The Company You Keep: Five TV Characters To Join You In The Zombie Apocalypse

[kikismom]

You look around to see you that you are not in your bed, hotel room, roadside ditch, or wherever you normally wake up. Rows of desks with monitors are being manned by well-groomed, banal people wearing headsets in what suspiciously appears to be a Colonial Penn life insurance commercial. You're in Hell, and sure enough, there's the Devil himself, Alex Trebek to tell you about Final Dead Jeopardy.

"You're familiar with the rules: we sent you through the space-time continuum to some little rural Georgia shithole at the start of the Zombie Apocalypse. That's the good news! As part of our introductory offer for new members, you get to build your own group by picking 5 fictional characters from television to help you survive. That's the headline!  If your group is determined likely to fail, we eat you. Ready to play? (doo dee doo dee doo dee doo, doo dee doo dee DOOT! de doo de- BWAUUZZZZ!"

"Your answers, please:"

[Bongo Fury]

Spock

Jack Bauer

Skyler

Buggs Bunny

Jesus

[halgia]

Skyler

Skyler White? Or is there some other TV Skyler I'm not remembering?

[David T. Cole]

• The A-Team
• The guy in a wheelchair from Glee for which I hope is an obvious reason.

[pithy]

Raylan Givens

Tami Taylor 

Elizabeth Jennings

MacGuyver

The Doctor

[kikismom]

I want Robert Hawkins (Lennie James, Jericho)

          Carol Hathaway (Juliana Margulies, ER)

          Sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Oliphant, Deadwood)

           Dr. Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler, Criminal Minds)

           Berta (Conchatta Ferrell, Two and a Half Men)

[ZenLizzy]

Buffy Summers

Melinda May

Cristina Yang

Huck (from Scandal)

The Professor (Gilligan's Island)

[michealbond]

I've got a couple of these, but I"ll go with the first one.

From the cast of Big Bang Theory

Leonard

Amy

Raj

Bernadette

Penny

[Uncle Benzene]

Sterling Archer
Ben Linus
Alec Hardison
JR Ewing
Rosa Diaz

[Louise]

Can I just write Ron Swanson five times?  Cause seriously, he's super capable.  

Edited April 3, 2014 by Louise

[Guest]

Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

Michael Weston (Burn Notice)

Data (STTNG)

Happy (Sons of Anarchy)

Brianne of Tarth (GoT)

[AlecSphere]

Oh man. Nobody from TWD, obviously. And trying not to copy the answers above...

- John Locke

- Arya Stark

- Walker, Texas Ranger

- Zoe Washburne

- Cameron (the Summer Glau Terminator)

[Cattitude]

Great fun!

Derek Morgan (Criminal Minds)

Dexter Morgan (Dexter)

Damon Salvatore (TVD)- this is purely for my personal pleasure, but a killer vampire is always useful

Gregory House (House)

Alice (The Brady Bunch)

[Watcher0363]

My kick ass eye candy babes. They are tactically strong also.

Ziva David: NCIS

Kensi Blye: NCIS L.A.

Brothers in arms, ride or die type.

Dom: Fast and Furious

Jack Bauer: 24

Top shelf doctor. Did his part in Darfur.

Dr. Carter: ER

Edited April 3, 2014 by Watcher0363

[alynch]

You need a healthy combination of people who are smart in different ways along with people who have spectacular physical ability. Therefore:

• Superman
• Kay Howard
• Wonder Woman
• Ryan O'Reilly
• Lester Freamon

Edited April 3, 2014 by alynch

[KirkB]

Not fond of subtlety so:

Xena.

Eliot Spencer from Leverage.

Teal'c.

KITT.

Godzilla.

[walnutqueen]

Al Swearengen (Deadwood)

Mike Ehrmanntraut (Breaking Bad)

John From Cincinnati

McGuyver

Adam (Northern Exposure)

 

I  wish I could bring real characters from TV, because my list would be:

Les Stroud (Survivorman)

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Rudy Reyes (Ultimate Survival Alaska, Generation Kill)

Jane Goodall or The Incredible Dr. Pol (I can't decide)

Lisa King (Farm Kings)  she can bring her kids :-)

Edited April 4, 2014 by walnutqueen

[bravelittletoaster]

Mike Ehrmanntraut (Breaking Bad)

Good one.  I love this thread.  I feel like my own five would be derivative at this point because y'all have name such good teams.

