The Walking Dead

[oldsheperd]

I'm not a reader of the Image Comic book but AMC is turning this into a series that debuts on Halloween.

[Mr Sausage]

Trailer

[ianungstad]

The trailer looks like a lot of fun. Seems similar to the film "28 Days Later". I have never read the series but I'm certainly intrigued.

I like Darabont, so will be checking out the pilot at least. AMC seems to be on a roll. There's a lot of buzz on this series, it's almost certainly going to be a hit. Mad Men and Breaking Bad are great shows too. I've heard some pretty mixed things about Rubicon though.

[Dr. Geek]

Great comic well worh checking out. A story focusing entirely on the survivors; the zombies are secondary to it all.

The beauty of the writing is that one tends to forget about the zombies because the characters are so fleshed-out and interesting.

[Kellen]

I can't wait for this. I never thought I would see a zombie show on t.v(theres a couple of animes in japan). I have faith in AMC that they'll do a good job.

[domino harvey]

I never thought I would see a zombie show on t.v.

I'm surprised it took so long for one to come around-- I can't say I'm real interested personally, but given the popularity of zombie films and even now literature, I suspect AMC is about to have a real hit on their hands.

[dx23]

Great so far. The pilot has been really good and yes, incredibly, AMC has been on a roll. This is exactly what happens when a studio thinks outside the box and let people be creative. So sad that the old school networks ABC, CBS, FOX and specially NBC have not learned this yet.

[swo17]

zombie show...incredible...NBC

domino, help me form these words into a sentence.

[knives]

A sentence is made.

[mfunk9786]

I'll have more thoughts later, but I found this to be the most confident, assured pilot I've ever seen. Everything seemed to be firmly in place, well-paced, and produced at a very high standard. And that delicious 16mm!

[ianungstad]

This was one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen. I really hope they give Darabont the Emmy for best director in a dramatic series. It was beautiful to look at..pacing was perfect. I was surprised by how emotional it was. The show looked better than most movies. It must have cost a small fortune to produce. Hope it pays off big for AMC.

AMC is owned by the same company that owns IFC, Sundance Channel, IFC Films. Frankly, I think Criterion should be asking to distribute some of their television shows.

They showed brief clips of their next series launching in the spring "The Killing" which looks gorgeous. Read up about it online and it sounds fascinating. Patty Jenkins who directed the film Monster is behind that series.

[ianungstad]

zombie show...incredible...NBC

domino, help me form these words into a sentence.

FYI, The Walking Dead was originally set up at NBC, who eventually passed. They then tried to develop the show at HBO, who passed as well. Then they went to AMC....

[mfunk9786]

As good as this was, I still wish Zombieland were the pilot for its own series at HBO or AMC instead. Although I do appreciate and admire the absolutely humorless approach this show has decided to take. It has a lot in common with 28 Days Later in that regard.

[knives]

Are you sure it's being humorless? All of the zombie bits I've seen so far, about 30 minutes in, are hilarious. That mixed with stuff like him still being buff after a few weeks in the hospital and the patented Darabont dialouge make this really silly. Though the set up to the car chase is really intense and I hope the series goes in that direction from here on out

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

This was one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen. I really hope they give Darabont the Emmy for best director in a dramatic series. It was beautiful to look at..pacing was perfect. I was surprised by how emotional it was.

Just to echo Ian, there were my thoughts as well. I'd recommend the show based on the zombie make-up alone, but the pacing and the acting won me over immediately.

SpoilerShow

Also, I was very impressed that they opened the show with him shooting the little girl.

The gore effects were pleasing, but the emotional arc of the characters thus far was just as satisfying. I'm very interested to see this one out.

[ianungstad]

The ratings for the pilot were huge. 5.1 million watched the launch and it scored a 3.3 in 18-49. Wonder if there will be a huge dip with the second episode or if most viewers will stick around. I bet AMC will put a bunch more comic/genre shows in development.

Warners are developing a television series of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman that hasn't been sold to a network yet...which I would love to see on a network like AMC. (if done right)

[dx23]

Warners are developing a television series of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman that hasn't been sold to a network yet...which I would love to see on a network like AMC. (if done right)

I think The Sandman and Death are unfilmable. I would prefer if they get the rights to Y: The Last Man, Locke and Key or Gotham Central.

[ianungstad]

Warners are developing a television series of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman that hasn't been sold to a network yet...which I would love to see on a network like AMC. (if done right)

I think The Sandman and Death are unfilmable. I would prefer if they get the rights to Y: The Last Man, Locke and Key or Gotham Central.

