Is there already a thread on Walking Dead jumping the shark? Or just beginning to blow in general?
Or am I the only one who thinks that the whole “Thunderdome” concept was pathetic and that Glenn’s acting like a bitch and that they need to run out of ammo dammit and that Michonne needs to talk or something…
I just find myself not giving a third of a shit about this show anymore. I used to love it, now it’s just a soap opera set in a zombie wasteland.
The “Guvnah” and that blonde chick…whatever her name is, shacking up? Pathetic. Plot grabbing device…
Glenn and Maggie not popping a cap in Merril’s useless racist horrid ass the moment they saw him? Pathetic. Plot grabbing device…
Rick being obstinate beyond any mortal description, yet people still following his lead? Pathetic. Plot grabbing device???
Killing off Oscar…seriously? You gave him more lines than his white prison buddy, but then kill him off before we really care about him, so his death was totally pointless. Pathetic…for no good reason.
And the skinny farmer’s daughter who seems to have no point besides taking care of a baby who never cries, and doesn’t need an endless supply of fresh water to clean the poop? Fuh reals?
I gotta say, if this doesn’t get MUCH better soon, I’m gonna have to forget all about this show. I miss when it was good. As good as breaking bad when it started, but all downhill from there. And they totally wasted potential with the whole “everybody’s infected” thing. Now it’s little more than a side point, even though it created a helluva cliffhanger at one time. Infected how, why, when? Who the hell cares about this asinine guvnah and his little hamlet in the wilderness? Leave that crap behind and move on. Find out why you’re all infected. That’s what I want to see.
I find that lot of time criticism of a show that got past two seasons can be summed up by - the show went the way “I would not take it” type. I’d argue that you can apply that logic at any time in the show; just an example, how come suddenly Rick has a tank on the streets to hide at and… CB radio works with someone on the other line? I mean, that’s just too easy to criticize.
The only question is - is the character acting within his character development and within his/her own world realities? I wont go into details but my conclusion is that much more characters do act naturally within the constraints and opportunities of the story so far. The relationships developed over time appear quite natural and realistic especially the ones Rick has with others. Those relationships carry the show and other relationships benefit from that.
There’s so much to go so no, don’t think it jumped the shark yet.
I agree that these are the dumbest survivors ever, and the plot is often flimsy. Few of the characters are likable. Perhaps none of them, other than Darryl. I mostly just sit with my popcorn and point-and-laugh.
I disagree. It would have been possible to make a great zombie show (which then could jump the shark and fail) with competent acting, competing writing, and competent direction.
Unfortunately, Walking Dead never had any of those things, so it jumped the shark the first moment the lead looked weepily at his picture frames, about 13 minutes into the pilot.
A group of survivors, in a world that should be loaded with supplies, avoiding every chance to choose heavier, more reliable weapons, vehicles that can traverse the new world while carrying those supplies, build a fortified position stockpiled with those supplies or form a growing pack/tribe/community?
You’re right. I wouldn’t take it that way. Nor would anyone smarter than your average walker. Instead we have a bunch of inept, emotional, mentally ill fools stumbling around with less focus and brainpower than any one of the zomboids. For more than a year, now.
ETA: All of which would be okay except that the show takes itself So. Damned. Seriously. We’re not meant to gobble popcorn and laugh; we’re meant to believe in it all.
They’re driving a fucking Hyundai, fer crise sakes. I know it’s product placement, but a Hyundai? That’s the choice for navigating a zombie apocalypse? The eee-vil bastards who’ve barricaded themselves in a town with a governor, and who kill all comers, are the smart, sane ones. The ‘heroes’ are morons.
Post-apocalypse movies, TV, and especially novels are most interesting in the build-up to the event and the immediate aftermath. After that, things get boring, or in the case of Walking Dead, silly and unrealistic for the world the writers created.
World War Z is the only exception I can think of, and maybe the variations of I Am Legend. WWZ because we had so many different viewpoints and situations. I Am Legend because it sorta stood the trope on its head, by making the human into the monster.
I just can’t bring myself to give two craps about these characters, and that’s really all that any show has. Build some type of concern for the outcome of the character’s story. Then we’ll follow that story. Well, they haven’t done that, and so I’m losing my concern for their stories.
I wish we could’ve seen the actual apocalypse and collapse of civilizations on TWD, but that be way to expensive to show, intead we get the aftermath, when most of the population is already dead, and brief flashbacks.
WWZ works because we get a mixture of the build-up, the event, immediate aftermath, and the long-term effects. I have a very bad feeling about the movie; I’ll still go see it, but it’ll probally be a generic zombie movie that just happens to share the title & a few plot elements.
As I said, I try to stick with the story as told and judge it on what it does say and how it tells it and so far it’s going pretty well.
Also, I wonder if we saw the same Season 3. I mean, just going by recollection on the beginning in E1 that first sequence when they secure a house and then realize they need to move on. Then whole prison securing process is some pretty thrilling stuff. And finally, that scene when Rick cuts off Herschel’s leg is the most terrifying TV ever seen. Or, E2 and that whole dynamic between Rick and the group with the guys they found in prison and one of the most amazing scenes when, after a silent standoff, Rick cuts Tomas’ head - simply stunning. E3 with helicopter crash and meeting Governor and his crew. And on and on…
There’s no question that WD has some excellent moments, but they’re encapsulated in so much dead weight and stupidity that it’s hard to enjoy them. For every instance you listed, there’s a whole episode that revolves around, say, a diaper run… for a baby they knew was coming and for which they could have been gathering things like diapers, formula, medicines, etc. for months. (Yes, formula, instead of relying on one nursing mother who may not have been able to produce adequately for fifty reasons… like, oh, dying in childbirth.)
Every such grocery run seems to be limited to what they can carry in a basket, a backpack or the trunk of the Hyundai, too. It’s the fucking SOUTH: maybe they could look for, you know, a pickup truck? Clean out everything a store has left instead of making it a 7-11 run for dinner?
The reason I’m so irritated is because the season started pretty strong, and then devolved into some pretty campy crap.
It’s really mostly boiling down to the thunderdome. If it weren’t for that, I’d be able to tolerate all the rest of the stupid in the name of “Hey, Zombies”. But I hate that entire story arc. It makes me want to punch their stupid never-cries-and-doesn’t-need-a-million-diapers baby in the face.
