S01.E01: Pilot

[Irritable]

This is not a complaint, but I feel like I just watched Johnny Depp, Jr.

 

Are you the one that said that in the live chat thread... because I'm never going to be able to un-see that now.

 

 

No, I didn't even know there was a live chat thread until I came here to post.  So, others were seeing it too?  Glad I'm not alone!  I'm sure the resemblance will lessen once Nick changes clothes, but he will have to hurry because if this is going to be anything like TWD, people are going to be stuck wearing the same clothes for 5 seasons!

Edited August 24, 2015 by Irritable

[ottoDbusdriver]

But it wasn't until the last few minutes that I finally realized who Nick (looks and behaviour) totally remind me of.

 

Johnny Depp's Gilbert (What's Eating Gilbert Grape) + Johnny Depp's Raoul Duke (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) + Elias from Kevin Smith's Clerks II.

 

Combine those three, and THAT is the physical looks, behaviour and mannerisms of Nick on this show. It's uncanny.

 

That was the part I was missing -- Elias from Clerks 2.  If fits perfectly with the Johnny Depp components -- good call @Halcyondays.

Edited August 24, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Production quality 'rant'.....

 

is it just my TV/setup, or was the picture quality really crappy at times?  I was watching in HD (of course!), and it seemed like the PQ was really soft at times and a few of the dark scenes just dissolved into black shadowy indistinctual blobs - especially the scenes where Nick and Travis moved through the dark corridors at the church.

[sluggish neko]

It took me a minute, but I realized it was definitely Gloria's shirt (or some chick's)....and not even a real shirt, more of a cover up, like what you'd wear over a sleeveless dress or something just to be less bare.

 

It definitely wasn't Nick's. The guy likes to steal clothes. I figured that out after he stole the old man's outfit from the hospital. He looked so silly wandering around in those oversized clothes wondering if he's gone insane. After he takes his parents to Cal's body, sees that the body's gone, and has a "I'm not craaaazy!" breakdown (which totally cracked me up), I realized Nick was comedy relief. Humor is always nice in zombie apocalypses... otherwise things get way too bleak. Doesn't Rick serve the same function on TWD? 

 

I find it incredibly fitting that Cal was the first named character to be killed. There is a proud tradition in the Walking Dead universe of massacring as many black men as possible and this show will be no different. It is actually funny, now. As soon as beautiful Cal showed up, several scenes after Smart Teen Girl's boyfriend was introduced, I knew one of those guys would have to go.

 

Of course! It wouldn't be The Walking Dead otherwise. It's all in honor of T-Dog.

[ParadoxLost]

I totally agree with you on this, but doing it that way = more production cost.  I don't know the situation for the show, but maybe they have a limited budget, at least in that way.  And if that's not the case, then a show like this needs a bigger cast just based on the simple fact that it takes place in LA.  LA [and suburbs/surrounding area(s)] is HUGE.

 

I agree it would cost more but a lot of them could be nothing more than glorified extras or guest stars killed off early.  Spend a little time with the nurse.  Spend a little time with the EMT/cop/zombie from the video.  Think about how many people had speaking lines in the school.  Spread it around.  For that matter, the single mom and new live in boyfriend don't need to work at the same place.

 

I see it as a reverse of TWD.  Rick woke alone and found people to join.  I think it would have been cool if this show started with a full cast and ended with the last man/woman standing.  Then each season repeats in a different locale and survivor archetype.

[TexasChic]

I'm getting major Tim Riggins vibes from druggie Nick...

I'm getting more of a Tom Riddle vibe.

[NorthstarATL]

Are you the one that said that in the live chat thread... because I'm never going to be able to un-see that now.

Fear The Walking Depp? That was tedious. It reminded me that I watch TWD because I am invested in how people react to the ZA and the resultant behaviors of their fellow humans, and what attempts are made at rebuilding or re-imagining society. This story? Not so much. They are too far away from the period that is interesting, and the characters are not compelling. I'll give it an ep or two to see if it surprises me or if something else doesn't show up on another channel.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

Even though I am thinking his act will grow old, until he finally shakes the 'habit', I do gotta give Nick major props.  He's got the "shtamble" down pat.  Walkers will totally ignore him as he shambles along just as ungracefully as they do!  Survival strategies FTW, baby!!

