The Walking Dead Show Discussion - with potential spoilers

[CB2001]

My guess would be that the explosion would attract nearly every walker in the city. They would need to try and get as far away as possible with what they have fuel wise before stopping to steal a new vehicle or syphon some gas.

What really grinds my gears is that you never see them picking up any weapons, surely when the were walking through to the CDC, they could have picked up a few from the dead soldiers.

First of all, doesn't the RV run on Diesal? Not to mention the fact that just because cars are scattered everywhere doesn't mean that all of them have gas left in the tanks. For example, if every car has gas still left in the tank, then Rick would have ridden all the way to Atlanta in the patrol car. My point being is that only a SMALL percentage of vehicles would still have gas in them, let alone still be able to drive. It's possible that the owner of the Challenger got killed during an attempt to get to his car and get out of town (thus, not able to deplete its fuel reserve). The delivery truck used by the survivors in Atlanta was a part of the construction site, which was closed due to the increasing of the zombie population, so naturally, it would still have some gas with it.

As for the guns, it's safe to say that picking up guns from the ground is completely useless. Why? Because if you were an army guy and you were surrounded by zombies, you'd fire all the ammo you have left on you. Not to mention the fact that if you have a clock against you (in the case of the scene you are talking about at the CDC, both going to the CDC and escaping the CDC), stopping and checking ever gun to see if it has ammo would be a waste of time as nightfall approaching and the walkers were beginning to come out. Even on the escape, the same is true. First the building was about to explode and then it exploded, which would have altered EVERY zombie in the nearby area, if not the whole town. So, either way, there was no time to stop and pick up guns, unless you knew for certain you had ammo for it and it was already ready to go (like the bag of guns Rick dropped in the first episode, which stayed on the street until he was able to retrieve it a few episode later).

 

[MooCriket]

Plausible. Still, I doubt that every round was expended, not everone in the military is an expert shot you know. Not to mention with the fear and anxiety of not knowing just what is going on/loves ones safe, etc., coupled with the undead approaching...I think it safe to say maybe, just maybe at the very least many soldiers had amo on them that they did not have time to use before being bitten/overrun. As far as not having enough time to check since night was coming, not everyone had a weapon. I'm sure someone could look down while passing the "really dead, dead" and just do a once over to see if someone had ammo on there person, while still walking.

 

[CB2001]

Plausible. Still, I doubt that every round was expended, not everone in the military is an expert shot you know. Not to mention with the fear and anxiety of not knowing just what is going on/loves ones safe, etc., coupled with the undead approaching...I think it safe to say maybe, just maybe at the very least many soldiers had amo on them that they did not have time to use before being bitten/overrun. As far as not having enough time to check since night was coming, not everyone had a weapon. I'm sure someone could look down while passing the "really dead, dead" and just do a once over to see if someone had ammo on there person, while still walking.

Well, you just used your own answer as an explanation. You said it yourself, that they wouldn't be excellent marksmen, and with fear and anxiety, they'd be wasting all their ammo on shots that do not help them before going with head shots. In fact, a scene from the original "Dawn of the Dead" reminds me of the kind of panic that would occur. If you've seen it, and recall, the guy with the Tommy Gun after he fails off the motorcycle. He picks up his gun and begins firing it at the crowd of zombies that surround him, but instead of going for headshots, he just fired wildly as the zombies closed in on him. Panic causes problems.

Another thing about stopping and checking the dead is that they may look like their dead-dead, but they could very well be undead. Do you remember the scene in the first episode, where after Rick climbed into the tank, there was a body in there and Rick thought the guy was dead, because the body didn't respond to him being there. Until Rick pulled the gun from its holster, when it basically "woke up." It could very well be that some bodies are laying there (in the alleyway in the same scene, moments before Rick ends up in the tank), you can see that there are some zombies that are sitting on the ground. Also, in the bus that Rick passes, there are a couple of them sitting still until Rick passed by. So, that means just because the bodies there look like they're dead-dead, in that scenario, it's safer to avoid any dead-dead bodies that look dead-dead, just in case they are undead.

 

[Jayn]

The scarcity of guns/ammo in the show kinda makes me laugh too.. I mean really.. it's Atlanta.. there's a Walmort with a hunting department or pawn shop on every corner here..
If I were in that scenario, I think I would take over the DragonCon Marriott as a fort. You could seal off the overhead bridges and blast zombies from those.

 

[CB2001]

The scarcity of guns/ammo in the show kinda makes me laugh too.. I mean really.. it's Atlanta.. there's a Walmort with a hunting department or pawn shop on every corner here..
If I were in that scenario, I think I would take over the DragonCon Marriott as a fort. You could seal off the overhead bridges and blast zombies from those.

And, it's possible that the army ceased every gun and every single round of ammo in those stores in an attempt to protect Atlanta. If not them, then anyone in their attempt to flee the city after it became overran by zombies, to which they would have loaded up all they could carry and get the hell out dodge.

And by the way, taking over the DragonCon Marriott is a bad idea. Think of it like this: If you've thought about it, then 100,000 other people have thought that same exact thing. That's why it's a bad idea to attempt to fortify any consumer-oriented stores, as everyone who has seen "Dawn of the Dead" (original or remake) will end up swarming the malls thinking it will be safe. They'll even do the same things at Wal-Marts, Targets, K-Mart and various other stores. My point: If you've thought about that Marriott, so has others and you'll end up being swarmed by humans, which increases the chance of the zombie plague getting to you. You'd have better luck fortifying a mini-storage area or a house than you would an entire hotel (which also has more entryways and passages than a mall does).

