Genres

Visitors Review

Caps Fan 2012-05-25 12:08:29

Maybe TV CAN do this sort of thing

These comments are based only on the first season, with the secondabout to air. It's possible some of these comments will soon be out ofdate. Never mind.In my recent review of the BBC's new version of "Survivors", Icomplained that "Films do this sort of thing better". Then along comes"The Walking Dead", an excellent show from AMC that goes a long waytoward proving me wrong.The basic scenario is the same as "Survivors" and other films or TVshows of the genre. The world is devastated by a plague, leaving onlyfew survivors to pick up the pieces and try to start again.I think the reason this show works better than "Survivors" did is thatit always keeps the main focus firmly on the plague. Personal issuescrop up – of course they do – but they take second billing, with theplague and its effects firmly at the top of the bill.Performances were mostly good. I was amused to see an Englishman,Andrew Lincoln, cast as a southern deputy named Rick Grimes, but hepulled it off. Jon Bernthal was also good as his sidekick and I evenhad a sneaking liking for the redneck Daryl Dixon, played by NormanReedus.One gripe, however. The plague in question is a zombie plague and themain business of the plot opens with the hero waking from a coma in adeserted hospital that bears clear marks of recent chaos. Can anyonesay "28 Days Later"? On the whole, though, a great effort. I hope thesecond season will keep up the good work.Rating: 8/10.

jazzamind 2012-05-25 02:36:41

BORING....not scary...lousy effects....

Well I feel like I am the only one who does not think this is any good?I thought the effects, especially the make up on the zombies , was bad,and not scary at all.The pace of the show is way too slow for my taste .I consider myself a horror movie and I really wanted to like this butto me is just felt they put zombies in the show; 'LOST",which I alsothink is boring and lame...I was really looking forward to this...I am very disappointed ....Not scary at all....

tags_skeewee 2012-05-24 00:29:51

For the people who have not read the comics

YES, there are plot holes, but the comments about the show not havinganywhere to go have obviously not read the comics, the story is aboutthe PEOPLE, and as we know people on a whole tend to be unpredictableand you never know what they will do, so the plot can go on and on forhowever long the writer wants to keep writing just like any soap opera.If you plan on doing an autopsy on the story line, don't waste yourtime watching because the ongoing story has plenty to question andexamine and ask why?? but anyone with half a brain should know that theanswers to 'why' questions can be a million and one, so does it reallymatter as long as its entertaining.

Clint Wardley 2012-05-23 07:48:25

Hey I love this show.

Yes it is a Zombie soap opera and yes there are often more talk thanzombies, but lets face it, they are trying to avoid the walking dead. Ienjoy the tension within the group that makes the show, the zombies areimitator of the drama, not the protagonists. If they made the show withzombies as the central point it would not last the 1st season. I havenoted most reviewers who hate this show are die hard zombie freaks.But they miss the point, its not about the dead, its about the livingand what you must do to survive while holding onto your humanity andcivilization. My only complaint is that the writers DO make thecharacters make a lot irrational decisions to create tension.So here is my hints to the writers to improve the series and help theircharacters survive.1. When going into a unknown building, room or area , have yourcharacter yell out loudly "You there Zom!", before they walk in. Thatway no walking dead will come out from behind the door they alwaysforget to look behind.2. Big tip, we know the character can only see what is in front ofthem, but get them to look left and right AND especially behind a lotmore. The walking dead ALWAYS come from behind apparently.3. When you drive into a new town and you are not sure where thewalkers are. Sound your damn car horn. Don't park a long way down thestreet, making no noise, walk into a house make some noise and thenrealize "OH the town is full of walkers!!?" 4. Fortify your livingarea. This is not happy holidays. Set up trip alarms, create barriersto slow walkers down. When you are staying in a house with porches allaround, don't just board up the windows, put up a fence further out,that way the walkers can be eliminated easily.5. And finally, when one of your characters comments that the ammo islow, its time to scavenge for some more and not go and just get babyformula.Like I said I love the show and feel the tension, but please writerssave my couch from a beating when I hit the arm rest when a charactermakes another dangerous stupid decision. It would get a 9 out 10instead of 7 from me except for this flaw.

