Ok, so I am on season 2, episode 9 of AMC's "The Walking Dead". I basically started watching it because of all the press it gets and the cult following it has. I watched two episodes a while back with my parents and didn't get into it much so this is round 2.
I was VERY pleasantly surprised to see Nurse Sara Tangredy from Prison Break playing Rick's wife. I like her a lot and I'm glad she got her foot in the door in another series. Also an awesome addition is one of the Boondock Saints. He's a great actor as well and very good in this series. Honestly I think this series does two things extremely well. The acting is SUPERB! Without a doubt I think this is the series strongest attribute. It has great acting from top to bottom regardless of the actors that are on screen constantly or the bit part roles who are likely to get eaten or shot a few minutes in. Everyone has been excellent to this point and I am thoroughly impressed. The other thing this series does very well is provide enough suspenseful and edge of the seat moments that it keeps your heart beating a little bit faster throughout. Honestly the dumb zombies have to be given stealth from time to time to keep this effect viable, but I can subdue my skepticism to allow those suspenseful moments to persist.
So you would think I like the series based on these comments correct? Well, I am not infected yet. So far I only give it 3 stars and it's losing two stars because of something that NEEDS to be top notch in a long running series. The writing on this show is HORRENDOUS! Let's just take a step back and think of as many apocalyptic stories we can. Many of them are ruined by poor writing and I'm afraid this series will end up a clunker because of it. Why do writers have such a hard time predicting human emotion? Yes, not everyone is programmed the same and that is not why I think there is a flaw in the writing. I also know that emotions are not necessarily consistent so I tolerate that as well. However, character traits need to stay pretty even keel in order for me to buy it and this show is ridiculously bad with that. Rather than sweepingly criticize the writing I will break down the examples that have really dampened this series for me. These are in no order of importance.
1. Rick and his wife find out they are having a baby and Herschel is on the verge of kicking them out. Rick knows his baby's survival rate goes up with the safety of the farm and Herschel's expertise on site. Shane has his meltdown and goes right for the barn and Rick knows what is about to happen. He yells for Herschel to grab his leashed walker (he has one of his own) and just keeps shouting but doesn't follow through with the desperate actions he needs to take. He just stands there instead of having someone else take the walker. This was absolutely absurd in my opinion. Rick MUST know that their time at the farm is done if Shane is allowed to wipe out the walkers in the barn. Sure enough, he stands their like a fool and let's it happen. Now, the writers have to change Herschel's convictions to keep Rick at the barn rather than do the obvious in Rick stopping Shane forcefully. It was a total meltdown in consistency full circle and I cannot ignore it.
2. Why on earth, after all the speeches that Rick's wife gives and all the guilt trips she throws about Rick not being there for his son and taking off on these "foolish" errands, would she ever go out by herself pregnant just to find her husband. What the HELL were the writers thinking here. This is totally absurd!!! There is no way she would leave Carl behind with the chance to be parentless based on the traits the writer's have given her. This was a GIGANTIC stray for her and once again left me with the though in my head, "What were these idiots (writers) thinking".
3. Rick's wife gets angry at him for not letting her know that their time at the farm is temporary in Herschel's eyes. She rips in to him with a straight face while the viewer is sitting there saying, hello psycho you are pregnant and keeping that to yourself. What the HELL! Was anybody able to watch this scene with a straight face? As retrospective as Rick's wife (keep calling her that is her name Lori?) is, there is no way she would act like this without realizing what she is doing.
There are several other smaller examples I won't delve into but the first two are the big one's in my opinion. When shows go downhill and write their own death sentence they call it "Jumping the Shark". It's a reference to Happy Days. Well, I believe this show may end up "Jumping the Shark" in it's infancy if the writing doesn't shape up. Of course, the following may keep it going but the more intelligent viewership will begin to wane and it will just be another zombie show if it keeps up. I do believe that will be a shame though because the acting is top notch and I do hope they stop being handicapped.
