AMC to milk The Walking Dead until that teat is sore and dry

[Sindatur]

Wait...Mad Men's budget per episode is almost the same as The Walking Dead? I've never watched the show, but, I understand it is an Ad Agency set in the 1960s. Does it really cost almost as much per episode to decorate the set for 1960s as it does for all the Special Effects needed for The Walking Dead?

 

[Spider]

Clearly, the zombies will be main the characters of the spin-off. We'll become emotionally involved with a pack of zombies as they struggle to get find enough humans to eat and as they cope with their own limited intelligence. Their could even be a narrator a la "March of the Penguins".

You know, as a mini-series, that would actually be pretty interesting if done right. But I don't think it could last as a regular series.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Wait...Mad Men's budget per episode is almost the same as The Walking Dead? I've never watched the show, but, I understand it is an Ad Agency set in the 1960s. Does it really cost almost as much per episode to decorate the set for 1960s as it does for all the Special Effects needed for The Walking Dead?

Yes, period shows are notoriously expensive to make. That's why, for example, WB wanted Steven Soderbergh to make his Man from UNCLE modern-day (ironically, Guy Ritchie is now doing it in the 1960s); Soderbergh was unable to make it a period piece in the budget they were offering and left.

Think about it - sets, cars, clothes all have to be recreated or located and even things like haircuts have to be altered. Mad Men is notoriously precise in its recreation of the era and thus is probably one of the most expensive of its type. Also, if you look at the post I have at the top of this page, it links to a story talking about the salaries for Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and star Jon Hamm.

 

[Sindatur]

Wait...Mad Men's budget per episode is almost the same as The Walking Dead? I've never watched the show, but, I understand it is an Ad Agency set in the 1960s. Does it really cost almost as much per episode to decorate the set for 1960s as it does for all the Special Effects needed for The Walking Dead?

Yes, period shows are notoriously expensive to make. That's why, for example, WB wanted Steven Soderbergh to make his Man from UNCLE modern-day (ironically, Guy Ritchie is now doing it in the 1960s); Soderbergh was unable to make it a period piece in the budget they were offering and left.

Think about it - sets, cars, clothes all have to be recreated or located and even things like haircuts have to be altered. Mad Men is notoriously precise in its recreation of the era and thus is probably one of the most expensive of its type. Also, if you look at the post I have at the top of this page, it links to a story talking about the salaries for Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and star Jon Hamm.

Ah, OK. I had seen an episode out of the corner of my eye at someone else's house, and it seemed like it was confined to the Office, so, I figured that would be expensive start up, but, you wouldn't have recurring expensives for the set(s) (Didn't know about the need for outside period atmosphere). Didn't think about the clothes, and didn't realize the star and show runner made big bucks. Thanks

 

[Greg Cox]

I can't remember where, but I remember reading an interview with one of the producers of THE AMERICANS who thought it would be cheap and easy to set a TV show in the 1980s, only to discover just how difficult and expensive it was to do it right. It's easy to forget just how much props and costumes and even locations can change over the course of only a few decades.

Heck, spotting anachronisms in shows like "Downton Abbey" is practically a sport on the internet these days:

"Check out the vapor trail in the sky in Scene 4 of Episode 6! And the satellite dish on the roof of that house in the distance. And that song playing in the background in the jazz club wasn't actually written until 1923 . . . ."

 

[Captaindemotion]

I remember even reading an interview with Ben Stiller where he said that the studio had to be persuaded to set the remake/spoof of Starsky and Hutch in the 1970s because of how much it would add to the budget.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'm definitely on board for a spin off. For one thing, Walking Dead is not only one of the best shows on TV, it's one of the best shows ever on TV. For another thing, ever since Dawn of the Dead came out, I've wanted to see a World of the Dead anthology series-- this is a global Apocalypse, so there are literally millions of stories to be told, even if 90% of the people have died. Of course, an ongoing series needs a strong premise, not just a series of effective short stories, but I have confidence in the people in charge.

And I do like the idea of a March of the Zombies documentary.

 

[Sindatur]

And I do like the idea of a March of the Zombies documentary.

It couldn't be any more depressing than March of the Penguins was (I was expecting something like Happy Feet and instead got a truly depressing Documentary. Not to say it wasn't a great Documentary, I just was in a totally different mindset when I popped it in)

 

[JD]

Another idea that I think would be cool ; jump ahead 25 years and give us a show starring the baby Judith . Might not really work, didn't think this out much, just popped in my head.,

Kytee

I'd love that as well, with an adult Carl and Judith, maybe 15 or so years after TWD. But that may make the original series even more bleak than it is now.

Also, as much as we want this to be different from TWD I think the potential for crossovers probably means that the show will be similar to what we have now.

