Yeah, omg. Someone doesn't love Zombie tv. Holy shit.


Especially, mid-paced character and dialogue driven Zombie tv.

Hey guys, I noticed Schindler's List was about jews.

I don't think you understand the problem.

Hey guys, I understand it's about Zombies. And I like my Zombies cheap thrill/popcorn flick variety instead of "set-up" episodes for "plot development" centering around the main character and his family. I think it's sort of silly because you're never going to convince me there's a real story with zombies. Sorry.

Feel free to enlighten.

I'm sure nonstop mindless action would make for an excellent ongoing TV series.

Who cares whose ass it is and why it's farting?

Of course mindless action wouldn't be compelling for an entire series. Which leaves three options for people like me who can't take Zombies seriously: 1) Maybe Zombies isn't a good show for tv format. Not everything is.
2) Maybe "serious" and "well-done" Zombies shows aren't good for tv format. Maybe something more playful in the mold of Chuck would work better on tv.
3) I'm not a representative of the television viewing public. Highly possible and most likely the correct choice.

I'm not sure why me having a subjective experience a part from the main stream board is so "Jesus Christ" and "you don't get it" worthy though.

I have to quit quoting things.

Yeah, look, I don't care so much that you don't like the show or just aren't into it, but you made some grander statements about "the only way zombies are entertaining". More than anything it just seems like you should've known you wouldn't be into this in the first place.

But I also fail to see how there can't be a "real story with zombies" any more than there can't be a "real story" with any other horror, sci-fi, or fantasy motif. Of course there can be a real story. And there are also zombies. It seems perfectly natural to me that some time has to be spent developing characters and plot so that you actually care about what's going on. Of course these things have been done before, both in terms of the character conflicts and the whole zombie situation. What's unique about this is the long format and the depth that it gets into because of that. You follow the characters through all of the decisions that they have to make and the really extreme consequences that they have. And so the characters have to be a little more sympathetic than the ones in your typical slasher film because you're not going to stick with the story if you're constantly frustrated and baffled by all the stupid things they do. And you need to both actually care when some of them die and be legitimately concerned that the characters you like are going to be killed off. Of course none of that matters if you don't just enjoy the show on its own, and you can't put yourself into this (admittedly implausible) survival horror situation even a little bit.

To be honest, the jury's still out on this show as far as I'm concerned, too. The pilot was mostly great, but after that I've kind of lowered my expectations a bit due to various things. They've already departed from the book in some questionable ways, and the book itself has some pretty rough patches that will likely come across as too over-the-top if they put them in the show. Plus there's always the possibility that the book could seriously drop off in quality - since it's still going - and where would that leave the show? It's fun enough for me to stay on for the ride for at least a couple of seasons, though, and see how it plays out.

Honestly, I don't see how the froggin scene was good TV. Nor the I can't leave a man behind/I need the guns scene. Nor the wife-beaters scene. The wife beater scene in particular seemed forced. Like the writers know there's not much substance in a Zombie story, so they're trotting out plots for no real reason. Also, the love triangle, while mildly interesting, seems either tired or forced as well. Basically, the show is taking familiar dramas and cliches and dropping them on top of a zombie story. Sorry, I'm not overly impressed. I'd rather watch Psych, Burn Notice, or anything USA has to offer right now. I'll keep watching just because it could still surprise me (maybe if I read the comics I'd know of more compelling stories ahead?).

Don't know what to tell you. I've enjoyed Zombie concepts before but I'm not enjoying this one. Zombies themselves are one dimensional. Hard to develop stories around them unlike vampires. Just the way I'm seeing this.

And your position is that this is a good Agatha Christie - 'And then they're were none'/ Ten Little Indians' type show, where I'm suppose to watch in suspense in who dies next. Well, I haven't seen that storyline yet. I emphasize yet. Maybe it will become that, which I would enjoy. But even that concept doesn't seem like it last more than 1 season or 2.

The first episode was good because of the ending. As some Hollywood director said, the key to a good story is to take your protagonist and put him in a tree. Then set the tree on fire. When he was in that tank surrounded by Zombies a city block deep, the tree was on fire. The tree hasn't been on fire since.

