The Walking Dead

[TinkTanker]

I can't wait to watch the next one.

Brief synopsis, Sherlock Holmes in the 21st century.

Afgan War vet Dr. John Watson needs a roomie, meets Sherlock Holmes, a "high-functioning sociopath" who aids the police when they are stumped, which is almost always. I've never been that much of a Sherlock Holmes fan, but this freakin' rawks.

Comparing TWD and Sherlock is like apples and oranges, but both are the best TV I've seen this year.

[Pearl@32]

Yeah, you kinda have to throw out the preconceptions of Sherlock in the 19th century, but it only takes an episode to set the tone. I saw the second one and liked it; the third one (the most recent) was delicious.

It was kind of hard to find at first: it is being shown on PBS on Masterpiece Mystery (aka just plain "Mystery"), so you can't really do a search on Sherlock on your tv guide. I am glad that while they changed the show's name, they still incorporate the famous Edward Gorey illustrations and keep the woman's wail. I always loved those titles.

It's amazing how many incarnations Sherlock Holmes has had. It seems that there is some form of SH every decade, and usually on PBS!

While I adore Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Watson in the more famous movies, and I enjoyed Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law very much, I do like this new incarnation. There are distinct differences though. Eric commented that THIS Sherlock acts as much of a dick as House does. And it is true. (Doesn't hurt that House and Wilson are actually based off Holmes and Watson.) Benedict Cumberbatch (yes, that is the actor's name, believe it...who gets named that?!) is as weird to look at as the new Doctor, Matt Smith, but he has a type of Daniel Day-Lewis from Age of Innocence quality to him.

It also has Martin Freeman, who I only know from the Hitchhiker's Guide movie and is now cast as Bilbo in The Hobbit. He acts a bit more like Bruce, whereas Law is practically all machismo. He's got the constant irritation of Holmes down, though.

I find Sherlock to feel like Doctor Who, fast-paced and colorful, but much less campy. It doesn't take itself too seriously.

There are only 3 episodes right now! ack!

Digby: Don't know if you're gonna be able to watch them, but this link says it's playing on Showcase. http://www.showcase.ca/ontv/titledetails.aspx?Root_Title_Id=258797

[AdmiralDigby]

Grabbing WD#2 .

Still not sure how I'm doing it .

[TinkTanker]

Grabbing WD#2 .

Still not sure how I'm doing it .

It's all FM.

[Spooky]

'The Walking Dead' - 'Guts': Escape from Atlanta

A quick review of the second episode of "The Walking Dead" coming up just as soon as I'm an organ donor...

"There's us, and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart." -Rick

Of the three "Walking Dead" episodes I've seen, "Guts" was the most disappointing. It's not that it's bad, but that it's familiar.

The story actually deviates a fair amount from the comic book (where Glenn is the only survivor Rick meets inside Atlanta, and where several of these characters, notably Merle Dixon, don't exist at all), but the vibe overall - survivors under siege, fighting with each other as much the attacking horde - is one we've seen a million times before in both zombie movies and other siege or post-apocalyptic films, and without necesarily enough of a twist to make it more than a Zombie Cinema's Greatest Hits compilation.

In contrast, while the pilot certainly wasn't wildly original (many others have pointed out the "28 Days Later" comparisons), the grim, contemplative vibe of it still made it feel special. "Guts" was a solidly-executed example of the genre - when you have Frank Darabont again writing the script, and Michelle MacLaren (who proved her suspense bonafides once and for all with this "Breaking Bad" shootout) - but as I've said before, I went into this series as someone lacking in what Darabont has called "the zombie gene," and solid-but-formulaic doesn't really command my interest.

The strongest part of the episode came from a later comic storyline, with Rick and Glenn covering themselves in zombie blood and guts (and, um, hands and feet) in an attempt to walk unmolested through the mob. Graphic and disgusting and riveting, but I also liked Rick's speech to his new comrades about the man whose body they were about to mutilate. As we saw last week, Rick is a relative newcomer to the zombie apocalypse. He hasn't lived in it as long as the others, and while he talks a bit about how things have changed, he can still hang on to his morality and concern for other humans in a way that, say, Shane can't.

