Fear the Walking Dead Season 1 discussion and spoilers.

[Ryan8bit]

And that no one really expected they were looking at the end of civilization or something that required gluing yourself to the TV to learn more about. And that by the time they did realize the situation was serious, the government and media were gone and there was no more information to be gotten.

Rioting across the nation along with reports of violent cannibals seems like something that's more important than what most people focus on. I mean, right now you can have a guy that kills a lion get national attention, and of course riots in Baltimore, etc, get lots of people's attention despite that there's not nearly as much damage there, and on such a wide scale. I think the above comparison to 9/11 would be apt too. The death toll in the first few days would certainly be a lot higher, but not enough for the news to stop broadcasting.

Realistically there is no reason for these characters to have missed the news. After Cal was run over, they tried to listen to the radio, but there were oddly no reports of it, as Nick noted. But they didn't try anymore after that. Why not? It just doesn't add up and points toward what I said, that the writers don't want to elaborate on the outside world to aid in their plot. They wanted to keep these characters in the safe zone naive, even if it didn't make sense.

Well, look back to the original Night of the Living Dead

I think it was able to avoid it because it was a different era of communication and a rural area. They didn't have to get into specifics really. And the Dawn remake didn't really explain much either. Yeah, they had some news reports, but that was really it. Of course, those movies don't have the luxury of time that a series has. I was kinda hoping for a slower burn in the first season of FTWD, although I guess six episodes makes things limited. I wasn't expecting things to be so close to where TWD started by the end of the season.

 

[Tom]

Just curious, why were all those Zombies locked in the stadium in the first place? The military was killing any Zombie they saw on site. Why would they all be locked up in there. Seems like it would be potential hazard. I'm surprised the military did not fire bomb the stadium to eliminate a big threat like that.

 

[Ryan8bit]

I think the idea was that the stadium was supposed to be a safe zone, but the infection started spreading through there rapidly. They couldn't tell who was who and didn't want to just kill everybody, so they locked the doors. It's a pretty poor move on their part. They probably could've taken care of the rest from the air.

I wonder if there were still any people alive in there. There had to be some box seats or various rooms that people could've holed up in.

 

[sojourner]

Hehe, so maybe releasing the zombies in the stadium saved some people that were holed up in those various rooms. They finally had a chance to get out.

 

[Tzenkethi]

I think the stadium was used in the very beginning, before episode one, as a refugee center. One for people fleeing states decimated by the zombies. The army might have tried to contain the undead thinking they were just sick but in the end the situation got out of control so they sealed them all in.

 

[Ryan8bit]

Hehe, so maybe releasing the zombies in the stadium saved some people that were holed up in those various rooms. They finally had a chance to get out.

Well, that is if all the zombies left. I'm not sure if all of them would've been by the doors or not. If people were holed up, they may have been sticking around those areas.

A stadium wouldn't be a terrible place to stay though. I'd imagine there are a lot of provisions there (food, water, medical supplies) to help last for a while. If they cleared out the stragglers, that wouldn't be a bad place. Well, at least until the governor came.

 

[kitik]

Regarding the stadium zombies easily overrunning the army, and where the rest of the zombies are, keep in mind that 10 days earlier, there were far fewer deserters, so the army was at "full strength". This was the last batch of soldiers left, and they were just waiting for that last helicopter out of Saigon. It's not hard to imagine that the army of 10 days earlier was a stronger force. As for the other 10 million zombies, yeah, I'm sure they're somewhere. They're probably all walking around Disneyland or something. We heard that army guy say something to the effect that his unit killed 83 zombies, so there are obviously a lot more left.

As for the boat cgi, yeah, it didn't look perfect, but I wonder if that was partly intentional. The yacht we actually get in season 2 might look a bit different, as they figure out what they need and what they can use when they're actually filming the episodes.

So if you're the type of person who'd get upset about that, light your torches and get your pitchforks ready.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Realistically there is no reason for these characters to have missed the news. After Cal was run over, they tried to listen to the radio, but there were oddly no reports of it, as Nick noted. But they didn't try anymore after that. Why not? It just doesn't add up and points toward what I said, that the writers don't want to elaborate on the outside world to aid in their plot. They wanted to keep these characters in the safe zone naive, even if it didn't make sense.

...and not making sense to the audience is what hurt this series. You can only avoid natural human reactions--like the news and social media's round the clock coverage of cannibal zombies--for so long before it leads to the deserved criticism seen here and on other boards.

I think it was able to avoid it because it was a different era of communication and a rural area. They didn't have to get into specifics really.

