Thursday, January 20, 2011

Review: AMC's The Walking Dead - Season 1 - Episode 1: Days gone by


AMC's The Walking Dead for those of you who live under a rock like Patrick Star (from Spongebob) is a series about the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse based on a popular comic book.

I don't know why but I have the instinct to erase a recorded show after I'm done watching it, seconds later I kick my self for doing it, for this one in particular I wanted to hit myself in the head with a baseball bat for choosing "Stop & Delete" on my DVR, thankfully this week they had an encore of the whole first season.

Just how good is this series? let me just put it this way...  I do believe this show is the essence of what I like about zombie movies, it is as realistic as possible, though the make up effects are great and there is satisfying amount of blood in it, the show is really about the survivors, and how they fight to maintain their own humanity in the midst of the apocalypse.

I love the fact that it is done in series format for two main reasons; character development, and since the story doesn't have to end in two hours the survivors don't have to make some unrealistically stupid decision so they can all die off, as happens in 99.9% of zombie stories.

(Spoiler)
Now on to episode 1, the first shows  deputy sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) waking up form a coma in a hospital some time after the zombie outbreak, completely in disbelief he ventures out to the halls were he sees the devastation that was left, and a double door with chains marked "do not open, dead inside" suddenly the doors slightly open and hands start reaching out, once Rick is outside the hospital he sees hundreds of dead bodies laid down all over the place, the remains of an overrun military temporary defense post, we also see a flashback of Rick and his partner Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) before rick gets the gun shot would that sends him to the hospital in the first place, it sets the backstage for one really screwed up drama, see Rick and Shane as I mentioned are partners... and in the law enforcement world we know partners are sacred, so big surprise in the post z-poc (zombie apocalypse) Shane (believing Rick is dead) is boinking Rick's wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callie) and raising his son Carl (Chandler Riggs)...  a genius move by the writer if I must say, something that I would never have thought to put in a zombie sotry :)

While searching for his family Rick meets up with Morgan Jones (Lennie James) and his son Duane (Adrian Kali Turner) who quickly bring him up to speed, then they go to the sheriffs station to get cleaned up and stocked with weapons, Rick decides to search for his family in Atlanta where supposedly there is a sheltered area and the CDC (Center for Disease Control) is working on a cure. to know how this episode ends you will have to either see it, or read my review of the second episode. watching the actual TV show will be infinitely more satisfying than reading my next review, but don't worry you can do both!!!!

Until next time remember...  Zombies were people too.

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