"Mmm....BRAINS!"
August 24, 2010 11:36 AM Subscribe
Ok, so that "can't be viewed from [my] current country or location", so is there an unauthorized source somewhere?
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:40 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
I give it thirty minutes after the pilot until the LiveJournal servers literally explode from the combined force of a million Don Draper/Rick Grimes slashfics published at once.
posted by griphus at 11:44 AM on August 24, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by griphus at 11:44 AM on August 24, 2010 [6 favorites]
Man, I can't wait for this.
posted by brundlefly at 11:45 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by brundlefly at 11:45 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oh man. Two immediate thoughts:
1. I really hope they do justice to the comic.
2. Even if it's half as good as the comic, it'll be awesome.
And a bonus 3rd...
3. On AMC? I have high hopes for this.
posted by The Michael The at 11:51 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
1. I really hope they do justice to the comic.
2. Even if it's half as good as the comic, it'll be awesome.
And a bonus 3rd...
3. On AMC? I have high hopes for this.
posted by The Michael The at 11:51 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
I am really, really hoping that Ninja Bill Cosby from Jericho plays Ninja Bill Cosby again, because that is awesome.
He's British, you know.
posted by Artw at 11:54 AM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
He's British, you know.
posted by Artw at 11:54 AM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Does this work for you non-USians? Anyway, I already saw 28 Days Later.
posted by desjardins at 11:58 AM on August 24, 2010
posted by desjardins at 11:58 AM on August 24, 2010
Also, I kind of hope it's just because of the selection bias of the trailer, but the racist imagery in that first clip is pretty disturbing. White rural guy on a horse with a gun saves white women in Atlanta from urban horde of dirty-skinned, brainless monsters?
posted by DU at 11:59 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by DU at 11:59 AM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Anyway, I already saw 28 Days Later.
This comic adaptation is so much more than that. It is epic in scale and I cannot wait for this. w00t.
posted by Fizz at 12:00 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
This comic adaptation is so much more than that. It is epic in scale and I cannot wait for this. w00t.
posted by Fizz at 12:00 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
desjardins,
this is so much more than 28 Days Later.
Think Zombie Survival Guide meets 28 days later, meets World War Z, in long form. It would never have been a good movie, but as a long run television series? Oh, boy, does this ever have some really, really, really good zombie stories.
They mention they have bicycle girl. That alone means they'll be doing the one were one of the survivors gets bitten and they have to leave him behind. They leave him with a gun so he can kill himself just before he turns. It pushes the envelope that Romero started with the first Night of the Living Dead. It's about the psychological effects on the survivors, it's not about the zombies. It's amazing.
posted by daq at 12:02 PM on August 24, 2010 [5 favorites]
this is so much more than 28 Days Later.
Think Zombie Survival Guide meets 28 days later, meets World War Z, in long form. It would never have been a good movie, but as a long run television series? Oh, boy, does this ever have some really, really, really good zombie stories.
They mention they have bicycle girl. That alone means they'll be doing the one were one of the survivors gets bitten and they have to leave him behind. They leave him with a gun so he can kill himself just before he turns. It pushes the envelope that Romero started with the first Night of the Living Dead. It's about the psychological effects on the survivors, it's not about the zombies. It's amazing.
posted by daq at 12:02 PM on August 24, 2010 [5 favorites]
I've seen that a couple of times now and each time it's 'Wow, that guy looks like Egg from This Life...' then I remember it is
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:03 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:03 PM on August 24, 2010
Holy crap. That little girl. Holy crap.
posted by ColdChef at 12:08 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ColdChef at 12:08 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
What's this? The Sopranos? I already saw Goodfellas.
posted by naju at 12:08 PM on August 24, 2010 [19 favorites]
posted by naju at 12:08 PM on August 24, 2010 [19 favorites]
Also, I kind of hope it's just because of the selection bias of the trailer, but the racist imagery in that first clip is pretty disturbing. White rural guy on a horse with a gun saves white women in Atlanta from urban horde of dirty-skinned, brainless monsters?
You're reading too much into it and bringing some baggage with you.
The story is nothing like that. At all.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:09 PM on August 24, 2010 [8 favorites]
You're reading too much into it and bringing some baggage with you.
The story is nothing like that. At all.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:09 PM on August 24, 2010 [8 favorites]
making of vids - Bicycle girl, Zombie school
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:10 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:10 PM on August 24, 2010
Also, I kind of hope it's just because of the selection bias of the trailer, but the racist imagery in that first clip is pretty disturbing. White rural guy on a horse with a gun saves white women in Atlanta from urban horde of dirty-skinned, brainless monsters?
You're reading too much into it and bringing some baggage with you.
Actually you're not reading too much into it at all. The comic book addresses a vast range of issues: rape, paedophilia, abuse, violence, politics, religion, philosophy. It brings to focus these issues utilizing zombies as a vehicle to discuss how humans, how society reacts in extreme situations. I think it's perfectly acceptable to portray this "racist imagery". Just another example of how intelligent and well crafted the comic book and hopefully this series will be.
posted by Fizz at 12:17 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
You're reading too much into it and bringing some baggage with you.
