TWD S07E01 Fake Out

This commentary concerns the Season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead titled "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be" which aired Sunday 10/23/2016. Do not read further if you have not seen it yet and don't want to read spoilers. Not that I think anyone will read this, but just because giving a spoiler warning is considered good etiquette. And someone MIGHT read this. Someone who is a fan and has not seen the episode yet. Unlikely, yes, but it COULD happen.

Anyway, consider yourself warned (hypothetical but likely non-existent reader). Do not continue if you are concerned about spoilers. Also, don't click the link (which is the episode title) as it goes to Wikipedia, where there are also spoilers. Now, onto my discussion of the episode and my previous predictions regarding what happens in it (PPP #38 & PPP #41).

I predicted two things: the first was that Abraham would die, which he did. And, secondly, I predicted there would be a fake out. The two possibilities of what could happen was that Negan would chop off Rick's hand with his axe. The second was that more than one person would be beaten to death by Negan with his baseball bat.

I wrongly predicted the fake out would be that Negan would kill two or more of the main characters. He did. The fake out (of which there was one) turned out to be Rick getting his hand chopped off. The Sneak Peak did strongly suggest it might happen, but it did not. A 2nd limb cutting off fake out occurred when Negan, in an attempt to break Rick (after he said he'd kill Negan for what he did) told Rick he had to chop off his son Carl's arm with the axe.

That did break him. But Negan stopped him just as he was about to do it (it appeared). Because Negan told his men to shoot everyone if Rick didn't. In the preview of episode 2 Rick is show saying that he (Rick) is no longer in charge but Negan is. Although Maggie (whose husband Glenn was killed by Negan) said they should fight (at the end of S07E01).

(Comic book spoiler warning, next paragraph).

In the comic Maggie (later) attempts suicide by hanging but is stopped by Rick. Anyway, I should have known that the hand-chopping off was the fake out, because... what was shown, together with the title of the Sneak Peak, made it clear what they were telegraphing. They were implying it too strongly for it to actually be what happened.

I guess I just didn't want to believe that Glenn was going to die. I was thinking that if they add another Asian character, that might be sign that Glenn's time was up (given that he's the only one). But he's dead (and now there are no Asian characters on the show).

The Wikipedia page notes that there were complains over how gruesome the deaths were. Negan hit Glenn in the head with his bat, knocking him down to the ground. He pushed himself back up (to his knees) and he had a dent in his head and his right eyeball had popped out. Then Negan finished him off as he had with Abraham, by beating his head to a pulp.

Images: Abraham Ford, portrayed by Michael Cudlitz (1st pic). Glenn Rhee and Maggie Greene, portrayed by Steven Yeun and Lauren Cohan (2nd pic).

10/27/2016 Correction: I said that (in the comic) Maggie tries to commit suicide after Glenn is murdered (something I thought I read on TWD wiki), but Wikipedia says this happened after her family died... and Glenn was still alive. Also), Maggie's sister Beth attempted suicide (by cutting her wrists) previously (shortly after her character was introduced on the TV show). Point is, I doubt there will be an upcoming suicide storyline for Maggie (given these two facts).

FSM discussion: Indiana Jones 5, Walking Dead, Alien. 10/25/2016.

PPP #42, TWD #9.

My Take On The Walking Dead S7 Sneak Peak

This clip played on Sunday 10/15/2016 after the "the story so far" retrospective/clip show. Season 7 begins Sunday night, 10/23/2016. BTW, don't read any further if you don't want spoilers. I don't know anything, although I'm going to speculate on what's going to happen. Speculation based not on reading the graphic novel, but on reading about it.

Because I'm not into graphic novels or comics. I've got zero interest in TWD in it's original format. That said, you've been warned. Stop reading now to avoid "spoilers", AKA my speculation based on the following video.

Video1: AMC "sneak peak" scene from the season 7 premiere of The Walking Dead.

Given that the episode is called "Right Hand Man", and given what happens in the comic, I say Rick is going to get his hand chopped off (with his own axe) by Negan. After Negan kills #whoisit (note the bloody bat, AKA "Lucille") and promoted by Rick's threats ("I'm going to kill you. Not today, not tomorrow"), Negan drags Rick away by the hair (and into the RV).

