Talking Dead: Where Chris Hardwick Got His Groove Back

[SimoneS]

Awww, Beth's funeral is the sneak peek. I feel Noah's pain. Beth sacrificed herself for him. I am glad that he went with Rick which proved that he was worth saving.

[Irishmaple]

I hate when Chris asks Kirkman specific questions about the direction of the plot and he does that thing where he just waffles without really answering.  Scott Gimple and Gale Anne Hurd deflect with such grace.  Kirkman's clumsy as hell.

[Mu Shu]

Kirkman can suck it. Yes, it's the ZA and people will die. But do they have to die in such stupid ways? 

I rarely watch TD, but I am watching it now, and  am firmly of the opinion that Kirkland based the Eugene character on his very own  affectless, asocial appearing ass.   

[sigmaforce86]

TV censors are confusing.......it was OK for Daryl and Beth to flip off the burning building during the show in the 9pm-10pm hour but they show a screenshot of that on TD and they have to blur out their fingers even though Talking airs after 10? Makes no sense

Edited December 1, 2014 by sigmaforce86

[Milaxx]

This must be one of the nicest sets to work on. It seems like every time a character dies they are in tears on Talking Dead. TDawg, Andrea, Herschel and now Beth. 

[Morrigan2575]

I feel bad for EK even though I didn't like Beth and didn't think much of her as an actress. Hopefully she'll find success in her singing career.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Morrigan2575

[lulee]

Awww, Beth's funeral is the sneak peek. I feel Noah's pain. Beth sacrificed herself for him. I am glad that he went with Rick which proved that he was worth saving.

Agreed. And the previous shows that Gabriel is useful for at least one thing. Hopefully funerals won't be a regular occurrence.

[Pete Martell]

That was one of the more surreal Talking Dead episodes I can remember. They really didn't handle this well.

 

You had Emily Kinney, clearly devastated (I'm not even sure if they should have asked her to come on as she was obviously struggling), the Key & Peele guy, who was mostly relegated to wisecracks once Emily came out, and Robert Kirkman, who is by nature smirky and smarmy, although he did try.

 

I felt just awful for Emily, and I also felt for Hardwick a little, as he was trying to keep the show going when she clearly wasn't up for it. It made him look dickish at times, but he is the host.

 

The preview was great. And I'm glad that I got more confirmation of Daryl being asexual, even if I'm not sure KIrkman knows entirely what that means.

 

I think the worst part was the live callers, who, with one exception (a nice woman who asked a question I don't remember), annoyed the hell out of me. 

 

- that couple who said their children wanted the father to make out with Maggie, or whatever. Why was this let on the air? There are plenty of sites that will take your self-insert porn. Leave it there. 

 

- the man who had the big porny pervert smile on his face when he asked about Daryl getting some ass. 

 

- the idiot with the fake dead animal on his head screaming about CDC like a failed standup comedian from 1985. 

 

Oh, and this is my basic reaction to any generic Shane = Rick commentary.

 

 

[NorthstarATL]

The video-ins are new aren't they? I don't recall them before tonight, and they really don't speak well for us as the audience. I don't really want to be associated with them...at all. Emily was sweet, and I was working in the area when they all arrived, so I got a bit nostalgic as well! Kirkman made what I thought was an interesting point about killing off characters on the page vs. killing them off on the show, where they are represented by actual human beings. Then he rambled on about how important this would be to Maggie, and he lost me.

[lulee]

I think they'd done some video questions in the past but maybe this was the first time this season. Why they resurrected them for this episode, I have no idea.

[editorgrrl]

Damn, what did Key say that they had to mute?

When Beth died, first he was crying then he was orgasming.

[Pete Martell]

When Beth died, first he was crying then he was orgasming.

 

Ew.

The video-ins are new aren't they? I don't recall them before tonight, and they really don't speak well for us as the audience. I don't really want to be associated with them...at all. Emily was sweet, and I was working in the area when they all arrived, so I got a bit nostalgic as well! Kirkman made what I thought was an interesting point about killing off characters on the page vs. killing them off on the show, where they are represented by actual human beings. Then he rambled on about how important this would be to Maggie, and he lost me.

