First Look as Season Two production begins

[AcesandEights]

I know...stop with the flippin eyes! GOD!!!!!!!!!! How many times do I have to say it???? Eh? EH??? Dunno, either filming over or yellowing of the whites of the eyes a good long time after death doesn't seem unreasonable. This looks different than the glow in the dark yellow eyes in most movies, though I admit it looks very yellow. Maybe Yojimbo can sound off on this. Also, was your post a purposeful textual impersonation of Napoleon Dynamite? I'm thinking: yes.

[shootemindehead]

I've seen a few dead bodies and have never seen eyes that look anything remotely like the contacts you see in modern zombie movies. Although, I admit they weren't long dead, so I can't vouch for time. Maybe pus and fluids will turn eyes into a yellowy mush over a certain period, but I'm guessing it looks nothing like the pics above. I suspect that filmmakers usually put in the contacts to give zombies a sense of otherness. Most non-zombie fans watching zombie movies have the general consensus that they aren't that scary. Roger Ebert, for example, considers them the worst horror film monster. As for Nappy Dynamite, I never seen it. That post was just ME! But, now, I'm worried.

[bassman]

Roger Ebert, for example, considers them the worst horror film monster. Really? I thought he was a big fan of Romero's? I seem to remember him giving a glowing review of Dawn.

[AcesandEights]

I was under the impression Ebert flip-flopped on his opinion from bad to glowing over the years, but I could be mistaken. With regards to the eyes, I agree they are way yellow, but as mentioned by Shootem', I think it is done to add that sense of otherness. I also feel we are looking at makeup purposefully overdone to standout in relatively quick scenes on camera. Now, if they really close up on those sets of yellow eyes or enhance them to glow yeah...I agree it's over the top, but not the sort of thing that gets my particular nose too far out of joint.

[Danny]

I was talking with some friends about this show and it was interesting to hear why folks dont want to watch it. Personally i watched season 1 and it took an excellent story from the comics and threw it out the window at episode 2 in favour of something truly mediocre compared to the source material. Then someone pointed out why they changed it and why its only going to change more. "Because it will only ever be these boring people and those boring zombies" think about that. Without this plot twist then the series would have been everyone moping around a caravan fighting off a dozen zombies then ricks kid killing his friend and thats that. as a comic thats part of an engrossing weekly narrative, as a tv season finale to keep people hooked? it wouldn't work. They would not let it work. A lot of you lauded this as 'as close to a romero tv series as you can get'. I am betting good money this will get further from the truth as it goes on. They already revealed whats making the zombies, thats something kirkman promised to never do in the books out the window already, whats next? im guessing we will get at least one instance of a talking zombie or one that uses a gun. They ended season 1 with them exploding a huge firebombing faux umbrella facility. They will up the ante each season. If you want a romero experience it will only deviate more as time goes on. The yellow eyes are probably a signifier of this.

[bassman]

I was under the impression Ebert flip-flopped on his opinion from bad to glowing over the years, but I could be mistaken. I remember hearing something about Ebert being at one of the early screenings with Romero(cannes, maybe?) and defending Dawn while all the other critics were panning it? Maybe I heard that on one of the commentaries? Can't remember. They already revealed whats making the zombies, thats something kirkman promised to never do in the books... Was there a seventh episode or a deleted scene I missed somehwere? The show was never going to be page-for-page, scene-for-scene translation of the source material. They weren't going into the show to make a Sin City-type translation. With TWD, like you mentioned, that would have been a boring and repetitive show. All things considered, the show has actually stuck pretty close to the source material while throwing in some curve balls. The biggest change of course being Shane. Which it actually works better now that they're dragging out his story. It will only help to better build the tension in the triangle.

[AcesandEights]

Then someone pointed out why they changed it and why its only going to change more. "Because it will only ever be these boring people and those boring zombies" think about that. Something seems to be lost in the translation from your friends point of view to us, or at least to me. Can you clarify the point they were trying to make? A lot of you lauded this as 'as close to a romero tv series as you can get'. I am betting good money this will get further from the truth as it goes on. Well the longer the timeline, the more likely picayune people will find fault, with that I do agree. They already revealed whats making the zombies Not really. im guessing we will get at least one instance of a talking zombie or one that uses a gun. Well, to be fair, I agree it's a possibility, but you're putting the cart before the horse, I think. They ended season 1 with them exploding a huge firebombing faux umbrella facility. They will up the ante each season. If you want a romero experience it will only deviate more as time goes on. The yellow eyes are probably a signifier of this. I agree they are moving hard and fast away from grounded storylines in some instances, and was a bit surprised by the CDC angle.

