Walking Dead Liveblog

So we're half way through The Walking Dead premiere.  Frank Darabont - who created The Shawshank Redemption and other good stuff - has left the show.  So the big question is whether it will be able to capture the combination of dread and psychology of surviving that the first season had.

Some decent stuff to begin with, including a long sequence of shuffling "walkers" that progress past them as they huddle under cars.  That was pretty good.

But then there was a bit where they cut open a walker in order to check his stomach content.  Seemed pretty gratuitous.  They did a similar thing in the first season where they cut open a walker and covered themselves with it's guts to cover their scent, but that had a rational purpose and they leavened it with a joke ("He was an organ donor.")  This seemed more about grossing the audience out.

I realize that zombie stuff should have a fair amount of disgusting stuff.  But at some point what distinguishes zombie stuff from regular slasher movies is that it has an interesting psychological study to it.

Better stuff between Dale and Andrea.  Her decision to commit suicide at the end of last season was as interesting as how that plays out now.

The interplay between Shane and Lori and Carl is less interesting.  It was good last season, but it's getting tiresome.  It's the opposite of the "will they or won't they" dynamic in a romantic comedy, but just as tedious.

I've also wondered if they are going to mirror the source material more.  With the ringing bells we just heard, I'm guessing yes.  They will go to the farm.

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Again, the bit in the church could have been more interesting.  There's an opportunity to explore issues of faith.  Instead, we got a bunch of gross hacking sounds as they dispatched some walkers.

Or maybe not to the farm.  Where did that go?

(As an aside Hell On Wheels could be pretty good.  AMC is running a pretty good hot streak.)

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OK, the church stuff is getting better.

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Someone get Andrea a gun before she gets munched on.

Also, too many ads in the last half after almost none in the first.

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OK, apparently there is a zombie infested 5K run in Boston.  That's... different.

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Be careful what you ask for.  The church has become an opportunity for monologuing.  Lazy writing.

Oh, no.  Andrea gave her gun back.  Does anyone know how many episodes Laurie Holden is under contract for?

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Oh, right!  Carl gets shot.  Good ending.

And there's the farm in previews for next week.  Good.

First episodes can be tricky.  This was just OK.  Lots of room to improve.