Total crap-o-rama

[DevilDog]

I thought "Survival" and "Diary" were bad, but this outdoes even George in lameassedness.

I was very excitied to visit the US, as a buddy of mine was DVR'ing the series for me. Now, before I even began watching I didn't expect more than one good season out of it. Boy, was I wrong.

Started off pretty good. But became way too overdramatic very quickly. Hell, I think I counted on one hand the number of zombies total in the last two episodes.

So, essentially it's a soap opera with a zombie thrown in every now and then. Pretty much nails the coffin shut on anything decent zombie coming out of the US any more.

[MoonSylver]

Nice to see you again DD! Sorry to hear you didn't like it. :( Even though a lot of folks liked it, the degree to which varies greatly, including those like yourself who wen't impressed, so it's all good. :)

[Skold]

lulz!

[Ghoulman]

Started off pretty good. But became way too overdramatic very quickly. Hell, I think I counted on one hand the number of zombies total in the last two episodes. So, essentially it's a soap opera with a zombie thrown in every now and then.
Hmm. That sounds exactly like the comics.

[Mike70]

i will admit that i have completely lost interest in this series faster than just about anything else i've ever lost interest in.

the character of rick really, really pisses me off. his parading around in his cop uniform like that shit means anything and making snap decisions for everyone is pretentious, ridiculous, and irritating to me. those folks that boogied out to 'bama had the right idea.

in addition, the show is cliched as all hell and rather fucking boring. eps 4 and 5 got on my nerves to the point that i haven't even bothered to watch the finale. i probably will but am in absolutely no hurry to do so.

my opinion of TWD? from greatness to complete mediocrity in 5 eps. damn near a record in my book.

the comics are dark, dirty, and dangerous. the tv show is none of those things. it's all bright lights and feelings. where is that dingy, grittiness? where is the death and disease lurking around every corner?

i think a lot of it comes down to the way this show is shot. way, way too much light for my tastes. stories like this have to be told in shadows.

[Ghoulman]

i will admit that i have completely lost interest in this series faster than just about anything else i've ever lost interest in.

the character of rick really, really pisses me off. his parading around in his cop uniform like that shit means anything and making snap decisions for everyone is pretentious, ridiculous, and irritating to me. those folks that boogied out to 'bama had the right idea.

in addition, the show is cliched as all hell and rather fucking boring. eps 4 and 5 got on my nerves to the point that i haven't even bothered to watch the finale. i probably will but am in absolutely no hurry to do so.

my opinion of TWD? from greatness to complete mediocrity in 5 eps. damn near a record in my book.

the comics are dark, dirty, and dangerous. the tv show is none of those things. it's all bright lights and feelings. where is that dingy, grittiness? where is the death and disease lurking around every corner?

i think a lot of it comes down to the way this show is shot. way, way too much light for my tastes. stories like this have to be told in shadows.I couldn’t disagree more... On multiple points:
-Rick wears his uniform for about the same amount of time in the comics.
-Rick makes the same snap decisions in the comic.
-Boring= Character development. The comics OFTEN go long stretches with ZERO zombie or action scenes whatsoever. It’s this kind of juxtaposition that makes the intense scenes appear much more dramatic IMO.
-I don’t interpret the comics as being “dark, dirty, dingy and gritty” and that tone was set early on when Dale or Glenn says to Rick “I was getting tired of all that sunshine contradicting all the shit going on down here”. It’s still a world with green tree’s and blue skies. Nothing has happened in the comics that would make the world a dark and dirtier place than normal. Why would the show be any different? Maybe you’re just interpreting things that way as the comics are drawn in B&W?
Anyway, I’m sorry you feel the show does not live up. I can certainly respect that. I personally haven’t enjoyed a TV show this much since Saturday morning toons when I was a child in the 70’s. :)

[JDFP]

I thought "Survival" and "Diary" were bad, but this outdoes even George in lameassedness.

I was very excitied to visit the US, as a buddy of mine was DVR'ing the series for me. Now, before I even began watching I didn't expect more than one good season out of it. Boy, was I wrong.

Started off pretty good. But became way too overdramatic very quickly. Hell, I think I counted on one hand the number of zombies total in the last two episodes.

