Walking Dead and Romero zombie differences

[FunkyPertwee]

I'm wondering if on the TV series "The Walking Dead" if anyone who dies reanimates, like on the comic and like Romero, or will it require a bite to reanimate, like Dawn 2005? I'm hoping they keep it in line with Romero and the comic series.

Besides that, what other differences have you noticed between walking dead and Romero zombies?

One thing I've thought about is how all the dead we're just kinda napping in Day of the Dead. Haven't seen that in Walking Dead, but I guess their still just a few weeks into the shit on that show.

[kpletz]

I always thought that in the Dawn remake requiring a bite in order to reanimate was a pretty bad error. It makes no sense. If a bite is required in order for a body to reanimate then how did the first one reanimate because nobody bit the first person to reanimate?

[kidgloves]

Im hoping they go with the everyones infected and a bite just kills you approach.

[ShadowMan]

I'm wondering if on the TV series "The Walking Dead" if anyone who dies reanimates, like on the comic and like Romero, or will it require a bite to reanimate, like Dawn 2005? I'm hoping they keep it in line with Romero and the comic series.

Besides that, what other differences have you noticed between walking dead and Romero zombies?

One thing I've thought about is how all the dead we're just kinda napping in Day of the Dead. Haven't seen that in Walking Dead, but I guess their still just a few weeks into the shit on that show.

I think it's already been established that anyone who dies comes back. Also, on the 1st episode of season one, the zombies were in a sleeping/sitting mode on the bus when Rick rode through on his horse. Then, they noticed him, woke up and walked out of the bus. Also, remember the dead in the church just sitting there too. Nothing to arouse their hunger so they were in waiting mode sitting in the pews.

[AcesandEights]

And the zed in the tank, as well.

[darth los]

I think it's already been established that anyone who dies comes back. Also, on the 1st episode of season one, the zombies were in a sleeping/sitting mode on the bus when Rick rode through on his horse. Then, they noticed him, woke up and walked out of the bus. Also, remember the dead in the church just sitting there too. Nothing to arouse their hunger so they were in waiting mode sitting in the pews.


And the zed in the tank, as well.

At this point we all pretty much know that the ghouls aren't just the "dumb f*cks" Rhodes made them out to be. From bub doing what he did to big daddy to zombie Stephen "Remembering" where the hideout was to TWD's morgan's wife trying to get back into that house they were hiding out in.

It suggests that Dr. Logan's theories that they are us simply operating less perfectly were closer to reality that TWD's Dr. Jenner who implied that since only the basest part of their brains were dimly lit the people were no longer there which if you observe them long enough is clearly not not the case.

After frannie asks,"what are they doing? Why did they come here?" , Stephen retorts that it was instinct, some type of memory of what they used to do. Peter had an interesting line as well. In responding to Stephen's comment of "they're after us. They know we're still in here. He says,"they're after the place... They don't know why they just want to be in here." They made these assertions after obsering their behavior for a while.

So i don't know if it was sleep mode. Perhaps the zombies at the church used to attend regularly. Maybe the zombies on the bus where just trying to get to work.


I can think of some differences between the GAr and twd zombies but mostly i can't help but think that if some of the inconsistencies and head scratchers in twd had been in a gar film he'd be crucified.

One example is how freely the survivors move around. I mean they are out in the open and traveling alone all the time yet never seem to concerned about it. That flies in the face of the premise that the world is overrun by the undead. You would think they would have to lurk about in the shaddows in constant fear of being torn apart right?

Take two farmhouses for example, the one the night of the living dead and the one from twd. It seems to me that the one from notld is much more believable to how it would be given the circumstance, with survivors peeking out the windows and hiding in cellars rather than the walking dead with people straying without a care in the world. -1

Also, in the episode "guts" we find that the ghouls can sense us through smell. Once the zombie innards were washed off of rick and glenn from the rain the zeds instantly smelled them. Now fast forward to the first episode of this season where they are all hiding under cars a mere few feet from them and nothing. Very bad imo. -1

:cool:

[AcesandEights]

Also, in the episode "guts" we find that the ghouls can sense us through smell. Once the zombie innards were washed off of rick and glenn from the rain the zeds instantly smelled them. Now fast forward to the first episode of this season where they are all hiding under cars a mere few feet from them and nothing.

That whole area must have smelled like an open grave, though. Dead bodies everywhere, some of them sitting in the sun for a few weeks. They dropped the ball on how terrible it would have been (no crazy amount of flies and no Carl wretching when he opened up the vehicle), but not on the zeds not being able to smell them.

[darth los]

That whole area must have smelled like an open grave, though. Dead bodies everywhere, some of them sitting in the sun for a few weeks. They dropped the ball on how terrible it would have been (no crazy amount of flies and no Carl wretching when he opened up the vehicle), but not on the zeds not being able to smell them.

Perhaps.

One could also say that because there was no wretching then the overwhelming stench of rot and decay that was necessary to mask the survivors living smell, that obviously was present in "guts", was not on the highway.

