The Walking Dead (AMC)

[JS22]

Spoiler

not to mention they've continually killed off major characters, including the lead, which allows for wiggle room budget wise. and again, I'm thinking Sons has standing sets and their FX budget can't even come close to rivaling Walking Dead or GOT.

Uh, spoiler alert? I had thought about watching the show. Didn't think I'd come across such a massive spoiler in a completely unrelated thread.

 

[chickenhead]

Interesting: I don't watch Talking Dead and haven't read the comics. I did read the Entertainment Weekly recap, which seemed to think that Abraham's family was horrified because they had just seen him beat someone to death over a can of food. An easy assumption to make IMO, because even though I assumed there'd been a fight or danger of some kind based on what Abraham said to his family--but in no way did I suspect this.

There were definitely some missing blanks. I don't mind that as a strategy, and often like it in serial shows, where it sometimes means there are momentous blanks to be filled in later. I guess maybe this show is leading us to think that this will be Abraham's only flashback episode...

But also, what's not on screen that is in the comic, or is explained by actors doesn't actually mean it happened in the show--until it's explained on the show. On the one hand that happens to be a slant of literary criticism that I agree with (feel free to disagree), but also there have been enough differences from what I understand, that the source material can't be totally relied on. That also makes it fun for speculation, though.

Anyway, the storylines in the show itself are getting a bit off-pace now, but I suppose we just ride it out and things will start coming back together.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Uh, spoiler alert? I had thought about watching the show. Didn't think I'd come across such a massive spoiler in a completely unrelated thread.

my bad... that happened a couple years ago. thought it would be common knowledge for fans of the show.

 

[PDXChris]

my bad... that happened a couple years ago. thought it would be common knowledge for fans of the show.

As long as you don't spoil the real ending to this final season.

Spoiler

Peggy wakes up next to Al and it was all a dream.

 

[Stout]

not to mention they've continually killed off major characters, which allows for wiggle room budget wise. and again, I'm thinking Sons has standing sets and their FX budget can't even come close to rivaling Walking Dead or GOT.

Yeah, but they still have a giant ensemble cast of major characters just like Walking Dead, and the show's run for longer, so I assume those salaries are probably higher too. Fair point about the sets and FX budget though.

The overall point, however, has to be that the show writers MUST find a way to work around this issue without completely and utterly running over their own peenies, right? I mean, okay, so you can't put all the characters in all the episodes. Doesn't mean you have to absolutely jack everything up, write like schizophreniacs, and lose your momentum--EVERY season--right?

 

[Chaplin]

Yeah, but they still have a giant ensemble cast of major characters just like Walking Dead, and the show's run for longer, so I assume those salaries are probably higher too. Fair point about the sets and FX budget though.

The overall point, however, has to be that the show writers MUST find a way to work around this issue without completely and utterly running over their own peenies, right? I mean, okay, so you can't put all the characters in all the episodes. Doesn't mean you have to absolutely jack everything up, write like schizophreniacs, and lose your momentum--EVERY season--right?

Sons of Anarchy has a cult following, but doesn't have the audience Walking Dead does. That's just a fact. You can't treat every show as equal.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Yeah, but they still have a giant ensemble cast of major characters just like Walking Dead, and the show's run for longer, so I assume those salaries are probably higher too. Fair point about the sets and FX budget though.

The overall point, however, has to be that the show writers MUST find a way to work around this issue without completely and utterly running over their own peenies, right? I mean, okay, so you can't put all the characters in all the episodes. Doesn't mean you have to absolutely jack everything up, write like schizophreniacs, and lose your momentum--EVERY season--right?

they probably believe their ratings say they can keep doing exactly what they've been doing. No show on network or cable gets anything CLOSE to the ratings Dead gets, so they probably figure story-telling wise, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Covert Rain]

they probably believe their ratings say they can keep doing exactly what they've been doing. No show on network or cable gets anything CLOSE to the ratings Dead gets, so they probably figure story-telling wise, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Plus they also get those ratings with fewer episodes per season versus a standard network show to boot.

 

[Cheesebeef]

and AMC is NOTORIOUSLY cheap. The budget battles they had with Mad Men and Breaking Bad have become something of legend in the industry. And those were the two shows the network built itself up with.

 

[Stout]

they probably believe their ratings say they can keep doing exactly what they've been doing. No show on network or cable gets anything CLOSE to the ratings Dead gets, so they probably figure story-telling wise, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Yeah, true. It's just a shame.

 

[Cheesebeef]

okay... the dangling car over the railing moment was quite possibly the single dumbest thing I've EVER seen on this show.

and that was a terrible episode.

 

[Stout]

okay... the dangling car over the railing moment was quite possibly the single dumbest thing I've EVER seen on this show.

and that was a terrible episode.

+1

 

[Phrazbit]

Yeah, but they still have a giant ensemble cast of major characters just like Walking Dead, and the show's run for longer, so I assume those salaries are probably higher too. Fair point about the sets and FX budget though.

The overall point, however, has to be that the show writers MUST find a way to work around this issue without completely and utterly running over their own peenies, right? I mean, okay, so you can't put all the characters in all the episodes. Doesn't mean you have to absolutely jack everything up, write like schizophreniacs, and lose your momentum--EVERY season--right?

The Walking Dead writers have a big advantage over other large ensemble shows like Mad Men, GoT or Sons of Anarchy; the Walking Dead is not character driven. Basically anyone on the cast could be devoured and gone for good and the ratings would keep on rolling. People watch for the suspense, the action and gore and many of the characters are so poorly written that when they're killed off its a relief.

