Liverpool FC Forum

by **metalhead** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:00 am

so there is only 6 episodes in the first season? that sucks

by **laza** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:24 am

Does seem rather strange for American production to be only six episodes long.

Thankfully they got green light for 2nd one

by **tubby** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:21 pm

Anyone watch that Frankie Boyles Tramadol nights yesterday? Quality! :laugh:

'So the Pope thinks condoms won't stop the spread of HIV. Somebody tell the fuc.ker hes putting em on wrong'. :laugh:

by **tubby** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:22 pm

Oh yeah and new Peep show was fkn great too! They do well to keep it funny after all these years. I've seen Friday's ep already too, that guy in a coma wakes up and gives Jeremy a job.

by **Red-er-Dare** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 11:30 pm

Walking dead, Justified, true blood are good.

by **Emerald Red** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 5:59 pm

laza wrote:Does seem rather strange for American production to be only six episodes long.

Thankfully they got green light for 2nd one

Yeah, already knew about the second season, but that was expected. However, somewhere along the line in pre-production, someone must not have been too confident of this and decided to give it just a trial of 6 episodes. Either that, or they had budget contraints. AMC recently just axed Rubicon after just one series. Sure it was slow, but it was bloody interesting stuff, and the overall revelation of the plot at the end had serious potential, so to see that getting axed p*ssed me off, but something tells me it was canned to fund the second series of TWD. Another reason could be that Darabont wanted to wait until winter to start filming for the snow sections in the story to the comic. 6 episodes, though: that's a criminal decision seeing that the last episode took a detour from the comic's plot.

by **dawson99** » Mon Dec 06, 2010 9:11 pm

episiode 5 without giving anything away, awesome use of music!!!! John Murphy, Surface of the sun, from Sunshine and Kickass

by **tonyeh** » Tue Dec 07, 2010 6:23 pm

Warning Contains spoilers of all episodes.

The Walking Dead has been very good, but it suffered from a number of issues. It strayed WAYYYY off the source material too much for my liking. That would have been ok if the writing was as good as the comic, but it generally wasn't.

There are some TERRIBLE characters in it. Bog standard cliches like Merle (The Racist Southern White Trash Cut Out) and Daryl (The Racist Southern White Trash Cut Out's Brother)*, plus T-Dog (Gansta Rappa Guy With A Stupid Fresh Name) and some nameless do-nothing (Southern White Trash Who Beats His Wife Guy).

There are wayyyy too many characters in it too. Equity card members there to make up some numbers and who are instantly forgettable. The Latino family that just drives off in Ep5. WTF was the point in writing those people into the script? And the Black woman who choses to die in the end in the CDC building. I don't even remember her name! She did feck all.

And there just wasn't enough zombies in the show. A lot of the time I got the impression that this zombie apocalypse was that bad. The zombies were only a threat so long as the script called for it. There's significant areas where there are none at all.

The major problem was the series length. 6 episodes? That's alright for a comedy program like 'The IT Crowd' or something, but this deserved a much longer run. A post apocalypic zombie massacre...and producers were afraid it wouldn't be a hit? What the hell planet are they on?

*He does get better as the series goes on.

by **dawson99** » Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:17 pm

The Walking dead is based on the graphic novel. and the show was on HBO. And it got the 2nd season more or less straight away... anyways, episode 5... when they are driving away, the awesome music was also used in Sunshine and KickAss:

John Murphy is awesome

by **Emerald Red** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:56 am

tonyeh wrote:Warning Contains spoilers of all episodes.

The Walking Dead has been very good, but it suffered from a number of issues. It strayed WAYYYY off the source material too much for my liking. That would have been ok if the writing was as good as the comic, but it generally wasn't.

There are some TERRIBLE characters in it. Bog standard cliches like Merle (The Racist Southern White Trash Cut Out) and Daryl (The Racist Southern White Trash Cut Out's Brother)*, plus T-Dog (Gansta Rappa Guy With A Stupid Fresh Name) and some nameless do-nothing (Southern White Trash Who Beats His Wife Guy).

There are wayyyy too many characters in it too. Equity card members there to make up some numbers and who are instantly forgettable. The Latino family that just drives off in Ep5. WTF was the point in writing those people into the script? And the Black woman who choses to die in the end in the CDC building. I don't even remember her name! She did feck all.

And there just wasn't enough zombies in the show. A lot of the time I got the impression that this zombie apocalypse was that bad. The zombies were only a threat so long as the script called for it. There's significant areas where there are none at all.