I really don't think doing something set so close in the future while the original is still on the air would be a good idea. It would be to limiting IMO. Either they would say stuff about what happened in the past and it would end up limiting what can happen on TWD or they wouldn't be able to make any references to anything after where TWD is currently. Honestly, neither of those seem like very good options to me.

 

[RJDiogenes]

And I do like the idea of a March of the Zombies documentary.

It couldn't be any more depressing than March of the Penguins was (I was expecting something like Happy Feet and instead got a truly depressing Documentary. Not to say it wasn't a great Documentary, I just was in a totally different mindset when I popped it in)

I've never seen it. What happened? Did they all die at the end?

 

[Sindatur]

And I do like the idea of a March of the Zombies documentary.

It couldn't be any more depressing than March of the Penguins was (I was expecting something like Happy Feet and instead got a truly depressing Documentary. Not to say it wasn't a great Documentary, I just was in a totally different mindset when I popped it in)

I've never seen it. What happened? Did they all die at the end?

I'm not sure I watched the whole thing (Completely wrong mind-set, was expeting a comedy/feelgood movie) but, there was alot of of hardship and death. Ever watched the Meercats on The Animal channel and gotten attached to Flower and her family? That kinda thing, except I think the Royal(?) Penguins have an even rougher and more depressing life. Had I known what I was in for, and been in the right mindset, it would've been very educational and top notch

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Oh, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. That's a brutal environment. I remember one where the father penguin was shuffling around with an egg between his feet to keep it safe, but it died anyway. Definitely not a feelgood moment.

 

[marillion]

Clearly, the zombies will be main the characters of the spin-off. We'll become emotionally involved with a pack of zombies as they struggle to get find enough humans to eat and as they cope with their own limited intelligence. Their could even be a narrator a la "March of the Penguins".

You know, as a mini-series, that would actually be pretty interesting if done right. But I don't think it could last as a regular series.

Sponsored by Marlen Perkins and sponsored by Mutual of Omaha?

 

[shivkala]

I thought "Clear" was one of the best episodes of season 3, if not the entire show. The focus on a new location, catching up with a previously seen character, and a deviation from the Governor season-long plotline all added up to a wonderful hour of television. It also points to how the anthology idea might just work out. The Walking Dead has never done drawn-out multi-episode arcs well. Things like Rick vs. Shane, the farm, the Governor, Andrea, etc. all got tired very quickly. I think the show has some great ideas, some drawn from the comics and some new to the series, but they don't execute them well. Again, this points to how an anthology might be the best direction to take.

An anthology would also allow them to focus on TWD characters every once in a while to flesh (pun, intended) them out a bit. Otherwise, the inevitable crossover(s) could seem forced. Given the genre and format, multiple crossovers would get tired very quickly. It would be more reasonable for them to crossover once, maybe twice, but more than that would stretch credibility, unless they handle it very carefully.

 

[Alpha Romeo]

Couldn't care less - stopped watching at the end of the first season when I realized it was just a post apocalyptic soap opera.

Your loss...

How about the crew of the ISS watches it unfold and makes a decision to return to earth and their adventures from there...could be fun.

 

[Vendikarr]

Couldn't care less - stopped watching at the end of the first season when I realized it was just a post apocalyptic soap opera.

Your loss...

How about the crew of the ISS watches it unfold and makes a decision to return to earth and their adventures from there...could be fun.

If it was an anthology show, I could see the ISS crew decide to just pop an airlock and die in space instead of taking their chances on a zombie infested planet. The drama would be coming to that decision.

 

[Praetor]

Plus, the ISS crew would face the possibility of someone dying and biting the rest of them.

Zombies... in... spaaaaaaaace!

 

[Captaindemotion]

That begs 2 questions:

1. Has the plague infected humans orbiting the earth, as well as everyone in it?

2. If an astronaut died, turned and was jettisoned into space as a biter, how long would the zombie keep going for out there? In those temperatures, would the decay be slower than normal and could he or she fly through space like Voyager 6 (or whatever one it is, eventually becoming the first person, living or dead, to leave our solar system?

 

[Praetor]

Great questions!

Something that might be interesting to do with the spinoff, particularly if it is an analogy, is to use it to explain the origin of the zombie plague. It doesn't seem like they're ever going to do that in-show, beyond the first season CDC bit.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

That begs 2 questions:

1. Has the plague infected humans orbiting the earth, as well as everyone in it?

2. If an astronaut died, turned and was jettisoned into space as a biter, how long would the zombie keep going for out there? In those temperatures, would the decay be slower than normal and could he or she fly through space like Voyager 6 (or whatever one it is, eventually becoming the first person, living or dead, to leave our solar system?

In space, no one can hear you scream....




"BRAINS!"