In fact, in our brief glimpses of life back at camp, we see just how easy it is for Shane to let go of people. Not only has he embarked on a full-on affair with his partner's wife (and stepped into Rick's shoes as Carl's father figure), but when Amy (kid sister to Andrea, the tough blonde hanging with Rick in the city) expresses concern about what happened to the Atlanta expedition, Shane seems awfully ready to write them off and move on. Some of that's just the nature of life in zombie-land - chances are high that anyone going back into the city is going to end up dead - but the relationship with Lori doesn't speak too highly for Shane (nor Lori).

Some other thoughts:

• In case you didn't see the news earlier this week, "The Walking Dead" debuted to an audience of 5.3 million viewers (in comparison, the "Mad Men" finale only drew 2.5 million), which means a second season is all but a formality at this point. People love zombies.

• Lots of new faces to get used to here. To me, the ones that stuck out were either actors I already knew well (Michael Rooker as the angry racist Merle), characters who were prominent in the early stages of the comic (Steven Yeun as Glenn) or both (Jeffrey DeMunn as Dale, the guy with the camper, or Darabont veteran Laurie Holden as Andrea).

• As with last week, the Bear McCreary score continues to be effective in part because of how sparsely it's used. A lot of other shows that over-rely on music to establish mood could learn a thing or two from this.

What did everybody else think?

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/the-walking-dead-guts-escape-from-atlanta

[Spooky]

These comments on the article are hi-larious! 

joedela
Write a comment...
November 7, 2010 at 11:06PM EST


Tedd
Reply to comment...
November 7, 2010 at 11:17PM EST

chuchundra
Disagree with reply to comment... Engage in profanity-laced tirade.
November 7, 2010 at 11:57PM EST

Cycle
[Comment deleted...]
November 8, 2010 at 5:50AM EST

conrad
*comment contained spoilers from next week's preview*
November 8, 2010 at 9:24AM EST

joel
Comment comparing this show's first two episodes to Lost and/or Battlestar Galactica. Aside with short defensive comments about finales of either series.
November 8, 2010 at 10:44AM EST

ihaditonvinyl
Comment about the comic being better than the show.
November 8, 2010 at 11:46AM EST

KarenX
Political screed
November 8, 2010 at 12:08PM EST

Daggor
Non sequitur
November 8, 2010 at 12:14PM EST

JB
First!
November 9, 2010 at 10:10AM EST

Alex Mullane
Uncalled for personal attack on Alan because he didn't love the episode as much as he should have.
November 9, 2010 at 10:14AM EST

[TinkTanker]

I didn't like the episode the first time I watched it, but is becoming the case more and more often, I really dug it the second time around. I didn't have the problem with the story deviating, as I've not really read the comics.

I do have some problems with how some of the geeks act. Either they can't run or they can. Either they can't use tools or they can. Either they can't climb ladders or they can. I dunno. Maybe they usally cannot do these things, but some of them retain enough memory that they can. *shrugs*

Anyway, damn good show. Cannot wait for the next episode.

[Spooky]

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/the-walking-dead-tell-it-to-the-frogs-family-reunion

A review of "The Walking Dead" episode 3 coming up just as soon as I give you the mean face...

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life, put somewhere else." -Rick

I wasn't crazy about last week's episode, as it felt more predictable, somehow less intense than the much quieter pilot, and introduced several new characters who seemed like caricatures added just for the sake of manufactured conflict.

"Tell It to the Frogs" was an improvement. Some of the characterization still feels very two-dimensional, but by spending an episode with very little actual zombie activity, we at least got a lot of time getting to know many of the people at the camp on the outskirts of town. Some will need shading later, but some got it here, and since in "The Walking Dead," as in many zombie stories, the true enemy is us, it's important to get to know the living as well as to gawk at the dead.

