I am totally hooked on this show in spite of the amateurish acting. I cringe at any number of points during every episode, whether it’s Shane’s square-jawed manly-man machismo strut, Carol’s anguished reach-for-the-sky eyebrows, or Dale’s singular, mouth-agape facial expression (RIP he shall gape no more). And don’t get me started on the kid, Carl; you can feel him straining to convey…um…something.
I have read quotes about acting (“I’m gonna be an actor” “Don’t let anyone catch you doing it”) that emphasize the importance of subtlety in the craft. When I watch Walking Dead, I see the acting, and it hurts. It hurts bad.
With few exceptions (Hershel, Maggie at times) the performances are soap opera quality. Compare this ensemble with the fine cast of Breaking Bad, where even the most minor players produce amazing, memorable characters. There is no comparison, there is no argument.
Is there?
As I write this it occurs to me that the zombies are the most realistic characters.
I’ll still watch. I do like it. What bothers me, I guess, I that it could be so much better.
mmm
It’s not consistently bad. Andrew Lincoln (Rick) is very good, as is Sarah Callies (Lori). Norman Reedus (Daryl) is exceptional. People seem to like Jon Bernthal (Shane), but I disagree - he has the same two expressions at all times (teeth clenching/smiling, and mouth-agape). Jeffrey DeMunn (Dale) was good, but poorly directed. Stephen Yuen (Glenn) is also excellent.
We have yet to see IronE Singleton (T-Dog) do anything even resemble acting, and Carl is going to soon lose his ability to get by on being a cute little kid. I’m not sold on Laurie Holden (Andrea) - she’s average at best.
I don’t think the acting’s all that bad. The characters aren’t as deep as Breaking Bad, but they’re not supposed to be. I think the quality is a step above daytime soaps, and is at least as good as most of the prime time dramas.
The actors are one-note, but I think they’re doing pretty good with the material they’ve been given. They’re responding to the situation, not to each other, and that limits them.
I don’t think the acting is so bad, either, but then I kind of like the characters. Except Carl, in his stupid hat - he looks like Jerry Mathers (the Beaver) and is in too many scenes.
I think the actor who plays Rick is the worse. I tried to let it slide since he’s a Brit doing a Southern accent. There are a lot of American actors who maul southern accents too. But he dismembers it, rolls over it with a thresher, sets fire to it, and poops all over it. He’s worse than Bill on True Blood.
Accents are a different thing altogether. I can’t argue with you - sounds like an American accent to me, as does Bill - but playing a foreigner is really, really hard. And there are a lot of non American actors playing Americans in US shows, and I admire their bravery - especially since I’ve seen the reverse results (Americans doing British accents) so I can see how it appears totally different to a native. A better judge is to look at the native actors in a show.
I stopped watching it. My last episode was the one where they opened the barn, but I had been consistently dissatisfied with it since the second episode. Really, makeup aside, it is an all around bad show. I can’t believe they so quickly sapped every ounce of creeping horror out of the zombie apocalypse.
We’re going to have to agree to disagree about her. I’ve several times complained about her acting in The Walking Dead, just about I complained about her in the Prison Break threads of yore. I will cheer loudly when a walker gets her (just like I did when she was beheaded in Prison Break) and cry real tears when they find a way to bring her back.
I don’t know what it is about this show; I’m not going to argue with any of the criticisms of it, and I contribute plenty of my own, but I’m still fascinated with it and really miss it when the season’s over. I wish it was better in a lot of ways, too, but I guess it’s good enough to keep me glued to the tv set (and coming here to discuss it/bitch about it ).
It is? A bunch of people standing around whining is unique? Or is it that once an episode they shoot a zombie in the head that makes it unique?
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think it’s terrible. It’s OK. I watch it. It started better, but this entire season has been devoid of any plot at all; but I have hopes for future seasons. But I don’t think it’s particularly stand-out in any way.
But tastes vary of course. And that’s a good thing.
After watching tonight’s episode, I’m not willing to say all the acting is bad. Sarah Callies is pretty bad; Andrea is not great; Carl is awful, but child actors often are. There were a lot of scenes today that were absolutely gripping, though, and no one in them looked like they were acting (my criteria for bad acting). I think Jon Bernthal (Shane) is better than he is given credit for; he went through a lot of emotions tonight.
Well, they’re not whining in a hospital or a courtroom or suburbia, and they’re not whining about their love lives or their careers or their cheating spouses or whatever characters whine about in most primetime dramas. Their situation is unique and the consequences of their actions are often life or death. That makes it interesting enough for me, even though I like to bitch about the show too.
Well, no, they’re whining in a farmhouse. But they do whine about their love lives and their spouses!
I guess their situation is unique in the sense that Star Trek is unique, and Terra Nova was unique and Red Dwarf was unique and Stingray was unique and Transformers was unique. Zombies, space, dinosaurs, robots. A thousand other shows. I don’t equate that with quality though.
That said, as I mentioned, I don’t think it’s bad. It’s OK. First season was really good. This season not so much. I have hopes for next season!
Oh, the southern accents? I wish you people picking apart every consonant, vowel, and inflection would relax. Every southern accent sounds the same to me, no matter where they’re supposed to come from or who’s attempting it. It’s like birds flying overhead. someone says ‘they’re crows’ someone else says ‘they’re ravens’, or blackbirds or starlings…they’re birds!
