Thoughts on TWD

[Gemini]

I saw it last night and I'm blown away! Truly memorable zombies, awesome effects.

The scene at the end where he's about to blow his brains out only to look up and see the entrance to the tank was just brilliant.

I really appreciate that they put some actual suspense and grim realism back into the genre. Romero's last few few films felt like Shaun of the Dead by comparison. In fact if Romero were to direct a future episode and maintain his current form it would tarnish the series.

I also like how they found a nice medium between shambling and sprinting zombies. When they see prey they become frenzied and pick up the pace - more dangerous than the almost too-vulnerable Romero species.

One thing from a practical standpoint - the zombies are clearly rotting away. Seems to me just holing up for a period of months or even weeks would be enough for the crisis to pass.

The high ratings and quality of the series really sets the stage for the big budget World War Z.

[kidgloves]

Hurrah for you. :)
I found the under the tank scene a bit strange when he looked up. Dunno if Lincoln had rehearsed it too many times or what but that moment when he saw the hatch felt awkward.

[AcesandEights]

Gemini, glad you also liked it, man. I can't agree more about the need for "actual suspense and grim realism." Let's hope the quality stays high and the overall flow of the stories blend well without becoming monotonous.


Hurrah for you. :)
I found the under the tank scene a bit strange when he looked up. Dunno if Lincoln had rehearsed it too many times or what but that moment when he saw the hatch felt awkward.

I too felt the transition of Rick's realization of the hatch and his suddenly popping up through it was a bit jarring and unnatural of a transition, but not a big deal, for me. I mean it was like he woke up from a dream and seemed to be going up through the hatch without a 'huh?' moment, but maybe I should re-watch it for his recognition.

[Legion2213]

R.E. Zombies...they seem to need "activating" don't they? They tend to sit around (tank zombie, bus zombies) or mill around in large clusters until something gives them a sign that it might be edible. Then they start chugging like a steam train, getting faster as they go along.

I have never had a problem with fast zombies, but this series sort of uses a pick and mix of the best traits IMO.

[AcesandEights]

R.E. Zombies...they seem to need "activating" don't they? They tend to sit around (tank zombie, bus zombies) or mill around in large clusters until something gives them a sign that it might be edible. Then they start chugging like a steam train, getting faster as they go along.

Well...a little spoilerish, but...

There is no strict definition, but in the comic book there do seem to be different sets of behaviors that allow the survivors to tag various zeds they come across as either 'lurkers' or 'roamers'. This seems to be an arbitrary tag that is more a definition of the current behavioral set of the zed in question, which presumably would be in response to numerous(?) other factors acting upon the zed (lack of stimulus, perhaps--as you mentioned--comes to mind as one possible example etc.).

[Legion2213]

Man I still have volumes 1 & 2 sitting there unread, gonna have to crack them open and get in there.

[AcesandEights]

Man I still have volumes 1 & 2 sitting there unread, gonna have to crack them open and get in there.

When it comes to indulgences of this sort, no time like the present :)

[darth los]

I thought the hatch moment was spot on (always the contrarian huh aces? :lol:)

@ o.p.

I always did think that the far end of logan's estimate of 10-12 years before they rotted away enough to not be a threat was too much. A corpse would be down to nothing in a couple of years tops and that's being stationary, without the wear and tear of moving around.


And about the pace of GAr's ghoul's it depends on which film we're talking about. In night they do the Hinzman Hobble and have a little strength as seen when wrestling with dwayne jones.

In dawn they are more listless, for the most part, highlighted by the hare krishna zombie who didn't seem to care if he ate fran or not.

Then we have the ghouls from day with which if the firefighter zombie is any indication could rip your arm off and beat you to death with it if they don't eat it first.

:cool:

[AcesandEights]

I thought the hatch moment was spot on (always the contrarian huh aces? :lol:) :lol:


But honest injun, this time I really did think it was a little bit of an awkward transition, though I do need to see it a second time. :p

[darth los]

:lol:


But honest injun, this time I really did think it was a little bit of an awkward transition, though I do need to see it a second time. :p

From what i saw he was about to blow his own brains out and saw the hatch. He had a moment where looked looked like a guy who just disarmed a bomb with one second to go.

Honestly, I don't think it was as bad as what you guys are saying. But you just know now I'LL have to take another look tonight.

:cool:

[kidgloves]

R.E. Zombies...they seem to need "activating" don't they? They tend to sit around (tank zombie, bus zombies) or mill around in large clusters until something gives them a sign that it might be edible. Then they start chugging like a steam train, getting faster as they go along.

