The Shrine

Worst fears came true: the show has been AMC'd to death. I really, really hope it's a one-off and they get back on track next ep. I couldn't have come up with a worst first ep of season 2 if I tried....

Watching it later tonight... Here's hoping for another AMC show I disagree with you about :P

Dips into mediocrity are par for the course if it's staying true to the spirit of the comic heh

Edit: I liked it for the most part and it kind of gives even more of a middle finger to the source material which definitely helps me keep interest. More decent survival horror moments with nuggets of drama of varying quality thrown in. Compared to last season it's more like episodes 1-5 than 6, thank god. For the most part I like the direction it's taking but So far other than a goofy effect of the RV driving in the distance of an empty Atlanta highway, the hit on the budget isn't noticeable.

Still.. from episode one alone I'm going to still say this is probably the best drama that's (on my radar) currently airing new episodes right now

I enjoyed it thoroughly...except for the crapton of commercials!

I found the episode horribly boring and uninteresting.

Aw man, c'mon guys. The charm of the show is that this is what it would feel like to be in this situation for the average american, minus maybe some of the love drama. This episode portrayed that pretty well. If you want the group to quickly find a military compound or occupied city so the government can take over and cure the whole world then go watch Independence Day or something. This is one show where slow pace and slow group movement is very interesting and necessary.

P.S. I am taking the opposite side compared to the GoT topic. I have not read the comic at all and started the series last year first episode. My opinion is entirely show based and speculation.

This almost certainly won't be a show involving resolution or learning the why of the zombie situation. It's about survival. If you want more you may want to get out now

Shellie wrote:I enjoyed it thoroughly...except for the crapton of commercials!

There was actually a 15-minute stretch in the last half hour which went like this:

- 3 minute commercial break
- 7 minutes of show
- 5 minute commercial break

My cuz's and I were shocked but two of confirmed that it was a full 5 minutes. THat means in a 15-minute span, you had more commercial than show. From now on, this is a download to me, I hate shit like that

I liked the episode... I just have trouble with the writer logic at some points. Two walkers and he has to bring them on some long chase before he handily dispatches them? Or the final scene with the buck.... just stupid.

The writers shouldn't have to stretch so hard for plot points, they basically have carte blanche. If these are plot points specific to the comic book, I see no reason not to change and make them more sensible for the medium (since, as I understand it, they aren't even following the comic that closely -- I have never read the books).

Ha, i totally agree. He could have easily dispatched of those two walkers at anytime, it turns out. Rock to the head, win. Why did he need to lead them away from the girl? Dumb. Also, the fact that the old man was on top of the van, WITH BINOCULARS, and yet he didnt see the herd of walkers until they were 20 yards away? I liked the end of the episode and am curious where that leads, never saw it coming.

Makes sense that after being shot and laying in hospital for a very long time he wouldn't be in peak physical shape to take out two zombies at once with a rock, especially since he had to finish them off once he got them down. Taking them on by surprise and on his own terms was pretty smart. What doesn't make sense is them already not carrying melee weapons.
How do that many people with camping gear in fucking Georgia not have at least a half dozen machetes and hatchets. My friend from GA brought two machetes and a hatchet when we were camping ALONE. FOR TWO PEOPLE.


And yes, there wasn't even a highway, let's lie under cars, oh no the girl's gone! scene in the comic. That does happen to Carl in the book though.

Some time has passed since the hospital. No one ever mentions it as an excuse of any kind and he's always taking point with the Boondock Saints guy. It's not even an issue in any way anymore, it's just poor writing to create a crisis where there is none

Episode 2 scared me a bit with it's Lost-like intro, but it certainly didn't feel like a 20-min ep stretched out into 70. Felt more like last years' eps so here's hope the show only received a temporary AMC-ing

Good set up for the next episode which looks like actual fun stuff will happen rather than an episode that felt like it was half hospital drama.

This latest episode was another example of horrible spacial awareness, but I did like the episode. Just like when the old guy didnt see the zombie herd until they were right on top of everyone on the highway, I chuckled at the scene when Shane and the fat guy were creeping behind cars in front of the school. After going from car to car, Shane says, "OK, lets take a look." and they pop their heads up, only to find like 40 zombies within fart smelling distance.

Flip wrote:This latest episode was another example of horrible spacial awareness, but I did like the episode. Just like when the old guy didnt see the zombie herd until they were right on top of everyone on the highway, I chuckled at the scene when Shane and the fat guy were creeping behind cars in front of the school. After going from car to car, Shane says, "OK, lets take a look." and they pop their heads up, only to find like 40 zombies within fart smelling distance.

They're super-stealthy, newly-showered zombies. Ain't no way you can hear or smell them

Well when your primary activity is standing motionless there isn't a lot of noise being made.

Shrinweck wrote:Well when your primary activity is standing motionless there isn't a lot of noise being made.

I've seen enough zombie movies to know that:

a) they smell (rotting flesh and all)
b) they drag their feet when they walk
c) they moan

They're not just standing there doing nothing

If nothing has their attention they're not moving quickly enough to make noise. These zombies also don't moan unless they're attacking. The smell of the dead would be everywhere in populated areas.

The end of episode 3 was rather predictable, I saw that coming a mile away.

I do sorta like the direction it's going. There for a while on season 1, it looks like they were trying to ride the 50-foot wave as long as they could with hundreds of thousands of dollars on writers and praying to god that they didn't have to fall down the 50-foot cliff.

I don't get why they can't just borrow from the source material more. I mean, if the comic is that good that you would model a show after it, why spend six-figure salaries on top-class writers? Sure, you need some more dialogue on top of the comic story, but no need to re-write the whole thing.

I did like that:

Yeah it's in the comic. And the comic isn't really that great as source material. If it was following the source material, the great stuff would be ending pretty soon. Last season I was moaning about it not following the source material more but they showed me that what they're doing is alternatively good, even if sometimes it isn't as well written (ugh, the CDC stuff didn't need to happen). If this show lasts a couple more seasons, I'll most likely be extremely happy it isn't following the source material.

Although the sooner (book spoiler. don't read this, I'm warning you) happier I'll be.