AMC's "Fear The Walking Dead"

[MrFanti]

"Wow!!!!" is all that I can say!!!

[JenniferParisHusband]

I'm truly hoping the drug addict son is the first major cast member to get devoured. He was horrible from start to finish.

[Vladimir Putin]

I'm truly hoping the drug addict son is the first major cast member to get devoured. He was horrible from start to finish.

I disagree. I hope his near brush with death will teach him a lesson that drugs are bad and that with the new situation arising, this will bring him a lot closer to his family. He should be grateful that by disarming the drug dealer, he's being given a second chance.

Here's a pic of Ruben Blades and the "Fear The Walking Dead" panel at last month's San Diego Comic-Con.

[JenniferParisHusband]

I disagree. I hope his near brush with death will teach him a lesson that drugs are bad and that with the new situation arising, this will bring him a lot closer to his family. He should be grateful that by disarming the drug dealer, he's being given a second chance.

Here's a pic of Ruben Blades and the "Fear The Walking Dead" panel at last month's San Diego Comic-Con.

I think I misstated it. The kid who is the actor, he sucks. It was almost like watching a cartoon or an after-school special version of a drug addict. Plus his storyline was stereotypical and boring. They've already shown the preview for next week, he isn't going to change. So more after-school special. I hope he breaks into "I'm So Excited!"

[youngblood61]

Looking forward to seeing this show, so I won't read on.

[RallyCola]

I am not a fan. Last night's premier gave me nothing to 'fear!' I found it lacked action, suspense, the gore of the original and chose to give me cliched characters who lack depth.

To me, the beauty of The Walking Dead's first episode was that it truly mimicked panic and emulated Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. Each has a character waking up in a world gone made. There is no attempt at explanation and there is need for it. You just react and survive and figure it out as you go along. It is dystopian because the media is not there to spoon feed you information. It just is. Moreover, all you need to know about Rick is revealed when he puts on his uniform.

To me, without providing spoilers, Fear The Walking Dead's premier lacked any significant punch. First off, I resent trying to emulate The Walking Dead's premier. The main character awakes again in a world gone mad, except, he runs away back to what reality is supposed to be. It isn't as impactful as Rick's awakening because as soon as he leaves the church, he is safe. The show then had to spend time trying to make you like its protagonists. It is very heavy handed about the blended family. It is completely predictable in that the kids don't like each other but clearly as the season progresses, they will need to depend on each other as a family to get through it. All three main teens (the spiteful weekender, the drug addict and the prissy white girl dating a black dude who can't wait to get away from her intolerable life) are so predictable and offer nothing new.

Now to the overarching theme: the beauty of The Walking Dead is the fact that the "survivors" are in fact the walking dead because they will go full zombie when they die which can happen at any turn. There is a finality to their lives and a brutality. In Fear, they are all just figuring it out, have no idea what they are dealing with and thus it will be reduced to standard zombie fare, like most other zombie movies...people faced with hunkering down to ride it out.

I don't see any originality here.

[svin_renigoth]

I'm going to keep watching. I can see they're going for a 'slow burn' into the devolution of society as the zombie apocalypse progresses. But...I think they should have made it a two hour premiere instead of 1.5 hours, so maybe they could have got to Ruben Blades' character saying something like he does in the preview for next week. I think it would have set the tone for the show a little better. But I think I get where they're going with it. The "Fear" in the title isn't necessarily about the characters fearing the walkers, but Fear in general--fear of death, fear for your family, fear of your neighbors, fear of others, fear of being a failure, the military instilling fear in the survivors to keep them in line (that's what it looks like in the previews, anyway), etc. The walkers are the existential threat in both series. The original series focuses on survival and what it takes to survive some years after the apocalypse, and what those characters are turning into. The new series looks like it's going to focus on everybody losing their fucking minds (to fear) in the urban sprawl of near-apocalypse L.A.

[RallyCola]

the slow burn concept only works if you don't already know the payoff. zombies are one thing but the ultimate realization for The Walking Dead is when they realize that everyone is already infected. now the main show deals with how survivors stave off turning every day and it also shows that man is the ultimate villain, not the walkers, how are slow and only motivated to feed, not through fear and desperation.

in 6 episodes where 90min was wasted on a "slow burn", you cannot achieve that same amount of suspense or character involvement.

to me, AMC clearly isn't sure of this concept which is why they only greenlit 6 episodes. while i expect nothing new to the zombie apocalypse concept or any true insight into the main series...i hope that it gets better than the premier.

if you are counting...it is already ahead of the original in terms of killing black dudes...2 down already...the boyfriend and the dealer and from the promo, we know the other black character introduced last night is going to be a walker ASAP.

[Vladimir Putin]

I think I misstated it. The kid who is the actor, he sucks. It was almost like watching a cartoon or an after-school special version of a drug addict. Plus his storyline was stereotypical and boring. They've already shown the preview for next week, he isn't going to change. So more after-school special. I hope he breaks into "I'm So Excited!"

Feel he's stuck in a 1970s time warp?

I'm never impressed with Elizabeth Berkeley's acting, either in "Saved by the Bell" or "Showgirls," but I'd jump in bed with her.

[JenniferParisHusband]

Feel he's stuck in a 1970s time warp?

I'm never impressed with Elizabeth Berkeley's acting, either in "Saved by the Bell" or "Showgirls," but I'd jump in bed with her.

Funny story, not at all related to the topic, but... When I was working in the movie industry, in addition to my normal duties, I would volunteer to get sent out to do a "production audit" on how equipment was being used on location. It was a nice way to make some weekend cash, and get to travel. I got to do that with Showgirls. Had my audit done by 3:00 on a Saturday, and was asked by a producer if I wanted to help fill in the crowd during a scene they were filming. Despite no lines, I'd get a signature on the SAG card, and paid as an extra. So, double dipping on the budget at this point, I said yes. It was the strip club scene. I literally spent 5 hours staring down Elizabeth Berkley's cooch at a place called Cheetahs in Las Vegas. I was expecting it to be amazing, but it was far from. Tight little peach, in a dimly lit room, and no one was allowed to sit close, except the EP's. They'd call for a break, and like 80 guys would run off to the craft services table, she'd run and hide from them. I think I talked to her all of about 5 seconds. Said I loved her on Saved By The Bell, and she made a crack about how she hoped to leave that "shit show" in the rearview. Then I went back to staring down her snatch again. You can tell in the movie how long we filmed that whole thing, because if you look around the room, the first scenes we shot, every guy in the room is into it. By the end, no one wanted to look at it anymore, and everyone was sick of that lame song that was playing for her and the other blonde girl to dance to. Had to share that.

And now back to the actual discussion.