What happens next is that Rick gets his hand chopped off (I'm guessing). It already happened in the comic. A lot earlier, in fact. In the comic it was the Governor who did the deed. And he also raped Michonne. Something that was changed (for TV) to threats of rape against Maggie.

But in the TV show Rick wasn't among those initially captured by the Governor. It was Michonne and Andrea instead. And the person who lost his hand was Daryl's brother Merle. Although he cut it off himself after being left handcuffed to an unmovable object on the roof of a building (earlier).

Anyway, I read that the actor who plays Negan (Jeffery Dean Morgan) said that Negan kills multiple people, and not just the one shown at the end of season 6 (although from the POV of the victim, and NOT from the POV of the audience... so we don't know who it is. Hence #whoisit).

That said, I previously speculated that the victim was Abraham (PPP #38). I did, however, identify Daryl and Glenn as possible victims. Not all of them, but one of the 3. Now (and maybe it's a fakeout) it's being floated (by JDM) that more than one person might be killed by his character, Negan. Although I think it's likely a tactic to build suspense and get people to tune in.

I heard that many viewers were unhappy with how season 6 ended. Someone was killed, but you've got to wait months to find out who. So they might have said "screw this, I'm not going to watch anymore). Me, I didn't care. It's the nature of the show that characters are killed. And, when whoever who it was that is Negan's victim was not revealed, I didn't care either. I knew I'd find out eventually.

I just don't like it when people are killed stupidly, like with the death of Beth Greene (PPP #35). But, if they kill off (say) Abraham, Glenn and Daryl (or 2 of these characters) for the SHOCK... I'm not sure I'll like that either.

But I think it's likely a fake out. TWD actors have done it before. The actor playing The Governor (David Morrissey) suggested (on Talking Dead) he might be reformed/not interested in revenge. But it turned out he was fibbing.

Video2: Emily Kinney (the actress who played Beth Greene) is also a recording artist. Below is a music video for the song "Molly" from her 2015 album This Is War (2:42).

10/25/2016 Correction: The title of the Sneak Peak was "Right Hand Man". The Season 7 premiere episode was titled "The Day Will Come When You Won't Be".

PPP #41, TWD #8.

On #whoisit Re TWD S6E16

This commentary concerns the 16th episode of season 6, which was the season finale of the AMC zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead. This episode, titled Last Day on Earth, originally aired on 4/3/2016. Do not proceed if you do not wish to read any spoilers.

This episode is titled "Last Day on Earth", I presume, because it is the last day on earth... for one of the characters. One of the major characters dies at the end, although it is not revealed who dies. The head bad guy, Negan, after giving a long speech (for which the episode was extended by a half hour to accommodate) beat someone to death with his baseball bat (wrapped in barbed wire/nicknamed "Lucille").

The actual beating was show from the POV of the person who dies. Whoever it is sees the bat come down, and we hear Negan say that is victim is "taking it like a champ". According to the episode synopsis on Wikipedia "from the seemingly unknown victim's point-of-view, Negan proceeds to beat them... Blood starts streaming down the screen while the screen fades to black".

The hashtag #whoisit was revealed on the aftershow, "Talking Dead". The top guesses being Glenn, Daryl and Eugene. But I don't think it's going to be any of those characters. My guess is that the one who dies is Abraham.

The person who dies in the comic/graphic novel is Glenn. This I know because I read about it on the Walking Dead Wiki (I have not read the comic). But, as the creator of TWD has said previously, he considers TWD TV show to be a "remix" of the comic. In the past various deaths that occurred in the comic occurred on the TV program, but who was being killed changed (while the mode of death stayed the same). For example, Tyreese is killed by the governor (who chops off his head with a sword) in the comic, while on the TV show the person killed in this manner is Hershel Greene.

So, if this death is "remixed", it won't be Glenn. Besides, they already killed off Glenn (which turned out to be a fake out). Glenn appeared to die (the screen fading to black after showing his apparent death). But it was later revealed that he lived (PPP #37).

