I know I've been hard on The Walking Dead. And I'm going to pile on now. But I am only hard because I was hoping for Breaking Bad quality programming and so wanted a zombie series to do well. I like the genre, in case you haven't guessed. Though, really, I'm not fanatical about it. Honest!
Ok, I've talked about how idiotic the characters actions are. They seem to have a decision tree that searches around for the worst things to do, and then they do that. But you can forgive that a little bit. Making mistakes putting people in peril is good for a dramatic thread. Overcoming such errors makes for a good story. And these people we are following on the show are super discombobulated. The world has been turned upside down and anyone would be a little frantic and prone to stupidity. I can forgive idiocy. Not everyone would have their head screwed on properly like I think I would in that same situation.
No, the problem is, NONE of the characters are likeable. None. I am not rooting for any of these people. If they get eaten? Oh well. The closest to a likable main character is Rick Grimes, the sheriff. Dale, the old RV owner was sympathetic for a while, but lately he has slipped. Glenn, the Asian kid has potential but they haven't been centered on him. Darrel is interesting, and while not entirely sympathetic, being a mean cuss, has potential too. His brother Merle, the one-handed is even less likable, but that actor is very good, and would have been a joy to watch. I don't think he is coming back.
The only likable character, to me, has been Morgan. The guy from the first 2 eps of season one, the one that Rick Grimes broadcasts to on occasion, but never hears back from. Maybe he will come back to the story.
I got sick of the TV show and just went ahead and bought the first 3 graphic novels.
[update: and after watching tonite's episode, I like one of the characters even less than I thought possible.]
Mental note to self: Get some walkie-talkies. I mean really, there are no Radio Shacks in GA?
ReplyDeleteI loved Stargate SG1. Watched everything with my son. Very much a time I bonded with him.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on Stargate "Universe" because everyone on the show was completely unlikeable.
LOVE Breaking Bad, even though they really are all 'bad guys' on that show.
I wish Walking Dead was half as good as BB.
TeeWee is notorious for taking the Written Word and messing it up. But something tells me that I'd probably be tossing the Graphic Novel halfway across the room.
ReplyDeleteNJT, I've heard that the TV show and graphic novels don't have much in common beyond the basic premise, character's names, and the title. Once you've read the three you have, any confirmation or denial would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteHalfway through the first, the campfire scene where a pack wanders through happened. No racist guy handcuffed to a roof. No ass of a husband to the lady that has a missing daughter. EVERYBODY has a gun and learned to shoot before the pack wanders through. It happens in the winter instead of summer. But there are lots of story similarities.
ReplyDeleteThe horse. Morgan. The move after the campfire attack. Women doing laundry, men doing hunting. Lori pregnant. Shane feeling put out the Sheriff returned to reclaim his wife.
The people are in it together, so slightly less interpersonal conflict-drama.
I had to stop watching after the second episode. It broke the rule of "Bad stuff that isn't a character has to follow behavior rules or it's cheating." The zed behavior changed and I went "Well, if the writers are going to change the big bad's behavior, in the second episode, merely for drama, they can't be trusted." If you can't trust the writers to follow the rules, then the show, it's characters, and it's very setting becomes suspect. It's almost as if the writers think you aren't smart enough to realize what they're doing. I like surprises in my shows, but the surprise shouldn't consist of trying to figure out what manner the writers are going to use to call you stupid each episode.
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