Mike 2012-05-22 10:34:31

Fresh, realistic zombie horror

The series has stunning cinematographic qualities, not a wonder sinceFrank Darabont (director of 'Shawshank Redemption' & 'Green Mile') hasbeen behind it, actors play their parts well which allows us as viewersto develop a connection with the characters, zombies look realistic(most of the show's budget probably goes to make-up department),locations are well-thought out to the single detail and as I saidbefore - the storyline is really, really engaging and doesn't go overthe top.Despite mostly outstanding plot there are minor continuity errors andthe dialogue does get cheesy at times, but the cheese could not havebeen avoided since the show is intended for an American audience. Thebiggest problem of all is the CGI/blood splatter (especially in Season2), which can be accredited to the show's decreased budget. It does notspoil the watch-ability of 'The Walking Dead', however this willhopefully be something they will improve on in the later season(s).This show is hands down the best one currently on air (sorry, House)and it's not likely that will change anytime soon. If you haven't seenit yet make sure to catch up in time for season 3.

Marco Freire 2012-05-22 07:05:03

Pilot was good, but don't think it will last long

>>>> EDIT > 1ST REVIEW - 02/11/2010 > Future of the show? Well, lets face it! They don't have many placesto grab in the plot to make a great story. What will they do? Barricadethemselves in a building and shot the brains out of all the zombies inthe world? Well they became zombie probably because of a mutated virusor similar like "I am legend" movie or even "Resident evil". Yes, theywill eventually discover a cure for the illness, but that will probablyhappen in the end of the show. What else? Probably some guy loved onewill be bitten and convert into a zombie, well... lets face it...itwill surely happen! Military will show up and lock humans for research?There aren't a lot of things that can happen. Zombies are slow, havealmost no strength and a easy kill, harder to kill if they are ingroups but still doable, unless the virus mutated and appear a superzombie that can go trough wall and runs like a cheetah, if that happensthey are going out from the old-school zombie series into a "Residentevil" look alike world. Well at least the show "probably" wouldn't beshot down....If you were looking for a mass killing, brain blowing, blood squirting,body parts flying horror-action-drama show, you found it. Well not yetsince the only thing that happened in the 1st episode was head shotsand a single use of a baseball bat. The mass killing, blood squirtingand body parts flying will surely come in the future episodes! At leasti hope it does, or the show will suck!I don't expect a great history in the future episodes.

peace63 2012-05-21 11:26:38

Dead Promises and Wilted Roses

This series started out with a lot of action and entertainment value,and it delivered a lot of drama and too much endless sentimentality andmourning. Then it all went cheap and low budget. The main charactersfound a farm where the zombies rarely visit, and a family that had anice big home and electricity. So much for the action, adventure, andentertainment value. The second season has been deadly boring. A bunch of misfits stuck on afarm while they search for the little girl who became a zombie. Theyare all constantly engaged in boring and petty bickering. The farmfamily wants them to go, but they are too lazy to go out and find theirown farm. So they just stay and bicker with each other. Why won't anyone leave on their own? They can get free cars, gas, food,etc., from the abandoned towns on the side of the road, and yet nobodyjust leaves this toxic group.For a while, every episode involved characters searching for the littlegirl, and finding various types of zombies. Even that got boring, sinceafter the first couple of days (or weeks in terms of episodes), it didnot take a genius to guess, that the 8 year old girl that got lost inthe zombie woods was not coming back in one piece. It seems like they are milking the farm set for as much as they canget, and after a few episodes, watching the farm girl making out withthe Asian guy gets boring. Watching the bad cop hitting on his bestfriend's wife gets to be distasteful. You would think the cop buddywould have figured it out by now. The old lady whose daughter got killed never stops complaining, and thewhole show seems to be about a bunch of unhappy and annoying characterswho are also miserable and difficult people. These characters are notthat interesting even in spite of a zombie war. They over-play the "we're just average working people caught in aterrible situation" routine. There is only so much drama, depression,over-sentimentality, empathy, guilt, and mourning that you can milkfrom a bunch of bitter people who spend all their time rememberingtheir dead friends and family, and upset about their current hardships.

motorcyclemonk 2012-05-20 18:14:41

Average and somewhat entertaining....