Which isn't to say that I don't think Glenn won't die (perhaps in season 7). I only think his death will be delayed. There are repercussions that drive future storylines after Glenn dies, so if he were to live (be a "safe" character like Rick and Carl are) that would be a big departure from the comic. Something that has not happened (at least thus far). The TV show has basically followed the comic (although "remixed").

All of this points to the character who died not being Glenn. My opinion is that the clues point to it being Abraham. Clue one is the fact that Abraham does die in the comic. Although it's by being shot in the head with an arrow/crossbow bolt (I think it's the latter but I don't recall). I am not sure when this happens (before or after Glenn dies by being beaten to death by Lucille), but there was such a death on the TV show. The doctor Denise character is shot in the head with a crossbow bolt in S6E14.

Was this a "remix" of Abraham's comic book death? (where Denise was subbed in for Abraham). I'm not sure, but I think it was. Which likely means Abraham's death was only delayed (while Tyreese did not die by having his head chopped off, he did die a short while later).

Another clue that #whoisit is Abraham is that he had several "moments" in the show (2 that I noticed). Moment #1 was a discussion between him and Sasha in which he revealed he was open to starting a family (as Glenn and a pregnant Maggie had decided to do). This represents hope for the future. Someone expressing hope (in a TV series concerning the apocalypse) is likely to have that hope crushed.

Moment #2 occurred when he made peace with Eugene (with whom he had previously been arguing). Argument stemming from the fact that Eugene tricked Abraham into thinking Eugene knew how to combat the zombie plague (thus getting Abraham to protect him/get him to Washington where he could meet up with other experts where they would put into action the secret government plan to fix things).

These 2 moments, IMO, are in line with other characters having "moments" just prior to being killed (I'm specifically thinking of the Axel character's conversation with Carol in which he discusses his life prior to going to prison/the apocalypse, just prior to him being killed).

The purpose, of course, is to remind the audience who this character is (or, in the case of Axel who had no backstory up to this point, introduce the character) so the audience is either reminded of why they should care or given a reason to care about the character's death. Although that impact was (obviously) blunted by their decision to keep who dies a secret.

By the way, my second choice for #whoisit is Daryl. The only reason being the fact that the actor who plays him, Norman Reedus, was recently given a AMC TV series of his own (Ride With Norman Reedus). And I do remember that right before Tyreese was written out I read that Chad Coleman (the actor who played Tyreese) had joined the cast of the sci-fi series The Expanse.

So, it could be Daryl who died. But, given the popularity of the character, I doubt it's him. And his program is a reality show in which he rides his motorcycle around. Reality shows being the cheapest types of programing to create. Due to them having no special effects, sets, or other things that push up the costs on conventional TV shows (so, it isn't as if it a "real" show). That, and Wikipedia says this series is a scant 6 episodes. He could do this series in the break before TWD returns (6 months from now in October).

The character that dies COULD be Glenn, but I'd be surprised. He WILL die (as I already noted), but his death will (likely) be "remixed". Although, given the fact that I was convinced that he had died in S6E7... but that wrong guess was due to bad writing, not due to me not being able to pick up on the clues (the ones I previously noted). Which is why I'm pretty confident the character who died was Abraham (and this is what will be revealed to have happened when S7E1 airs).

Video: Negan kills #whoisit. (1:56)

PPP #38, TWD #7.

On Glenn's Fate In TWD S6E7

This commentary concerns the 7th episode of season 6 of the AMC zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead. This episode, titled Heads Up, originally aired on 11/22/2015. Do not proceed if you do not wish to read any spoilers.

This episode resolved a cliffhanger concerning whether or not Glenn survived episode 3 (Thank You) which aired on 10/25/2015.

The season 6 episodes summaries from Wikipeida note the following.