 

They had them for Andrew Lincoln's appearance last season. I remember them being better chosen. I'm not sure if they were going for humor here but I guess I'm not that type of viewer. The Maggie question truly skeeved me out because I had flashbacks to Literotica-type fics where a cameraman can't believe his luck because he gets to have a fivesome with the female cast of Friends and one of the women from Home Shopping who wears short skirts. I don't understand how this got on AMC. Kirkman's response (something about Lauren Cohan is under contract to kiss anyone on the show) didn't help.

 

And poor Emily. I wonder if she was supposed to be out earlier but was too upset to speak.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Pete Martell

[SimoneS]

When Beth died, first he was crying then he was orgasming.

 

Ah, thanks.

 

I thought Titus, the little dog, was adorable.

Edited December 1, 2014 by SimoneS

[lulee]

When Beth died, first he was crying then he was orgasming.

That's so odd. I hadn't noticed a bleep. I just thought he said, "key-gasming." Did he say that after the bleep?

[editorgrrl]

Chris said "you were crygasming."

[Artsda]

Emily made me cry.  She was so devastated at losing the family she had made for herself in Atlanta. Poor Emily. :( 

[Guest]

They had them for Andrew Lincoln's appearance last season. I remember them being better chosen. I'm not sure if they were going for humor here but I guess I'm not that type of viewer.

 

I think they were going for humor.  I'm not sure if AL's were chosen better or not.  I only remember the Love Actually parody.

[Pete Martell]

I don't remember being mortified by anything, so that's why I assumed they were better. I was flat out cringing at almost all the questions tonight. 

[Bruinsfan]

- the idiot with the fake dead animal on his head screaming about CDC like a failed standup comedian from 1985. 

It wouldn't surprise me if not only was that a real animal hide (the eyes looked it; with a fake you'd generally have stuffed animal eyes or somesuch), but RageNerd skinned and tanned it himself in a shed out back.

 

The one silver lining of all the really creepy skype questioners (and honestly it seemed like even that one sweet lady was chosen for the weird visual she and her dog made) is that they probably helped make it the most uncomfortable talk show ever for Kirkman. I mean, we can point and laugh but he has to go to sleep tonight with that impression of the fandom and knowing that ones who really object to his plot decisions are going to be googling his address to send angry letters... or worse.

[CletusMusashi]

Please stop giving Emily Kinney helium before her interviews.

[Iguessnot]

Because while Beth might not be popular on this forum (which has a a few regular posters), she has a ton of fans across the Internet and in the non-online audience. These people care that she is dead so of course, they are going to talk about it. 

The thing I noticed about this appearance and her last one a few weeks ago, is that Chris and the other guests keep giving Emily tongue baths about how great an actress she is. Like someone giving pep talks to their untalented six year old.

 

With all the talk about a 30 year old playing a teen, Emily looks and has the demeanor of a teen to me. Granted she was emotional this episode but I found her nearly as inarticulate in her last appearance. 

 

So yes, Emily does have a large internet fan base, but I find it very interesting that her working peers, other guests and Chris handle her with "kid gloves" and don't converse with her as a 30 year old.

[Anela]

I think they were going for humor.  I'm not sure if AL's were chosen better or not.  I only remember the Love Actually parody.

 

I remember a woman with a bird, that also distracted them all from whatever she'd asked.

 

I felt bad for Emily Kinney, and was thinking the same thing about the show: that they must be the nicest group of people.

[GreyBunny]

EK needs to grow the hell up.  

 

Apparently she was upset she found out while filming the episode before that she was going to die in the next one.  Well, gee, that's par for the course for a lot of TV shows.  Sometimes they don't even give the actor the last page of the script including what their fate will be until right before they film that scene.

 

They asked how she felt filming the last episode and she babbled about how it put a lot of stress on her life because she had to uproot herself and get rid of her apartment.  Not professional.  They asked about her filming, not her personal problems.  I would like to think that MMB, DG, or LC would handle things with more dignity.

Edited December 1, 2014 by GreyBunny

[Guest]

EK needs to grow the hell up. 

 

I found the whole thing kind of odd.  Chris seemed to be reacting preemptively as if she were more upset than she appeared to be which I thought kind of egged the whole thing on.  She was on the show a couple weeks ago for Slabtown and seemed to be just fine.  I got the feeling something happened backstage or with social media since Slabtown or they were just trying to make "good" TV.