I'm not sure why this series has such a high rating. I've seen a fewepisodes now and I think it's rather poorly thought out, very genericand the writers have a very limited grasp of human psychology.It's entertaining to watch. I'll not sit through many more episodesthough, as it does not reflect in my opinion how people under suchadverse situations, would survive or react.The premise is unrealistic. The best some of the survivors could do isput a caravan in a totally defenseless position with no obvious escapeplan or barricades? In fact so far there is no one smart enough to setthemselves up in a well fortified enclosure? As far as zombies go, theyare slow, extra stupid and very easy to kill. There is no feasible waythey would have spread so rapidly and for that matter, be so prolific.Look to the zombies from 28 days or I am Legend etc if you intend towrite a story and have it believable...I find it difficult to relate to any of the characters. They areinconsistent and uncharacteristically stupid - Second episode the sillywench walks into the forest unprotected and without a weapon of anydescription to collect mushrooms? WTF and how the hell did she lastthat long if she had such a huge death wish! Another writers fallingthere, merely to add suspense when it's otherwise lacking.Continuity is not there from the beginning. The main character is shotin the upper torso and shoulder. Then for the remainder of the seriesit's in a very different location... continuity bothers me anyway...I gave it 6 because it is well shot. The props, costumes and citieslook great and I'm fond of zombies movies/shows in general. Just don'tthink this is one of the better ones.Thanks for reading my rant.

Jordan Dunn-Parrant 2012-05-20 15:41:23

Ironman?

Amazing as a book; Lends itself very well to adaptation as a TV series.However, I was left bitterly disappointed. On it's own, I would havethought it was a great show. But as an TV version of the GraphicNovels, I feel cheated of what could have been epic. For example, something every fan of zombies can relate to, the girl atthe beginning. She picks up a bear, showing recognition of her pastlife. However, when Tyreese's daughter dies in the Novels, she tries toattack him, prompting Rick to mention there is nothing left of her.More specifically, the character of Morgan. In the novels he isapologetic, makes sure Rick is feeling better, and is genuinely verytrusting of him. Also, there is NO mention of a wife |edit|it is nowknown that he DID in fact, have a wife, but this is only revealed inthe 13th volume|/edit|, which becomes a massive part of the pilot. Inthe series, however, he comes across as downright aggressive, a traitwhich is not picked up at all throughout the novels.Another qualm is the fact that he takes up most of the episode with hissaga, but in the novels is only in it for about five pages.Many things were also added that ruined the potential for epic, such aswhen he is shot TWICE (by a third outlaw, who is not the ONE escapedcriminal in a PARKED pick up truck from the novel). This, I feel, wasdragged out. He should have blacked out, and woken up in the hospital,as was done (very well, might I add) in the Graphic Novels, rather thanthe whole episode with Shane.It also misses out his encounter with the Zombies in the cafeteria,which is a far better first encounter with the Walking Dead than themangled rendition of the helpless zombie on the grass by the bike.Shane and Lori, also, were put into their relationship far too early.First mention of it occurs AFTER Shane's death, and is shown to be moreof a one-off than what it is portrayed as on television.Sorry for the fan-boy rant, but this is serious business to me.

katkennedy2009 2012-05-20 05:12:18

Friggin excellent....

