# The Walking Dead - How come nobody talks about how bad the acting is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489 "2012-03-11T20:55:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/61 "2012-03-23T03:19:01Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Tidewater? Not necessarily. You’ve got the syrupy accent you get in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, especially mid-sized cities and large towns. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/62 "2012-03-23T03:24:36Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Tidewater? No. Hollywood “Southern accents” are accents produced by no actual natives of the region. Characterized by such things as pronouncing “anything” as “anythin’”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/63 "2012-03-23T03:28:46Z")
> [@whole\_bean](#): > > Not necessarily. You’ve got the syrupy accent you get in parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, especially mid-sized cities and large towns. _That_ accent is more a function of class than of geography in my experience. I notice that Scott Wilson (Herschel) sports such an accent, and he is a native of Atlanta. To me, that accent says you probably grew up in a privileged environment. The accent Rick is doing is more of a working class or lower middle class thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/64 "2012-03-23T04:21:52Z")
> [@whole\_bean](#): > > Another southerner (and Georgia resident) chiming in to say that my ears are not offended by any of the accents. The south’s a big place, with lots of accents, and there’s mobility, even wihtin small towns. Maggie’s accent, in particular, is pretty good. Shane is believable, Rick’s problem is not his accent, it’s that he sounds like he’s mid-push on the biggest shit of his life. Sorry, some of us do that. Mostly guys. Like a guy I work with. He has that vocal fry thing that everyone hates lately. And those of you complaining about the accent - there are about 8 accents in Georgia alone. Now, I’ve not been in every city in Georgia, but I live here and have heard that many accents. Edit: To me, Herschel and Rick are doing two redneck accents, one from the farm in the country, one from a suburb. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/65 "2012-03-23T05:50:55Z")
I’ve grown up listening to southern accents and I also think they’re fine. If you truly want awful, watch GCB. it’s so eye-rolling, I’m typing this blind. Anyway, I think you have occasional glimpses of great acting with Darryl and Herschel, decent acting with Maggie and Rick, middle-of-the-road acting with Glen, Dale and Shane, somewhere under that with Andrea, and rock bottom with Carol, Carl and the absolutely horrible Lori. I can’t say that’s too bad in the overall scheme of things. Nothing to win an Emmy with, but what’s lacking has more to do with the writing than anything else, as everyone has already pretty much stated. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/66 "2012-03-23T08:02:48Z")
To answer the OP, I’ve never thought the acting has been that great, but it’s always been trumped in my sight by the horrible writing - I always go to that first when I’m minded to whine about the show. I’ll go a bit further out than most other people in this thread to say that, although season 2’s been noticeably worse, season 1’s writing wasn’t great either (at first I was dazzled by the production, then I really started to notice). At this point I hate everyone on that show, characters and crew, with varying degrees. And yet I still watch every week. Curious thing, this phenomenon. I know that for me it’s because it’s one of the best _premises_ for a show currently on TV, but one would think my disappointment would’ve eaten through that generated hope by now. Guess it hasn’t! ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/67 "2012-03-23T08:16:36Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > You present your response in a semi-argumentative manner, but actually, I think we agree. > mmm I wasn’t really trying for argumentative, just pointing out that comparing pretty much anything on Television to Breaking Bad is kinda unfair. I cannot think of a single bit of that show that isn’t perfect or so close to perfect as to be one and the same. the rest was just me pointing out the only reason I keep watching. 🙂 > [@Spoke](#): > > Whether or not it’s poorly acted has little to do with it being an American show. You want some horrible acting, look no further than the breathlessly melodramatic deliveries in the British post-Apocalyptic show [Survivors](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1258189/). ug, watched one episode, could not even find the slightest interest in more…now if they had kept that girl from Dr. Who alive I might have made it through a few more. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2012, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/68 "2012-03-23T11:27:00Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > To me, Herschel and Rick are doing two redneck accents, one from the farm in the country, one from a suburb. I am obviously a product of growing up in Central Arkansas with a Mother from Tennessee, but Rick sounds like an Arkansan country person, and I hear no accent at all from Herschel. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/69 "2012-03-23T13:16:54Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I think you know this is rather inappropriate. Let’s keep this kind of general insult out of these discussions, please. My apologies, was only meant as a tongue-in-cheek joke. Some of my best friends are from Kentucky! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/70 "2012-03-23T13:23:52Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > The Walking Dead wiki states that the Grimes family and Shane are from the fictitious King County, Georgia. > > Also, Kentucky is a Southern state. > > Likewise. Thanks, I took at look at the Wiki you referenced and you are correct - it does state he is from King County, Georgia. I still maintain however that the t.v. show has kept this ambiguous (to borrow the term of another poster) and there is nothing in the show that I’ve seen that directly states this. The comic is based upon him being from Kentucky and he in fact does travel to Atlanta, Georgia. First by car and then later by horse when he runs out of gas. From what we are shown on t.v., it makes more sense to assume he is in Kentucky at the start vs. Georgia. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/71 "2012-03-23T13:28:40Z")
I had no idea there was such hate for the show. I guess I have to go elsewhere to admit to liking the show. As for the acting… The only one I had a problem with was Dale. I’ve seen Jeffrey DeMunn in many things before. Never had a problem with him before so I don’t think he is a bad actor. But the permanent facial expression he had was a bad choice in the role. He was really starting to annoy me. I knew Andrew Lincoln was a Brit before the first episode so I wasn’t surprised. I think he does a decent job with the accent. I did notice he does what I see a lot of Brit actors do when doing an American accent. His voice tends to be a lot huskier and lower than his natural voice. I guess its easier to do an American accent that way for some reason. Hugh Laurie does not do this. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/72 "2012-03-23T13:29:52Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > I still maintain however that the t.v. show has kept this ambiguous (to borrow the term of another poster) and there is nothing in the show that I’ve seen that directly states this. The shoulder patch that says “King County, Georgia” seems unambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/73 "2012-03-23T15:06:36Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The shoulder patch that says “King County, Georgia” seems unambiguous. That is quite a stretch. I’ve watched every episode more than once and and not seen a single scene in the show that captures “King County, Georgia” on that patch. Not saying it isn’t there but the patch very clearly says “SHERIFF” in big letters across the top. It says “DEPT” on the bottom. There is a center circular design that is not large enough to clearly see and the patch tapers in shape towards the bottom. Looking at some stills, the center piece does say King County, GA but you cannot tell from the show unless your HDTV is substantially better HD than mine or you do a screen-capture. Haha. Again, I concede that the t.v. show premise is that he is a Sheriff in Kings County, GA. I even found some stills that if you zoom in you can see Kings County, GA on that center portion of the patch in really tiny letters. I do not concede that they’ve made that in any way obvious with what they show in the t.v. show. This being the dope, we’ll probably continue to argue this point for another 4 pages. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/74 "2012-03-23T15:58:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I had no idea there was such hate for the show. I guess I have to go elsewhere to admit to liking the show. I don’t hate the show. If I did, I’d have stopped watching (though I did get through a patch of complete indifference by the DVR being unaware of that and continuing to record until I finally watched the backlog). But there is a lot of stupid in the show. A lot of self contradiction in the show. A lot of needless angst in the show. And, so long as the show remains entertaining enough to keep watching, when it comes to talking about the show those stupidities, contradictions and needless angstyness are more interesting to talk about. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/75 "2012-03-23T16:01:01Z")
I don’t know about you guys but I’m still laughing about the disappearing and reappearing wound on Shane’s nose. It was there after he head-butted the tree…it was there back at the farmhouse…but while he was walking Rick out to the field it would vanish and reappear between damn near every shot! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/76 "2012-03-23T18:11:09Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > A lot of needless angst in the show. I’m not one to normally give into angst. But I think if I were in the middle of the Zombie Apocalypse I would be a bit angsty. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/77 "2012-03-23T21:04:05Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > Thanks, I took at look at the Wiki you referenced and you are correct - it does state he is from King County, Georgia. I still maintain however that the t.v. show has kept this ambiguous (to borrow the term of another poster) and there is nothing in the show that I’ve seen that directly states this. > > The comic is based upon him being from Kentucky and he in fact does travel to Atlanta, Georgia. First by car and then later by horse when he runs out of gas. From what we are shown on t.v., it makes more sense to assume he is in Kentucky at the start vs. Georgia. First, to CarnivorousPlant: I hear those accents every day, both of them. And Herschel does have one. And it’s more “hickish”. 🙂 To MeanJoe: Really? Have you looked at a map of the US? Kentucky is farther from Georgia than a car full of gas and a horse. From what I was shown on TV (living here) it took him a day or two. Not all of us talk with the same accent. Every single person in my office speaks with a different accent. In fact, I’ve grown up here in Georgia and people from California have told me I have no accent at all. They’re wrong of course, but that shows how far the accent differentiates. And besides, the wiki of the thing itself proves you wrong. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/78 "2012-03-23T21:19:31Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > First, to CarnivorousPlant: I hear those accents every day, both of them. And Herschel does have one. And it’s more “hickish”. 🙂 I must ask, “Where are y’all from?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/79 "2012-03-24T00:13:53Z")
413 miles from Cynthiana, Ky., to Atlanta. Six hours in the car. How many miles do you get on a tank of gas? It takes me six hours to drive from here to my in-laws in NC and we do it on less than a tank. ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489/80 "2012-03-26T18:47:27Z")
> [@whole\_bean](#): > > That makes for a short thread. > > Earlier, you wrote, > Bolding mine. > > Focussing on the last bit, I would argue that, with a few exceptions (Rick, Hershel), we’ve not seen the major characters develop because we knew very little about them in the first place (_i.e._, they were not well developed). > > For example, the first half of the second season was devoted to looking for a little girl no one gave a shit about. Our only real information about her and her mom (whom I presume we were to identify with) was that dad/husband Ed was a quasi-survialist redneck creep. In the ensuing episodes, the only thing we learn about Carol is that she might be crushing on Darryl. We still know nohting about Sophia, inclduing what happened to her and how she died. > > Where a character was developed, what little growth we saw was clusmy (Hershel’s bender – he was a drunk?) and often non-sensical (Rick’s ridiculous apology at the end of the season). > > The best charcters in the series so far have been Jenner and Morgan – the scene where Morgan sights up his wife is heartwrenching, great tv, as is Jenner’s scene at the begining of the last episode of season one. > > I’m reminded of the statement that New Gingrich sounds like what stupid people think smart people sound like. For me, The Walking Dead is what people who’ve never seen great tv think great tv looks like. IMO, the point of the Sophia disappearance was not entirely about whether or not they find her. It was about watching how each character wanted to handle it. Some thought they should search the ends of the Earth for her and never give up thus showing that they are holding onto their humanity no matter what the cost. Some wanted to give up quickly showing that they are already well into the survival mode mentality. Some struggled with what they thought was best thus showing that they are struggling with how to hold onto their humanity while surviving in this cruel new life. To me, the show is about humanity and how they adapt and change to their situation. Each character is a different side of the coin and watching it makes me consider how I would react to each new challenge. It’s interesting. Also I would like to comment that I do realize that a show being popular does not always reflect the quality of the show. For me an example would be The Big Bang Theory. Now I don’t want to start down a long road about an unrelated show but to me that is a prime example of a terrible show that is wildly popular. But sometimes like IMO, The Walking Dead, popularity and quality come together. I would also mention that I started my previous post with “I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree”, because this is all extremely subjective. While I understand that makes for a less exciting thread, it’s true none the less. As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. All I can give you is my opinion backed up with what are essentially more opinions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-how-come-nobody-talks-about-how-bad-the-acting-is/615489.md?page=5)