"The Walking Dead" - Frank Darabont, AMC (1 Viewer)

[Josh Dial]

Amazing pilot (I don't personally think it's quite as good as LOST, but it's so close it hardly matters). You pretty much have your Emmy for makeup and/or effects locked down right here.


While this won't fill the void on the forums left by LOST and BSG regarding pages of interesting dialogue, it's definitely one of the "shows to watch" this season. I can't wait.

 

[Henry Gale]

Was I the only one who DVRed a 76 year old Boris Karloff movie by mistake?

 

[Steve Tannehill]

My TiVo picked up both the old movie and the new series.

If you missed the series debut, it re-airs throughout the week on AMC and IFC.

 

[Darcy Hunter]

As far as the CG blood goes, it didn't really bother me that much. For me it seemed as though they were hedging their bets whether or not AMC would let them get away with so much gore.

By leaving the blood out, they had the opportunity to add it in post, or leave it for an"unrated" DVD/BD set.


It's not like KNB EFX Group aren't qualified to bring the red stuff.

 

[Tony J Case]

So, I never read the comic and I tried to stay far away from the series so I would come in fresh. I knew nothing about it beyond the premise of Humans vs Zombies. So, my verdict? Brilliant! I loved it - I though it took some nice zombie tropes and turned them on their heads. That stairwell-in-the-dark scene was terrifying, just because you're waiting for him to light the next match and reveal something. . . but they showed actual restraint! Having nothing happen made it a hundred times more scary than if he was jumped.


No, it didnt reinevnt the Zombie Wheel, but it had promise. And I really like the idea of a prolonged look at the end of the world. It's not a "2 hours and it's done", the movie doesnt end, the house lights dont come on and everything is safe again.

Originally Posted by Inspector Hammer!
I have a question regarding those bus zombies, did they just then reanimate or were they walking around and said "hey, I'm gonna go take a nap on this bus until lunch happens by." lol?
It's almost like these zombies are a lot like a car that's on E, they have to keep moving or else they shut down until something disturbs them to wake them up again.

Well, it's probably something like Dawn of the Dead, and why all the Zombies came to the mall. "They're after the place. They don't know why, they just remember. Remember that they want to be in here." Probably the same thing with the bus - the commute to work, the daily ritual of riding the bus, was the only thing they remembered. And so they sat, in their non-bus waiting for a commute that would never end.

 

[mattCR]

Never read the comics, have no interest in doing so either. So, those aren't spoilers to me. Having read through the thread, this is apparently a popular book amongst some, so that's good. I liked it so far, I'm hoping we see more of Lenni James, but it appears not, based on IMDB. Too bad.

 

[Lucia Duran]

My thoughts on the Kevin Bacon zed was maybe, just possibly, he is going to be some sort of villian zed (similar to 28 weeks later when the dad went hunting for the son) or possibly even similar to the main zed in Land of the Dead. I read somewhere that they were adding something to the storyline. Maybe this? I thought it interesting that they focused in on him.


The tank scene is by far my favorite scene. Really well done. The whole city scenario, running into that HUGE crowd of zeds and then trapped in the tank.... yeah had me on the edge of my seat! I also enjoyed the storyline with the Morgen and his wife. That had to be so hard for him and to see him struggling with shooting her.... yeah I felt for him. The kid seeing her and then running away crying broke my heart.


I still wish the pacing was a bit faster, but like I said, I enjoyed it and will keep tuning in.

 

[ChadMcCallum]

Originally Posted by joshEH

A second season was just greenlit, according to some news outlets...awesome news.

Great! Not too surprising considering the ratings the pilot achieved and the major talent they have working on the show but still excellent news.


Season 2 will be crazy. The stuff that should happen in the first season will seem like the good life compared to what happens next.


Hammer Time!

 

[joshEH]

Poor horse -- happily roaming the countryside, until some moron decides the zombie holocaust is best experienced in urban areas.
Really, really happy for Darabont that this was such a hit. Hope it has a long, fruitful run, followed by him finally tackling The Long Walk adaptation.

 

[Joey Gunz]

I loved the first episode! I like the slow pacing of it - there's no need to rush things. And it's strange that I felt bad for the half-zombie woman crawling on the grass. I have never felt bad for a zombie before (in any of the films that I watched) but in this pilot episode, I felt bad for 2 of them (the other being the zombie wife trying to get into the house).


Regarding the scene where the cop finds himself alone in the hospital - it was very nicely done. And it wasn't "28 Days Later" that originated the "alone in the hospital" scene. You can also see it in the 1962 classic "Day of the Triffids". All 3 films did it effectively. I'm sure there are other movies that did something similar.


I noticed that the zombies in "The Walking Dead" walk slightly faster than George Romero's zombies. I'm not one of those fans that debate whether a zombie should run or walk. I'm fine with both so I don't care either way. But I did liked how Frank Darabont's zombies react & walk a little quicker when they see a potential meal. I noticed this with the little girl zombie and the zombie mob in Atlanta. I like to think that it's Frank Darabont (or perhaps it's TWD creator Kirkman) putting his own spin on how a zombie reacts. Or it could be just my imagination.