It depends. The Sandman would need a healthy budget and directors with a keen visual eye. I think it could be done but would likely be quite inconsistent. I don't really trust Warner Television to really take risks and put together something worth watching. Rumor has it that it will be the replacement for Smallville on the CW but it hasn't been officially tied to any network yet. This Kripke guy who's rumored to be producing the show was responsible for Supernatural. I've never watched a full episode of Supernatural but the odd bits that I have seen have been REALLY crummy.

I don't think anyone has Transmetropolitan in development for either series or film. I'd love to see that as a series. (preferrably with a pilot directed by Terry Gilliam)

[mfunk9786]

One step at a time: I want this fucker renewed for a second season before we even begin to discuss greenlighting another AMC series.

[dx23]

Rumor has it that it will be the replacement for Smallville on the CW but it hasn't been officially tied to any network yet.

I don't think anyone has Transmetropolitan in development for either series or film. I'd love to see that as a series. (preferrably with a pilot directed by Terry Gilliam)

I don't think Gaiman would allow The Sandman to be on the CW. As for Transmetropolitan, that sounds like a great idea.

[Murdoch]

Hm, I thought this was a mini-series. As much as I enjoyed the pilot, I can't say I'd watch more than a season of this since the inevitable conclusion to the story has been played out multiple times before in the countless zombie flicks of the past. I don't think zombies getting their heads blown off will hold my interest for four/five/etc. seasons, and judging from the character arcs - the romance between the sheriff's partner and wife especially which felt like a rather contrived attempt at drama - its greatest attribute lies in its apocalyptic premise. I thought the father-son story was much more interesting than the sheriff's story since it provided some less-explored material for the genre - every zombie movie seems to focus on the single survivor looking for his family - and I found myself wanting to know more about how they reacted during the first days of the epidemic. During the city zombie attack I was half-expecting (and hoping) the sheriff to be killed and his arc to be used as a launching off point for a structure where each episode presented a new set of survivors, despite how much it would have contrasted with what the episode had set up character-wise. I will admit the transition with the flowers was excellent, and the brief moment where the sheriff puts the gun to his head before seeing the escape.

The show is more or less what I was expecting with a few inspired moments, but I think it's merely the natural progression of a pop culture craze and I don't see it becoming anything other than another zombie story stretched out to fill a series. I hope the show doesn't just fall into a narrative circle of survivors yelling at each other about survival and killing zombies, but goes further to show the effects of the zombie epidemic on the political/social because that would be worth watching and such issues are well-suited to the narrative breadth a tv series can provide.

[knives]

I pretty much agree with everything you say, additionally outside of two moments I don't think any of the suspense stuff was effective, but as for as where this stuff always concludes I think you'll be a bit surprised. If on story progression they're like what I've heard the comic moves to somewhat more interesting places than the usual fluff.
I really do wish they followed the father/son team though, that was the strongest stuff in the entire pilot and the reason I'll finish out the season. As long as they manage to build peripheral characters that are that interesting I'll be content. Actually if they go in the direction of a The Fugitive or Hulk rather than the generic route the subplot with his partner would suggest than this could be a series I could fall in love with.

[ianungstad]

Despite some of the characters introduced being a bit too stereotypical and a little one dimensional, I thought the second episode was very strong. Almost as good as the pilot. It was pretty much action from start to finish but it kept up the suspense well. A few of the ideas (guts!) I thought were fairly original.

I liked that the action was easy to follow. So many action directors direct action poorly that it often ends up being a mess of mtv style jump-cuts.

I don't really have any emotional attachment to any of these characters. It would be nice to see the actors breathe a bit more life into their roles like Lenny James did in the pilot.

The Walking Dead is a really nice slick piece of entertainment. It is a 100 times better than the big budget summer blockbuster crap churned out by Hollywood. Easily the best new series of the fall.

[dx23]

CNN is reporting that the series has been renewed for a second season after just 2 episodes.

[dad1153]

Press Release:
AMC announced today the renewal of “The Walking Dead” for a 13-episode second season. Since debuting Sunday, October 31, “The Walking Dead” has broken ratings records, with the series reaching more Adults 18-49 than any other show in the history of cable television.

Ratings Highlights for The Walking Dead - Episode 2, which premiered on AMC Sunday, 11/7:
10pm airing – 3.1 HH rating with over 4.7 million viewers;
Adults 18-49 – 3.3 million viewers;
Adults 25-54 – 2.8 million viewers;
Men 18-49 – 2.1 million viewers.

Ratings Highlights for the The Walking Dead - Episode 1, which premiered on AMC Sunday, 10/31:
10pm airing - 3.7 HH rating with over 5.3 million total viewers;
Adults 18-49 - 3.6 million viewers;
Adults 25-54 - 3.1 million viewers;
Men 18-49 - 2.0 million viewers.