So, essentially it's a soap opera with a zombie thrown in every now and then. Pretty much nails the coffin shut on anything decent zombie coming out of the US any more.

Interesting perspective. Personally, I find it to be a very good show that if continued and done right could possibly become 'great'. It's up there with me along with "Breaking Bad" and "Sons of Anarchy" as one of the best shows on television, in my perspective. There's only a few shows that I could really classify as legendary that are better than some of the things on now (the original "Twilight Zone", "Cheers"/"Frasier", "The Andy Griffith Show"). While networks television are creating and showing absolute crap, the cable networks are creating some of the best television shows in the history of television coming out now.

I agree there are some 'cliched' parts in the series. Everything to do with Merle as an example. However, we've fortunately seen very little of him and hopefully he won't be returning but maybe one episode next year.

As far as your last comment -- I'll say it again, this show is about the LIVING characters and how people survive in a completely different world. The show isn't an action show, it's a drama. I wouldn't mind seeing full episodes without ANY zombies in them. Zombies shouldn't just be thrown into the mix for the hell of it ("Oh yeah, we need a zombie here!") but only added when it is important to the plot and makes sense. It's a show about characters, not zombies. If folks are just wanting to see mindless but enetertaining pure straight-up zombie action then I recommend re-watching "Dawn of the Dead" ('04). That's mindless action and might be more suitable to folks complaining about this "lack of zombies" which makes no sense to me whatsoever for a drama.

Anyway, just my .02.

j.p.

[bassman]

What was wrong with any one of the other rating or opinion threads?

Troll on.

[Ghost Of War]

Interesting perspective. Personally, I find it to be a very good show that if continued and done right could possibly become 'great'. It's up there with me along with "Breaking Bad" and "Sons of Anarchy" as one of the best shows on television, in my perspective. There's only a few shows that I could really classify as legendary that are better than some of the things on now (the original "Twilight Zone", "Cheers"/"Frasier", "The Andy Griffith Show"). While networks television are creating and showing absolute crap, the cable networks are creating some of the best television shows in the history of television coming out now.

I agree there are some 'cliched' parts in the series. Everything to do with Merle as an example. However, we've fortunately seen very little of him and hopefully he won't be returning but maybe one episode next year.

As far as your last comment -- I'll say it again, this show is about the LIVING characters and how people survive in a completely different world. The show isn't an action show, it's a drama. I wouldn't mind seeing full episodes without ANY zombies in them. Zombies shouldn't just be thrown into the mix for the hell of it ("Oh yeah, we need a zombie here!") but only added when it is important to the plot and makes sense. It's a show about characters, not zombies. If folks are just wanting to see mindless but enetertaining pure straight-up zombie action then I recommend re-watching "Dawn of the Dead" ('04). That's mindless action and might be more suitable to folks complaining about this "lack of zombies" which makes no sense to me whatsoever for a drama.

Anyway, just my .02.

j.p.

Mine too. 100% agree with everything said here, including about Breaking Bad and SOA.

[Legion2213]

"Lameassedness" is a great word, you can be sure I'll be dropping that into casual conversation over the festive season...

Oh, TWD is the dogs bollocks. :cool:

[Wyldwraith]

Give me a break,
While I WILL allow that Merle, the Vatos/gangbangers-with-hearts-of-gold and Dr. Jenner, are in no particular order ever-worsening degrees of bad acting, that simply doesn't hold for the show as a whole. Now that the bulk of superfluous extras (which were only there as Ep. #5 Red-Shirts, to be killed/chewed/infected), what remains is a tight core of believable characters, with believable relationships/interactions, in a (most important) BELIEVABLE zombie apocalypse.

I will very freely admit that TWD didn't do any better with how its setting depicts the actual fall of civilization that occurred pre-Episode #1, but that's the story in 100% of Survival Horror movies and now show, to date. Look at the group of characters. You've got a guy with a wife and kid, a senior citizen, a young-ish redneck with a temper and a laid back/retiring African-American guy. Just so NOT a mix in ANY WAY designed for a Rambo-esque House of the Dead-style shoot-em-up, with zombies as the incidental antagonist.

If constant zombie kills and depictions of intense/constant human suffering is REALLY all you want out of your zombie-oriented entertainment, the industry has conveniently provided you Uwe Boll, Zach Snyder and 21st century Romero.