THANK YOU (S6E3, 10/25/2015) Glenn and Nicholas end up being trapped atop a dumpster surrounded by an army of the undead. Seeing no way out, Nicholas thanks Glenn and shoots himself in the head; his falling body knocks Glenn off the safety of the dumpster into the ravenous horde. HEADS UP (S6E7, 11/22/2015) After being trapped by a horde of walkers, Glenn manages to survive by crawling under a dumpster while the Walkers are occupied with consuming Nicholas' corpse.

3 episodes aired in between "Thank You" and "Heads Up", leaving the question as to whether or not Glenn was dead unresolved. During this period of time I wrote a blog post in which I stated my belief that Glenn had definitely died. Because he was surrounded, and even if it was Nicholas' guts who were ripped out (see video below), Glenn's head and legs were still exposed, and SURELY multiple Walkers would chow down on those parts of his body shortly (after the episode fades to black).

As it turns out those who guessed that - although it appeared as though Glenn was getting his guts ripped out - those guts actually belonged to Nicholas were right. And Glenn did crawl under the dumpster. My issue with this sequence of events is that the camera never showed why no Walker ever bit Glenn's legs (or his head) as he lay under Nicholas or as he pulled himself under the dumpster.

The way the showrunners cheated their way out of the situation was simply to never show anything from an angle that showed Glenn's exposed legs. But they were exposed and that he did not get bit is quite unbelievable IMO. And, even though the Walkers saw him under the dumpster and he killed some of those who were grasping at him (how, I do not know, as Glenn's hand was out of the shot), the other undead got distracted and wandered away after Glenn hide out under the dumpster for a few hours. A empty can rolling by in the background was one such distraction that supposedly distracted (at least 2?) of the many many undead that comprised the "army".

Everyone (guests and audience) on the Walking Dead post show, Talking Dead (a talk show on which the preceding episode of TWD is discussed), only expressed relief that Glenn was alive. Nobody asked, "what about his legs"? And, "why didn't he get bit in the face"? Either everyone was so overjoyed that Glenn didn't die that not one person ever thought to ask that - or the Talking Dead people put a lid on any such discussion.

Which is to say that I do not buy it that Glenn could have possibly escaped the situation the writers put him in - and he should have died. Not that I want him dead (I do not), but I find what happened to be not believable. Not that people dying and coming back as zombies is believable. But if one suspends disbelief in order to accept the premise of the show, then the rest of it should be handled in a realistic manner. Which I don't think happened with this episode.

As for that post I wrote in which I said Glenn was definitely dead... I never got around to publishing it. On the day episode 6 aired I thought that I'd better finish writing my post. Because I figured that the fate of Glenn might be revealed. What ended up happening was that I finished it RIGHT before the episode began. And then, when they revealed what happened to Glenn immediately (he lived) - there was no longer any reason for me to publish my post in which I got it wrong (and gave my extended explanation as to why I was sure Glenn was dead).

Turns out he lived because the writers decided they could gin up some interest in the show by making it look like Glenn died. Which they did, resulting in a ratings increase for episode 3. Then they had to cheat and keep Glenn alive when there was CLEARLY no way he could have escaped getting bit. Because Glenn is a fan favorite.

But does this mean Glenn is safe? The character that kills Glenn in the comic book (on which the series is based) has been cast and is scheduled to appear shortly (that character being Negan). Will Negan kill Glenn? I have not read the comic. Because I have no interest in comic books. I've only read online (many of the Walking Dead wiki entries) and that's how I know that Glenn does eventually die (and how).

In any case, even though I disliked how the character Beth Greene was written out of the show (PPP #35) and found Glenn's survival (given the situation he was in) not quite believable, I will continue to watch. I still think TWD is a pretty goods show, despite having a few issues with some of the writing.

Video: Nicholas and Glenn die. (2:27)

PPP #37, TWD #6.

TWD Beth Greene Suicide By Cop WTF

This is a show where characters have to die to keep this world real. If people were just surviving nonstop, it wouldn't really be an apocalyptic situation ~ Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead.

The "mid-season finale" of AMC's The Walking Dead aired last Sunday night (11/30/2014) titled Coda. If you haven't watched it yet and are concerned about spoilers, read no further. Although the title of this post pretty much gives away what happened. The Beth Greene character did something really stupid and got herself killed. Now, Beth was suicidal following her realization that her mother and brother were not sick but dead (her father told her that zombism was an illness that might possibly be cured)... But the mom and brother were definitely dead when shot in the head by Rick Grimes.