The major problem was the series length. 6 episodes? That's alright for a comedy program like 'The IT Crowd' or something, but this deserved a much longer run. A post apocalypic zombie massacre...and producers were afraid it wouldn't be a hit? What the hell planet are they on?

*He does get better as the series goes on.

Agree with the gripe about not enough episodes. Everything else in your post, NO!

The writing in the comic better? You could condense about 6 issues of the comic books and it still wouldn't be half an hour of the TV show. Even though the writing wobbled at times (evident since Darabont sacked the entire writing staff) it was far better than Kirkman's efforts (who's pacing in the comics is often terrible) especially the pilot, which was written by Darabont.

Not enough zombies? The show, and the comics, is not particularly about zombies. It's about the survivors and how they cope in that kind of environment. The show had more or less the same big set-piece scenes as the comics did, plus they expanded on them. It didn't diverge from the comic like you make out. The same things happen, only in a different context to flesh out the show. It didn't stray way of course at all. Darabont merely added logical plotlines to the story, like the CDC in the final episode. The CDC is in Atlanta, and seeing they were looking answers to what was going on, this would be the first place a survivor would go knowing it was there. Had the TV show stuck exactly, page for page to the books, then we'd be at the Governor by now already.

Poor characters? Again, the subject material is from a comic. They're paper thin, literally. Kirman himself has admited that he wishes he could go back and write Daryl into the books. TWD is set in the deep south - notrious hick country; notorious for racism. A show needs it's villains and anti-heroes. I actually hope that he (Daryl) survives and stays in the show, because Norman Reedus did an excellent job on the character. Agree with T-Dog. Daft name, but doesn't annoy me too much. In either case, half of these characters are in the show to get eaten. So if you don't like them, hope they get chomped.

6 episodes was nowhere near enough for a first season. But thankfully another 13 are being made, and I reckon another 13 after that, because after Atlanta, things get interesting.

by **tonyeh** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 12:24 pm

The writing in the comic better? You could condense about 6 issues of the comic books and it still wouldn't be half an hour of the TV show. Even though the writing wobbled at times (evident since Darabont sacked the entire writing staff) it was far better than Kirkman's efforts (who's pacing in the comics is often terrible) especially the pilot, which was written by Darabont.

The writing in the TV show was, at times, bad. I'm not saying it uniformly awful, but aside from the pilot, it really wasn't that great. Evident, as you say yourself, in the director/producer firing the entire writing staff at the end of 6 episodes. It certainly wasn't a highpoint of the show. That's not to say I didn't enjoy 'The Walking Dead', I just feel that the writing could have been handled much better. Maybe with the second series, it'll improve as they have 13 episodes to expand on.

I don't know a lot about comics, as I don't read them much. But, I have read a few and often they're not my "cup of tea". But Kirkman's effort has been the only thing in that type of field that has kept my interest fully, over years and that's because of the writing. It's generally intelligent, gripping and you never certain who is safe and who isn't. There is some bad moments in the comic's storyline too, such as the scene where they douse themselves in zombie gore and walk among the living dead. That was one moment that the TV show could have left out, because it was stupid in the comic and it's equally so in the series. But, the writing, in general is way better than the show. But, we'll just not agree on this.

Not enough zombies? The show, and the comics, is not particularly about zombies. It's about the survivors and how they cope in that kind of environment. The show had more or less the same big set-piece scenes as the comics did, plus they expanded on them. It didn't diverge from the comic like you make out. The same things happen, only in a different context to flesh out the show. It didn't stray way of course at all. Darabont merely added logical plotlines to the story, like the CDC in the final episode. The CDC is in Atlanta, and seeing they were looking answers to what was going on, this would be the first place a survivor would go knowing it was there. Had the TV show stuck exactly, page for page to the books, then we'd be at the Governor by now already.

I keep hearing this bunk that it's not about zombies...well that's just bollox, to be frank. It's set in a GLOBAL ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. Of course it's about feckin zombies. That doesn't mean it's ONLY about them, though. My point about the lack of zombies is that without them there's no real threat, is there? Aside from Rick's entry into the city and his brief stop-over at Morgan's gaff in the pilot episode, there didn't really seem to be that many about. It gave the impression that society wouldn't really have collapsed that quickly and one could hold up with relative safety. Sure, there are large areas in the comic where no zombies appear for ages and the title refers to the survivors as much as it does the zombies, but having just 6 eps and that few zombies is equivalent of making 'The Pacific' and not showing the war! I'll chalk it up to budget constraints and hopefully, the next series will up the ante.

