• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Spoilers The Walking Dead Season 10

The thing about ratings is that we are in an era where they are taking on less and less relevance. Due to streaming, on-demand, and DVRs very few people actually watch their shows on broadcast night anymore. Indeed, AMC actually offers new Walking Dead episodes on their streaming service 48 hours before they air, which is likely a factor in why the Sunday night numbers tend to be so low here lately. Granted, there are still too many decisions being made in the TV industry based on broadcast night ratings, but I get the impression that AMC at least is taking a broader look at the bigger picture and realizing Walking Dead is still a very popular show, more so than the Sunday night numbers would indicate anyway.
Ratings, historically, have given the public a sense of how popular a show is... and for advertisers, to know if their dollars are being well spent (and how much they would expect to pay up).

Certainly with On Demand, and cable boxes, there are new, more accurate ways to measure viewer interest...and unfortunately, those numbers are often NOT made public (other than perhaps subscriptions, but fo rthe SERVICE AS A WHOLE, and usually NOT for a particular series).

It would be nice to know how much viewership has REALLY gone down over the years, and if there are any overlap audiences with other shows, or repeat viewings.
 
Anecdotally... nobody is watching any more. The only thing I ever hear when I try to talk about Walking Dead is "oh is that old thing still on"?
 
Aside from the people here, I have two friends who still watch Walking Dead and Fear. My Brother and Sister-in-Law still watch Walking Dead, but bailed on Fear. I tried to sell them on Morgan taking over, but no dice yet.
 
Huh... I remember in the early seasons that there were hints of the whole thing being a government project gone awry - some kind of pathogen that escaped some bioweapons lab’s containment.

Aliens and space spores work too. :shrug:
 
Kirkman's original proposal (a lie to get the series published) was that it was a Zombie invasion created by aliens. Is that the joke?
 
They were brought back by that Venus probe!

Which is ironic, since TWD universe pretends Romero's zombie films do not exist at all.

God can't use a space spore as the tool of His wrath?

Even that would be too much for Kirkman, since someone would ask him to explain it, and he never wanted that.

As I've posted before, Kirkman's dislike of one of the franchise's greatest episodes--season one's "TS-19"--was an example of his own inability to address something any zombie fiction fan has wondered since Romero's breakthrough in 1968. The episode was the most logical in series history regarding the possible nature of the zombie plague, making perfect sense that anyone would seek answers and not just throw their hands up, accepting a frightening catastrophe of that kind.

That was one of the rare cases where the people adapting the material knew better / had superior results to the creator, in this case, a creator that wanted to pretend people in-universe were not at all intensely curious about....cannibalistic corpses roaming the earth.
 
I kind of see where Kirkman's coming from. The Walking Dead comics and show follow average ordinary every day people who get swept up in a zombie apocalypse, basic every day survival and the drama that spins-off from that is their number one priority and trying to find out the cause/cure when there isn't anyone among them with any kind of a deep scientific or medical background does kind of take a backseat.

Though now that the television aspect of the franchise is expanding with spin-offs and movies, exploring this side of the apocalypse should be an idea, if for no other reason than to deliver different product instead of more of the same like Fear is turning into. We're starting to see there are societies that have maintained their technology since the apocalypse, and indeed World Beyond is supposed to focus on one such group. I'm sure these groups must have scientists studying the Walker virus, its origins and possible cure.
 
^^ Personally, I would love to see that.

Which is ironic, since TWD universe pretends Romero's zombie films do not exist at all.
In universe, you mean? Yeah, Zombies don't appear to exist in fiction there. It would be a great nod to the Master.
 
The Walking Dead
Season 10 - Episode 9 - "Squeeze"
MID-SEASON PREMIERE


Daryl / Carol: Carol's single-minded behavior finally comes back to bite her. In the past, she adopted a "take no prisoners" attitude to prevent a replay of then-recent losses (e.g., aftermath of the Governor's second attack), and she's backed away (e.g. her mini-breakdown after setting Saviors on fire--the first time, and the entire boat isolation period), but its never endangered everyone else. Her begging Daryl to blame her was powerful--even when she's wrong, she stil needs his validation, but he was not having any of it. He claims he's always there to support her, but he was correct to not give her an emotional anchor so soon after believing they lost two members.

Alpha / Negan: So the bond (legitimate or not) begins here. Their "courtship" and strip down was one of the most horrifying scenes in WD history... :guffaw:Now that Alpha believes Gamma is the turncoat, I wonder if she will press Negan to be the one to punish or kill her as part of a loyalty test...

Magna: Eh. I'm not seeing her being written off this early, even though she's such a complete ass that causes more trouble than she's worth to the community.

NOTES: Simple, but intense character study episode. Where Carol goes from here is anyone's guess. She's turned herself into an outsider no one trusts.

GRADE: A
 
In all honesty, I thought the escape the cave bits dragged on a bit. There were some genuine dramatic moments, like Jerry nearly getting stuck in the crawlspace with the two walkers coming up behind. But, I don't know. Though nothing bad it did drag a bit in parts. Though I will admit the ending definitely knocked an emotional punch. And even though I'm quite certain Connie and Magna are probably alive, it's still an emotional way to end the episode. Mind you, I don't expect to get an answer on their fate either way for a few weeks yet, like Glenn and the Dumpster a few years ago.

The Whisperer subplot was damn fine. With the really amusing bit where Alpha held a knife to Negan's dick and threatened to cut it off if he tried to sow dissent among the ranks, and then shoving him in the pile of shit being a great and humorous moment. And then their sex scene later on started off so mysterious with Alpha seemingly ready to execute Negan, and Negan even believing it enough to breakdown. Then they move on to the actual sex which was just weird but also appropriate enough to their characters.

So we have Connie and Magna still stuck in the cave after a cave-in. Daryl and Carol's friendship has taken a turn south. Negan and Alpha are now an item, and Gamma has been exposed as a spy. Decent start to this half of the season, looking forward to how things develop from here in the coming weeks.
 
I love that Negan genuinely thought "This is it." That and Jerry stuck in the cave were the best bits. The escape from the caves did go on a bit, but glad they didn't just walk out. At least now we know it wasn't some grand scheme of Alpha's.

Never ever thought I'd say this, but Carol's really starting to annoy me!
 
The Walking Dead
Season 10 - Episode 9 - "Squeeze"
MID-SEASON PREMIERE


Daryl / Carol: Carol's single-minded behavior finally comes back to bite her. In the past, she adopted a "take no prisoners" attitude to prevent a replay of then-recent losses (e.g., aftermath of the Governor's second attack), and she's backed away (e.g. her mini-breakdown after setting Saviors on fire--the first time, and the entire boat isolation period), but its never endangered everyone else. Her begging Daryl to blame her was powerful--even when she's wrong, she stil needs his validation, but he was not having any of it. He claims he's always there to support her, but he was correct to not give her an emotional anchor so soon after believing they lost two members.

Good thing it wasn't me instead of Daryl, because it was hard for me to watch Carol break down like that. It was like she regressed all the way back to being an abused wife, and accepting it.

Alpha / Negan:
So the bond (legitimate or not) begins here. Their "courtship" and strip down was one of the most horrifying scenes in WD history... :guffaw:

I can't unsee it, man...I wish I could unsee that...
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top