After that happened Beth tried to commit suicide by slitting her wrists. Although all indications after that were that Beth had decided she wanted to live, which makes her suicide by cop all the more perplexing. Prior to the airing of the episode I had read on the IMDB message board that most people thought Beth would die - so I was not surprised when she did - but the manner of her death did elicit a huge "WTF" from me.

Prior to the mid-season finale, Beth had been "rescued" by a group of cops who had holed up in a hospital in Atlanta. After treating her wounds her captors told her she was now their slave. Or that she "owed" them and had to work off her debt. That is what the cop leader Dawn Lerner told her. Anyway, through a series of events that I won't go into with this commentary, Rick and friends found out where Beth was, took some cops hostage, and proposed a prisoner exchange.

The exchange was almost complete when Dawn said Noah (a defector from her group that had joined Rick's group) had to stay at the hospital - or there would be no deal. Noah said he would stay, but Beth decided to stab Dawn with a pair of scissors instead. Except, instead of stabbing Dawn in the neck or head and killing her, Beth stabbed her in the shoulder. So Dawn defended herself and blew Beth's head off. Although Dawn was wearing her cop bulletproof vest and was therefore not hurt at all (not sure about this and it never even occurred to me until I read a comment on a messageboard in which someone pointed this out).

Beth said "I get it now" just prior to the scissor stabbing of Dawn - but I don't get it. Beth was preparing to leave with her friends, but decided to provoke Dawn into killing her? In front of her friends? Which could have (but didn't) result in a shootout in which many more people were killed?

Frankly Beth's actions made absolutely no sense. And, for that reason, I believe this episode is one of the dumbest. Later, on the after show "Talking Dead", a poll question asked if the redneck character Daryl should have shot Dawn in the head for killing Beth (which he did). I answered "no", as I saw Dawn's actions as self-defense. But as it turned out 93 percent disagreed. Host Chris Hardwick said "7 percent of the people are dead inside".

"Dead inside"? I was prepared to be sad that Beth was killed (when I was suspecting it was going to be her before the episode aired). But when it actually happened I was not sad. Because she killed herself! Hardwick asked Emily Kinney (the actress who portrayed Beth) "when do you think Beth knew she was going to stab Dawn in the neck?" But Beth DIDN'T stab Dawn in the neck! If she had Dawn would have died and Beth wouldn't have been shot in the head. So it was a suicide.

Although Emily Kinney sees it differently.

Emily Kinney: Beth has been getting stronger this season. She has been gaining more confidence. It was one of those moments where they got what they needed but then she had this moment of overconfidence. ... that wasn't a good decision.

Not a good decision to stab Dawn in the neck and miss? I'd agree with that. But she really "missed"! If Beth HAD stabbed Dawn in the neck and killed her then Noah could leave. Turns out Dawn's group of cops wanted her out of her leadership position, and after Daryl shot Dawn everyone decided NOT to start shooting at each other. The "overconfidence" was (apparently) that she could raise her arm to the right level so that the scissors went into Dawn's neck and not shoulder.

To close out the show Hardwick said "I know this was a tough one", referring to Beth's demise... but that wasn't the reason it was "tough" for me. The reason it was "tough" was because of how dumb it was. That one moment when Beth decides that suicide by cop is how she will protest Dawn's decision to insist that Noah remain at the hospital. Or stab Dawn in the neck (and miss). Either way Beth's death was lame.

Other than that moment, I also disliked them making Rick a stone cold killer (running down a cop and then shooting him - just for trying to escape). Executing someone for trying to escape is just wrong. But he did just slaughter those cannibals in the church... so, they deserved what they got while the cop did not. But I can understand why it's easier for Rick to cross that line now. Even if the former situation was self defense and the later is murder.

