Topic: The Walking Dead: The TV Show (Read 9491 times)

Friday · « **Reply #60 on:** February 09, 2012, 12:22:39 PM »

That's probably for the best. Disconnecting the story/deaths from the comic means that anyone can die in the TV show, so comic readers don't feel safe ever.

Of course, I haven't read the comic, but I do know general zombie horror kill tropes.

Thad · « **Reply #61 on:** February 09, 2012, 02:26:15 PM »

Other thoughts now that I'm finally caught up:

The arc ran WAY too long (and at least one episode could have been removed almost entirely without any impact on the story whatever), but it was building to something:

[spoiler]Shane was right.

And Dale's right too: Shane IS suited to this world.

The darkest moment of the season so far, Shane's murder of Otis, was NECESSARY -- either one person was going to die, or three were. And I honestly believe that Shane would have made his last stand there if it was just him and Otis on the line -- but he killed Otis to save Carl.

The trouble is that it gets easier. Now that Shane's done it once, he's different -- like I say, I think he would have been willing to die there if it weren't for Carl. But I don't think he'll feel that way the NEXT time he's in a him-or-me situation.

Another point: Hershel knew. He had to. Unless Sophia crawled into the barn to hide and got bitten after she was already in there and nobody's been in there since and noticed a little girl zombie, which would be lame.[/spoiler]

Minor comic spoilers: [spoiler]Rick in the current comics is an awful lot like Shane in the TV show; it just took him a lot longer to get there. The change was gradual. But he's reached a point where he's utterly ruthless, paranoid, and distrustful of strangers. And he has every reason to be, because when he's trusted people in the past, it's gone horribly wrong -- but it's still jarring, and often hard to empathize with.[/spoiler]

Friday · « **Reply #62 on:** February 10, 2012, 12:45:13 AM »

Yeah, I felt the same way about the arc; too long, but the payoff made it pretty much worth it.

I assume you mean [spoiler]***********Sophia*********[/spoiler] is the character who is still alive in the comics?

Thad · « **Reply #63 on:** February 10, 2012, 07:00:21 AM »

Yeah.

Thad · « **Reply #64 on:** February 10, 2012, 07:53:41 AM »

Going to stick this here because it's as good a place as any:

Tony Moore sues Robert Kirkman for profits.

(via)

Bit of background: Moore co-created The Walking Dead, drew the first six issues, and continued to do covers up through #24.

Quote

Moore claims he was told in 2005 by Kirkman that a big TV deal was on the table but "that Kirkman would not be able to complete the deal unless [Moore] assigned all of his interest in the Walking Dead and other works to Kirkman," according to the complaint. Thinking the deal would fall apart, Moore signed the contract, he says, allowing Kirkman to "swindle" him out of his 50 percent interest in the copyright and never intending to pay him his share of royalties.

The thread at BC adds that Moore's lawyer made the mistake of putting net profits instead of gross profits in his contract. Amateur-hour shit; we've discussed in the past that, due to Hollywood accounting, movies and TV shows don't HAVE net profits. A subsequent post quotes Rick Remender similarly complaining about Kirkman's double-standard on creator ownership. (EDIT: I originally had a bit here saying that the thread on that first post is worth reading; I am revising my stance. I've already mentioned the best bits of it, plus there are offhand comic spoilers on page 4 and it gets into the usual stupid creators-rights argument starting about page 5.)

Sad that it's come to this, but it HAS always rubbed me the wrong way that Kirkman has gotten up on this soapbox and urged people to leave Marvel and DC and do creator-owned projects, while simultaneously denying his own co-creator any ownership in their property. And this isn't just some dude; this is a guy he's been friends with since they were kids.

At least Moore gets a creator credit on the show. But it's appalling that he's not getting paid for it, and the article makes it sound like he's not even getting much in the way of royalties from the six issues he drew (which, being Vol 1 of the trades, is presumably the one that sells the most copies).

Course, for a guy who grew up idolizing Todd McFarlane and then went on to become an Image partner, it's unfortunately unsurprising that he'd talk up creators' rights out one side of his mouth and deny them with the other.

