Television has never been particularly friendly to zombies. For one, zombies tend to be accompanied by a significant amount of blood and gore, making networks afraid to touch them with a 10-foot pole. Another strike: Zombie infestations generally result in apocalyptic scenarios, and the apocalypse is a bit of a downer. Viewers like happy TV, and civilization as we know it coming to a violent, ghastly end is not a particularly happy thought.
But based on AMC's Halloween premiere of their zombie-centric series ""The Walking Dead,"" it looks like television owes zombies an apology. Based on the comic of the same name, ""The Walking Dead"" follows a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead roam the earth and the living wait in fear. It's a tried-and-true scenario for zombie movies, but transitioning to the long-form format of a TV series allows ""The Walking Dead"" to put a fresh spin on a classic story.
Much of what ""The Walking Dead"" injects into the zombie genre has to do with its standard AMC pacing. Other AMC shows, such as ""Mad Men"" and ""Rubicon,"" are notorious for building slowly throughout the season, taking most of their time for character development and ruminations on theme and setting. ""The Walking Dead"" operates at a breakneck pace compared to ""Mad Men""—central character Rick Grimes, played by English TV actor Andrew Lincoln, goes from ordinary sheriff's deputy to coma victim to zombie ass-kicker in the span of 90 minutes —but the show still feels methodical and contemplative.
Frank Darabont's hand surely played a role in this. For ""The Walking Dead,"" the ""Shawshank Redemption"" director followed in the footsteps of ""Boardwalk Empire""'s Martin Scorsese by taking his auteur skills from the silver screen to the small screen. After a decade of HBO, Showtime and AMC proving television can be every bit the artistic medium that film is, directors like Darabont are beginning to join the party, and ""The Walking Dead"" is perhaps the best example of Hollywood talent bringing the best out of television. Shot on 16mm film, Darabont brings a very authentic B-movie feel to the look of the show, something he also excelled at in his monster movie homage ""The Mist."" And while ""The Walking Dead"" is surprisingly short on terrifying moments that will make you jump out of your seat, Darabont excels at filling the show with a palpitating sense of dread.
Darabont also clearly has a reverence for his source material—both the comic on which the show is based and the countless zombie films that inspired both works. Numerous iconic images from the comic have been adapted directly to the camera, such as Grimes riding into a barren, desolate Atlanta on horseback. Other shots hearken back to the most beloved jewels of zombie cinema. The shot of Grimes waking up in a hospital instantly evokes thoughts of ""28 Days Later,"" and a brief glimpse of an abandoned military helicopter is straight out of the original ""Dawn of the Dead.""
Obviously, ""The Walking Dead"" has a lot going for it already. The tone, setting and look are all perfect, and Lincoln seems like a very capable lead. However, the premiere did show glimpses of possible flaws. The first episode focused almost entirely on Grimes, taking only brief detours to introduce the rest of the ensemble. A subplot involving Grimes' wife and his former partner engaging in an affair already seems trite and banal. And while none of the other survivors got much screentime, nobody besides Grimes really demanded attention. It would be a shame if ""The Walking Dead"" falls into the same trap as shows like ""Dexter,"" in which any scene that doesn't involve the main character falls flat.
But based on the vast majority of the premiere, ""The Walking Dead"" should be must-see TV, at least for the rest of its brief six-episode first season. As of now, AMC continues to do no wrong—even when it comes to bringing about the apocalypse.
Disagree with Todd's take and don't think he has any BRAAAAINS!!!!! Er… e-mail him at ststevens@wisc.edu.
