FEAR the Waking Dead

[CGVT]

One thing I think the show has handled well is the atmosphere and little events outside of the main characters' actions: the growing cacophony of sirens and police helicopters in the pilot, the first glimpses of walkers coming via viral video, the brief shot of the cop loading his trunk with bottled water. Even though the viewers already know how this ends up, they're doing a decent job of showing that something big is going down just off-screen.

Yep

 

[JohnSand]

You're right. But still, the characters are neither likable nor compelling.
When I catch a re-run of the original series, there's always something that makes you say "wow". I have yet to see a wow in this series.
And Sunday night football will be starting.

 

[CGVT]

And Sunday night football will be starting.

That is why they make DVRs. Football live and record other stuff for later.

 

[firerat]

Why the hell can't people act like real people in these shows. Travis: Where's our son? Exwife: What is going on? Travis: I'll tell you when I get there.

Really?

Daughter: Mr What's his name is attacking the neighbors. They need help. Mom: Locks the door and doesn't explain anything.

WTF? Real people don't act like this. Is everybody in this world an idiot?

I know it's a zombie show and belief has to be suspended, but...

Having said all of that I still enjoyed the show. The fire extinguisher scene was pretty intense.

My wife and I kept yelling at the TV, "just tell her already!!"

 

[MarkKF]

In the beginning nobody believes someone can come back. Not until you are forced to kill a walker to save yourself or others does it sink in. You can't just tell her, she won't understand.

 

[55x11]

In the beginning nobody believes someone can come back. Not until you are forced to kill a walker to save yourself or others does it sink in. You can't just tell her, she won't understand.

I was a little disappointed - with both the pilot and the second episode.
They could have exploited some of the mental transition that happens as outbreak takes over the city a little better. The cop never hesitated much shooting the walker in the head, and the rest of the crowd didn't seem to care much.
The teacher went from trying to talk to the principal to beating him into a pulp with a fire extinguisher, in like 5 seconds. Did she somehow figured out he was a "dead" zombie already? If she thought he was just sick, why "kill" him once he was not a threat?

They could have exploited the parallel between the store owner helping them escape from the crowds and mom telling her daughter not to help neighbor being attacked. This is an interesting moral angle. At what point do you not care about helping someone else, if doing so carries risk to yourself?

Instead the whole thing seemed superficial and almost mechanical.

 

[nutty_gnome]

I was under the impression that the fire-extinguisher wielding mom has a secret which was telegraphed as: she was a bad junkie or addict of some sort in the past.

I can't believe they didn't take the canned food with them from the school... thats just stupid and I was yelling at my TV over it. Clearly the kid wanted/needed it. Ugh.

I agree that the show has been quick to show people going for the kill shots to the head. And I don't know any women who would be able to wield a fire extinguisher with enough ferocity to save the pizza-faced kid. Perhaps my life is lacking in that department.

So far, I'm not all that impressed. I feel like the main characters are getting around too easily. They don't fully realize how bad travel by car should be in this type of situation. The roads are shown to be clogged, but they still drive to their destinations in a timely manner. Dad and Ex wife were able to to see the ongoing protest on TV in a downtown area and yet were able to go from the burbs to downtown before the cops got there. LA is horrid for travel even without zombies. It is taking me out of the mood of the show. Hope it gets better.

 

[55x11]

I was under the impression that the fire-extinguisher wielding mom has a secret which was telegraphed as: she was a bad junkie or addict of some sort in the past.

I can't believe they didn't take the canned food with them from the school... thats just stupid and I was yelling at my TV over it. Clearly the kid wanted/needed it. Ugh.

I agree that the show has been quick to show people going for the kill shots to the head. And I don't know any women who would be able to wield a fire extinguisher with enough ferocity to save the pizza-faced kid. Perhaps my life is lacking in that department.

So far, I'm not all that impressed. I feel like the main characters are getting around too easily. They don't fully realize how bad travel by car should be in this type of situation. The roads are shown to be clogged, but they still drive to their destinations in a timely manner. Dad and Ex wife were able to to see the ongoing protest on TV in a downtown area and yet were able to go from the burbs to downtown before the cops got there. LA is horrid for travel even without zombies. It is taking me out of the mood of the show. Hope it gets better.