Thad · « **Reply #65 on:** February 16, 2012, 07:20:01 AM »

I am amused that a sitting-around-talking episode managed to equal the bodycount of the entire season up to that point.

Ted Belmont · « **Reply #66 on:** February 16, 2012, 06:07:56 PM »

Quote from: Thad on February 09, 2012, 02:26:15 PM

Minor comic spoilers: [spoiler]Rick in the current comics is an awful lot like Shane in the TV show; it just took him a lot longer to get there. The change was gradual. But he's reached a point where he's utterly ruthless, paranoid, and distrustful of strangers. And he has every reason to be, because when he's trusted people in the past, it's gone horribly wrong -- but it's still jarring, and often hard to empathize with.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Looks like it's not taking nearly as long in the TV show![/spoiler]

Thad · « **Reply #67 on:** February 16, 2012, 08:28:43 PM »

[spoiler]Nah, guy was reaching for his gun; Rick was just quicker. Like the original version of the Greedo scene.[/spoiler]

More specific, recent comic spoilers: [spoiler]In the comic he straight up knocked a dude out, tied him up, dragged him back to their enclave, and locked him up -- and the guy said he was from a nearby group and wanted to open up trade. Granted, he'd had an altercation with Abraham and Michonne by that point, but they started it.[/spoiler]

At any rate, Rick was perfectly reasonable in the TV show.

Thad · « **Reply #68 on:** March 10, 2012, 09:54:37 AM »

Contrasting the latest episode of the show with the latest issue of the comic is damned interesting, as the linchpin of each is Carl sneaking in to talk to a tied-up prisoner. And while the show [spoiler]ends with him urging Rick to shoot the guy[/spoiler], the comic [spoiler]has him declare that he's all right -- complete with "Don't worry, Dad, if he was a bad guy I would have shot him."[/spoiler] In the show, Carl's reaction leads Rick to [spoiler]take a long hard look at what he's doing to his son and back down[/spoiler], while in the comic Carl's reaction [spoiler]convinces Jesus that Rick must be all right, to raise a son like this in a world like that[/spoiler].

My first thought was that this seems wrong, for Carl to be [spoiler]so callous so early[/spoiler] on the show and [spoiler]so compassionate so late[/spoiler] in the comic. But really, it makes for a fairly strong character arc -- Carl [spoiler]begins to surrender to the darkness of the show, and Rick pulls him back from the brink and teaches him to be compassionate again[/spoiler].

Thad · « **Reply #69 on:** March 14, 2012, 08:09:33 AM »

Well, that was simultaneously 12 episodes later, 6 episodes later, and 1 episode earlier than I expected it.

Major spoilers for something that just happened on TV show/happened much earlier and slightly differently in the comic follow.

I do not like that [spoiler]Carl didn't kill Shane. Killing Just-Revived Zombie Shane is not the same thing.[/spoiler]

And I've already commented on how the [spoiler]"everybody's a carrier"[/spoiler] thing doesn't make any damn sense considering the cars full of non-zombie corpses at the beginning of the season. (Which, themselves, did not make any damn sense. How did those people die, just sitting in their cars?)

Also: do any of the writers remember that Jenner whispered something in Rick's ear last season? Because Rick seemed pretty surprised by [spoiler]Lori's pregnancy[/spoiler] and [spoiler]people turning into zombies without being bitten[/spoiler], which seemed like the two likeliest things for Jenner to have whispered in his ear.

Also also: so okay. Shane's plan was [spoiler]to frame Randall for killing Rick, and then claim he'd killed Randall afterward[/spoiler]. So why, then, did he [spoiler]take Rick somewhere completely different from where he'd left Randall's corpse[/spoiler]? While, for fuck's sake, [spoiler]sending the best tracker in the group on Randall's trail[/spoiler]? I don't think that's a sign of Shane getting sloppy, I think it's a sign of a last-minute rewrite so that they could have a big Ninja Gaiden-style showdown in a big open field, logic and consistency be damned.

Anyhow, one to go.

Predictions:

They will get chased off the farm. Because they have been on the farm too fucking long, and, having already exhausted the other thing I thought would be a perfect Season Finale Cliffhanger, getting chased off the farm seems like the other best choice.

