Frank Darabont to write/direct Walking Dead series for AMC

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 10:48 am

CGMark wrote:Oh, something we were discussing last night. Any idea how long he was in the hospital? Long enough for the flowers to die. And I know the guy and his son mention sort of a time between events. Like when the gas went out and such.

There was some discussion of this a few pages back in this thread, but the short answer is that unless you look to the comics, no, there's no clear indication how long he was out. You'd think he might be curious and might have asked Morgan or something, but he never does. We know that it's a month or more based on how long Morgan says the gas was out, but that's it so far. We can make some assumptions about how long he was in his hospital room unattended based on how long a person could survive in a coma with no food or water, but given that he gets up and wanders off after a month-plus in bed, they're not necessarily shooting for complete medical accuracy.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 10:57 am

I want to get on the show and become zombie Santa.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 10:59 am

dbt1949 wrote:I want to get on the show and become zombie Santa.

You clearly don't need to be on the show for that.

fancydirt · Post by **fancydirt** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 10:59 am

CGMark wrote:Oh, something we were discussing last night. Any idea how long he was in the hospital? Long enough for the flowers to die. And I know the guy and his son mention sort of a time between events. Like when the gas went out and such.

The TV series doesn't go into any detail on it yet, from the comic we learn...

Spoiler:

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 11:04 am

I guess I'll be the dissenting voice - I didn't think last night's show was anywhere in the same realm as last week's. I think part of the problem (for me) was that all of a sudden there were 7+ more characters. I'm also reading the comic now and the difference in what happens in the city is pretty significant. The whole getting the box truck and sports car event seemed rather...Hollywood. I almost felt like Will Smith should have been punching the zombies in the face and yelling "Hell no!" while it was all going down.

It just felt off to me - and needless complex with all those people trying to get out safely.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 11:10 am

fancydirt wrote:The TV series doesn't go into any detail on it yet, from the comic we learn...

Spoiler:
There's mention that he was out for 3 weeks before people started to move into the city for refuge, there's also separate mention that the radio stations stopped broadcasting about 3 weeks (I think, I don't have it with me to double check) after the outbreak occurred. Allowing for some overlap we can probably infer that he was out for 5-8 weeks in the comic while the TV series thus far has no intention of providing a timeline.

FYI - there's a separate thread here for discussions of comic-related spoilers. That will hopefully keep this thread safe for folks who just want to focus on the show and not be spoiled for upcoming episodes based on what may have happened in the comics.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 11:15 am

Smoove_B wrote:I guess I'll be the dissenting voice - I didn't think last night's show was anywhere in the same realm as last week's. I think part of the problem (for me) was that all of a sudden there were 7+ more characters. I'm also reading the comic now and the difference in what happens in the city is pretty significant. The whole getting the box truck and sports car event seemed rather...Hollywood. I almost felt like Will Smith should have been punching the zombies in the face and yelling "Hell no!" while it was all going down.

It just felt off to me - and needless complex with all those people trying to get out safely.

I guess my take on the show as a whole is that it's a very different situation if it's always just Rick Grimes dealing with and relying on himself. He may get into shitty situations (like stuck in the tank), but he also doesn't have to deal with all the baggage that other people bring along. I felt like the premiere set the expectation that he will run into other people and have to deal with them for good or for ill. After all, his hope was to find a refugee center that, presumably, would have been filled with thousands of people.

Now, if I hadn't liked the people - if they'd been flat or unrealistic - then I wouldn't have cared for them, but I especially liked Glenn and I enjoyed the interplay between Merle and the others (mostly T-Dog and Rick, of course). Moreover, they weren't just random people - they were scavengers from the camp where Rick's own wife and kid are currently living, so they didn't feel too much like a random plot device. They helped carry the overall story forward, or at least that's what they felt like they were doing.

The street/vehicle scenes could easily have been WAY more over the top (and would have been in a typical hollywood feature. In fact, they pretty much were in the Ving Rhames Dawn of the Dead), so I didn't find them objectionable.

As to differences from the comics - meh, I'm not planning to read the comics anytime soon. I don't have the money to buy them, I'm not necessarily a huge fan of B&W comics, and I'd rather just focus on and enjoy the show for now.

