AMC, the cable network responsible for award-winning hits like Mad Men and Breaking Bad, have decided to adapt the 2003 comic-book series The Walking Dead, recruiting filmmaker Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) to bring the comic’s inked panels to life. Rick eventually finds his way outside, only to discover the nightmare extends to the wider world: rows of dead bodies covered in white blankets, abandoned military jeeps and helicopters, the decrepit torso of an old woman struggling on the grass.
In a post-Shaun Of The Dead world, it’s all quite frustrating.
The second act of “Days Gone Bye” (having dispensed with its John Wyndham homage) then decided to pay deference to Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, with Rick discovered by Morgan Jones (Lennie James) and his young son Duane (Adrian Kali Turner), before spending the night in their locked-down family home, as “the walkers” (annoyingly, nobody says “zombie”) swarm the streets outside. Understandably, the zombie genre doesn’t offer too much leeway when it comes to deciding on a storyline. Most of the time it’s simple: you pick a location (log cabin, high-rise building, shopping mall, suburbia, pub), throw a ragtag group of characters together, and send hordes of flesh-eating zombies their way.
If you like zombies, all you need to see are plenty of rotting zombies shuffling around — right?
Lennie James is marvelous as Morgan Jones, and the tragic nature of his family situation (his beautiful wife has become a “walker” he can’t summon the will to shoot dead) was immeasurable more compelling than anything in Rick’s storyline. Plus there wasn’t much internal logic: Morgan tells us the zombies are more active at night, so why was Atlanta’s streets literally swarming with them in broad daylight the next day? Why was Rick left at the hospital during the frightening zombie attack there? I’m of the opinion that a good zombie story needs to find a unique twist or allegory to work with (see the reality TV-skewering Dead Set or the community collapse of The Crazies), but The Walking Dead doesn’t seem to have one. Rick Grimes hasn’t captured your imagination as a laudable hero beginning a compelling story arc, his missing family were introduced fart too early (eliminating all uncertainty about their fate), and we’re supposed to care that Lori may be growing closer to her husband’s buddy Shane? There are other pitfalls The Walking Dead must avoid (along with every other post-apocalyptic TV show there’s ever been), such as the fact the characters exist in a world past saving. I guess The Walking Dead could have the same goals, by and large, but with the added complication of zombie attacks to fend off.
Hopefully The Walking Dead will surprise us (or, rather, those who haven’t read the comics) by embracing the one thing zombie movies rarely have enough time to do: develop multi-faceted characters you really care for, to feel genuine distress when some inevitably get bitten.
The day has finally come for AMC to premiere its new original series, THE WALKING DEAD, based on the comic series by Robert Kirkman. I got a chance to see the first two episodes of The Walking Dead early, but before I tell you my thoughts I should mention that I have read all 12 volumes of the comic book series and am a huge fan, so my reaction to the series is of course influenced by what I know and love of the comic. What is “The Walking Dead” About?
In the series, we follow a group of survivors, led by ex-police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), traveling in search of a safe place to live.
What I liked about “The Walking Dead”
Well, it’s The Walking Dead comic book brought to life, which in itself is pretty freaking exciting, at least to me. But that aside, the first episode was pretty incredible, it sets up the world we are going to be living in and introduces us to the character of Rick Grimes. Speaking of Rick Grimes, the whole series depends on the actor portraying him and I am happy to say Andrew Lincoln is pretty incredible, I mean talk about great casting! Now aren’t you even more excited to watch The Walking Dead? The overall feel of the series puts you right in “zombieland” with Rick. What I didn’t like about “The Walking Dead”
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the second episode as much as I enjoyed the first one. I found it very slow and felt it introduced useless characters. Now, maybe I didn’t like these new characters because they don’t exist in the comic book, but I am usually pretty open to changes if they make sense and improve the story. Bonus: I’m not a horror fan, would I like “The Walking Dead”?
YES!!! I never watch zombie movies, yet the story of The Walking Dead has gripped me like a lot of other stories weren’t able to. The zombies are really just a plot device to tell a story. The Walking Dead reminds me more of The Road than Dawn of the Dead.
