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The Walking Dead: New AMC Series

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The_Gun_Nut

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« on: <11-01-10/1728:16> »
How many of you caught the new AMC series "The Walking Dead?"  I saw it last night with friends and I have to say we were blown away.  Incredibly interesting and engaging.

And for the first time I actually felt sorry for someone who had died and became a zombie.  I saw them as a victim and not just a monster.
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voydangel

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« Reply #1 on: <11-01-10/1741:00> »
Is that the one based on the comic book series?
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Qemuel

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« Reply #2 on: <11-01-10/1758:51> »

Critias

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« Reply #3 on: <11-01-10/1840:41> »
It most certainly is!  And as a die-hard fan of the comic, I've got to give it props on two counts, seemingly contradictory.

On the one hand, they've done a great job (so far) capturing the confusion and fear of Rick's initial waking up, the sense of desolation of his early solo wanderings, and his general character (at this point in the story) despite not having a ton of dialogue to work with.  What little we've seen of the other characters so far also impresses me for looking great in relation to the original artwork, so they certainly get a gold star for just general casting and costume design.  A few of the camera shots were right out of the book -- the "money shot" to me is the loneliness of Rick riding into Atlanta on that horse on the big, empty, highway lanes that counter the chaos and terror of the clogged-by-dead-cars lanes leading out of the city, and is straight out of the comic -- and I think they're overall doing a great job of capturing the feel of the excellent, excellent, comics.

On the other hand, I like that they're not chained to the comics.  Lots of small stuff is different.  The whole conversation between Rick and Shane didn't happen in the comics, for instance.  The scene in the hospital stairwell was totally different on screen than it was in the comics.  They're using the broad strokes from the outstanding comic series, but they're not necessarily doing a frame-by-frame slavishly loyal interpretation (which I sometimes like, as in Watchmen, but sometimes don't) -- they're acknowledging the differences between the graphic novel and the television medium, they're acknowledging that the first issues of Walking Dead were the first issues (it's grown and gotten better, and so has the writing and the storytelling, in my opinion, since then)...and they're not scared to make a few changes to tell a different story on the silver screen than in the comic book.  I can be as nitpicky a detail-oriented fan of the original series as anyone...but I can also kick back and relax and enjoy it when the producers mix things up a little, and change the story so long as they get the essence of it right.  I feel they're doing that, here.

To be honest, my biggest quibble with the opening of the show was the insistence that a cop with a Glock make sure his safety was off, and then him fumbling with the slide release (and sound editing adding a clicking sound) in order to make him follow directions.  It's possible that their department had the budget to modify all their standard issue Glocks and add safeties in order to bend to some PC need for every gun to have a safety...but if they'd been the sort of county (in Kentucky, no less!) to be that anal about gun safety and issued firearms, they'd probably have made Rick carry one of their department guns instead of his cool .357 wheelgun.  I'm just chalking that whole exchange up to someone in scripting not talking to someone in costuming not talking to someone in technical advising, and it's really not a big deal.  I'm more mentioning it because it's really all I found to gripe about, and when something that trivial is my biggest complaint, it tells ya that I like a show. 

I loved it later in the episode, with the disorientation and ear-ringing that ensued from firing his wheelgun inside a heavily armored, confined, space.  All too often Hollywood acts like ear damage is a myth and every gun's got nothing more to it than a few pop-pop-pops.  The hearing issues towards the end of the episode more than made up for the "safety" silliness early on.  ;)

Critias

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« Reply #4 on: <11-01-10/2357:24> »
Just a heads up for anyone that's interested in the comics:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1607060760/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1582403589&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0KCP887JYWGT4DYBZ8M5
 
Hopefully that big ugly link works, if not just search Amazon for "Walking Dead Compendium."  You can get books 1-8 in the series for about $35, and that's a steal.  It was about $120 for me to buy 'em one trade paperback at a time, so this is a really good price for over 1,000 pages of zombpocalypse awesomeness.  The series only goes to book 12 so far, so getting 1-8 in it would be a really great way to "kick start" your way towards the whole series.

Mystic

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« Reply #5 on: <11-02-10/0419:37> »
Critias pretty much hit it on the head. And yeah, as a law-dog myself in real life, I had to chuckle at the "Glock Safety" bit.