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 11:42 am

I enjoyed the episode. The rain reminded my of the Alanis Morisette song, Ironic. I didn't think it was too over the top. Two things that bugged me, though. If the kid can drive around in the car why couldn't others? Why would everyone leave on just the road leaving town while the road into town didn't have a single car? Surely people would have utilized both with the traffic like that. Second, how did he manage to drive around without the zombies stopping him? Are we to assume that the zombies who stopped other people from doing the same thing are gone? Did he just get lucky?

I assume that showing the kid alone in the car driving down the road is just foreshadowing his imminent death.

cheeba · Post by **cheeba** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:03 pm

What bugs me slightly about the show is how little the survivors apparently regard the risk of infection. When they were...

Spoiler:

They need to establish either an immunity to the infection or they need to retract that it just takes a "scratch" to get infected.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:10 pm

EvilHomer3k wrote:If the kid can drive around in the car why couldn't others? Why would everyone leave on just the road leaving town while the road into town didn't have a single car? Surely people would have utilized both with the traffic like that.

They haven't said so we don't know, but I can think of a few good explanations:

1. Naturally, we're only seeing the remains of the cars that DIDN'T make it. Those that did, if any, are long gone and wouldn't be visible. So The lack of cars in the inbound lane is as much an argument that it was used (successfully) as that it wasn't used at all. We don't know.

2. As for why the outbound lane would be different, I think it would be a symptom of the growing nature of the disaster. As things started to look worse, more and more people started trying to drive out of town, causing huge traffic jams. Then, when everybody's trapped there on the highway, some previously-sick people die and then wake up as zombies (or zombies stagger out from elsewhere... or both), and now you've got a huge feeding ground of people trapped in cars and zombie mobs. Eventually, there's nobody left - the people who can't flee either die of dehydration hiding inside their cars or they get turned into zombies. The people who CAN flee do so, but they're pursued by zombies which explains why there aren't any left on the bridge.

All of which happens within a day or so - quickly enough that nobody has yet begun to risk using the inbound lane to exit the city - there's still traffic on it as people drive in looking for the "safety" of the refugee centers, perhaps. Or maybe this even happens before the refugee centers are announced. Either way, the inbound side remains largely clear because not as many people are using it and it doesn't jam up.

Second, how did he manage to drive around without the zombies stopping him? Are we to assume that the zombies who stopped other people from doing the same thing are gone? Did he just get lucky?

I think we can assume that the people who did the same thing previously are gone, yes. I don't think we know what happened to the specific zombies that would have pursued them - likely they're still shambling around somewhere. Did he get lucky? Well, sure - it could easily have gone badly for him as he's cruising around streets that are filled with debris, broken-down and abandoned vehicles and the walking dead. In fact, his driving was definitely way over the top in terms of the precision spin-outs and such that he was doing, so I suppose if we want to cling to some suspension of disbelief we have to conclude that Glenn is an awesome-tastic driver and was therefore more likely to survive than others who may have tried the same thing.

But really, what's the problem with people driving around through the zombie-infested city? Either they crash, or they get where they're going. Or they try to stop and get out and get munched on. I didn't see anything during that scene to suggest that the show was asking us to believe that those sorts of outcomes hadn't taken place. If you're asking why there aren't more people driving around Atlanta still, I guess the answer (or the counter-question, if you will) would have to be - why would there be? What would be the point? Everyone with a working vehicle who could have left Atlanta would have done so weeks ago, or else they crashed somewhere or got stuck in traffic and eaten (see above). I didn't see anything that ran contrary to those basic assumptions, did you?

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 12:51 pm

I had hoped that they would leave that bit out of the TV show. Once I saw what the episode was titled though, I had a sinking feeling.

Spoiler:

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:13 pm

Smoove_B wrote:I guess I'll be the dissenting voice - I didn't think last night's show was anywhere in the same realm as last week's. I think part of the problem (for me) was that all of a sudden there were 7+ more characters. I'm also reading the comic now and the difference in what happens in the city is pretty significant. The whole getting the box truck and sports car event seemed rather...Hollywood. I almost felt like Will Smith should have been punching the zombies in the face and yelling "Hell no!" while it was all going down.

It just felt off to me - and needless complex with all those people trying to get out safely.

