Fear The Walking Dead (spin off series)

Good lord, some people are just unable to understand building tension. Apparently a lot of people expected zombie hordes in the first few minutes of the show. Society doesn't fall apart in 5 minutes, give them a few days for god's sake. We've already seen the beginnings of people going missing, lots of hints of problems in the background, possible walker sightings without being certain, etc. In the first three minutes we saw a fresh walker, and the guy ran away from it. REMEMBER, in this world there is NO SUCH THING as Romero films. There are no zombie stories, the idea of a dead person getting up and attacking people is completely and totally laughable. There's no concept of such a thing, anyone saying such a thing would be treated like a lunatic and rightfully so! So a druggie mentioning his girlfriend attacking and eating a person, sure, that's going to be treated with the highest of skepticism. Also, we don't know what the government is up to behind the scenes. It's EXTREMELY likely they are aware of what is going on and just as Tobias suggested, keeping it secret at the moment. In any case, as time goes on it looks like things are going to escalate pretty quickly. We'll get mass attacks and such coming soon, just don't expect FWD to have the same zombie activities that WD has when it's a story that starts in media res.

Also, please repeat after me:

WE WILL NEVER KNOW THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OR CAUSE OF THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. NEVER, EVER, EVER.

I do hope we get to see a cameo by Dr Jenner and his wife at some point stating that the CDC is looking into the reports of what's going on. That'd be a nice tie in to the two series.

I will say the scene with the principal listening in on teachers and the tense music was just stupid like we should expect him to be a zombie.
 
Wes, you will respect the GoBots!
image.jpg

And yes I just took this pic. :)
 
Oddly enough this show is kind of feeling like a scifi channel movie or tv show, not sure why but it gives off that trying to make money but not working hard at it vibe. isn't that Leader-1 a bit big?
 
Also, interestingly enough it's now the highest rated cable premiere ever. 10.1 million people watched it while the second highest was "Better Call Saul" with 4.1 million.

Also, remember.. what is the FIRST thing Rick Grimes did when he saw a zombie? HE RAN AWAY! Or more precisely, rode away on the bicycle as fast as he could. These people are dealing with something that is completely alien to their view of the world. Zombies don't even exist in fantasy, it's something entirely new to them!
 
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Soulinertia said:
Maybe this will be answered later, but why was he wearing a girl's shirt? And did he have lipstick on too? Or is is this just supposed to imply that he sells his body for drugs?
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It looked to me like it was a lightweight cardigan, most likely Gloria's, and he was high. Like, really high.
 
I think most get that just fine. I mean, I certainly test well...

What we have here is a clumsy attempt at structuring tension with an unlikable cast. It's not incumbent on me as a viewer to allow them room to grow. They simply failed to set the hook; with me, anyway. We'll see how it all shakes out soon enough.

This show is set in modern day LA. Why would you suggest they've never heard of a zombie story or have no such concept? The idea of the dead reanimating is hardly a novel idea. Lazarus? Hellooooo......Just saying, it would be terribly difficult to irradiate folklore in any universe that's supposed to mirror ours. Well, and expect the audience to buy it, let alone allow for it in the character's development.


Kerr Avon said:
Good lord, some people are just unable to understand building tension. Apparently a lot of people expected zombie hordes in the first few minutes of the show. Society doesn't fall apart in 5 minutes, give them a few days for god's sake. We've already seen the beginnings of people going missing, lots of hints of problems in the background, possible walker sightings without being certain, etc. In the first three minutes we saw a fresh walker, and the guy ran away from it. REMEMBER, in this world there is NO SUCH THING as Romero films. There are no zombie stories, the idea of a dead person getting up and attacking people is completely and totally laughable. There's no concept of such a thing, anyone saying such a thing would be treated like a lunatic and rightfully so! So a druggie mentioning his girlfriend attacking and eating a person, sure, that's going to be treated with the highest of skepticism. Also, we don't know what the government is up to behind the scenes. It's EXTREMELY likely they are aware of what is going on and just as Tobias suggested, keeping it secret at the moment. In any case, as time goes on it looks like things are going to escalate pretty quickly. We'll get mass attacks and such coming soon, just don't expect FWD to have the same zombie activities that WD has when it's a story that starts in media res.

