Walking Dead...and well horror series ramble

[shadowkat]

Watching The Walking Dead ...makes me miss Stephen King's mini-series The Stand for some reason. Possibly because it was better written. It is oddly amusing in somewhat the same ways as Ringer...the dialogue is so cheesy and you can feel the writers working really hard to get the characters from point A - B. Also very pulpy - but hey, based on a series of comic books. It is supposed to be pulpy and cheesy, what are you expecting Mattheison? Or Shakespeare? Please. It's fun in places. Drags in others. I don't take it too seriously, and enjoy it for what it is like everything else I watch. It's a bit like reading - some days you are in the mood for Dosetovosky's Crime and Punishment (yet to happen for me - but I have the book just in case), and some days you are in the mood for well George RR Martin (which I'm plodding through), and other's...Jim Butcher or Harry Potter or Bridget Jone's Diary.
Or that some guilty pleasure romance novel. Or fanfic erotica. Tv? The same thing.

But in comparison to other pulp novels and series? It could be a lot better. Lacks a bit of punch. American Horror Story has more punch to it. As does Supernatural. Examples of shows that enjoy their pulp status and don't drag quite so much. Vamp Diaries is another example. Best horror series on at the moment is Vamp Diaries.

I laughed out loud at this line:

Dale: Spit it out, boy, stop being all melodramatic.
Glenn: There's walkers in the barn, and Laurie's pregnant.
Dale (expression - WTF? Guess he had a reason to be melodramatic)

LOL! So next ten to fifteen minutes are spent with Dale wandering around checking out Glenn's story. First he talks to Herschel...who tells him that yes, there are walkers in the barn, they are there because Herschel and his family are in deep denial and think the zombies are just sick people who can get well eventually and killing them is murder. Dale tries to reason with him - you heard the news reports, but we know more than you do...but to no avail. Apparently the corspe-like appearance and rotting smell, hasn't clued them in otherwise? For a vet, Herschel is deeply stupid or insane.

Then Dale...talks to Laurie (apparently the blond's name isn't Laurie, Ric's whiny wife's name is - so, I'm now confused about the names. Not a good sign, if you can't remember the character's names is it? Blond is Andrea.). Laurie asks if the Asian guy (oh Glen) told him, Dale - "the boy has no guile." LOL! Actually I love Glenn, he's one of my fav's, him, the blond Andrea, and Darryl (the comic book redneck stereotype).

Oh look, as Laurie takes her abortion pills to get rid of Shane's kid, Shane has hot sex with the cool blond Andrea in a car, after she kills a bunch of walkers - on yet another dead end search for Sofia.

Sofia's mom: anything?
Andrea: not today (secretive smile - but hey I had sex, and shot a lot of people - so life is good.)
Dale decides that now is the time to argue with Shane, because he figures out that Shane and Andrea got it on, also knows about Laurie and Shane. Not a smart move, Dale. As Shane informs him. Shane: If you think I could kill my best friend who I regard like a brother, what do you think I'm going to do to a guy I don't even like? (Seriously Dale, Shane is bad news. Back off. Oddly I like Shane more than Dale, he has personality. Dale's becoming a bit of cliche and making me miss Ray Wise who played a similar role, far better, in Stephen King's the Stand.)

These characters make the dumbest decisions. But they always do in horror stories.
Very rare to see a smart character in a horror tale. Because in order to get them into danger - they have to do things that no one with any wit of sense would do. Like wander down into a basement in an old deserted house while there are zombies wandering about. Or holding a bunch of zombies in a barn and feeding them chickens. Or...wandering around in the woods at night with zombies wandering about, looking for a lost little girl. Or staying in a house that you know has had a lot of murders, and nasty things have happened, and is horribly haunted (that's American Horror Story - which has been a whole lot more clever in coming up with ways to keep the family in the house than Walking Dead has in getting its characters to do dumb things). I can go on. People in horror stories do dumb things. I love Kevin Williamson's horror tales because he makes fun of it. So did Whedon. The good horror writers, like Sam Rami seemed aware.

At any rate..I can't quite decide what I find more amusing the series, or the fact that there are people who keep insisting on comparing it to critically acclaimed emmy-award winning series that are outside the genre. Folks? That's like comparing the Avengers comics to Art Spieglman's Maus or Persepolis or Watchman. Come on. It's pulp. OR a better example? Mozart's Opera to a Busby Berkely musical. Love it for what it is. Or not, as the case may be. You really can't compare literary fiction to the pulp genre, people read them and watch them for different reasons. It's like comparing eating a filet mignon steak to eating a hot-dog or hamburger. Both are wonderful but for different reasons.

Walking Dead compared to Stephen King or Tales from the Crypt? It's not that good. Tale from the Crypt was creepier and scarier. And Stephen King's The Stand...far more entertaining. But it is better than Jericho, which bored me. And a lot more entertaining than all those George R. Romero films - which I can't get myself to watch (I know blasphemy, but there it is - me and zombies unmixy things). In some respects I like it better than Zombieland...which was great to start, but got a bit tired in the middle. Walking Dead has some of the same problems as Zombieland...it drags when we get into the human drama.

Comments

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I'm rather impressed that they're still looking for Sophia, to be honest. She's been missing in the zombie-infested woods with no food for, what, 3 months now? Up until they showed the little kid (Cal? Carl?) running around and shooting guns, completely healed from being shot in the gut, I could still assume that all of these episodes took place over a couple of days, but...