So I could accept that... but Beth committing suicide in a manner that might have resulted in the deaths of many of her friends (who were there to rescue her)? And, even though nobody on "Talking Dead" viewed it that way, it WAS a suicide (by cop). If Beth had wanted to kill Dawn she would have. By stabbing her in the shoulder I don't know WHY she wouldn't expect Dawn to defend herself.

So, I CAN accept that characters die as Kirkman said... just not in so stupid a manner. Anyway, I will watch the show when it returns in February. But my disappointment with this episode will remain. There will be more character deaths, but hopefully no more dumb ones.

Video: Excerpt from The Walking Dead S5 mid-season finale. Beth Greene and Dawn Lerner die. Video posted to YouTube on 11/30/2014 (0:48).

PPP #35, TWD #5.

Surviving Fictional Limb Amputation

This is yet another post that concerns AMC's post-apocalyptic zombie series, "The Walking Dead". In this post I shall discuss the story line concerning the amputation of one of the character's legs after being bitten by a "walker", which was done in order to prevent his being infected, getting sick, dying, and coming back as one of the dead.

The following excerpt from the April 24th airing of MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show (in which she discusses the aftermath of the Boston bombing) points out a reason why this story line might not be that realistic...

Rachel Maddow: Doctors and nurses, on their days off, started flooding into work as soon as they heard the first reports. Many of them have been in operating rooms ever since. Operating, in some cases, on the same patients two or three times. Amputations, for one, are not one operation deals. They are complicated multi-part surgeries as the doctors have been willing to explain to us...

Amputation isn't a simple as presented in TWD. The character Hershel is bitten in the ankle by a Walker (zombie). What happens next, according to precedent established by the writers, is that the bitten person develops a fever and then (eventually) dies. Then they rise from the dead as an unthinking thing that is technically dead, but somewhat alive. And all they want to do is eat the living. Other food (such as canned hams) is rejected.

If you follow this series you know that everyone is already infected. The scientist at the CDC told Rick that. But being bitten infects the bitten individual more seriously and that causes death... I guess (I'm still not clear on that specific detail). I guess the virus is present in lesser quantities in living persons, and kept at bay by their living-ness. But being bitten delivers a massive quantity of the virus, and that leads to death.

Which is why Rick cut off Hershel's leg after he was bitten - to prevent the massive dose of the virus from spreading from the bite throughout Hershel's bloodstream and killing him. How Rick amputated the leg was with an ax, which I think would have killed Hershel (even if it did prevent the spread of the virus). Shock, blood loss, and infection would certainly finish him off, as amputation involves surgically removing the limb and then covering the stump with skin flaps or skin grafts. None of this was done in the removal of Hershel's leg, so his surviving was probably highly unlikely.

This was a deviation from the "graphic novel" (which I have not read). I did read about the graphic novel though, and it says another character (one that is not present in the series) was the one who had his leg amputated. This character survived the amputation, but his wound later became infected and he died from the infection (a normal infection. I'm not referring to the zombie virus). But Hershel (the guy who's leg was amputated on the series) lived and has now recovered completely.

According to Wikipedia, a surgical amputation is accomplished via the following method...

The first step is ligating the supplying artery and vein, to prevent hemorrhage (bleeding). The muscles are transected, and finally the bone is sawed through with an oscillating saw. Sharp and rough edges of the bone(s) are filed down, skin and muscle flaps are then transposed over the stump, occasionally with the insertion of elements to attach a prosthesis.

What occurred on TWD was a "traumatic amputation", which is the "the partial or total avulsion of a part of a body during a serious accident, like traffic, labor, or combat". Wikipedia says this kind of amputation "creates the immediate danger of death from blood loss".

Wikipedia also notes that, "due to technological advances in prosthetics, many amputees live active lives with little restriction", but our heroes (TWD characters) do not have access to these technologic advances. Hershel currently gets around by hopping and using crutches, and for that reason I thought he was going to die before the season ended. I thought a zombie would get him or one of the Governor's men would shoot him. But he is still alive at the end of season three, and will be present at the beginning of season four.