Can't say I disagree it's a pretty sharp drop off in quality from week 1 to week 2. Still enjoyed it but I wasn't blown away like the first week. It should start picking up a bit once he gets back to camp.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:33 pm

This week's definitely felt more like a TV show than the more cinematic style of the first episode. Even felt like it had scripted places for the commercial breaks.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:40 pm

Bob wrote:This week's definitely felt more like a TV show than the more cinematic style of the first episode. Even felt like it had scripted places for the commercial breaks.

Considering one was directed by a motion picture director and the other by a TV-show director, that's not a huge surprise. I can't say I really noticed it, however.

JonathanStrange · Post by **JonathanStrange** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:48 pm

What irritates me is why are these "walkers" moving around? They're dead aren't they? And you're telling me they're all cannibals now? How unbelievable is that?

I don't have a problem with what I think are the more minor aspects of The Walking Dead's portrayal of zombies. If I accept the premise that the dead are walking and attacking the living, then I'm flexible about such things like some walkers managing little more than a half-hearted shuffle while others are a bit more adept. I would be disconcerted, disappointed, discombobulated if there were those speedy adrenaline rage zombies about but that's 'cause I prefer the more TBS zombie show to the FPS or RTS zombie show.

Zombie books/movie/games seem to pilfer ideas/scenes from each other. So much so that it's almost as if it's mandatory. The Walking Dead's "disguise yourself as a zombie and attempt to fit in" reminded me of (among others) Shaun of the Dead's walk to the bar and barricade oneself in and of an effort in a Brian Keane book in which some survivors attempt the same disguise which failed because Keane's zombies were really animated corpses controlled by evil beings who could sense life auras. Smelling like a dead guy didn't help those unfortunates.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 2:58 pm

JonathanStrange wrote:What irritates me is why are these "walkers" moving around? They're dead aren't they? And you're telling me they're all cannibals now? How unbelievable is that?

I don't have a problem with what I think are the more minor aspects of The Walking Dead's portrayal of zombies. If I accept the premise that the dead are walking and attacking the living, then I'm flexible about such things like some walkers managing little more than a half-hearted shuffle while others are a bit more adept.

Yeah, this is my take as well. It's definitely possible to push the envelope of what I'll accept, and for me the whole "smelling" thing is borderline, but I can go along with it to a point since they really haven't given me anything to go on in terms of how the zombies in this world function. Is it disease? Magic? Divine retribution? Since I don't know, I also don't have much basis to complain that something the zombies do should or shouldn't be possible.

I do have to wonder, however, how somebody figured out that the zombies were reacting to them based on smell rather than on some other factor. I also am lead to wonder how they feel about skunks.

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 3:23 pm

Liked the episode but it wasn't as good as the original. The pilot did a good job showcasing the human aspect of the story, and not just focusing on the zombies. While I felt like last nights episode tried to dive into the human element, it just wasn't as good.

One thing about the outbound lane, my first thought in the pilot episode was that whoever set up the refuge camp in Atlanta (miliary?) cleared the inbound lane of traffic. I'm fairly convinced that this isn't correct, as there are no cars on the side of the highway and it looks like the refuge camp never even existed. But I still think of that every time I see the empty lanes.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 3:56 pm

EvilHomer3k wrote:I enjoyed the episode.

Me too!

If the kid can drive around in the car why couldn't others? Why would everyone leave on just the road leaving town while the road into town didn't have a single car? Surely people would have utilized both with the traffic like that.

It wasn't realistic, I agree. But it made for some cool wide-angle scenery with 4-lanes of stuck traffic leaving town as far as you could seen off into the horizon and a solitary dude on a horse trying to get into that town with four lanes wide open all for his own use.

Second, how did he manage to drive around without the zombies stopping him?

Personally, I enjoy watching for the character development than I do for the ultra picky details. But I think I'm in a (fortunate) minority when it comes to watching geek shows in that sense.

Lots of the really cool cinematography seems like it's done to match iconic comic book frames (I haven't read the graphic novels, so I don't know) much like Sin City did on the big screen. It's hard not to see something and think "Oh, I bet that looked like a cool frame in the comic."

fancydirt · Post by **fancydirt** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 5:06 pm

Odin wrote:FYI - there's a separate thread here for discussions of comic-related spoilers. That will hopefully keep this thread safe for folks who just want to focus on the show and not be spoiled for upcoming episodes based on what may have happened in the comics.