Actually you're not reading too much into it at all. The comic book addresses a vast range of issues: rape, paedophilia, abuse, violence, politics, religion, philosophy. It brings to focus these issues utilizing zombies as a vehicle to discuss how humans, how society reacts in extreme situations. I think it's perfectly acceptable to portray this "racist imagery". Just another example of how intelligent and well crafted the comic book and hopefully this series will be.
posted by Fizz at 12:17 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
So, ColdChef, is this an accurate depiction of human decomposition?
posted by desjardins at 12:17 PM on August 24, 2010 [10 favorites]
posted by desjardins at 12:17 PM on August 24, 2010 [10 favorites]
Also, the zombies are not all black. There are plenty of white zombies, asian zombies, mexican zombies, etc. All ages, shapes, sizes.
posted by Fizz at 12:18 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Fizz at 12:18 PM on August 24, 2010
My point was that neither the books nor the trailer depict the zombies as being the equivalent of "black people" which the white hero must save any women from.
There are many human issues explored in the books and none of them are depicted in this way.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:19 PM on August 24, 2010
There are many human issues explored in the books and none of them are depicted in this way.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:19 PM on August 24, 2010
I was reading some discussion when this trailer leaked out after being shown at a convention or film festival (comic con maybe?).
Some astute viewers (not me) pointed out that the only thing in the trailer not directly from the comics is him on the tank. However, this shot is almost exactly out of the Dead Rising video game.
As a fan of both, I am super excited. I am also very eager to turn my "mad men sunday nights" with the girlfriend into "awesome zombie action sunday nights" :)
posted by utsutsu at 12:22 PM on August 24, 2010
Some astute viewers (not me) pointed out that the only thing in the trailer not directly from the comics is him on the tank. However, this shot is almost exactly out of the Dead Rising video game.
As a fan of both, I am super excited. I am also very eager to turn my "mad men sunday nights" with the girlfriend into "awesome zombie action sunday nights" :)
posted by utsutsu at 12:22 PM on August 24, 2010
Does this work for you non-USians?
Nope, doesn't work. Sigh.
posted by sveskemus at 12:25 PM on August 24, 2010
Nope, doesn't work. Sigh.
posted by sveskemus at 12:25 PM on August 24, 2010
The comic has several non-white characters who are at least equal to the white characters in terms of importance, competence, psychological complexity, pretty much everything.
Okay, there's one that might get feminists ginned up about the badass action chick archetype. But to suggest that the material displays some kind of racial insensitivity or has a racial agenda is just ignorant.
posted by Naberius at 12:25 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Okay, there's one that might get feminists ginned up about the badass action chick archetype. But to suggest that the material displays some kind of racial insensitivity or has a racial agenda is just ignorant.
posted by Naberius at 12:25 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm looking forward to this; the comic is depressing as hell, I hope the show can be reasonable faithful to the comic but still make me want to watch the show without putting a bullet in my head.
And I'm glad to see Frank Darabont is involved. I love his work and I hope this will make up for the last five minutes of "The Mist".
posted by beowulf573 at 12:27 PM on August 24, 2010
And I'm glad to see Frank Darabont is involved. I love his work and I hope this will make up for the last five minutes of "The Mist".
posted by beowulf573 at 12:27 PM on August 24, 2010
My point was that neither the books nor the trailer depict the zombies as being the equivalent of "black people" which the white hero must save any women from.
I understand what you are saying. But the adaptation has a fairly strict narrative to follow. This story features a young white man with a family. That's a big part of the comic book narrative and the show as well. The narrative intentionally raises issues of race and bigotry, and etc. Will this show present some racist characters and/or view points we disagree with. Of course, that's the point.
posted by Fizz at 12:27 PM on August 24, 2010
I understand what you are saying. But the adaptation has a fairly strict narrative to follow. This story features a young white man with a family. That's a big part of the comic book narrative and the show as well. The narrative intentionally raises issues of race and bigotry, and etc. Will this show present some racist characters and/or view points we disagree with. Of course, that's the point.
posted by Fizz at 12:27 PM on August 24, 2010
The Michael The: 3. On AMC? I have high hopes for this.
Yeah, I mean, look at how great they did with Rubicon!
(I kid, I kid. Rubicon is crap, but AMC definitely still has a positive net balance.)
Also: flagged as press release filter. Sorry, but a single link to a trailer for a show you won't even explain the basis for? Not a good post. Maybe post trailers for this and Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones and the HBO hour-long about the porn industry, and other upcoming shows, then maybe you'll have something.
posted by paisley henosis at 12:29 PM on August 24, 2010
Yeah, I mean, look at how great they did with Rubicon!
(I kid, I kid. Rubicon is crap, but AMC definitely still has a positive net balance.)
Also: flagged as press release filter. Sorry, but a single link to a trailer for a show you won't even explain the basis for? Not a good post. Maybe post trailers for this and Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones and the HBO hour-long about the porn industry, and other upcoming shows, then maybe you'll have something.
posted by paisley henosis at 12:29 PM on August 24, 2010
And I just moved to a cable-less apartment =(
posted by kkokkodalk at 12:31 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by kkokkodalk at 12:31 PM on August 24, 2010
This trailer might work for the rest of us in the benighted non-American parts of the Internet. (It might not be the actual trailer, though, since I couldn't see the original for comparison...)
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:33 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 12:33 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Also: flagged as press release filter. Sorry, but a single link to a trailer for a show you won't even explain the basis for?
