The Walking Dead Season 5

[TREK_GOD_1]

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a comedy that spun off a drama about Lou Grant. M*A*S*H was a comedy set in a bleak war zone. Besides, it's Hollywood-- they might not even notice the Zombie Apocalypse.

Lou Grant had no serious connection to the parent series--notably no MTM main characters ever appeared on the series, so for what it was worth, Lou Grant was a spin-off in name only. At the moment, we know little about TWD spin off, but we do know it takes place in the same world--a serious world, so it is difficult to imagine the spin off will be anything other than a change in location / political commentary, but no overt humor.

 

[RJDiogenes]

You folks do realize that all the talk about celebrity cameos and comedy is a joke, right?

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a comedy that spun off a drama about Lou Grant. M*A*S*H was a comedy set in a bleak war zone. Besides, it's Hollywood-- they might not even notice the Zombie Apocalypse.

Actually, that was the other way around:

Mary Tyler Moore Show: 1970 - 1977, comedy

Lou Grant: 1977 - 1982, drama, and spin-off from the "Mary Tyler Moore" show

(And there was another spin-off called "Rhoda," from "MTM," which was from 1974 - 1978).

That's what I said: Mary Tyler Moore spun off Lou Grant. There was also another spinoff starring Phyllis.

 

[kitik]

I got the impression that most of this new series would take place in the first week or two. You know, while Rick was still lying in a hospital bed.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

You folks do realize that all the talk about celebrity cameos and comedy is a joke, right?

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a comedy that spun off a drama about Lou Grant. M*A*S*H was a comedy set in a bleak war zone. Besides, it's Hollywood-- they might not even notice the Zombie Apocalypse.

Actually, that was the other way around:

Mary Tyler Moore Show: 1970 - 1977, comedy

Lou Grant: 1977 - 1982, drama, and spin-off from the "Mary Tyler Moore" show

(And there was another spin-off called "Rhoda," from "MTM," which was from 1974 - 1978).

That's what I said: Mary Tyler Moore spun off Lou Grant. There was also another spinoff starring Phyllis.

Yeah, I think I made a mistake there.

(I don't think I ever heard of the "Phyllis" one, though. That's interesting).

 

[theenglish]

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a comedy that spun off a drama about Lou Grant. M*A*S*H was a comedy set in a bleak war zone. Besides, it's Hollywood-- they might not even notice the Zombie Apocalypse.

Lou Grant had no serious connection to the parent series--notably no MTM main characters ever appeared on the series, so for what it was worth, Lou Grant was a spin-off in name only. At the moment, we know little about TWD spin off, but we do know it takes place in the same world--a serious world, so it is difficult to imagine the spin off will be anything other than a change in location / political commentary, but no overt humor.

I was pretty young at the time, but I don't think the Lou Grant show even referenced MTM at all, which made it even more loosely related to its source material than Trapper John M.D.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Hard to remember after all these years, but I think the only explicit reference was in the pilot when he talked about his prior work experience in Minneapolis.

You folks do realize that all the talk about celebrity cameos and comedy is a joke, right?

Actually, that was the other way around:

Mary Tyler Moore Show: 1970 - 1977, comedy

Lou Grant: 1977 - 1982, drama, and spin-off from the "Mary Tyler Moore" show

(And there was another spin-off called "Rhoda," from "MTM," which was from 1974 - 1978).

That's what I said: Mary Tyler Moore spun off Lou Grant. There was also another spinoff starring Phyllis.

Yeah, I think I made a mistake there.

(I don't think I ever heard of the "Phyllis" one, though. That's interesting).

I thought there was one about Georgette, too, but I can't find any reference to it. Maybe it was a failed pilot, or maybe I'm thinking of something else. Betty White got her own show, too, but it was completely unrelated to her Mary Tyler Moore character.