 

{"shtamble" = stumble+shamble mushed together}

[Bryce Lynch]

Dreadfully boring. Not a single likeable or interesting character and not a single interesting or entertaining scene. I am not wasting any more of my time on this dreck.

[TexasChic]

I'm getting more of a Tom Riddle vibe.

P.S. The actor played Tom Riddle in the Half Blood Prince.

Edited August 24, 2015 by TexasChic

[HalcyonDays]

That was the part I was missing -- the Elias from Clerks 2.  If fits perfectly with the Johnny Depp components -- good call @Halcyondays.

 

Thanks! Whenever he did that weird laughing/grinning think, all I could think about was Clerks II and Elias and waiting for him to say "One Ring to Rule Them All..." amongst *ahem* other things. Gilbert Grape, mostly when Nick was sitting in the middle of the truck with his mom and Travis or looking distressed. And Raoul Duke for the clothes, when he was talking "crazy" and some of the druggie mannerisms (like in the diner).

 

And the actor really does look like Depp.

 

Fear The Walking Depp?

 

*PERFECTION*. That's it - the character thread for Nick will include this exact line in it, dammit!! Brilliant NorthStarATL!

[Saje]

About the Nick + clothes thing - I just got the impression he doesn't give a shit what he wears as long as he's not cold. And I think the old man's clothes were more of a getaway disguise/convenience than any kind of real couture choice. 

 

I do hope he showers soon. Before he, or any of them, can't any more. Would be nice to see him with clean hair.

[bentley]

I thought it lacked the cinematic quality of the first episode of The Walking Dead. That pilot I can watch again and again, and there are so many scenes that are iconic and beautiful. This was more paint by numbers, and I have no desire to watch it again. I'm in for the season, as I imagine most Walking Dead fans are, but I wouldn't want to use this show to introduce any friends to the franchise. Too slow, and I'm already tired of the blended family and their issues. 

 

Please let the junkie wash his hair before they get totally cut off from civilization. I put up with it from Darryl, Rick and crew because it makes sense in their circumstances. For this version, everyone should at least start out with clean, shiny hair. 

[Yolapukka]

I think the mistake was the length, I think the slow burn was a good idea, it appealed to me but the two together added up to things that were unnecessary, like the scene where they discussed Call Of The Wild (I think?) in class and other sequences could have made been shorter in length and made the same point. I will say I was absorbed by the show, not bored. 

 

I'm hot and cold on Nick, on the one hand, his instincts in emergencies are good on the other his addiction makes him a screw-up the rest of the time and I have a hard time getting invested in him as a consequence.  Like others, I enjoy Kim Dickens, but the character she's playing is underwritten, right now she's just a nice lady, who doesn't seem concerningly wimpy, whoever described her as "blank" nailed it. Travis is not much more than a male version of her.  Alicia is even more of a blank slate, the only point where she showed more spark than "teenager, female version" was her scene feeding Nick in the hospital. I think rather than allow us to get to know who these people are, the pacing obscured their characters since so much of how character is established in Walking Dead has been through showing us how they react to danger and distress and treat others in that circumstance.

Edited August 24, 2015 by yuggapukka

[SimoneS]

Regarding the hospital, I would think that they would be inundated with people sick with the "flu." We know that the flu hits with a fever and then people die. We have never heard of anyone recovering, The only thing we know is that the everyone (other than the CDC) mistakenly thought that you had to get bitten for the disease to be transmitted. All of these people dying in the hospital would cause panic and alarm, but also they would be reanimating after various lengths of time and attacking the staff, patients, and their visitors.

Edited August 24, 2015 by SimoneS

[Saje]

That's two votes for the clean hair. Bust out the Pantene, show.

[TexasChic]

He's very cute cleaned up.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm270521600/nm0226817?ref_=nm_ov_ph

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

(I know I'm supposed to "roll with it and don't think too hard about it", but...)

