The Technodrome Forums - Favorite Variation of The Walking Dead

I miss that eerie energy of the first three or four seasons of TWD. There was really something magical there. People say it started to suck when Glenn got killed and things shifted to the war with Negan but nah, I don't think so. Things pretty much stayed at the same quality level after season five or so all the way through. The trouble is, with so many people leaving the show -- Rick, Michonne, and then outright killing Carl -- there was no longer any real hook to the show anymore. As far as I'm concerned Daryl is a mostly empty vessel of a character but "looks cool." Negan is a lot of fun, but that's not enough. By the last couple of seasons we're suddenly supposed to care about a random Indian doctor guy, a deaf black woman, and the fat guy from the Fantastic Beasts movies. They should have at LEAST left Carl alive, as I think that would have satisfied maintaining the basic narrative heart throughout the show.

Fear the Walking Dead is a weird show. A very weird show. It's really something to see a show completely reinvent itself every season. It's also somewhat exhausting. And it's usually the same thing. You know, let's run into so and so and catch up with what they've been up to between seasons, then this person, then this person, and by the time we've caught up with everyone the season is about over and it's time to fight a random bad guy boss (usually a crappy one). Seasons 1-3 kept getting better and better, then things took a big turn for the worse with 4, when Morgan joined and they killed Nick and "killed" Madison. The writing just took a major nosedive. Soon there were whole episodes dedicated to painting trees and other whimsical nonsense. Total crap. Bad, and I mean BAD. Easily the worst Walking Dead stuff is in those middle seasons. Then, suddenly, the writing got drastically better. Maybe it was season 6? Whichever one where Morgan fights the black guy with the axe, whose hat and axe he takes. REAL solid character writing throughout. Sadly, the last season or so has brought back the crap writing.

World Beyond... I genuinely don't understand why it exists. A two season event? But nothing really happened. Just some diverse kids wandering around barely surviving. The only thing it gave us was the 2nd season mid-credits thing with running zombies in France, which Daryl season 1 has yet to even give us and it's almost over. I guess we learned a tiny bit about the Civic Republic (the black helicopter people) but not much. I think the plan was to create a show that can pull in some of the teenaged, Riverdale-type audience. But at some point early on they looked at the dailies and realized they had a turd, and pretended it was always supposed to be a 2 season limited thing.

Dead City, not bad. I can't say much negative about it. I'd wish we would have seen more memorable side characters in this and the main bad guy seems horribly miscast. I think they should have sprung for a "name" actor and one with way more presence than the shrimpy codger they got instead. Imagine if the main bad guy was someone like Wesley Snipes, or Antonio Banderas. You know, someone who could really match Negan's charisma and maybe even top it? Also, I hope as we get into season 2 they have balls enough to actually have Maggie and Negan get together.

Daryl Dixon, also not bad. Mostly I'm disappointed that with all the hubbub from World Beyond's finale about running zombies in France, we've only really seen them teased so far. And instead they're giving us zombies with acid for blood ("burners") which doesn't even make any sense. I like the cast and it seems an appropriate setting for Daryl "Look how COOL I am" Dixon.

Tales of the Walking Dead was fine. Mostly I'm scratching my head at what we didn't get with it. Like, why not use the opportunity to tell a "lost" story of Abraham, or Glenn, or Shane? The fans would have loved that.