I did not explain the basis for the show because in a post I made myself a few months back, that discussion had already occurred. Hence the 'previously'. link.
posted by Fizz at 12:34 PM on August 24, 2010
I did not explain the basis for the show because in a post I made myself a few months back, that discussion had already occurred. Hence the 'previously'. link.
posted by Fizz at 12:34 PM on August 24, 2010
7 Scientific Reasons a Zombie Outbreak Would Fail (Quickly)
Worth it alone for the imagery that the zombie outbreak would be stopped or severely curtailed ... by Labrador retrievers.
Now imagine zombie hordes wandering Africa. Between lions and cape buffalo (and hippos, and rhinos, and elephants), we'd finally have a disease that Africa is better suited than the rest of the world to defend itself against.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:36 PM on August 24, 2010 [7 favorites]
Worth it alone for the imagery that the zombie outbreak would be stopped or severely curtailed ... by Labrador retrievers.
Now imagine zombie hordes wandering Africa. Between lions and cape buffalo (and hippos, and rhinos, and elephants), we'd finally have a disease that Africa is better suited than the rest of the world to defend itself against.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:36 PM on August 24, 2010 [7 favorites]
So... something to do after "High School of the Dead" wraps up, then...
posted by markkraft at 12:36 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by markkraft at 12:36 PM on August 24, 2010
Okay, there's one that might get feminists ginned up about the badass action chick archetype.
At face value, yes, but I think the female characters in the group run the gamut from helpless to capable, as do the men. One of the things I have enjoyed in the story is how people learn that they have completely different strengths and weaknesses in the post-apocalyptic setting.
I also think the character you mentioned is one that we get to know slowly, and who becomes less one-dimensional over time.
Can we have a spoiler-filled discussion somewhere? Is that something that would be MetaTalk appropriate? It seems like this post might get black-holed but I'm enjoying the discussion.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:36 PM on August 24, 2010
At face value, yes, but I think the female characters in the group run the gamut from helpless to capable, as do the men. One of the things I have enjoyed in the story is how people learn that they have completely different strengths and weaknesses in the post-apocalyptic setting.
I also think the character you mentioned is one that we get to know slowly, and who becomes less one-dimensional over time.
Can we have a spoiler-filled discussion somewhere? Is that something that would be MetaTalk appropriate? It seems like this post might get black-holed but I'm enjoying the discussion.
posted by Fleebnork at 12:36 PM on August 24, 2010
Also: flagged as press release filter. Sorry, but a single link to a trailer for a show you won't even explain the basis for? Not a good post.
Also: enjoying the discussion.
Also: getting a very satisfactory ewwwww - yummy sort of tingle!
posted by Jody Tresidder at 12:40 PM on August 24, 2010
Also: enjoying the discussion.
Also: getting a very satisfactory ewwwww - yummy sort of tingle!
posted by Jody Tresidder at 12:40 PM on August 24, 2010
Awe. Some.
posted by eyeballkid at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by eyeballkid at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2010
Geez guys, didn't anybody pay attention during "Zombieland"??? You gotta double-tap 'em.
posted by Mike D at 12:56 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Mike D at 12:56 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Would somebody please me-mail me and remind me about this a little closer to the premier? It looks awesome!! However, I can't remember my children's names half the time and I'll probably for get about it. I rarely have time for much TV (love quality tv, not tv'ist) but I don't want to miss this one. Thanks, love and smooches.
posted by pearlybob at 1:03 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by pearlybob at 1:03 PM on August 24, 2010
The stock gunshot sound effects soured me on the realism angle, but perhaps they're just for the trailer.
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:04 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by schoolgirl report at 1:04 PM on August 24, 2010
I give it thirty minutes after the pilot until the LiveJournal servers literally explode from the combined force of a million Don Draper/Rick Grimes slashfics published at once.
Nobody ever wants to read my fanfic where Lieutenant Fish interrogates Salvatore Tessio. It's Vigoda-on-Vigoda!
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:10 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Nobody ever wants to read my fanfic where Lieutenant Fish interrogates Salvatore Tessio. It's Vigoda-on-Vigoda!
posted by Pope Guilty at 1:10 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Also: flagged as press release filter. Sorry, but a single link to a trailer for a show you won't even explain the basis for?
Wha?
There is this link up-there, called 'Previously', which seems to explain the premise quite well - even includes a discussion on the illustrious 'MetaFilter' website/forum...
I know, I know, it's hard to click on these hyperlinky things - maybe we should spell things out, so people can type them into their address bar like they used to do on radio...
h tee tee pee colon backslash backslash double-you double-you double-you dot meh tah filter dot com backslash nine two five six two backslash the dash walking dash dead
posted by jkaczor at 1:10 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Wha?
There is this link up-there, called 'Previously', which seems to explain the premise quite well - even includes a discussion on the illustrious 'MetaFilter' website/forum...
I know, I know, it's hard to click on these hyperlinky things - maybe we should spell things out, so people can type them into their address bar like they used to do on radio...
h tee tee pee colon backslash backslash double-you double-you double-you dot meh tah filter dot com backslash nine two five six two backslash the dash walking dash dead
posted by jkaczor at 1:10 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Interesting. Day of the Triffids meets I Am Legend and Earth Abides. Oh, and zombie girls.
posted by Harry at 1:15 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Harry at 1:15 PM on August 24, 2010
White rural guy on a horse with a gun saves white women in Atlanta from urban horde of dirty-skinned, brainless monsters?