Also, please repeat after me:

WE WILL NEVER KNOW THE ULTIMATE SOURCE OR CAUSE OF THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. NEVER, EVER, EVER.

I do hope we get to see a cameo by Dr Jenner and his wife at some point stating that the CDC is looking into the reports of what's going on. That'd be a nice tie in to the two series.

I will say the scene with the principal listening in on teachers and the tense music was just stupid like we should expect him to be a zombie.
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My biggest issue was that it didn't really offer much variance from the prime show. Same mistakes, irrational behavior, etc.. Though admittedly my flame for the original has pretty much burnt out at this point, it's basically "why do I keep watching this" week after week, so I wasn't exactly going to blindly enjoy this one either. I'm always left feeling that they could do so much more with this world they've built, and honestly if they paid a little more attention to the tone of the comic. TWD (show) ramped up the human vs human angle so quickly that by the time we run into the "big bads" it already feels tired.

Growing up in the greater LA area I appreciated some of the scenery and urban setting, but I'm not exactly sure who I'm supposed to be connected to as the lead. I have no problem with Nick, and Travis seems nice enough, but it definitely feels like less of one person's story and more about the family dynamic, though that may just be personal preference because I don't really like the non Rick focused episodes of TWD. I do kind of wish that FTWD was going to be an anthology series with new towns and people every season. I think it would be pretty unique to let 99% of a group get wiped out during the season and then just leave us wondering what happens to the survivors at the end.
 
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It's a TV show about zombies. I liked it. I'll watch it again. It gives me something to do late on a Sunday night. I could do worse...
 
Really? I found this as ridiculous as the stepdad character going to the crack house in the middle of the night alone.

Dealer scene at the end:
Androgynous druggy kid:"Moma, step-papa, I just shot and killed mr drug dealer/badguy!!!" :cry
Moma & Step-Papa:"Gee wiz druggy son, hop on in our vintage F150 and lets go lookie see just who you killed!":rolleyes
Moma & Step-Papa: Well shucks... There is Mr. Drug Dealer/Badguy's car! Maybe you're not so cray cray baby boy!":wacko
Androgynous druggy kid: "See!!! Told you guys!!!, Wait where did Mr. Drug Dealer/Badguy go?, He was right here!!!":confused
Zombified Mr Drug Dealer/Badguy: "groan...", shuffle...."groan"...shuffle....:sleep
Moma & Step -Papa: "Gee Willikers!!!! Something isn't right about him".... Runs towards Zombified Mr.Drug Dealer/Badguy....:eek
Androgynous druggy kid: ...In a moment of lucidity jumps behind the drivers seat and proceeds to drive over Zombified Mr.Drug Dealer/Badguy repeatedly and saves the day...:p




kibosh said:
The dealer scene was a good way to show the parents what was going on. I liked that whole story line. Really showed what scumbags they are, too.
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DARKSIDE72 said:
Really? I found this as ridiculous as the stepdad character going to the crack house in the middle of the night alone.
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Did it confirm for the parents that the kid is telling the truth?

Did it show the parents that there is something seriously wrong going on?

Even if it wasn't particularly well executed, it was effective.
 
Watched the show once, then watched it a second time last night. My biggest problem with the show is I find the characters mundane and boring. I was not expecting walkers from the get go, I am fine with stories with little or no action I just found the whole episode boring. From the first episode of the Walking Dead I liked Rick. I had never read the comics and had no point of reference but from the first time he is shown in the shoot out with the guys to the final moment of the first show I liked him. I liked Morgan and Dwayne as well, did not see much of them but on a whole I liked the characters. Now don't get me wrong I can also dislike a character, take Merle for instance I did not like him at all but he did get a response from me. I enjoyed NOT liking him if that makes sense! Now to make a point I would watch a show where it was just Rick Grimes as a sheriff, no zombies, nothing like that just a regular cop show. Why? Because I like the CHARACTER! To me the zombies have always been secondary to the characters.