In the end it amazes me that a series like "Flashforward" could be cancelled after one amazing season, but a show like this is thriving. As Ricky Bobby says, "It's mind bottling".
I was VERY pleasantly surprised to see Nurse Sara Tangredy from Prison Break playing Rick's wife. I like her a lot and I'm glad she got her foot in the door in another series. Also an awesome addition is one of the Boondock Saints. He's a great actor as well and very good in this series. Honestly I think this series does two things extremely well. The acting is SUPERB! Without a doubt I think this is the series strongest attribute. It has great acting from top to bottom regardless of the actors that are on screen constantly or the bit part roles who are likely to get eaten or shot a few minutes in. Everyone has been excellent to this point and I am thoroughly impressed. The other thing this series does very well is provide enough suspenseful and edge of the seat moments that it keeps your heart beating a little bit faster throughout. Honestly the dumb zombies have to be given stealth from time to time to keep this effect viable, but I can subdue my skepticism to allow those suspenseful moments to persist.
So you would think I like the series based on these comments correct? Well, I am not infected yet. So far I only give it 3 stars and it's losing two stars because of something that NEEDS to be top notch in a long running series. The writing on this show is HORRENDOUS! Let's just take a step back and think of as many apocalyptic stories we can. Many of them are ruined by poor writing and I'm afraid this series will end up a clunker because of it. Why do writers have such a hard time predicting human emotion? Yes, not everyone is programmed the same and that is not why I think there is a flaw in the writing. I also know that emotions are not necessarily consistent so I tolerate that as well. However, character traits need to stay pretty even keel in order for me to buy it and this show is ridiculously bad with that. Rather than sweepingly criticize the writing I will break down the examples that have really dampened this series for me. These are in no order of importance.
1. Rick and his wife find out they are having a baby and Herschel is on the verge of kicking them out. Rick knows his baby's survival rate goes up with the safety of the farm and Herschel's expertise on site. Shane has his meltdown and goes right for the barn and Rick knows what is about to happen. He yells for Herschel to grab his leashed walker (he has one of his own) and just keeps shouting but doesn't follow through with the desperate actions he needs to take. He just stands there instead of having someone else take the walker. This was absolutely absurd in my opinion. Rick MUST know that their time at the farm is done if Shane is allowed to wipe out the walkers in the barn. Sure enough, he stands their like a fool and let's it happen. Now, the writers have to change Herschel's convictions to keep Rick at the barn rather than do the obvious in Rick stopping Shane forcefully. It was a total meltdown in consistency full circle and I cannot ignore it.
2. Why on earth, after all the speeches that Rick's wife gives and all the guilt trips she throws about Rick not being there for his son and taking off on these "foolish" errands, would she ever go out by herself pregnant just to find her husband. What the HELL were the writers thinking here. This is totally absurd!!! There is no way she would leave Carl behind with the chance to be parentless based on the traits the writer's have given her. This was a GIGANTIC stray for her and once again left me with the though in my head, "What were these idiots (writers) thinking".
3. Rick's wife gets angry at him for not letting her know that their time at the farm is temporary in Herschel's eyes. She rips in to him with a straight face while the viewer is sitting there saying, hello psycho you are pregnant and keeping that to yourself. What the HELL! Was anybody able to watch this scene with a straight face? As retrospective as Rick's wife (keep calling her that is her name Lori?) is, there is no way she would act like this without realizing what she is doing.
There are several other smaller examples I won't delve into but the first two are the big one's in my opinion. When shows go downhill and write their own death sentence they call it "Jumping the Shark". It's a reference to Happy Days. Well, I believe this show may end up "Jumping the Shark" in it's infancy if the writing doesn't shape up. Of course, the following may keep it going but the more intelligent viewership will begin to wane and it will just be another zombie show if it keeps up. I do believe that will be a shame though because the acting is top notch and I do hope they stop being handicapped.
In the end it amazes me that a series like "Flashforward" could be cancelled after one amazing season, but a show like this is thriving. As Ricky Bobby says, "It's mind bottling".
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