Agreed. I think it escalated a bit too quickly and with most characters adjusting too easily.

Oh, police shooting people in heads. Oh well, I guess that's Ok. 9-11 doesn't respond, and roads are clogged - that's just typical LA for you. Cops loading water in car and running away. Life as normal. People are getting some sort of virus and trying to bite at you - let's just assume they are zombies now, and beat their heads into a pulp.

I would have loved to see the moral story about how society goes from order to disorder to "everyone for himself" mentality, but at a bit slower, detailed pace. How people turn on each other, how panic escalates etc. Even Contagion, with no zombies, did this very well.

FTWD instead went from "police shoot a homeless man" to "lets riot and turn everything on fire" in like 10 seconds.

Finally, one thing that is missing from Walking Dead and also FTWD is the mere logistics of things. WD addressed it a bit early on but then forgot all about it.

In times of crisis and panic, what are the resources that are most needed? What do they do for clean water (especially with decaying walking corpses everywhere)? How long would canned foods, ammo, gasoline and other important commodities last? What about generating electricity? Water, food and energy got to be important here. As well as medicine, ammo etc.

In WD they seem to find infinite supplies of canned foods, ammo etc. in stores, homes - as if those areas were never affected by zombie epidemic and people just died very quickly. But in FTWD it should become clear that it would take weeks if not months for epidemic to take over, long after panic sets in, and most infrastructure shuts down. This is long enough to almost completely deplete any resources - all gas stations, any gas stored in most cars, any food in any store, should be completely gone by then - from basically all locations. Yet in Walking Dead, they routinely go to various stores "for supplies", and find seemingly infinite supplies of gasoline in every abandoned car.

It's only half-joke, but in Walking Dead scenario, they should all move to the mountains close to springs (can zombies climb steep hills?), invade houses equipped with solar roof panels and ride bicycles everywhere. Or at least priuses and scooters. Definitely not motorcycles, schoolbuses, tanks and giant fire trucks.

 

[Zuljin]

There was a show called Revolution that addressed the lack of ammo thing very well. Lots of gun fire, but also lots time ammo was conserved, and swords. In one episode, they flash back to soon after the power went out, and one character says to another that they are running out of ammo on all sides of the conflict. They'll be using swords soon. In other, someone remarks about not being able to make modern bullets any more.

Z Nation addressed it well, as well. Bullets are currency. Lots of stabbing and beating of zombies.

 

[milldoggy]

What annoys me in most zombie shows is that people never call the undead, zombies or realize until wayyyyy to late that there are zombies. I am fairly certain if I saw someone acting like a biter/walker I would call them a zombie.

 

[ffaoe]

What annoys me in most zombie shows is that people never call the undead, zombies or realize until wayyyyy to late that there are zombies. I am fairly certain if I saw someone acting like a biter/walker I would call them a zombie.

Whenever I see on the news about the police shooting and killing someone running around naked and chewing the face off a victim a few things instantly come to mind. First, it must have been bath salts or synthetic pot, then zombies.

 

[drainbamage]

What annoys me in most zombie shows is that people never call the undead, zombies or realize until wayyyyy to late that there are zombies. I am fairly certain if I saw someone acting like a biter/walker I would call them a zombie.

The writers have explained before that in the Walking Dead universe, there is no such thing as zombie fiction, so the people have no idea what they are or how to deal with them. That's why there are so many different names (and why no one actually says "zombies") and why it takes so long for everyone to realize to go for the head shot.

It would make for a pretty boring show if, at the first sign of trouble, everyone barricades their door, breaks out their pre-stashed Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit, and waits half an hour out until the National Guard shows up and blasts the offending zombies' heads off. The end.

 

[nutty_gnome]

In WD they seem to find infinite supplies of canned foods, ammo etc. in stores, homes - as if those areas were never affected by zombie epidemic and people just died very quickly. But in FTWD it should become clear that it would take weeks if not months for epidemic to take over, long after panic sets in, and most infrastructure shuts down.