 

So, did "Gloria" OD and die next to Nick?  If so, why didn't she feast on him??  Or did she wake up pre-dying, feeling horrible, and went downstairs to try and get help, but died and came back later to start eating?  Was she stabbed after reanimation, or was that the cause of death??

 

[/ steps down off insatiable, yet trivial, curiosity soapbox]

[larapu2000]

I thought it was okay. I also found Cal super fine.

Anything about zombies that doesn't involve Rick Grimes is my new favorite thing.

[ottoDbusdriver]

(I know I'm supposed to "roll with it and don't think too hard about it", but...)

 

So, did "Gloria" OD and die next to Nick?  If so, why didn't she feast on him??  Or did she wake up pre-dying, feeling horrible, and went downstairs to try and get help, but died and came back later to start eating?  Was she stabbed after reanimation, or was that the cause of death??

 

[/ steps down off insatiable, yet trivial, curiosity soapbox]

 

I think that she woke up and went downstairs in the church and was stabbed by another junkie, then re-animated and killed the junkie that stabbed her and anyone else nearby.  Nick did say that the church was basically a shooting gallery.

Edited August 24, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Saje]

He's very cute cleaned up.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm270521600/nm0226817?ref_=nm_ov_ph

 

Jordan Catalano, is that you?

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

(I know I'm supposed to "roll with it and don't think too hard about it", but...)

 

So, did "Gloria" OD and die next to Nick?  If so, why didn't she feast on him??  Or did she wake up pre-dying, feeling horrible, and went downstairs to try and get help, but died and came back later to start eating?  Was she stabbed after reanimation, or was that the cause of death??

 

[/ steps down off insatiable, yet trivial, curiosity soapbox]

 

I don't do the whole "sync up and have the web-thingy going while you watch the episode" deal going on, so maybe stuff is explained or explored more there, but its stuff like this that makes me wish these shows put out little 2 to 3 minute mini-'webisodes' as additions to each TV episode, to get the backstory on things/people such as what happened to "Gloria"; ie, like showing the bridge-gap between the last thing Nick remembered about her before passing out in a drug-addled haze, and then he and we meet her again as she's now a walker and feasting on a body.

 

Just my own opinion and thinking.  I would totally be in for something like that.

[larapu2000]

I don't think the daughter's boyfriend is dead...isn't that actor the kid who played Randy on The Wire? They wouldn't kill him yet, right?

[phoenix780]

I don't do the whole "sync up and have the web-thingy going while you watch the episode" deal going on, so maybe stuff is explained or explored more there, but its stuff like this that makes me wish these shows put out little 2 to 3 minute mini-'webisodes' as additions to each TV episode, to get the backstory on things/people such as what happened to "Gloria"; ie, like showing the bridge-gap between the last thing Nick remembered about her before passing out in a drug-addled haze, and then he and we meet her again as she's now a walker and feasting on a body.

 

Just my own opinion and thinking.  I would totally be in for something like that.

My thought is that they had more than enough time, they don't need a websiode filler kinda deal.  I'm generally against that sort of thing, though, where they punt it to the web like I'ma follow more to get a complete story.  I'd rather they fill it in as a flashback at some point or something. 

 

This was a little slow for me, and I just kept thinking..."Caprica," the prequel series to Battlestar Galactica.  I have a lot of built-in anticipation as a viewer, it's tough to be patient when you know this big thing is going to happen, especially when I'm not instantly feeling any of the characters offered up thus far.

 

I also kept wondering why they were driving a truck in worse shape before the apocalypse than some of what Rick and crew find after, but that was nitpicking out of boredom. 

 

Oh, and the lead actress...reminds me of Cat Cora, physically.  I'm terrible distinguishing faces, though, so it's just my twisted mind.

Edited August 24, 2015 by phoenix780

[Muffyn]

I kept waiting for the old guy in the next bed to die & reanimate, and to have Nick have to somehow fight him off while wearing restraints, but that might have been a bit too reminiscent of Andrea's demise...

At least Nick would be more likely to fight rather than while away the time like Andrea did.  