After reading most reviews on here I am glad to see most people havethe same opinion.. that this show is the dogs B****x!! The onlydownfall is too many adverts whilst it's on.. I am really hoping thereis a lot more to come from this TV series. Also that they have thesense to get it out on DVD in the future. I have read one review with acomment saying they felt the acting was poor. I am failing tounderstand this comment as I feel the show has some great actorsplaying some great characters! I do think this show has the potentialto become a massive hit. Makes a change to have a decent Zombie show onTV. Sure makes a change from all the Vampires...

Terry-lee Thurlow 2012-05-17 20:59:36

the greatest masterpiece of zombie film ever!!!!

based off of the comic book series of the same name and brought to youby the genius mind of Frank Darabont who directed the shawshankredemption and the green mile, the walking dead is the biggestmasterpiece of the zombie genre i have ever seen.the majority of zombie movies nowadays go for straight up gore andhorror and having a simple plot of 'survive' but the walking dead hasso much emotion, character development and beauty about it that it justshines among the rest in the zombie genre.the story follows Andrew Lincoln as sheriff deputy Rick Grimes who isshot on duty and falls into a coma. he wakes up to find the hospitalabandoned, his wife and son missing and the streets rife with the dead.he meets Morgan and his son who go to the police station where rickworks, take weapons and ammo, after which rick heads to Atlanta werehis wife and son might be.The emotion in the walking dead has brought a few tears to my eyeseveral times. one of the most notable is in the first episode whereMorgan is shooting zombies with a sniper rifle and sees his wife amongthem. He tries to shoot his wife twice, but cannot bring himself to doit both times and you really feel his pain.The only thing i found slightly disappointing is the zombies movementon discovery of there dinner. instead of the slow shuffle they do somesort of slow jog. Like i said its only slightly disappointing anddoesn't at all mess up the rating at all. i loved it and cannot waitfor season 2.

salmanr_66 2012-05-17 01:47:52

just zombies,zombies,zombies, nothing else

The first season of this TV series was good.But after that the Excitement(Zombies) was repeated and repeated andrepeated in all of the episode. It just zombies.We cannot find new event. If zombies deleted from this TV seriesnothing remains for it. After first season it was a boring TV series for me. Sometime i startedto fast forward. The zombies and drama cannot be together in a serial.Finally i think the season 1 is 9 but season 2 is 7 . If continue justwith zombies it might even go lower. Season1 9/10 Season2 7/10Totally 8

bdawe14 2012-05-17 02:12:55

omfg

This show just gets better and better I'm not a comic fan and havenever read the comic but some of my all time favorite movies are zombiemovies dawn of the dead 04, 28 days and 28 weeks later are all immense.Without a shadow of a doubt this show is equally as good as anythingI've seen in this genre. Following the stories of the characters atevery twist and turn, watching all of their highs and lows keeps meglued to the screen. The latest episode at the barn finished with oneof the biggest OMFG moments I've had watching a TV show since findingout who the cylons were in the new bsg or the episode baelor in game ofthrones (I didn't see that coming either btw thats simply awesome ifyou haven't seen it already go watch it now I mean NOW you can finishreading this later). Truly awesome I love this show well done toeveryone involved the cast and crew and writers are spectacular. Loveit!!!

Shawn Churchill 2012-05-16 22:15:11

The Walking Dead: It's Alive!

