AMC's The Walking Dead Season 1 Discussion & Spoilers

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Dream, Oct 30, 2010.

  1. Dorian Thompson

    Dorian Thompson Admiral Admiral

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    I thought so, too, especially after rewatching it this past Sunday. Also, Shane was definitely interested in the wife before the epidemic. He might not have done anything about it, but he was interested. He tenses up noticeably when Rick is talking about what Lori said.
     
  2. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    Maybe the comic is but it's too soon to say if the show will be. That said, the characters in the show haven't been all that impressive so far outside of the Lennie James character in the pilot. They're going to need to work on that.
     
  3. Jack Bauer

    Jack Bauer Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    The Walking Dead is one of the 2 best shows of the Fall season. The other one would be Terriers on FX. "Frogs" was on the low key side but really done well. Merle's breakdown in the opening teaser was awesome as was Shane's beatdown of the wife beater. Unfortunately the guy is going to take it out on his wife later on. That's how those wife beating assholes roll. I hope he becomes Zombie food.
     
  4. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    This obviously goes well beyond AMC's regular audience, and I don't think any of them think of this as sci fi (beyond the fact that most of the common people don't know the difference between sci fi and horror). People are tuning in for the Zombie Apocalypse.

    Bones uses futuristic technology and scientific research to solve crimes. For a show that is real SF in the sense that the story is about the effect of extrapolated science on people or society, you'll only see random examples of that in some old anthology shows.

    Post-Apocalyptic fiction is sci fi like Godzilla is sci fi. But you're probably right about seeing more of it; post-Apocalyptic shows would definitely fit in with the current Zeitgeist.
     
  5. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

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    It's not "too soon" to say that at all. 1) This show is on AMC. 2) Read some of the interviews Frank Darabont has given regarding the show.

    I love Terriers.
     
  6. Snaploud

    Snaploud Admiral Admiral

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    At its heart, sci-fi is about "what if?" Post-apocalyptic fiction answers a rather important "what if?" question about how individuals would or should react to the collapse of society. The concept is no more and no less sci-fi than anything done in space.
     
  7. label

    label Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Of the 3 best shows. Fringe by all accounts has been awesome this season. And agreed, Frogs wasn't as intense as the last two but still very well done. Glad the ratings are so high for this show.....there's very little quality TV out there nowadays.
     
  8. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    Well, we'll have to see.
     
  9. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Technically true, as I said, just as Godzilla answers "what if atomic testing woke up a big-ass monster." But when people go to see a Godzilla movie, they go to see big-ass monsters, and when they tune in to Walking Dead, they tune in to see Zombies. Nobody is saying, "Gee, 2001 rocked, I think I'll check out Walking Dead." :D
     
  10. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    Why people want to pigeon hole what sci-fi is is beyond me. Who cares?
     
  11. Canadave

    Canadave Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ... but it's still science fiction. It doesn't have to have aliens and spaceships to be sci-fi.
     
  12. Cutter John

    Cutter John Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Its more SF than half the crap Sy-Fy shows.
     
  13. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Because words have meanings. :rommie:

    Are you reading what I write? Technically it may (or may not) be sci fi, but nobody at AMC is going to say, "Wow, Walking Dead is very successful-- let's do a show based on The Songs Of Distant Earth."
     
  14. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It's more good than any of the crap Sy-Fy shows which is the real point. :rommie:
    Any of them? Are you telepathic? :rommie:

    We should allow that longtime arbiter of mass market TV taste - TV Guide - to decide this. This week's issue is coincidentally about sci fi. The Walking Dead is listed; oddly, Bones is not. Are you calling TV Guide a liar?!? :eek:

    Of course, the likes of Supernatural and Vampire Diaries are also in the article, which just goes to show that the mainstream perception is that fantasy and horror are subsets of sci fi. Like it or not, that is how sci fi is now popularly used among those who don't give a flip about fine distinctions such as whether vampires should be in the same category as zombies. To the average person on the street, of course they're in the same category. The average person on the street has better things to think about, such as whether to get a caramel double mocha latte or go for peppermint this time.

    Is the point of the series to explore sci fi concepts? Then it's "real" sci fi, as real as it gets on TV. Is the point of the series to solve crimes? Then it's a cop show with sci fi window dressing. Is the point of the series to do that UST thing between two attractive leads of opposite genders? Then it's a cop show/soap opera with sci fi window dressing.

    I have a strong hunch exactly which of those statements is the truest.

    Now you're skipping over what the audience things to how network execs decide which shows to do or not to do. And they definitely do pigenonhole shows, broadly into "real world" vs "speculative fiction" (sci fi/fantasy/horror). The success of a speculative fiction series will bolster faith in the whole category.
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2010
  15. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    No, that's not the point. Quality is independent of genre.

    Well, okay, the vast majority then. It's Zombies. It's Horror. Except, of course, to the extent that everything above the level of Roseanne is sci fi to the common people.

    I would never do that! I always consult TV Guide when I want to know what the lowest common denominator is thinking. :D

    There you go right there. To the mundanes, it's all sci fi in that sense; that's why you see Science Fiction and Horror all mixed up in bookstores, video stores and on On Demand.

    No, of course it's a cop show, with sci fi trappings (and too subtle for most people to notice). My point was that it's more sci fi than Walking Dead is.

    Sure, that's why Twilight inspired the CW to do a series based on Jack McDevitt's Priscilla Hutchins books instead of Vampire Diaries, and why HBO is showing The Adventures of Daneel Olivaw instead of True Blood. ;)
     
  16. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    Oh, bullshit, you pull this crap too often. Stop trying to use YOUR tastes to decide what is and what isn't science fiction. It's very tiring. If it has speculative fiction in it then it's sci-fi according to most people's definition and since art isn't an exact science you just have to go with the majority when it comes to "genres."
     
  17. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    No, I don't. If the majority is wrong, then they're wrong. I'm not going to lower my standards just to fit in. This is why words exist: To communicate information. If I'm in the mood for a cheeseburger, I don't ask for a cucumber sandwich; and when I'm in the mood for Asimov, I don't ask for Lovecraft. They are different, and there are different words to describe them.
     
  18. sidious618

    sidious618 Admiral Admiral

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    Then why don't you tell us what sci-fi is and isn't?
     
  19. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Once again, the point goes zooming right over your head. :rommie: The amount of watchable genre shows - or any shows - on TV is so miniscule that I'll gladly watch a sci fi show that you can call fantasy or horror or a rutabaga. Quibbles about terminology may be briefly amusing but in the end, of no importance at all.
    Right, so I guess you are telepathic then. You don't have a flippin' clue how many viewers categorize the show in this or that way, or any way. What a load of unadulterated baloney! :rommie:
    The mundanes = the vast majority of viewers. So most viewers do think of a zombie show as "sci fi." You just invalidated your own argument! :rommie:

    Not according to TV Guide, and TV Guide knows all!
     
  20. Starbreaker

    Starbreaker Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    A good show is a good show. I don't care about the terminology.