[bassman]

The CDC show was thrown in for one simple reason: The possiblity of there being no Season Two. Think about it....every show with a continuing story arch ends their first season with something to cap it off in case there are no follow up episodes. The CDC episode gave enough simple answers(nobody left in the world, we don't know what it is, no cure in sight, etc) while also sending the crew off into the wild IN CASE they were given another season. I guarantee you the end of Season Two will be a cliffhanger now that they know the show will continue for the forseable future. They just had to have a bookmark at the end of the first six episodes and the CDC was their "answers". Not to mention most of the world knows the CDC is in Atlanta, so to have a story about a potential virus in that city and not pursue that storyline would be silly. Looking at you, Kirkman.

[AcesandEights]

Not to mention most of the world knows the CDC is in Atlanta, so to have a story about a potential virus in that city and not pursue that storyline would be silly. Looking at you, Kirkman. I disagree it was necessary for them to throw themselves into the situation the way they did. By the time they think of the CDC as a reasonable possibility they are aware that "the cities are dead" and should know that focal points of attention, like the CDC, are in high congestion areas, likely mobbed by undead. It really made no sense for them to go there aside from a meta-storytelling angle. It would have been enough to acknowledge the CDC as a possibility and puruse it by more circuitous means.

[Danny]

Something seems to be lost in the translation from your friends point of view to us, or at least to me. Can you clarify the point they were trying to make? To most people who arent into zombie movies they are at best a useful allegory for some subtext, at worst a cheap lowest of the low budget cop out but always a poor movie monster. For them the zombies you see in the first episode are all they need to see. Why do they need to see more? of course some characters will die to keep it fresh so the drama is not worth watching when it is just enforced by what is to them a very, very dull "enemy". If an enemy at all. One that will not change from this first episode and there will be no major change or escalation. more zombies or more crazy people and thats about it. it doesnt draw them in. I'm not quite on the same page as them but i can certainly understand. i've said something pretty similar about why i dont want a 100+ hour sandbox zombie game. I guess it's like CSI with me. my mom blood loves it. but i always said "but mom its pandering trash, each week we see the murder then 40 minutes of maguffins then they get a deus ex machina thing to find him and maybe for an overarching seasonal story they let a guy get away every now and then. its never ever going to change the core idea and its boring" but she doesnt care, its riveting to her, to me i dont know why she watches it. This is an even more extreme example of that. people who arent into zombie stories enough to post for years of their life on a forum about them look at the walking dead and logically speaking the zombies are a dull, grey reason to push drama onto a small cast. I can perfectly understand why folks would think that way.

[AcesandEights]

Thank you, Hellsing! That was well stated and now I feel I not only understand, but in some ways agree. However... i dont want a 100+ hour sandbox zombie game. And while searching for that image, this one made me think of Blind2d:

[kidgloves]

The local news says that today after they're done on the highway posted above they'll be moving to Freedom Parkway on Monday. Fans of the show will recognize Freedom Parkway was the iconic "rick rides into town" image from the posters and dvd cover. Flashbacks, maybe? Or are they now headed out of town in a different direction? Im pretty sure in one of his earlier interviews Kirkman said they would be going back to locations we had seen in the first season. Maybe go back and put Jim out of his misery? Go back and check on Morgan?

[bassman]

Go back and check on Morgan? I really, really hope so. This show needs more of those two. It was such a shame to have them for only a few scenes in the first episode.

[shootemindehead]

Really? I thought he was a big fan of Romero's? I seem to remember him giving a glowing review of Dawn. Yeh, but said Day was "meh", or whatever the kidz use nowadays to show they find something below par. And for that he can never be forgiven. Seriously though...I'm pretty sure that he wrote that zombies were the worse horror movie monster. "As movie characters, zombies are boring by definition: All they can do is shuffle, moan, catch up with much faster people, and chew on their arms." "Good thing the movie is about more than zombies. I am by now more or less exhausted by the cinematic possibilities of killing them. I've seen thousands of zombies die, and they're awfully easy to kill, unless you get a critical mass that piles on all at once. George Romeo, who invented the modern genre with "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead," was essentially devising video game targets before there were video games: They pop up, one after another, and you shoot them, or bang them on the head with a cricket bat. It's more fun sitting in the dark eating peanuts." tsk tsk...Roger, you wanker. *Actually, I like Roger Ebert and often agree with him*

[glazedoverdead]

Holy crap! I go to the Cobb Galleria all the damned time... And I park my company vehicle right off of freedom pkwy!! I'm in friggin Orlando, Fl on business for several months.. Why can't I be home while they are filming this???!! Nooooooooooooo