[GreyBunny]

She was such a blubbering mess that she couldn't come out as early as they wanted her to.  They had to wait for her to compose herself backstage.

[editorgrrl]

The one silver lining of all the really creepy skype questioners (and honestly it seemed like even that one sweet lady was chosen for the weird visual she and her dog made) is that they probably helped make it the most uncomfortable talk show ever for Kirkman. I mean, we can point and laugh but he has to go to sleep tonight with that impression of the fandom and knowing that ones who really object to his plot decisions are going to be googling his address to send angry letters... or worse.

I loved when Chris accused him of always killing off the moral center of the show, and Kirkman (whom Chris kept calling "Kirkman") tried to play it off. But I'll bet dollars to donuts that Tyreese is a dead man walking.

[NorthstarATL]

EK needs to grow the hell up.  

 

Apparently she was upset she found out while filming the episode before that she was going to die in the next one.  Well, gee, that's par for the course for a lot of TV shows.  Sometimes they don't even give the actor the last page of the script including what their fate will be until right before they film that scene.

 

They asked how she felt filming the last episode and she babbled about how it put a lot of stress on her life because she had to uproot herself and get rid of her apartment.  Not professional.  They asked about her filming, not her personal problems.  I would like to think that MMB, DG, or LC would handle things with more dignity.

She did talk about how she handled it while filming, and that it was more stressful because she had had to uproot herself rather quickly upon learning the news. It's not unlike someone explaining how they had to approach an emotional scene after the illness of a loved one or some other sort of real world experience that leaks into one's acting. It was interesting in that it was real and was an actual answer to a question.

[kayma]

The thing I noticed about this appearance and her last one a few weeks ago, is that Chris and the other guests keep giving Emily tongue baths about how great an actress she is. Like someone giving pep talks to their untalented six year old.

 

I much preferred Emily's acting to the actress that plays Carol. I don't get the Carol love at all - for the character or the actress. I don't think Emily is the best actress ever, but I cringe far more often at Carol's (Melissa's?) acting. I think this is an eye of the beholder type thing. I thought Emily did well enough to mostly hold her own on the show.

 

I'm still sad they killed her off.

[SimoneS]

EK needs to grow the hell up.  

 

Apparently she was upset she found out while filming the episode before that she was going to die in the next one.  Well, gee, that's par for the course for a lot of TV shows.  Sometimes they don't even give the actor the last page of the script including what their fate will be until right before they film that scene.

 

They asked how she felt filming the last episode and she babbled about how it put a lot of stress on her life because she had to uproot herself and get rid of her apartment.  Not professional.  They asked about her filming, not her personal problems.  I would like to think that MMB, DG, or LC would handle things with more dignity.

 

Unless you know more about the behind the scenes drama, this comment misrepresents what Emily said on the show and I don't agree that anything about her appearance on TD deserves the "more dignity" dig. Emily never said that she was upset because she found out that her character was going to die in the previous episode. She just told Chris when she found out and went on to talk about how difficult it was leaving the people that she cared about. 

 

NorthstarATL's post above correctly represents what Emily said about having to film the emotional last scene while having to move on with her life, selling her apartment, etc. I thought Emily's answer was forthright about the emotion and stress that actors go through when leaving people they care about and a role they have come to appreciate.

 

I am not one for buying into actors' public personas, but I don't think they should be judged when they seem to express a genuine emotion about their experiences. I remember when Theodore Douglas (T Dog), Lori Holden (Andrea),  and Scott Wilson appeared on TD. They seemed to be barely repressing anger and/or annoyance at being fired. I had no problem with their appearances either.

Edited December 2, 2014 by SimoneS

[kj4ever]

Dead animal on his head and yelling aside, I think that was like the best question someone could have asked and was pissed that Kirk-dude didn't answer it.

 

I felt bad for Emily.  She obviously has made a lot of close relationships on the show and that is hard to lose.

[Milaxx]

I am not one for buying into actors' public personas, but I don't think they should be judged when they seem to express a genuine emotion about their experience. I remember when Theodore Douglas (T Dog), Lori Holden (Andrea),  and Scott Wilson appeared on TD. They also seemed to barely repressing anger and/or annoyance at being fired.

