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Fear the Walking Dead Season 1 discussion and spoilers.

This show is freaking horrible so far! It feels like a bad parody of the main show.

Care to elaborate? I think the characters are pretty well written. They are responding like real people would to the situation presented to them so far.
 
Not liking any of the characters, want them all to be eaten especially the mother and the brother

Three black characters already dead, main show has been accused of racism but this is ridiculous

Characters not talking to each other, Madison (NotLori) not telling her daughter what happened with the principle

Characters doing stupid things, Alicia flashing that light outside the window so zombies or violent people could see her

Two week break for the show, talk about bad scheduling
 
Ah, well, I don't "hate" the characters like you seem to.

I also think that Madison not telling her daughter that she killed a man, at least, not right away, is fairly realistic. Remember, these people still haven't really come to the realization that they're dealing with the undead. As far as they are concerned at this point, they're murdering very sick people. Yes, it's self defense, but they still aren't used to killing people. Especially in the up close and brutal ways they've had to so far. It's not something you just flippantly tell your kid.

Yeah, shining the flashlight out the window wasn't the brightest idea.
 
The Strain is much better. Amazing the leap from season one (a guilty pleasure) to season two (an even more guiltier pleasure).

Ausgezeichnet.
 
There's a theory that Hollywood has been grooming us for the last 70 years for an eventual visitation.

How many hundred people committed suicide, or rabid with mass hysteria stuck a bucket on their head and started shooting cattle during the Orson Welle's dramatic reading of War of the Worlds?

( 0 apparently. The panic in the streets was a double hoax. It never happened.)
 
2 week!?!?! 2 WEEKS!?!?!?! ARGGHHHHHHH! I want another 2 HOURs now!.

So, I had an idea. Borrowing from Naked and Afraid, lets start using the Survival Index to rate our characters.

Sis has and remains clueless at a 2.0

...that's why the mother--after three incidents with zombies, or a person she believes will turn into one--should have schooled her ASAP. In fact, after her own experiences, and the addict always rambling on and on about how dangerous the situation is, there was too much info around for the mother not to tell Alicia something.

Druggy son starts at a 5 for street smarts and ends this episode with a 5.3 for faking a seizure to save his sister, or at least taking credit for saving her.
The problem with the junkie is how fast he's coming off of withdrawal. If he's as serious an addict as presented, breaking oxy into pieces is not going to help him at the seemingly rapid pace we witnessed. Yes, I realize this a TV series, not Intervention (and that's a good thing for an number of reasons), and time is short in some areas, but the entire junkie subplot is not all that realistic....and its there for what reason?

It does not make him a sympathetic character, and creates an unnecessary burden when the ZA...and the ex-wife...and her bitter son..and street chaos will provide enough of that.

Knife kid gets an initial rating of 4. It would be lower for being a bit soft physically, but he knows more than anyone of the other main characters and is already planning months ahead. If he survives long enough to become an effective fighter his score will rise quickly.
I get the feeling that his fate could go one of three ways:

1. His forecasting / knowledge about the ZA will turn him into an unlikely zombie fighter (in the wake of his near-disastrous fight at school).

2. The family makes a detour to find him, but he's already dead, or on his way to that state, or he--like The Governor--becomes twisted by the ZA and screws around with survivors and/or corpses.

3. He joins the family and a forced relationship with the daughter happens, only for one the duo to meet a gruesome end while the other watches (think Glenn watching Noah or Beth pulled away as Patricia was swarmed).


Camera son was pretty much a non-entity last episode, so we can only judge him based on what we saw tonight - pretty stupid. He followed the crowd like a lemming and stayed way too long after it was clear a riot was going to break out. I give him the low rating of the group at 1.
Yes, he was stupid, but tell me that the present day drive to make everything THE POLITICAL STAND OF THE CENTURY!!! was not behind his attempt (like a million other people) to capture a police shooting or incident on camera. If the show wants to play it real, he should be the first to go.

He's almost as bad as that irritating video moron from Romero's Diary of the Dead.

Ex-wife seems totally oblivious to the situation but open to reacting somewhat intelligently to what she does see. We'll give her a provisional score of 3.5.
Yeah, there's room for improvement, and she's not shell shocked....yet.

Trekker4747, you said:

On the knife thing, to be fair to the parent series, the zombies there are older so arguably have softer bone, and the kid had a crummy kitchen steak knife (which, really he came back for it, there's not 30 more back at home?) TWD crew use hardier attack knives and machetes.
...except that not WD zombie are older, with softer bone. Some, like Bob--was only dead for a few seconds before Tyreese stabbed him, yet he did it with relative ease. We can assume the the same regarding Lizzie & Mika's father, who was dead only moments until Carol killed him. That makes stabbing fresh heads seem as easy as cutting into a stick of butter.