I think it is plausible that survivors keep finding caches and supplies out in suburbia. I think the infection spreads pretty quickly so people don't have time to use their supplies - thus they are left for the survivors to find.

Anyone know how long Rick was unconscious in the WD pilot? I forget, but it wasn't all that long and the world was completely screwed well before he woke up. I think it could all happen pretty quick.

 

[55x11]

I think it is plausible that survivors keep finding caches and supplies out in suburbia. I think the infection spreads pretty quickly so people don't have time to use their supplies - thus they are left for the survivors to find.

Anyone know how long Rick was unconscious in the WD pilot? I forget, but it wasn't all that long and the world was completely screwed well before he woke up. I think it could all happen pretty quick.

From the length of his stubble and wilted flowers by his bed, I would guess about 2 weeks or less. Probably less than a week before hospital services disintegrated.

 

[MarkKF]

These peoples stupidity drives me crazy. The guy has seen it first hand yet still thinks they can be helped. The woman knows what has to be done but won't tell her daughter. And they all leave doors open and attract attention to themselves. Even it it wasn't zombies, maybe a gang of hoodlums, I would be smarter than this lot.

 

[adamranders]

These peoples stupidity drives me crazy. The guy has seen it first hand yet still thinks they can be helped. The woman knows what has to be done but won't tell her daughter. And they all leave doors open and attract attention to themselves. Even it it wasn't zombies, maybe a gang of hoodlums, I would be smarter than this lot.

My thoughts exactly

 

[ffaoe]

If these guys don't get their acts together, they will surely all die.

After Nick decided not to break into that house and walked out onto the street, it showed a plane flying overhead. The plane was flying level then suddenly banking sharply. I thought for sure it was going to go down. Unfortunately it then went to the next scene. Zombies on a plane? I think I saw something somewhere about a short 30 minute special on that scenario.

 

[nutty_gnome]

Much more compelling this evening. Bravo.

Issues:
1 - I still dislike the druggie kid, but I begrudgingly accept his acceptance of reality.
2 - If you are an uninvited guest who looks like Death warmed over in my house late at night AND you are eating my dog.... I will put you down. Double guns to the face mister!
3 - Who allows their neighbor to have a deathtrap maze? That is an eyesore and someone should have called the zoning board a long time ago. What a horse**** plot point that was.
4 - The old latino guy is bent on being strong..... no weakness for him... but he won't leverage the strength of others to elevate himself. That is a bummer. Hope he gets bitten soon.
5 - The hospital scene seemed very very legitimate. I think it was authentic. I liked that scene.

 

[Resonator]

3 - Who allows their neighbor to have a deathtrap maze? That is an eyesore and someone should have called the zoning board a long time ago. What a horse**** plot point that was.

Pretty sure that was a garden with a lot of vines and plants everywhere. I'm guessing she wasn't that great of a gardener though since most seemed dead.

If these guys don't get their acts together, they will surely all die.


After Nick decided not to break into that house and walked out onto the street, it showed a plane flying overhead. The plane was flying level then suddenly banking sharply. I thought for sure it was going to go down. Unfortunately it then went to the next scene. Zombies on a plane? I think I saw something somewhere about a short 30 minute special on that scenario.

Maybe the pilot wasn't flying at that point. Seemed like something an inexperienced person would do trying to turn.

 

[drainbamage]

If these guys don't get their acts together, they will surely all die.

The old Hispanic guy seems to have some sense of the scale of what's going down, but the main family is dangerously naive:

"Um, there's a creepy guy lurking out front...let's head over to the neighbors' and leave the back door wide open!"

"Hey man, I know we just saw the neighbor eat a floccing dog in our living room, but how dare you teach my son how to handle a gun?!"

Someone is going to end up zombie food if they don't wise up soon.

 

[ffaoe]

The old Hispanic guy seems to have some sense of the scale of what's going down, but the main family is dangerously naive:

I think the Hispanic guy had an idea of how bad things could get because he said they were from El Salvador. They had a civil war that lasted for more than a decade and raged through the 80's. Their daughter looked to be about that age, so I'm sure they fled and came to the US about that time. They would have seen how bad things can get when law begins to disintegrate.