I'm defintely looking forward to the next 5 episodes.

 

[JonZ]

MattCR,

Lenni James character does return although its supposedly down the line, so people were guessing 3rd season for him to return.




I enjoyed the show and am now curious about the comic book. May have to pick up the TPBs.


Pretty graphic for a TV show. Man TV has changed

 

[TravisR]

I think AMC lets them get away with more violence because it's against monsters rather than humans.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I spent the first chunk of this episode entertaining the possibility that the entire series could just be one long coma nightmare for Rick Grimes. It reminded me very much of the BBC pilot for Life on Mars, in that Grimes was in every scene up until he and Lennie James parted at the sheriff's station. It wasn't until we got the scene with Morgan's target practice from the upstairs bedroom that I put that theory to bed.

Originally Posted by Joe_H

I can't believe they blew a little zombie-girl's brains out in the first five minutes. I'm really curious about the rules for basic cable gore now, because that pilot easily tops Breaking Bad's second episode, in terms of gratuitous splatter.

There are no rules for any cable. The FCC only has jurisdiction over the public airwaves. Any limitations on basic cable are self-imposed by each individual channel based on its image and what its advertisers are willing to associate their products with. I would not be surprised if some advertisers declined to advertise with this show because of the violence and gore. The premium cable stations like HBO and Showtime have a little bit freer hand because they don't have to justify themselves to advertisers, but there's no law preventing stations like AMC from showing and saying anything.


I loved the way they brought Grimes to the point of total isolation and despair, with him ready to drop a bullet in his brain, before finally letting us exhale with the call over the CB radio. He's no less trapped than he was a minute before, but just hearing another human voice makes it all seem bearable. The closing pullout shot from the tank to the sky, presumably the vantage point of the helicopter, was really well done because we got an overview of how the zombies swarm.


I grew up in a house in the middle of a field, and we had ant problems perennially every spring and fall. One spring, it's late at night and I'm feeling a hankering for a snack, so I grab the box of Honey Smacks from the top shelf of the pantry and plop down on the couch in the dark and start eating. The first thing I noticed was that all of the Smacks were clumped together for some reason. After a couple minutes, I noticed this tingling feeling all over both arms. I swipe one arm with my hand and feel things moving. I turn on the table lamp, and black ants are absolutely pouring out of the Smacks box up both of my arms, over my shirt, onto the couch. Just positively everywhere. It's the closest I've ever come to personally experiencing a horror movie moment. Turns out there was a gap in the back wall of the pantry, and they were attracted to the honey in the cereal. The way the zombie swarmed the dead horse reminded me very much of how the ants used to swarm bits of food, until you couldn't see whatever it was under the pulsating black mass.


It also explains why they don't go after each other: they require living flesh, for whatever reason, and their flesh is dead.

 

[Greg_S_H]

That is probably more disturbing than the episode. One time, I was eating from a box of M&Ms and looked down to see they had ants crawling on them. I probably ate an ant or two, but there were just a few in there. To have your entire arm look like Bobby Hill when he was hypnotized by the queen ant is just creepy.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Needless to say, I didn't eat Honey Smacks for a long, long time.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

That's actually one of the reasons I'm so fearful of zombies, they used to be human beings with lives, were probably nice and friendly people with good morals and values and now they're preying on other living human beings with no thought or remorse.


That to me is the ultimate in horror, when mankind turns so horrifically on mankind.

 

[SWFF]

I finally managed to watch the first episode, the movie, and I'm intrigued enough to keep watching for a while to see where it goes. Zombies are my least favorite movie monster, but if done right, and the living characters are compelling enough, I'm pretty much hooked. I actually teared up when that guy sat at his window and tried to blow his undead wife's brains out, but couldn't. Man that was a hard cry he fell into for a few minutes, it seemed so real, which is probably why I myself actually teared up.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Using the Shaun of the Dead-pretend-to-be-one-of-them approach? I like it, plus that whole scene was horrifying to me, I could imagine myself there with them walking amongst the dead and I would have been paralyzed with fear.


This second episode was fan-freakin'-tastic! Rick and Glenn using the guts of a zombie to conceal their living scent was both stomach-turning and ingenius.


These are some proficient zombies! They think, smell, use tools (the rocks and bricks to break the glass), climb chain link fences(!) and go from a slow lumber to almost full gallop when a meal is spotted...yikes!


I wouldn't want to be that poor skinhead bastard right now, he's in deep shit when those zombies find their way to the roof lol.


My only complaint about the show is the commercials, nothing like loud and blaring commercials to completely shatter the tension, can't wait until this season comes to Blu-ray so it can be viewed without interruption.


One last thing I want to point out is the scene where Rick reveals the identity of that zombie by pulling his wallet, it humanized that zombie in a way that I've never really seen before, sure we've seen characters we've come to know and like become zombies, Flyboy in Dawn of the Dead being an example, but I've never seen the identity of a random zombie revealed before and it was actually pretty touching.


Bring on episode three!!

 

[Joey Gunz]

Great episode tonight but I noticed that the audio seemed slightly out of sync. Anyone else notice this?

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Audio was fine here.