 

Not sure I even saw annoyance or anger at being fired. That's par for the course as an actor. What I did see and have remarked upon before, are people truly sad to leave a group they have been with for several years. Since they are actors they also have to deal with packing up and saying goodbye, yet not allowing that sadness to bleed into their performance as an actor. 

[indeed]

Dead animal on his head and yelling aside, I think that was like the best question someone could have asked and was pissed that Kirk-dude didn't answer it.

Well, Chris didn't even give him a chance to answer it. Although he did put Kirkman on the spot for saying nice things about Emily by bringing up that particular question again, CH really should have repeated the CDC question for Kirkman to answer and let him blow it off instead. Edited December 1, 2014 by indeed

[kj4ever]

Well, Chris didn't even give him a chance to answer it. Although he did put Kirkman on the spot for saying nice things about Emily but bringing up that particular question again, CH really should have repeated the CDC question for Kirkman to answer and let him blow it off instead.

And isn't the CDC episode a sore spot with Kirk-guy too because it wasn't in his precious comic?

Dammit I hit reply on accident and my phone freaks when I try to edit here...

 

Anyone else get the feeling that we are stuck with Father Pee Pants for a long time?  Kirk-Jerk sounded way defensive when the other dude was like "KILL HIM" and Kirk was all "Oh give him a chance!"

 

I wish they would let real people on the show to tell people like him and Gimple what we really think of their problematic storytelling.

[editorgrrl]

Now the TPTB can claim "we asked Kirkman about the CDC." And it was super disingenuous of Chris to claim he had literally no idea Beth would die. He reads the interwebs—he self-identifies as a nerd.

[Bruinsfan]

(whom Chris kept calling "Kirkman")

I wish I could read more into that, but Chris calls Greg Nicotero by last name too, and I'm sure there's tons of respect and affection there.

[tv echo]

The more I see of Robert Kirkman, the less I like him.

 

I'm sick of the Shane v. Rick question.  I hated Shane.  If Shane had been the leader for the past four years, he would've sacrificed the entire group to save his own skin.

 

I was touched by Emily Kinney's obvious sadness at leaving the show.  I'll take an actor showing honest emotion over another actor presenting a PR-polished front any day.

[indeed]

Yeah, I like some of their tweet quotes they pick, but the questions to guests often are lacking. Pick something with substance once in a while! At least the audience participants seem well-adjusted for the most part and not embarrassing as the representation of fandom.

[SimoneS]

Oh, and this is my basic reaction to any generic Shane = Rick commentary.

 

 

 

 

I'm sick of the Shane v. Rick question.  I hated Shane.  If Shane had been the leader for the past four years, he would've sacrificed the entire group to save his own skin.

 

The Rick = Shane is such false equivalence and worse, it totally white washes Shane's rapist and psychopathic character. Yet so many celebrity guests go there, even Gimple indulges them although he has on previous occasions indicated that he does not agree. I don't think Hardwick does either, but he rarely disagrees with the guests. I thought that was interesting that Kirkman pushed back against that rubbish by pointing out that the group would have been much smaller now because Shane would have sacrificed most of them. The first time we saw Shane in season one episode one, he was arguing with Lori and Amy, refusing to help his people who were stuck in Atlanta. He was ready to abandon five or six of his group in a heartbeat. Yet even as Rick has become more ruthless and distrusting, he will go fight a mob to get back two of his people. Shane never had that kind of loyalty to anyone other than Carl and Lori.

Edited December 1, 2014 by SimoneS

[JackONeill]

Other than "sucking up" why do they even bother having Kirkman, Hurd and Gimple on?  They're not going to tell you anything about what's about to happen.  Okay, sure, they can explore the reasons about something that's already happened but, to me, their explanations are always full of so much BS.  And, usually, when they do talk about something that's happened, they do it to pat themselves on the back.

 

I'd really rather never see Kirkman again.  Smug with two capital S's.

 

And they seriously need to re-think allowing people to video conference.  Either that, or chose the non-idiots in the audience.

Edited December 1, 2014 by JackONeill

[Bruinsfan]

I think Hurd and Gimple still have interesting info to pass on about the behind-the-scenes process and what the writers' intent was for aired stories, even if they don't drop spoilers. Neither of them comes across as a smug or petulant child the way Kirkman does. Though Nicotero is hands-down my favorite person from the crew to feature as a guest.