 

[NJCardFan]

The Walking Dead writers have a big advantage over other large ensemble shows like Mad Men, GoT or Sons of Anarchy; the Walking Dead is not character driven. Basically anyone on the cast could be devoured and gone for good and the ratings would keep on rolling. People watch for the suspense, the action and gore and many of the characters are so poorly written that when they're killed off its a relief.

Hate to disagree with you but if people are watching for the gore then they're watching for the wrong reasons. The zombies are actually the McGuffin of the story(if I'm understanding the term correctly). The show is exactly character driven. It's about people in a distopian situation. As for losing characters, only 1 major character has been lost and that was Shane. All of the others who were killed off were minor characters including Lori. If Darryl were ever killed off, the ratings would take a hit.

 

[Covert Rain]

This is what drives me crazy about the show. These unnecessary filler episodes. Most shows simply show a quick flashback and move on letting the audience fill in the blanks. This show for some odd reason always go through these episodes where for some reason they feel like they MUST fill in the blanks and give us every single detail.

Either they think we are stupid or it's a way to save money from the more character heavy episodes or actions packed episodes. It drives me nuts either way.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This is what drives me crazy about the show. These unnecessary filler episodes. Most shows simply show a quick flashback and move on letting the audience fill in the blanks. This show for some odd reason always go through these episodes where for some reason they feel like they MUST fill in the blanks and give us every single detail.

Either they think we are stupid or it's a way to save money from the more character heavy episodes or actions packed episodes. It drives me nuts either way.

I really feel like it's a function of budget.

What lost did so well, was that it's flashbacks almost ALWAYS informed the decision making of a character in the present day, and always tried to end with a twist. These flashbacks most of the time just fill in the blanks.

 

[Town Drunk]

I finally caught up. Those Abraham flashbacks were absolutely terrible. Terrible editing and I had no idea what the significance of it was until I read this thread.

 

[Covert Rain]

I really feel like it's a function of budget.

What lost did so well, was that it's flashbacks almost ALWAYS informed the decision making of a character in the present day, and always tried to end with a twist. These flashbacks most of the time just fill in the blanks.

Right.....most of the time unnecessary.

I finally caught up. Those Abraham flashbacks were absolutely terrible. Terrible editing and I had no idea what the significance of it was until I read this thread.

Terrible.....bad editing. Not just from a story telling perspective but the jump cuts between present day and past were also horrible. The timing was bad and at times abrupt. This reminds me of my Cinema & TV Production class when we all took turns learning how to edit. It was bad.

 

[Stout]

Hate to disagree with you but if people are watching for the gore then they're watching for the wrong reasons. The zombies are actually the McGuffin of the story(if I'm understanding the term correctly). The show is exactly character driven. It's about people in a distopian situation. As for losing characters, only 1 major character has been lost and that was Shane. All of the others who were killed off were minor characters including Lori. If Darryl were ever killed off, the ratings would take a hit.

If Daryl were ever killed off, the show would die.

 

[Chaplin]

I liked the episode, but only because it was Carol/Daryl centric, and it confirmed my suspicions about who Daryl had with him when he returned to the church.

I'm good with anything, filler or not, of Carol and Daryl. Both are two of the strongest characters, if not THE strongest, in the entire show.

 

[Covert Rain]

I liked the episode, but only because it was Carol/Daryl centric, and it confirmed my suspicions about who Daryl had with him when he returned to the church.

I'm good with anything, filler or not, of Carol and Daryl. Both are two of the strongest characters, if not THE strongest, in the entire show.

Not the biggest Carol fan but I love Daryl. I don't mind a Daryl centric episode. In fact, it was the only saving grace of the episode. I just wish it hadn't been a completely unnecessary filler story.

 

[Chaplin]

Not the biggest Carol fan but I love Daryl. I don't mind a Daryl centric episode. In fact, it was the only saving grace of the episode. I just wish it hadn't been a completely unnecessary filler story.

Carol has become a fan favorite, and I'm much more invested in her story, more than Beth and more than Abraham and Glenn/Maggie, that's for sure.

 

[NJCardFan]

This season has hit the skids. Started off really well. The first 3 episodes were compelling. Then, screech! Boring filler. Now there's only 2 episodes left before the mid season break. Looks like we're going to deal with the completely made up hospital/slavery ring, a storyline no one gives a crap about.

 

[Chaplin]

This season has hit the skids. Started off really well. The first 3 episodes were compelling. Then, screech! Boring filler. Now there's only 2 episodes left before the mid season break. Looks like we're going to deal with the completely made up hospital/slavery ring, a storyline no one gives a crap about.

Why does it have to follow the comics exactly?

They do something else, and you'll say it's another storyline no on gives a crap about. I think saving Beth (and now Carol) is a pretty viable storyline that makes sense in this world with these characters.

Now, the hospital itself and the people inside it aren't the best characters in the world, but it's built to be an obstacle that the characters we do know can overcome in a hail of blood and bullets. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[NJCardFan]

Why does it have to follow the comics exactly?

They do something else, and you'll say it's another storyline no on gives a crap about. I think saving Beth (and now Carol) is a pretty viable storyline that makes sense in this world with these characters.

Now, the hospital itself and the people inside it aren't the best characters in the world, but it's built to be an obstacle that the characters we do know can overcome in a hail of blood and bullets. Nothing wrong with that.

Because there's enough compelling storylines in the comics so there's no need to create this storyline. There is even one where Beth gets abducted. Just stick to that. Also, you think that these filler episodes were entertaining? you'd be in the minority. The comics are on going so there's no running out of material. There's really no need to create antagonists when there are plenty to go around already. Hell, the better thing to do was to at least dedicate an episode to Fr. Gabriel so we can see what happened with him(maybe they will, we don't know yet) instead of showing what happened with Abraham.