Tuesday, October 16, 2012

AMC's "The Walking Dead" Review

By Francis Thatcher


Saying that I am a zombie fanatic would be putting it lightly. I write zombie fiction, I read zombie comics, I watch zombie movies, I wear zombie t-shirts, and (now) I watch zombie television. I'm not one of those fans who will accept anything as long as it has a zombie in it, and I find myself being extremely critical of the genre I love. That being said, AMC's "The Walking Dead" is one of the greatest zombie stories ever told. I thought the same thing when it was just a popular comic book, and they have stay true to form by making it into an amazing show.

The story has been created for the small screen by a duo of Frank Darabont and the comic's author, Robert Kirkman. Frank Darabont is the creator of such acclaimed films as "The Green Mile" and "Shawshank Redemption." With his masterful skill at creating compelling stories based around intense character studies, he was a perfect fit to help Kirkman bring this story to life. Both of these men know that the key to a good zombie apocalypse story is all about the depth of the characters.

The acting crew behind this show has done an outstanding job so far. Andrew Lincoln heads a stellar cast in the role of Rick Grimes, a police officer who has woken up from a coma in the worst possible scenario you can imagine: a world of zombies. He does a wonderful job as Rick, who's signature fault is taking on the responsibility of leading and caring for a large group of survivors. You can see each death striking him as a deeply-felt wound. The boy who plays his son, Carl, is a young man by the name of Chandler Riggs and is doing a magnificent job dealing with very hard issues for someone so young. I love these characters so much.

Robert Kirkman wrote an astounding storyline that has arced almost a hundred issues and has gone extremely deep into the survival efforts of Rick and his family. Of remarkable note is that the television show has deviated quite sharply from the story in the comic. Some people hate this, but not I. I love that I'm getting surprised again. That was part of the charm of the comic is that such terrible, shocking things were constantly happening. I get to go on a similar journey that I began a few years ago, but with new twists and turns!

As much as I loved the first and second season of the television adaptation of "The Walking Dead", the third season looks like it's going to be even more jaw-dropping than the first two. The characters have been fleshed out and there are some that you hate and some that you love, but they are all developed so much that you're able to definitely understand them and their motivations. I don't know where the show will be going and what twists they're going to take us down, but I can't wait to find out! I'll be perched on the edge of my seat, knuckles white, and ready to get my zombie on!




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