Prior to Sunday's episode, I would have predicted that Rick was going to let Randall go and Randall was going to run back to his group and bring them straight to the farm -- once again proving that Shane Is Always Right. And that, furthermore, Merle would be with Randall's group.

I no longer expect that to happen. Now I think they'll just get chased off the farm by zombies.

Mongrel · « **Reply #70 on:** March 14, 2012, 09:46:10 AM »

I think it's pretty funny that while I haven't read the books and haven't seen the show, I sure as hell know about the non-zombie corpse-filled cars because just about everybody I know who has watched the show constantly mentions them.

Thad · « **Reply #71 on:** March 14, 2012, 10:31:23 AM »

I mean, it's looking at this point like it was just a fuckup. Per Wikipedia, that episode was written by Ardeth Bey and Robert Kirkman; I think we can rule out Kirkman as the guy who made a massive continuity mistake with the lore. Alternately, it could be the fault of directors Ernest Dickerson and Gwyneth Horder-Payton; could be they just added nonsensical dead bodies for atmosphere.

Per the "What did Jenner whisper?" question, that episode was written by Adam Fierro and Frank Darabont, who are both off the show now. So yeah, I think that's probably just abandoned too.

Saturn · « **Reply #72 on:** March 18, 2012, 06:18:44 PM »

The whisper became relevant in the season finale.

Not saying any more because I can't remember if its aired for you non Eastern time people

Friday · « **Reply #73 on:** March 18, 2012, 06:51:10 PM »

[spoiler]Yeah, I was gonna say, they've been building up the "this guy is dead, and a zombie, but I don't see any bites, huh" angle for awhile now. If I had to guess, I'd say the bodies in cars and Rick being surprised by bodies without bites turning into zombies were the fuck ups, and Jenner's whisper is gonna be "everyone has the virus."

Keep in mind when Rick asked Jenner if he found anything in the blood tests, Jenner's reply was "nothing unexpected" or somesuch.

I mean, Shane popped up as a zombie like 2 seconds after being stabbed. He obviously already had the virus.[/spoiler]

anyway, season finale airs for me in about an hour.

Ted Belmont · « **Reply #74 on:** March 19, 2012, 07:33:00 PM »

[spoiler]At this point, I'm kind of surprised they didn't turn Michonne into yet another white dude.[/spoiler]

Thad · « **Reply #75 on:** March 19, 2012, 08:11:27 PM »

Quote from: Friday on March 18, 2012, 06:51:10 PM

[spoiler]Yeah, I was gonna say, they've been building up the "this guy is dead, and a zombie, but I don't see any bites, huh" angle for awhile now. If I had to guess, I'd say the bodies in cars and Rick being surprised by bodies without bites turning into zombies were the fuck ups, and Jenner's whisper is gonna be "everyone has the virus."[/spoiler]

I'd say definite yes to the cars being fuckups at this point. As for the other, well, maybe.

Quote from: Friday on March 18, 2012, 06:51:10 PM

[spoiler]I mean, Shane popped up as a zombie like 2 seconds after being stabbed. He obviously already had the virus.[/spoiler]

COMIC SPOILERS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE ABOVE EPISODE SPOILERS: [spoiler]Shane didn't turn immediately in the comic. They had time to bury him. In fact, Rick only found out that everyone was a carrier some dozen issues later, at which point he took off back to the grave to dig him up and shoot him, believing he owed him that much.

I'm still pretty pissed that Carl didn't kill him and didn't even witness Rick doing it. I think that's a serious misstep.[/spoiler]

Anyhow. I would describe the finale largely as a bunch of terrible dialogue saved by really impeccable delivery.

Also, it's interesting to note that, in the entire second season, [spoiler]only 3 important characters actually died. The finale was great for jetissoning a couple Redshirts, but Our Heroes are all safe. In fact, come to think of it, with the addition of Hershel, Maggie, and, in the final moments, Michonne, we broke even on principals.[/spoiler]

RECENT COMIC SPOILERS: [spoiler]In fairness, I can't remember the last time anyone important died in the comic.[/spoiler] That kinda happens in a story like this; you just can't keep up the pace.