[kikismom]

walnutqueen; that is so funny because I always thought TWD blew it by casting David Morrissey as the Governor;----->

EVERYBODY: Just imagine AL Swearengen from Deadwood as the Gov!! I always thought he would have been better and really make those scenes with Andrea, Michonne, and Rick so much more scary!! TWD please find a role for him!!(Patrick Bergen isn't it?)

bravelittletoaster: Don't be shy! We're all friends here! I admit I almost listed Derek Morgan and Walker Texas Ranger . I think I might rather substitute them for a couple of my original choices.

[TigerLynx]

EJ Dimera, Damon Salvatore, John Reese, Raylan Givens, and John Ross Ewing - Yes, I am this shallow.  If the world is going to end, I'm going to enjoy it.

[lulee]

Assuming they'd carry over whatever skills/ abilities they had on their shows?

Buffy - can slay almost anything, super strong, great protective instincts; good for some quips; just have to manage her leadership style
Willow - could do protection spells, locator spells, good for attacking the undead as well, would know a lot about plants, fun to have around as long as you keep her from going too dark.
Dr. Doug Ross - medical know-how, eye candy, good with kids
Raylan Givens - take that hat off, Carl. We now have a killer marksman who wears a Stetson like no one's business; used to living pretty simple
Alton Brown - good problem solving skills, creative in the kitchen; good conversationalist.

[David T. Cole]

...

KITT.

Godzilla.

Well damn.

[bravelittletoaster]

Ok, let's see, some of these have already shown up, but:

I think a good team would be Buffy, Oliver Queen, Kalinda Sharma, Walter White and Bronn from Game of Thrones.

God knows what I would be bringing to the table.  I'm afraid they'd sacrifice me when they realized I was dead weight.

[kikismom]

lulee: Yeah, you'd pretty much have to pick Alton Brown: two years into the ZA and Christopher Kimball would still be up in Vermont standing next to a row of human brains covered with brown paper lunch bags and tapping the one that tasted best; with the self-deprecating eye-roll:

Christopher ":...and let me guess, the one I liked is-"

Jack: (smirking) " Yep, that's the one scored lowest by our audience. And Gareth".

(hearty chuckles)

Christopher: " Now let's go into the Equipment Corner where Adam Reid recommends various kitchen tools for splitting skulls."

I'd so take Alton Brown.

Edited April 4, 2014 by kikismom

[NorthstarATL]

1. Superman (Dean Cain version)

2. Doctor Who (Matt Smith  version)

3. Faith (the vampire slayer)

4. Rachel Ray

5. Nathan from General Hospital, because eye candy.

[SpaghettiTuesdays]

Daryl Dixon (for country livin' and - erm - reasons)

Derek Morgan (for protection and - erm - other reasons)

The guy from Treehouse Masters (to build us a sweet treehouse)

Bo Adams from Resurrection (for her talents and because she's cute)

Olivia Benson from L&O: SVU (mostly for her aim and general badassery, but also for another woman

[lawless]

Lots of excellent choices.  For me, my draft list is:

1. Buffy Summers (for obvious reasons -- slaying skills, but hopefully she would have her pre-Dawn the Key personality)
2. Xena Warrior Princess (for obvious reasons)
3. Spartacus (for his warrior skills, honor, clever strategic mind, and hotness)
4. Captain Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly (cute, nice ass, and we need a modern badass who is good with guns and tech, yet also knows how to live rough and ride a horse)
5. Juliet from Lost (doctor and probably pretty technically adept, also kind of a scary badass, also able to rough it, plus likes to read)

The list of people I almost chose, but ultimately put on the second string:

1. Gannicus from Spartacus (spectacular warrior, superhot, and when drunk great for everyone's morale, but lost out because Spartacus is the better tactician, and has less of a secret crying on the inside death wish)
2. Saxa from Spartacus (fantastic warrior, love her frank and open sexuality, but in the end -- too fierce, everyone but Gannicus was kind of afraid of her)
3. Kara Thrace from Battlestar Galactica (great badass and probably more technically inclined that the warriors I picked, but too self-loathing and self-destructive, possible drinking problem, might kill you due to a misunderstanding)
4. Rust Colhe from True Detective (clever, brave, and tenacious, lots of criminal skills from days undercover that might come in handy -- but my god, can you imagine listening to him day after day?  Everyone would kill themselves)
5. Dean Winchester (gorgeous, adept at ganking monsters, heart is in the right place, but would be too consumed with finding his brother, and as of my last viewing of him years ago, ever increasing anxiety and growing drinking problem)
6. Jayne from Firefly (big, tough, cute, great with guns, bombs, and some hightech, but might sell you to slavers or whoever, also probably has gross grooming habits)

Edited April 5, 2014 by lawless

[Too Late Kev]

River Tam -- in Serenity "My turn" kick-ass mode.

Michael Scofield -- I've been re-watching Prison Break. He's an updated MacGyver-type, smart as hell, and nice to look at.

Derek Reese -- He knows where all the weapons are (in the LA area and environs, so maybe we'd have to relocate from Georgia), he has apocalyptic experience, and he'd be able to dispatch zombies and nasty human gangs with equal ease.

Buffy Summers -- Who's more kickass and roll-with-the-punches than Buffy?

Daryl Dixon -- Of all of the actual TWD characters, he's the one I'd want...with an unlimited supply of ammo for his crossbow.

And hey, including me, that's 3 males and 3 females. I'm not sure which one of the guys gets stuck with me, the old lady. Like bravelittletoaster said, if they're looking for the dead weight, it would be me. "One of these things is not like the others."

[CletusMusashi]

1. Xena.

Xena can kill so many mooks before breakfast that I could sleep through most of the action. Kind of like that line in the "Blues Brothers." "How often does the train go by?""So often you won't even notice."

2. Gabrielle.

Not as awesome as Xena, but capable enough in her own right. And if you want Xena to stick around around, you've got to have Gabrielle.

3. Faith.

Almost as tough as Buffy, and way less sanctimonius. Plus, Faith gets better each year. Buffy just gets weirder, more long-winded, and insanely more reckless. Late-season Faith is a pragmatist. Late-season Buffy tends to have back-up plans like "OK, let's try the same exact thing again, and hope that Joss thinks the viewers "need" it to work this time." Also, Faith is way easier to get in bed than Buffy if you're not a vampire. I'm sure as hell not gonna get anywhere with Gabrielle and Xena, so give me Faith.

4. Batman.

Even though the one true Batman will always be Adam West, in this case I'm gonna say Kevin Conroy. He's as tough as Faith or Gabrielle, even more versatile intellectually than The Professor from Gilligan's Island, and would keep enough of an eye on the group to step in when we really needed help but would still spend most of his time out helping other groups. So he wouldn't bat-block me with Faith. He seems to only be romantically interested in villainesses and teenaged boys, so if anything he'd be busy hanging around Rick's group, tempting Carl with invitations to the Hatcave.

5. Dr. Zoidberg.

Armored, good at pinching heads off, and probably immune to the zombie virus anyway. He'd probably think zombies were delicious. Also not the worst of surgeons. Oh, your arm might not get sewn back on in the right location, but at least he'll do it quickly and you'll survive and be back in action ten minutes later. Also. he wouldn't rock-lobster-block me with Faith. (Yes, I'm a little insecure there; you think I'm seriously gonna want to be competing  with Tyrion Lannister, Denny Crane, or Bill Clinton? A man's gotta be realistic, come on, people.) Also, there would occasionally be times when we had to run from danger. And I say, if you've got to run from zombies, you should at least be able to hear Dr. Zoidberg yelling "Woopwoopwoopwoopwoop!"

Edited April 6, 2014 by CletusMusashi

[Earl Is Dead]

Jack Bauer

Buffy

Sayid

Obi Wan Kenobi

The Hound

[bravelittletoaster]

3. Faith.

Almost as tough as Buffy, and way less sanctimonius. Plus, Faith gets better each year. Buffy just gets weirder, more long-winded, and insanely more reckless. Late-season Faith is a pragmatist. Late-season Buffy tends to have back-up plans like "OK, let's try the same exact thing again, and hope that Joss thinks the viewers "need" it to work this time." Also, Faith is way easier to get in bed than Buffy if you're not a vampire. I'm sure as hell not gonna get anywhere with Gabrielle and Xena, so give me Faith.

