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The walking dead: should I start the party?

Blade2.0

Member
So, I never watched the walking dead even though I heard good things and like zombie and post-apocalyptic stuff.

Do you think I should watch it? If so, is there a watch guide that lets me skip all the extraneous content? I don't really want to do a full watch unless it's absolutely necessary. I've heard it starts dragging after a while.

Thanks all.
 
You can watch the first season, it’s pretty good zombie genre shlock. The second season (I think) in the country house is ok too, but I fell off it after that. These long series just never end up being worth it.
 
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WoJ

Member
I'm rewatching the show now actually. Never saw the last season though. First 5 seasons have been solid with 1 through 3 definitely worth it. Seasons 6 through 10 your mileage may vary.
 

diffusionx

Gold Member
You can watch the first season, it’s pretty good zombie genre shlock. The second season (I think) in the country house is ok too, but I fell off it after that. These long series just never end up being worth it.
The 2nd season is absolutely dreadful. Hell even the first season shits the bed by the end.

They built this giant franchise out of like five good episodes lmao, I do not get it. I think 28 Days Later, Romero, and Dead Rising is more than enough to scratch anyone's zombie itch these days.
 

Bridges

Member
I loved the first few seasons. However, there has never been a show that made me feel so disrespected as a viewer. I cannot say specifics as they are important spoilers that you will care about if you do decide to watch, but I will say that there are large chunks of that show that are a complete waste of time. It also becomes very predictable after awhile but it's possible it got better again after I stopped watching.
 

sono

Member
My wife and I watched it on prime a couple of years back over several months; we found it addictive.
 
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I stopped watching at Season 7. Such a cool concept and a great start, but then it all becomes a boring, stretched out soap opera with seven spin off shows.

Not worth it in my opinion.
 

6502

Member
Watch the first few episodes, then season 3 / 4 for a bit and youtube of negan best bits and you are more than done. I got into buying the dvds for circa 7 / 8 seasons... it was a waste of time and money. I gave the blurays to someone I didn't like.
 

Pejo

Member
I liked it until they left the farm. Others will say that it was bad before that, but I thought the story was ok until that point. Once the farm arc is over, you've already seen the story and they just keep doing the same thing on repeat from one location to the next.

Also I can't remember when, but at some point the zombies themselves just become background noise and not really plot relevant anymore, which is disappointing.
 

Spyxos

Gold Member
I wouldn't really recommend it to you. I think I made it to season 7. If you do want to watch it, then only the first season. After that you've basically seen everything and there won't be much new interesting stuff.
 
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Blade2.0

Member
I guess I'll give the first season a try. I've already seen all of Romero's stuff. So no need for that, and all of the 28 days later movies (they are good).
 
Walking Dead has so much potential. But the story telling is not very good. It feels like the show runners did not have a plan where to take the show.

By the end, it disrespects the viewers time. I am not sure which is worse. GOT or Walking Dead at the end. It is really a toss up.

They are both, two tv shows that OWNED the tv landscape for part of the last 20 years. Yet, both did not know where you are the show.

I am not sure yet about House of the Dragon or Walking Dead: Dead City. Both seem to be off to LESS THAN STELLAR START.
 
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THE DUCK

voted poster of the decade by bots
It's ok at first. But then they took it from something cool with some suspense to "how many zombies" can we dismember with the story lines getting worse and worse.
I'd say it's worth checking out but don't be afraid to quit.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Walking dead is hit or miss, strike outs here and there, originally it started as a zombie chaser then slid to more dramatic, moving to crazier villains than finally negan and craziness.

the walking dead zombie GIF
 

Sleepwalker

Member
Jon Bernthal was the best character and they killed him too early. Thats about all I have to say, its been ages since I watched it. The first episode is great though.
 
Don't do that to yourself. The only good Season is the first one. I forced myself to watch it for so long but eventually quit and haven't bothered watching the seasons I missed.

Forget about the spin-off shows too. Fear the walking dead is bad.

If you feel you really must experience TWD then read the comics but don't waste too much money on it. There are 4 compendiums which have 32 volumes which consists of 193 issues so yeah it's gonna cost quite a bit to read it all. Looking at Amazon it cost about £160 to buy all 4 compendiums.

I'm not a big comic fan so can't say how it compares to others. Only comics I've read are Walking dead and Umbrella Academy (before the shitty Netflix show). Anyway, I didn't think TWD comic was bad but towards the end it felt like Robert Kirkman decided to give up and call it quits. It felt rushed and almost out of nowhere. I think he said he had plans to keep writing it but he gave up. He said it was all part of a big secret plan so he could surprise everyone but I think that's a lot of shit.
 
Walking Dead has so much potential. But the story telling is not very good. It feels like the show runners did not have a plan where to take the show.

By the end, it disrespects the viewers time. I am not sure which is worse. GOT or Walking Dead at the end. It is really a toss up.

They are both, two tv shows that OWNED the tv landscape for part of the last 20 years. Yet, both did not know where you are the show.

I am not sure yet about House of the Dragon or Walking Dead: Dead City. Both seem to be off to LESS THAN STELLAR START.
lol GoT was far better than Walking Dead. The last couple seasons weren't as good and felt rushed with silly plots but hey they ran out of source material since GRRM didn't and still hasn't bothered finishing the books. GoT had a drop in quality but I still enjoyed it and could go back to rewatch it. Walking Dead is just mind numbing to watch. I had to force myself to keep watching and then I could do it anymore.