To be fair, the horse doesn't last long.
It's been a while since I read that issue, but I remember being puzzled on why anyone would choose a horse to ride through a zombie-infested town. Maybe it was just a plot device to show that the zombies eat more than just people.
posted by Dr-Baa at 1:16 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
To be fair, the horse doesn't last long.
It's been a while since I read that issue, but I remember being puzzled on why anyone would choose a horse to ride through a zombie-infested town. Maybe it was just a plot device to show that the zombies eat more than just people.
posted by Dr-Baa at 1:16 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
I am happier for this than a zombie with a bucket o' babies.
posted by Windigo at 1:17 PM on August 24, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Windigo at 1:17 PM on August 24, 2010 [3 favorites]
Anyway, I already saw 28 Days Later.
28 Days Later had the Rage virus, and no one is dead when they catch it, thus they are not zombies. And I'm with Simon Pegg - zombies don't run. It's death incarnate - ever-advancing, never-ending. Sure, you can hide for a while, maybe put up obstacles and slow it down, even kill off some of it, but the zombie masses will win.
Also, the comic is a well-written post-apocalyptic drama, so I have high hopes for the televised series version.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:20 PM on August 24, 2010 [4 favorites]
28 Days Later had the Rage virus, and no one is dead when they catch it, thus they are not zombies. And I'm with Simon Pegg - zombies don't run. It's death incarnate - ever-advancing, never-ending. Sure, you can hide for a while, maybe put up obstacles and slow it down, even kill off some of it, but the zombie masses will win.
Also, the comic is a well-written post-apocalyptic drama, so I have high hopes for the televised series version.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:20 PM on August 24, 2010 [4 favorites]
I remember being puzzled on why anyone would choose a horse to ride through a zombie-infested town.
It makes sense to me, at least for someone who already knows how to ride, as I'm assuming our lead does. (It's been a while since I read the comic.) A horse can get you through streets choked with abandoned cars where a car or motorcycle would get bogged down, and makes less noise to attract zombies. Bikes are silent and maneuverable, but you can carry a lot more on a horse. Finally, if you get really desperate, you can always shoot the horse and run away while the zombies are eating it.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:33 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
It makes sense to me, at least for someone who already knows how to ride, as I'm assuming our lead does. (It's been a while since I read the comic.) A horse can get you through streets choked with abandoned cars where a car or motorcycle would get bogged down, and makes less noise to attract zombies. Bikes are silent and maneuverable, but you can carry a lot more on a horse. Finally, if you get really desperate, you can always shoot the horse and run away while the zombies are eating it.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:33 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
I remember being puzzled on why anyone would choose a horse to ride through a zombie-infested town.
Squeegee off the crust from your third eye and look at it artistically.
It's a great image that plays with several stereotypes at the same time ... the heroic cowboy ... the fall of society ... the re-discovery of primal roots ... the lone rider coming into the empty town (cue the tumbleweed rolling across the frame) ... the juxtaposition of traditional cowboy vs. traditional horror movie zombie.
It's not as visually interesting as "Dude hotwires Jeep and drives into Buckhead, Georgia."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:39 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Squeegee off the crust from your third eye and look at it artistically.
It's a great image that plays with several stereotypes at the same time ... the heroic cowboy ... the fall of society ... the re-discovery of primal roots ... the lone rider coming into the empty town (cue the tumbleweed rolling across the frame) ... the juxtaposition of traditional cowboy vs. traditional horror movie zombie.
It's not as visually interesting as "Dude hotwires Jeep and drives into Buckhead, Georgia."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:39 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
I can't really blame them for using the same beginning as 28 Days Later, because the image of the coma patient waking up into a zombie-infested world is so good it deserves to be used a few times over.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 1:43 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Solon and Thanks at 1:43 PM on August 24, 2010
Yes! Slow moving zombies!! I hate zombie movies with perky, seemingly caffeinated zombies. Ain't right.
I am more excited about this than is seemly.
posted by hecho de la basura at 1:46 PM on August 24, 2010
I am more excited about this than is seemly.
posted by hecho de la basura at 1:46 PM on August 24, 2010
It's a great image that plays with several stereotypes at the same time ... the heroic cowboy ... the fall of society ... the re-discovery of primal roots ... the lone rider coming into the empty town (cue the tumbleweed rolling across the frame) ... the juxtaposition of traditional cowboy vs. traditional horror movie zombie.
Sooo... it is a race thing ;)
posted by muddgirl at 1:49 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Sooo... it is a race thing ;)
posted by muddgirl at 1:49 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
It will be interesting to see if (writer/creator) Robert Kirkman's predilection for treating his characters with the casual cruelty of a child holding a magnifying glass over an anthill translates to TV. Will people enjoy seeing characters they're emotionally invested in become zombie chow?
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:52 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by BitterOldPunk at 1:52 PM on August 24, 2010
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
*deep breath*
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
posted by Anonymous at 1:56 PM on August 24, 2010
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
*deep breath*
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
posted by Anonymous at 1:56 PM on August 24, 2010
[Brit] Egg! It's Egg from THIS LIFE! Glad he's working again. [/Brit] (Seminal for my generation of leaving-University-and-trying-to-get-a-career-going TV.)
posted by alasdair at 1:56 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by alasdair at 1:56 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
Mad Men: Life.
