The Walking Dead Brings Zombies to Life

Image from AMC

Since before Halloween, I've indulged in sort of a stop-and-go marathon of horror movies in general, and zombie movies in particular. I've had a weak spot for zombies since I watched Night of the Living Dead at the drive-in double-feature (Mom thought I was asleep!). It freaked me out then, and I've even been known to have a zombie dream or two. But the whole point of scary movies is to scare you, right? And it's a rare one that does.

So when it was announced that The Walking Dead was going to be a new TV series about zombies, I was thrilled. I didn't even know that it was a successful comic book series (I'm a comic book nut too, but lapsed). Since it was going to be aired on AMC, I had a feeling it was going to be good.  Turns out, it's not only good, it's pretty great. And popular too, at least so far.  So, I was disheartened when at the conclusion of Sunday night's third episode, they said "there are only three episodes left this season. . ." WTF? Are you kidding me?

Now, I know that cable series are usually shortened compared to network programs. Like most British shows, a "season" or "series" only lasts six, eight, ten or so episodes. If you're lucky, they go all the way to 13 in a series. A trend in the last couple of years has made it even worse, breaking an already short season in two. They did it with Nip/Tuck, Eureka and Battlestar Galactica, and those are just the ones I'm familiar with.  In theory, shortened seasons cull out the weak "filler" episodes, and only provide good, meaty stuff.  I suppose that's true.

Anyway, I'm incredibly impressed with The Walking Dead so far.  The story started out very much like (the not technically zombie movie) 28 Days Later, with our hero waking up in a deserted hospital.  A wounded police officer, he wakes up to a world that has been decimated by zombies.  He pretty quickly ascertains what's going on, even if it takes him a while to find clothes and shoes (not that I'm complaining). A man and a boy help him, and eventually he sets out for Atlanta, believing there will be help there. Not so much. But he happens upon some survivors, and teams up with them. They have a camp in the country, with an assortment of other refugees.  There are many character types and races of people, not all of them particularly savory. If anyone thinks this is a biblical allegory of "the end times," then God has a funny way of picking who gets to survive.

The Walking Dead is essentially a drama set into a horror movie. The continuing stories are every bit as soap opraish as, say, Brothers and Sisters. If the Walker clan had to deal with the undead.  I guess you could call it a "lope opera." Do you think that will catch on? So, I'm hooked. Thoroughly hooked. And very annoyed by the six-episode season length. As long as AMC doesn't pull a "returns in January 2012," I suppose I can deal. But we zombie hounds are going to be ravenous if they make us wait that long.