I know, but I don't think what I had to say really spoiled anything at all and the person who was pondering it is not likely to ever go into the other thread.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 5:44 pm

Regarding spoilers in general, as long as folks make clear (outside the spoiler tags) to what the spoiler refers (TV show, graphic novel, how they think things *should* be, etc.) then it's pretty hard to do it wrong (in this thread or by Odin's request to use some other thread).

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 5:46 pm

Surprising no one, AMC has ordered a second season.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 5:54 pm

I enjoyed the second episode immensely.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:06 pm

Odin wrote: It's definitely possible to push the envelope of what I'll accept, and for me the whole "smelling" thing is borderline, but I can go along with it to a point since they really haven't given me anything to go on in terms of how the zombies in this world function.

I had less of a problem with the "stank defense" plan than seeing zombies climb fences. I was initially against the rock smashing, but then I remembered this at @2:18.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:09 pm

AWS260 wrote:Surprising no one, AMC has ordered a second season.

I'm sure I read a similar report even before the premiere aired - they were so sure of the show that they'd already begun work on season 2. This after upping the initial broadcast from a mini-series to a six-episode series. I think AMC's been absolutely thrilled by this show from the get-go, and the insanely-high ratings have only served to justify their enthusiasm.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:45 pm

Smoove_B wrote:
Odin wrote: It's definitely possible to push the envelope of what I'll accept, and for me the whole "smelling" thing is borderline, but I can go along with it to a point since they really haven't given me anything to go on in terms of how the zombies in this world function.
I had less of a problem with the "stank defense" plan than seeing zombies climb fences. I was initially against the rock smashing, but then I remembered this at @2:18.

Coincidentally, this was on one of the cable stations Saturday afternoon, and I was just coming here to make the same point. Of course, it could be argued that Romero didn't really settle on the rules until Dawn.

JonathanStrange · Post by **JonathanStrange** » Mon Nov 08, 2010 7:30 pm

Perhaps the show's creators/advisers have a consistent zombie rulebook. I hope so.

I've no bone to pick with an occasional zombie wielding in an awkward fashion a rock or pointy stick to bash something - if it's handy. I could justify it as a trace memory sparking a "use this object" impulse. If they all had rocks and were flinging them like baseballs then I'd be less forgiving.

The fence-climbing zombies were jarring - but I'm forgiving: when your bad guys move at like 1-2 mph, when they make the old-time black-and-white movie mummies look like track stars, you might as director want some additional tension. There were only a few fence-climbers though - and a shot of them tumbling awkwardly backward or over wouldn't have hurt.

Some things I just enjoyed for the cool visual - like the deputy entering Atlanta when the exit route pileup suggested that bad things had happened in the city and he should turn around. As has been pointed out, the deputy's resolved to find his family regardless of the personal risk. Perhaps they could be in a fortified compound within, he might be thinking.

Anyhow, still enjoying the series though the interviews with various people associated with it wherin they say "This in NOT a show about zombies but about surviving and remaining human" makes me more nervous than a guy with only a couple rounds left in his revolver whose just heard movement in the next room.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:40 am

Ratings, ep two:

The renewal that was already inevitable after last week's premiere is now official: AMC has ordered a second season for the zombie drama "The Walking Dead." AMC made the formal renewal the day after "The Walking Dead" aired its second episode, drawing a whopping 4.7 million viewers, including 3.3 million in the key 18-49 demographic. That showed only minor audience decomposition from last week's Halloween premiere, which pulled in 5.3 million viewers, including 3.6 million in the coveted demo.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni5366400/" target="_blank

Not much drop off at all.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:42 am

Yeah, I especially like the quote from AMC's press release:

Since debuting Sunday, October 31, "The Walking Dead" has broken ratings records, with the series reaching more Adults 18-49 than any other show in the history of cable television.

AjD · Post by **AjD** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:24 pm

Just watched ep 2. Liked it, and saw some very encouraging details that bode well for this series. Specifically:

Darabont's unique vision for zombiedom is emerging. It's firmly built on classic Romero (perhaps more so than any other post-Romero filmmaker), but updated to further ramp up suspense. It's all about slooooooow - as if Darabont is saying to younger "fast zombie" fans, "You think slow zombies aren't as scary? Hah! I'll show you scary!"

