# The Walking Dead; 1.03 "Tell It to the Frogs" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697 "2010-11-15T02:03:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hallucinex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba9def/32.png) [@Hallucinex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hallucinex)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/21 "2010-11-15T10:09:58Z")
> [@2ply](#): > > I guess I have to get used to things being skipped, but I would have liked to see the challenge it took to retrieve the guns and get to the roof. I don’t think they skipped over retrieving the guns - Glenn said they should go for Merle first based on him being closest and if they went for the guns they’d need to double back. ---
**Author:** ![gamebolt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gamebolt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamebolt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/22 "2010-11-15T10:38:14Z")
Is it that hard to believe some hillbillies who probably own a bunch of guns have survived that long. They’re the ones I’d expect to survive, unless someone who wouldn’t put up with their BS took em out. And if you don’t think those type of people still exist you’ve got your head buried way to far in the sand. Well anyway, can’t believe there’s only 3 episodes left this season, guess I’ll have to get my zombie fix through movies when the seasons over. My question is shouldn’t that deer turn into a zombie or was it already dead making it zombie proof? And who will die first? Am I the only one who thought Merle committed suicide? The brothers reaction made it seem that way before the hand chopping was revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/23 "2010-11-15T11:38:43Z")
> [@gamebolt](#): > > My question is shouldn’t that deer turn into a zombie or was it already dead making it zombie proof? No, on both counts. As to the deer rising, at all: Animal zombies are anomalous - most zombie stories don’t have them. It shouldn’t be considered the default. We haven’t seen any zombie animals, therefore, we can assume this series isn’t an anomaly. As to being dead being a bar to rising: Being bitten by a zombie being a prerequisite for becoming one is logically inconsistent with the nature of the apocalypse in this series. Everything fell apart in a handful of weeks - note Rick’s condition when he wakes - no bed sores, no significant muscle atrophy, no malnourishment, and relatively minor beard growth. An infection spread by bites - not even airborne, or waterborne - wouldn’t spread that fast, and would be containable. So these have to be proper Romero zombies - being dead with an intact brain is enough to make you a zombie. (I’m, personally, unconvinced that a biting-only plague could spread significantly, period, let alone at the rate it did.) Being bitten by a zombie infects you with a 100% fatal fever, but the fever clearly isn’t required to rise. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/24 "2010-11-15T11:46:45Z")
I think you’re all wasting your time trying to apply logic to a fantastical concept, and should just enjoy the show for what it is. ---
**Author:** ![gamebolt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gamebolt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamebolt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/25 "2010-11-15T11:56:49Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think you’re all wasting your time trying to apply logic to a fantastical concept, and should just enjoy the show for what it is. Believe me I do. I’ve been wondering when they’d finally come out with a zombie tv series and my wish was finally granted. I love AMC. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/26 "2010-11-15T14:40:02Z")
Despite at least a half dozen eye=rolley moments, I definitely liked this episode. - Main guy’s wife looks like she’s been to a spa, not like she’s been camping for weeks. - Redneck Crossbow guy has seen, and remembers, _On Golden Pond_? - Can’t eat the deer because it might be zombie infected, but no worries about the arrows that were in their brains. - And of course the hack saw thingy. Anyway, I guess I just find the survival situation and the characters interesting and the acting to be pretty good. This show is a big surprise, because I do not like zombie stuff. I hated the \*Firefly \*movie because of the zombies. But this show grabs me. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/27 "2010-11-15T15:06:58Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > He even mentioned using the hacksaw to cut through the pipe in the last episode. And even that was stupid given the thin little handcuff chain he could through. 1. Merle knew the door was chained (I don’t know if he knew it was locked) because he could see the zombies trying to get through. But it looked like it was still pretty far open. It looked like if one od the zombies was smart, or lucky, enough to try fitting through sideways they could have made it. 2. The handcuffs would be hardened steel making them extremely tough to hacksaw through. 3. The hand left behind was pretty clearly sawn off through the wrist so I don’t buy the “broke his radius and ulna with leverage, and then cut through the breakage” theory. 4. Didn’t anyone else notice it was his right hand that was cuffed? I don’t know if anyone else has tried this but it takes a little bit of coordination to start a cut in a vertical piece of steel with a hacksaw. I don’t know if I’d be able to start one with my left hand on a vertical bolt while I was panicking. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/28 "2010-11-15T15:11:35Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > 1. The hand left behind was pretty clearly sawn off through the wrist so I don’t buy the “broke his radius and ulna with leverage, and then cut through the breakage” theory. That particular piece of information was in response to my mistakes about Aron Ralston (the guy who cut off his arm in the Utah desert, the one that _127 Hours_ is about), not about Merle. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/29 "2010-11-15T15:12:20Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I hated the \*Firefly \*movie because of the zombies. Apologies for the hijack but there were no zombies in \*Firefly \*. The [Reavers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaver_(Firefly)) were alive, just extremely messed up. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/30 "2010-11-15T15:14:25Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > That particular piece of information was in response to my mistakes about Aron Ralston (the guy who cut off his arm in the Utah desert, the one that _127 Hours_ is about), not about Merle. Oops, my bad. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/31 "2010-11-15T15:26:47Z")