I have never had a problem with fast zombies, but this series sort of uses a pick and mix of the best traits IMO.

Wait till we get to the herds :elol:

[DubiousComforts]

I found the under the tank scene a bit strange when he looked up. Dunno if Lincoln had rehearsed it too many times or what but that moment when he saw the hatch felt awkward.
I thought the same thing, though it was only a minor hiccup. Had he not bumbled his way into a horde of walkers to begin with, it probably would have just gone by as a lucky break.

[sandrock74]

He didn't have time to celebrate his discovery of the hatch. He was commited to the idea of putting a bullet in his head, saw the hatch and acted quick. No real biggie.

[Gemini]

R.E. Zombies...they seem to need "activating" don't they? They tend to sit around (tank zombie, bus zombies) or mill around in large clusters until something gives them a sign that it might be edible. Then they start chugging like a steam train, getting faster as they go along.

I have never had a problem with fast zombies, but this series sort of uses a pick and mix of the best traits IMO.

Exactly. And Romero deserves credit for that idea. If you'll recall the opening scene of Day of the Dead, the dead were slumbering until being awoken by the bull horn.

---------- Post added at 10:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 PM ----------


Man I still have volumes 1 & 2 sitting there unread, gonna have to crack them open and get in there.

Although I have only read volume 1 and do like it quite a bit, the series so far is decidedly better imo. Every deviation from the comic book is an improvement and adds depth to the story.

---------- Post added at 11:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 PM ----------


Well...a little spoilerish, but...

There is no strict definition, but in the comic book there do seem to be different sets of behaviors that allow the survivors to tag various zeds they come across as either 'lurkers' or 'roamers'. This seems to be an arbitrary tag that is more a definition of the current behavioral set of the zed in question, which presumably would be in response to numerous(?) other factors acting upon the zed (lack of stimulus, perhaps--as you mentioned--comes to mind as one possible example etc.).

Agree with your theory regarding stimulis affecting mobility of the zombies. Bicycle zombie, for instance, was slumbering until being agitated by Lincoln, at which point it crawled half way across the park.

That zombie by the way, has to be one of the top three or four most memorable zombies ever seen. Very effective how they made you feel sorry for the thing too.

---------- Post added at 11:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:46 PM ----------

One more thing - why do you suppose so many of them have missing facial tissue around their mouths? In addition to exposing their teeth to make them look more fearsome there may be a practical reason - they are unthinking, unfeeling eating machines. I suspect they slam their gnashing teeth into anything they can find and gnaw viciously, hard enough for the rotting lips and surrounding areas to be ground away from their features.

[Legion2213]

That zombie by the way, has to be one of the top three or four most memorable zombies ever seen. Very effective how they made you feel sorry for the thing too.

The poor bastard didn't even seem to be interested in eating him, it just looked really pathetic and sorry for itself...so yeah, not often your heart goes out to a zombie, but that one really did need putting down out of sheer mercy.

That entire scene with bike zombie and the guy trying to end his zombie wifes misery just tweaked on the old heart strings big time. Really good stuff IMO.

[bassman]

The bicycle zombie reminded me of Brundlefly at the end of The Fly. Basically begging to die.

[Eyebiter]

Liked this article over on The Exiled, author makes some good points about the writing quality in Walking Dead Season 1. Feel the burn...

Walking Dead: A Character Study
http://exiledonline.com/walking-dead-a-character-study/

[AcesandEights]

Liked this article over on The Exiled, author makes some good points about the writing quality in Walking Dead Season 1. Feel the burn...

Walking Dead: A Character Study
http://exiledonline.com/walking-dead-a-character-study/

That's a horrible, ill-rendered, short-sighted article!


Yeah, you’re right, we already saw that hospital-wake-up-to-zombieland thing in 28 Days Later . I don’t know who did it first, the 28 Days Later filmmakers or Robert Kirkman...

Fail on so many levels.

[Gemini]

Here are two critical indictments of this article. After the second, I stopped reading.

"I hated the pilot so much I thought it couldn’t possibly be as bad as I made it out to be"

"The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile . If you suffered through those"

[blind2d]

The bicycle zombie reminded me of Brundlefly at the end of The Fly. Basically begging to die.
Yay! I love Brundlefly!
Anyway, yes... there are good things and bad things about the series... as with everything. At least the make-up effects were some of the best of all time for the genre. The action/gore was perfect, as well.
And that's what I'm here for.

[bassman]

"The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile . If you suffered through those"

I didn't even make it that far into the article. :lol: But yeah....that quote instantly invalidates anything this guy has to say...