Two rules of the Darabont zombiverse that illustrate this:

First, rocks. Darabont said in one interview (paraphrasing, about zombie behavior): "If they did it in Night of the Living Dead, they'll do it in Walking Dead." Hence, we get that one street zombie who awkwardly bangs a rock against the department store glass.

Again, like with NOTLD's cemetery zombie, not every zombie can do this - just the occasional Walker, and even then in a clumsy (but menacing) way. The viewer always wonders if one of the pursuing zombies might start mechanically bashing a window; pounding a flimsy door; etc. And when they do... it's agonizingly, heart-poundingly slow. Which creates even more suspense. Nice.

Second, senses. These zombies can hear and smell. I know "zombies reacting to noise" has at least been implied in past flicks, but I can't remember seeing it so richly explored before (and we're just getting started). Again, it's a great way to suddenly create fear-filled situations (car alarms go off, etc). It also gives our heroes another tool for escape.

But best of all, zombies can smell!

I know its controversial, but I think it's genius. The animal part of the zombie brain has been turned on, and now they smell prey. Again, it's all about making slow scarier - when the gut-soaked heroes try to escape, they even have to walk slowly. Will they be discovered? And when? I could barely make it through the "reach the truck" scene without taking a panic break. Of course, this device could be abused - we'll see. The fact they needed to wear full-length overcoats, rubber gloves, etc. is a good sign (those items won't always be available). Maybe later in the series we can see a botched version of this where one of the major characters contracts zombie disease while wearing a blood-soaked disguise.

Still, it's a new wrinkle for the slow zombie genre, and that's great IMO. My non-zombie fan wife isn't watching Walking Dead because "all zombie stories are basically the same." (She's also a total horror film wimp, but that's another story.) When I explained the "zombies can smell" mechanic, she was impressed. "That's new, I'll give you that," she said. I agree.

Only misstep for me was the fence climber. It seemed inconsistent with what we've seen so far with the Daradead - they can't climb ladders, they have little major muscle control, etc. But mostly, it worked against the slowburn approach that's being explored. I hope Darabont continues to work this "slow = terrifying" direction, and the quick fence hopping is kept at a minimum.

Aj

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:25 pm

Smoove_B wrote:I was initially against the rock smashing, but then I remembered this at @2:18.

I still don't understand why we are only allowed to operate on the rules set forth by Romero. These "walkers" can use rocks and climb fences. So what?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:29 pm

If zombies can crawl, then they can climb. All they're doing is substituting the vertical direction for the horizontal. They don't have to be great about it. Note that they weren't able to make it up the ladders after the initial rescue, but a fence is much less challenging with all the holes and the limited height.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:33 pm

RunningMn9 wrote:
Smoove_B wrote:I was initially against the rock smashing, but then I remembered this at @2:18.
I still don't understand why we are only allowed to operate on the rules set forth by Romero. These "walkers" can use rocks and climb fences. So what?

It's so firmly ingrained into our minds that we instantly go. Hey they can't do that! I had to fight against that thinking a few times. I'm going to be very sad when the season runs out.

AjD · Post by **AjD** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:38 pm

RunningMn9 wrote:I still don't understand why we are only allowed to operate on the rules set forth by Romero. These "walkers" can use rocks and climb fences. So what?

My opinion on this - I love the zombie genre because it scares me so much. And slow zombies (for me) are the scariest. It's like the part of the roller coaster ride when you start to slowly climb up that big hill (before the 50 foot drop). All that anticipation is terrifying. I love it!

Now if zombie's can accomplish more things with any degree of speed or expertise (like easily hopping fences, sprinting/running, etc.), the "slow climb up the big hill" part of the roller coaster ride is in danger of going away. Instead, it's all just "action!!!"

Which may be "exciting". But to me, it's a lot less scary.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:46 pm

I was thinking about this last night, but I finally put my finger on what about the infiltrating-the-walkers scene bugged me so much. The walkers that were sniffing at Rick and the kid seemed a little too sentient - there was no indication that they were mindless husks acting entirely on instinct.

The other thought I had - and this is purely pissing in the wind, since it would change the concept of the series entirely -was a different story about different groups of people each week, but all set in this universe. Kind of like World War Z. We could explore the world form all sorts of angles, and since there isn't a single hero or group of heroes from week to week, anyone can die at any time. I haven't read the comic, but I'm guessing we never have to worry about Rick getting seriously hurt.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:56 pm

AjD wrote: Which may be "exciting". But to me, it's a lot less scary.

