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The Walking Dead

Started by Ed, December 02, 2011, 06:04:58 PM

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Ed

I've been watching the series from the beginning. Waited ages for season two to come to the FX channel, and now, right in the middle of season two they tell me the series is taking a break and will be back in February -- WTF? Has this happened to the American audience, too, or are we special in the UK?
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

leatherdykeuk

No, its the USA as well, hence the cliffhanger shocker this week. Most of the US shows have a mid season break to allow dross shows to get airtime.

Robert Essig

I haven't watched the first season (TV is not my thing) but I have watched much of the second season and find it a little melodramatic at times, and even boring.  Some good stuff there, but... I'm going to have to go back and watch the first season.  I've heard it's really good.
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Look for my debut novel THROUGH THE IN BETWEEN, HELL AWAITS in 2012 from Grand Mal Press.

ozmosis7

First season was pretty good for the wife and I. We were really into it. I read that they had some concerns about the storyline versus the comics, had to cut their budget, and fired all of their writers, so maybe that is partly to blame. But, this half of the second season hasn't been as good for us. And there are some big things that just don't seem possible.

Still, we have been watching it, even when some of the things have made us laugh. It is entertaining, but not to the degree it was. I saw a post from one of the writers on Facebook the other day that they hoped this last episode would put them back on par. I'm not so sure it did, but it was likely the best of the lot so far this season.

And, whats the deal with the midseason break? With such a weak season I would think it might turn some viewers off enough they don't come back.
Author of Dark Fiction - http://kennethwcain.com

akaShoe

The answer to the question, "What happens when you fire Frank Darabont as showrunner?" appears to be "Nothing." As in, the characters wait around on the highway doing... nothing. Then they wander around in the woods finding... nothing. Then they wait around on a farm doing... nothing. Then they wander around in the woods s'more... yeah, you guessed it, nothing. Then, in the final minutes of the mid-season finale, SOMETHING finally happens! But that something includes the revelation that 13 episodes spent wandering around in the woods accomplished... nothing.

And don't even get me started on how criminally underused Michael Rooker's been, esp. if he's the character from the comics many believe Darabont set him up to be.

fnord33

 :2funny: too right. Evertone says the same thing about that show. Oh yeah. Love it. I never miss an episode, but nothing ever happens. As for the break, the first show i noticed doing that was dr who. Wtf brittain? You know american companies are going to rip off all your worst ideas and then make them even worse.  :tdoff:
Life is an entanglement of lies to hide it's basic mechanisms. - William Burroughs

Ed

Ah, right -- I hadn't realised they sacked the writers and made a load of other changes behind the scenes. I agree, this second season hasn't been a patch on the first. Last week it struck me that it felt like season ten+ of most series, by which time they've lost their freshness and are scratching around for ideas. We've had the dream sequences, so I figure the next step will be for the story to be told through a single character's perspective, a different one every week, recapping their story from the beginning.

I had expected more from Scot Wilson's character, Herschel, but he's turned out to be nothing more than a pawn of the plot, bending to suit the storyline. Not impressed, here. Then finally something happened, making me think they had pulled their finger out, but no, it was just the cliffhangar episode that's supposed to keep me hanging on until February ::)

I watch very little tv, and this was one of maybe two or three things I actually make a point of watching, but even my kids are bored of it now -- so much so that they'd rather drift off to bed than be allowed to stay up to watch it.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]

ozmosis7

Quote from: Ed on December 03, 2011, 03:47:58 AMso much so that they'd rather drift off to bed than be allowed to stay up to watch it.

Wow! That says a lot about this show right there.
Author of Dark Fiction - http://kennethwcain.com

akaShoe

Out of the mouths of babes comes... snores?  :cheesy:

JJ Holden

I thought this final mid-season episode rocked. Not a cliff-hanger for me; I figured they'd brought to a head and resolved one of the main storylines, and now it's time to move on. A pity about the episodes before it, though. Lori's behaviour was driving me nuts, while some of the others simply shambled around like the zombies.

I'll stick with it.  But I hate these breaks. Happens to every show on US TV, and more often than not I forget to pick them up again when they restart.

Ed

Quote from: JJ Holden on December 03, 2011, 03:16:34 PM

I'll stick with it.  But I hate these breaks. Happens to every show on US TV, and more often than not I forget to pick them up again when they restart.

Yep - I have the same problem. I've lost count of the number of series I simply lose track of when they come back on.
Planning is an unnatural process - it is much more fun to do something.  The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise, rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression. [Sir John Harvey-Jones]