When I first heard of the show before it premiered, I was immediately interested. LOST just ended and I was missing the weekly routine of geeky melodrama, in spite of its flaws (I could probably make a similar thread about LOST).
This came in at just the right time.
I was blown away by the pilot. It felt like a movie. I later found out that the pilot was a lot better than the first issues of the comics... something that would change later on.

The episodes after seemed to decrease in quality. There was a lot of boring backtracking shit and shoddy writing.
It got really bad in the next seasons. If I wasn't addicted to routine, I probably would have abandoned it. There were some things I really enjoyed, but it is not a show I can recommend to many people.

I got into the comics during the 3rd midseason break. I was blown away by how much better they were about a volume or 2 in. The comics have gradually gotten better with each volume, but the show took some pretty big dips. After just reading about the Governor battles in the comic, that finale pissed me off. They just wanted to milk it.

They ended up changing showrunners again and about midway through the 4th season, I really started to like the new guy, Gimple. He respects the source material, which is a big part of what makes the show good, and when he deviates, it either improves upon the source material or makes it just as good.

What are your thoughts on the show and/or comics?

TWD is like a neglectful lover. Most of the time it is dull and frustrating, but every so often it remembers it's audience and puts out an episode that curls your toes. And thus it keeps it's audience settling for one or two outstanding episodes.

There's a small number of TV shows I watch and this is still one of them, but I don't know why. It's dull and repetitive, and the plots are stupid, and there isn't a single character that is particularly interesting or sympathetic, and by the nature of zombie outbreaks there can be no final resolution to their situation so it's destined to just fizzle out and be cancelled.

I used to date a walking dead. It was great, but man did she bite a lot.

EDIT: You mean the show. NM.

scott1328 wrote:TWD is like a neglectful lover. Most of the time it is dull and frustrating, but every so often it remembers it's audience and puts out an episode that curls your toes. And thus it keeps it's audience settling for one or two outstanding episodes.

It's getting better, but because it's getting better, the dull stuff really hurts when it happens.
Season 5 was the best so far, but it also had one of the worst arcs so far in between the cannibals and Alexandria... in other words, the Beth hospital arc.

ED209 wrote:There's a small number of TV shows I watch and this is still one of them, but I don't know why. It's dull and repetitive, and the plots are stupid, and there isn't a single character that is particularly interesting or sympathetic, and by the nature of zombie outbreaks there can be no final resolution to their situation so it's destined to just fizzle out and be cancelled.

Same here. I'm a lazy TV watcher. I like to have something episodic and dealing with a subject I like in my weekly routine. Gives me something to look forward to.

The comics are so much better. Also, I like what they're building to. The story has become so unique in recent issues. Can't wait til the show gets there.

I to like to watch regular episodic shows, but TWD just became to repetitive. That in combination with the lack of a significant overarching plot made me drop it alltogether.

I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed this show, but very much in the same way as Mac has described.

My principle irritation is with the use of the word "walkers." Why? Why call them that? Did someone copyright the word "zombie" when I wasn't looking? Why would everyone refer to them as "walkers" when almost certainly in Reality(TM), if such an event occurred we'd be calling them Zombies.

Can't watch anything based around zombies. Just find the idea so ridiculous.

Sendraks wrote:I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed this show, but very much in the same way as Mac has described.

My principle irritation is with the use of the word "walkers." Why? Why call them that? Did someone copyright the word "zombie" when I wasn't looking? Why would everyone refer to them as "walkers" when almost certainly in Reality(TM), if such an event occurred we'd be calling them Zombies.

AFAIK the Walking Dead takes place in an alternate universe where the concept of zombies was never thought off, or at least popularised, so there was no pre-existing name or cultural mythos to draw names from.
In reality this just seems like a slim excuse for 'our zombies are different'.

I don't think we would call Zombies Zombies in reality. The name gives too much respect to them. People like to give names to enemies that derides them. Calling them "walkers" or "biters" feels better.

It's a convention in all 'true' zombie fiction never to refer to the zombies as zombies. Goes back to george romero.

ED209 wrote:It's a convention in all 'true' zombie fiction never to refer to the zombies as zombies. Goes back to george romero.

But in fact, the undead ghouls featured in NOTLD and virtually all films featured after it, are not "zombies."

Thomas Eshuis wrote:I to like to watch regular episodic shows, but TWD just became to repetitive. That in combination with the lack of a significant overarching plot made me drop it alltogether.

You could say rebuilding civilization is the overarching plot. It seems to be building to that with some set-backs. At this point in the comics, they have a system of herding zombies away from communities, have them living in walled communities, grow their own food, etc. The show will get there later down the line.

Sendraks wrote:I'm surprised by how much I've enjoyed this show, but very much in the same way as Mac has described.

My principle irritation is with the use of the word "walkers." Why? Why call them that? Did someone copyright the word "zombie" when I wasn't looking? Why would everyone refer to them as "walkers" when almost certainly in Reality(TM), if such an event occurred we'd be calling them Zombies.

Well, I think they used the word "zombie" in the comics but called them lurkers or roamers to describe 2 different types of zombies. Kirkman may have ret-conned the existence of the word zombie in that universe, but not sure... but for the show, interviews seem to say that this is an alternate universe where zombies didn't enter into our culture.

Briton wrote:Can't watch anything based around zombies. Just find the idea so ridiculous.

That's what is so fun about it. To each their own I guess.

Mac_Guffin wrote:

Thomas Eshuis wrote:I to like to watch regular episodic shows, but TWD just became to repetitive. That in combination with the lack of a significant overarching plot made me drop it alltogether.

You could say rebuilding civilization is the overarching plot. It seems to be building to that with some set-backs.

When I stopped watching, there did not seem to be much of a plan beyond: find a defensible place and survive.

Mac_Guffin wrote: At this point in the comics, they have a system of herding zombies away from communities, have them living in walled communities, grow their own food, etc. The show will get there later down the line.

I just don't want to watch all the shit inbetween though.

It's a story about the journey (to a rebuild civilization), not the destination

scott1328 wrote:It a story about the journey (to a revolt civilization), not the destination

But if the journey just keeps going around in circles, it loses my interest.

I know. Same here. I want them to just get their shit together, organize into a civilization, and progress. And what's going on with those hordes? It also seems to me like there should be someone that comes along who gets bitten and finds they are immune. Now that would be some shit.