Exactly. Romero's formula sets the stage for inescapable dread. I can live with limited tool use. I can live with slow, lumbering zombies as well as freshly animated corpses moving at a much faster pace. I like when they freeze and fully reanimate when thawed. Climbing ladders and fences makes me uncomfortable. Zombies are awesome because they'll wait outside your door, hoping you'll try to make a run for it. Not because they're going to scale the outside of the structure and drop in through a skylight.

Once you start tweaking what they can and can't do, the original formula as to why they're so awesome can start to fall apart.

The dead never rest

AjD · Post by **AjD** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 12:58 pm

tgb wrote:[A] different story about different groups of people each week, but all set in this universe. Kind of like World War Z. We could explore the world form all sorts of angles, and since there isn't a single hero or group of heroes from week to week, anyone can die at any time. I haven't read the comic, but I'm guessing we never have to worry about Rick getting seriously hurt.

I think you almost have that scenario right now. The sheriff dude can hop in and out of situations with different groups of survivors repeatedly, with any variety of guest stars in new situations. And who knows how long they'll each survive.

Now with respect to major recurring characters and the "anyone can die at any time" idea, these serialized cable dramas often take a page out of The Sopranos (the grandfather of all these series).

So, just like in Sopranos, it seems like any character is fair game to die... eventually. Even major ones. It adds to the suspense. The only person who's off limits is the sheriff (he's our Tony Soprano).

Of course, when the sheriff/Tony Soprano dies, that's how you know the series is over. I'll be particularly concerned if the sheriff wanders into a certain little diner in New Jersey...

(I haven't read the comic either, so this is my honest non-spoilered reaction.)

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:01 pm

tgb wrote:The other thought I had - and this is purely pissing in the wind, since it would change the concept of the series entirely -was a different story about different groups of people each week, but all set in this universe. Kind of like World War Z. We could explore the world form all sorts of angles, and since there isn't a single hero or group of heroes from week to week, anyone can die at any time.

Who knows, maybe the success of Walking Dead will give a kick in the pants to the WWZ film, which has been stuck in development hell for a couple of years and still seems to be going nowhere fast (despite having Brad Pitt attached). Better still, perhaps somebody will decide to transition WWZ to TV rather than film, which would be a MUCH better medium for it.

AjD · Post by **AjD** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:06 pm

Odin wrote:Who knows, maybe the success of Walking Dead will give a kick in the pants to the WWZ film, which has been stuck in development hell for a couple of years and still seems to be going nowhere fast (despite having Brad Pitt attached). Better still, perhaps somebody will decide to transition WWZ to TV rather than film, which would be a MUCH better medium for it.

Yes... if this show becomes a huge hit (on the level of Mad Men, The Wire, etc), we're going to see a hoard of zombie projects get the green light. And some will really suck. But some will be good, and maybe a few will be really great works that push the genre further.

Good times! In the bad old days (pre-28 Days Later), even a mediocre zombie effort was cause for celebration.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:08 pm

Odin wrote:
tgb wrote:The other thought I had - and this is purely pissing in the wind, since it would change the concept of the series entirely -was a different story about different groups of people each week, but all set in this universe. Kind of like World War Z. We could explore the world form all sorts of angles, and since there isn't a single hero or group of heroes from week to week, anyone can die at any time.
Who knows, maybe the success of Walking Dead will give a kick in the pants to the WWZ film, which has been stuck in development hell for a couple of years and still seems to be going nowhere fast (despite having Brad Pitt attached). Better still, perhaps somebody will decide to transition WWZ to TV rather than film, which would be a MUCH better medium for it.

Agreed. I could never see how the episodic nature of WWZ would translate to film successfully.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:11 pm

AjD wrote:And slow zombies (for me) are the scariest.

Seriously? Fast as hell zombies are way more terrifying to me. I feel like I can survive in a world overrun by slow zombies. Fast zombies? Kill me now. No way you can overcome that. Don't get me wrong - I'm an equal opportunity zombie lover. I'll watch *any* zombie movie with any sort of zombies, and I'll enjoy it. I can get on board slow, shuffling zombies too - and I think they work in this show. But if they can climb fences, I'm cool with that.