And here we see what happens when you slash the budget of a horror series: the season arc becomes "Let's all sit around a farmhouse for 12 episodes" and the most exciting plot points become "Let's go to town and get medicine". In every episode. That's not The Walking Dead, that's Little House On The Prairie. Bored now.

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

Although it seems like three months, apparently only TWO WEEKS have passed since Rick woke up from his coma. (I know!) So they've only been looking for Sophia for a couple of days (but that makes Carl's speedy recovery from the gunshot wound even more remarkable. Perhaps he's a sekrit Zombie!)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

...wow. OK. Um... OK. That really hasn't come across very well.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

The pacing...it's made the story feel longer than it is. ;-) But I'm right there with you, I thought they'd been there for a least a month. Not three - because Lori's pregnant, and if it had been 3 months, she'd be showing not trying to get an abortion.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Hee. I've learned not to try and figure out what time, month, day or how much time has passed in television serials (and this also bodes true for comic books or graphic novels).

Time's always wonky in these things.

Let's look at 24 - shall we? Okay, the whole gimmick of that series was everything took place within 24 hours. This always puzzled me - how did Jack make it to and from the CTU, Mexico or wherever he was going and do everything? Beam himself there?

I will admit it was a bit jarring to see Carl wandering around and trying to use a gun, after spending the last three episodes on death's door. I'm guessing they got bored with that storyline and figured we wouldn't notice?
Watch Darryl will probably be up and running around next week.

You are right - it can't be three months, because then Lori's kid would definitely be by Ric (assuming they are sleeping together) and not by Shane. OR she'd be showing. But they have compiled a lot of things in the space of two weeks, but considering how much 24 tried to compile in a day...(shrugs)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

And here we see what happens when you slash the budget of a horror series: the season arc becomes "Let's all sit around a farmhouse for 12 episodes" and the most exciting plot points become "Let's go to town and get medicine". In every episode. That's not The Walking Dead, that's Little House On The Prairie. Bored now.

Reminds me more of The Stand...where they go throw hell, then journey to this place - except the Stand was more interesting and better written, also we had Gary Sinese and Molly Ringwald, not to mention Ray Wise, Ruby Dees, and her hubby whose name I've blanked on.

But you are right...slashing the budget has hurt them. Probably wouldn't have if the writing was better to begin with, but Walking Dead's whole deal was the special effects and well the characters constantly having to navigate their way around the Dead. The best scene all season was the highway bit. The bit at the school was too dark - visually, not content wise (although that too) - couldn't see what was happening half the time. And the well bit was just gross and silly. It made no sense that they'd send anyone down into that well.

IF they had better writers - the farmhouse bit could have been creepy fun. Herschel is creepy to begin with. But they haven't built it well. The pacing on this...is uneven. Last Season, hate to say it, was a lot better.

[ann1962]

or insane.

Yeah, he's going to pop soon.

, Dale - "the boy has no guile." LOL! Actually I love Glenn, he's one of my fav's,

That was the best line of the episode. Both true and absolutely succinct. Though it will probably get him killed at some point.

These characters make the dumbest decisions.

I'm wanking that up to character PTSD. I know I'm liking a show when I start doing that!

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

That was the best line of the episode. Both true and absolutely succinct. Though it will probably get him killed at some point.

Most likely. Dang. Although I did think he was a goner - going down into that well. They have to kill off someone soon...my vote is for the woman with the missing daughter. They've a few characters that they clearly don't know what to do with.

I'm wanking that up to character PTSD. I know I'm liking a show when I start doing that!

Works for me. ;-) Although...it still doesn't explain why they don't run in the opposite direction of some of these problems.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

My money's on the black guy. He's barely had a single line this season (except for when he almost got killed by touching a car door), plus the show has a history when it comes to non-white characters...

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Yeah...I was thinking that too, but I like him, dang it. He had the best line last episode: "No, just shooting him, would have been dumb."

Guess it would be asking too much to kill the nosy old guy, Dale?
I think his name is Dale.

In the comics - Shane's apparently supposed to be dead by now, but the writers liked the character too much. (at least that's what I read, haven't read the comics.)

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

I think the only character with the slightest chance of survival is Daryl (the dirty hot crossbow-wielding fella!) and I can't figure out why he's saddled himself to this gang of stupid people.

Herschel is nuts. There's no "cure" for decomposing flesh so I don't even know what he thinks will happen if his familial zombies are ever "cured." Hello? Also, mortal danger for everyone who's still alive by keeping them in the barn, but that doesn't seem to bother him either. UGH!

Lastly, the Lori/Laurie confusion is probably because Rick's wife is Lori Grimes but Andrea is played by Laurie Holden.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Herschel is nuts. There's no "cure" for decomposing flesh

Hey, if Herschel managed to cure Carl in a couple of hours, I'm sure he can find a cure for decomposition too...

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I think the only character with the slightest chance of survival is Daryl (the dirty hot crossbow-wielding fella!).

I don't know...he did idiotically go riding out in the woods with no back-up to look for Sophia again.
On an unfamilar horse.

Herschel is nuts. There's no "cure" for decomposing flesh so I don't even know what he thinks will happen if his familial zombies are ever "cured."

My impression was that he doesn't know it's decomposing flesh. Why he doesn't know...is a whole other issue. You'd think the smell and visuals would tip him off. Denial has most likely pushed him around the bend. How much you want to bet they throw him to the Walkers and he gets eaten next episode?

Lastly, the Lori/Laurie confusion is probably because Rick's wife is Lori Grimes but Andrea is played by Laurie Holden.

Ah. Thanks. That makes sense. For some reason I remembered the name of the actress better than the names of half of the characters...not a good sign.;-)