AMC's The Walking Dead Season 1 Discussion & Spoilers

[Dorian Thompson]

Because to me, I thought the point of the very first conversation Rick and Shane have before Rick gets shot was to telegraph that Shane is actually more what the wife is looking for anyway.

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.

[sidious618]

PsychoPere wrote:

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You should give up now, then, if you want a show focused on zombies because this isn't going to be what you want. The Walking Dead is all about characters.

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.

[Jack Bauer]

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.

[RJDiogenes]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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It's both sci fi and horror, and might help out both genres. I don't think AMC's audience are tuning in for sci fi or for horror - they're tuning in for a well-made series. AMC isn't big on genre shows so why would their audience expect it?

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.

I've never seen Bones but I can't think of anything on TV that qualifies as "real" sci fi and I never expect to. Caprica was the closest attempt - at least it was a story centered around sci fi ideas, instead of being some other genre, such as a cop show or action show, with some sci fi window dressing.

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.

Snaploud wrote:

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I'm sure it will open the door for more post-apocalyptic fiction (which is basically the larger genre trend of which zombies is benefiting from right now), and that's sci-fi...

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.

[PsychoPere]

sidious618 wrote:

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Maybe the comic is but it's too soon to say if the show will be. [...]

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.

Jack Bauer wrote:

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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.

I love Terriers.

[Snaploud]

RJDiogenes wrote:

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Post-Apocalyptic fiction is sci fi like Godzilla is sci fi.

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.

[label]

Jack Bauer wrote:

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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.

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.

[sidious618]

PsychoPere wrote:

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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.

Well, we'll have to see.

[RJDiogenes]

Snaploud wrote:

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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.

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."

[sidious618]

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

[Canadave]

RJDiogenes wrote:

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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."

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

[Cutter John]

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

[RJDiogenes]

sidious618 wrote:

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

Because words have meanings.

Canadave wrote:

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

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."

[Temis the Vorta]

Cutter John wrote:

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

It's more good than any of the crap Sy-Fy shows which is the real point.

This obviously goes well beyond AMC's regular audience, and I don't think any of them think of this as sci fi

Any of them? Are you telepathic?

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?!?

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.

Bones uses futuristic technology and scientific research to solve crimes.

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.

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."

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.

[RJDiogenes]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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It's more good than any of the crap Sy-Fy shows which is the real point.

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

Any of them? Are you telepathic?

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.

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?!?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.