[mandolin]

I enjoy Nicotero as well, but I also watch the dvd extras, and between those and this show, if I had to hear one.more.time. how much he loved the charred walkers in The Grove, I was going to, well, something. He repeats himself a lot.

[nachomama]

I haven't actually watched yet but wouldn't Emily Kinney have already filmed this when she made the first appearance the other week? Why wouldn't she have been verklempt then? 

 

edit because I'm clearly on drugs....filmed her death? been done by the first time she appeared.

Edited December 1, 2014 by nachomama

[Sakura12]

I didn't have a problem with Emily tearing up talking about leaving the show. I remember some of the other actors doing the same thing. I know it's part of their job especially on show like the Walking Dead. But they did form friendships with the other actors and it would be sad for them to not be working with them anymore. 

 

If they are going to do audience questions I'd rather they stick with the twitter/facebook ones so it doesn't waste as much time. They can get out 4 social media questions by the time it takes one person to get their stupid question out in a video. Mostly since they seem to choose the strangest ones instead of the good ones. 

[Ellaria]

I'd really rather never see Kirkman again.  Smug with two capital S's.

 

Not a fan of Kirkman's appearances either. I don't think that he adds anything to the proceedings. Give me Yvette, CM Punk and other competent celebrity fans or the actors.

[Mu Shu]

Now the TPTB can claim "we asked Kirkman about the CDC." And it was super disingenuous of Chris to claim he had literally no idea Beth would die. He reads the interwebs—he self-identifies as a nerd.

LOL.   As if there's any question this mope is a nerd.    The guy probably still practice kisses his own hand.    I read a few comics, but got bored really fast.    it's as they were written by an intelligent but socially retarded fifteen year old.   The Negan stuff is pathetic.    

[The Mighty Peanut]

I felt for EK. I know being killed off a show is the nature of the beast if you're an actor, especially one like TWD with such a high death toll...job security is the sacrifice you make for for money and exposure. But it's still got to be hard to lose a job and move back (I imagine) to LA or NYC to continue hustling and looking for work when your surrogate family of 4 years are somewhere else.

Edited December 2, 2014 by The Mighty Peanut

[Milaxx]

I haven't actually watched yet but wouldn't Emily Kinney have already filmed this when she made the first appearance the other week? Why wouldn't she have been verklempt then? 

 

edit because I'm clearly on drugs....filmed her death? been done by the first time she appeared.

I think it different when this is it. I've left many a job where I all but made a paper airplane of my resignation letter and sailed it into my boss's office. Then for the next few week's I was a happy busy body, efficiently cleaning up and preparing my work to leave for my successor. Yet at the farewell party I have indeed been reduced to a puddle of blubbering tears. It's the finality of it. You may (try) to keep in touch, but  that's nothing like seeing these same folks on a regular basis. No doubt watching that final episode and doing the last official series related big thing is tough. I didn't like the character, but I understand the actress feeling a little verklempt. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Talking Dead did big numbers last night -- 6.6 million viewers, with nearly 2/3 of those viewers in the key 18-49 demo.  

The average number of viewers for the 8 Talking Dead shows of this season at 5.6 million, up 24% from last year.  Which is great news.

 

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/12/01/the-walking-dead-midseason-finale-attracts-14-8-million-viewers/334289/

[BrokenRemote]

While I don't blame Emily for tearing up, I blame Hardwick and the show for keeping it going. Why keep asking her questions about how sad her last days were, about when she knew, etc. when it's obviously upsetting her more and more and she obviously can't handle them? Why not cut away to someone else and let her compose herself?

I do think that a professional should be able to get hold of his of herself after a moment. Actors experience really sad things, way sadder than this, every day and then go on and perform. Press for the show is part of the performance.

But again, I felt like the plan for the show was to wring every single drop of drama and angst out of the situation, right off the bat with Hardwick saying something about the episode being the saddest one ever. I think that they felt that all the drama would placate Emily's fans by showing how super sad it made TPTB too, and that maybe it would appeal to some viewers.

[Mu Shu]

Saddest one ever?    Merle being put down by Daryl was pretty damn sad.  And Merle was an asshole.   It was abrupt and shocking, in a very cynical, Tarantino- esque  way.    The Beth death, that is.