The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Blackhawk »

I watched the first six seasons religiously as they came out, but stalled at the beginning of season 7. Negan had Daryl, Carol had issues, Glenn had a headache, and King Wenceslas had Tigger. I think I saw three episodes before I wandered off

At some point in the series it just started to feel repetitive. After the zombies had faded into the Mad Max background, and figuring out how the new world worked was a thing of the past, it started to feel like, "Here are the delusional good guys for this season; here are the heartless bad guys with imaginative uses for walkers. Now let's sit and watch them get alternately angry and crazy at each other." It had some great seasons, and it had some not great seasons.

But now I've got the urge for what TWD was when it was at it's best. Is it worth going back, restarting season 7, and catching up? Or would I be better jumping sideways in to Fear the Walking Dead?
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Smoove_B »

Opinions vary, but I'm of the mind the show has long worn-out it's welcome. I'm at sunken-cost investment level and will finish the series, but I honestly can't recommend it. I'm not even sure where it went off the rails (S6 is a good guess) but I haven't enjoyed it all that much. Sure, there have been great episodes (this last season had probably one of the best of the entire series), but I don't know if its worth barreling through so much nonsense to get there.

As someone that just abandoned cable/satellite, AMC is one of the channels I'm now without. I need to figure it out for Better Call Saul, but I'm not motivated to try and come up with a cable-cutter solution for AMC to watch this show when it resumes.

I never watched Fear the Walking Dead so I can't comment on value there. I watched The World Beyond but it was a solid "meh" for me and I don't really feel like continuing.

EDIT: I need more coffee and a proofreader
Last edited by Smoove_B on Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by hepcat »

I thought the show's change in season 4 to a team of ghost hunting teenagers driving around in an old van was a bit odd. Throwing in a barely coherent talking dog obviously on the brink of a nervous breakdown, then making his caretaker a drug addicted faux beatnik didn't help matters much. I only hope that the upcoming changes they've announced will bring some much needed sanity back to the show. You can't do wrong with a Morgan Freeman voiceover.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Kraken »

Smoove_B wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:30 pm Opinions vary, but I'm of the mind the show has long worn-out it's welcome. I'm at sunken-cost investment level and will finish the series, but I honestly can't recommend it. I'm not even sure where it went off the rails (S6 is a good guess) but I haven't enjoyed it all that much. Sure, there have been great episodes (this last season had probably one of the best of the entire series), but I don't know if its worth barreling through so much nonsense to get there.

As someone that just abandoned cable/satellite, AMC is one of the channels I'm now without. I need to figure it out for Better Call Saul, but I'm not motivated to try and come up with a cable-cutter solution for AMC to watch this show when it resumes.

I never watched Fear the Walking Dead so I can't comment on value there. I watched The World Beyond but it was a solid "meh" for me and I don't really feel like continuing.

EDIT: I need more coffee and a proofreader
I'm more or less the same; still watching out of habit, but between the "half season" breaks, the pandemic pause, and alternating with FTWD, I struggle to remember the current story arc and minor characters in either show, much less look forward to them. If I had lost the thread years ago I don't think I'd bother picking it back up.

My "streaming cable" is YouTube TV, btw. It's expensive, but it delivers everything I missed when we lost our cable -- AMC, Cartoon Network (Rick & Morty), Fox (Bob's Burgers), live TV on rare occasions, and especially TCM.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Torfish »

My wife and I loved The Walking Dead. Watched it every week.... until the Negan scene at the beginning of season 6. I think it was season 6 if I can remember correctly. It was way too gory and among other things that occurred. That one episode kind of ruined it. Our interest plummeted. My wife dropped it right away and I kept watching here and there for a year with little interest. The direction of the story went south quick. Really sad because it was a great show with many likable characters that we cared about. The show went for shock value over a good story that moved the show forward.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Chraolic »

It used to be one of my favourite shows around the first few seasons, and now I haven't even watched the episodes after the intended season 10 finale because I just feel like "More episodes? But why?", so I would say it hasn't gotten any better than it was in season 7. Barely any of the original actors are left, so you're not missing anything much there either.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Blackhawk wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:24 pm But now I've got the urge for what TWD was when it was at it's best. Is it worth going back, restarting season 7, and catching up? Or would I be better jumping sideways in to Fear the Walking Dead?
Read the comics, forget the show.

Technically I suppose I am mostly in the same space you are. I wandered away at around the same time though I have seen a good chunk of FTWD but I remember precisely NONE of it which might tell you all you need to know there.

The comic had some issues, but it was well worth the read. The show dawdled WAAYYYYY too much in the later seasons.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by stimpy »

If I could go back in time and never start watching this series so I wouldnt feel obligated to stick with it, I would.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Grifman »

I dropped out somewhere around Season 4 I think, soon after Alexandria was almost wiped out by a swarm and right before Negan made his appearance. For me it was just too depressing, it seemed like every bit of progress was wiped out at some point, it just seemed so hopeless again and again. I understand it's an apocalypse but it was hard for me to keep going on.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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stimpy wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 4:45 pm If I could go back in time and never start watching this series so I wouldnt feel obligated to stick with it, I would.
The end cant come soon enough.
Yowch. That is a brutal assessment. And makes me glad that I never started watching it.

