The Walking Dead (AMC Series)

[ttdestroy]

Originally Posted by james0246

But, I urge the graphic novel readers to not spoil the fun for the television viewers. It's more than fine to compare and contrast the Atlanta Arc from the comics to the screen, but do not go beyond the Atlanta Arc without using appropriately labeled Spoilers Tags (In fact, try not to spoil the series at all).

Thank you sir, you just saved me a load of heartache.

Did they mention what happened to Merle in the episode? I missed about 5 mins in the beginning.....

[Ending]

Spoiler for The Atlanta Arc:

Honestly, I think episode 5 was the worst so far, ignoring how they left that criminal in episode 2 alive. After seeing how that woman pointed a gun at Rick for the second time, for no reason whatsoever, I was sorely disappointed that I had to watch that bitch's face for almost half of the episode. Yea, I hoped she would had been bitten. She is obviously a danger.

Another thing that annoyed me to no end was the note they left to the criminal. I'm almost sure that in one of the future episodes, when he inevitably comes back to haunt them, he brags how he killed the family who stayed behind -a little before his brother kills him. Way too predictable.

Spoiler for Extreme Spoiler for the Atlanta Arc, read at your own risk... ADDED BY JAMES0246:

Then there was the fact that the director took the easy way out from killing the second cop, who was shot by Rick's son in the comic. By doing this, they demoted the boy to a more generic role and proved that the main cast will most likely survive. On the other hand, killing him so soon after the attack would had been bad pacing, so I would had simply skipped the scene in the woods.

As a cherry on the cake, their entire group kept bickering during the whole episode. It's not something I enjoy watching, so I'd prefer if they split the group and focused more on the survival. Rick was being particularly stupid when he started shouting right next to the zombies, in a situation he had caused, and the only thing that saved them was dumb luck.

The thing about Rick talking to the phone was confusing. In the comic, he talks to the phone because he believes his dead wife is at the other end, but that isn't going to happen in the TV-serie. So what's up with that? Is he having flashbacks or something?

I urge the graphic novel readers to not spoil the fun for the television viewers.

Really? Oooops. You can only blame yourself now, not only being in a topic about the serie, but also reading hidden text.

Damnit, James, get off my neck. I already used spoiler tags. Stop kicking people out from these boards and giving me infractions for this shit. At least add your name where you are editing other people's posts.

[james0246]

^I agree, leaving the notes and directions left on the side of a car was particularly silly. They obviously know Merle is still out there (somewhere), so why they would leave directions to their next base is a little stupefying. I certainly understand the sentimentality of the action, I just find it foolish.

That being said, the next episode will end the season, and hopefully the Atlanta Arc, and considering how AMC lets their shows go for the risky and tough to handle stories in their other television dramas, I wouldn't be surprised if the comic ending manages to find a way into the ending of the season.

Whatever the case, I find this to be a very good adaptation.

[Lost Cause]

I on the other hand, refuse to read the graphic novel until the series is well ahead of the books beginning! I don't want it to ruin the show for me.
The stink of if is having to wait 6-12 months till it returns!

[Royal_Devil]

Spoiler for Comic Spoilers:

Kirkman himself admitted that he rushed killing Shane out of fear of cancellation.So instead of dwelling on anything he hurried the story forward. He's actually glad the TV show has the hindsight to actually keep Shane in longer and develop the dynamic between him and Rick. some details may change but I think ultimately Shane will go out the same way he did in the comics

[Dilla]

The entire ‘Walking Dead’ writing staff got fired.

The Walking Dead writer/executive producer/director Frank Darabont has let go of the writers on the hot freshman AMC series, which has already renewed for a second season… Writer turnover on series between seasons is commonplace but wholesale overhauls are unusual. What’s more, I hear Darabont is looking to forgo having a writing staff for the second season of Walking Dead altogether and assign scripts to freelancers.

Darabont… ended up writing 2 of the first season’s 6 episodes of Walking Dead – the pilot and the second episode – and co-writing/rewriting the other 4. Two of those 4 were written by non-staff writers, one by executive producer Robert Kirkman, on whose comics the series is based, and one by Glen Mazzara.

[Lost Cause]

^So in other words Darabont and Kirkman did most of the writing right? Seeing how well the series did in such a short run and with only 6 shows in it's first season, I'd say stick to what's proven to work! But it is rather unusual to fire the entire staff though. I hope this doesn't diminish the second season.