 

Cal was just too pretty to live.  The curse of TWD, the unblackening. 

[catrox14]

The first 30 minutes were unnecessary IMO.  I would have been fine with them starting with the girls watching the video in the school and then pick up with Walking Depp "tm PTV" trying to find his dealer with occasional glimpses of his parents looking for him. I felt more tension when the dealer drove him to the secluded spot on the L.A and forward from there.

 

Also, the acting is just nowhere near as good as The Walking Dead IMO. 

Edited August 24, 2015 by catrox14

[morgankobi]

What's eating Gilbert Grape? 

Well, I guess not Cal.

 

 

 

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but when then family first came to see Nick in the hospital he was saying he just tried to make the light and it was just an accident and was giving Travis the cold you're-not-my-real-Dad shoulder. Mom goes to work and Travis stays. The next time we see the hospital Nick is waking-up from a nightmare and not only is he now telling Travis most everything in a non-pissy way, Travis seems to already know Nick saw something bad. The cops were already gone and hadn't told the Mom about Nick's previous rambling, the staff were clear at the start that they weren't giving the parents any info, so how did Travis know this and why was he suddenly a confidant? 

 

I was pretty sure that art school boyfriend was dunzo after the marker tattoo. She's got a week or so to stare longingly at it as she remembers him and prepare for a dramatic scene when it is washed off in some rain storm they have to be out in or when she has to wash zombie guts off her arm, thereby signifying a break from her old life.

Edited August 24, 2015 by morgankobi

[cynic]

I don't watch TWD for the zombie action. I actually prefer the survival drama aspects and character building, but this show was way boring. Family dramas revolving around angsty stepkids, estranged kids, and druggie kids annoy me to no end, so I didn't have high hopes going in, but it was even worse than expected. I'll give it a few episodes, but it better improve quickly.

 

When the son was running, at the beginning, he reminded me of that little girl whose picture is all over the internet, running like hell.

I read your post before watching the episode, so of course the little girl was all I could see while watching that scene. I was cracking up.

 

...

 

I'm concerned more about what happened to Annoyed Daughter's boyfriend than I am about her. I get her issues and in her position I  would feel the same, but I just don't feel like hearing teenage girl angst. If one of those kids has to get eaten, I vote for her.

...

I find it incredibly fitting that Cal was the first named character to be killed. There is a proud tradition in the Walking Dead universe of massacring as many black men as possible and this show will be no different. It is actually funny, now. As soon as beautiful Cal showed up, several scenes after Smart Teen Girl's boyfriend was introduced, I knew one of those guys would have to go.

It's really sad how predictable that was. I just hope that the boyfriend turns up safe, otherwise I'll really start thinking the show is punking us. 

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

I will give appropriate people credit, re: Cal.  Seeing him vacuum out a handicap-friendly van didn't exactly scream out "he's totally Nick's dealer" to me.  Must of been sucking up all the loose 'powder' to re-supply his dwindling for-profit stash.

[CletusMusashi]

This was fucking awful. Even at normal length, it would have been kind of slow, but they stretched it out even thinner... why?

 

I want to like Travis, but he doesn't seem to know the difference between an idea and a plan. "Go to the church and see what happened," is an idea. "So I guess that means I have to go right now," is not a plan. "I guess I should wait until daylight, and take pictures, and maybe even tell the police if someone's been murdered, so they can check evidence and see who the murderer is..." that's a plan.

 

The only character I actually kind of want to see more of is Eugene's Nephew, Tobias. Granted, that knife he chose was seriously pathetic, but I'll stand up for him by saying maybe he thought something that flimsy wouldn't set off the metal detector.

[Hava]

I'm getting major Tim Riggins vibes from druggie Nick, so suffice it to say, I'm hooked.

 

 

YES! I came on here just to see if other people saw the resemblance, as well! Especially in the first scene.

 

I actually liked the first episode and I wasn't even on planning on watching this show. The characters and the world (the city) felt more real to me than in the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead, especially in the second season, did not feel real to me. I don't know how to describe it, but it just felt very staged.