In particular, three episodes into a six-episode season(*), we finally got to know more about Rick's wife Lori, and the affair she and Shane have been having since the plague began. It turns out that the relationship has been built on a pretty spectacular lie - that Lori didn't think she was cheating on the man who was still asleep in the hospital in Kentucky, but that Shane had told her Rick was dead. Whether he did that solely to get some post-apocalyptic sex with the desirable wife of his partner, or whether he just assumed Rick wouldn't make it and made things sound definitive so Lori wouldn't beat herself up about him remains to be seen, but it definitely complicates how we view Lori.

(*) For those who missed it, AMC unsurprisingly ordered a second season after the stellar premiere ratings were followed by a very slight drop for episode two - and that second season will have a more traditional 13 episodes. (They only did six this year so they could get it on the air for late fall.) So the pacing might be different. Gale Anne Hurd told me, for instance, that the reason they put so many of the supporting characters into the department store last week, when in the comic Rick and Glenn escape the city on their own, is because they didn't feel comfortable waiting until the third out of only six episodes to introduce the bulk of their cast.

That sequence where she confronted him at the quarry was the strongest part of the episode for a few reasons. Again, it complicates things. It was a good moment for Sarah Wayne Callies and Jon Bernthal. The quarry itself is a pretty spectacular-looking location, and a credit to the location scout who found it. And the quarry sequence also featured the most interesting glimpse yet of how the world has changed beyond the obvious threat of the zombies, as Andrea, Amy and the other women began lamenting all the gadgets they missed and rightfully grousing about how the new world order had some very very old gender politics, with them handling the heavy domestic load while (only some) of the men played hunter-gatherer.

What we're seeing - and, of course, what we see in many post-apocalyptic dramas - is that, contrary to some of the platitudes Rick offered last week, the calamity has given license to people's worst instincts. Sexists have a new reason to justify their sexism, bigots have a new class of people to mistrust (even if they're undead), abusive husbands have no law-enforcement to fear, and conversely angry ex-deputies have no reason to not savagely beat on those same abusers. There's no structure and no safety net, save what people choose out of expediency, or save what the strong seize for themselves.

I still think some of the characterizations are quite broad, but overall "Tell It to the Frogs" reassured me that even though I'm not an inherent zombie fan, there's definitely something here for me to grab onto going forward if they can tell the story well enough.

Some other thoughts:

• And speaking of broad, still not loving either Merle Dixon or his crossbow-wielding brother Darryl, but holy cow was that teaser - with a sunburned, delirious Merle alternately begging Jesus to save him and cursing out Jesus as the zombies banged on the door - great.

• The business with the antiquated CBs that can only communicate with each other seemed a contrivance to make Rick want to go back for the bag o'guns. I get that Rick also feels guilty about Merle - again, he's been in the zombie world for much less time than everyone else, and it's easier for him to hold onto his humanity - and that he needs a better story to sell to Lori and the others who hate Merle, but at some point if they want to warn people off of going into the city, wouldn't it be easier/safer to just put up a bunch of warning signs on all the major freeways?

• I sure hope Darryl cleans his arrow heads in between using them to kill zombies and hunting food that the survivors are going to eat. And given that the zombies are drawn by the sound of gunfire, the crossbow does seem like the ideal weapon to have out there.

Finally, I had to delete a metric ton of comments from last week's post for violating the No Spoilers rule I have on this blog. So for as long as I'm covering this series, I'm going to reiterate the basic points here at the end of every post:

1)No Spoilers.

2)This includes any discussion of the previews for the next episode.

3)This includes any discussion of storylines from the comic that haven't happened yet in the timeline of the TV show. (And, yes, the show has and will continue to deviate from the comic in some ways, but for the sake of those instances where they're going to be the same, I don't want people talking about something from issue 30 when we're watching episode 3.)

4)This includes anything you've seen or read elsewhere about anything that has not happened within the context of the episodes that have already aired.

Anything in violation of any of these points gets deleted. Nice and simple. Talk about what has already happened on the show, no more, no less.

What did everybody else think?

[Spooky]

I thought Michael Rooker (Merle) knocked it out of the park with his scene at the beginning of the ep. 

[TinkTanker]

I thought Michael Rooker (Merle) knocked it out of the park with his scene at the beginning of the ep. 

QFE. Or QFT.

Whatever, Rooker rawked.