You make some excellent points.  I'm tempted to trade Buffy for Faith.

[CletusMusashi]

And god forbid one of the zombies ever gets a soul...

Early Buffy was at least awesome as late-season Faith. However, early Buffies grow up to be late Buffies.

Now I'm wondering who'd be the worst five.

Off the top of my head, I'm gonna say Gilligan, Honey Boo Boo, Dr. Smith, King Joffrey, and The Earl of Lemongrab,

What if they're allowed to bring pets with them?

At that point, my top picks become 

Harley Quinn: Her hyenas would probably love chewing up rotting corpses all day.

Danaerys Targaryan: Because dragons beat zombies.

Tarzan: I think an elephant could survive OK in Georgia, and could trample a field of zombies with no difficulty whatsoever.

Stewie Griffin: Because I'd like to drink with Brian, and even though Brian is technically Peter's dog, if Stewie were the only surviving Griffin then it would still work. And I think Stewie would be a lot more useful in the apocalypse than Peter.

and, of course,

Aquaman: Because the biggest problem with just living on a nice island is keeping it secure. FINALLY, Aquaman's powers are extremely useful for something. Plus, if you ran into Eugene and wanted to find out if he were full of crap or not, you'd be able to just ask. Because Aquaman can talk to mullets.

[kikismom]

Heyyy, I'm confused now---I thought Eugene was Gilligan! Abraham is the Skipper, Rosita is Ginger, and Maggie is MaryAnn. (Some people may think Eugene would automatically be the Professor-"he's a scientist!"--but the Professor was actually poised,intelligent, and a cool dude. Enuff said). Maybe Glenn could be the Professor, the dependable problem solver (who I always suspected had a thing for MaryAnn). Tara could be Lovey---she's unsteady when she walks, and she's about as useful. Bob could be Thurston Howell the Third; amiable drinker just wanting to cruise the situation. I guess Rick, Michonne, and Carl are the people who frequently wash ashore to unexpectedly discover our Fearless Crew; and immediately realize they gotta get outa there.

I don't know what to do with Sasha and Daryl. Well, I know what I'd like to do with Daryl; but that's a different fantasy scenario.

Edited April 6, 2014 by kikismom

[bravelittletoaster]

Danaerys Targaryan: Because dragons beat zombies.

Oh, man, such a good point.  If a character comes equipped with their famous accoutrement, Dany would be aces.  Her dragons could just fly around all day toasting walkers and clearing the area.

[lawless]

Oh, man, such a good point.  If a character comes equipped with their famous accoutrement, Dany would be aces.  Her dragons could just fly around all day toasting walkers and clearing the area.

 

Hey!  Is that a spoiler for the next Game of Thrones book?  ;)

Regardless, I would love to let her loose on the Termites.  Dracarys, bitches!

[Watcher0363]

Oh, man, such a good point. If a character comes equipped with their famous accoutrement, Dany would be aces. Her dragons could just fly around all day toasting walkers and clearing the area.

If we are going to go there. How about Azkadellia from Tin Man and the flying monkeys from her tattooed beautiful breast.

[Too Late Kev]

If I answered this only with Walking Dead characters, dead, undead, or living...

Daryl, Michonne, Rick, Tyreese (Remember how he got out of a swarm of zombies? And damn, he's strong), and Glenn (most versatile, I think). It's tough to keep it to just five; there are so many good characters, even of those recently added. If you don't have the same five as I do, who would you drop from my list and add instead?

Least wanted Walking Dead characters: the Governor, Lizzie (too likely to kill us all in our sleep), Lori (the clothes would be clean, but everyone would be dead), Joe and his entire group of Merles, Dale (too up in everybody's business).

[halgia]

Daryl, Michonne, Rick, Tyreese (Remember how he got out of a swarm of zombies? And damn, he's strong), and Glenn (most versatile, I think).

That's a good list. Daryl and Michonne are the obvious ones to me. Rick is good when he's at his best but has a lot of times when he's awful. Tyreese seems solid but not a standout. Early-seasons Glenn would have been an obvious choice, but if in our magic-picking-land he'd be all mopey over being teleported away from Maggie that would suck. The other main candidates I'd consider would be Hershel (good at the non-fighting stuff) and late-seasons Carol (get shit done, but also goes behind your back).

