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Why I Disliked The Walking Dead

I was a little late getting around to seeing The Walking Dead.  The reviews I read called it one of the best series to ever hit cable television.  So I'm thinking The Wire, Dexter, The Shield and the first two seasons of the Sopranos level stuff.  Hell, I'll even throw in True Blood, because the episodes I watched (maybe three) were actually fun.  So I get the first DVD which contains the first four episodes out of six.  I watched all four straight through and this is what I came away with,

First off, let me state that I am a horror film fanatic and recently I've seen some truly crazy stuff, like Inside, Calviare and The Woman.  As far as Zombie flicks, I've seen all the classics, such as the Romero, Fulci and the new wave of Zombie films that have added humor, such as Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. So I have something to base it on.  So I was pretty excited to see this series.  And then I watched.

The first episode does what no other series has ever done in it's history.  There is no explanation, there are serious continuity issues and there is lack of star power.  I don't mean this because there are no big name actors, but because there are no roles that jump out.  The main character is almost a subtext in the opener and this is a fatal flaw, because I need to care about this character.  Unlike a movie, where you know everything will be wrapped up in 90-120 minutes, I needed to know this was the guy the series would revolve around and I needed to like or hate him.  There are so many characters you're introduced to that you quickly realize who is going to make it to the second season by the second episode. Another fatal flaw, because in horror, it's what's unexpected that makes for the thrills and chills.

By the end of the fourth episode, which ironically has the most "action," I found myself completely uninterested.  The people who die are such obvious choices and there bit roles are slightly enhanced, right before they are disposed of.  Too cliche and too obvious. As the screen faded to black and there was the dumbest line of the series, which is another reason it failed me.  The script, something even in the silliest of movies, has no tension, no humor, no lust, nothing.  There is no character that jumps out and takes the reins and this is the final flaw.  After about three and a half hours of this, I had decided to retire from watching the rest.  Maybe I'm missing out on the world's greatest second season, but I'll never know.  I'm not going to invest that much time, when I have Snowtown Murders and Deadfall waiting in the wings.

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