Not liking any of the characters, want them all to be eaten especially the mother and the brother

Three black characters already dead, main show has been accused of racism but this is ridiculous

That was something difficult to ignore...and one just had to be a drug dealer. Okay.

Right now, T-Dog and Bob are looking like series "lifers" compared to FTWD's now dead trio.
 
Man, I hope Knife Kid comes out of the initial stages okay, cause he's the only character so far I give a damn about.

I still want the daughter dead. ("Like, OMG, my boyfriend's like, sick and junk, so I can't leave and what-ever!") I want divorce kid dead. ("I have to hold a camera and scream, man!") I want the ex-wife choking on her own bile before she turns. I want all the protestors dead. (Look, stop auditioning for your "No Justice, No Peace" soundbite and pay attention to the fact the people the cops are shooting WON'T STAY DOWN!) I don't care if Drug Boy was faking or not...I still want his ass dead. Teacher Man and Principal Woman are starting to show a glimmer of usefulness, but I'd have more respect for the mom if she'd not stuck to the "I won't leave you..." dirge.

Knife Kid is on his game. Knife Kid has a knife. (Ain't a great knife, but He's got one!) Knife Kid is stocking up! Knife Kid's observing the threat and taking notes. Knife Kid is a survivor. I want to see more of him.
 
Thought this was a MUCH better episode than the premiere, with a great sense of tension throughout and a thankfully faster pace.

And I found myself warming up to the characters a bit more as well (or at least I was so caught up in what they were doing that I didn't have time to be annoyed by them as much as last week. Lol)

Ah, well, I don't "hate" the characters like you seem to.

I also think that Madison not telling her daughter that she killed a man, at least, not right away, is fairly realistic. Remember, these people still haven't really come to the realization that they're dealing with the undead. As far as they are concerned at this point, they're murdering very sick people. Yes, it's self defense, but they still aren't used to killing people. Especially in the up close and brutal ways they've had to so far. It's not something you just flippantly tell your kid.

Yeah I think what we have to remember is that this is all still totally new to them. And probably so crazy and bizarre that they have trouble even processing it themselves, let alone being able to articulate to anyone else what's really happening.

I mean, unless they've witnessed it themselves, how do you tell someone that the dead are coming back to life and eating people without sounding kinda crazy yourself?
 
I still want the daughter dead. ("Like, OMG, my boyfriend's like, sick and junk, so I can't leave and what-ever!")

Well, it would have helped if crabby mother told her, "hey, uh, people who die are getting up...and i'm guessing that might be bad. From the looks of thangs, your lover-boy is about two coughs away from going bye-bye, then getting up. Kinda scary-crappy, huh?"

I want divorce kid dead. ("I have to hold a camera and scream, man!") I want the ex-wife choking on her own bile before she turns. I want all the protestors dead. (Look, stop auditioning for your "No Justice, No Peace" soundbite and pay attention to the fact the people the cops are shooting WON'T STAY DOWN!)
Okay, as a native of L.A., I can say that for some among the population, the regional jumping to sociopolitical reactions is something the episode sort of nailed. None of those focused on "cop-killed-unarmed-man" would even think that there's something else going on. The heated political scene would take over from noticing that a man riddled with bullets is getting up, or that someone looking (and probably smelling) like a corpse is walking around--or toward anyone.




I also think that Madison not telling her daughter that she killed a man, at least, not right away, is fairly realistic. Remember, these people still haven't really come to the realization that they're dealing with the undead. As far as they are concerned at this point, they're murdering very sick people.

...except the drug dealer was shot dead (confirmed) then turned into the undead to attack, with no recognition of people he once knew. If the parents are convinced enough to make a hard plan to flee the city, then they are admitting that this is no riot, mass drugging, or anything else.

That...and again, they know a dead man walked.
 
...except the drug dealer was shot dead (confirmed) then turned into the undead to attack, with no recognition of people he once knew. If the parents are convinced enough to make a hard plan to flee the city, then they are admitting that this is no riot, mass drugging, or anything else.

That...and again, they know a dead man walked.

Shot dead and confirmed by their drugged out son? Yeah. I'd trust his take on things. All they saw was the drug dealer walking toward them looking pretty fucked up. For all they knew, and would most likely think, their son only thought he killed the dealer.

They know a "sick" man was extremely hard to put down. They were not at that point convinced a dead man walked. And still aren't. Though it's starting to get through.
 
I still want the daughter dead. ("Like, OMG, my boyfriend's like, sick and junk, so I can't leave and what-ever!")

Well, it would have helped if crabby mother told her, "hey, uh, people who die are getting up...and i'm guessing that might be bad. From the looks of thangs, your lover-boy is about two coughs away from going bye-bye, then getting up. Kinda scary-crappy, huh?"

