Huffy Flounce

Watching it next, after The Flash.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

Told you, nothing ever happens on this show anymore.

I know, dull, dull, dull. If I wasn't clinging on to the edge of my seat and shouting at the TV I would have fallen asleep.

I know, right? Bbbbbbooooooring!

Who sets a scene in a revolving door? I mean, come on!

Stupid, dumb and boring.

I guess I'll tune in again this Sunday to see what boring ol'thing they're going to do next. *yawn*

In all seriousness (sarcasm aside), this season is building to something really, really depressing. And I mean that in the context of the show.

Are the comics like this? Plot that moves at glacial speed. The same old heartfelt one-on-ones that repeat the same old manta. There are so many other ways this show could have went. Exploring a city, an island or an aircraft carrier. Maybe try for a cure or raid a mall once in a while or one of the thousands of military bases that dot the landscape. Trying to make contact with a radio of some kind, haven't seen that side season one. Logic is left at the door and all but come on. There are RV parks and retail places every 20 km where I live, surely to God they could have found one and not travel by foot everywhere.

I have forgotten why I watch this show.

I don't know, it seems like the places where lots of people used to live (cities, towns, rv parks) are the most dangerous as that's where most of the walkers are (and also other dangerous humans scavenging). It also seems like bad things happen every time they find a vehicle.

I like that they don't force feed us a timeline. I have no clue how much time has transpired since Episode 1. Lesser shows would probably force feed us information.

People bitched about the walls of Alexandria being backwards, too. Rick answered that in the very next episode by basically saying to Deanna, "Your fucking walls are backwards. People are going to climb up them and kill you. I would too."

Watching the next episode now. Really building to something very bad. Lying, lying bastards.

As an aside - in the comics or in the show - will we ever find out the source of the pandemic?

I need to catch up with the show, but I just watched "Forget" today. First of all: Goddamn, Carol!

Second, the song that played at the end of the episode stood out to me because it reminded me of the Puhdys' "Wenn ein Mensch lebt." Turns out it's a Bee Gees song I had never heard before, "Spicks and Specks." I doubt it's a coincidence. From what I've seen, Eastern Bloc countries often tried to come up with their own versions of Western pop-cultural products.

Here are the two songs:





The similarity isn't primarily in the melody, but in the piano bass-line that then also gets taken up by the guitar. Even the octave shifts seem to progress similarly. The Wikipedia article for "Wenn ein Mensch lebt" mentions that both songs' bass-lines correspond to Pachelbel's Canon, but that one's much more difficult for me to make out (it's probably most noticeable around the 1:40 mark in each song).

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the subtle literary reference in that episode: "HAY GUIZE! THEY'VE GOT A SCARLET LETTER STAMPED ON THEM. HUR-HUR!!"

Sasha needs to get the fuck over herself.

And Rick has developed a bit of a god complex, hasn't he? Or is it just the fact that he needs to get laid after all that time?

Dalty wrote:Jesus, they're not all wrestling fans are they?

What else do you think the W on the walkers' foreheads could stand for?

I had forgotten about that. Something to do with whatever the nasty fucker camping nearby is up to?

Scotia wrote:Are the comics like this? Plot that moves at glacial speed. The same old heartfelt one-on-ones that repeat the same old manta. There are so many other ways this show could have went. Exploring a city, an island or an aircraft carrier. Maybe try for a cure or raid a mall once in a while or one of the thousands of military bases that dot the landscape. Trying to make contact with a radio of some kind, haven't seen that side season one. Logic is left at the door and all but come on. There are RV parks and retail places every 20 km where I live, surely to God they could have found one and not travel by foot everywhere.

I have forgotten why I watch this show.

It seems to me like you've mischaracterized the objective of the show. The examples you provided all suggest that you would prefer the action to be more varied and that there should be more exploration of the postapocalyptic landscape. However, this isn't what the show is about.

When George Romero was asked to direct a couple of episodes of The Walking Dead, he declined and dismissed the show as a "soap opera with a zombie occasionally." While I wouldn't have put it in exactly those terms, I would describe the show primarily as a drama focused on humans coping with a new reality with some action sprinkled in. The action isn't supposed to take the main stage - making it appear repetitive and almost monotonous is the whole point. This has become the everyday life for these people, just the same old things they now have to do.

And the show does cover a good range of complex themes: What is the nature of humanity in a world transformed by plague? What role does faith play now? How does one define family? Whom can one trust? What would one do to survive? Should one worry about the morality of one's actions? The current season even deals with the effects of near-starvation and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as with the increasingly blurry line between "good" and "bad" people. Yes, the plot does seem to progress at glacial speed at times, but character development moves separately from the plot. Besides, think of what has actually already happened this season: the escape from Terminus, sanctuary at the church, the conflict at the hospital, the loss of D.C. as a beacon of hope, the discovery of the Alexandria community (and now the possibility of banishment from that community). That's already a lot of plot progression to pack into one season, so I'm not sure what there is to complain about.

'splosions?

That CGI explosion at the end of the first season was pretty bad. And not in the Michael Jackson sense.

Oh Christ. I almost can't watch this. It's going to be very bad. I can feel it in my water.

Well, I guess that was the closest this show ever gets to a happy ending.

Except for the people who set traps full of zombies waiting to pounce on them....

I am waiting to see Rick and the gang kick their asses.

Mal Shot First wrote: It seems to me like you've mischaracterized the objective of the show. The examples you provided all suggest that you would prefer the action to be more varied and that there should be more exploration of the postapocalyptic landscape. However, this isn't what the show is about.

When George Romero was asked to direct a couple of episodes of The Walking Dead, he declined and dismissed the show as a "soap opera with a zombie occasionally." While I wouldn't have put it in exactly those terms, I would describe the show primarily as a drama focused on humans coping with a new reality with some action sprinkled in. The action isn't supposed to take the main stage - making it appear repetitive and almost monotonous is the whole point. This has become the everyday life for these people, just the same old things they now have to do.

And the show does cover a good range of complex themes: What is the nature of humanity in a world transformed by plague? What role does faith play now? How does one define family? Whom can one trust? What would one do to survive? Should one worry about the morality of one's actions? The current season even deals with the effects of near-starvation and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as with the increasingly blurry line between "good" and "bad" people. Yes, the plot does seem to progress at glacial speed at times, but character development moves separately from the plot. Besides, think of what has actually already happened this season: the escape from Terminus, sanctuary at the church, the conflict at the hospital, the loss of D.C. as a beacon of hope, the discovery of the Alexandria community (and now the possibility of banishment from that community). That's already a lot of plot progression to pack into one season, so I'm not sure what there is to complain about.

For the most part I find the characters underdeveloped and distant and thus I have little connection to them or the drama. With the exception of Carol's story arc and the resulting growth in her character, most of it feels manufactured. I read a piece recently that hit the nail on the head for me. Tyrese lost his girl a season ago and as an audience we are expected to grieve and sympathize.  But how can we when his partner was barely on the show. I don't even remember her name. Tyrese was messed up for a half dozen episodes and it would have been compelling had I a vested interest in the girlfriend and his reaction to her loss.  It's as if the writers are demanding that you feel emotion when you tune in and not really putting the work in to earn it.  The lack of character development in this show becomes more apparent when you look at a series like Game of Thrones which also has a large cast yet is able to establish a real connection with its audience despite their limited screen time. 


So I guess I'm not complaining necessarily about the lack of action this show provides and certainly don't want it to take centre stage. I understand that the show is attempting to address some serious post-apocalyptic issues.  Do I think the writers are doing this successfully?  Meh, sometimes.  It's been hit or miss for me this season. 

Well, fuck.