Furthermore, they had to literally coat themselves for that to be effective. Remember, not every car had a dead body in it and it's highly doubtful that the dead bodies peppered throughout the site gave off a stench potent enough to "hide" them.

:cool:

[Neil]

Also, in the episode "guts" we find that the ghouls can sense us through smell. Once the zombie innards were washed off of rick and glenn from the rain the zeds instantly smelled them.
That 'rule' annoyed me... Seems rather unlikely they gain super smell!

[bassman]

Also, in the episode "guts" we find that the ghouls can sense us through smell. Once the zombie innards were washed off of rick and glenn from the rain the zeds instantly smelled them. Now fast forward to the first episode of this season where they are all hiding under cars a mere few feet from them and nothing. Very bad imo. -1


I've taken the smell theory as just that - a theory. Much like the Venus Probe in Night. One could easily argue that Rick and Glenn were just pulling a "Shaun" and were being convincing enough to walk through the zombie hoard without them noticing they were living. If you look at the scene again, it's not until Glenn starts talking and freaking out a bit that the walkers begin to take notice. So the smell thing was their theory, but they also may have just walked by because of their zombie impressions. That would also explain the lack of attention underneath the cars.

As for the thread topic, in my mind, TWD zombies are the exact same as Romero's. The holy trilogy was Kirkman's inspiration for the comics, as well as Darabont's inspiration for the television series. They act the same, anyone who dies comes back, etc etc. Much like all of Romero's movies are different stories but the same zombie uprising phenomenon, so is TWD.

I realise this thread is for Romero differences, but anyone else ever pick up that the opening shot of the pilot episode is a reference to Night? It wasn't until Darabont's commentary that I picked up on that. Kinda random...

[shootemindehead]

Also, in the episode "guts" we find that the ghouls can sense us through smell. Once the zombie innards were washed off of rick and glenn from the rain the zeds instantly smelled them. Now fast forward to the first episode of this season where they are all hiding under cars a mere few feet from them and nothing. Very bad imo. -1

:cool:

Hmmmm...I've always maintained that is attribute was always one of the more stupid additions to zombie lore (if such a thing exists). It's easy to spot that such a superhuman ability was going to cause a lot of problems with situations down the line.

[erisi236]

Walking Dead ghouls seem a lot more light of feet then Romero ones. They don't run per say, but they seem pretty quick when there's something tasty near by. These guys also don't seem the type that would take a pie to the face with a dim look on their face. =D

[AcesandEights]

Walking Dead ghouls seem a lot more light of feet then Romero ones. They don't run per say, but they seem pretty quick when there's something tasty near by.
Yeah, a couple of the fresher ones really seem to get up to a stumbling trot when agitated by nearby prey, which is fine within reason.


These guys also don't seem the type that would take a pie to the face with a dim look on their face. =DYup, the humor would be lost on them, indeed :D

[Ragnarr]

Addressing the original post, it was from the first episode of season one that Morgan mentions to Rick that it's the bites cause the fever that kills you. Dr. Jenner at the CDC mentions that the virus invades the brain like meningitis. So I don't think TWD is like GAR's universe where ANY death (natural or otherwise) will result in the reanimation of the dead.

[Gemini]

Even the zombies in the GAR trilogy weren't terribly consistent. You had the initial zombie who attacked like a maniac in the beggining of NOTLD, used a rock to smash the car window and chased down the road with pretty good speed. You had the shambling, at times comically inept zombies in Dawn, and you had several varieties in Day, some very fearsome and quick (think the ones they were removing from the pen via rod and reel)

However, I don't think it's been established in TWD that everybody comes back. Have I missed it? If so when and how was that revealed?

[Ragnarr]

Even the zombies in the GAR trilogy weren't terribly consistent. You had the initial zombie who attacked like a maniac in the beggining of NOTLD, used a rock to smash the car window and chased down the road with pretty good speed. You had the shambling, at times comically inept zombies in Dawn, and you had several varieties in Day, some very fearsome and quick (think the ones they were removing from the pen via rod and reel)

However, I don't think it's been established in TWD that everybody comes back. Have I missed it? If so when and how was that revealed?

My point exactly. Being that there were unanimated corpses seen in the traffic jam in the early episodes of season 2, this means that they died of reasons other than being bitten and were NOT reanimated. Therefore, this is not the GAR type of reanimation. TWD zombies spread the virus through bites (or possibly through infecting drinking water if the zombie-in-the-well banter has any merit).

[bassman]

However, I don't think it's been established in TWD that everybody comes back. Have I missed it? If so when and how was that revealed?

Not in the television series, but this is the case in the source material which will most likely transfer over to the television series. We've just yet to see anyone die under non-walker circumstances. The bodies sitting in the traffic jam were just a goof that naturally we've over-examined as if the creators put them there as some kind of clue. They were just set decoration....