 

[55x11]

I think the Hispanic guy had an idea of how bad things could get because he said they were from El Salvador. They had a civil war that lasted for more than a decade and raged through the 80's. Their daughter looked to be about that age, so I'm sure they fled and came to the US about that time. They would have seen how bad things can get when law begins to disintegrate.

I like the old El Salvador guy, but the rest of the episode was too full of cliches, and a bit too slow / shallow.

But a few interesting notes:
1. Hospitals will be the zombie nucleation sites, as all "sick" people will be brought there, and then infection just spreads from there.
2. A reasonable human reaction is to assume that infected people are just sick, not "dead zombies", and so killing them presents a moral quandary of sorts (what if they have the cure?). This is also probably how the infection spreads, too many people are "weak" and don't want to start killing their infected family members or neighbors.

Having said that, so far it looks like only maybe a few percent of population is infected and most people on the show have realized something is going on. So did the police/military. So how does it get to >90% infection rate that Rick has witnessed once he got out of the hospital? How does it get out of control in such dramatic fashion?

 

[Zuljin]

They put out the garbage and recycle. That shows where their mentality is toward their situation.

And what's with the lighted ceiling in the Asian's house? That was kind of neat looking. I wouldn't want it, but it looked neat.

 

[JohnSand]

I didn't watch. I'm not sure I will. The Giants/Cowboys game was exciting though.

 

[lupulinaddict]

I am getting confused on the timing. Like zuljin mentioned, they're putting out their trash cans for pickup like normal, but the night before the hospital was on fire and these dead/sick people are being shot outside? How long ago was the druggy in the hospital, it seems like at least two nights? He broke out of the hospital and shot the dealer. Then the next day she went to get the drugs from the school and I think the same night just past. So how come the kid is puking and withdrawal sweating on the coach, but has yet to shower and replace the old guys clothes he stole?

Also during the riots in the city it went from protesting police brutality to looting....ok that's realistic, but when people see other people eating police offers I think even rioters would realize the situation is out of control and run scared. I would have like to see part them running from zombies instead of trying to escape a riot, well I guess that will come so maybe too early to play that card.

The other thing I keep thinking is they should incorporate the news with it. I liked in the first episode how they used the cell phone videos, but if I see something happening like a police standoff I go turn on the tv when I get home. If this outbreak is already to the point the the military is taking control of the neighborhood, I wonder what cnn is covering around the world or locally if this is supposed to be ground zero. In the real world nothing keeps journalist away.

 

[ffaoe]

Interesting episode overall. At first I was thinking the show had really taken a step backwards with everyone living life as normal (as it can be).
The military taking all of the "undesireables" eg. guy on hospice care, depressed guy, Griselda (crushed foot), and Nick (drug addict) away makes sense as far as keeping order and disposing of any liabilities.

 

[MarkKF]

Interesting episode overall. At first I was thinking the show had really taken a step backwards with everyone living life as normal (as it can be).

The military taking all of the "undesireables" eg. guy on hospice care, depressed guy, Griselda (crushed foot), and Nick (drug addict) away makes sense as far as keeping order and disposing of any liabilities.

Yeah I didn't see the leap where the guys ex-wife started taking care of people. Then she's recruited by the Doc. Overall interesting but I doubt the soldiers would be so cavalier. They gotta know more just by rumors. I'd think they would still be on edge.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

If these guys don't get their acts together, they will surely all die.

After Nick decided not to break into that house and walked out onto the street, it showed a plane flying overhead. The plane was flying level then suddenly banking sharply. I thought for sure it was going to go down. Unfortunately it then went to the next scene. Zombies on a plane? I think I saw something somewhere about a short 30 minute special on that scenario.

Yep, sounds like your are right re: 30 minute special: http://www.inquisitr.com/2374764/th...new-spin-off-look-out-for-zombies-on-a-plane/

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Two episodes left, and so far the thing I most enjoyed has been hearing Lou Reed's "Perfect Day"

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Two episodes left, and so far the thing I most enjoyed has been hearing Lou Reed's "Perfect Day"

Interesting version:

Sorry re