All righty, episode 4! This is the one that has diverged most significantly from the comic, with really only the closing scene having any resemblance to the source material. Makes sense given that Kirkman wrote this one; presumably he'd rather write a new story than just adapt something he already wrote.
I feel many of the characters are overly exaggerated
Tangent: I hate the phrase "overly exaggerated". As opposed to what, under-exaggerated?
especially the rednecks and the cholos in ep4.
Definitely over-the-top. Merle's monologue at the beginning of ep 3 was pretty great, though, and Daryl's become a bit more interesting. He's not just blind, unfocused rage; he's got the rage part going but he's also a damn fine tracker and good with that crossbow. While it still doesn't make any sense that anyone would want to bring Merle on a supply mission into the city, it's becoming clear why they'd keep Daryl around even if he's not the most likable guy.
As for the eponymous vatos (and BTW, that would be a great name for a band), yeah, they were ridiculously over-the-top and frankly a pretty uncomfortable racial stereotype -- but I think the payoff worked even if it was a little hokey. [spoiler]Of COURSE they'd be walking stereotypes if they were really a nurse and a janitor PLAYING at being gangsters.[/spoiler]
Spoilers for both the episode and the comic: [spoiler]In the comic, everybody has the virus; you don't have to get bitten to become a zombie, that just makes it happen faster. When you die, you turn, bite or no bite. So that raises the question of...what about the old folks' home? Sooner or later somebody's going to die of old age or sickness. You'd think that would have happened by now and, if the show followed the same rules as the comic, the people at the hospital would know that everybody inevitably becomes a zombie. But there's no mention of it.[/spoiler] So it could be that the rules operate differently in the show than the comic, or the omission could just be one of those things where we're supposed to suspend disbelief for the sake of drama. More on that in a bit.
Anyway, the existence of another group of survivors changes things pretty significantly from the status quo in the comic when [spoiler]the camp was compromised[/spoiler]. While I expect they'll ultimately follow the same basic path the comic did, I expect the subject will come up again.
Also, that opening scene between the two sisters in the boat was the worst part of the series with regard to acting and dialogue, as far as I'm concerned.
The conversation was a bit cute but I didn't think the acting was bad at all.
The confrontation with the cholos seemed pretty ridiculous too, I felt.
Sure, but as I said above, the later scenes go a long way to explaining why.
I do, however, really like the concept that, even in such a zombie-plagued area, the real dangers the characters have to worry about are from their own living kind. The deterioration of societal structure is bringing out the worst in people, and it makes for good drama.
Exactly. As I've said, it's not a story about zombies, it's a story about the collapse of civilization and what it does to the survivors. Zombies are monsters, but there are much worse monsters out there.
[spoiler]And of course we haven't met any of them yet -- this was all just a big misunderstanding. Sure, the show's had a crazy racist or two and a wife-beater, but that's tip of the iceberg.[/spoiler]
Unclear about one thing, though: Why don't cellphones work? Why do they have absolutely no forms of communication, outside of shitty walkie talkies and police radios?
Not sure about Buge's comment on power plants but it makes sense. They DO require fuel; it's not as if they're fully automated.
Leaving that aside, I don't have experience running a cellular network but I do have experience running a data network, and it often couldn't last the weekend without me coming in to keep everything running.
How long is TWD supposed to be after the zombie apocalypse?
Deliberately ambiguous, but couldn't be much more than a month.
And how is it the military lost the fight with tanks and whatnot, but a few jackasses with shotguns are just fine?
Well, they're not, really. I suppose the show's got a pretty light bodycount so far, all things considered, but expect that to change soon. What we're looking at is a couple of dozen stragglers who've survived the death of a city of millions -- and I wouldn't count on most of them hanging around for very long either.
What about radios? Surely someone would be broadcasting something as far as what's going on.
Maybe there are in some regions, but I doubt there's anybody at a major radio station. People broadcasting out of their basements won't have much range.
But on some level, there IS a lot of stuff you have to eventually handwave on. Rick's coma is the first example. There's only one region of the human body that will put you in a coma if you're shot in it, and that's the brain. Leaving that aside, when he woke up he'd have a catheter in him, and assuming the hospital staff had been gone for long he'd be malnourished and lying in his own feces. And that's the first ten minutes of the show.
You gotta handwave on some stuff for dramatic effect. A recent lettercol in the comic had a reader wondering why they don't know the exact dates and have to keep track on pieces of paper, given that digital watch batteries last for years and there's gotta be SOMEBODY in a cast this size who has one. Kirkman basically responded, "Yeah, I could come up with some sort of explanation for that, but you're right, the truth is I fucked up and forgot digital watches had dates on them."
AN OPEN LETTER TO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE DVR
How are things back there in 1999? It was a pretty good year, if I remember, so I hope you're enjoying it! I'm sure you've got a lot of questions for me since I live in the future and all, but I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise!
Pff, you still subscribe to cable TV? Enjoy paying for all those channels you don't watch so you can sit through commercials, old man.
