AMC: Fear The Walking Dead

[DRW50]

 

I was being hyperbolic, but hiring one actress to overcome all the shortcomings in a script (which she didn't even do) was basically what I was replying to. Anyway, sorry for the hyperbole. I was mostly just reacting because while she was decent enough, I didn't really get the hype as I watched the episode before I read the comments.

 

 

 

(Sorry for the screwed up quote)

 

I also thought it was a really bad idea. I don't understand why a black man needed to be cast in that role.

[Vee]

In fairness, they filmed it ages ago. I don't think it's a big thing but I also get the queasy climate of the moment. I do think both this show and the current TWD ensemble are very diverse, so I think the old "it's T-Dog all over again!" complaint kind of rings hollow at this point.

[Paul Raven]

Sure it was slow going but they needed to set things up.There was enough there to keep me tuned in.

Liked the decaying LA feel.

None of the characters were particularly interesting at this point.

The whole angsty teen thing was grating.The son is a drug addict and the daughter had that bitchy'I'm better than this' vibe,yet the adults were worshipping at their altar.

That scene where the mom was listening in the corridor  as Travis really connected with his students...

Why is he driving that crappy truck with the cracked windscreen?

[Vee]

Really effective scene in the school tonight - with the entrance alarm going off repeatedly (presumably multiple walkers), and the noise on the intercom. Kim Dickens did a great job in the aftermath.

 

I hope we see poor Tobias again. Alicia is becoming more tolerable. It makes you wonder what the authorities (the police, at least) know and when they knew it. You got the sense they were trying to hold back something much worse than one dead homeless guy downtown.

 

Ruben Blades is always nice to see. The young woman playing Ofelia seems solid. Everything in the neighborhood, with the little girl's lonely birthday party, was suffused with dread.

 

Showrunner Dave Erickson on tonight's episode. Interesting backstory on the Salazars.

Frank Dillane talks about Nick's backstory and searches for a pub.

[quartermainefan]

This was much better.    I like the whole watching civilization crumble thing, and it is cool how it all falls apart so quickly.   I wish she had insisted Tobias come with her.   It's the end of civilization, surely there is room for one more in the car?

I can see why whatshisname got a divorce.   Wife A has to be one of the most annoying people in town, and it is easy to see where the son gets his stupidity from.  Neither one will let you finish a sentence at any time.   Hopefully one or both with die soon.

[Juliajms]

Ratings. There was a 16% drop.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/08/31/amcs-fear-the-walking-dead-declines-16-percent-in-adults-18-49-in-week-2/455591/

[AllMyDaysatGH]

I actually thought this latest episode was a bit rougher than the first (which I loved). I did like the LA riot scenes a lot, but could've done without them surrounding the mind numbingly curious son. I love Liz Rodriguez, but her character is pretty annoying too!

 

I'm still not loving this Kim Dickens. LOL. Sorry. It doesn't help that she's playing a woman named Maggie, AKA the girl I can barely stand from TWD. LOL. I'm just finding her & Alicia both insufferable.

[Vee]

She's actually Maddie (Madison), but I heard Maggie many times too.

 

Apparently even with the drop (which likely had a lot to do with the VMAs) those numbers are still pretty healthy. We'll see how they do, though.

[AllMyDaysatGH]

 

I thought I was crazy! I didn't recall hearing Maggie at all in the first ep. LOL

[DRW50]

I finally got to watch this.

 

What I liked: 

 

- I actually don't mind Travis' ex or their son. Yes he's a blank slate and she's pushy and defensive, but there's room to build on. They feel more believable to me than his superhero status with his new family.

 

- The brother and sister relationship with Nick and his sister. It brings out a better side of both characters. 

 

- I liked seeing the family in the barber shop during the riots. They felt "real," and not like they were being patronized in the script. 

 

What didn't really work for me:

 

- The mother having to kill her coworker, and everything with the all-knowing, all-seeing boy who reminded me of a young Robert Kirkman, and of course happily leaves on his own, likely to pop up again to offer more enigmatic moments in future 

 

What I truly don't understand: 

 

- They repeatedly ran over a black man last week, and this week they have a black man bludgeoned to death, another black man is sick and likely to turn soon...and they have what amounts to a Black Lives Matter protest without any black characters in central roles. Is someone at the show taunting people who criticized TWD for racism? Are they this tone deaf?

[Vee]

I don't think they're taunting anyone. I do think that's a likely scenario that would play out in the face of any kind of epidemic like this, especially in this supercharged political climate. The infected would inevitably get shot in the streets and initially, the populace would protest what is perceived as police brutality.

 

I know there was an article with the showrunner as well as an interview with Elizabeth Rodriguez (Liza, the ex-wife), where they both said they felt the scene was more of an indictment of the existing breakdown of trust between the police and the people over incidents like these. I tend to agree with that.

[Darn]

Unfortunately I think they are just that tone deaf.

 

I re-watched the pilot and just finished the second episode and I have no idea why this wasn't a web series or something. There's not much here honestly. It's sort of limp and lifeless (har har), the best thing about it is probably the music. Great music! Just re-cut the show as a music video and I'm in!

[AllMyDaysatGH]

I do agree about the score. It's outstanding!

[Darn]

The songselection has been great and the score has this retro 80s vibe (kind of like The Knick and How to Get Away with Murder) that I'm really into. Very techno.

[DRW50]

I agree about the music.

 

There was also another scene I liked that I forgot to mention - the one where Kim Dickens forced her daughter to stay in the house while the picture perfect family across the street were being attacked. Only letting us see a faraway glimpse of the horror was a wise choice, and it was also a scene that fulfilled the promise of a show set right at the start of the ZA.