AMC's The Walking Dead Season 1 Discussion & Spoilers

[Temis the Vorta]

Silvercrest wrote:

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I would make a comment about this being a zombie thread, but I'm above that sort of thing.

All TWD threads are hereby immunized from accusations of zombitude.

PS, anyone who's caught up w/S1, here's the part that still gets me:

I had the episode still on my DVR where Shane describes finding Rick in the hospital, listening for a heartbeat and hearing none, and reasonably concluding that he was dead, and leaving him behind. He hears gunfire in the background, but said it wasn't loud enough to have muffled a hearbeat.

I replayed that scene, and Shane was right - the gunfire wasn't loud, and he still should have been able to hear a heartbeat. Also, when you put your ear to someone's chest, you should be able to feel a hearbeat as well. I think Rick was actually dead at that point, and for whatever reason (unique genetics? maybe some medications he had in his system at the time?), he resurrected via the zombie virus without becoming a zombie. Now that would be a radical plot twist!

The biggest problem would be ammo supply. Every soldier would run quickly through his basic load and the Rodney King riots teach us that the National Guard doesn't keep that much on hand for a Red Dawn/Battle:LA scenario. And even with one shot one kill you would just get one city block full of zombies and from there its hand to hand with swords being in short supply. Pure physical fatigue against an unexaustable enemy would soon enough see any small army overwhelmed.

What about the ammo/gun supply in private hands (50% of all US households own a gun), gun stores, sportings good stores, Wal-Mart, etc? And all projectile weapons, from crossbows to rocket launchers, need to be taken into consideration. The survivors would have everything produced by society at their disposal.

How long does ammo last before it goes bad (does it ever?) My hunch is that the ammo would be less of a worry than the food supply. Even canned goods won't last for years.

[stonester1]

Not if the heartbeat is sufficiently reduced. Got a guy, in a hurry, adrenalin pumped, not only has loud gunfire going on, but has been in the middle of it, so hearing might be deadened...

As far as ammo goes, how long it last depends on how it is stored. Protected from the elements, it can last for years. But...there's not only the issue of expenditure, but having the right ammo available for the weapons you have.

If a zombie plague went on long enough, requiring long term survival amidst it, probably for awhile, fortress towns would form, with walls, guards and strict control of entry. If they were lucky, they could produce their own ammo, and would probably restrict the type produced, to maximize humbers.

[Temis the Vorta]

My theory of what the writers intended in that scene comes from the fact that they matched what Shane said about the gunfire (not loud) to how they actually produced that scene (with gunfire that was not loud).

They could have had the gunfire be loud, and therefore cast doubt on Shane's story. What's the purpose of having Shane tell that story at all, really? Just to create angst with the love triangle? I think there's a larger agenda afoot.

I don't recall Shane saying his hearing had been deadend. If the writers wanted us to know that detail, they would have included it in the dialogue (perhaps having another character mention it as a possibility, or show Shane being exposed to a very loud sound right before the hospital scene). Ditto about a reduced heartbeat, although I'm not sure how they could have dramatized that notion one way or the other without destroying the ambiguity in Shane's story.

[watermelony2k]

stonester1 wrote:

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Not if the heartbeat is sufficiently reduced. Got a guy, in a hurry, adrenalin pumped, not only has loud gunfire going on, but has been in the middle of it, so hearing might be deadened...

As far as ammo goes, how long it last depends on how it is stored. Protected from the elements, it can last for years. But...there's not only the issue of expenditure, but having the right ammo available for the weapons you have.

If a zombie plague went on long enough, requiring long term survival amidst it, probably for awhile, fortress towns would form, with walls, guards and strict control of entry. If they were lucky, they could produce their own ammo, and would probably restrict the type produced, to maximize humbers.

There might be more of a demand for crossbow and arrow production. Reusable and more more resource availability. Like our friend Darryl!

[Temis the Vorta]

Seems like it would take less effort to whittle a stick to make a reasonable crossbow arrow vs producing a bullet (at home? I have visions of Colonial housewives pouring metal into little round molds by the fireplace but I guess it's more complicated nowadays?)

[Star Wolf]

stonester1 wrote:

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As far as ammo goes, how long it last depends on how it is stored. Protected from the elements, it can last for years. But...there's not only the issue of expenditure, but having the right ammo available for the weapons you have.

If a zombie plague went on long enough, requiring long term survival amidst it, probably for awhile, fortress towns would form, with walls, guards and strict control of entry. If they were lucky, they could produce their own ammo, and would probably restrict the type produced, to maximize humbers.

There is something else to consider, ammo is heavy Rick or anybody else could only carry so much the weight would make you as slow as a zombie. A city block of apartment in Atlanta would have somewhere around the hundreds of units with thousands of potential zombies. I know America is supposed to be gun crazy but every shot has to be a head shot. Those bullets which are heavy to carry won't last long as soon as you leave your fortress for food, water, looking for your mate....you are one firefight away from being unarmed.

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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Seems like it would take less effort to whittle a stick to make a reasonable crossbow arrow vs producing a bullet (at home? I have visions of Colonial housewives pouring metal into little round molds by the fireplace but I guess it's more complicated nowadays?)

For a M16, you would probably blow your hand off if some random surviving housewife or Deputy Sheriff tried I imagine the same poor outcome. So far I haven't seen any hardcore survivalist, shooters, hunters.. on Walking Dead

[MilleniumLance]

^^^ you can never go wrong with a very long pointed stick

[Temis the Vorta]

Lure em into a house and set the house on fire!!! With lots of gasoline. BIG fireball!!!



Okay I know that some may object because you need that gasoline for your vehicles. But how long is it going to be until the tires on your vehicles - and in all the stores - start to decay to the point where they're not usable?

You're going to have to switch to horses sooner or later. Might as well start having fun with the gasoline.

[MilleniumLance]

^^ WTF is wrong with you... xD

[Morpheus 02]

Hey -- can someone help me find the posts by the user who claimed he was going to write a book that would show how the whole Zombie thing would work in "real life" (i.e. it's not a virus)...he posted severl times, but i didn't find it after scanning several pages.

i am curious if he ever wrote it...if so, it'd be a great banner ad to have!!!

[RJDiogenes]

No problem. Here you go.