Or I expect him to be. I suppose that they could say he died in between, as I've heard there is going to be a time jump when the new season starts (same as when season three began - several months elapsed between the season two finale and the first episode of season three). Hershel will die eventually I'm sure; and not from old age. This isn't a show where nothing bad can happen to any of the primary characters.

I read on TWD blog that the series creator can even envision killing off the primary character (Rick Grimes). IMO he was lying in order to create some tension. It makes it more exciting for the audience if they aren't convinced that certain characters are safe (can't be killed)... but killing off Rick? I'd be very surprised if that happened.

PPP #23, TWD #4.

The Resurrection of Damnation

Another post that concerns AMC's post-apocalyptic zombie series, "The Walking Dead"; the final episode of season 3 specifically. This post will contain spoilers, so don't read any further if you don't want it spoiled (not that anyone will read this. This blog has no readers at all as far as I know).

OK, now that I've viewed the episode, I've got to say it did not go down as I thought it might. I wouldn't have had any preconceived notions going in - since I have never read the graphic novel the show is based on - except for the fact that I've read ABOUT it. There is a wiki on the internet that I spent some time reading a while ago, and yesterday before the episode aired I read a number of the character history pages on Wikipedia.

Andrea is still alive in the comic (or "graphic novel"). She one of the longest lived characters, in fact. But, as you know if you watched the episode, she died. All the other people I surmised might perish - they all do get killed when the Governor attacks the prison in the comic (except for Glenn). According to what I read, the prison residents get their asses handed to them when the Woodbury army busts in. Hershel dies, Lori dies (she did not die earlier in childbirth as on the TV show) and Judith dies. Others might have died too, but I'm not familiar with the comic at all, so don't know.

Looks like what happened on the TV show is the opposite of what happened in the comic. In the comic Rick's group ended up being driven out of the prison, but on the TV show they are still there at the end of the episode. Not only that, but they go to Woodbury and bring all the weak old people back to the prison. Which means there will be a lot of characters available to die next season. That is what happened when the prisoners were introduced - it wasn't long before they were all dead.

On another topic, a commercial for the upcoming movie "World War Z" starring Brad Pitt aired during the episode. I was looking forward to this movie, but now I'm not so sure. The trailer made it clear that this flick features FAST zombies, like in the 28 days (and weeks) movies. Which probably means these zombies aren't really zombies but people infected with a disease. I don't care for the living persons infected with a disease like rabies zombie (they called it "mad human disease" in Zombieland). These are not real zombies. Zombies are undead.

That doesn't mean I'm no longer looking forward to "World War Z" though. If "zombieism as a disease" is the route they go it could still be good, but I definitely am thinking "maybe not" now. I just looked it up, and regarding the novel the film is based on, Wikipedia says, "The zombies... are undead humans reanimated by an incurable virus. ... Although zombies do not tire and are as strong as the humans that they infect, they are slow-moving and incapable of planning or cooperation in their attacks".

But the zombies shown in the trailer were moving VERY quickly, so clearly they changed that. The Wikipedia page for the movie says, " ...the production suffered some setbacks. In June 2012, the film's release date was pushed back and the crew returned to Budapest for seven weeks of additional shooting. Damon Lindelof was hired to rewrite the third act, but did not have the time to finish the script and Drew Goddard was hired to rewrite it".

Rewrites and reshoots could indicate the movie sucks and they're trying desperately to salvage it. Let's hope that isn't the case. Finally, back to the season 3 finale of TWD - why is Carl totally disregarding what his mother told him right before she died? She told him he was not to let the world as it is now change him - and he totally has! I thought he was wracked with guilt over her death and would thus try hard and honor her final request. Now he's engaging in precautionary murder?

PPP #22, TWD #3.

Heads Filled With Goo

The season 3 finale of AMC's "The Walking Dead" airs tonight. Looking forward to watching it, as this is my favorite television show. There is one thing, however, that bother me a bit about it. Something that is quite contrary to reality. That is, how easy it is to kill Walkers by damaging their brains.

The human skull is actually a LOT tougher to penetrate than is depicted on the show. A gun, or a sharp object through one of the eyes or mouth would work, but a knife to the skull would not. A hatchet or sword swung with considerable force behind it would probably be enough to crack the skull, but a knife would not.