Breaking Bad: Near-death.
The Walking Dead: After-death.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 2:09 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Breaking Bad: Near-death.
The Walking Dead: After-death.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 2:09 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Mad Breaking Dead?
posted by Fleebnork at 2:14 PM on August 24, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by Fleebnork at 2:14 PM on August 24, 2010 [3 favorites]
I can't really blame them for using the same beginning as 28 Days Later, because the image of the coma patient waking up into a zombie-infested world is so good it deserves to be used a few times over.
Except that that is exactly how the first issue of the comic opened, which was written and drawn before 28 Days Later was released. Which is unfortunate, because most people will, like you, assume that the opening of The Walking Dead is a ripoff when in fact it is just a victim of creative coincidence.
posted by Lokheed at 2:14 PM on August 24, 2010 [8 favorites]
Except that that is exactly how the first issue of the comic opened, which was written and drawn before 28 Days Later was released. Which is unfortunate, because most people will, like you, assume that the opening of The Walking Dead is a ripoff when in fact it is just a victim of creative coincidence.
posted by Lokheed at 2:14 PM on August 24, 2010 [8 favorites]
... the image of the coma patient waking up into a zombie-infested world is so good it deserves to be used a few times over.
And it's a nice way to start a story, without having to tell a lot of back-story in real time. Instead, the history can be brought about in dense doses, building character histories along the way.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:20 PM on August 24, 2010
And it's a nice way to start a story, without having to tell a lot of back-story in real time. Instead, the history can be brought about in dense doses, building character histories along the way.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:20 PM on August 24, 2010
This trailer might work for the rest of us in the benighted non-American parts of the Internet. (It might not be the actual trailer, though, since I couldn't see the original for comparison...)
It's the same one.
posted by desjardins at 2:22 PM on August 24, 2010
It's the same one.
posted by desjardins at 2:22 PM on August 24, 2010
What people who aren't lucky enough to live in Atlanta don't know is that this is a documentary. I killed 50 zombies on my commute to work today and traffic was pretty light.
posted by dortmunder at 2:23 PM on August 24, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by dortmunder at 2:23 PM on August 24, 2010 [5 favorites]
Wow that is fucking awesome. I just realized I read the first one of those comics and I really liked it. I'm not sure why I never got around to reading the next ones. Looking forward to watching this when I get the chance.
posted by sveskemus at 2:46 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by sveskemus at 2:46 PM on August 24, 2010
28 Days Later lifted that opening setup (hero awakes alone in hospital, post-apocalypse) from The Day of the Triffids, and there are probably other examples out there too.
posted by chaff at 2:51 PM on August 24, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by chaff at 2:51 PM on August 24, 2010 [4 favorites]
Forgive my ignorance but is AMC the type of channel that shows boobs and lets people say fuck or the regular boring American neo-puritan kind?
posted by sveskemus at 2:51 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by sveskemus at 2:51 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
AMC seems to be sort of "PG-13". There hasn't been much in the way of boobs, but Mad Men has been using "shit" pretty regularly this season.
posted by Fleebnork at 2:55 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Fleebnork at 2:55 PM on August 24, 2010
It's basic cable so it won't show nudity or have too much swearing like HBO or Showtime but it's a little more edgy then broadcast TV.
posted by octothorpe at 2:58 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by octothorpe at 2:58 PM on August 24, 2010
I'm pretty sure they've shown boobs on Breaking Bad, unless the strip club sequence earlier last season was filmed so well that I just mentally made all the strippers topless...
posted by muddgirl at 2:59 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by muddgirl at 2:59 PM on August 24, 2010
AMC has a great track record, and Darabont has a good one. But I'm not gonna lie here. The most exciting thing in that trailer was the car flipping over. I hope the show is better.
I'm pretty sure they've shown boobs on Breaking Bad, unless the strip club sequence earlier last season was filmed so well that I just mentally made all the strippers topless...
Their pasties looked like CG to me. I guess the DVD will tell the tale.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:03 PM on August 24, 2010
I'm pretty sure they've shown boobs on Breaking Bad, unless the strip club sequence earlier last season was filmed so well that I just mentally made all the strippers topless...
Their pasties looked like CG to me. I guess the DVD will tell the tale.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:03 PM on August 24, 2010
Well as long as it's not all "oh darn it" and kissing with closed lips...
posted by sveskemus at 3:03 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by sveskemus at 3:03 PM on August 24, 2010
Oh no... Mad Men couldn't have survived with that sort of foolishness.
posted by Fleebnork at 3:04 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Fleebnork at 3:04 PM on August 24, 2010
Their pasties looked like CG to me. I guess the DVD will tell the tale.
So I mentally added-in nipples? WTG brain.
posted by muddgirl at 3:09 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
So I mentally added-in nipples? WTG brain.
posted by muddgirl at 3:09 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
AT LAST. I've been waiting *forever* for this remake.
posted by meehawl at 3:10 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by meehawl at 3:10 PM on August 24, 2010
I was about to say there were definitely boobs on the late, lamented Party Down, but I just remembered that was Starz, not AMC. Doh!
posted by kmz at 3:26 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by kmz at 3:26 PM on August 24, 2010
Don Draper/Rick Grimes slashfics published at once.