[james0246]

Personally, I think this is good news. About 10-15% of any given episode is fairly...well pointless. No, that's incorrect. It is meandering. Yeah, that's the word. Some of the dialogue, especially in the odd number episodes (besides episode 1), is very clunky, and some of the character decisions make little sense (for example, the Latino/Hispanic family splitting off to go to Birmingham makes absolutely no sense (that father and mother proved they hate their children)). So, I am all for a mix-up in the writing pool.

Using just freelancers, though, does not work. The pacing would be completely destroyed by not have a writing staff that constantly works together to ensure continuity. Just using the hodgepodge collection of writers that Darabont had at hand proves that lacking a proper writing staff creates pacing problems that can be detrimental in the long run.

Whatever the case, I am eager to see who will work on the next season. Hopefully many of the directors will stay the same (though a mix-up in for some of the camera/stage crews could be beneficial), and some other AMC directors will take part in the action.

[germanturkey]

well, i'm willing to bet that the CDC doc is some kind of evil doer. its labeled tissue sample (TS), and we clearly see the cells going from normal looking to black, spiky and virus infected. so i think the TS is actually human tissue that he harvested. that, and you can see the stuff burning through two layers of his gloves, which makes me think he may be at risk for being infected.

[-Sho-]

Ep 5 was slow. Yeah , i agree too for the note on the car... Merle will see it. I think too that the doc is infected. The end with the light reminds me UFO coming to kidnap you lol
I predict that Shane and Rick will fight later. Damn he badly want to kill him...

[Lost Cause]

Originally Posted by germanturkey

well, i'm willing to bet that the CDC doc is some kind of evil doer. its labeled tissue sample (TS), and we clearly see the cells going from normal looking to black, spiky and virus infected. so i think the TS is actually human tissue that he harvested. that, and you can see the stuff burning through two layers of his gloves, which makes me think he may be at risk for being infected.

I agree @germanturkey! I think that because of his screw up (the decontamination bit where the lab was "purged" by fire) that he'll start experimenting on the suvivors!
Also there exsits the possibility that the group might be able to re-arm with military weapons, namely M-4s.

[james0246]

^Re-arming is fine, but let's face it they need to flee not fight, so new guns shouldn't be even close to their main concern.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by Lost Cause

I agree @germanturkey! I think that because of his screw up (the decontamination bit where the lab was "purged" by fire) that he'll start experimenting on the suvivors!
Also there exsits the possibility that the group might be able to re-arm with military weapons, namely M-4s.

What I, and many, many other people want to know is... Why have we not seen M4's or AR-15s until now? Why are weapons and ammunition in such short supply? This is Georgia for crying outloud. Practically everyone has a half dozen firearms or more. Some people could outfit a militia just with their own stock.

[james0246]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

What I, and many, many other people want to know is... Why have we not seen M4's or AR-15s until now? Why are weapons and ammunition in such short supply? This is Georgia for crying outloud. Practically everyone has a half dozen firearms or more. Some people could outfit a militia just with their own stock.

It has been 63+ days since the world started to end. So, it's possible that the initial survivors collected their weapons and ventured forth in to the world, only to use up their ammo and die (or just die in an inconvenient area where their guns and ammo couldn't be reached easily). Or maybe they escaped to someplace better...

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by james0246

It has been 63+ days since the world started to end. So, it's possible that the initial survivors collected their weapons and ventured forth in to the world, only to use up their ammo and die (or just die in an inconvenient area where their guns and ammo couldn't be reached easily).

To put it another way, the current crew has 300-400 rounds of ammo between all their guns (does that seem reasonable?; remember they gave away 40% of their stock). So, at best that is 100-150 dead zombies (due to missed shots from the non-Hunters/Police in the group, etc). We’ve already seen at least twice that number just wandering around. And, since the Zombie virus is a constant threat, even if you kill all the Zombies in an area, your own crew still could turn into a Zombie, continuing the virus. Etc.

Long story short, in the real world I’d not expect to find ammo just lying around, even if I were to go to a police station or an area known for collecting guns and ammo (a military base?...maybe).

But, this is getting a little to close to being off-topic...

I've got 12,000 rounds of ammunition for all of my guns. I own about 20 guns myself, and hope to double that in the next 10 years. I also live in California where guns and ammuntion aren't as easy to come by, as say the South(where you can own fully automatic weapons in some states). I also know, that there are thousands upon thousands of people who have a much larger collection than I have.