As for straying off course, it did. The story arcs in the series are different a number of times and unnecessarily so. The 'Vatos' episode and the CDC story are prime examples. Also, the surplus characters were completely useless. The CDC thing is forgivable enough and yes it's a logical plotline, but I think it was written badly again. Janner locking down everyone, leading to a hackneyed "race against time to get out of the building" just wasn't convincing. It played out in a silly fashion, even though I understand that they needed to go out with a bang, as it were.

Poor characters? Again, the subject material is from a comic. They're paper thin, literally. Kirman himself has admited that he wishes he could go back and write Daryl into the books. TWD is set in the deep south - notrious hick country; notorious for racism. A show needs it's villains and anti-heroes. I actually hope that he (Daryl) survives and stays in the show, because Norman Reedus did an excellent job on the character. Agree with T-Dog. Daft name, but doesn't annoy me too much. In either case, half of these characters are in the show to get eaten. So if you don't like them, hope they get chomped.

The surplus characters are poor. The ones I pointed out. The main ones are handled well enough, but I get the feeling that Rick will be turned into an untouchable, unlike the comic. Lori and Shane will probably stick around well past their comic "knock off date" too and that soap opera triangle will be dragged out til the dying second, whereas it was resolved tightly in the comic and everyone moved on to better things. But the thin sketches, like Merle ( a wasted Michael Rooker), unknown black woman who blows up in the end, the Latino family who just feck off mid way and the preposterously named T-Dawg were absolutely useless. Utterly pointless characters so far. They didn't even GET eaten! Merle probably returns in Series 2, hopefully NOT as "The Govenor", but his inclusion is sort of silly at this stage and his bog standard "Southern white trash racist" is TERRIBLE writing. I agree, Daryl is turning into a decent character as the series progresses, but he's the ONLY one of the newbees that was in any way, well written and who's inclusion made sense.

6 episodes was nowhere near enough for a first season. But thankfully another 13 are being made, and I reckon another 13 after that, because after Atlanta, things get interesting.

Agreed and why AMC reduced it to such a small run is beyond me. Even 13 episodes is not enough running time.

All in all, while I am critical of parts of the show, I am enjoying it. It's easily the best thing on TV for a long, long time. But I am somewhat biased as I like zombie movies anyway.

by **Emerald Red** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:36 pm

It is true, though: the series is not all about zombies. If the show was all about zombies, then there'd be only so much you can do with that. The zombies only act and behave in one way, every time, all the time. If the show and the comics were to be just about the living dead, then it would be constant brain splattering, flesh-eating antics that wouldn't end. It would be all about the gore and not the character development and the situations the survivors find themselves in; the things they need to do to survive.

Rick won't become a background character like you fear. He'll be at the forefront continuously. He's not a super hero or anything like that. He's just a normal fella that does brave things reluctantly to keep his family safe, but it's the changes in him as the series progresses that makes him a compelling character, and one that will end up making the show great should it continue on that far. Currently we are seeing the humane Rick Grimes. Later his humanity becomes so blurred that you don't know if he's turning into a bad guy or what. He has to do some fairly terrible things and it changes him drastically. Again, the later story in the comic is not about the zombies. It's all about the survivors and the things they do to one another. It's about the changes in people. The Governor is an example that people are more dangerous to the living than what the dead are.

Personally, I found the first 6 of the series to be almost what I expected it to be. The writing in places isn't great, but it's not completely terrible either. Not anywhere near as bad as some of the critics make out. It's the most entertaining thing on TV IMO, and that's what matters in the end. The second series should be a real belter. The special effects crew - KNB - are going to have their work cut out for them.

by **Dundalk** » Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:42 pm

Glad to see Peep Show back on...and im really getting into Breaking Bad, it started slow but its a quality show

by **RED BEERGOGGLES** » Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:50 pm

Usually cant abide the man ...but at 13:30 pm on ITV 2 Jeremy Kyle in Lapland is all about making Kids with serious illnesses dreams come true ,the Lad who cant go to Anfield with his affliction is so moving it has to be seen ...needless to say he takes him to Anfield and Melwood and he meets all the players .... the Wife was crying her eyes out watching it ....

Jeremy Kyle christmas special

by **Emerald Red** » Mon Dec 27, 2010 5:43 pm

Anyone watch Sons of Anarchy?

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