 

I also like that this episode focused on the normalcy of pre-ZA life. That's something I wanted to see more of in Walking Dead through flashbacks.

 

The Nick character is my favorite so far. The actor is very, very good.

 

But, I'm still cautious that the poor writing of Walking Dead might infect this show, too. Particularly in the scene a lot of people here have pointed out--what a lackluster and unrealistic reaction to witnessing a zombie!

[CDC]

In the story sync, they showed a document from the CDC about the disposal of corpses.  I'm assuming that since it was in this episode's story sync it supposedly was sent out during the time span of the episode.

 

http://images.sync.amctv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/FTWD-101-WHO-v3_UPDATED2-09gu3-e4908.pdf

 

I think the reason we weren't seeing any walkers in the hospital is because these orders were already being obeyed, and not enough people had reanimated yet so these measures were successful enough to get by.  The fact that the nurse was so dismissive of losing a patient when the parents were asking about Nick makes me think that shit was currently hitting the fan at the hospital, but they were at least managing to cover it up at that point.

[Lord Kira]

It was alright. Dreadfully slow, though. Luckily DVR'd it and could skip the commercials. Otherwise, I probably would have hated it. I can't watch slow-building shows with commercials. Its why I Haven't started this season of Hannibal yet. 

 

The best character so far is Travis. He's been shown to be a good guy, trying to make everyone work as a family, and has been the most supportive of Nick. The actor has a heck of a lot of charisma too, which is great.

 

I don't like Kim Dickens' character. There were a few moments with her had me looking at the screen in disbelief going "Really?" When Travis told her what he saw at the church and that Nick might have actually saw something bad, she was all "Don't enable him" and "Bad things happen there all the time." Lets not forget her profound words of wisdom when she went to the church "Something bad happened here." No shit, Sherlock.

 

I like Nick more than I thought I would. It will be interesting to see how he changes once he has had a chance to settle down and get cleaned up. His survival instincts are good. If he keeps that up, he may last past this season.

 

Alicia.... is troublesome. I don't dislike her at the moment, but the writers are going to have to tread carefully with her moving forward. On the surface she comes across as a typical bratty teenage girl that we see in everything. However, I can see the reason she acts that way. Her father isn't around, her mother is dating her teacher (who just moved in), she'll also have to deal with the baggage that comes with that like his son and his ex-wife, while her own brother is yet again on drugs making a ruckus and yet again saying he'll get clean. Its no wonder she wants to get away to college. If the writers don't handle her attitude carefully or allow character development she'll be nothing more than a one-dimensional character. Personally, I hope the writers have her grow into a bad ass. The actress can do it. She's great on The 100.

 

[InsertWordHere]

I do find it unusual that no one is saying, "eating people's face off, impervious to getting shot point blank? Bath salts anyone?" Maybe this world doesn't have that I guess

The bath salts thing happened in 2012. Assuming TWD matches up with its real time premiere date, the events in Fear The Walking Dead take place in 2010. I think they did a decent job keeping to the 2010 technology. The iPhone 4 came out in June 2010 and Nick bought a prepaid flip phone. 

 

P.S. The actor played Tom Riddle in the Half Blood Prince.

He's also the real life son of Stephen Dillane, GoT's Stannis Baratheon.

 

In the story sync, they showed a document from the CDC about the disposal of corpses.  I'm assuming that since it was in this episode's story sync it supposedly was sent out during the time span of the episode.

Thank you for this. I think there are definitely a lot more walkers in LA than we have seen. The authorities are just doing a decent job of keeping it under wraps so far, except they are unable to trick Tobias who is armed with the power of the internet. I think the police were eventually able to take out the highway walker after their initial surprise because someone from higher up got word to them to shoot for the head. 

[GreyBunny]

The mother is way too old to have Madison as her first name (it didn't become a thing until the mid to late 80's).  It took me out of the show whenever they used her name.  

 

Madison (ugh) and Travis annoyed me, their reactions to things felt off at best and often obnoxiously wrong.  Go to the drug den alone?  Not report a massive pool of blood and guts to the police?  Come back with just the wife and still not call the police?  Major horror film fail just those two scenes.  

