The Walking Dad

[SecondTalon]

Really, the title says it all. They're apparently adapting The Walking Dead and putting it on AMC.

I don't know whether to jump up and down in excitement or bemoan yet another comic adaptation fuckup. Because, you know, without seeing any footage or anything beyond listening to the writer/director and executive producer talk, I'm more than qualified to make a judgment on the entire thing and whether or not it's worth anyone's time.. Sure, Robert Kirkman isn't listed anywhere I can see as a writer, but then again, being a comic writer doesn't mean you can write television for a damn.

The Comic's Wikipedia page

[Zohar]

The video cannot be viewed from my location. But that's OK. I never cared too much for Walking Dead, stopped reading it a while ago. Love most of Kirkman's other stuff.

[nataliec]

Here's some pictures if you want to see what it looks like.. so far they've released the zombies and Rick Grimes.
[url]
http://www.fearnet.com/news/photos/b193 ... _from.html[/url] - Rick Grimes
http://www.fearnet.com/news/photos/b19234_first_look_walking_dead_zombie_flesh.html - Zombies

What do you think?

[Mighty Jalapeno]

AMC has a pretty good track record going for it... I am cautiously hopeful!

[folkhero]

New AMC series that will be premiering on Halloween. It's about zombies (if you hadn't already figured that one out), based on the comic book series of the same name. I have a tremendous amount of faith in any AMC original series based on their track record, so them doing a serialized version of a zombie uprising is something I'm really excited about.

Trailer
Other cool video

edit: Wow, I'm several months behind the times. I guess it works as a good bump since it's premiering soon.

[hoggwylde]

I CANNOT wait for this to be out in the UK, whenever that might be. The comics are fantastic and imaginative, and I hope the series follows suit. Saying that, I'll probably weep my way through some parts of it

[Ukamoc]

The premier is tonight on AMC! Everyone. Must. Watch.

[PeterCai]

premier is awsome, the black kid annoys me though, can't wait for the next episode!

[Dhes]

This is a must see for any zombie fan, i’m a bit disapointed with the zombies (not how they are made) i prevure the Max Brooks zombies, these are a bit to intelagent and interact with the suroundings to much.
The series does point out that everyone should know the “The Zombie Survival Guide” by heart

[lemmings]

This is a must see for any zombie fan, i’m a bit disapointed with the zombies (not how they are made) i prevure the Max Brooks zombies, these are a bit to intelagent and interact with the suroundings to much.

You have to have SOME intelligence to be a threat but based solely of the first episode and having not read the comics, the zombies do not appear that intelligent, or at least they are less intelligent than the Romero zombies. They follow humans if they see or hear one and they remember how to turn door knobs, but so far not much else.

If the Brad Dourif zombie is intelligent and begins teaching or leading the other zombies, I will eat my words.

[Endless Mike]

That was a lot better than I expected, but it would have been better if it came out before zombies became passe.

[broken_escalator]

That was a lot better than I expected, but it would have been better if it came out before zombies became passe.

Or if it came out late enough that zombies became ironic?

[Endless Mike]

Ohhhhh....

[thc]

Uh... when did zombies become passe? Every other game on steam is practically a zombie shooter. But yeah, I was a bit disappointed with the pilot, because it was so slow moving. For example, there was this one bit where

Spoiler:

the guy was trying to get himself to shoot his undead wife, but couldn't bring himself to. That's fine and all, but the scene dragged on for 2-3 minutes. He would put down his gun and cry a little, then pick the gun back up, then put it back down. Either shoot her or don't FFS.

However, the cliffhanger at the end was good enough to get me to watch more.

[Xeio]

However, the cliffhanger at the end was good enough to get me to watch more.

Yea...

Spoiler:

I was thinking "Oh, they're going to kill off the 'main' character already? Neat" but instead we get dumbass in a tank. Hrmmmmm

[Nath]

I saw the pilot on Hulu. Liked it, but...

Spoiler:

Didn't really care for the hospital opening. I know it's kind a zombie movie staple, but it wasn't very well executed here. For instance, how come his beard was neatly trimmed? Or, um, why wasn't he dead from dehydration?

Also, the trailer gave way too much away. It was basically a compressed version of the first episode.

[SecondTalon]

Huh. It would appear that it takes the first episode ten minutes to do what the first two pages of the comic did. And the second page was a full page panel.

[Glmclain]

Hated the second episode

Maybe next time.

[SlyReaper]

The second episode seems to have a few more redshirts than the comics did.

[Jessica]

I enjoyed the pilot and the second episode. 2nd ep wasn't as good, but I still liked it.

Can't wait to see where they go with it from here. I'm almost glad I didn't read the comic, so I don't know if it's close or far from the source material. I have the first trade waiting to be read though. Or was that first issue... can't remember. Probably trade.

[Ryom]

The sheriff's deputy's wife (and his friend) aren't cast in a very good light.

Spoiler:

In front of their child, she tells her husband that he doesn't love them
She isn't shown visiting him at the hospital
Neither his friend nor his wife bothered to go check on him when things went to hell
She's already sleeping with his friend, a few weeks in
She didn't leave a note for him in case he managed to get home somehow

[SecondTalon]

Well, she is a bitch in the comics, and is presented as such.

[Xeio]

Huh...

The season premiere is available until 9pm PST Nov. 23. Additional episodes will not be available for streaming on Hulu.

Guess I won't be watching this after all.

[folkhero]

The sheriff's deputy's wife (and his friend) aren't cast in a very good light.