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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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TheMix wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 9:46 am
stimpy wrote: Tue Jun 22, 2021 4:45 pm If I could go back in time and never start watching this series so I wouldnt feel obligated to stick with it, I would.
The end cant come soon enough.
Yowch. That is a brutal assessment. And makes me glad that I never started watching it.
I think the first season is well worth a watch as a standalone at the very least and it took a few seasons to become actively frustrating.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by YellowKing »

I recently went back to try Season 9 after a long hiatus and it was....painful. The drama seems forced, watching characters you care about argue and fight with each other is not fun, and the zombie threat that seemed so immediate way back in Season 1 now feels like background noise to the soap opera.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Blackhawk »

Got it. I will look elsewhere for my zombie kicks. I may try FtWD. At least the characters haven't become tired (to me) yet.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Blackhawk wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:45 am Got it. I will look elsewhere for my zombie kicks. I may try FtWD.
That's even worse.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by rittchard »

hepcat wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:48 am
Blackhawk wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 10:45 am Got it. I will look elsewhere for my zombie kicks. I may try FtWD.
That's even worse.
LMAO - yeah don't go with FTWD. If you want to stick with the universe, I think The World Beyond is better.

If you want really dark, gritty zombie fare, go with Black Summer. I hated the second season for different reasons, but it's still a much more interesting zombie show if you are into the survival aspects.

I'm still a fan of the original TWD. They've had bad missteps, but when they get things right it's still a strong show. They have some characters that are just really appealing, so it's hard for me to not see how their journey ends in the next couple of years.

The other thing to look out for is the upcoming Rick Grimes movie, which I think is still on.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by hepcat »

Side note: The name Rick Grimes just shouts sad sack loser to me. Why Kirkman went with that name is beyond me. Every time I hear his name, I expect to see some guy falling down stairs or hitting his thumb with a hammer while sad trombone plays in the background.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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rittchard wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 12:12 pm If you want really dark, gritty zombie fare, go with Black Summer. I hated the second season for different reasons, but it's still a much more interesting zombie show if you are into the survival aspects.
Well that's disappointing to hear. I was looking forward to starting the second season this weekend.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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hepcat wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 12:18 pm Side note: The name Rick Grimes just shouts sad sack loser to me. Why Kirkman went with that name is beyond me. Every time I hear his name, I expect to see some guy falling down stairs or hitting his thumb with a hammer while sad trombone plays in the background.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Is that a young Gil Gunderson? That's the character I always think of when I hear the name "Rick Grimes". :lol:
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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hepcat wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 12:28 pm Is that a young Gil Gunderson? That's the character I always think of when I hear the name "Rick Grimes". :lol:
It's Grimey.....
https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Frank_Grimes
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Le sigh.

I will move on.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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The zombie genre is...well....dead. No one is doing anything even remotely interesting within its confines. It's time to retire it and bring something else to the table.

I really think this is going to be the year of Chinese hopping vampires, to be honest.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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We are overdue for a good jiangshi flick.

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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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I... I... I...

...

Why does it hop?

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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

Post by Isgrimnur »

It skipped leg day.

Wiki
A jiangshi, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire,[1] is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. ... It is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched.
...
The Chinese character for "jiang" (僵) in "jiangshi" literally means "hard" or "stiff". It is believed that the jiangshi are so stiff that they cannot bend their limbs or body, so they have to move around by hopping while keeping their arms stretched out for mobility.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Blackhawk wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 4:21 pm We are overdue for a good jiangshi flick.
Now just imagine how good the Twilight films would have been with hopping vampires as the leads.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Is that Long Duk Dong? It briefly looked like Gedde Watanabe.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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You laugh, but can you seriously say this doesn't fill you with fear?

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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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hepcat wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:11 am You laugh, but can you seriously say this doesn't fill you with fear?

Image
That so looks like a Monty Python skit.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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And I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but Kingdom on Netflix is a great Korean zombie series.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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It's a fantastic show, true. In spite of the zombies not even trying to freakin' hop.

I had forgotten about that one.

What I love about Kingdom is that it plays like HBO's Rome but set in a zombie outbreak. The politics are a big part of the show.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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hepcat wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:23 am It's a fantastic show, true. In spite of the zombies not even trying to freakin' hop.

I had forgotten about that one.

What I love about Kingdom is that it plays like HBO's Rome but set in a zombie outbreak. The politics are a big part of the show.
Yeah but how does it stack up to iZombie? How many of the zombies are hot?
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Depends on your personal preference, I believe. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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I gave up on it after four seasons. Too much repetitiveness.
Plus I hate all shows with fast zombies. I can extend disbelief just so far.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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hepcat wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 10:23 am It's a fantastic show, true. In spite of the zombies not even trying to freakin' hop.

I had forgotten about that one.

What I love about Kingdom is that it plays like HBO's Rome but set in a zombie outbreak. The politics are a big part of the show.
That does sound interesting, and they have a dub. I'll put it on my list.

I do wish we could get some good zombie films/series that isn't set in 'today.' Give us some Weird West (say, a cross between Penny Dreadful and Deadwood.) Give us Weird War 2 (ala Wolfenstein/the Hellboy opening scene.) Or just give us The Walking Dead set in 1920-1940s, or the late renaissance.

The Weird War 2 could make for a great series.

And yes, I am stealing naming conventions from Savage Worlds. Hell, just give us an HBO Deadlands series. That'd be amazing.
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Re: The Walking Dead - is it worth going back?

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Blackhawk wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 12:49 pm Give us Weird War 2 (ala Wolfenstein/the Hellboy opening scene.)
Try this
I enjoyed it alot.
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