Only thing else I can say is that I loved to see how things built up and didnt try to go straight for the jugular too soon. Too often, showed like this tend to try and blast you in the head (no pun intented). This was a bit more...Hitchcock in it's approach to building things up culminating in our intrepid deputy stuck inside the tank. The radio crackliing and the "hey dumbass" comment was also priceless. Simply said, I can't wait to see more.

PS, I think when Rick meets up with his old partner...there is gonna be some 'splainin to do!!! '

 ;)
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The_Gun_Nut

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« Reply #6 on: <11-02-10/0710:54> »
I love the fact that when he fired the pistol inside the tank it knocked him loopy.  Yes, it is a small thing, but too often TV or movies ignore some basic physics or common sense.

With nothing dissipating the sound, the blast would rebound around inside and...well, we all know the "chunky salsa" rule.
There is no overkill.

Only "Open fire" and "I need to reload."

Mystic

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« Reply #7 on: <12-07-10/0226:12> »
So anyone else still watching? I finally got cought up last night for the season finale. Kind of feel sorry for the good Doc at the CDC. And yeah, it figures, Shane almost snapped. Didn't see THAT coming.
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Doc Chaos

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« Reply #8 on: <12-07-10/0233:39> »
Couldn't make it half through ep 2. I have honestly never seen anything so boring and partially downright dumb that not even the Zombies could prevent my mental slipping into a coma.
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FastJack

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« Reply #9 on: <12-07-10/0903:36> »
Last one I watched was when he reunited with his family, then went back to Atlanta.

I also checked out the wikipedia on the graphic novel and didn't like where the story will be heading (although they said that show will be different), so lost interest in the show...

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« Reply #10 on: <12-07-10/1728:00> »
The show is very different than the comics.  Very.

FastJack

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« Reply #11 on: <12-07-10/1801:28> »
I don't know, the overall plot seems the same (unless they did a major divergence on the last few episodes).

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« Reply #12 on: <12-07-10/1832:57> »
They've done several, actually.  Individual characters are still very well represented, don't get me wrong (they look just right, costumes are great, acting is fine) -- but the plot itself has taken quite a few different turns.  They've never even gone to a CDC facility, in the comic, for instance, didn't venture back into Atlanta (for the episode "Vatos"), didn't have a one-handed biker/methhead they pissed off...lots and lots of major changes.

Also, one very central character was dead, by this point, in the comics, in a pretty dramatic fashion (I won't say who, and I hope other comic fans won't, either).

Don't get me wrong, I love the comics and I'm enjoying the tv show, both (though as something of an alternate reality from the books)!  I know Amazon had a tremendous price going on a giant omnibus/collection of the comics, and I heartily encourage anyone that's interested to pick it up...it's a good read, if a little inconsistent at times. 

But don't go into it thinking it's just like the show, or vice versa. 

Bull

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« Reply #13 on: <12-07-10/1936:02> »
They did actually head back into Atlanta, but there's a couple deviations regarding that...

1)  Glenn was the only one in Atlanta the first time.  There wasn't a whole group.  Rick doesn't get trapped in a tank, and Glenn simply helps him run out of town while the zombies are swarming his horse.

2)  Rick and Glenn go BACK into town a second time to hit a gun store (rather than go back for Ricks bag of guns).  They try using zombie guts at this time, as they did in the show, and it plays out similar to the TV Show (THey get in, rains come, they have to run like hell).

They never saw anyone else in Atlanta though, especially no Gang Staffed Retirement home (WHich just seems like SUCH a bad idea, hanging around a building full of people just inches away from dying of natural causes).

The comic, and the show both, aren't about Zombies, in the end.  That's something people get confused about.  It's about the people, and how they're trying to survive.  The Zombies are simply a hazard, a natural disaster, another additional hazard on he road to survival.  So if you're just looking for zombie chomping, well, you'll get some of that, but yeah, not really the show for you.

They deviated a lot from the comic, while staying true to the characters (Well, those that are there.  I'm re-reading the trades, and realizing that there are a few missing characters from the initial cast, like the twins, as well as a few new characters such as T-Dog and...  The redneck with the crossbow, Merle's brother.  I like that they're not following the comic as a complete script here, because it means that I don't always know what's going to happen.  I was actually a bit bored in the first episode because it followed the comic so faithfully (It added a some xxtra details, but for the most part, was very faithful).

Anyway, good show.  It's only 6 episodes for the first season, so I suggest giving it another shot.

Bull

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« Reply #14 on: <01-06-11/0605:22> »
Algonkin-Manitou Council?

...oh, right, TV channel!