Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (10/15/24)
Birdfluencers Cafe Quick Hits Asked About the Murder of Laken Reilly, Bill Clinton Fails to Position Kamala Harris for Success Trump Releases Campaign Ad Decrying "WOKE" Military, Using Clips from Full Metal Jacket; Stanley Kubrick's Daughter Denounces Him. Wait, My Mistake: Stanley Kubrick's Daughter Defends Him. Trump Pauses Campaign Event While Several Attendees Are Escorted Out for "Medical Emergencies;" Kamala Harris and MSNBC Claim Trump Had a Senior Moment Final Proof That Kamala Is a DEI Hire: She Has a Massive Plagiarism Problem Ben Weingarten: The US Government Is Funding Foreign Entities Which In Turn Censor American Citizens Incredibly, Kamala Harris's Staff Again Puts Out the Word That Biden is Failing to Position Her for Success The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« A Little More Eeyorism (Which I Mention Just To Make Sure You Vote) |
Main
| Top Headline Comments 11-1-10 »
November 01, 2010
The Walking Dead: Episode 1 "Days Gone Bye"I just got done watching the premiere of AMC's new Zombie Miniseries "The Walking Dead", and I am NOT disappointed. I'm not familiar with the source material, but when I heard that Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption") was going to be the director I figured that it would be worth watching. After sitting through the 90 minute premiere, I'm looking forward to the next episode in the six-episode run. Since some of you probably missed this episode, I'm not going to go into the whole plot, but I am going to address some nitpicky little details I have with the premiere in the extended entry. Not really what I'd call "spoilers" since the trailers have pretty well covered all the high points, but you might want to skip the next part if you want to experience it for the first time in a later airing. 1. Rick, the main character in the story, is a deputy sheriff who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was comatose in the hospital when the plague broke out. When he comes to, he finds the hallways of this hospital looking like one of the abandoned buildings in the Chernobyl hot zone, and his first sign that something ain't quite right is when he sees a half-eaten woman laying in the hallway just beyond the doors of the coma ward. My problem with this setup? Dude wakes up in a hospital after a coma of indeterminate length during a zombie outbreak, and he's not hip deep in his own waste products? Now maybe we're going to find out in some future episode that a particularly dedicated nursing staff stuck around until the last possible moment providing care for a vegetable, but I think this is probably a case of "movie magic" - sort of like revolvers that shoot 27 rounds before clicking on an empty cylinder or a hero who can absorb blows to the head that would shatter a pumpkin while suffering nothing more than contusions and bruises. I don't really find his reaction to the gnawed-on corpse to be a problem, since someone disoriented and unaware of what happened during his nap-time could plausibly be in shock or convinced that he's dreaming. I'm more concerned with how that hospital got to the point where it would fit right in among the British NHS facilities, unless Rick was in that coma for WAY longer than you would reasonably think that a helpless vegetable could survive in those conditions. Maybe this series is set in a post-Obamacare future where waking up to stopped clocks and broken monitors is an everyday event? Either that or the SEIU at that location has the management of that particular facility running scared. The "waking up in a hospital while the world has gone to hell without you" thing could be considered to be cribbed from "28 Days Later", but I don't have a problem with that. It's a zombie film: It's SUPPOSED to be derivative. There's only so many ways to set up a character having no awareness of what happened to society. Unless you want to give out a hat-tip to "Strange Brew" fans & have Rick "off planet on vacation at the time", I'd say that the old "coma play" is as good as any. Actually, come to think of it, I don't know if TWD cribbed the "wake up" from 28DL or if it was the other way around. Wikipedia lists 2003 as the date of the first TWD graphic novels, while 28DL dates from 2002 and was released in 2003. It's completely plausible that both creators might have had the same idea independently of each other. I'll let the purists hash this one out in the comments. 