 

I agree Nick and Tobias are the most clued in right now and I like the actor playing Nick (he's the son of Stephen "Stannis" Dillane who is great; good acting runs in the family).

 

I like that they didn't have Nick fight off a newly turned walker while restrained in the hospital because it would have been too obvious.

Edited August 24, 2015 by GreyBunny

[Iguessnot]

 

I also kept wondering why they were driving a truck in worse shape before the apocalypse than some of what Rick and crew find after, but that was nitpicking out of boredom. 

 

 

 

Not nitpicky when they are driving around with a cracked windshield that wouldn't pass inspection. Said windshield is completely replaced during the shots of them driving down the viaduct.

[Shimmergloom]

 

Regarding the hospital, I would think that they would be inundated with people sick with the "flu." We know that the flu hits with a fever and then people die.

 

Did everyone die of the flu who got it in season 4 of the Walking Dead?  Was that a new strain or just a mutated version of the flu that people are just getting now on Fear the Walking Dead.  So maybe what we saw in the Prison was the same thing going around now, just more mutated.  Maybe it couldn't affect animals early on, then jumped species and then jumped species again back into humans as an even more deadly form of flu at the prison.

 

I will stand by my theory that the flu they are talking about is not 100% fatal and it is just the means that is spreading the 'zombie virus' around, so that when people die, they become zombies.

 

Something would have to spread that around as people wouldn't all 100% have the zombie virus inside of them on day 1 of the outbreak, so that everyone who dies reanimates from the outset.

 

And that would at least explain why everyone on the Walking Dead were clueless about everyone being infected practically years after the outbreak, when it should have been common knowledge as people dying of natural causes everyday would have been reanimated as zombies in hospitals everywhere, before the 'great panic'.

 

I could be wrong, I just want to give the writers the benefit of the doubt.  And it's always possible the 'flu' has just come about within a few days of the start of the show, so that people aren't really dying from it yet.

[Cthulhudrew]

I'm not sure what I liked least- the mind-numbingly slow pace of the story, or the numerous times they tried to "tease" a dramatic moment with amped up music and quick cuts, only to go right back to the endless doldrums immediately thereafter.

 

And was it just me or did Travis' truck have a big crack in the driver's side windshield during the freeway scene? It seemed like they were deliberately trying to cut around it; I'm guessing it was due to shooting out of sequence with the damaged truck. Distracting to me, in any case.

 

EDIT: Ah, clearly not just me. See why you should read the entire thread through, first? lol

Edited August 24, 2015 by Cthulhudrew

[Muffyn]

In the story sync, they showed a document from the CDC about the disposal of corpses.  I'm assuming that since it was in this episode's story sync it supposedly was sent out during the time span of the episode.

 

http://images.sync.amctv.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/FTWD-101-WHO-v3_UPDATED2-09gu3-e4908.pdf

 

I think the reason we weren't seeing any walkers in the hospital is because these orders were already being obeyed, and not enough people had reanimated yet so these measures were successful enough to get by.  The fact that the nurse was so dismissive of losing a patient when the parents were asking about Nick makes me think that shit was currently hitting the fan at the hospital, but they were at least managing to cover it up at that point.

That helps explain why they spent so little time trying to resuscitate random dead old guy and why the doctor said to take him downstairs, presumably to the morgue which is often in the basement.  

 

Now that I know that the actor who plays Nick is the son of the actor that plays Stannis on GoT, I'm afraid he's going to go up in flames.   

[Jordan27]

I can't decide if it was refreshing to not have the characters screaming their heads off at the end when Cal kept coming back ... or slightly ridiculous.

I know if I had just seen that, my reaction would have been more than "ugh. What the hell is going on?"

In other news, Nick's shirt was tiny in the opening scenes. It looked child-sized and cracked me up.

It always seemed like his clothes were never on properly or even fit. 

[placate]

I didn't find this really interesting.  Things I glossed over while watching this show: LOL gas is 2.39 even though the start of the ZA was a few years ago?  The off-ramp was clogged and there was gunfire but our heroes took off instead of tuning into their local traffic station?  Does that truck not have a radio in it or something?  I realize this is a few years back but even if they were surpressing a disease, someone would be talking about the deadly traffic incident.