Trust me, Max Brooks pretty much explains this (about the ammo and fortifying locations) in the "Zombie Survival Guide", which surprisingly enough makes a lot of sense.

 

[KidL]

The scarcity of guns/ammo in the show kinda makes me laugh too.. I mean really.. it's Atlanta.. there's a Walmort with a hunting department or pawn shop on every corner here..

For the sake of argument, it could be true that the most common places to obtain ammo/firearms would have been pilfered by the time Rick regains consciousness. The mass exodus from the city combined with widespread hysteria and melee means the remaining supplies could be anywhere, making them much more scarce and difficult to find.

EDIT:
Basically everything that CB just posted!

 

[darthgordon]

Being in a city at all is just a mistake. Get out!

I could actually see small towns in the middle of nowhere being easily barricaded and defended. Something small towns usually have are lots of hunters... and lots of hunters means lots of guns and ammo.

 

[CB2001]

Being in a city at all is just a mistake. Get out!

I could actually see small towns in the middle of nowhere being easily barricaded and defended. Something small towns usually have are lots of hunters... and lots of hunters means lots of guns and ammo.

Even that's not true. Small towns would be just as dangerous BECAUSE of hunters. Granted, using a high school as a fort with people from the town is a good idea, as they would work together a lot more to do so, but having a town full of hunters would be a bad idea. Basically, the reason why is because they'd be shooting anything that moves without regards as to if they were still human or a zombie. If you've seen the remake of "The Crazies", basically, the hunters in that film would pretty much what would. Trust me, I've grown up in a small town of hunters, and I can't tell you how many problems the local law enforcement had with them.

In short, they'd hold out a bit longer than a big city, but indefinitely, they wouldn't.

 

[MooCriket]

I would think your best bet, would be someplace cold...very cold and snowy to slow them down. I'm sure a base or fort in The arctic circle would work. Of course you would need a lot of food and supplies to wait it out, and you would have to hope that whoever you are with, does not go Jack Nicholson, Shining on you!

I hope at some point in the series we see some Walkers freezing in the snow as in World Wat Z. I also hope we see some of the core group survive long enough for the walkers brains or what's left of them, rot away enough that they no longer are mobile and a threat.

 

[darthgordon]

Snow? In GA? It's rare and fleeting, if at all... I don't think it's enough to pose a threat to the walking dead... although two inches will shut down the GA living.

 

[SmilingOtter]

Snow? In GA? It's rare and fleeting, if at all... I don't think it's enough to pose a threat to the walking dead... although two inches will shut down the GA living.

Pretty much. Up in the mountains north of Atlanta you'll see snow every winter, just not in any great quantities.

 

[tk9612]

I've really enjoyed the series so far, even tho I have yet to read the graphic novels. Yes, a lot they do and have done makes no sense whatsoever... it's still good TV- and that's hard to come by these days...

 

[Zombie_61]

I would think your best bet, would be someplace cold...very cold and snowy to slow them down.

Short term it might slow the zombies down; long term, the cold would slow the decomposition process considerably, so the zombies wouldn't turn into immobile piles of decomposed tissue as quickly as they would in the heat and humidity of Atlanta.

 

[Kerr Avon]

Maybe they should... IDK...

SYPHON SOME GAS OUT OF THE BILLIONS OF CARS SITTING EVERYWHERE???

Why do you think all those cars stopped where they stopped? Almost all of them certainly because the previous occupant ran out of gas. Sure, there might be some that still have gas, but do you want to watch an hour episode of them checking empty gas tanks?

 

[darthgordon]

Maybe they do do that. I mean, in an hour long show (I think about 45 min. with commercials) we don't see every aspect of every day. It's not like 24... they just show us what they feel is important to the story. That makes me wonder... if 24 was shot in "real time," why didn't we ever see anyone go to the bathroom? *Sigh* it's going to be a long 10 months without this show. Look what I'm reduced to pondering now.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

^because when the world is in danger..jack bauer doesnt have time to pee......

same thing goes for checking guns of the military...they may not show it, but they could be possibly checking them for bullets..

 

[Kerr Avon]

^because when the world is in danger..jack bauer doesnt have time to pee......

same thing goes for checking guns of the military...they may not show it, but they could be possibly checking them for bullets..

I will point out that there were a few 50 cal machine guns that clearly had ammo belts in them. The only issue being that it's not exactly a precise headshot kind of weapon. You might tear a zombie in half with it, but the half with the head is going to come crawling and bite your ankles. But yeah, I'm sure that they are scrounging for supplies. It just doesn't make good drama on TV to watch them searching checking empty guns and empty gas tanks.

 

[darthgordon]

I think you've got more to worry about a 50 cal. than precision. Do you have any idea how much just ammo weighs? They just aren't worth it unless the zombies are driving cars.

Please let us never see zombies driving cars.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

the guns would be heavy to lug around...maybe they could mount one of those bad boys on top of their rv..just in case they get stuck in a situation where there are tons of zombies....

i would have taken jenner's gun and all of his ammo, but their time was limited to get their own items..

 

[nightwind1]

RE: "Wildfire"

My thought was that 'wildfire' was their little corporate-style buzz word for the point where they realized the outbreak couldn't be contained.

Generally, I enjoyed the episode. The moments with Amy and Andrea were very poignant and Jim's final request was also painful.

I like where the story has taken us; it's not about the zombies, or even about the survival aspect. it's about the people and how they cope, or not.

Probably borrowed the term Wildfire from "The Andromeda Strain".