I’ll be honest, over the couple couple weeks I’d grown quite tired of AMC’s ad nauseum marathon of horror movies – but in the end it was all to herald in not only All Hallow’s Eve, but also the premiere of their new original series, The Walking Dead. And for all the protracted pomp and circumstance of airing every single Hallowe’en and Friday the 13th movies, it was totally worth the wait!
Frank Darabont’s interpretation enhances all of the story’s best elements and teases out the emotional angle in a way the bleak black and white graphic novel could not.
The Walking Dead is an adaptation of a zombie graphic novel set in the Southern United States. The main character is a Sheriff’s Deputy (Andrew Lincoln) who wakes up in a hospital bed, recovered from a gunshot wound a month or so into the zombie apocalypse, and sets off to reunite with his wife and son, who may or may not have survived themselves. The zombies in this particular incarnation of the genre are of the slow moving kind, although it would appear that they can be spurred on to a bit of a jog if the meal is enticing enough.
For those of you out there who have read the comic book (and haven’t seen the show yet) allow me to say that the Frank Darabont’s interpretation enhances all of the story’s best elements and teases out the emotional angle in a way the bleak black and white graphic novel could not. There are new elements added in that make best use of the scenario and fill out the the story in multiple dimensions to try to offer something to those viewers out there who are either unfamiliar with the genre, or are willing to give AMC the benefit of the doubt when it comes to creating original programming.
Speaking of which, I was very impressed with the level of gore and explicit violence on a station I don’t even need to pay subscribers fees to. I think that I might have overlooked what Breaking Bad had accomplished and might have to reconsider what Mad Men has been able to sneak on the screen as well… Anyways, for those of you who are wondering whether a TV show can deliver a comparable level of gruesome as its movie counterparts, I say that the makeup effects don’t disappoint, with plenty of headshots, entrails and rotting flesh to go around.
With a healthy mix of human drama and flesh eating zombieness to go around, The Walking Dead has been a resounding success, and I look forward to tuning in every week. What about you?
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I just hope they get their blood spatter graphics up to par. The digital effects aren’t doing it for me. Otherwise, a great show I’m looking forward to.
I’ll admit that their effects might not have been that seamless – but I applaud their efforts to make things bloody while sticking to a TV budget. You’re right though, in a zombie show you’re gonna have a lot of head shots, and they’ve gotta look good.
I enjoyed the season premiere, it’s dark but they find some humor in the situation as well. For the most part, the atmosphere is quite excellent. Looking forward to next Sunday’s episode!
I really liked how they set the tone for the series in the pre-credit sequence (which actually had me wondering if I’d somehow missed an episode). Need my PVR to come up with a compromise with itself so it can record both The Walking Dead and The Simpsons at the same time – can’t we all just get along?
The premier episode had me from when he shoots the first Zombie—not to spoil it but that scene could have been played more safely and pc– based on the Zombies age gender etc –what a way to open the series! Cool!
That being said– I am sure there will be an article on the later episodes which I am not too thrilled with. But a solid first show!
That one scene did more to set the tone than anything else that happened in the remainder of the show. It established so well that not only was the world had been completely transformed on the surface, but that the rules of morality were right out the window too. I recommend you check out the graphic novels to dig a little deeper into what the show’s about and where it’s going for its second season.