Pop Culture 101: THE WALKING DEAD

What the heck is that?

Bad typography, mostly.  It says “Don’t Dead Open Inside,” and I can’t believe no one realized how humans read when they were painting that prop door.  

No, I mean what’s it from?

Ah!  There’s this thing, called The Walking Dead.  You maybe have heard of it?

Maybe?  Give me some details.

The Walking Dead was originally a comic book series published by Image Comics, currently on its… hmm… (checks pile of comic books next to computer) 145th issue.  Robert Kirkman writes it and Charlie Adlard has drawn the majority of it.  It’s about zombies.

Zombies?

Zombies.

I like zombies!

Everybody does nowadays.  I’m pretty sure that’s The Walking Dead’s fault, mostly.  Sometimes the zombies are on fire!

That doesn’t look like a picture from a comic book.

It’s not!  It’s an image from the AMC TV series that just finished up its fifth season.  It loosely follows the events of the comic book series.

Loosely?

Yeah.  They like to mix stuff up.  Some of the most popular characters from the TV series were never in the comics, and they’ve let certain characters live longer than they did in the comics and taken others out much earlier.   You have a clue what’s coming if you’ve read the comics, but there are still surprises.

That sounds pretty cool.

It is!  I’ve made the argument many times that TWD is the best adaptation from one medium to another that I’ve ever seen.  I like the heck out of it, and season 5 was one of the best seasons yet.

So when is it on the air?

Well, that’s the thing.  There’s a whole ‘nother series coming, called Fear the Walking Dead.

That sounds like a dumb name for a show.

It is!

So… should I watch it?

Probably.  The first season has a six-episode run and premieres tonight on AMC.  It’s set before the current series really got rolling, and shows the actual beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

She looks more like a vampire.

Nope.  Walker.  They make a big deal about how the zombies aren’t going to be all rotten and stuff in this one because they haven’t had time to be.  This is right away when all hell breaks loose.  Rumor has it that walker there is actually Patient Zero in the apocalypse.  Also, it’s set in Los Angeles, which is a major departure from the parent show’s location in rural Georgia.  They have literally been wandering through the woods for years.

Wait.  Walker?

Or rotter, or biter, or a whole bunch of other things.  For some reason this show exists in a world where zombies exist but no one has ever heard of them.  They have literally never said the word “zombie” on the show before.  Also, calling them “walkers” sort of plays into one of the show’s central themes.

You say I should watch this, but many things in the way you describe it sound kind of dumb.

It is part of the show’s charm.  Memes are half the fun.

Seriously, though, while there are definitely bits where your brain needs to be turned off, the reason to watch this show is the characters.  It has some incredible actors doing great work.  It’s just that the setting itself is kind of inherently silly.  Despite that, it manages to be scary as hell most of the time.

Really? Is it scary?

This show will fuck your shit up.  

That’s rather profane.

I know.  Not joking, though.  I can think of at least two different season and/or midseason finales where I’m pretty sure I didn’t blink for the last fifteen minutes, and one where I was literally worried about my heart pounding too hard.

Wow.

Seriously.  If Fear the Walking Dead has the same highs as The Walking Dead does, it’s going to be a great show and you’ll overlook the occasional ridiculousness, like the fact that zombies apparently mow lawns.

What?

Trust me.

So you’re saying I should watch this new series.  Won’t I need to know anything about the other one before I start?

Not a thing.  The parent show starts with Rick, the main character, getting shot (he’s a cop) and falling into a coma.  When he wakes up, he’s been abandoned in the hospital and the apocalypse is in full swing.  Fear the Walking Dead takes place three thousand miles away and the whole first season will take place during Rick’s coma, so you won’t need to know a single thing from the other show for this one to make sense.  They’ve even released the first three minutes of the show!

Dude!  You didn’t tell me Johnny Depp was in this!

That’s not Johnny Depp.

Are you sure?

Pretty sure.

What the hell is the deal with that shirt?

I have not the slightest idea, and I’ve been wondering about it literally since the first promo images of that character were released.

Are there any buttons or zippers or anything?  Does it just tie or something?

I dunno.  I guess.  I assume he is not skinny and Deppian and shirtless for the entire season.

He should pull his pants up.

That too.  But hey!  Blood and dead people!

That’s what you get for sleeping in an abandoned church.

That’s the spirit.  

This really does seem like a silly show, dude.

Try it anyway.  I promise you’ll like it.  You’ll at least like making fun of it.

I’m looking forward to that guy getting eaten because of his silly clothes.

Half the fun of the show, my man.  

How do you know I’m a guy?

Very masculine italics.

Ah.

So.  Yeah.  FEAR THE WALKING DEAD premieres TONIGHT, August 23, at 9 PM Eastern Time on AMC.  I’ll be watching it 24 hours later on iTunes.  You should check it out.

Fine.  But really.  That shirt, tho.

F’reals, yo.