The show chronicles a group of survivors living day to day in theaftermath of a zombie apocalypse with one goal in mind: to escape fromthe walkers to a place where they do not roam. Sheriff Rick Grimes, theunofficial leader, guides this diminutive group of survivors as theystruggle with the walking dead and what remains of the Earth'sdesperate living populace. Together, this group believes it can survivehowever evident dissension among the humans (along with gargantuanhordes of walkers) threatens to devour them all.Adapted from the horror comic book series of the same name written byRobert Kirkman with art done by Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, TheWalking Dead, despite its name is surprisingly and impressively human.The TV series is a movie-quality cinematic drama about humanity beingplaced in an impossible situation: living while fighting the undead. Inthe vein of 2009's Zombieland, an American comedy blockbuster featuringa deceased scourge overtaking the world, the Walking Dead's terrorizing"walkers" serve as plot devices too. So, The Walking Dead is smartlyand dexterously driven by its characters, not the living dead.Likewise, creator Robert Kirkman had this to say about The WalkingDead: "To me the best zombie movies aren't the splatter fests of goreand violence with goofy characters and tongue in cheek antics. Goodzombies movies show us how messed up we are, they make us question ourstation in society, and our society's station in the world. They showus gore and violence and that cool stuff too, but there is always anundercurrent of social commentary and thoughtfulness." AMC's TheWalking Dead depicts an unrelentingly gritty aftermath of a zombieapocalypse and the human beings left, struggling, battling to neverlose hope or their own humanity in the process. The magnanimous cast ofcharacters (some pigeonholed, some not) along with each of theirindividual yet dissonant complexities adds to the inclusive gravitas,timbre, and emotionality of the fictional post-apocalyptic reality. Acharacter focused psychological narrative with zombies...? Pinch me!

straty02 2012-05-16 03:53:39

Brilliant

I always appreciate it when a TV/movie sticks to the original version,a comic book in this instance. If you love the comic book series (whichI do and have read every issue printed) you will no doubt be hookedimmediately. I always enjoy a good zombie film but they always lackedthe really good storyline found in The Walking Dead comic.Before anyone thinks 'ok this guy is just another zombie fan', for therecord, my wife watched episode 1 with me, she hates zombie films anddoes not understand why I like them. After watching the first episodeshe has become a fan.A warning however - there are scenes of graphic brutality and gore soif you are easily offended this is not for you. I think that becausethe storyline is so good the punchy scenes really have a lot of impactunlike some zombie films that are very boring due to their overusedgory scenes and little story.Episode 2 cant come quick enough for me

OuroborosEpisteme 2012-05-15 20:40:36

The walking dead delivers

If you are a fan of the original comic or of the zombie genre or justgood horror television then you have to check out this show. This isnot a campy zombie show. It is very gory and this will certainly turnsome people away but it gives those who love the genre exactly whatthey want. There are plenty of zombie movies out there and some arevery good, i.e. 28 Days Later or Cemetery Man, but many are plot-lessand pointless. The Walking Dead definitely falls into the former groupand it is refreshing to see some real effort put into a horrortelevision show. This is actually fairly rare as Tales from the Cryptand Masters of Horror are the only good horror shows that I am awareof. I have only seen the first couple episodes but it looks to be verypromising for the seasons to come. The production quality is top notchas is the acting, directing, and plot. I highly recommend that youcheck it out if you haven't already.

Shankru_Spam_Begone 2012-05-13 20:00:58

Completely Non-Frightening .........

Put simply, this is possibly the worst addaption ever created. Thatmeans a lot too, especially when you look at the name of the man whomade/directed this, and all the great movies he has made like theShawshank Redemption, and the Green Mile. I wont get into pettydetails, but basically the show starts off strong, and just getsextremely stupid as it goes along. With a whopping six episodes thereis no room for character or plot development either. Instead ofsticking to the original storyline, they add new and annoyingcharacters, while important characters from the books almost have nopart in anything that happens like they should. I know this sounds meanand crude but come on! This was just awful. I've seen some real badzombie movies but this one just sucks. It goes nowhere. It had a realnice premise too. Zombies in the woods and there ain't no way out?Creepy. This movie? Not at all.I cant believe some of these people gave this movie 4 - 5 stars! Theonly thing good about it was how lumberjacks turned into zombies. Thezombie shooting game/gate was a total copy of the 2008 remake versionDay of the Dead.

jkcanewton 2012-05-13 05:26:38

Worth Paying To See

First of all I like zombie movies, but who doesn't? There have beenmany movies about the living dead that I found dumb and not worth theprice of admission to see in a theater. Then there are others that Icouldn't wait to come out on DVD. Then you have those that I would buya ticket in advance to see on the Big Screen.I know that The Walking Dead is on TV, but lets get to the gist of thisreview. I would pay good money to see this at the theater. This has agreat storyline and great effects. This is A+ television. There aren'tmany TV episodes I would pay extra to see, but if I had to I woulddefinitely pay for this show. AMC has really outdone itself and I wouldfind it hard to find anything this good on TV at this time with thiskind of pizazz. Thanks AMC and I hope you keep coming out with qualityTV like this.