In fact, for a moment there I thought it was a joke.

[krisvds]

A harsh article indeed. But, nevertheless, a very well written one. Had to laugh out loud at a couple of paragraphs. Sure it's meant to polarise, but it IS well written. I really enjoyed TWD for what it is and feels this 'exiled' should get that stick out of her arse and enjoy the damn zombie show, but still... the author raises some interesting points. Let's see:

"Kentucky cop Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his cop partner start off having one of those dismal getting-to-know-you-as-characters interludes where they talk about stuff in their lives that will all take on big resonance later, in what is supposed to be a convincing people-really-talk-like-this manner, only nobody really does."
Not entirely unjustified criticism. That dialogue came right out of a bad, bad soap opera. Entirely unbelievable. The dialogue was one of the weak points of the series. Often very clichéd.

"a zombie show so slow and ponderous and pumped full of rancid triumph-of-the-human-spirit cliches it’ll make the critics sing for joy."And
"the cartoon racist redneck and the black man who holds the key to his survival. I can’t think of a better example than that to illustrate just how swamped with meaning this show is."
True. Vatos, Rick's little sermon before disembowelling that corpse, ... Weak, preachy moments that seemed very out of place if you take the zombie apocalypse serious. Ethics and the impact the zombie apocalypse has on them form the heart of the comic book IMO. Here it was often meh.

"Worrying about the ethics of “looting” in the middle of the apocalypse. But it’s not touching. It merely seems as if the characters have forgotten the plot of the show. Again. If they’re so addled they can’t remember their own ghastly predicament, it’s hard to stay invested."
I've read this criticism over here a couple of times as well. The overall vibe of some episodes was way too cosy. A serious lack of dread and suspense could kill this series stone dead in it's second season if the makers aren't careful. I don't want to see yet another soap opera with the zombie encounter of the week thrown in for good measure.

Harsh and over the top. But there is some food for thought in there as well, no?

[Ghoulman]

The bicycle zombie reminded me of Brundlefly at the end of The Fly. Basically begging to die.
Thank God for the internet and its ability to give every fucking douchebag on the planet (myself included) a forum in which to be heard.

[Gemini]

A harsh article indeed. But, nevertheless, a very well written one. Had to laugh out loud at a couple of paragraphs. Sure it's meant to polarise, but it IS well written. I really enjoyed TWD for what it is and feels this 'exiled' should get that stick out of her arse and enjoy the damn zombie show, but still... the author raises some interesting points. Let's see:

"Kentucky cop Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his cop partner start off having one of those dismal getting-to-know-you-as-characters interludes where they talk about stuff in their lives that will all take on big resonance later, in what is supposed to be a convincing people-really-talk-like-this manner, only nobody really does."
Not entirely unjustified criticism. That dialogue came right out of a bad, bad soap opera. Entirely unbelievable. The dialogue was one of the weak points of the series. Often very clichéd.

"a zombie show so slow and ponderous and pumped full of rancid triumph-of-the-human-spirit cliches it’ll make the critics sing for joy."And
"the cartoon racist redneck and the black man who holds the key to his survival. I can’t think of a better example than that to illustrate just how swamped with meaning this show is."
True. Vatos, Rick's little sermon before disembowelling that corpse, ... Weak, preachy moments that seemed very out of place if you take the zombie apocalypse serious. Ethics and the impact the zombie apocalypse has on them form the heart of the comic book IMO. Here it was often meh.

"Worrying about the ethics of “looting” in the middle of the apocalypse. But it’s not touching. It merely seems as if the characters have forgotten the plot of the show. Again. If they’re so addled they can’t remember their own ghastly predicament, it’s hard to stay invested."
I've read this criticism over here a couple of times as well. The overall vibe of some episodes was way too cosy. A serious lack of dread and suspense could kill this series stone dead in it's second season if the makers aren't careful. I don't want to see yet another soap opera with the zombie encounter of the week thrown in for good measure.

Harsh and over the top. But there is some food for thought in there as well, no?

Yes, and imo Episode 1 was oozing dread. The silent scenes drum-tight with suspense and the zombies representing a truly scary, swarming horde. What happened?

[bassman]

Thank God for the internet and its ability to give every fucking douchebag on the planet (myself included) a forum in which to be heard.

I'm not sure what to make of this comment. What are you getting at?

[blind2d]

After re-watching it... yes, Gemini, you're right... I think all that really changed was the added "soap-operaness"... other than that, I don't think anything else went wrong... I dunno, I'm no expert...