Spoiler:

In front of their child, she tells her husband that he doesn't love them
cant defend that one
She isn't shown visiting him at the hospital
it only shows him drifting into consciousness once, she may have been there plenty, just not when he happened to wake up
Neither his friend nor his wife bothered to go check on him when things went to hell
The hospital may not have been a very safe place to get to. Not knowing the specifics, staying alive for the sake of the kid might have been the right move.
She's already sleeping with his friend, a few weeks in
Not cool, but it's the sort of thing that can happen in stressful situations
She didn't leave a note for him in case he managed to get home somehow
She probably assumed he didn't have a chance of survival, being injured and unconscious at a place full of walkers

[Nath]

Huh...

The season premiere is available until 9pm PST Nov. 23. Additional episodes will not be available for streaming on Hulu.

Guess I won't be watching this after all.

The pilot is entertaining enough as a standalone hour-long zombie movie. Might be worth watching even if you have no intention of watching the rest of the series. Yes, there's a bit of an open ending, but it's not really a giant cliffhanger.

[SurgicalSteel]

The sheriff's deputy's wife (and his friend) aren't cast in a very good light.

Spoiler:

In front of their child, she tells her husband that he doesn't love them
She isn't shown visiting him at the hospital
Neither his friend nor his wife bothered to go check on him when things went to hell
She's already sleeping with his friend, a few weeks in
She didn't leave a note for him in case he managed to get home somehow

Wow, I didn't even realize that was his wife. I must not have been paying very close attention. I don't remember his wife being show at all before shit went down, or the brunette ever being referred to as his wife. I thought that female zombie he killed in the first ep was his wife, which would explain why he went back to put her out of her misery.

[SlyReaper]

It was certainly mentioned that Grimes had a son called Carl. Then we see a boy named Carl in that camp calling the brunette lady "mum".

But yeah, it probably helps to have read the comics.

[Nath]

Spoiler:

Right after they first show the wife and son with the main character's partner, they cut to the guy looking at a family photo. I think that's when you're supposed to realize who she is.

[Xeio]

The pilot is entertaining enough as a standalone hour-long zombie movie. Might be worth watching even if you have no intention of watching the rest of the series. Yes, there's a bit of an open ending, but it's not really a giant cliffhanger.

Well, I posted above, I mean I have seen the pilot. I won't be watching the rest.

[SecondTalon]

It was certainly mentioned that Grimes had a son called Carl. Then we see a boy named Carl in that camp calling the brunette lady "mum".

But yeah, it probably helps to have read the comics.

Possibly, possibly not. The tank thing is all new, for example. So I imagine they're going to deviate somewhat. And the writing is probably going to be made a bit tighter - for example, it's more obvious that Rick's wife is not exactly the most pleasant person and isn't dealing with the new situation very well. As far as her having a relationship with Shane...

Spoiler:

Comics at least have her doing it because she thought Rick was dead and did it in an attempt to get over him. And it didn't work. Shane is not exactly treated well. He also makes bad decisions. And may possibly be suffering an emotional or mental breakdown, which is kinda understandable. I wouldn't say he's a tragic figure, as that implies that we the viewer could see ourselves in his position and I don't think you're meant to at all.

Anyway, cleaning up the writing is fine. Kirkman (the guy who writes the comic) basically made a comic called Battle Pope, which is exactly as awesome and ridiculous as you can imagine, an Iron Man/Green Lantern mashup inspired Tech Jacket... and then started a completely serious, completely straight, no comic goofiness Zombie thing.

So yeah, the writing could probably use a bit of polish, and I imagine they're going to do that.

[Endless Mike]

Kirkman is...not a very good plotter. He's good at quippy characters and such, but in terms of plotting, he's pretty average.

But that's not terribly relevant since the producers said in earlier interviews that they had no intentions of following the comics, since things that work in comics don't necessarily work on TV, and they'd rather not be constrained. That's a *good* thing in my opinion.

[Midnight]

Spoiler:

i thought the bit with the key was the least plausible part of episode 2. there was a hacksaw right there, after all.

[SurgicalSteel]

Spoiler:

i thought the bit with the key was the least plausible part of episode 2. there was a hacksaw right there, after all.

Spoiler:

Are you talking about when they left the ass-hat because the other guy dropped the key down the drain? It would have taken a while to cut through the handcuffs with a hacksaw, longer than he had to get down the stairs and to the truck.

[Ryom]

Spoiler:

He still could have thrown biker guy the hacksaw and given him a chance. I have a feeling we'll see him again anyway.

[SlyReaper]

Spoiler:

The camera shot did linger for a bit on the hacksaw so you can pretty much guarantee Redneck Guy is going to use it to escape.

[Ryom]

Spoiler:

He cut his hand off... seems to me it would have been much easier to go through that tiny chain (or the thin bar the cuffs were connected to). Especially with a hacksaw which has a blade designed for metal cutting... not bone, flesh, and tendon.

[SummerGlauFan]

Spoiler:

Plus, how did he get off the roof? I can't imagine the zombies would have just given up and gone away.

Anybody else notice how they don't call the zombies "zombies?" It's always "walkers" or my favorite, "geeks."

[SlyReaper]

Spoiler:

Yeah, cutting his hand off seems like a barmy thing to do, when he could have cut through the chain probably a lot faster.

I did notice that they're not calling the zombies zombies. It's odd because they did call them zombies in the comics.

[Ryom]

Spoiler:

Not to mention an amputation like that in those conditions would more than likely be fatal. Nothing there was even close to sterile. He didn't even have water to clean it up afterward. Not to mention arterial bleeding. False drama; there were better options available and this one was practically suicide anyway... may have well as waited for the zombies.

You can slip a cuff too. He could have just ripped layers of the skin off if he pulled hard enough or broken some bones to slip through. Neither pleasant, but both workable and a WHOLE lot more pleasant than a do it yourself amputation with a hacksaw.

[SlyReaper]

Well he is a dumb redneck, so I suppose it could be plausible he didn't think of all these better options.