I loved Merle’s freakout at the beginning of the episode. I’ve seen that actor in other things before, but this is the first time I’ve been genuinely impressed with his chops. I actually felt _sorry_ for that racist, violent, utterly useless cokehead. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/32 "2010-11-15T15:52:29Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > I’d worry about disinfecting the bolts enough to use on meat they wanted to EAT. Exactly what I was thinking. I was horrified when he pulled that one out of the zombie’s head. > [@](#): > > Last week we got the racist stereotype character. This week it was the wife-abusing stereotype guy. Wonder what’s next? Blanche Du Bois and Stanley Kowalski. STELLLLLAAAAAAAAHHHHH! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/33 "2010-11-15T16:02:57Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Exactly what I was thinking. I was horrified when he pulled that one out of the zombie’s head. > > Blanche Du Bois and Stanley Kowalski. > > STELLLLLAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I have always relied on brains. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/34 "2010-11-15T17:22:10Z")
Not sure if this was mentioned in earlier threads, but Sepinwall says the series will have a second season – 13 episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/35 "2010-11-15T17:25:23Z")
> [@justrob](#): > > Apologies for the hijack but there were no zombies in \*Firefly \*. The [Reavers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaver_(Firefly)) were alive, just extremely messed up. Reavers were just zombies. Zombies in spaaaaace. The zombies from _28 Days Later_ were alive but they were still zombies. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/36 "2010-11-15T17:52:30Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Reavers were just zombies. Zombies in spaaaaace. The zombies from _28 Days Later_ were alive but they were still zombies. I don’t agree with this. They were not dead, and they were operating high tech equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/37 "2010-11-15T18:00:56Z")
> [@Archergal](#): > > You know, since hunting brother doesn’t seem to have many more brains than douchebag brother on the roof A douchebag on the roof- sounds crazy doesn’t it? Yet here in post apocalyptic Atlanta you might say every one of us is a douchebag on the roof, all trying to scratch out a pleasant simple racist rant without getting eaten. No, actually just one of us really, the rest of us left his ass. [QUOTE=Archergal] Last week we got the racist stereotype character. This week it was the wife-abusing stereotype guy. Wonder what’s next? [/QUOTE] Atlanta has one of the highest per-capita gay populations in the U.S., so probably some fabulous surprise guests. (Elton John has a place in Atlanta as does Thom Filicia from QUEER EYE- maybe Elton could sing Zombie in the Wind while Thom redecorates the RV.) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/38 "2010-11-15T18:13:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Despite at least a half dozen eye=rolley moments, I definitely liked this episode. > > - Main guy’s wife looks like she’s been to a spa, not like she’s been camping for weeks. > > - Redneck Crossbow guy has seen, and remembers, _On Golden Pond_? > > - Can’t eat the deer because it might be zombie infected, but no worries about the arrows that were in their brains. > > - And of course the hack saw thingy… - That always happens in post-apocalyptic films & TV series (as well as historical fiction). Sometimes you’ll get full beards on the men, but hairy women are pretty rare. - It’s possible RV guy has been reading it at the camp or talking about it. - Yeah, that is odd. To be fair he went straight from hunting to zombie killing, not vice versa. It’s always possible they plan on boiling them or bleaching them later. I still think it’d be a good idea to have seperate hunting arrows. - Anybody else expecting Merle to be a zombie by the time they got to him? I was thinking that all the way up to the reveal of his hand. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/39 "2010-11-15T20:22:00Z")
I haven’t read the original graphic novel series, but I thought I’d heard that it used the “anyone dead with an intact brain revives as a zombie”. I guess we’ll see in upcoming episodes. If it’s a matter of direct contagion, maybe by the time of the opening of the pilot, the source of the contagion had already started to spread and was just before the breakout point where it becomes public knowledge. Based on what Morgan James said about his wife, evidently the bitten-to-zombie time is very short, maybe 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697/40 "2010-11-15T20:30:12Z")
Another great episode. It’s going to be a long wait until Season 2, isn’t it? Spoilers from the “next week on…”: [spoiler] Looks like the Atlanta gang runs into an actual Atlanta gang. It’s probably a fair bet that that’s where Merle ended up. What his fate will be, is anybody’s guess (especially considering his less-than-progressive stance on race). Spoiler from the comics: I wonder if that gang is going to be a substitute for the crazy city mayor they ran into later in the series that has his zombie daughter tied to the wall and feeds people to.[/spoiler] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-1-03-tell-it-to-the-frogs-open-spoilers/560697.md?page=3)