OK, time for a little confessional. (Potential spoilers inside.)
I love “The Walking Deadâ€. While I have never read the comic series (I’m not into comics. Sue me), I love the set-up and delivery that the show has put out. I mean, seriously, who ever thought a serious character-based drama involving zombies would ever be basic cable’s highest rated show? HBO or Showtime maybe, but not basic cable. The effects are good, the characters are decently fleshed out (For the most part. Don’t get me started on Andrea) and it has held my interest through two full seasons, and almost halfway through the third.
Begin Rant number one
On a side note, Lauren Cohen (Maggie) is crotch-meltingly hot and is one of the best actors of the ensemble. Why in the bloody hell isn’t she a better known name? Please, Hollywood. Cast her in bigger things. Hell, if Katherine Heigl can have a career, then Lauren Cohen should be a damned Oscar winner. Let’s make this happen.
End rant
TWD is in the middle of the third season, and if media accounts are to be believed, the shows’ ratings and popularity have never been higher. The shows’ writers have upped the ante, and really tried to go balls to the wall this year, killing off some major characters and really fucking up the minds of others. Some of my friends, who have read the comic religiously, tell me the show is doing a fantastic job of keeping to the spirit of the comic, while at the same time deviating from it in creative ways. As a confirmed Zombie junkie, this should be my favorite show ever.
So why am I losing interest?
Yeah, I said it. I am quickly losing interest in a show that I should be absolutely devoted to. The first two seasons were a novelty. A zombie show? On television? And that it’s actually well acted and well-written?? I never thought I would see that. I felt Rick’s pain, and watched him try to re-connect with his family. The character arcs were well-developed. Yeah, it was a little talky in places, but it was fascinating and the drama (plus the cool zombie effects) sucked me right in.
So what went wrong?
In season three, it feels like the attention and care put into the writing has disappeared. I can’t tell if the writers are trying TOO hard to maintain the shows’ success, or not hard enough. There is something missing from this new season, but I can’t put my finger on it. Everything just feels forced. Rick has morphed into a hardened badass, walking the line between hero and douchebag (and often tripping over it). His character has gone from likeable to grimace-inducing. Lori (award winner for lousiest wife since, well, anyone on WIFE SWAP) was, thankfully, put out of the audiences’ misery about four episodes in.
Begin Rant number two
On another side note, who in the hell thought it was a good idea to bring a baby into the world during the zombie apocalypse? Seriously, people? Why not just set off an air horn at two hour intervals? Are you trying to get eaten? Morons.
End rant
New characters come across as stiff caricatures. Michonne (wildly popular in the comics) comes across as a grumpy badass with no subtext. OK, I get it. She is a badass who keeps armless and jawless zombies as pets on a chain, and she can become an instant ginsu knife with her katana. But where did she come from? Who is she? Part of the charm of the show is watching a character grow into a certain mold, like we did with Glen and Daryl. I don’t have the same connection with Michonne.
As far as the Governor is concerned, let’s just not go there. From what I hear, the Governor is supposed to be the best of the comics’ bad guys, and if this is the case, then I wonder how the comic lasted as long as it did. The Governor, as portrayed in the show, comes across as a stale and generic heavy, about as menacing as a high school science teacher. His scenes with Andrea have zero chemistry, and I wonder why a psychopath like Merle (one of the better drawn characters, brought back for season three) would take orders from him. His scenes completely halt any sort of narrative flow that the episodes can muster, and that can’t happen if he is supposed to be a main character.
Maybe I’m just feeling a little out of whack, and the show can regain its magic once it comes back from its mid-season hiatus. I don’t watch a lot of TV, and I would like to see this through to the shows’ conclusion. But, as it sits right now, I don’t know if I can.
As one who’ve read the comics, your rants are more than justified. What your mates who’ve read the comics haven’t told you, the half-hearted attempt to stay true to the comic is what’s making the show so bad. In the comic, you see Ricks evolution into a badass, but you don’t see it in the show, because they cut so much out. Regarding the Governer, many comic readers expected Merle to become the Governor, as his character is more in line with the Governor of the comics. Michonne’s character on the show is very true to the comic, where Kirkland slowly builds depth to the character. Michonne has very few line throughout the comic. All in all, you are correct. AMC’s TWD’s novelty is wearing off and its easy to see it for what it is.
In contrast TellTale Games TWD game has a completely different story than the comics yet is being praised for it awesome storytelling and fleshed out characters. I guarantee more tears have been shed for characters of the game than those of the TV show.