Fear the Walking Dead series premiere tonight @ 9 (open spoilers

[carnivorousplant]

@Push_You_Down

…lame comment.

But true.

[Lightnin]

@Sherrerd

Also, the free-wheeling thefts from other franchises is very noticeable. The “first you have the flu” bit doesn’t come from The Walking Dead, where people became walkers some matter of minutes after dying; I suppose it may come from another current US television show, del Toro’s The Strain.

The “Flu” bit didn’t bother me at all- I thought it actually made a lot of sense. We know from the original series that the zombie virus exists in everyone, it just manifests after you die. Many real-life diseases manifest their initial infection as “flu-like symptoms”, even if those diseases have no other symptoms. HIV, for example.

It actually makes perfect sense for a “flu” outbreak as everyone gets the initial infection, and a school is a perfect vector for some sort of airborne disease.

It’s also possible that the “flu” might actually kill a few people, usually the very young, old, or those who are already sick. This is where we’d get the initial seed population of zombies- a lot of people would go to sleep lying next to their sick family member and wake up being munched on, since that family member died in the middle of the night from the symptoms.

I could see how that could really hasten the spread of the disease, far faster than just shambling-zombie-kills-someone could.

Granted, I’m probably giving the writers a bit more credit than I should, but that’s my fanwank and I’m stickin’ to it.

One bit I particularly liked was that the clean-cut teenage family friend of the junkie turned out to be a cold-blooded dealer. That was a nice bit of misdirection. However, it’s a shame that the writers had him be black and die first.

[Rigamarole]

@MegaNazz

Troutman, you actually disproved him because he was saying death from heroin withdrawal is a myth. Like I said, I’ve known more than one person who has died from just quitting and not using something like methadone to get off of it. It’s messed up because you think they’re just detoxing or whatever and then they’re dead.

Pointing out that it is possible but extremely rare is essentially saying it’s not really something to worry about (I mean, you can die from anesthesia too but how often does that actually happen?). I sincerely doubt you’ve “known” multiple people who’ve died from opioid withdrawl symptoms.

[MegaNazz]

@Rigamarole

Pointing out that it is possible but extremely rare is essentially saying it’s not really something to worry about (I mean, you can die from anesthesia too but how often does that actually happen?). I sincerely doubt you’ve “known” multiple people who’ve died from opioid withdrawl symptoms.

No worries, man. Believe what you want to believe.

[FXMastermind]

@GrumpyBunny

I figure the cops in the area will assume (unless they get up close) that the zombies shuffling along are just junkies.

Also, is it me, or are the new zombies much faster than the old WD zombies? Do southern zombies move slower than LA zombies?

@carnivorousplant

They haven’t been rotting away for several months.

I went back and watched the backgrounds in shots, well worth the effort. It would actually be a spoiler if I told you what you will see.

In the park.

[carnivorousplant]

@FXMastermind

I went back and watched the backgrounds in shots, well worth the effort. It would actually be a spoiler if I told you what you will see.

In the park.

Someone who has been dead for a while, I’ll warrant.

[FXMastermind]

For those with out DVR

somebody made a gif of it

What’s interesting is that in that shot, the park, which had people in it every other time, is empty. Except for, you know, a junkie shambling around

[FXMastermind]

I bet money, like the cornfield walker from TWD, that ends up in the scary music montage opening of the show. Which we have yet to see.

[gytalf2000]

@Lightnin

The “Flu” bit didn’t bother me at all- I thought it actually made a lot of sense. We know from the original series that the zombie virus exists in everyone, it just manifests after you die. Many real-life diseases manifest their initial infection as “flu-like symptoms”, even if those diseases have no other symptoms. HIV, for example.

It actually makes perfect sense for a “flu” outbreak as everyone gets the initial infection, and a school is a perfect vector for some sort of airborne disease.

It’s also possible that the “flu” might actually kill a few people, usually the very young, old, or those who are already sick. This is where we’d get the initial seed population of zombies- a lot of people would go to sleep lying next to their sick family member and wake up being munched on, since that family member died in the middle of the night from the symptoms.

I could see how that could really hasten the spread of the disease, far faster than just shambling-zombie-kills-someone could.

Granted, I’m probably giving the writers a bit more credit than I should, but that’s my fanwank and I’m stickin’ to it.

One bit I particularly liked was that the clean-cut teenage family friend of the junkie turned out to be a cold-blooded dealer. That was a nice bit of misdirection. However, it’s a shame that the writers had him be black and die first.

Yeah, I just assumed that this “flu” thingie will kill a substantial portion of the population. Then the corpses resurrect, causing mass mayhem and maximum discombobulation. Society then falls down and goes either BOOM or SPLAT. Thus begins the zombie apocalypse!

[Rigamarole]

@FXMastermind

For those with out DVR

somebody made a gif of it

What’s interesting is that in that shot, the park, which had people in it every other time, is empty. Except for, you know, a junkie shambling around

I remember that shot specifically, and thought he looked like a walker, but he could have also just been a weird homeless guy. It wasn’t really 100% clear. And even looking at the GIF, while I’m sure the intention is that he’s a walker as he has that trademark stiffness to his gait, without any detail on any of his features you could still argue he might just be a weirdo. I mean, if I saw that guy in real life (especially in a park in L.A.) I would just think “yeah, that’s about right.”

