# Anybody else given up on THE WALKING DEAD? If so, why? (Open spoilers likely.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843 "2014-09-18T17:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/121 "2016-12-01T18:12:08Z")
I see this is an old thread, but yeah I gave it up. Didn’t watch the season opener live, couldn’t avoid spoilers about who Negan killed, and at that point just didn’t care to watch anymore. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/122 "2016-12-01T22:31:42Z")
There aren’t many characters that I like, and Glen was one of them. Who besides Rick and Carl is still alive that was from the first season, Carol? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/123 "2016-12-01T23:25:00Z")
This season is pretty lame. They’ve opted to give the marginal actors their very own hour to mug through. Whoever that is that plays Tara needs to look into construction work or possibly lawn care. I’m still watching because I’ve got all this time invested in the stupid thing, but I record it on DVR and sometimes don’t get to it for a couple of weeks. It’s not exactly compelling viewing. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/124 "2016-12-01T23:30:58Z")
Hey I posted in this thread AND on this very page. I gave up mid-way last season… the show is not good. It’s not well-written. It’s not compelling. It’s not fun. It has nothing going for it but momentum. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/125 "2016-12-01T23:43:12Z")
My interest was waning before season 2 was over, and I stopped watching regularly during the season that featured the Governer. (4? I can’t keep count with all the breaks for half-seasons.) I did binge most of the season that followed the Governor, but used it as background filler while I worked on tax returns. The bottom line for me: NetFlix is chock full of more enjoyable ways to kill time watching zombies kill people. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/126 "2016-12-02T01:15:15Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I did binge most of the season that followed the Governor, but used it as background filler while I worked on tax returns. That was appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Mavic\_Chen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mavic\_Chen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavic_Chen)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/127 "2016-12-02T16:34:07Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > I vote for flamethrowers to incinerate the zombie pieces. Has this poster never watched _ **Return of the Living Dead** _? That’s the _ **last** _ thing you’d want to do 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/128 "2016-12-08T02:24:45Z")
Here’s CNN on TWD’s drooping ratings: [http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/07/entertainment/walking-dead-dystopian-dramas/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/07/entertainment/walking-dead-dystopian-dramas/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/129 "2016-12-08T14:56:44Z")
My TIVO still does it’s duty each week and records the latest TWD episode. I’m not ready to quite say I’ve stopped watching it. But, in reality, i have. I watched this seasons first episode, and just realized they (the show runners) are just going to keep spiraling down into the abyss, with no hope on the horizon. I don’t need that. I just can’t see myself binge watching to catch up on this season. I think I’m done. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/130 "2016-12-08T16:34:17Z")
I already posted a couple of years ago in this thread, but I think my comment and some subsequent replies need a bit of clarification. I said that I quit watching TWD because when the zombies quit being a significant external threat, the show morphed into being essentially a dramatic show / soap opera that happens to be set in a post zombie apocalypse setting. And I rarely like that kind of show. This isn’t really unique to TWD though; the new Battlestar Galactica got to second or third base with the concept- after the initial phase of the existential threat posed by the totally mysterious Cylons, the show became a sort of regular political drama in space. Thankfully, the Cylons came back and became a serious threat again. I tend to think any show/book with a serious external adversary tends to follow this trajectory- the bad guys are SUPER bad, and whether or not the good guys will even survive is in question. Then the good guys fight back effectively. Once the good guys get the upper hand or fight the bad guys to a stable stalemate, most shows do what I’m describing- since the bad guys are no longer the existential threat, they always devolve into petty bickering and political machinations. I generally feel that I’d rather watch “House of Cards” or the “West Wing” if I want to watch a political drama, and a real soap operatic drama if I want to watch that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/131 "2016-12-08T18:33:29Z")
I watched the first season and never cared enough to watch the second. Too much drama, too little survival and zombie fighting. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/132 "2016-12-08T23:47:09Z")
I originally voted not for love or money. But as the seasons have progressed, I’m becoming more and more… meh. I still watch, kinda. I have it on while I’m doing something else. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/133 "2016-12-09T15:26:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I said that I quit watching TWD because when the zombies quit being a significant external threat, the show morphed into being essentially a dramatic show / soap opera that happens to be set in a post zombie apocalypse setting. Ditto. Though I watched TWD until the end of last season, then deleted it from my list of series that get automatically recorded. My reasons are the same as **bump** ’s. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2016, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843/134 "2016-12-09T16:55:50Z")
I have watched every single episode from the start, including marathons (like today) and have enjoyed some seasons more than others. I am a HUGE fan. But I don’t like this season very much. I’m still watching, mind you, but not very enthusiastically. I will keep watching till the bitter bitter end, whenever that comes in the future. But since I am not all agog with ‘OMG this is so good!’ - I feel my lukewarm-ness is reflective of other viewers’ disappointment, to a degree. I can understand why other viewers have thrown in the towel, but I can’t possibly quit watching, even though this season is not very good. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-given-up-on-the-walking-dead-if-so-why-open-spoilers-likely/698843.md?page=6)