And I don't know about TWD Dead City but how can you say HoTD is off to a less than stellar start? HOTD was so fucking good and I'm excited for season 2.
 
lol GoT was far better than Walking Dead. The last couple seasons weren't as good and felt rushed with silly plots but hey they ran out of source material since GRRM didn't and still hasn't bothered finishing the books. GoT had a drop in quality but I still enjoyed it and could go back to rewatch it. Walking Dead is just mind numbing to watch. I had to force myself to keep watching and then I could do it anymore.

And I don't know about TWD Dead City but how can you say HoTD is off to a less than stellar start? HOTD was so fucking good and I'm excited for season 2.
Well…Walking Dead even Dead City so far feel like the time just drags when you watch it. I hope it improves.

As for HOTD, it is ok. It was not as good as Succession, or Last of Us. I was under the impression that HOTD was HBO’s flagship show until Harry Potter launches. And…it doesn’t feel like that yet. IMO, of course.

This is a larger issue of tv today. Maybe there are too many choices, I don’t know. It feels like it is harder to connect with the content that is was years ago. I get coming up with a Sopranos, Seinfeld, Yellowstone, Breaking Bad, are few and far between. But it just feels like a lot of content today is lacking somehow.

Honestly, it is why i feel Ted Lasso gets so much praise. People connect to the characters in some way. Is it the best show around? Not at all. But, it has some of that old school feel and i think it helps propel Ted Lasso.
 

BadBurger

Is 'That Pure Potato'
My opinion: just read the first twelve issues of the comic. The show is OK-ish for several episodes. That spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead I think it's called, is horrific. Really bad.
 
If anything absolutely needs a OnePace/abridged version, it’s The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. Both waste too much viewer time on things that don’t move the plot along.
 

bitbydeath

Member
If anything absolutely needs a OnePace/abridged version, it’s The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead. Both waste too much viewer time on things that don’t move the plot along.
Agreed. There is way too much filler.
Should have been a 10 episode per season show.

I think the prison season is underrated, which is right after the farm.
 

H4ze

Member
I forced myself to watch it until I finally dropped it mid season 7..

I love zombies and can look past a lot of shit but this show I the worst, ever.

First season rules tho.
 

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Watch the blissfully brief season one and then bounce.

Comparative to its budget and viewership it's one of the worst shows put to television. An absolute and utter drag.
 

Werewolf Jones

Gold Member
I'm not a big comic fan so can't say how it compares to others. Only comics I've read are Walking dead and Umbrella Academy (before the shitty Netflix show). Anyway, I didn't think TWD comic was bad but towards the end it felt like Robert Kirkman decided to give up and call it quits. It felt rushed and almost out of nowhere. I think he said he had plans to keep writing it but he gave up. He said it was all part of a big secret plan so he could surprise everyone but I think that's a lot of shit.
He ran out of ideas and didn't really put the time in to plan anything after it. He had the Whisperers and that whole portion of the story planned out like at least 2 years in advance and once they got to the Commonwealth he was like "Damn... we're at this point now?" Then wrapped it up. I stopped reading once Princess came into it or whatever her name was and just read the last issue. Ending was decent but the comic isn't a worthwhile investment.

Anyone saying the show is good. Lol. No production values, bad writing, stupid changes that don't improve the issues in the comic and take a lot of the stakes and more gritty elements out and on top of that Daryl Dixon who is OC completely outshines the actual canon characters. Sad. The second episode when the zombies use a brick to smash the glass... Okay.
 
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Agreed. There is way too much filler.
Should have been a 10 episode per season show.

I think the prison season is underrated, which is right after the farm.
Part of the reason people loved the first season so much is because it was only 6 episodes. Once they started stretching seasons to cable TV style 16-24 episodes that was a big red flag for the writing and pacing.

It’s part of the reason why I’m glad cable TV is almost dead at this point. More shows can do a limited series of 6 episodes or go up to 8-10 episodes per season at most and leave it at that. 16-24 is ridiculous for most shows aside from maybe cartoons and reality tv.
 

gow3isben

Member
First 3 seasons some of the best television period.

After that it sucks.

Just watch first 3 seasons and pretend it ends there.

Back in the day it was popular as anything out there. GoT, Breaking Bad you name it.
 
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Doom85

Member
I dropped it during the war against Negan (Season 9? I forget) once I realized they wouldn’t rewrite the comic to just have Negan be the final antagonist. Especially as both Rick‘s Andrew Lincoln and Michonne’s Danai Gurira revealed they’d be leaving the show soon. Like, at that point too many of the relevant leads would be gone, and come on, no one would be topping Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a villain. That man owned every scene he was in.
 

NekoFever

Member
The first season or two aren't bad. The survivors finding a safe haven, spend a season in the safe haven, safe haven is found to have a dark side and falls apart so they're forced to flee works the first time but it gets old after the seventh.

I just looked at Wikipedia and how the fuck did they stretch that series out to 11 seasons, plus 8 seasons of FTWD, plus another half-dozen spin-offs? Jesus.
 
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