This new show did nothing for me. I don't like or dislike the characters, I just don't care. To me they were all just so flat! If the kids a drug addict go all out making him a drug addict! Look at Jesse from Breaking Bad, he was a druggie through and through but I still liked him. This guy I don't care about at all. The Mother on this show just walked around with either a blank look on her face or like she just smelled something bad. The Stepdad and Daughter the same thing, Flat, Flat, Flat! There is nothing for me to get excited about. I can not think of one character that I liked or for that matter that I disliked, they were just there! I will watch it the next few weeks and see if it can change my mind but so far it is kind of a "blah" show. Not bad, not good, just there to take up an hour.
 
I didn't care for it. I didn't have a big problem with the characters or even the pacing. I was not expecting big zombie hordes, I would have been fine with no zombies in the pilot episode.

I didn't even expect originality, because I knew a few scenes borrowed. I knew some of the dialogue was bland. I had read only one review and they said the pilot was just a series of scenes where characters were jerks to each other for no apparent reason. That held kind of true.

My issue, the story was just riddled with pointless writing and extreme narrative cliches. There was no depth to the story. It was all setup without surprises of any kind.

I don't care about the origin of the plague. I don't even care about "patient zero". I do enjoy compelling characters and a story that has some depth, it doesn't have to be the deep end of the pool, but you have to get your feet wet at least. I just found nothing compelling about the pilot.

That said, I always give new shows 3 episodes unless I outright hate them. I didn't hate this. I will give it a few episodes.
 
Of course everybody wanted to see it.

If the next 6 episodes are like the pilot, the ratings will drop faster than a walker with a clean headshot! :lol


Kerr Avon said:
Also, interestingly enough it's now the highest rated cable premiere ever. 10.1 million people watched it while the second highest was "Better Call Saul" with 4.1 million.
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I was really hoping for a show more geared towards suspense/ horror. I get my drama fix through TWD, so this seems just a bit redundant.

Also, aside from the first scene in the crackhouse, the pacing was suuuuuper slow.

I hope this is all just due to the character development, but from what I've read since watching it, they are DEFINITELY going the route of drama. I'll watch through the rest of the season, but I'm not holding out much hope.
 
Rylo said:
This show is set in modern day LA. Why would you suggest they've never heard of a zombie story or have no such concept? The idea of the dead reanimating is hardly a novel idea. Lazarus? Hellooooo......Just saying, it would be terribly difficult to irradiate folklore in any universe that's supposed to mirror ours. Well, and expect the audience to buy it, let alone allow for it in the character's development.
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Wrong. They are NOT in modern day LA. They are in Kirkman's version of a modern LA. In that, there have been no zombie movies or films or folklore. None. The concept of zombies does not exist, that's why they don't use the word in TWD, and call them instead 'walkers'. I'm no Biblical scholar, but I'm also pretty sure Lazarus did not stand up and start eating people at the time either. Some form of resurrection and a rotting flesh eating corpse are not the same thing. This is from Kirkman himself, this isn't supposition, this isn't guesswork. He has stated, in his comics there were no such zombie flicks or folklore, period. Just like there will never be a definitive statement of what caused the zombie outbreak, period.
 
Meh, Kirkman gets out there where the buses don't run sometimes...

As for Lazarus; wouldn't it have been awesome if he had jumped up and started eating someone! :thumbsup

Now, that's a proper baiting of the hook right there!

Regardless, the characters are boring. I plan on giving it one more chance though; to see if it opens up. I suspect we'll see a wild course correction by mid-season. Depends on how many episodes they already have in the can.

Fan-boy rhetoric (such as mine) aside, the mainstream reviews have not been kind to this show.

NOTE: To be clear. I never expected to see an explanation for the outbreak. They'll never break that doctrine even if Kirkman doers what to pretend nobody in his universe knows who Romero is. ;)

Kerr Avon said:
Wrong. They are NOT in modern day LA. They are in Kirkman's version of a modern LA. In that, there have been no zombie movies or films or folklore. None. The concept of zombies does not exist, that's why they don't use the word in TWD, and call them instead 'walkers'. I'm no Biblical scholar, but I'm also pretty sure Lazarus did not stand up and start eating people at the time either. Some form of resurrection and a rotting flesh eating corpse are not the same thing. This is from Kirkman himself, this isn't supposition, this isn't guesswork. He has stated, in his comics there were no such zombie flicks or folklore, period. Just like there will never be a definitive statement of what caused the zombie outbreak, period.
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