Andy 2012-05-11 21:09:05

I Like The Show Despite The Terrible Writing And Awful Characters - Spoilers!

Like so many people before me have pointed out, there are just too manyplot holes and things that make no sense for me to rave about thisshow...although I will say right up front that I do like it.Why? Zombies are the only thing that I truly fear. The thought of azombie apocalypse terrifies me to my core because I believe it couldhappen.As an author I find the seemingly intentional lack of intelligence bythe characters (and parts of the plot) deplorably maddening.Also am I the only person who sees far too many similarities to thefirst episode of this show and the movie "28 Days Later?" Man wakes upin a hospital bed out of a coma (and at least in 28 Days Later the doorhad been locked from the outside and the key thrown under the door intothe room to spare the hero being eaten) and then he's saved by twostrangers...etc, etc.The only difference is that at least in 28 Days Later they explain howthe end of the world happened. We get no such explanation in TheWalking Dead which is infuriating. Even if the writers made the reasonan overused cliché, that's better than nothing! I also can't stand theway the characters act. It's the end of the world, so let's take offinto the woods/hills/mountains/quarry and camp out without much in theway of weapons, food, etc.Oh and while we're at it, let's just continue to act like thelosers/mundanes/whatever we were in real life as we obviously can'tthink past our cotton candy existence and realize that we need to throwon our big girl/boy panties and accept that the end of the world as weknow it has happened and we need to toughen up and have a healthy doseof what it means just to survive.Once "life" has been re-established in a secure environment (whichisn't going to happen overnight) then we can sit around and talk abouthow much we miss our modern conveniences.Like another reviewer said before me, I could nit-pick this show todeath but I REALLY DO want to enjoy it so while I despise the terriblewriting/lack of real plot and unrealistic characters (though with theway the world is today they might very well be how people would behave*shudder*) I will continue to watch it.I'll just end this review by saying this...if the end of the world doeshappen and the dead walk again...I vote to NOT have ANY of those"survivors" anywhere near me.I have a feeling the workload (as in shooting, killing the zombies andactually trying to survive) would be terribly one-sided and while I'mall for pulling my own weight...I'm not for taking up another's slackbecause they can't deal.

brunetteinfl 2012-05-11 02:54:24

Not Disappointed At All....

As someone who has watched both good and really bad horror films, Iwould have to say this one has been great so far. It has a reality toit..just enough to make it rise above something cheesy and cheaply puttogether. The beginning makes you want to keep watching...as you aren'tsure what happened to cause all the rampant chaos that slowly itrevealed to you as the main character begins to asses his situation. Hereacts as most would..thinking it is some kind of weird dream...or inhis case...he is still in his coma state...but he isn't at all. Theworld as he knew it has changed while he was gone. The slow addition ofnew characters was good too...not too much over-crowding right away soyou get to know each character a little more. It reminded me of amini-series on a few years ago...written by Stephen King...where agovernment research place accidentally released a deadly virus into theair and it killed people in a plague-like manner. Not zombie-like...butalong the same lines. Average people changed...some becameheroes...some became worse that you could imagine. Anyway...this newshow looks like something quite different...finally...after all theover-load of reality junk and stupid non-humorous sit-coms. Writerswith some real intelligence and imagination. I hope to continue towatch the series as it continues. I can tell it will be a hit withdie-hard sci-fi fans and disliked by those who don't like anything thatrequires them to think a little out of the box. Oh well...that is whatthe remote control is for. Change the channel and find somethingmindless to entertain you in some other way. Meanwhile...I am ready forthe next episode.