By the way, the full episode is available for streaming on AMC’s website, no DVRs required. That’s how I watched it in the first place.

[TroutMan]

@Rigamarole

I remember that shot specifically, and thought he looked like a walker, but he could have also just been a weird homeless guy. It wasn’t really 100% clear. And even looking at the GIF, while I’m sure the intention is that he’s a walker as he has that trademark stiffness to his gait, without any detail on any of his features you could still argue he might just be a weirdo. I mean, if I saw that guy in real life (especially in a park in L.A.) I would just think “yeah, that’s about right.”

That ambiguity was intentional; you’re not supposed to be able to tell if it’s a walker or weirdo. They are trying to make the point that when walkers start appearing, people will think they are just weirdos.

[carnivorousplant]

@FXMastermind

For those with out DVR

somebody made a gif of it

What’s interesting is that in that shot, the park, which had people in it every other time, is empty. Except for, you know, a junkie shambling around

I believe there is a guy sitting on a bench in the background.

[Rigamarole]

@TroutMan

That ambiguity was intentional; you’re not supposed to be able to tell if it’s a walker or weirdo. They are trying to make the point that when walkers start appearing, people will think they are just weirdos.

Fair enough. I can give them a small amount of credit for trying to explain away the lack of immediate and total global mobilization to fight the epidemic, but there’s still the problem that the moment they start trying to eat people - which as we know is what they do all the time - people would take note and start taking it very seriously, very fast. Which is a problem that is also highlighted by the kids watching the “viral” video in class and getting yelled at by their teacher. They’re trying to establish this “yeah, people are noticing that weird stuff is happening but they aren’t really taking it seriously yet” vibe.

But it’s just too hard to accept that as being a remotely plausible scenario, as the reality would be that within hours of the first zombies appearing and their behavior being observed (even in a world with no zombie fiction!), the entire world would be talking about it and mobilizing every resource available to fight it. Way before society gets completely overrun.

[Bryan_Ekers]

@FXMastermind

For those with out DVR

somebody made a gif of it

What’s interesting is that in that shot, the park, which had people in it every other time, is empty. Except for, you know, a junkie shambling around

They were Chinese. The zombie would eat one, then 30 minutes later get hungry again.

[carnivorousplant]

@Rigamarole

but there’s still the problem that the moment they start trying to eat people - which as we know is what they do all the time - people would take note and start taking it very seriously, very fast.

What is the drug that makes folks kill and eat people? There wasvideo of ita year or so ago.

[FXMastermind]

Isn’t it a trope that on TV people just don’t call the cops? Even when they find obvious signs of seriously messed up shit that has gone down? Both Mom AND Dad see gore and blood in the junky church, and know their son saw something seriously fucked up, and they haven’t alerted the authorities at all.

This is a school teacher and a guidance counselor. They are also not on their phones right away after being attacked by a goddamn zombie. Never call the cops is a TV trope in so many shows.

[FXMastermind]

@carnivorousplant

What is the drug that makes folks kill and eat people? There wasvideo of ita year or so ago.

Wikipedia is on it

A few minutes later, Miami Police Department officer Jose Ramirez[10] arrived and, after doing a double take at the spectacle,[11] warned Eugene to desist from attacking Poppo. Eugene ignored the officer’s warnings and, instead, reportedly growled at him, then resumed biting his victim.[9] The attack ended at 2:13 PM with Officer Ramirez shooting Eugene once at first and then another four times when that proved ineffective. The ordeal had been captured by a security camera on The Miami Herald building.[12] The surveillance video shows that the attack continued for 18 minutes before help arrived.[11]

[carnivorousplant]

@FXMastermind

Isn’t it a trope that on TV people just don’t call the cops? Even when they find obvious signs of seriously messed up shit that has gone down? Both Mom AND Dad see gore and blood in the junky church, and know their son saw something seriously fucked up, and they haven’t alerted the authorities at all.

Perhaps they didn’t want the druggie kid involved with the police again.

[TroutMan]

@Rigamarole

But it’s just too hard to accept that as being a remotely plausible scenario, as the reality would be that within hours of the first zombies appearing and their behavior being observed (even in a world with no zombie fiction!), the entire world would be talking about it and mobilizing every resource available to fight it. Way before society gets completely overrun.

I agree completely on this point. If you start by accepting the possibility of a zombie virus, there is no way it would proceed slowly. Either it is contained, or people everywhere are quickly aware of it and things go to hell fast.

But that makes for bad drama. They want to slowly build things over the course of a few episodes* and there’s just no way to make it believable. So they do what they can (like pretending that people would think all the zombies are weirdos), and count on suspension of disbelief for the rest. In a show like this, I’ll take a good story over realism any time, and this level of “wink, wink” is fine with me. I understand it interferes with the enjoyment of the story for some people.

• spoilering what the producers have said about how they want it to develop:

Showrunner David Erickson Erickson told reporters at the press tour that “you’re going to have to wait till Season 2” to see the zombie apocalypse raging.

[carnivorousplant]

@FXMastermind

Wikipedia is on it

As a result of media attention, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement saying that the “CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms).”

Um Humm. :dubious: