# The Walking Dead; 6.01 "First Time Again" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382 "2015-10-11T23:59:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/101 "2015-10-13T17:17:26Z")
Lets go down to the quarry and throw zombies in! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/102 "2015-10-13T17:38:33Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > You need to be organized and make your instructions clear. Use structured quarry language, WHILE @ZOMBIES \> 0. Then all we really need is ‘WHILE @ZOMBIES’ - the \> 0 is superfluous and could lead to confusion as there is no additional check needed, so no need to waste processor cycles - something these guys are clearly lacking in. Now - we do need to account for the growth in the zombie heap, so proper quarry mgt is a must - or we need to plan for regular garbage collection in the quarry. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/103 "2015-10-13T18:11:36Z")
The quarry was surrounded by trees - literally fuel for a forest fire. Cut down trees, roll them in, light the whole thing on fire. The only downside is that it’s a beacon. I mean, even if there were…10 thousand zombies there, I would guess it wouldn’t take very long to find a house with 10 thousand rifle rounds. Shooting them all could be a viable option. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/104 "2015-10-13T18:29:38Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The quarry was surrounded by trees - literally fuel for a forest fire. Cut down trees, roll them in, light the whole thing on fire. The only downside is that it’s a beacon. > > I mean, even if there were…10 thousand zombies there, I would guess it wouldn’t take very long to find a house with 10 thousand rifle rounds. Shooting them all could be a viable option. Who lights it and how does it stay lit? ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/105 "2015-10-13T18:29:52Z")
In a real zombie world, there would be millions, no, billions of walkers. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/106 "2015-10-13T18:54:02Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > In a real zombie world, there would be millions, no, billions of walkers. In a _real_ zombie world, the walking dead would be quickly eaten by insects, destroyed by frost or desiccated by heat, so let’s not get too hung up on realness. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/107 "2015-10-13T19:27:01Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > In a _real_ zombie world, the walking dead would be quickly eaten by insects, destroyed by frost or desiccated by heat, so let’s not get too hung up on realness. So we breed [dermestes.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermestidae) ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/108 "2015-10-13T19:27:57Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Who lights it and how does it stay lit? Remember those tankers full of gas and diesel I hypothecated earlier? Back one up to the cliff, pull the dump valve. Get _way, way_ back and shoot in one of those flares they were firing into the air. WHOOMP! Toasted zombies! And go out collecting the propane tanks from everybody’s backyard BBQ grills. Every so often, throw one into the blaze. BLAAAAAM! Shattered zombies! I am still curious about what happens to zombies when the temperature goes below freezing. Do they freeze up? Even if they become mobile again in spring, it seems that you could do an awful lot of fortifying and scavenging in total safety if you lived farther north. Hey, maybe our good buddies in Canada would welcome us all for an extended stay! What say, **Bryan**? ---
**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:** [October 13, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/109 "2015-10-13T19:29:46Z")
That is a lot of fuel that could be used to keep warm and drive cars, perhaps generate electricity. ---
**Author:** ![northporlarbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7bcc69/32.png) [@northporlarbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/northporlarbear)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/110 "2015-10-13T19:38:31Z")
I liked the 1st & 2nd season only. Then I stopped watching. But I ran out of the things to watch, so I might try again today on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/111 "2015-10-13T19:40:06Z")
I think the tension is better w/o commercials, so enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/112 "2015-10-13T19:41:56Z")
They were surrounded by a freaking forrest. Light a tree on fire, roll it down. Rinse, repeat. ---
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/113 "2015-10-13T19:43:22Z")
One thing I learned in season two. Don’t try and figure anything out, same as when watching a superman movie. It’s not real, it’s for entertainment. ---
**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:** [October 13, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/114 "2015-10-13T19:52:56Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > They were surrounded by a freaking forrest. Light a tree on fire, roll it down. Rinse, repeat. Unlit trees may help form a barrier and crush a few zombies on the way down. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/115 "2015-10-13T19:53:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > That is a lot of fuel that could be used to keep warm and drive cars, perhaps generate electricity. Gasoline deteriorates quite rapidly in storage. Most modern cars run poorly on gas stored a couple of years. And it just gets worse the longer it’s stored. Diesel engines might fare a bit better, but not much. So continuing a petroleum based energy dependence runs swiftly into diminishing returns. I bet there is literally tons of the stuff stored virtually everywhere, readily accessible. Burning it for warmth would be workable for a very long time, but other uses requiring internal combustion engines will be tougher and tougher. If the survivors had some knowledge and some leisure time, a return to external combustion engines might allow the use of free and copiously plentiful fuel to continue for years and years. But who – other than some collector – still has a steam car in operable condition sitting around? It’s possible, given some knowledge, skill, and a machine shop to turn an IC into an EC. I think that developing such technology would be a good priority for long term. Right after immediate survival, that is. And for that I still like the dozer. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/116 "2015-10-13T19:55:14Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > Remember those tankers full of gas and diesel I hypothecated earlier? Back one up to the cliff, pull the dump valve. Get _way, way_ back and shoot in one of those flares they were firing into the air. WHOOMP! Toasted zombies! > > And go out collecting the propane tanks from everybody’s backyard BBQ grills. Every so often, throw one into the blaze. BLAAAAAM! Shattered zombies! I’d be a little skittish about using any kind of explosive, only because there’s no way to know how stable the quarry walls are and a collapse could open a random exit for the zombies. I suppose given enough time, one could go looking for industrial warehouses and get tens of thousands of ball bearings, set up some trebuchets and just launch them into the quarry, hundreds at a time. The “steel rain” should be enough to puncture zombie skulls without risking the quarry itself which, once cleared out, should be regularly revisited, reinforced and re-emptied. > [@](#): > > I am still curious about what happens to zombies when the temperature goes below freezing. Do they freeze up? Even if they become mobile again in spring, it seems that you could do an awful lot of fortifying and scavenging in total safety if you lived farther north. Hey, maybe our good buddies in Canada would welcome us all for an extended stay! What say, **Bryan**? [cocks shotgun] Yes, we have those. Just kidding. I suppose when the zombies start to freeze, it would be simple enough to walk up to them and club them, baby-seal-style. The only major zombie film I know of that was filmed (though not specifically set) in Montreal was 2013’s _Warm Bodies_, and it occurred to me that the Montreal archipelago is probably a pretty defensible location - just a dozen or so bridges and a tunnel among the various islands connecting the the mainland. Block those and just ride it out through one or two winters, and the surrounding area should be pretty zombie-free. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/117 "2015-10-13T20:21:34Z")
On reflection, I started thinking about defensible islands in general. I thought about Long Island, NY. which is probably a much better candidate than Montreal by virtue of being larger, further south and I gather more space already used for farming, plus even fewer entry points to secure and all on the western tip, making them easier to monitor. Does being on the ocean pose any particular long-term problems? Heck, could you readily fish in the Sound or off the eastern end of the island, after major industry has largely stopped? ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/118 "2015-10-13T20:51:38Z")
Long Island has Montauk, a very well known fishing port. But are islands really defensible just by being surrounded by water? Zombies (in this particular fantasy) don’t seem to swim, but endless repetitive motion might bring individuals across a water barrier by nothing more than ‘walking’ through the mud on the bottom. Fences or walls encircling the island should keep any such visitors from doing more than landing, and they could be dispatched by routine patrols. So smaller islands would be easier to control. As for winter cudgeling, I’m not looking forward to it as an Olympic sport. I was more hoping that winter freeze and thaw, with thermal contraction and expansion, could fracture those skulls. I don’t much like the cold, and stomping around in it looking for stiffs (pun somewhat intentional) to bash just doesn’t sound like fun. As for exploding propane tanks in a quarry, I feel confident that it takes serious explosives buried many feet underground to dislodge a quarry wall. Exploding tanks are a brief fireball and some shrapnel, not what I’d judge could cause a collapse. But maybe I’m just a risk taker. I am, after all, an American. And a Floridian, at that! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/119 "2015-10-13T21:36:04Z")
It would be perfectly fair, indeed stupid otherwise, to not have a lot of fully-fueled and well-stocked vehicles standing by during the operation, as well as evacuation supplies loaded and ready to go back at Alexandria. You should have that anyway, but something like this could go sideways without warning. Speaking of which, they were supposed to just be scouting the site when Rick decided, not without cause, to start immediately. Did anyone alert Alexandria, either by walkie-talkie or by sending back a runner, that the operation was underway? Obviously someone there figured it out (hence the horn), though there’s going to have to be some pretty good explainin’ why the other Alexandrians didn’t shut it off right away, assuming they haven’t _all_ gone suicidal. I don’t want to be that guy, but why do they even _have_ a giant air horn? ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382/120 "2015-10-13T21:42:30Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Did not like Rick’s plan, and really, what is Rick’s plan? Where are they taking them? We got 1.5 hours and don’t even know what they’re doing. The quarry seemed like the perfect place to herd up them zombies and leave 'em. The zekes in the quarry were a danger, and left to their own devices, they would have threatened alexandria. So the “initial plan” that was presented to the town council was to channel them, and have them safely bypass alexandria. I’m leaning to the thought that Rick set up that horn blowing, to create a danger great enough to move the town folk from pre fall to post reality. Since he had to sell the plan, I’m thinking that too many people are a danger to themselves, and to affect change, he has to take control. Declan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-6-01-first-time-again-open-spoilers/734382.md?page=7)