The Walking Dead (TV) - The Low Down

The Walking Dead (TV-2010) Created by Frank Darabont

Police officer Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.



The Walking Dead is about as realistic as it gets when dealing with zombies in the entertainment industry. I am obsessed with Frank Darabont, and I love his work, so I was extremely excited from the get-go about him doing a zombie TV show. My hat is off to AMC right off the bat for showing a large pair of testicles in picking up this would be controversial show for prime time television. Not alot of channels would have even considered picking this up, but AMC gambled and it sure as hell paid off. A total of 5.4 million people watched the premiere episode, which made it the largest premiere in AMC history. The plot is as simple as it gets with a man waking up during a zombie apocalypse and trying to find his family, all while running into other survivors. The subplots are what gets to you, as it has some of the most interesting characters of any TV show I have seen recently, including Lost. Frank doesn't do any directing with TWD, but his presence is definitely felt in every episode. There is enough emotional intensity in a one hour episode to make any grown man share his feelings. This is not uncommon for Frank Darabont, as he has shown it many times before with: The Mist, The Majestic, The Green Mile, and The Shawshank Redemption. He knows how to make the most unbelievable circumstances that are easy to relate to everyone.



The acting in The Walking Dead is unbelievably good. It is the perfect balance between lesser knows and veterans, and it blends so amazingly well. With a fairly unknown lead Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually) playing the lead Rick Grimes, I was a little nervous, but he has been more than a great pillar for this large scale show. Backed by lesser knowns Jon Bernthal(The Ghost Writer, Night At The Museum 2), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break, Whisper), Steven Yeun, and Chandler Riggs make for an outstanding ensemble cast. Veterans Laurie Holden (The Mist, Silent Hill), Jeffrey DeMunn (The Mist, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption) are amazing as usual. Are you seeing the pattern there? Bring in some veterans Frank is familiar with? Well it works, not to mention up and coming star Emma Bell (Frozen, Hachet II) is equally as good in her much smaller role. The chemistry among the cast is extremely noticeable, and they all play off each other really well.



The show itself is one of the best shows I have ever seen, and shows potential to be the best. I have said it a thousand times : The fast way to my heart is through my brains! I am a zombie loving fiend and just to have a zombie TV show on basic cable makes me ecstatic. The show is so well written, well acted, and well executed that I haven't run into any people who have been able to say a bad thing about it yet. According to cinemablend.com, after just two episodes The Walking Dead was picked up for a 13 Episode second season to air on Halloween of next year. That is a long frickin wait, but for a show that has about everything you could want from a TV show (Attractive people, great acting, great writing, gore, and plenty of action) I am pumped for next season and it will be well worth the wait. Oh and for the record, if Frank Darabont wants to get rid of all of his writers for a fresh second season, then I trust Frank Darabont. Tell me I am playing favorites all you want but The Walking Dead (TV) Season One gets:

Entertainment Value: 10/10 Decaps!
Cinematic Value: 10/10 Decaps!