Who caught the season 2 premiere last night? It did okay last night ratings wise. It felt more like an hour and a half due to commercials instead of episode content. The premiere was originally going to be two episodes with the first written by Darabont and the second by Kirkman, but they were mashed up into the 1.5 hour premiere we had last night. The opening herd scene was fantastic, and the gutting scene is how low-budget gore ought to be done. That cliffhanger ending was such bullshit, but I caught a couple lines during the encore presentation that foreshadowed it (and the search) quite nicely.

Supposedly the herd scene was taken from Darabont's scrapped premiere with the rest of the episode being directed by various people. If that's the case, then I'm somewhat relieved. There wasn't anything about it that made me take notice of it being directed by different people, but we'll see how the quality holds up as the season goes on.

I really should get around to reading the comic...

The opening soliloquy was really bad, as well as Rick talking to jeebus. And them having Carl shot was bad as well. They really should stick more to the comic imo. But Kirkman's writing it so I guess dude knows what he's doing. but I just really don't like the deviations from the book.

making Andrea to be some week weepy sack of shit really sucks as well. and fucking kill off Shane already.

This thing is how not to make a zombies movie/series. I realize this is a graphic novel/comic and they go about the human element more, but it's just adds up to a dragged out yarn when they try to adapt it to the screen. Sure it's 'cutting edge' for the tube, but cmon, dont kid yourself, this is hardly good gore..a good zombie flick or even something thats recommendable.

It's boring. The zombies are inconsistent (yet again)..one second they are typical walking on the sides of their feet, slow plodding..then they are almost running. Last years problem was the same, but they somehow learned to climb fences and run in one episode.

Think back to the very first pilot and how creepy it was as they wandered the street, real slow. This is below mediocre fare hyped beyond belief.

Yeah, it's not hard to find fault with it, but somehow it still has a creepy sense that works for me. Of course it's not going to mirror the comic, and for once I don't have that much of an issue with that.
A couple of questions I had:

How do you not see the herd, 50+ zombies coming down the road, when you've got a lookout on the top of the motorhome. Or they didn't even see them when they passed them on the road? And the fast/slow thing doesn't work well for me either, but fast zombies have never worked for me. And you tell me these guys don't have any weapons for a "silent" kill, or at least until that kid finds the axes and stuff? I mean, all you gotta find is a baseball bat or a tire iron or something, but they were all woefully prepared. And while it was cool looking, the zombies just sitting in church? Maybe a bit reminiscent of Romero's "consumer" zombies?

Anyone catch the 1/2 hour talk show? Could have been cool, but it kinda sucked. Too many bits from the episode, too much attempt at comedy. Fail.

didnt think much of the first series but the comic is fucking insane!

yeah, what's with the fast zombies. if I remember correctly they do differentiate in the book between walkers and shamblers who are slower due to advanced deterioration. but I'm pretty sure they never run.

the only thing that could still save this is bringing on Michonne and the Governor. If that don't happen then I'm calling it quits and will stick to the book.

You have to keep watching. Because Michael Rooker's "Merle" is bound to reappear.

I doubt it, because:

- he's not in the book
- they already left town, how's he supposed to follow with only one hand
- his brother Daryl would show at least some amount of resentment/suspicion as a build up to Merle reappearing, which he hasn't at all
- Rooker isn't credited as being in any more than two episodes on IMDB.

I'm enjoying the series. It's no where near as good as the comic, but it's all right. I really hope they bring Michonne into the show. One of my favorite characters of the comic. I'll probably keep watching either way.

Was wondering when/if Rook comes back..they made a point of showing the rooftop with the hand, so maybe?

To be honest, if something like MNF or Sons of Anarchy was on, last weeks episode probably would have been my last. I dont bail on series, just because of the time invested and kind of want to see how it ends, but this one is starting to bore me. Regular episodes are an hour long, with maybe 5-8 minutes of actual zombies. The rest is this tiring deputy/sheriffs wife storyline.

The gore is lame, there is no 'edge of your seat' tension and zombies can have that if done right as we all know.

Do the people behind this show know that there is a difference between using genre archetypes as a basis for your storytelling and just being fucking predictable at every turn? the CGI is still shit and sheriff dude is still played by a block of wood.

I'm really having trouble liking any of the characters... I'm really growing bored with how dumb everyone is.

I mean, he tells the little girl to run back and keep the sun on her left shoulder? In the middle of a dense fucking forest? Ummm... yeah, ok. Pretty swift thinking there, Mr. Sherrif. RULE #1 when you're lost... STAY PUT AND SEEK SHELTER. If he would have just told her to hide under that brush he could have come back for her no problem.

And watching that chick try to assemble that GLOCK made me wanna punch somebody's tits. It's 4 fucking pieces and if you do it once, you can do it again in like 10 seconds.

I also loved the part where they decide to let the useless kid try and pet the only fresh food they've probably even seen in a month. After he got shot my very first thought was, "Well at least someone in this episode has some fucking brains."

The only reason I'm still watching is 'cause the zombie parts are pretty cool but even now thats starting to annoy me. What are the zombies? Some mix between slow and fast? and how many times does there have to be a fucking "Inquisitive" looking head tilt on a zombie? They don't get "Curious" about things and they especially don't Wander into RVs to have a look around and then go to exit through the doorway!

