The Walking Dead is coming back soon to finish season 5 I used to be a big fan of the show during the first three series', but after watching half of season 4, I stopped because it got boring fast. Despite that, I still love zombie/apocalyptic fiction and I want to love The Walking Dead, but the show isn’t doing it for me anymore. It’s easy to bash the show, what with its uninteresting cast and dull storylines, but I still think it can become interesting. Why shouldn’t it when the rest of the universe is? Brave steps can make it great again, and who knows, maybe series five will be the one to propel it to the top again and take back that crown.
Out of the Shadows
I stopped watching the show midway through season four because I was no longer afraid of the walkers, nor were the stories interesting enough. Rick and ‘the group’ fortified the prison and had a nice little shindig going on, but it all went to hell. What really pissed me off about series 4 was its lack of evolution. They stood on the precipice of a game-changer when they had a flu outbreak in the prison, but it was just that. They should have used that in conjunction with the walker virus, as if it was mutating into a new pathogen, but they didn’t. Also, by this point, none of the characters are afraid of the walkers anymore, which means the audience isn’t either. There were no scary close encounters as seen from the first three seasons, apart from a few, but they weren’t really afraid of them. I loved season one, two and three because they all did something different. Season 4 didn’t for me. I did check out the first two episodes of series five, but since I didn’t know how they ended up where they were, I couldn’t really care. That’s my own fault.
Leaving aside the show, there’s promise for The Walking Dead in videogames, books and comics. I’ve never read the comics, but the books are excellent, as is Telltale’s adventure series, The Walking Dead. I only played the first season of the game, but I felt responsible for the characters and cared for them far more than the show. Your choices have real weight over the action. If you talk to others who have played it, they’ll probably tell you a totally different story from how your own experience. ‘What? That character’s still alive! He died ages ago in my game!’ No wonder it swept loads of game of the year awards back in 2012. Lee Everett was a far superior protagonist than Rick Grimes, and Clementine was a character you absolutely wanted to protect. It’s one of the few games I’ve played that had me in pieces with its ending. Thanks, Walking Dead. The book’s, however, focus on the series’ antagonist, total asshat, the Governor. You learn how he came to be, the construction of Woodbury and how it all works. Although, his performance in the show is awesome, easily the best character there, but they missed out on his entire identity. At least they did in the seasons I watched. There’s a genius backstory about him and his brother and when you read The Rise of the Governor, it changes how you see him.
Leaving aside the show, there’s promise for The Walking Dead in videogames, books and comics. I’ve never read the comics, but the books are excellent, as is Telltale’s adventure series, The Walking Dead. I only played the first season of the game, but I felt responsible for the characters and cared for them far more than the show. Your choices have real weight over the action. If you talk to others who have played it, they’ll probably tell you a totally different story from how your own experience. ‘What? That character’s still alive! He died ages ago in my game!’ No wonder it swept loads of game of the year awards back in 2012. Lee Everett was a far superior protagonist than Rick Grimes, and Clementine was a character you absolutely wanted to protect. It’s one of the few games I’ve played that had me in pieces with its ending. Thanks, Walking Dead. The book’s, however, focus on the series’ antagonist, total asshat, the Governor. You learn how he came to be, the construction of Woodbury and how it all works. Although, his performance in the show is awesome, easily the best character there, but they missed out on his entire identity. At least they did in the seasons I watched. There’s a genius backstory about him and his brother and when you read The Rise of the Governor, it changes how you see him.
Left Behind
That pretty much sums up The Walking Dead. A swing and a miss. It might sound like I hate it, but I don’t. I have no problem with them trying to continue the TV show. I just wish they’d take chances. How about special zombie types like you’d find in videogames such as Left 4 Dead, or different settings. I heard they were heading for Washington in the show, so that’s good. I’ve seen enough forest floors and dirt trails by now. Maybe the zombies can mutate? Flesh out characters. Throw away the same tired post-apocalyptic characters we always see like the redneck, the ex-army guy, and the grief-stricken father. I know you’d see these sort of guys anyway, but shake it up a bit. But, at the same time I’m sacred for the show. How do you end something like that that has no obvious endpoint? One thing I wouldn’t want, a dream ending. If Rick ends up waking from his coma, I’m a-gonna scream.
For me, there isn’t enough meat surrounding the show’s bones, so to speak. There needs to be more there to bring back those who walked away. Every episode should leave you wanting more. I always use Prison Break as an example for excellent storytelling. Every single episode is like a short story, and they always move the main story forward in meaningful and genius ways. The first three seasons of The Walking Dead are great, excellent, in fact. But it’s been dragging on for a while now, but it’s popular. If you like your zombie fiction like that, then you’re going to love The Walking Dead, but I just want it to be braver in its efforts. I want to love the show, but it never gives me a reason to. I’m sure it’s just the show, since the games and the books are great. And I’ll bet the comics are the best of the bunch. Maybe one day I’ll read them.
Songs of the Week:
For me, there isn’t enough meat surrounding the show’s bones, so to speak. There needs to be more there to bring back those who walked away. Every episode should leave you wanting more. I always use Prison Break as an example for excellent storytelling. Every single episode is like a short story, and they always move the main story forward in meaningful and genius ways. The first three seasons of The Walking Dead are great, excellent, in fact. But it’s been dragging on for a while now, but it’s popular. If you like your zombie fiction like that, then you’re going to love The Walking Dead, but I just want it to be braver in its efforts. I want to love the show, but it never gives me a reason to. I’m sure it’s just the show, since the games and the books are great. And I’ll bet the comics are the best of the bunch. Maybe one day I’ll read them.
Songs of the Week:
- 'Ita Mori' by Anaal Nathrakh
- 'The Joystream' by Anaal Nathrakh
- 'Midnight City' by M83
- 'Reunion' by M83
- 'Methadone' by Rise Against
- 'Survive' by Rise Against
- 'Smiling at Strangers on Trains' by Frank Turner
- 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight' by Frank Turner