[Jordan27]

Yep. The previews make it look like once they do amp this show up it will get good, but I was really bored by the whole after school special feel of the entire episode. Hopefully next week is less disappointing.

 

Also, Nick only knew Cal was going to kill him because he saw the gun in his hand, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out if it's just you and one other person in a fucking drainage area. That's not exactly instinct. But he did redeem himself by running Cal down numerous times....one of them should have grabbed the gun that was just lying there on the damn ground though.

Did you notice after the shooting Nick puts his hands on the car multiple times.  Lots of fingerprints.  Not really smart.  Good for him the zombie apocalypse is about to happen.

I really hope we come across a ragtag group of survivors, like Camp Dinner Bell because I don't like any of the people we've met. The daughter is going to be a whiny little bitch, the mother is already unbearable. Travis is okay, but we're going to have to deal with his bad relationship with his son while striving to build relationships with his step kids. Nick is possibly the best we've got right now, but I can't follow him when he's stammering and all confused, so I hope he sobers up quickly.

Well, you know it's going to be about them repairing those relationships in a different world.  Hopefully, they won't that make a central part of the show.

Zombie - a new fragrance by Calvin Kline.  Now at Macy's.

...with a deadly smell.

[Jordan27]

Exactly. I figured the first half hour or so would be family drama, then on to the walkers. But it went on and on and on. I also have a hard time with how slow everything is going in terms of the walkers. Everyone turns when they die, how many people die a day? I would have thought it would go faster.

Actually, remember in the beginning of WD, many turned slowly.  Andrea sat with her sister all night and then she turned in the morning.

[Jordan27]

I don't think so. They're all the way in LA, but Grady was back on the east coast, right? If it's him, either he left before the ZA, or that was one hell of a walk.

Grady hospital is in Atlanta, Ga.  It's a real hospital.

[Iguessnot]

Did you notice after the shooting Nick puts his hands on the car multiple times.  Lots of fingerprints.  Not really smart.  Good for him the zombie apocalypse is about to happen.

 

Yes, my first thought was that he was probably in the system and he needed to remove those prints pronto and remove the murder weapon.

[Lii]

The mom needs to die first. Also, that was really, really boring. I was expecting exposition dump, but not ANGST dump as well. Please introduce additional main cast members asap, show.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Lii

[AngelKitty]

At the beginning I thought the kid was a girl until they showed his chest and I can't figure out why he was wearing a girl's bolero in the first place. 

 

The slow pace didn't bother me, I kind of like the whole family dynamic.  The daughter seems too old to me for high school.

 

The damaged truck bothered me. Do they not have car insurance? Now it's going to be too late to get it fixed.

 

As for the flu, I thought you only got the "flu" after you'd been bitten or scratched, but they've been pretty cagey about the whole origin story from the beginning.

[crowswork]

The son looks like when Johnny Depp went under as a junkie on 22 Jumpstreet. No porcelain skin though he looks a little too sleek.

[weightyghost]

One thing I wish they did for this series was do it Wwz style - I wish they had shown the beginning of the apocalypse from a variety of ways, a doctor being prepped on the new 'flu', a government official trying to keep it under wraps, a family in LA dealing with the outbreak. If they weren't going to show origins, I do wish we could see how people reacted, not just a family again. And if budget were a concern, they could have spent one episode on each person/group and have them all meet up on season two.

The thing with such a little cast is that there's no relief if you find one or more annoying.

[Haleth]

Well, I'll give it another chance since this was all very slow set up, but I did have to laugh at how the director kept teasing us by making us think zombies were going to pop out at any time but never did.  The old man in the other hospital bed, the principal when he was hunched over the PA system, both trips (how dumb was that?) the parents made to the drug church... weren't you all waiting for zombies?  

 

Eh, too much family drama.  Hope the zombies eat all the teenagers first.

 

Eugene's Nephew, Tobias.

 

I'm going to pretend this is true.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Haleth