It was specific enough to have:

1. the radio announcer report people being devoured.
2. the TV reporter a theory about a possible, space probe related cause.
3. the TV reporter revealing the president's cabinet, FBI, CIA and Joint Chiefs meeting (but not providing public information).
4. The guest detailing how to dispose of bodies, otherwise they will rise again.

That was an encyclopedia's worth of information compared to the absolute avoidance of media coverage and official positions in FTWD. There's no excuse for a film released in 1968 to cover its realism bases better than a story that is set in an era where it is impossible to escape coverage of everything--from what some Twitter clown is doing at the moment, to serious events.

And the Dawn remake didn't really explain much either. Yeah, they had some news reports, but that was really it. Of course, those movies don't have the luxury of time that a series has.

It was more than anything seen on FTWD. DOTD '04 at least had a clip of a representative from the CDC claim they "did not know" what was the cause, to global incidents of chaos / zombie attacks, to the lead character's (Anna) hospital scenes referring to bite attacks, and of course, the TV reports with the sheriff (Tom Savini) leading the burning of zombie bodies.

That's (probably) not more than 5 minutes of screen time, but the attacks, acknowledgement of the dead rising, fall of society and reactions were covered to successfully establish that world. Meanwhile a series with over 6 hours--and is set at the very beginning of the ZA does not even pay lip service to the "what / when / how," but dedicates much to domestic nonsense and the misadventures of a self-serving junkie.

I wasn't expecting things to be so close to where TWD started by the end of the season.

It's forced to be that close thanks to avoiding the cause and illustrating the rise of the dead / official response, which we know would take center stage in the lives of everyone, whether they were working to solve the crisis, or simply did not want to become a victim of it.

As others predicted, the series is pretty much at the start of TWD, so it is just The Walking Dead: Los Angeles.

 

[PKerr]

I looked forward to FTWD because it was a brand new canvas, something familiar but new, I absolutely LOVE TWD but in the same token I know what is sort of going to happen because I'm an avid reader of the comic and have been before the show started.

In my mind FTWD was going to fill in the missing pieces of another area of the country in the time frame between Rick Being shot and him waking up in the hospital and the fall of society.
We got teases of the fall as soon as he walks out, we see the hospital that was obviously damaged in a major battle we see the aftermath of said battle with bodies wrapped up everywhere but you also see military equipment abandoned with very few dead soldiers around, you are left with the mystery of "Gee how did that go down, I would loved to have seen that". Then we see a city that we were told was supposed to be a safe zone now completely over run with more abandoned military equipment, we get flashbacks of the military dropping napalm and of them slaughtering Doctors, nurses and civilian patients, why would they do that, what was so bad that made that their only option? It sure would be nice to see all that unfold.

We then see the CDC grounds completely overrun in a last stand type scenario and the lone surviving occupant inside tells us all hope is lost, it's this way EVERYWHERE, which only adds to the mystery.
Throughout TWD we see abandoned FEMA camps, military safe zones, the whole shebang but we never see any of it go down.

We are then told by TPTB that they are going to do a companion show that is a pre ZA setting, YAY we finally get to see all this go down!!!
but what do we get? Junkies, Monopoly, boats and biggest of all Theater of the Mind....Ughhhh.

I have lost all faith in these writers and I'm becoming more and more convinced Kirkman is a one trick pony that has already popped his wad.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

We are then told by TPTB that they are going to do a companion show that is a pre ZA setting, YAY we finally get to see all this go down!!!
but what do we get? Junkies, Monopoly, boats and biggest of all Theater of the Mind....Ughhhh.

...and did we ever learn so much about the ZA's origins from that.

I have lost all faith in these writers and I'm becoming more and more convinced Kirkman is a one trick pony that has already popped his wad.

The great irony of it all is the Kirkman has tried to separate himself & TWD from any direct comparisons to other zombie productions (although there are scenes and/or dialogue from other productions in his show), but like George Romero, who keeps returning to that one, marketable idea, TWD might be all he's worth as a creator. Time will tell.

 

[theenglish]

We are then told by TPTB that they are going to do a companion show that is a pre ZA setting, YAY we finally get to see all this go down!!!
but what do we get? Junkies, Monopoly, boats and biggest of all Theater of the Mind....Ughhhh.

...and did we ever learn so much about the ZA's origins from that.

I have lost all faith in these writers and I'm becoming more and more convinced Kirkman is a one trick pony that has already popped his wad.

