The Walking Dead (TV show)

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The Walking Dead
"You step outside, you risk your life. Take a drink of water, you risk your life. Nowadays you breathe, you risk your life. Every moment now, you don't have a choice. The only thing you can choose is what you're risking it for!" - Hershel Greene
Genre: Horror Serial drama Zombie apocalypse Drama Action Running Time: 41 - 67 minutes Network(s): AMC Created by: Robert Kirkman Tony Moore Charlie Adlard Distributed by: 20th Television Disney–ABC Domestic Television Starring: Andrew Lincoln Jon Bernthal Sarah Wayne Callies Laurie Holden Jeffrey DeMunn Seasons: 11 Episodes: 177

The Walking Dead is an action-drama-horror zombie apocalypse television series that first aired in October 31, 2010 and is based on the comic book series of the same name.

Summary

Sheriff Deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes up from a coma to learn the world is in ruins during a zombie apocalypse, and must lead a group of survivors to stay alive.

Why It Rocks

1. The actors and their performances are outstanding, beyond wonderful, and give some strong performances, such as from Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Chandler Riggs, Lennie James, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, etc.
2. The idea of a television series about characters trying to survive a zombie apocalypse is very original.
3. It is incredibly faithful to the comic book it's based on, aside from some changes.
4. Each and every one of the episodes is nicely written and well-developed.
5. The cinematography and camera angles are wonderful, well-shot, and has a mysteriously creepy tone to them.
6. Well-done character development, especially from Carl Grimes who went from a nervous, shy little boy to a tough, head-strong teenager who can take a challenge, and Gabriel Strokes, who went from being a total coward to a total badass.
7. Likable and interesting characters, such as Daryl Dixon, Rick Grimes, Carl Grimes, Carol, Hershel, Maggie, Michonne, and many others.
8. It has original characters that are not in the comics like Merle, T-Dog, Sasha, Jerry, Simon and more.
9. The show doesn’t revolve only around the zombie apocalypse; it sometimes manages to address some real-life issues and problems that make the characters more relatable to the audience.
10. Many well-executed funny, serious, sad, action-packed, powerful and/or heartwarming moments throughout the entire series.
11. The deaths of several of the main characters can be very heartbreaking.
12. Lots of really disturbing moments like when Rick gets four phone calls from four anonymous people only to find out that they are four characters who were a part of Rick's group that had all died including his wife, Lori. Essentially revealing that he's losing his mind.
13. The environment is wonderful and goes great with the tone of show.
14. All of the characters share amazing chemistry with each other.
15. It has a spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, that was just as good.
16. Although it’s a horror fiction, it can have some very realistic and relatable moments here and there.
17. There are a handful of good/decent episodes, such as:
    • "Days Gone Bye"
    • "Save the Last One"
    • "Pretty Much Dead Already"
    • "18 Miles Out"
    • "Better Angels"
    • "Beside the Dying Fire"
    • "Killer Within"
    • "Clear"
    • "This Sorrowful Life"
    • "30 Days Without An Accident"
    • "Too Far Gone"
    • "The Grove"
    • "No Sanctuary"
    • "Four Walls and a Roof"
    • "Here's Not Here"
    • "No Way Out"
    • "Not Tomorrow Yet"
    • "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be"
    • "What Comes After"
    • "The Calm Before"
    • "Here's Negan"

Bad Qualities

1. AMC has a habit of meddling in and changing or removing certain ideas. This includes most of season 2, the death of characters like Andrea, a character who plays a much bigger role in the comics and eventually becomes a love interest to Rick, being killed off in the third season (all to subvert veterans expectations) and Carl as he was supposed to grow up as an older adult and fulfill his father's legacy in the comic's final issue, but was killed off due to drama between Chandler Riggs and AMC, and more.
   • Also, characters like Rick, Michonne, Morgan, and Dwight are written off the show as necessary to develop the story.
2. Characters like Tyreese, Dale, Jesus, Rosita, and Siddiq are not as fleshed out as they were in the comics.
3. It has bits of unlikable characters such as Ed, Andrea, Lori, Beth, Eugene, Gregory, Spencer, and the list goes on.
4. There are some filler episodes, which became most prevalent in the lead-up to the war between Rick and Negan.
5. Season 2 was pretty boring mainly because the characters hardly did anything, although it was explained that this was because AMC didn't want to spend as much money as they did on the previous season. This also led to the firing of Frank Darabont because he protested against this.
   • Seasons 7 and 8 are considered by many to be the worst seasons of all and caused the show's downfall.
6. There are a handful of bad episodes. Some examples include:
   • "Cherokee Rose"
   • "I Ain’t a Judas"
   • "Still"
   • "Slabtown"
   • "Last Day on Earth"
   • "The Cell"
   • "Go Getters"
   • "Swear"
   • "The Other Side"
   • "Mercy"
   • "The Damned"
   • "Monsters"
   • "The King, the Widow, and Rick"
   • "Time for After"
   • "How It's Gotta Be"
7. The violence and gore can be alarming for some people, especially with Glenn's death.

Trivia

• In the United States, the show's series premiere, "Days Gone Bye" achieved a viewership of 5.35 million, making it the most-watched series premiere in its network's history. The episode garnered a Nielsen rating of 2.7 in the 18–49 demographic, translating to 3.6 million viewers. It is also one of the highest-rated premieres on AMC alongside the series premiere of The Killing, which premiered in April 2011 and drew 2.7 million viewers and a 2 household rating.
• Following the show's success and popularity, AMC has expanded the series into related media, such as several webisodes and video games. AMC announced plans for three films to follow Rick's story after Lincoln's departure. In 2020, two further spinoffs were announced: one focused on Reedus's and McBride's characters, and an anthology series to feature individual character backstories. The show received two spin-offs: Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond. The former premiered on August 23, 2015, received mixed-to-positive reviews, and is the second longest series in this franchise, while the latter premiered on October 4, 2020, and was canceled on December 5, 2021, making it the shortest-ran show among the three; however, The Walking Dead: World Beyond wasn't well-received neither by critics nor fans.

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