murdering him. Mixed up guy...looking forward to seeing how he develops also. Beat up wife woman who's name escapes me: She is just played really well, the actress playing her makes me really want to see her make it through all this with her little girl. I think she will become stronger now that her shit-head husband is gone. All the other characters need more development for me. Oh, like everybody, would like to see more walkers on screen, but only when needed. I think this show respects us as veiwers...they dont' need to show us zombies and OTT zombie kills every three seconds to remind us of what we are watching or keep us interested. Darabont and Co are treating us like thinking adults and providing good drama as well as action...I really appreciate that. Roll on Season 2!

[ProfessorChaos]

PRO'S: pilot episode - i thought the whole pilot was amazing. really did a great job of hinting at what kind of show this was going to be. FX - KNB is doing a stellar job. some of the best-looking zombies ever on screen, for sure. casting - being a follower of the comics, i'm blown away by how well all these actors are bring these characters to life. i wasn't a big fan of the choice for carol, but even she has proven to be a great representation of what i'd imagine her character would be like. amy's birthday - best zombification scene ever, hands down....that scene with amy and andrea was intense, mesmerizing, and left a very lasting impression daryl - didn't really like him at first, but he's really came through the last few episodes as a great team member (a bit of a wild card, but tough and dependable, and damn amusing) CONS: zombie-distribution: some scenes (like outside the CDC) are noticeably short a few zombies short of a happy meal. other times, there's hundreds....i'm not familiar with ATL, but surely there'd be more outside of the CDC building merle - was really hoping they'd resolve this issue. i really hope everyone's wrong about him being the governor. the guv is such a scandalous bastard, they've gotta do his character justice. i seriously doubt merle will end up becoming him, but either way, they should've advanced that story a bit more, at least. stereotyping - a bit heavy on the stereotyping. redneck racist, gangbanger mexicans, t-dog (although his actions don't really "stereotype" him, but his silly fucking name), the white-trash wife-beater. at least glenn isn't going on about missing his sushi or anything, i guess... i could go on for a while about this. there's way more hit than misses, in my opinion. these are the ones that stood out the most for me, however.

[Ghoulman]

I really envy you Legion2213, and others who get to view this show as a fresh, brand new concept and character well. Try as I may, it's still incredibly difficult for me to separate what I've read from what I am watching. As stated above, there are several characters and events that have strayed from the comics and I have genuinely liked, appreciated and enjoyed most of them. I also have to agree with ProfessorChaos about the zombies being the best ghouls we've ever seen as well as the superb casting. I haven't had a single complaint about the casting but rather development of a couple characters that I felt was either too much or too little. Oh, another hit: The cinematography. It's hands down badass!

[DjfunkmasterG]

Hit: Every episode except VATOS Miss Episode titled VATOS Character HITS: Morgan Jones - The man whose son finds Rick and he helps nurse him back to health. His emotional dram with trying to take care of his family... WOW, great stuff and his delivery about the walkers and how they will get ya... Great great stuff Daryl - maybe it is the Boondock Saints fan in me, but Norman Reedus has been great on the show... here is hoping Sean Patrick Flannery makes an appearance just for us BDS fans. Dr. Edwin Jenner - Seeing a man in his mental state and condition... just broken and in his mind left with no further options was great stuff Character Miss: The Vatos

[Ghoulman]

I agree DJ, Vato's was the weak link. Not bad mind you, just weak. Like the overdone stereotyping, I felt Darabont's personal ideology shone brightly through on that episode. It had a pure "heart" though and that was what saved the episode for me. Well, that and "The crazy vato who shot me in the ass!" Any Daryl is good Daryl, and I absolutely loved the bit with the hand!!

[MoonSylver]

I agree DJ, Vato's was the weak link. Not bad mind you, just weak. Like the overdone stereotyping Any Daryl is good Daryl, and I absolutely loved the bit with the hand!!

[bassman]

Why is it that Darbont gets the praise and blame for everything involved with this show? He helped usher it along, but he wasn't the only creative force behind it, folks. Anyway....more hits than misses, imo. Best zombie-themed outting since Day of the Dead.