I realise it's their show and they can make the zombies do what they want and all, but it's just in contrast to the comic. One of the great things IMHO about Kirkmans zombies was that they didn't have any instinct for self preservation Like not following Rick into the creek. and if they heard a noise or whatever, they'd keep going in that direction no matter what, unless distracted by something else.

I always thought that zombies having a unified attitude made no sense.

The deader the corpse, the slower it should be. The newer the corpse, the faster, some variety makes sense.

And that explorer was an interesting idea. Maybe some of them retain some basic thought. Not higher thinking, but instinctual inquisitiveness like an animal, see an open door and go in, maybe there's something in there to eat.

But most of all, bitching about inconsistent zombies is...dumb. It's zombies. Whatever works for dramatic effect is what should be done. They aren't characters, they can't speak, so what does it matter if they are inconsistent? They're fodder.

Reminds me of my dad and granddad who both have a thing for pointing out supposed film flubs. Like they one time saw a story about film flubs and have decided anything they think might be a flub they have to point out. To this day, I can't watch a movie with my dad.

"The fifth soldier on the right in this battle scene is wearing tennis shoes!"

"SHUT UP, YOU! There's a hundred plus guys on screen hacking off limbs and you're looking at their shoes!?! SHUT UP!"

Fictional characters, even fantastical ones like zombies, need to act realistically within the set narrative perimeters. If they can suddenly do anything and don't adhere to the rules, everything goes out the windows and they become pointless.

Of course they need to be consistent, you mong.

my 'consistent' comment was for the fact of last years opening/pilot episode was so well done, and the zombies were ultra slow and creepy. You could spin them around in circles, as long as you could run, like in most instances you could outrun them.

3 episodes later they were almost running. by the end of the season they were running full on, climbing fences and using rocks like tools. I think this is a big deal..they do call them walkers after all.

Not sure why they did this..maybe people wouldnt notice? I did..and it ruined it for me. They are starting up on it again this year. They had to run into the building and lock it quickly because the zombies are suddenly running fast, if not even faster than them, at the end of the last episode. Did they forget to introduce the runners? I missed the memo.

If we're gonna play the part, at least stick to the premise that they arent capable of free thinking, running track, or outsmarting the protagonists. They have limited brain activity, almost zero. I think you get the gist of where I am with it. I mean whats next, they're driving cars? shooting back?

That photo link above is great, btw.

I don't know. I have no frame of reference because I haven't read a comic book in ten years, but I like this show so far. Today I watched all of season one for the first time, and I have to say I'm looking forward to what season two will bring/already has brought. I find that I care for most of the characters...I'm even curious as to what Merle is up to, and I hate racism. I liked when Rick chained him to the roof and told him basically that the world is fucked and there isn't any black or white anymore. I'd like to think that real people will band together when the inevitable zombie holocaust comes. Yeah, that's my two cents on that.

Zombies defy logic. Applying logic to that which by it's nature defies logic kind of misses the point.

Zombies are chaos, not the wild random craziness, but the complete lack of logic. They should not be able to even WALK.Blood does not flow, hearts do not beat, brains do not function. Yet they move. And why do they consume human flesh when they can move without it? They do not need it to survive, they don't even have a reason to be, they just are there and people have to deal with it. Kirkman has never explained his zombies. Why bother? The series is not really about them, they are a force of nature. A monstrous evil that spits in the face of logic and reason by it's mere existence, it can be avoided but can never be stopped.

I wish I could actually root for some of the characters on this show, but no one stands out to me except for Daryll. I was a little disappointed that only one Zombie got killed in last week's episode. More Zombies getting killed equals a better show.

Started the comic yesterday. Only up to issue 11, but I can see how people that started with the comic might not be pleased with some of the changes for the show. I can't say that I have any nerdrage about any of the differences, though.

The only characters I care about enough to even find interesting are Andrea (Laurie Holden), Dale (Jeff DeMunn) and Daryl (Norman Reedus) and I've realised that's only because I was already a fan of their work.

All other characters and the actors who play them can fuck right off. The sheriff dude and his wife have to be the worse actors I've ever seen.

The show should've been about that black dude and his son who appeared in the pilot. That would've been tits.

Finished book 3 (issue 36) of the comic tonight. That was some seriously fucked up shit. It's been confirmed that the TV show is going to include that arc at some point (next season, I think). Should be interesting to see how far they go with it.

Speaking of the series, dug tonight's episode. Looks like someone's finally adjusting their sense of morality to fit the new zombie infested world.

i can't believe they killed off Otis so quickly. if i remember right he made it to the prison. does this mean they won't have the prison on the show? hmm...

I'm pretty sure I saw the prison in a preview.

I got caught up on the series this weekend. Like most people in this thread, I thought the premiere episode sucked and just about dropped the series at that point, but I watched the second one just before it dropped off On Demand and I'm glad I did. I've really liked the direction the show had taken since the survivors landed on the farm. The dynamic between Rick's group and Hershel's family has been good and added good depth to the characters overall. Otis' fate was fucking brutal and that Maggie is some hot, hot stuff.

So overall, I'm looking foward to the "mid-season finale" tomorrow. It isn't a perfect show, but pretty good for non-premium cable TV programming.