The Walking Dead is back and,
like church, it will become a ritual for people on Sundays. That is if it can
sustain the audience for one more season. The season premiere was a let down to
a lot of people and the critics aren’t being kind either. I enjoyed it, but I
also saw it as the proverbial rock and a hard spot for the show’s creators.
They want to take it one place, but feel forced to stick to the roots that
bound them.
So, I compiled a list of Mark
Misses or Potential Jump the Sharks.
***WARNING SPOILERS***
If it Ain’t Broke: Understandable some things from the comics had
to be changed, but they started to stray off course. They had solid foundation
in which to follow. They weren’t going to lose the diehard graphic novels fans
if they stayed true to the books. But they stand a chance of losing those who
haven’t read, because they miss storyline marks.
Show me, Don’t Tell me: I can only hope the dialogue gets better.
They want to establish what all has been going on, that’s great. But forced
dialogue is the worst. Daryl and Carol, for example and Carol explaining how
the walkers have been gathering. We see that, why we were subject to forced
dialogue. The gathering of Walkers could have been explained when Karen was clearing
the fence, in frustration, she simply could have said, “What the hell. It wasn’t
like this last week.”. Instead we had to hear, “Daryl, It’s been good for a
while, but they’ve been gathering blah blah blah.” Uh, duh, I’m sure Daryl
knows this. It was like that through the whole show. No to mention, Beth’s
boyfriend, reiterating Daryl’s traits. Forced to remind us how cool he is?
Please, we know.
Great Characters so Use Them:
They live in an apocalypse, there is so much potential for character
driven storylines. Take advantage of what the PA world has to offer or lacks in
offering.
Scenes That Have No Bearing:
Yes, we get it, there are zombies. For some reason the writers believe
if we aren’t subject to tons of Walkers we’ll stop watching. The Big Spots
scene. Really? Nearly two years walkers are on the roof and it took that exact
moment to collapse. Not to mention, nearly a year they’ve been in the area and
Daryl, the tracker just found the huge Big Spots. And …. What was the point of
that scene, they left with nothing. Just to have a cool Walker scene. Hmm.
Suspension of Disbelief: In order to enjoy any fiction, especially horror,
the viewer has to suspend their disbelief. I feel that the writers are relying
more on cognitive estrangement, which is relying on viewers’ lack of knowledge
to suspend disbelief. The very first Walker that Rick sees in the series is decomposed.
If the walkers have taken over and survivors are nil, why are there still so
many Walkers? We are organic and will break down. A Walker baking on a hot Georgia roof for two
years, if … if still standing, will not burst like a red water balloon of
blood. It will break, yeah, but no blood.
They Need A Science Teacher to Advice: Yes, the special effects are really cool. But
let’s force the suspension of disbelief again. I research, every writer I know
researches, so why can’t the FX team. Every time I see a horribly decomposed Walker
get killed and see blood splash out, I get irritated. If a person dies if a
bite, the body will empty of blood. If not, the blood will pool because of gravity.
To the feet. There will be no blood in the upper torso. If there is, it won’t
be red. Dead means no heart, no pumping, no breathing. The blood thing just
gets to me. Make it thick like tar or gooey all the time.
Predictability: Ever notice that Walking Dead focuses on a character
early in the show if they are going to die. This season’s predictably will be
killing off all the new characters. Show them so you know them and kill them.
IE: Beth’s Boyfriend and Phineas. “hi here we are”. Whoops we’re walker bait.
Long Walks in the Park: Walking Dead has this habit of taking an
entire episode to walk across the street. Rick took this really boring walk
with this woman and I barely paid attention to her because I was trying to
determine if she is a Talking Walking Dead. A new type of Zombie. She looked it
and didn’t eat the sandwich. She said she was starving and hadn’t eaten in two
days, so why didn’t she eat the sandwich. Surely she would have chowed into it.
And while we’re on it, why did Rick pack
a lunch?
But on a Positive …
Phineas and Ferb: Poor Phineas (the guy who does the voice) bit the
dust without warning, just after Violet the pig bit it. After long drawn out
looks at the water, combined with the pig. Are they trying to steer us to Swine
Flu? The bleeding eyes isn’t symptomatic of H1N1. So don’t be fooled. Bleeding eyes
are consistent with Hemorrhagic Fever. I’m
thinking they are going in a new, virus makes a smarter zombie, storyline.
Hence the crazy woman.
But if by some chance the new
virus is caused by a leak in a Bio Lab, Flu 2 covered that.
Okay, so I griped, I’ll still
watch. Even if only for it to be my
favorite show to complain about. However, if American Horror Story is anything like
its Premiere, that may be next.
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