2. If you're going to have a zombie movie, you're going to need a whole shitload of Zombie Dispatchin' Guns. TWD doesn't get cute with the weapons involved. We see your standard issue pump-action shotguns, a scoped bolt-action centerfire rifle, and a big ol' .357 Magnum that Rick used as his on-duty gun before the outbreak. A Beretta 92 in 9mm and a "Ma Deuce" 50-cal machine gun are featured near the end of the premiere, but neither one of them gets to speak for the record. The family that takes Rick in after his escape from the hospital mentions that gunshots attract more "walkers", so I figure that baseball bats and tire irons will get a heavy workout before this series is over. The presence of a "plausible armory" in this episode of the miniseries makes me feel confident that the rest of the episodes won't "jump the shark". No pump action crossbows, no ninja weaponry, no bullwhips, and no "two-gun shooters" auditioning for a part in a John Woo movie. Strictly "meat and potatoes" on the ballistic front. Rick even gives his initial host family good advice about shooting after they raid the armory at the police station, telling them to watch their ammo consumption because "it goes way quicker than you think it does, especially during target practice". Not too many zombie movies address the probable collapse of the ammunition industry in the ensuing chaos, and it's good to see one that gives a hat tip to logistics. My only quibble with the firearms shown? Since most deputy sheriffs that I know are more "gun guys" than most of the city cops in my limited circle of friends, I assume that Rick would be well aware of the consequences of firing a Magnum revolver in a confined space like the inside of an M1 Abrams tank. Firing a .357 Mag in a wide open field without some sort of ear protection will take a toll on your hearing - firing one in a confined space could very well shatter your damn eardrums and leave you as deaf as Beethoven. This isn't a big error, IMHO. It's perfectly understandable that even a well trained shooter will panic and make a mistake when confronted by a reanimating corpse. Hell, since Jack Bauer is not a character in this miniseries (as far as I know), you should expect lots of mistakes like that. 3. Other than the "how long was he in the damn hospital?" question that I've already addressed, the only other question I've got is "where are they going with this series". As I understand it, the source material is ongoing, so there is no established ending for this story. I hope that the creative team resists the urge to go all "Lost" on us and start introducing plot twist after plot twist after plot twist. If they go for some sort of "Bobby Ewing stepping out of the shower because the whole prior season was just a dream" resolution, Russ from Winterset might just have to choke a bitch. (The only exception to that would be if they wrap the whole thing up by having Bob Newhart wake up next to Suzanne Pleshette and say "Honey, I just had the weirdest dream about zombies". I would cut them slack for that one.) Overall? I give it two thumbs up, with hope that the next five episodes won't disappoint me. | Recent Comments
Ben Had:
"Pug, you will both be missed. I so enjoyed seei ..."
four seasons: " Internet has been out all day, so probably this ..." Pug Mahon, Balding American: "It pains me and the missus that we won't be in Tex ..." [/i][/b]andycanuck (hovnC)[/s][/u]: "She is bleeding badly in the working class SE of t ..." TeeJ: " - Sagan and his ilk. He would have been so excite ..." Dave in Fla: "Looking forward to that hug :) ..." Stephen Price Blair: "[i]you do know what your obligation is, right?[/i] ..." Dave in Fla: "Yeah, I was pulling ammo out of the gun safe for t ..." Ben Had: "Stephen Price Blair, you do know what your obliga ..." Stephen Price Blair: "[i]Then y'all can suffer through my bitching about ..." Ben Had: "Dave in Fla, we are a respite for the road weary ..." Eromero: "She is bleeding badly in the working class SE of t ..." Recent Entries
Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (10/15/24)
Birdfluencers Cafe Quick Hits Asked About the Murder of Laken Reilly, Bill Clinton Fails to Position Kamala Harris for Success Trump Releases Campaign Ad Decrying "WOKE" Military, Using Clips from Full Metal Jacket; Stanley Kubrick's Daughter Denounces Him. Wait, My Mistake: Stanley Kubrick's Daughter Defends Him. Trump Pauses Campaign Event While Several Attendees Are Escorted Out for "Medical Emergencies;" Kamala Harris and MSNBC Claim Trump Had a Senior Moment Final Proof That Kamala Is a DEI Hire: She Has a Massive Plagiarism Problem Ben Weingarten: The US Government Is Funding Foreign Entities Which In Turn Censor American Citizens Incredibly, Kamala Harris's Staff Again Puts Out the Word That Biden is Failing to Position Her for Success The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |