# The Walking Dead, SERIES PREMIERE, (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026 "2010-10-31T23:53:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**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 2, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/141 "2010-11-02T22:30:37Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > It’s beside the point; as previously noted, the guy on the tank radio is a game changer. Postulating that Rick returns to the police cruiser (with almost no gas) some time after being trapped in the tank and hearing Mystery Radio Scornman opens up a whole lot more plot questions to be filled than surmising that he ran into Zombie Waif before he ever got the freakin’ horse. 😕 Okay. Not that I was going anywhere near that direction, but, okay. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/142 "2010-11-02T22:33:50Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > 😕 Okay. Not that I was going anywhere near that direction, but, okay. Sorry; I guess I was having too much fun with a different argument! Was your point just that it would be reasonable under the circumstances to return to a well equipped vehicle even if others were also available? ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/143 "2010-11-02T22:53:14Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > I was under the impression the opening event took place far into the future–which I still don’t think was an unreasonable assumption. And in the future, Rick somehow re-acquires the same gas can that he was carrying and dropped much earlier, not to mention his sheriff hat that he loses when he falls off the horse? If there are two possible answers to a particular question regarding the sequence of a scene - one that makes sense and one that is completely inexplicable (relatively speaking, since the dead have come back to eat the living), it isn’t poor storytelling when there is only one place the scene could fit that would make sense. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/144 "2010-11-02T23:00:36Z")
Why does the Army have so much trouble with zombies? You can cordon off an area with portable Bremer walls or Jersey barriers easily enough. It’s not like zombies can push them over any more than people can. ---
**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 2, 2010, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/145 "2010-11-02T23:06:07Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Why does the Army have so much trouble with zombies? You can cordon off an area with portable Bremer walls or Jersey barriers easily enough. It’s not like zombies can push them over any more than people can. Because someone always makes it inside the perimeter as a zombie-infected human, and ravages the population from the inside out. They also usually bring the wounded into the very center of town because it’s safest there… ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/146 "2010-11-02T23:08:51Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > And in the future, Rick somehow re-acquires the same gas can that he was carrying and dropped much earlier, not to mention his sheriff hat that he loses when he falls off the horse? I shouldn’t be expected to remember the exact gas cannister he used over an hour later :rolleyes: And I didn’t notice the hat. I already concede it “makes sense,” that doesn’t mean I have to like its implementation, hence my ‘poor storytelling’ complaint. It’s cool if you disagree, but there is nothing you can say to change my mind, being as it’s based on my experience watching the show. ---
**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 2, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/147 "2010-11-02T23:16:06Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > Sorry; I guess I was having too much fun with a different argument! Was your point just that it would be reasonable under the circumstances to return to a well equipped vehicle even if others were also available? Pretty much. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/148 "2010-11-02T23:25:37Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > I shouldn’t be expected to remember the exact gas cannister he used over an hour later :rolleyes: Ohferogsake. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/149 "2010-11-02T23:27:43Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Because someone always makes it inside the perimeter as a zombie-infected human, and ravages the population from the inside out. They also usually bring the wounded into the very center of town because it’s safest there… Yeah. I forgot about the one jerk who gets bitten and hides in from everyone. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/150 "2010-11-02T23:33:45Z")
I’m not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but that scene in the hospital stairs, where the only light was the matches he had to keep lighting? Very scary. I kept expecting zombies to be suddenly “right there” when he lit a new match. Didn’t happen, but it was still a good tension builder. ---
**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 2, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/151 "2010-11-02T23:49:18Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yeah. I forgot about the one jerk who gets bitten and hides in from everyone. And with classic Romero-style zombies (which is what TWD zombies are) you don’t just have to worry about someboy hiding a bite wound. _Everyone_ who dies (other than by massive brain trauma) comes back. The sweed old lady who dies in her sleep? ZOMBIE! That guy who slit his wrist 'cause his wife & kids just died? ZOMBIE! The middlge-aged senator who has a heart attack while fucking the 19 yr old private? ZOMBIE! ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/152 "2010-11-03T00:40:24Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > And with classic Romero-style zombies (which is what TWD zombies are) you don’t just have to worry about someboy hiding a bite wound. _Everyone_ who dies (other than by massive brain trauma) comes back. The sweed old lady who dies in her sleep? ZOMBIE! That guy who slit his wrist 'cause his wife & kids just died? ZOMBIE! The middlge-aged senator who has a heart attack while fucking the 19 yr old private? ZOMBIE! Ok, I’ve already mentioned this, and both you and one or two other people seemed to ignore my request. STOP SPOILING SHIT THAT HASN’T AIRED YET! Not all of us have read the comics (or, like me, gotten that far into them.) This piece of information _has not been revealed_. And I get the feeling that it has the potential to be a really cool BIG reveal, and now it’s ruined for a lot of us. I don’t mean to single you out specifically, it was ruined on like the first page, but you just happened to be the most recent one to do it. I’m just really worried that those of us that haven’t read the comics will be making speculation about who lives, dies, etc…, and someone will come in and be like, “Nah, he totally bites it real soon.” ---
**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 3, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/153 "2010-11-03T01:06:00Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > This piece of information _has not been revealed_. And I get the feeling that it has the potential to be a really cool BIG reveal Not really, no. Basic bits of the premise that you have to assume in order for things not to fall apart on the face of it don’t tend to make for good reveals. The series doesn’t WORK without proper Romero zombies. The world couldn’t possibly fall apart in a matter of weeks if only those bitten by zombies became zombies. It’s already stretching credulity that things fell apart so fast, with proper zombies. That an infection that requires not just contact, but a successful bite could do it is absurd. You don’t hear much about Rabies apocalypses, do you? ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/154 "2010-11-03T01:57:35Z")
None of those are in the comics, bouv. That plot element isn’t even played up at all. Really, not at all; it’s kind of taken in stride. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/155 "2010-11-03T03:10:53Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > It looks like the hospital Rick was in continued to function for some time after the outbreak was in full swing - the authorities were dumping zombie bodies there, there was a military encampment outside the hospital, and so on. It doesn’t even seem like the place was completely over-run by zombies - the halls were empty, the room full of zombies was still barricaded, and so on. There was a comment made by the Dad when he was explaining that all the dead come back as waling dead, Rick mentioned seeing all the bodies at the hospital that hadn’t become zombies and Dad said something like, “no, not the ones they put down.” So I think it is a little unclear if the military was dumping bodies there or if the hospital was putting people down as they came in sick. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/156 "2010-11-03T03:17:40Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > None of those are in the comics, bouv. That plot element isn’t even played up at all. Really, not at all; it’s kind of taken in stride. Comics spoiler That’s not quite true. It was definitely a big deal when Tyreese’s daughter and boyfriend had the suicide pact. It was a surprise when she came back and Tyreese was almost bit. Now, anytime there is a suicide attempt or general death the fact that ANYONE will become a zombie is mentioned out loud. As far as the hospital, the Romero thing is only true at the initial outbreak. I think by the time zombies arrived in small town Kentucky, the knowledge of a zombie plague was already known from elsewhere and the hospital became a “safe place”. It has some security measures, is centralized, and can quickly judge if it is an infected bite or some other disease. They can also dispatch or handle many dead bodies. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/157 "2010-11-03T03:55:48Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yeah. I forgot about the one jerk who gets bitten and hides in from everyone. I always hate that asshole. I’d have it be a standing order that whoever hides a bite mark’s entire family gets put to death. ---
**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 3, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/158 "2010-11-03T04:51:51Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Ok, I’ve already mentioned this, and both you and one or two other people seemed to ignore my request. > > STOP SPOILING SHIT THAT HASN’T AIRED YET! **bouv** , just to be clear - no one has spoiled anything yet. alphaboi’s examples were merely “here’s what KIND of zombies we’re talking about - and here are examples of what happens to them or causes them, as seen in dozens of movies that have no direct relationship with this show”. But beyond that - point taken. I hate the idea of two weekly threads (especially for a 6 week series), but maybe we can try to formulate an OP for next week’s thread that heads things off at the pass. I’ll start with saying that we need to clarify what our spoilers are immediately in these threads, and they need to be explicit **(NOTE: nothing in the spoiler boxes is an actual spoiler - these are merely examples)**: CORRECT: > [@](#): > > Spoiler from the comics: > > A bunch of shit that happens in the comics that hasn’t happened on TV yet. ALSO CORRECT: > [@](#): > > Spoiler from interview with the director/actors/etc. that will happen on TV that we haven’t seen: > > Major reveal from Kirkman/Darabont regarding something that \*hasn’t \*been shown on TV yet. \*\*NOT \*\*correct: > [@](#): > > Here’s what I think will happen based on nothing but my gut instinct and a strong desire to make WAGs pulled straight out my ass in the hopes I’ll collect accolades from internet people for being right: > > Something that has about a 2% chance of happening and isn’t a spoiler at all, because spoilers are things that we KNOW will happen. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/159 "2010-11-03T05:45:39Z")
I will ask for a mild spoiler about the books: Do the main characters travel constantly or do they stay in the Atlanta area? The reason I’m curious is because of so much of the filming being done in Atlanta when if it was just the first episode they could film it in pretty much any big city with some Atlanta skyline stock footage and street signs and most people wouldn’t know the difference. I’m curious if there’s a reason they based production in Atlanta. ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026/160 "2010-11-03T06:03:40Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I will ask for a mild spoiler about the books: > > Do the main characters travel constantly or do they stay in the Atlanta area? > > The reason I’m curious is because of so much of the filming being done in Atlanta when if it was just the first episode they could film it in pretty much any big city with some Atlanta skyline stock footage and street signs and most people wouldn’t know the difference. I’m curious if there’s a reason they based production in Atlanta. No character spoilers. I tried to keep it as generic as possible The first collection of the stories involves a group of survivors (which we’ve seen) waiting just outside Atlanta waiting for the government/army to come and clear out the major cities. Shit happens and eventually they’ll relocate, but most likely as the finale to Season 1. They do travel, but only to find a secure location/new home. They would still be in Georgia. I assume they are filming in the Atlanta area for it to feel authentic. They still need shots of the surrounding area, and it is easier for the actors to actually be there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-walking-dead-series-premiere-open-spoilers/559026.md?page=9)