The Walking Dead Season 3

[RJDiogenes]

Cutter John wrote:

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I have to confess I FF'ed through the scenes with Maggie and her sister, immediately followed by Maggie and Hershel. To me thats the sort of thing that made season 2 such a drag at times. Yes we know, they're sad. Theres no need to have one tearful, heartfelt scene followed immediately by a second one with another character. It gets tiresome and wears the vewer out.

This is what makes the show worth watching for me. It's the zombies themselves that get tiresome quickly, like in the season premiere.

[DarthTom]

AMC must be pleased as shit with this. They now command ad rates only second to Sunday Night football.

Ad Age

The cost of ad packages for the third season of AMC's "The Walking Dead" -- a dark, violent series about survivors making their way against hordes of zombies in a surreal, post-apocalyptic tableau -- hovered between $200,000 and $260,000 earlier in the year, according to two media buyers. And the network has been seeking as much as $375,000 for packages from so-called "scatter" advertisers who buy much closer to air time, according to an executive familiar with the tone of advertising negotiations surrounding the show.
Those figures suggest marketers value "The Walking Dead" almost as much as they do some of the most expensive programs on prime-time broadcast TV.
That's partly because total audiences for first-run episodes of "Walking Dead" this season have come in between 9 million and 11 million people, reaching milestones normally reserved for the broadest of TV's scripted fare -- along the lines of "Modern Family," which reached 12.2 million people last week, according to Nielsen, or Grey's Anatomy, with around 9.7 million.
The reach of "The Walking Dead" this season among viewers from 18 to 49 and men from 18 to 34, moreover, is proving "really only second to football at this point," said Brian Hughes, senior VP and audience analysis practice lead at Interpublic Group's Magna Global.
Advertisers appear willing to pay all but football-like prices for the program. At even $200,000, a package of ads around "The Walking Dead" is priced higher than a 30-second spot in such well-known boob-tube offerings as CBS's "NCIS:LA," ABC's "Revenge" or Fox's "Bones," according to Advertising Age's annual survey of prime-time ad costs. And a $375,000 price tag is more than most marketers pay for 30 seconds in any show on broadcast TV except NBC's "Sunday Night Football" -- which commands a whopping average of $545,142.

[Sindatur]

Wow, seems we'll be having Walking Dead for some time to come. And at least the first Episode, if not the second episode's ratings were without DTV

[RJDiogenes]

That's pretty amazing. I wonder what the appeal is to the majority of viewers-- the zombies or the quality of the writing and performances?

[theenglish]

I think the popularity may have something to do with how original the idea is for a television series. We have never really had a zombie story outside of the movies before and even most movies spend minimal time dealing with the long term effects on the survivors. It is a fascinating concept that is well executed.

[JD]

RJDemonicus wrote:

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That's pretty amazing. I wonder what the appeal is to the majority of viewers-- the zombies or the quality of the writing and performances?

It's the writing and performances for me. I've honestly never really been that into zombie stories, but I love TWD.

[Enterprise is Great]

Sindatur wrote:

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Wow, seems we'll be having Walking Dead for some time to come. And at least the first Episode, if not the second episode's ratings were without DTV

I read that the producers are aiming for a 7 year run. I wonder if the ratings keep up if AMC will demand more than 7 seasons.

[TREK_GOD_1]

Scout101 wrote:

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Good episode, although questionable tactics. Before rushing into the prison (once they took the field), why not just lure more of them to the fence, and stab most that way? They seemed excited to rush in and do it while under attack. After that, they should have ALL had a shield, as well. When the enemy can only fight hand to hand, having a riot shield seems like an obvious call.

It was an obvious call, not just for protection against zombies, but violent humans, too. The group should have picked up every shield in sight, adding to their defense.

And then in the hallways; why are we fighting in the dark tunnels, and sneaking around? Get to a nice big room nearby (with an escape, or a watchtower), and just make noise. We've shown they will come to you, let them do it. Don't sneak around waiting to be ambushed...

Well said, but TWD falls into the same poor scripting traps as many horror films: illogic is the order of the day, few believe in safety in numbers (particularly when outnumbered by zombies), and have no problem moving headlong into a situation they know little about (prison corridors).

It is false drama, and after more than 40 years of cannibal zombie films, there are certain survivor behaviors which need to be retired.

[TREK_GOD_1]

[QUOTE=MPH;7151875][QUOTE=Alpha Romeo;7150969]

Spooky Cat wrote:

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I know he died in the comics but its a shame they killed him in this too as it would of been good to see him deal with the current affairs although he did get really irrational and annoying especially with all that Lori crap, they should of got rid of her.