[darth los]

They need a new decorator then. The creators are obviously zombie fans at or above the same level we are. If we can see this shit then are we to believe it somehow got passed them? It just comes off as sloppy and lack of attention to detail.

:cool:

[Gemini]

The bodies in the cars could have offed themselves with a bullet to the brain.

However, in my mind there's no way shamblers take over the planet in a bites-only scenario. Too slow, easily contained, and particularly the zombies in TWD seem to take forever to come back.

[shootemindehead]

My point exactly. Being that there were unanimated corpses seen in the traffic jam in the early episodes of season 2, this means that they died of reasons other than being bitten and were NOT reanimated. Therefore, this is not the GAR type of reanimation. TWD zombies spread the virus through bites (or possibly through infecting drinking water if the zombie-in-the-well banter has any merit).

You're making assumptions that the corpses in the cars weren't killed by some sort of head trauma though. If their brain is destroyed, they won't reanimate.

[babomb]

Kirkman himself in an episode of "Talking Dead" says that freshly dead corpses are much more agile than the ones that have had time for their muscles and tendons to rot away. IMO, this is the only way to maintain some realism in the whole reanimated corpse event. Based on Jenners assertions that a small part of the primitive brain reactivates, causing them to operate on pure instinct, also follows suit with that line of reason.
I like Romero zombies to a degree, but sometimes they appeared too much like hypnotized people from the old days of monster movies. You'll see the ones in NOTLD(original) to walk with their arms straight out, with stiff legs. They don't feel pain, so they would move as fast as they could with no regard to muscle and tendon damage, probably fall alot because of that.
I never liked the "mysterious" aspect of the way Romero zombies came back to life. Bites causing the reanimation makes much more sense than some strange radiation from a venus probe. What kind of radiation would cause that? Not any we know of or deal with.

-- -------- Post added at 12:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 AM ----------


However, in my mind there's no way shamblers take over the planet in a bites-only scenario. Well, not if everyone knows and understands the "rules" for the Romero zombies. But that would never be the case. The phenomenon would be dealt with in a more medical-clinical way. Bites would be treated as wounds initially, and people wouldn't be shooting family members in the head because they got bit on the hand. It's not the bites themselves or the shamblers that take the planet by brute force. It would come down to our inability to deal with the problem the way it needs to be dealt with that causes our demise. Which is much more plausible than mysterious radiation. The radiation scenario poses much more "sci-fi" implications. Because, such radiation would likely be engineered to cause the reanimation rather than it being a "coincidence". So then, who created the radiation? Extra-terrestrials? God? That has much more far reaching implications than human error.

[darth los]

Bites would be treated as wounds initially, and people wouldn't be shooting family members in the head because they got bit on the hand. It's not the bites themselves or the shamblers that take the planet by brute force. It would come down to our inability to deal with the problem the way it needs to be dealt with that causes our demise.


Now that's something i always thought as well. Dr. Foster spends the first 10 minutes of dawn ranting about it. At that point they were 3 weeks into it and as he said they were unable to check the spread of the phenomenon due to issues of morality. It's not even the fact that they didn't deal with their loved ones while they were bit but still living. They problem was after they died and turned they were still unable to bring themselves to do what had to be done. They didn't even want to turn the bodies over to the gov't. The denial of what was really happening coupled with the refusal/inability to act lead to virtual extinction.

However, to me this is not plausible in a bites only scenario where it would seem that there would be a patient zero and thus a ground zero or region that can be contained and dealt with by the gov't. In an anyone who dies comes back scenario it's happening everywhere all at once. That is not something the gov't could handle. They would need citizens to act and we see how that turned out.

Which makes me think of a point not often brought up. In notld Gar tried to have it both ways. On one hand it's clearly established that the bodies of the recently dead are returning to life and attacking the living which would imply the everywhere at once scenario. On the other there's a point in the film where the reporter states that reports indicate that it's confined to the eastern third of the united states, so far as they know (which is key).

Don't know about everyone else but I got a sense by the end of the film that the possies roaming the rural area had the situation under control.

:cool:

[Ragnarr]

You're making assumptions that the corpses in the cars weren't killed by some sort of head trauma though. If their brain is destroyed, they won't reanimate.

True. I suppose they could have been waiting so long in that traffic jam that they banged their heads against their steering wheels until they died. I know that's what I want to do in most bumper-to-bumper traffic around here.

[darth los]

True. I suppose they could have been waiting so long in that traffic jam that they banged their heads against their steering wheels until they died. I know that's what I want to do in most bumper-to-bumper traffic around here.

Well played sir. :lol:

:cool:

[FunkyPertwee]

I also wonder if the walkind dead zombies have the incredible fear of fire that GAR zombies do.

[Legion2213]

And the zed in the tank, as well.

I f*cking love the way he "re-activated" when Rick dropped in there next to him...like a dormant machine!

As for differences, simply staying quiet and out of sight seems to work well in the WD setting (TV anyway). These walkers don't seem to have the GAR "sixth sense" that always draws them to human outposts.