Even if the world started to end 2 months earlier, or even 6 months earlier, guns are not going to be in short supply in a state like Georgia. There's something like 200 million legal firearms in this country. Those that are smart enough to survive an apocalypse with vehicles, will not have a shortage of weapons to defend themselves with.

And no I'm not saying that you'll just be able to find ammo lying on the ground where ever you go like some video game, but at the same time, the average southerner who's surviving an apocalypse, will be in a much better situation firearm wise, than say someone in NY or CA. And why are we basically only seeing handguns or shotguns or bolt-action rifles? Where are the AR-15's, the AK-47's, the M1A's, the M14's? Or the M1 Carbines?

I haven't read the comics that this series is based on, but I and quite a few others, believe we don't see them, is Hollywood trying to stay clear of the Evil Black Rifles, or other firearms like them.

[james0246]

^That still doesn't address the point of the people using up their ammo or dying. You can have a 12,000 rounds, but if you use 1,000 a day (constantly defending your home instead of fleeing (and constantly drawing more Zombies to your home since you're using a gun)), then you'll only last 12 days and then you’ll die or flee (btw, if you do flee early on, it would be impossible to bring all the ammo, unless you wish to for go food, clothing, water, etc).

Additionally, when has any of the crew had time to actually enter a building to look for ammunition/guns? The only way to actually look for supplies is in groups, and even then, as we saw in the 2nd episode, that can end very badly.

That being said, where's the drama (and excitement) if the crew has a 100,000+ rounds of ammunition? In the end, this could simply be a moment where you have to suspend your disbelief to appreciate the drama of the situation.

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by james0246

^That still doesn't address the point of the people using up their ammo or dying. You can have a 12,000 rounds, but if you use 1,000 a day (constantly defending your home instead of fleeing (and constantly drawing more Zombies to your home since you're using a gun)), then you'll only last 12 days and then you’ll die or flee (btw, if you do flee early on, it would be impossible to bring all the ammo, unless you wish to for go food, clothing, water, etc).

Additionally, when has any of the crew had time to actually enter a building to look for ammunition/guns? The only way to actually look for supplies is in groups, and even then, as we saw in the 2nd episode, that can end very badly.

That being said, where's the drama (and excitement) if the crew has a 100,000+ rounds of ammunition? In the end, this could simply be a moment where you have to suspend your disbelief to appreciate the drama of the situation.

If I'm fleeing in a vehicle, you're damn tooting I'm taking all of my ammo. They're in two medium sized boxes and would take all of 2 minutes to throw in the extra cab of my 4x4 truck. Leaving plenty of room for guns and supplies and whatever else I'd decide to bring a long.

It would just be a bit more realistic if for once in a zombie show/movie we would see Civilian versions of Combat rifles and not just the stereotypical Remington 7 series bolt-action hunting rifle, pump 12g Remington shotgun, and a couple of revolvers/semi-auto pistols in a group of a dozen or more people.

[james0246]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

It would just be a bit more realistic if for once in a zombie show/movie we would see Civilian versions of Combat rifles and not just the stereotypical Remington 7 series bolt-action hunting rifle, pump 12g Remington shotgun, and a couple of revolvers/semi-auto pistols in a group of a dozen or more people.

Can't really argue with that. I don't expect the show/comics would be nearly as fun if they used "real-world" logic, but you are correct that scores of people have loads of guns and ammo...

[justinstrife]

Originally Posted by james0246

Can't really argue with that. I don't expect the show/comics would be nearly as fun if they used "real-world" logic, but you are correct that scores of people have loads of guns and ammo...

I'm just asking for one or two AR-15's and M1A's for crying outloud. Not a militia full of weaponry and ammo. Is it too much to ask for in a zombie program Hollywood?

[james0246]

Originally Posted by justinstrife

I'm just asking for one or two AR-15's and M1A's for crying outloud. Not a militia full of weaponry and ammo. Is it too much to ask for in a zombie program Hollywood?

Think of it in terms of the drama and excitement. For example, the best experience in Resident Evil 4/5 was the first major fights where you only have a pistol and the chance of finding a shotgun laying around. . In the end I guess this is simply different viewpoints on the matter (btw, I don't see this as a Hollywood "conspiracy" )...

Whatever the case, the group is in a pseudo-military facility now, so there should be some upgrades that could be used.