[DEAD BEAT]

Overall, I think the show was a tremendous success and looking back, I can point out some things Frank Darabont, IN MY OPINION, did really well and some things he totally missed the mark on. First up, The Hits: -Days Gone Bye. Beautiful, amazing and powerful!! -Daryl Dixon. This new-to-the-series character steals the show as he efficiently dispatches walkers with his crossbow! -The Shane, Lori, Rick Triangle. -Extending Shane's role. -The CDC arc. Although not in the comic, was welcome to give some closure had the series NOT been picked up for a second season. -The use of a thermobaric weapon. -Capturing the essence of the comic. Misses: -Merle Dixon loose end. (Unless he returns in a major way in Season 2 this character imo was pointless) -Ed. Wasted character development on yet another stereotypical white trash douchebag who wasn't even in the source material. -Jim. Darabont could have made this character far more sympathetic and far less creepy had he only followed the source material on this one. -Not enough background ghouls in urban settings. -The poor thermobaric weapon FX and effects on those nearby. What's your hits and misses with the show? lol dude Merle is gonna bleed 2 death by season 2! lmao But i agree with ya, for sure needed more zombies bumbling around in the back ground they didn't even have to be part of the scene just freakin have them in the background!

[DjfunkmasterG]

Why is it that Darbont gets the praise and blame for everything involved with this show? He helped usher it along, but he wasn't the only creative force behind it, folks. Anyway....more hits than misses, imo. Best zombie-themed outting since Day of the Dead. Well, Darabont is the executive producer and developer of the show for AMC, and I am quite shocked he let the VATOS episode go through as is... From what I have read... although he only directed Episode #1, he did extreme oversight on the remaining episodes. I am just shocked he let the writer from the comic (name escaping me atm) use that shitty script for VATOS... I also blame the director of that episode for it being so weak. I mean that was just piss poor stuff, and while I have eased on it a bit since first viewing, it still sits at the bottom of the pile. I would love to see Darabont helm the entire second season from start to finish just to see how it would go under his entire direction. However, I must give Ernest Dickerson props for Episode #5... he did a great job with it, and since Ernie worked with Romero on Day at least he took away some great lessons from that experience and put them to use in Episode #5. I know Episode #1 is my favorite, Episode #5 I think is becoming my second favorite... To me those were both quality episodes from start to finish. Episode #6 is great stuff too and I think I would tie it with Episode #5.

[DEAD BEAT]

Well, Darabont is the executive producer and developer of the show for AMC, and I am quite shocked he let the VATOS episode go through as is... From what I have read... although he only directed Episode #1, he did extreme oversight on the remaining episodes. I am just shocked he let the writer from the comic (name escaping me atm) use that shitty script for VATOS... I also blame the director of that episode for it being so weak. I mean that was just piss poor stuff, and while I have eased on it a bit since first viewing, it still sits at the bottom of the pile. I would love to see Darabont helm the entire second season from start to finish just to see how it would go under his entire direction. However, I must give Ernest Dickerson props for Episode #5... he did a great job with it, and since Ernie worked with Romero on Day at least he took away some great lessons from that experience and put them to use in Episode #5. I know Episode #1 is my favorite, Episode #5 I think is becoming my second favorite... To me those were both quality episodes from start to finish. Episode #6 is great stuff too and I think I would tie it with Episode #5. Dude, VATOS really talk like that...so that being the case that shitty acting was on the money! I might ad that episode was probably filled with the most action outta all 6!

[Tricky]

I'm not worried about the Merle thing, I think its a bit impatient to expect it resolved within season one, I reckon they're playing the long game with that character. I'm predicting a showdown between him & his brother at some point though, inevitably Daryl will soften more towards the current bunch of survivors, while Merle will likely end up the insane leader of a group of arseholes hell bent on revenge, thats the usual storyline for such scenarios, but I could be wrong!

[Ghoulman]

Why is it that Darbont gets the praise and blame for everything involved with this show? He helped usher it along, but he wasn't the only creative force behind it, folks. Bass: This thread wasn’t intended to be about credit or praise but simply constructive criticism. The same constructive criticism anyone creating any work of art would and should expect to receive. No malice was intended. If people choose to go there, it’s an open forum. With everybody entiteled to their own opinion, I assumed it would spark some good back and forth about things felt were well done and things that were poorly done. Again, all a matters of opinion. Moon, you fuckin' kill me!

[DEAD BEAT]

I'm not worried about the Merle thing, I think its a bit impatient to expect it resolved within season one, I reckon they're playing the long game with that character. I'm predicting a showdown between him & his brother at some point though, inevitably Daryl will soften more towards the current bunch of survivors, while Merle will likely end up the insane leader of a group of arseholes hell bent on revenge, thats the usual storyline for such scenarios, but I could be wrong! whaaa? what if the series wasn't picked up for season 2? I rekon Merle's character would have been pointless as stated earlier..."like a fart in the wind!" ---------- Post added at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:41 PM ---------- "or it'll come in handy if all the women are dead!"

[MoonSylver]

Moon, you fuckin' kill me! I'm a legend in my own mind.