Knife thrusts to the skull have killed many a zombie on this program, and every time it happens I think, "no way". Worse yet was when Glenn killed a zombie by stomping on its head, smashing it and releasing the goo contained within. But at least his kill was realized via multiple stomps. In the most recent episode Michonne kills a zombie with one single stomp to the head; a single stomp that splits open it's noggin and completely flattens it.

In the previous episode a character called "The Governor" chops a zombie head in half with a shovel. Again, all I saw was goo instead of brain matter. It's as if these zombies have neither skulls nor brains. I suppose, however, if the zombie brain was as well protected as it would be if the show were a little more realistic... they'd be a hell of a lot harder to kill.

And there is also the fact that all our heroes seem to be a crack shot with a firearm. In the season 2 finale several of the characters were driving around (in moving vehicles) and shooting at moving zombies. A situation where I think missing the target entirely would happen more often than not. Yet it seemed every shot (or almost every shot) resulted in a kill.

Even so, this is still my favorite program. I wonder who is going to die tonight. I'm guessing that Hershel Greene, Beth Greene, Judith Grimes, Carol Peletier and (possibly) Glenn Rhee might bite it. In that order, meaning that Hershel is most likely to die, IMO. I'll be surprised if any other of the "good guys" don't survive.

On another topic, it seems a little odd that this show on a channel called "American Movie Classics" AMC used to show old movies exclusively; and without commercials. Now it's just another channel. But a lot of channels started out specializing in a particular genre, and most of them have now abandoned that idea.

That they are still AMC but don't show America movies that are classics (old movies) at all isn't something that concerns me much though. More upsetting to me is the fact that AMC nixed the release of a CD release of Bear McCreary's score. I don't know for sure if it was AMC executives, but I'm sure if it were something that they favored it would be happening.

Instead they're putting out a song CD with a measly 8 tracks. WTF is the deal with that? And it's "volume one", indicating their intent to put out further volumes. A score CD; that I'd be all over, but a song CD with only 8 songs isn't something I'm interested in. How disappointing. Hopefully a score CD will be forthcoming at some future date, but from what I've read it does not seem likely.

PPP #21, TWD #2.

The Zombie Infection

This post concerns the AMC Television series The Walking Dead and contains spoilers. This series is based on a comic book of the same name, but I don't read, nor do I have any interest in comic books. The series, however, is something I am very much into.

The purpose of this post is to discuss a question I have about the "disease" or "infection" which causes a deceased person to rise as a zombie (or "Walker", as they are called in the series. The term "zombie" is not used).

According to the Walking Dead Wiki, "Morgan... checks Rick for zombie bites or fever, either of which could indicate he is turning into a zombie himself".

This seems to confirm what I previously thought, which is that getting bit by a zombie leads to sickness and death, after which the individual rises as a walker. It is mentioned that Morgan's wife was infected, developed a fever, was confined to bed rest for a period of time, and eventually died, later rising from the dead.

However, the "if you're infected you get sick, die, and turn into a zombie" rule seems to have been discarded with the revelation at the end of season 2. Near the end of the just concluded season, the protagonist Rick Grimes reveals that Jenner (the scientist they encountered at the CDC) told him that everyone is already infected and will rise again when they die (this explains why Randall and Shane both become Walkers even though neither is bitten or scratched - the only way the audience was previously lead to believe someone could be infected).

My question is - is this revelation, which the writers no doubt consider themselves extremely clever for coming up with, at odds with the original "infected" explanation given at the beginning of the series by Morgan?

Correction: According to the wiki for the comic book series, "Julie reanimates without being bitten resulting in the revelation that all of the survivors were infected". Now, I have no idea who the heck "Julie" is (a character that is only in the comic, perhaps, or a character that hasn't been introduced in the TV series yet), but this finding confirms that the writers of the TV series didn't come up with the idea of everyone being infected.

The question now is - am I misremembering what Morgan said happened to his wife (that the infection killed her), or did the writers screw up?

PPP #17, TWD #1.