Still, hopefully next season will have better pacing than this one.

Oh hey, what's that thing?

...oh. God dammit.

Quote from: Teddy Bearmont on March 19, 2012, 07:33:00 PM

[spoiler]At this point, I'm kind of surprised they didn't turn Michonne into yet another white dude.[/spoiler]

How do you know?

(NOTE: Joking. I've seen the casting announcement.)

Thad · « **Reply #76 on:** October 16, 2012, 08:06:16 AM »

Didn't care for the time jump but at least it lets us cut to the chase on Lori's pregnancy. Other than that it was quite a good episode. I think the diverging plotlines are a good idea and it looks like they're going to get us to Woodbury a whole lot quicker.

(I am thinking the (comic spoilers) [spoiler]Michonne gets raped for two issues[/spoiler] subplot might get dropped entirely, or at least significantly toned down. In addition to the obvious reasons, there's the simple fact that we just met her and it's all wrong from a character development standpoint.)

Ending was a surprise. I'm predicting that (episode spoilers) [spoiler]Hershel lives, at least long enough to deliver the baby[/spoiler] but that's not at all certain. (Comic spoilers) [spoiler]They DID amputate a leg around this point in the comic but it wasn't Hershel's, it was another character who they appear to have skipped over, and he didn't survive.)[/spoiler]

Good job on keeping the action and tension high. Most of the drama was serviceable -- though really they still haven't done much of anything to make Lori likeable -- and the bad bits were short, at least.

So far so good. Hoping this season moves along quicker than the last one.

Friday · « **Reply #77 on:** November 15, 2012, 03:22:09 PM »

Caught up on the first 5 eps of s3.

Welp.

[spoiler]Token black guy finally dies (no worries, they picked up another), Lori dies. Rick GOES CRAZY and gets a phone call.[/spoiler]

Meanwhile, in Woodbury, Andrea continues to be a dumbshit.

I hear she's one of the favorites for fans of the comic, but my god, I just couldn't care less about her dumb ass. It's like her thing is she just sides with the villain of the season.

Overall the pacing is about 4572570927164% better than s2, so I'm happy.

Friday · « **Reply #78 on:** November 15, 2012, 03:27:53 PM »

I think that's my main problem with this series.

I just do not give a shit about these characters.

The exceptions would be Dale and Daryl, and Dale is dead. :(

Thad · « **Reply #79 on:** November 24, 2012, 12:56:30 PM »

Well, I'm still a week behind, but so's this thread, so.

Some really monumental acting from Rick and Maggie at the end of 04. Yes, [spoiler]"No no no" and falling on the ground[/spoiler] is a massive cliche -- that, as much as anything, is why it's so impressive to see such a raw, unique spin on it.

Quote from: Friday on November 15, 2012, 03:22:09 PM

Meanwhile, in Woodbury, Andrea continues to be a dumbshit.

I hear she's one of the favorites for fans of the comic, but my god, I just couldn't care less about her dumb ass. It's like her thing is she just sides with the villain of the season.

TV Andrea is not recognizable as Comic Book Andrea, aside from name, dead sister, and blond hair.

Comic Book Andrea is about a decade younger, a sharpshooter who can make good on the threat "First one to move a finger loses it", and falls in love with Dale.

Really the only character from the comic who's been changed more substantially for the TV show is Carol, who, spoilers for things that happened like 6 years ago in the comic and will almost certainly not happen on the TV show, [spoiler]gets pretty emotionally unstable, sleeps with everybody, proposes a poly relationship with Rick and Lori, and eventually commits suicide by making out with a zombie[/spoiler].

Quote from: Friday on November 15, 2012, 03:27:53 PM

The exceptions would be Dale and Daryl, and Dale is dead. :(

No love for Michonne?

I gotta say I like most of the cast -- Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Hershel -- and this season has done a solid job of having Carl step up and start turning into a certifiable badass instead of just the kid who wanders off and does stupid shit.

(In the comics he is both. As you may gather from the cover of the latest issue where he is holding a machine gun.)

Again, haven't watched last week's episode, but I can't help noticing the absence of two bodies.

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Author Topic: The Walking Dead: The TV Show (Read 9491 times)