I initially read that as "Don Draper/Frank Grimes" slashfic and part of me simultaneously LOL'd and died a little bit inside.
posted by usonian at 3:30 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
I initially read that as "Don Draper/Frank Grimes" slashfic and part of me simultaneously LOL'd and died a little bit inside.
posted by usonian at 3:30 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've never heard of this and haven't seen most zombie movies but this looks seriously fantastic.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:30 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:30 PM on August 24, 2010
You mean Breaking Brain.
Looking forward to this, wish the hardcover collections didn't take sooooooo long to come out.
posted by Elmore at 3:34 PM on August 24, 2010
Looking forward to this, wish the hardcover collections didn't take sooooooo long to come out.
posted by Elmore at 3:34 PM on August 24, 2010
This sounds promising. I remain cautiously optimistic.
The stock gunshot sound effects soured me on the realism angle
Ain't this always the case though? I've heard gunfire in the distance and people around me didn't even realize it because they've grown so accustomed to the theatrical sounds that the real thing doesn't register.
posted by quin at 3:35 PM on August 24, 2010
The stock gunshot sound effects soured me on the realism angle
Ain't this always the case though? I've heard gunfire in the distance and people around me didn't even realize it because they've grown so accustomed to the theatrical sounds that the real thing doesn't register.
posted by quin at 3:35 PM on August 24, 2010
Unless it's just an 'all content blocked to them uppity foreigners' I don't see the point in blocking trailers. Harrumph.
posted by Quantum's Deadly Fist at 4:02 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Quantum's Deadly Fist at 4:02 PM on August 24, 2010
I wish they had never made 28 days later so I wouldn't have had the same gut reaction as everybody else who saw that movie but had never heard of this.
posted by tehloki at 4:03 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by tehloki at 4:03 PM on August 24, 2010
But I'm not gonna lie here. The most exciting thing in that trailer was the car flipping over. I hope the show is better.
I actually really like the idea of a zombie-plague show or movie that isn't all action scenes and BOO!-it-was-only-a-cat. BOOOO!-it-was-only-an-owl. BOOOOO! OHMYGOD-IT'S-REALLY-A-ZOMBIE-THIS-TIME gags. This will probably have some of those, but backed up by a little more substance.
posted by usonian at 4:04 PM on August 24, 2010
I actually really like the idea of a zombie-plague show or movie that isn't all action scenes and BOO!-it-was-only-a-cat. BOOOO!-it-was-only-an-owl. BOOOOO! OHMYGOD-IT'S-REALLY-A-ZOMBIE-THIS-TIME gags. This will probably have some of those, but backed up by a little more substance.
posted by usonian at 4:04 PM on August 24, 2010
I actually really like the idea of a zombie-plague show or movie that isn't all action scenes and BOO!-it-was-only-a-cat. BOOOO!-it-was-only-an-owl. BOOOOO! OHMYGOD-IT'S-REALLY-A-ZOMBIE-THIS-TIME gags. This will probably have some of those, but backed up by a little more substance.
I'm not asking for all-action, either -- AMC's track record and budgetary constraints make that a little unlikely anyhow -- but the lead actor doesn't have the immediate presence of a Jon Hamm or a Bryan Cranston, he just kinda seems to be...there, and the zombie scenes seem kinda anemic. So it's not really promising much to me on either score. Based, mind you, on four minutes of the pilot (!), it looks about average on the dramatic television front, and below average on the scary movie front. As far as genre TV shows go, I'm sure it'll be better than, say, V, but that's not anything to get all that psyched about. I'm a little underwhelmed, but guardedly optimistic.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:17 PM on August 24, 2010
I'm not asking for all-action, either -- AMC's track record and budgetary constraints make that a little unlikely anyhow -- but the lead actor doesn't have the immediate presence of a Jon Hamm or a Bryan Cranston, he just kinda seems to be...there, and the zombie scenes seem kinda anemic. So it's not really promising much to me on either score. Based, mind you, on four minutes of the pilot (!), it looks about average on the dramatic television front, and below average on the scary movie front. As far as genre TV shows go, I'm sure it'll be better than, say, V, but that's not anything to get all that psyched about. I'm a little underwhelmed, but guardedly optimistic.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:17 PM on August 24, 2010
Dead Mad Breaking.
Dead Mad Breaking II: Meth Zombie Booglaoo
posted by codswallop at 4:38 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Dead Mad Breaking II: Meth Zombie Booglaoo
posted by codswallop at 4:38 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Count me in the "can't wait" camp. I enjoyed the comic a lot though I never came near to loving it (female characters fall a bit flat for me), but I've just about had it with sexy vampires. Also relieved that Walking Dead got picked to turn into a series, instead of Y The Last Man.
posted by peripathetic at 4:47 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by peripathetic at 4:47 PM on August 24, 2010
It's great that Greg Nicotero is the FX and makeup guy - I'm not sure how/where he and Darabont went wrong on The Mist, but I'll happily give them a mulligan.
posted by nj_subgenius at 4:51 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by nj_subgenius at 4:51 PM on August 24, 2010
Horses don't run out of petrol.
posted by Artw at 5:08 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:08 PM on August 24, 2010 [2 favorites]
kittens for breakfast, the lead isn't all crazy heroic in the comics, either. I thought it was kind of a nice change of pace.
posted by Nabubrush at 5:21 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Nabubrush at 5:21 PM on August 24, 2010
Looks like a fairly standard take on the Zombie thriller. Combined with some schlock. Also, what's with people in zombie movies not using the term 'zombie'? Maybe the comic is really good, but the trailer just looks like a pastiche of TV-Movie clichés.
posted by delmoi at 5:23 PM on August 24, 2010
Also, I kind of hope it's just because of the selection bias of the trailer, but the racist imagery in that first clip is pretty disturbing. White rural guy on a horse with a gun saves white women in Atlanta from urban horde of dirty-skinned, brainless monsters?What?