Maybe, but it's been my experience dealing with teenagers that you could strap 'em to a chair and show them raw footage of an event in widescreen and in Surroundsound and they'd still deny it happened if it didn't fit their worldview. The girl is just as likely to react this way: "Well, maybe that's happening but it won't happen to him cause he's MY boy-frieeend! UGH! Eyeroll!"

Easier to just bump her off.

I want divorce kid dead. ("I have to hold a camera and scream, man!") I want the ex-wife choking on her own bile before she turns. I want all the protestors dead. (Look, stop auditioning for your "No Justice, No Peace" soundbite and pay attention to the fact the people the cops are shooting WON'T STAY DOWN!)
Okay, as a native of L.A., I can say that for some among the population, the regional jumping to sociopolitical reactions is something the episode sort of nailed. None of those focused on "cop-killed-unarmed-man" would even think that there's something else going on. The heated political scene would take over from noticing that a man riddled with bullets is getting up, or that someone looking (and probably smelling) like a corpse is walking around--or toward anyone.
I'm not questioning the realism of the portrayal. You're absolutely right. There are just as many jump-to-conclusion types here in New Yawk. What I'm saying here is that acted or in real life, the action itself is asinine. You immediately decide that the cop with the gun has no side in the issue. He's simply wrong, so you vilify him and rally the mob. And in this particular case it's a hundred times worse, because the cops have a pretty compelling side to this story:

1. Infected dead homeless guy attacks cop.

2. Cop draws weapon and does what every cop in America is trained to do: fire into the target's torso to stop his advance.

3. Cop pees himself and empties the clip when he realizes doing what he's trained to do doesn't work. Infected dead homeless guy falls, momentarily stunned.

4. Infected dead homeless guy gets up again, attacks again, and cop and all his buddies empty their clips until somebody gets a lucky headshot.

5. Bystanders only see the last head shot. Idiots among the bystanders start a protest.

And yes, I have the benefit of being an omniscient observer in this scenario, but I also have the benefit of enough intelligence to wonder exactly what's really going on before I participate in a lynching.

I'm sticking with Knife Kid. He's "Carol."
 
I don't think you'd have to be a teenage girl to find a story like that ridiculous and hard to believe.
 
...except the drug dealer was shot dead (confirmed) then turned into the undead to attack, with no recognition of people he once knew. If the parents are convinced enough to make a hard plan to flee the city, then they are admitting that this is no riot, mass drugging, or anything else.

That...and again, they know a dead man walked.

Shot dead and confirmed by their drugged out son? Yeah. I'd trust his take on things. All they saw was the drug dealer walking toward them looking pretty fucked up. For all they knew, and would most likely think, their son only thought he killed the dealer.

They know a "sick" man was extremely hard to put down. They were not at that point convinced a dead man walked. And still aren't. Though it's starting to get through.

I disagree somewhat. I think all three who were there know a dead person reanimated/wouldn't die. They haven't said those exact words to others (don't wanna sound crazy)but they talked around it with implying the fundamental nature of things isn't operating right.
 
^Yeah, they haven't admitted to themselves what the evidence is pointing them to. It's just too far outside normal experience yet.

At some point though we should get that cold shock moment when it kicks in. I wonder if any of them will turn out to be religious? The mother in the barbershop is. If she survives long enough to react to the reality of whats going on it should be interesting.
 
Thought this was a MUCH better episode than the premiere, with a great sense of tension throughout and a thankfully faster pace.

And I found myself warming up to the characters a bit more as well (or at least I was so caught up in what they were doing that I didn't have time to be annoyed by them as much as last week. Lol)

This is pretty much exactly how I felt about this episode. We need to see more of things like Madison crying over the tub or general difficulties with the walkers. That's good stuff. I liked the knife deflection.

They know a "sick" man was extremely hard to put down. They were not at that point convinced a dead man walked. And still aren't. Though it's starting to get through.

I don't know, I think they're pretty sure after he was run over a couple times and still moving with half of his face torn off and leaving a big blood stain on the truck, that they at least weren't dying. Obviously there's some confusion, but that part has to click together. I mean, at least to the point where she should be saying something to her daughter about it. She doesn't have to say, "Oh yeah, I smashed your principal's head in with a fire extinguisher, lol!" But just something along the lines of what she has seen and what's going on.

I get the feeling that she and other characters are kind of acting like certain characters on Lost. They know something, but are hesitant to explain it to anyone for plot reasons. That can be some of the weakest type of storytelling, but it's not surprising as it has been used on the parent series several times.