The only other non-TWD character that immediately popped in my mind and nobody's brought up: Princess Bubblegum (Adventure Time). She's got experience recovering from post-apocalyptic hellscapes! (You could also pick, say, Q, but that's not really in the spirit of the question and might well backfire.)

[Pixiebomb]

I'm still thinking but I know that I would want at least one elf from Middle Earth. Doesn't really matter which one- have you ever seen an inept elf?

[kikismom]

I think I'm trading in my Sheriff Seth Bullock and Dr. Spencer Reid for Derek Morgan and Major Beck (Esai Morales from Jericho; also Caprica)

Buyer's remorse? So soon?

[Ocean Chick]

I'm thinking...

1)  Daryl Dixon, because... reasons, and he's handy killing walkers and bringing home the bacon.

2) Michonne - she's deadly with her katana.

3) River Tam in Serenity mode - I'd think walkers would be way easier to deal with than Reavers.

4) Zoe Washburne - she's deadly and she can make entertaining quips.

4) Carol Peletier - she can kill walkers and heal humans.  And she can cook whatever Daryl brings back into something tasty.

[JustAlison]

Seven of Nine~her nanoprobes would take care of that zombie virus nonsense in no time, and she'd get the power and water up and running, too.

 The Wiggles~ just someone for the walkers to snack on until Seven got it figured out.

[Hootis]

I'm gonna make this harder and go for 5 different GENRES too.  Because I just can't do it the easy way.

My Dream Team

 

   

• James West (Wild Wild West, the TV show - for whooping 6 guys at a time and shooting from the hip)
• Leonardo Da Vinci (Da Vinci's Demons - I might need a submarine or a war machine)
• Rod Serling (Twilight Zone, what an imagination!)
• Walter White (Breaking Bad - CHEMISTRY and...moral flexibility)
• Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal - our cook)

Governor, shmovenor.

[Samx]

1. Buffy - she immediately came to mind; used to patrolling at night, great with a stake, doesn't come back from the dead undead

2. Oliver Queen (Arrow) - protection, procreation...what?

3. Hetty (NCIS: LA) - tough and wise

4. Dr. House - maybe he could actually figure out what's going on 

5. Daryl. 

[Guest]

 

• James West (Wild Wild West, the TV show - for whooping 6 guys at a time and shooting from the hip)

You can't have James West or as I call him Jim.  He is MINE - ALL MINE I SAY!  ;)

[kikismom]

I really like the mention of Leonardo Da Vinci, Hootis, but Hannibal Lecter?! If you can sleep with one eye open, more power to ya!

[Hootis]

I really like the mention of Leonardo Da Vinci, Hootis, but Hannibal Lecter?! If you can sleep with one eye open, more power to ya!

I'm not what Hannibal would call rude.  There are plenty of "free range rude" aside from our gang to sate him.  Besides, the man can take roadkill and turn it into an epicurean feast!  He could also be our diplomat.

[lulee]

I'm not what Hannibal would call rude.  There are plenty of "free range rude" aside from our gang to sate him.  Besides, the man can take roadkill and turn it into an epicurean feast!  He could also be our diplomat.

And Hannibal more than capable with hand-to-hand combat or using weapons. The looming threat of being psychologically toyed with, if not eaten, may be too much for me.

Edited April 13, 2014 by lulee

[Nutjob]

This thread is the BEST. My list:

 

Bronn (Game of Thrones)--because who couldn't use a guy who can not only handle a sword, but offer up a witty quip and sage life advice at the same time?

Molly Solverson (Fargo)--just in case anyone in the group engages in malfeasance, she'll be the one to figure it out.

Cordelia Goode (AHS:Coven)--cuz she could just magic all the walkers into oblivion.

Daryl Dixon (TWD)--because he's a proven walker-killer. And I love him.

Ichabod Crane (Sleepy Hollow)--he's already used to dealing with supernatural forces and is a badass. Also? DREAMY.

[MRS JONES]

Brienne of Tarth--GoT 

Sarah Walker--Chuck

Captain Malcolm Reynolds--Firefly

John Casey--Chuck

Daryl Dixon--DUH

 

Is it wrong that I would not mind ZA with this team during work hours?