That's a big part of the comic book narrative and the show as well. The narrative intentionally raises issues of race and bigotry, and etc. Will this show present some racist characters and/or view points we disagree with. Of course, that's the point.Well, whether the comic book deals with racial issues, what does that have to do with the interpretation that zombies = black people? Especially since two of the main characters in the trailer were black people?
posted by delmoi at 5:23 PM on August 24, 2010
kittens for breakfast, the lead isn't all crazy heroic in the comics, either. I thought it was kind of a nice change of pace.
He doesn't need to be heroic, just to not project a Ben Affleck-level of blandness.
Looks like a fairly standard take on the Zombie thriller. Combined with some schlock. Also, what's with people in zombie movies not using the term 'zombie'? Maybe the comic is really good, but the trailer just looks like a pastiche of TV-Movie clichés.
I can't speak to the comic beyond the first volume, but I'd agree that "fairly standard" is what the trailer looks like. I think that the selling point will be serialization -- getting the chance to watch characters grow and change in this environment. That's one thing that movies, for obvious reasons, can only give in compressed form...although six episodes a season makes this a lot closer to a miniseries than to a traditional (US) TV show.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:34 PM on August 24, 2010
He doesn't need to be heroic, just to not project a Ben Affleck-level of blandness.
Looks like a fairly standard take on the Zombie thriller. Combined with some schlock. Also, what's with people in zombie movies not using the term 'zombie'? Maybe the comic is really good, but the trailer just looks like a pastiche of TV-Movie clichés.
I can't speak to the comic beyond the first volume, but I'd agree that "fairly standard" is what the trailer looks like. I think that the selling point will be serialization -- getting the chance to watch characters grow and change in this environment. That's one thing that movies, for obvious reasons, can only give in compressed form...although six episodes a season makes this a lot closer to a miniseries than to a traditional (US) TV show.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:34 PM on August 24, 2010
but the lead actor doesn't have the immediate presence of a Jon Hamm or a Bryan Cranston
He was fantastic in the first couple seasons of Teachers (to the extent I lost interest in the show after he left). So I have high hopes for his work in this. As others have said, they should have edited the trailer differently to avoid the 28 Days Later vibe (including it because it's in the comic is all well and good, but the shots looked nearly identical to the way my brain remembers the 28 Days Later trailer). My brain instantly wanted to reject this because I'm not familiar with the material and didn't realize it wasn't a ripoff, shame to have people potentially turned off to something awesome on a mistake like that.
posted by haveanicesummer at 5:39 PM on August 24, 2010
He was fantastic in the first couple seasons of Teachers (to the extent I lost interest in the show after he left). So I have high hopes for his work in this. As others have said, they should have edited the trailer differently to avoid the 28 Days Later vibe (including it because it's in the comic is all well and good, but the shots looked nearly identical to the way my brain remembers the 28 Days Later trailer). My brain instantly wanted to reject this because I'm not familiar with the material and didn't realize it wasn't a ripoff, shame to have people potentially turned off to something awesome on a mistake like that.
posted by haveanicesummer at 5:39 PM on August 24, 2010
I loved Robert Kirkman's 'The Irredeemable Ant-Man' (Marvel) and 'The Destroyer' (Marvel Max). Guess it's time to finally wade into the 'Walking Dead' pool, although Crossed (Garth Ennis) really cured me of zombie comics for awhile. (Jesus, was that bleak and fucking brutal mini-series. )
posted by Auden at 6:03 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Auden at 6:03 PM on August 24, 2010
Horses don't run out of petrol.
Zombies don't eat cars.
posted by Dr-Baa at 6:37 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Zombies don't eat cars.
posted by Dr-Baa at 6:37 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
I've been reading the Walking Dead since the beginning, and it's one of my favorite comics ever. The way that the characters grow and change (and how the focus stays on the characters, despite the post-apocalyptic setting that could easily have overwhelmed the story) is what I loved about it. It's more a sociology or anthropology field study, to me, rather than an action story. I really hope they can capture that, and I think that a serial TV show is the best vehicle for the story. Kudos to AMC for seeing that potential.
Yea, the trailer looks pretty much like standard zombie fare, I think (and I much preferred the animated version). But it's only setting up the back story - in the comic, the real story doesn't actually start (IMHO) until after they all meet up, which is only hinted at here.
posted by gemmy at 6:55 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yea, the trailer looks pretty much like standard zombie fare, I think (and I much preferred the animated version). But it's only setting up the back story - in the comic, the real story doesn't actually start (IMHO) until after they all meet up, which is only hinted at here.
posted by gemmy at 6:55 PM on August 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
A tiny bit of me would still prefer a World War Z series...
posted by Artw at 6:57 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by Artw at 6:57 PM on August 24, 2010
A tiny bit of me would still prefer a World War Z series..