The great irony of it all is the Kirkman has tried to separate himself & TWD from any direct comparisons to other zombie productions (although there are scenes and/or dialogue from other productions in his show), but like George Romero, who keeps returning to that one, marketable idea, TWD might be all he's worth as a creator. Time will tell.

I think that is a little unfair toward Kirkman who has a pretty extensive list of writing credits in his comic book productions.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

AMC’s ‘Fear the Walking Dead’ Has the Highest-Rated First Season in Cable History - http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/ratings-fear-the-walking-dead-cable-record-1201610178

 

[RJDiogenes]

I guess the Zombie Apocalypse fad shows no sign of abating.

 

[Turtletrekker]

OK. I'm pissed. Due to my work schedule, I catch both Walking Dead shows when they re-air Friday at midnight. However tonight, instead of showing the finale, they continued their marathon of the original show instead.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

We are then told by TPTB that they are going to do a companion show that is a pre ZA setting, YAY we finally get to see all this go down!!!
but what do we get? Junkies, Monopoly, boats and biggest of all Theater of the Mind....Ughhhh.

...and did we ever learn so much about the ZA's origins from that.

I have lost all faith in these writers and I'm becoming more and more convinced Kirkman is a one trick pony that has already popped his wad.

The great irony of it all is the Kirkman has tried to separate himself & TWD from any direct comparisons to other zombie productions (although there are scenes and/or dialogue from other productions in his show), but like George Romero, who keeps returning to that one, marketable idea, TWD might be all he's worth as a creator. Time will tell.

I think that is a little unfair toward Kirkman who has a pretty extensive list of writing credits in his comic book productions.

I think PKerr means TWD is his one and only claim to fame. Without the series--which others took in a very different direction to turn into successful episodic TV--the average person would not know Kirkman at all. This is about the TV series, not the comics. Romero also produced other films, but change history and remove NOTLD and he does not exist to the mainstream at all.

 

[kitik]

On Talking Dead last night, Hardwick said that the show has been approved to air after FTWD episodes next season. So not just the 1 or 2 TD episodes we got with FTWD this year, but every week of the season.

Also, somewhat surprisingly, right after that, he said something to the effect of "see you next spring for FTWD". So we might not have to wait a full 11-12 months for season 2. Speculating further, he also mentioned that the second half of season 6 of TWD would debut on Valentines Day. If you assume 8 episodes of TWD in the second half of the season, then that could mean a debut for FTWD season 2 as early as April 10. Of course, the middle of June could still technically count as spring too, thought I doubt that's what Hardwick meant. Or he may have simply misspoke, and meant summer.

That said, if AMC wants to keep the viewership numbers as high as possible (and that's a safe assumption), then their best bet to retain viewers is to air it April 10, without giving people any break between TWD and FTWD. The longer the break, the easier it is to lose viewer momentum.

 

[Morpheus 02]

On Talking Dead last night, Hardwick said that the show has been approved to air after FTWD episodes next season. So not just the 1 or 2 TD episodes we got with FTWD this year, but every week of the season.

Also, somewhat surprisingly, right after that, he said something to the effect of "see you next spring for FTWD". So we might not have to wait a full 11-12 months for season 2. Speculating further, he also mentioned that the second half of season 6 of TWD would debut on Valentines Day. If you assume 8 episodes of TWD in the second half of the season, then that could mean a debut for FTWD season 2 as early as April 10. Of course, the middle of June could still technically count as spring too, thought I doubt that's what Hardwick meant. Or he may have simply misspoke, and meant summer.

That said, if AMC wants to keep the viewership numbers as high as possible (and that's a safe assumption), then their best bet to retain viewers is to air it April 10, without giving people any break between TWD and FTWD. The longer the break, the easier it is to lose viewer momentum.

I think you're right .. APril 10 would be best. Considering the lackluster viewer reviews of Fear, having an immediate craving of TWD will keep the ratings up for the first few weeks at least (and the TWD plugs & previews will help too)

 

[RJDiogenes]

He said the same thing about Spring last week, so it's probably not a mistake.

 

[DarthTom]

Did anyone catch the Fear The Walking Dead commercial on regular Walking Dead. There is a boy in an airplane and they are trying to take off. Didn't really understand that scene.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Did anyone catch the Fear The Walking Dead commercial on regular Walking Dead. There is a boy in an airplane and they are trying to take off. Didn't really understand that scene.

Actually, it's a webisode they are airing. I forget how many episodes like this...but they follow a Walker attack in the air. (i.e. someone on board is sick, and presumably dies quickly enough to start an attack on the plane.)

So not a commercial.

Not sure if it will come into play next season