 

[DarthTom]

^^^ sidebar: funniest moment ever in 1970's TV WKRP in Cincinnati, "As God as my witness I thought Turkey's could fly. Only closely followed IMO with Carol Burnett reenactment of Gone with the Wind as Scarlett

 

[Velocity]

"I saw it in the window and just had to have it"

 

[RJDiogenes]

I just started re-watching WKRP on Hulu. It's even funnier than I remember. I'll have to check to see if they have Carol Burnett, too. I loved that show.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Walking Dead Spinoff Casts Deadwood Vet Kim Dickens as Female Lead

 

[DarthTom]

^^^

Thanks for that. One of the most interesting parts of this new series to me is that it will be set in the early days of the virus. It's established on the existing series that the world went to shit fairly quickly. How they stretch that out for possibly several seasons seems problematic to me.

As scooped by TVLine, the untitled Walking Dead offshoot, which is operating under the code name Cobalt, will be set in Los Angeles and be a prequel of sorts, one that would chronicle the early days of the epidemic and the effort to contain it. The pilot script was penned by showrunner Dave Erickson and TWD creator Robert Kirkman.

 

[Takeru]

My guess is that the main characters will live in a protected area that is under military protection or something with a working government etc., the outside world can go to shit (probably at the end of season 1) and the inside world provides a stable and save environment for scientists and survivors.
Keeping pockets of civilization goong could be part of the effort to contain and the survivors having hope and a relatively safe home could make the show feel different. They'd still go on missions etc. for the required zombie action.

 

[DarthTom]

My guess is that the main characters will live in a protected area that is under military protection or something with a working government etc., the outside world can go to shit (probably at the end of season 1) and the inside world provides a stable and save environment for scientists and survivors.
Keeping pockets of civilization goong could be part of the effort to contain and the survivors having hope and a relatively safe home could make the show feel different. They'd still go on missions etc. for the required zombie action.

Good point. As we've seen on the existing series the Walkers after someone learned how to finally kill them - became fairly easy to eliminate. It was the living humans who became more dangerous. e.g. the hospital this season.

As someone pointed out though upthread, LA is a densely populated community so it seems unlikely in a ZA that virtually anyone would survive.

 

[Ryan8bit]

I'm guessing that like the high school seen in season 2, this one in "Cobalt" will also have a FEMA shelter set up. I'd imagine the first season as taking place mostly in said school (given the amount of cast described as students or teachers), but they'll eventually be forced out. It's hard to imagine there being too much of a safe shelter, especially if they're in the city.

I'm not sure how I feel about a lot of teenaged cast members though.

 

[DarthTom]

I'm not sure how I feel about a lot of teenaged cast members though.

Why's that? We actually already have one, Carl. In reality Chandler Riggs is a teenager.

 

[Ryan8bit]

One is enough.

 

[JD]

I just started re-watching WKRP on Hulu. It's even funnier than I remember. I'll have to check to see if they have Carol Burnett, too. I loved that show.

MeTV is going to start showing The Carol Burnett show in January.
As for Cobalt, I'm very curious about it. I don't think LA is a bad setting, it should have a pretty different feel from Atlanta, and I'm very interested to see the early days of the ZA.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I think if there's a problem with the spinoff, is that it is obligated to dip into the explored well of abusive / dangerous humans--everything we have seen (in one form or another) over the 5 seasons of WD. From cannibals, thieves, megalomaniacs, rapists (or those who project that threat, as in "Nebraska"), inmates and ego / control conflicts, will this end up being more of the same, only "turned up" to shock audiences into thinking that it out performs the parent series on the grim/shock scale?

 

[Sindatur]

I think if there's a problem with the spinoff, is that it is obligated to dip into the explored well of abusive / dangerous humans--everything we have seen (in one form or another) over the 5 seasons of WD. From cannibals, thieves, megalomaniacs, rapists (or those who project that threat, as in "Nebraska"), inmates and ego / control conflicts, will this end up being more of the same, only "turned up" to shock audiences into thinking that it out performs the parent series on the grim/shock scale?

Since this is starting at the beginning of the ZA, it will almost certainly focus (to start with) upon society falling and learning to deal with the Zombies. Learning that Humans are as big or a bigger threat as the Zombies won't come until after folks learn how to deal with Zombies.

 

[Velocity]

I wonder how the gangs and the urban setting will play into it.