Her? Why? Shane was a murderous animal unfit for any world--with or without zombies. As an allegedly adult male, he had the power to drop his stalker emotions toward Lori the second Rick joined the group. But that would be the thought process of a rational mind, not a self-centered, violent mind.

Let's not forget his turning Otis into a nighty-night snack to save his own ass. Let's not forget he commited that vile act because of he thought that he was helping Carl--but that too was motivated by his idiotic fantasy of being a father to the kid and winning "sacrficial hero" credits with Lori (echoed in his final face-off/conversation with Rick in season 2).

Lori is not perfect, but Shane was a mess, killing when ever it suited him (wounding Otis may as well have been a lethal shot, considering the intended outcome, and then, there's the prisoner he murdered), plotted to kill Rick, and lied like he was getting paid to do so.

One way or the other, characters like that cannot survive the long haul in a zombie situation, as they generate too many enemies (his open hatred of Daryl and Dale), leaving the door open for death from any number of sources.

[TREK_GOD_1]

Gotham Central wrote:

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On top of that, Rick was perfectly willing to let them stay and even risked his life and that of his people to try and help THEM create a safe place in the prison. Instead it became abundantly clear that Tomas was going to try and kill Rick the first chance he got.

Clearly. How anyone can turn Rick's act of genuine self preservation into being Shane 2.0 or a crazy dictator is kind of odd. Tomas could not be trusted, and was increasingly advesarial. Come on! He's a convict, so he does not necessarily earn the benefit of the doubt, and at the first chance, he proved he was not long for the world (Tiny's execution).

[RJDiogenes]

theenglish wrote:

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I think the popularity may have something to do with how original the idea is for a television series. We have never really had a zombie story outside of the movies before and even most movies spend minimal time dealing with the long term effects on the survivors. It is a fascinating concept that is well executed.

I hope so. But originality doesn't always translate to popularity-- in fact, it probably seldom does. And we've had post-Apocalyptic shows before. And WD isn't just popular, it's amazingly popular. Very strange.

JD wrote:

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It's the writing and performances for me. I've honestly never really been that into zombie stories, but I love TWD.

Same here. I hope that's the reason for the show's success-- too often, quality is punished and moronic crap rewarded.

[wissaboo]

TREK_GOD_1 wrote:

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Clearly. How anyone can turn Rick's act of genuine self preservation into being Shane 2.0 or a crazy dictator is kind of odd. Tomas could not be trusted, and was increasingly advesarial. Come on! He's a convict, so he does not necessarily earn the benefit of the doubt, and at the first chance, he proved he was not long for the world (Tiny's execution).

I was referring more to the ongoing theme last year of Shane accepting that the world had changed and they had to adapt or die, and Rick (and Dale) insisting they had to hold onto their the rules of modern civilized life in order to stay human.

[theenglish]

[QUOTE=TREK_GOD_1;7167613][QUOTE=MPH;7151875]

Alpha Romeo wrote:

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Her? Why? Shane was a murderous animal unfit for any world--with or without zombies. As an allegedly adult male, he had the power to drop his stalker emotions toward Lori the second Rick joined the group. But that would be the thought process of a rational mind, not a self-centered, violent mind.

Let's not forget his turning Otis into a nighty-night snack to save his own ass. Let's not forget he commited that vile act because of he thought that he was helping Carl--but that too was motivated by his idiotic fantasy of being a father to the kid and winning "sacrficial hero" credits with Lori (echoed in his final face-off/conversation with Rick in season 2).

Lori is not perfect, but Shane was a mess, killing when ever it suited him (wounding Otis may as well have been a lethal shot, considering the intended outcome, and then, there's the prisoner he murdered), plotted to kill Rick, and lied like he was getting paid to do so.

One way or the other, characters like that cannot survive the long haul in a zombie situation, as they generate too many enemies (his open hatred of Daryl and Dale), leaving the door open for death from any number of sources.

I agree with most of what you have said.

I think that in the real world Shane was just a normal guy. He may have lusted after his partner's wife and he may have had fantasies about killing people who made him angry, but I am sure that these are emotions and thoughts that many people probably have.

In the normal world, he was able to control these feelings and live within the bounds of common morality and the law. In the zombie world, once society's norms of limiting violent behavior is gone, these feelings become increasingly difficult for him to keep in check.

[Gotham Central]

Interesting Ep. For a second I thought that they were going to spend some time developing the idea of the Governor as a potential "good guy." NOPE!

Plus...does anyone else think that the unnamed black guy that keeps watching Michonne is going to turn out to be the introduction of Tyresse?

[Enterprise is Great]

The Governor is one fucked up in the head son of a bitch...keeping zombie heads floating in aquariums? And sitting there staring at them? What a sick fuck.