Read that in my Popular Culture course this past year. An absolute delight. Sister just started medical school and she found an audio book. Says it's hilarious to listen to while driving.
posted by Fizz at 7:18 PM on August 24, 2010
Read that in my Popular Culture course this past year. An absolute delight. Sister just started medical school and she found an audio book. Says it's hilarious to listen to while driving.
posted by Fizz at 7:18 PM on August 24, 2010
Thought it was great until Darabont's name appeared. Ick. I'll still give it a shot but if there's a name that brings out the flaccid dobbs, it's Frank's.
posted by dobbs at 7:48 PM on August 24, 2010
posted by dobbs at 7:48 PM on August 24, 2010
Egg! It's Egg from THIS LIFE! Glad he's working again.
I was watching the two good series of Teachers the other week and wondering when he was going to get another series. Plus he looks like my brother, so I'm looking forward to acquiring this show legally and seeing my brother shoot zombs.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 11:17 PM on August 24, 2010
I was watching the two good series of Teachers the other week and wondering when he was going to get another series. Plus he looks like my brother, so I'm looking forward to acquiring this show legally and seeing my brother shoot zombs.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 11:17 PM on August 24, 2010
Big Robert Kirkman fan here, if you want to get in on the series there is a collection that came out recently that have issues 1-50. The Walking Dead Compendium Volume 1 - over 1000 pages of awesome. Great book! If you watch the behind the scenes clips they discuss how the show will be told differently than the book, but with Kirkman's approval and input. The time lapse clip of the makeup for the crawling zombie can be found here.
posted by Mardigan at 6:14 AM on August 25, 2010
posted by Mardigan at 6:14 AM on August 25, 2010
And I'm with Simon Pegg - zombies don't run. It's death incarnate - ever-advancing, never-ending. Sure, you can hide for a while, maybe put up obstacles and slow it down, even kill off some of it, but the zombie masses will win.
From the Pegg article:
From the Pegg article:
More significantly, the fast zombie is bereft of poetic subtlety. As monsters from the id, zombies win out over vampires and werewolves when it comes to the title of Most Potent Metaphorical Monster. Where their pointy-toothed cousins are all about sex and bestial savagery, the zombie trumps all by personifying our deepest fear: death. Zombies are our destiny writ large. Slow and steady in their approach, weak, clumsy, often absurd, the zombie relentlessly closes in, unstoppable, intractable.posted by AceRock at 9:13 AM on August 25, 2010 [3 favorites]
However (and herein lies the sublime artfulness of the slow zombie), their ineptitude actually makes them avoidable, at least for a while. If you're careful, if you keep your wits about you, you can stave them off, even outstrip them - much as we strive to outstrip death. Drink less, cut out red meat, exercise, practice safe sex; these are our shotguns, our cricket bats, our farmhouses, our shopping malls. However, none of these things fully insulates us from the creeping dread that something so witless, so elemental may yet catch us unawares - the drunk driver, the cancer sleeping in the double helix, the legless ghoul dragging itself through the darkness towards our ankles.
Another thing: speed simplifies the zombie, clarifying the threat and reducing any response to an emotional reflex. It's the difference between someone shouting "Boo!" and hearing the sound of the floorboards creaking in an upstairs room: a quick thrill at the expense of a more profound sense of dread. The absence of rage or aggression in slow zombies makes them oddly sympathetic, a detail that enabled Romero to project depth on to their blankness, to create tragic anti-heroes; his were figures to be pitied, empathised with, even rooted for. The moment they appear angry or petulant, the second they emit furious velociraptor screeches (as opposed to the correct mournful moans of longing), they cease to possess any ambiguity. They are simply mean.
A tiny bit of me would still prefer a World War Z series...
I want a World War Z series, but I have a very specific requirement: it must, absolutely, and I am completely and utterly inflexible on this, be directed by Ken Burns. It's a book of interviews; it absolutely must be presented as a Ken Burns documentary.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:38 AM on August 25, 2010 [5 favorites]
I want a World War Z series, but I have a very specific requirement: it must, absolutely, and I am completely and utterly inflexible on this, be directed by Ken Burns. It's a book of interviews; it absolutely must be presented as a Ken Burns documentary.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:38 AM on August 25, 2010 [5 favorites]
We already have zombies that come out at night here in San Francisco's Tenderloin.
Fortunately, we also have zombie-friendly restaurants.
A bright future for every child... except the slowest one.
posted by markkraft at 2:11 AM on August 26, 2010
Fortunately, we also have zombie-friendly restaurants.
A bright future for every child... except the slowest one.
posted by markkraft at 2:11 AM on August 26, 2010
G-dangit, Sin Francisco! Allowing zombies to wed would ruin the sanctity of marriage!
posted by kookywon at 4:37 PM on August 26, 2010
posted by kookywon at 4:37 PM on August 26, 2010
h tee tee pee colon backslash backslash double-you double-you double-you dot meh tah filter dot com backslash nine two five six two backslash the dash walking dash dead
WRONG
posted by Deathalicious at 6:40 AM on August 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
WRONG
posted by Deathalicious at 6:40 AM on August 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
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