Finally, when you have a half dozen trade paperbacks stacked beside you, each containing 5-8 issues of a comic, its easy if you're "That Sort" of person to flip past everything but what you consider the "juicy bits"....so expecting TWD the show to basically just sketch out everything that isn't like that, speed past it, and get back to maximum zombie-killing ASAP....while perfectly justifiable as what you enjoy, isn't TWD, and it's no flaw in TWD that it's NOT that.

However, the show DOES need to make up its mind concerning judicious/appropriate/believable use of zombies-as-obstacles/challenges. As many have said, it could very well become what right now is a tiny black spot on an otherwise savory and enjoyable fruit...that could expand into a rot that consumes said fruit if they don't make up their minds from episode to episode how difficult they want to make survival to appear.

That DOES NOT MEAN they needs tons of zombies every episode. Yet, all the scenes in previously well-populated areas where you can cover a lot of ground crossbow-bolting one zombie here, another 2-3 mins later and so on, EXCEPT during an episode here and there, where you portray zombies being absolutely EVERYWHERE.

Zombie dispersal needs to make sense, or it very well could begin to spoil the atmosphere. For all that I have little desire to see Merle again, I DO hope we see him in Season 2 to confirm it was him, or some other agency they encountered, that drew all those zombies to the camp. Otherwise, a scene I am currently/essentially "withholding judgment" concerning the believability of until I have more info, could BECOME unbelievable, because I cannot suspend disbelief enough to believe dozens of zombies could pour into that camp within seconds of each other, from multiple directions, after first FINDING their isolated camp in the first place. On their own, it would've been much more likely that a single zombie would've gotten well ahead of the main body (who could've been keyed on the "leader/first to move/stimulated" zombie's movement to follow after it, ie: The Zombie Daisy Chain Frenzy Effect.

Bottom line, life for the characters in TWD is either hard because civilization collapsed, hard because they're being hunted by ghouls or both at same time...pick a proportion, and only deviate when it makes sense. If the group goes somewhere there shouldn't be any/hardly any zombies great, its a no zombie-episode. If the Group drives their convoy into Chattanooga or Knoxville then there should be Dawn '04-level zombies depicted. I'm cool with any sensibly/believably done proportional depiction regarding zombies. Just want consistency and that believability.

Still, I love the characters, enough that Rick genuinely pisses me off at times, enough that I'd like to eviscerate and castrate Shane with dull implements, and enough that I really felt Dale's deep affection for Andrea and the late Amy, or Glenn's wry sort of fatalism/practicality....or even Daryl's "gotta break some eggs to make an omelette" demeanor. T-Dog hasn't been terribly well-defined as yet, but he might very well be part of the group as the next intended dramatically infected group member. My gut says he'll be gone before or soon after this Tyreese and Michonne ppl are mentioning make their debuts.

I can be a hardass about things I dont like, but even I am not presumptuous enough to be convinced I am the defining authority on the objective quality of U.S-generated Survival Horror material. Who are you that makes your view so much more valuable DevilDog?

[Gemini]

The more I think about this series, the more I think it basically SUCKED outside of, and certainly compared to, the pilot.

[JDFP]

Bottom line, life for the characters in TWD is either hard because civilization collapsed, hard because they're being hunted by ghouls or both at same time...pick a proportion, and only deviate when it makes sense. If the group goes somewhere there shouldn't be any/hardly any zombies great, its a no zombie-episode. If the Group drives their convoy into Chattanooga or Knoxville then there should be Dawn '04-level zombies depicted. I'm cool with any sensibly/believably done proportional depiction regarding zombies. Just want consistency and that believability.



Wait. Hold up. I live in Knoxville. In the comics do they come here? Holy shit, that would be amazing if they came here and started filming here. Wow, that would just be too surreal to have a show filmed in my own back yard with one of my most favorite subjects -- zombies.

j.p.

[Neil]

I actually really enjoyed the last episode. So for me the series ended on a high :)

[krisvds]

G


If constant zombie kills and depictions of intense/constant human suffering is REALLY all you want out of your zombie-oriented entertainment, the industry has conveniently provided you Uwe Boll, Zach Snyder and 21st century Romero.


No. Just no.