Knife Kid is on his game. Knife Kid has a knife. (Ain't a great knife, but He's got one!) Knife Kid is stocking up! Knife Kid's observing the threat and taking notes. Knife Kid is a survivor. I want to see more of him.

Somehow I get the feeling that this was really his goodbye, and that we aren't going to see him again. He has pretty much served his purpose, which was to aid in giving Madison a reality check. That kind of character can't really be maintained on this kind of show.
 
They're still coping and dealing with things, the idea of reanimated dead people is probably a heck of a lot to process. (Though it would seem this group of people catch-on early the whole "everyone is infected" notion and not the one that you have to be bit, die, and then you reanimate as everyone in S1/S2 of TWD thought until they noticed non-bit people reanimating.)

Further, everyone is probably still operating on the notion that there's an end to this, that once it blows over and taken care of life will go on, they don't know that this is pretty much the end of modern civilization. So, why burden people and the young with notions like "having to kill people," or "reanimated bodies" when those are pretty damn big concepts for *them* to deal with let alone to tell someone. At this point the teenage daughter doesn't need to know what's going on and why she has to stay inside, just trust that her mother knows what's best and listen to her.

From the mom's point of view two weeks from now life will be normal again, for the most part. Her daughter doesn't need to know about the reanimated principal at the school or the body in the LA River or any of this stuff. The daughter needs to just shut up and listen to her mother.

I suspect by the end of the season society will have completely crumbled and everyone will realize it's not going to come back and then will have to start adapting and dealing with it. Right now? The government will get this under control within a couple of weeks. Just lay low, keep your nose clean and try and to keep your spirits up.

I agree on Acne Kid, I really hope he comes back and is a regular; he really seems like he'd be the "Glenn" of the group to me. Good at scavenging, being quick on his feet (well, as quick as he can be given his girth) and generally being their "going to town man." Here's to in season two him getting a girlfriend way out of his league.

I sort of wonder how much this "flu" plays into it? We've heard and been told there's a bad flu going around which seemed to cause the attendance problems at the school and one of the reasons why the media was writing off everything that was going on.

I wonder if that might be one of the ways "everyone got infected" and maybe if some people's natural immunities could just cope with the "zombie virus"/flu? They're "infected" so they'll reanimate when they die but they're otherwise not sick.

Meanwhile, a large chunk of the population didn't have an immune system that could cope with the "zombie flu," they get a really bad flu, succumb, and they reanimate.

Because I find it hard to believe such a large portion of the school's student body where bitten or died of natural causes within a short period of time and for it to happen while the pending ZA is off the public's RADAR and being shrugged off. If there's hundreds of kids bitten, died, and reanimated I'd think it'd be much more seen/known.

So the zombie infection began as a serious form of the flu (or something with flu-like symptoms) people got seriously sick, died, and reanimated. Some got infected but didn't get sick but still are carriers so will reanimated and are also able to transmit it to others. Another way for the infection to spread globally without there being much awareness of it. People can carry it and infect others without being sick.
 
First episode shown tonight on UK terrestrial TV. I'm gonna assume the US is fifty thousand episodes ahead of us and as such, ignore whatever else has been written on this thread.

So, where to begin. The druggie kid appears to be channeling James Franco (thus is immensely punchable) and I'm struggling to give a shit about him. I like the lead guy. I suspect I'd like him more if he dumped the wife and bought a shotgun and holed up in a local Ikea but alas, that won't happen. Instead, we get more soap drama with families - because that makes the audience care apparently - who bore me to death. Get. On. With. It!

OK fair enough, the first episode was always going to be a slow build but I wanted more.

Couple of things that bothered me were the slowness of the infection. We see a zombie in a church right at the beginning but two days later, still no mass zombie-action. What has that dead girl been doing for the last couple of days? Crossword puzzles?

The spread of such an infection would go at a geometric rate and would be impactful from the moment patient zero was infected. I was hoping that this would be shown in the show but instead we got more plodding-along nonsense. The second thing was the jump from "being in traffic and wondering what's happening" to "being in class and watching YouTube style videos of the incident." I felt this was a hugely anti-climactic and dull piece of storytelling (not to mention the videos looking fake... just like the girl said).

If this opener has taught me anything, it has taught me that I simply don't care about how it began. I mean, I thought I might but it turns out, no, I really don't. Let's just crack on please.
 
At this point the teenage daughter doesn't need to know what's going on and why she has to stay inside, just trust that her mother knows what's best and listen to her.

This sounds like shitty parenting advice, especially to a teenager. They're not helpless, or in need of sheltering.

Really, all Madison would have to say is, "This disease is really contagious and it's causing people to become violent and unresponsive to anything. I've seen some people who have had it, and trust me, you do not want to be in their path."

Hoping everything will blow over and that she won't have to talk to her kid about it is like the worst idea ever.
 
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