So what was your problem with my post then because that was exactly what I was saying. Didn't think it would be my thing so I didn't bother with it. Saw all the praise (including from people I wasn't expecting would watch) and thought I'd give it a shot. I was probably right though that Zombie tv (even if does seem to be well made) just isn't my thing so I'll give it another episode or so but am likely to have a short fuse with it.

I have no way of knowing what the show is like for people who haven't read the books, obviously, because I have read them. So I don't know. I'm going to say probably not.

But I'll also say that all these are just little things that pile up to much bigger things which then gave way to some pretty crazy and disturbing things which would all seem really over-the-top and tacked on if they were just thrown out at you right off the bat.

Not sure which part of the froggin's scene you're talking about, whether it was just the Shane & Carl stuff or everything that happened around the quarry/lake/whatever. In general, I'm not too hot on any of this stuff that wasn't in the book (none of that was), but I think I can see why it was done. As for the other stuff: (in white below due to spoliers)

If they follow the book at all, all of these plot elements you mentioned will be resolved by the end of these six episodes and basically just lay the foundation for a few of the characters. Carol (the abused wife) is already a widow when we meet her in the book, if that tells you anything. The love triangle will have a very final conclusion. And Rick going back to Atlanta while leaving Lori behind is basically foreshadowing a bunch of other things he's going to do that are similarly frustrating but somewhat understandable. He has a sort of inflated sense of duty or something and is somewhat arrogant in that, thinking that he always has to go and do all of these things himself. It has a lot more to do with what drives his character than his desire to be with family, and I think that's sort of hinted at in the first episode when he's talking to Shane about his marital problems.

It was just funny because you said you "noticed there were zombies". I had more of an issue with Kingfish's take, really.

That's not really the sum of it either. It's about survival in a post-apocalypse type of scenario. I think it's a very primal notion, something most of us have kind of dreamed or fantasized about. That's the appeal. It's the same as any zombie movie, but it's drawn out more so that you can get further inside of it. It won't really get into that until the second season when the characters are forced to move around more.

Zombieland was originally written to be a TV show, hence the "kill of the week" bit, which I think would be interesting. Actually, last I read, that idea wasn't completely... dead.

If it's a survival story, why do you need the zombies? Aren't survival stories about the survivors vs. themselves? Wouldn't the Zombies just distract from that theme? The heart of a good survival story is when good people turn on each other. That gets inside it. Showing the animals that live in all of us. This show keeps creating bad guys (either zombies or racists or wife beaters) to keep from getting inside it. I think Zombies prevents any kind of depth.

I originally thought they were tacking uninteresting stories to a zombie concept to try and make zombies substantively interesting. Maybe I was wrong- maybe they're tacking a zombie concept to an uninteresting story to try to make a boring survival story interesting.

Like I said, maybe there's better to come.

Kingfish, your questions regarding the show are bordering retarded at this point.

Sorry, it's not the greatest show in the history of television this week because the zombies are wicked cool. Maybe next week one of the main characters could name check the new flavor of the week chillwave (or whatever the new crap is) band and make this show even more the greatest tv show ever.

Sorry, Drinky is promising that this story is/could be good because it goes inside the survival story. And I all I've seen is a superficial zombie story with crappy attempts at depth. Color me Corky.

Now that I've finally watched the first two episodes and come in here to read some things, I feel like Kingfish is making a good bit of sense in questioning what really are some (possibly) fatal flaws with the show.

At any rate, I've watched the first two, part of me thinks its pretty good, part of me thinks its really basic cable looking and pretty terrible. I feigned mock anger to my wife after the second episode and said "we didn't have time for Rubicon and lost track of Breaking Bad and we're watching THIS?"

Yeah, well guess what

Y'all watch this and not Boardwalk Empire???!!?

Talk about your all time epic fails.

That's what they get for filming in Georgia with a lot of Georgia crew, amirite?

I don't have HBO right now or yes, I would be watching it.

I'm curious about the Boardwalk Empire but can't fathom watching Buscemi as a lead in a series.

Regarding the zombie show, I guess you could substitute some other adversary for the characters to be facing, like walking dolphins or homosexuals, but I'd imagine it would be less interesting.