The Walking Dead - Season Two (1 Viewer)

[joshEH]

TV Guide just posted the first look at David Morrissey as The Governor:

You already know that Asian guy with the red pants is going to be Glenn's arch-nemesis.
(I'm just wondering right now exactly how Michonne and T-Dog will get along...like, will they have black-people conversations about the stupid white people and all their shenanigans?)

 

[Greg_S_H]

Why even call him The Governor. He looks more like my neighbor Skippy.

 

[TravisR]

Yeah, I gotta admit that he doesn't have the scary look that The Governor has in the comics but I imagine that he must bring an intensity that makes up for it.

 

[ScottH]

I don't know anything about this governor cat, but based on the posts in this thread I was picturing more of an M.C. Gainey type. Or perhaps Clancy Brown... At least give me Danny Trejo!

 

[Greg_S_H]

Your choices sound about right.
I don't think anyone cares enough to hold onto this that long, but I could see this guy coming on as a total scary badass and someone throwing in my face, "Still remind you of your neighbor Skippy? Dumbass."

 

[PhilipG]

Morrissey is a brilliant actor. You have nothing to worry about!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Big (but not altogether unexpected) season three spoiler image:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/image/id/868410

 

[TravisR]

^ I'm very pleased by that.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Fight the Dead. Fear the Living. Walking Dead. Season 3. AMC:

 

[EricSchulz]

I believe Season 3 starts Oct. 14th!

 

[spshultz]

Ohhhh wow!! That trailer was awesome. My Spidey senses are tingling. This may be a really good season.
By the way, since I have Dish Network, how the hell am I going to watch this?

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Based on the date Eric posted above, my guess is that AMC and the satellite companies will have worked out their differences by the time this airs.

 

[Stan]

Talked with DISH Network a few hours ago about this and they said it could affect a lot more companies than just them. Apparently AMC is trying to force all the companies to buy ten other channels and raise their rates to match. DISH said no and I don't think I've had AMC for almost six weeks now.
Mad Men I can live without, but I mentioned that I certainly hope it's worked out before Walking Dead comes back.
Sounds like it might because AMC looks like it's going to lose a load of revenue if they keep it up and doesn't sound like DISH or any of the others are going to back down. Even if they don't DISH is offering a discounted price to customers who want to watch online. Maybe that's what AMC is pushing for, but still doesn't look like a good financial decision.

 

[mattCR]

Yeah, quite a few of these nets have resorted to bundling; it's not that they have increased their ask for station A, it's that they've said "in order to get A, you have to carry B-H" and that doesn't work out for a lot of carriers who don't want that expense.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Another big issue is that content providers' profits have increased in recent years, while the carriers' profits are flat. On top of that, most of the carriers' customers have had pretty stagnant wages in recent years and theirs is a luxury commodity; when it's a choice between the cable bill and the mortgage, the TV channels go. All of which means the carriers can't pass on the increases to their customers like they did in the past. And because the dish companies sign long term contracts (I believe DirecTV's just-expired contract with Viacom was for seven years), they find themselves paying well below the current market rate. I believe the cable companies were paying something 30 percent to carry the Viacom stations than DirecTV. All of this means that you're going to see more and more contract standoffs between the carriers and the content providers that go into real hardball mode and interrupt real programming. The carriers have always been too afraid to call the content providers' bluff before. If Dish gets decimated by dropped subscriptions as a result of losing AMC and DirecTV gets decimated by dropped subscriptions as a result of losing MTV/Nick/etc. then expect future carriers to cave early. If the satellite companies' numbers hold up pretty well, expect the fear of God to be put into the content providers. Nick's primetime ratings dropped nearly 40 percent during the first week of the DirecTV blackout, and Disney Channel's ratings have soared. The danger for Viacom, AMC and the like is that viewers decide they can do without them and their viewing habits change. Then they're losing eyeballs they might never get back.

 

[Stan]

The danger for Viacom, AMC and the like is that viewers decide they can do without them and their viewing habits change. Then they're losing eyeballs they might never get back.
Interesting comment Adam, never really looked at it that way, just always assumed AMC and others would break down and the channels would return.
As there is only one AMC program I'm really interested in, my viewing habits probably would change, I could easily do without them. If it weren't to much of a hassle to get "The Walking Dead" another way I'd probably try, but if it were a major pain in the ass, I could easily do without. They'd certainly be losing my eyeballs.
Hopefully this all works out soon, but now it looks like there could be some major changes in the future as everybody fights for revenue.
I certainly wouldn't drop DISH because somebody else carries AMC, but I guess we sit back and see who wins the war.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Originally Posted by Stan /t/315396/the-walking-dead-season-two/480#post_3950330
The danger for Viacom, AMC and the like is that viewers decide they can do without them and their viewing habits change. Then they're losing eyeballs they might never get back.
Interesting comment Adam, never really looked at it that way, just always assumed AMC and others would break down and the channels would return.
As there is only one AMC program I'm really interested in, my viewing habits probably would change, I could easily do without them. If it weren't to much of a hassle to get "The Walking Dead" another way I'd probably try, but if it were a major pain in the ass, I could easily do without. They'd certainly be losing my eyeballs.
Hopefully this all works out soon, but now it looks like there could be some major changes in the future as everybody fights for revenue.
I certainly wouldn't drop DISH because somebody else carries AMC, but I guess we sit back and see who wins the war.

Looking at the current Viacom standoff, I don't watch any of those channels and I would hate to see my cable bill go up because of a huge price increase. I also don't watch AMC, and if they were dropped I would just pick up Walking Dead on BD (which I do anyway) and maybe watch online or just wait. Its USA TNT TCM and Discovery that I can't do without. Its nice to see carriers pushing back, because for years they just said OK and passed the costs on. I'm not willing to absorb any more costs and I don't need any more channels than I have.

 

[Stan]

I'm with you Adam G.
AMC I can live without, but I watch a lot from TNT, USA, Discovery and a few others. TCM I rarely watch any longer, habits just change. But if the providers really start being jerks and prices go way up, I'll definitely learn to live without them.

 

[Walter C]

I have DirecTV, so it does not affect me, but if my carrier dropped AMC, I would find alternate ways to keep up with the shows, like The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, and patient enough for the DVDs of Mad Men.

But getting back on topic, just finished watching the 2nd season of this show, and have to say, this season was a mixed bag. I kind of got bored with the 1st half of this season, but towards the end of the 2nd half, I thought it got really good. I don't care for zombie movies, but still like watching this show.

The trailer for 3rd season looks very promising, as I hope for improvement from the 2nd season.

 

[Stan]

Walter, just be patient, if whatever corporation runs AMC tries to screw DISH then DirecTV and others can't be far behind.
As with you, I would find other ways, even if it means waiting patiently for the DVDs. Although if they start losing their audience from these greedy business practices, may not be enough cash around to produce DVDs or even continue the show.
Never saw season 1 and didn't even begin watching until mid-season 2 so maybe I came in at a good time. Will definitely check out the older stuff I missed.