It's the Apocalypse: This show SUCKS! Discuss it Here!

[NurseGiGi]

On 4/9/2018 at 9:37 PM, DearEvette said:

Pacing  -- too much of nothing happening and the feeling that no time is passing even over the course of several seasons.  They are treading in syrup.

Plotting -- Instead of concentrating on telling an actual story with a beginning, middle, end and set up anticipation each season for the next season, they are too enamored of trying to create 'OMG' moments.  They are attempting to hit all the 'important' milestones in the comic books without the proper connective tissue.  There is no excitement, no anticipation just ok we hit that mark, on to the next one.

Character consistency  -- most anyone who follows a narrative need a character to either identify with or to root for.  The hero's journey is a classic narrative for a reason.   In increasing efforts to create those 'OMG' moments they are relying on shocking kills or introducing characters that are more a collection of personality tics than actual personality.  The problem is the shocking kills end up not really mattering because they don't allow the story to capitalize on them in meaningful ways. They are just used for shock value.  And the new characters are just too flat and ridiculous to actually connect with.  In the meantime the long time characters have become lobotomized or made to do out of character things just to further plot and get to the 'OMG' moments.

Not understanding your audience -- The extreme close ups.  The stand alone episodes that follow one character.  The dialogue that attempts to be meaningful and deep.  All of this just feels like they are desperately attempting to infuse art house sensibilities into a show that really should just embrace its Saturday matinee adventure pedigree.  People aren't trying to watch a Wim Wenders film.  This is a comic book.  Stay in your lane and just deliver the thrills.

This perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with the show. It has always had horrible pacing but I stuck with it until dumpster gate. I haven't watched since and removed it from my dvr. I really do miss the show it could have been, though.

[Anela]

On 4/13/2018 at 4:43 PM, peach said:

 

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Maybe this show has too many British people in it. lol

 

Oh, no! We know a thing or two about fighting invaders - our ancestors do. Like William the Conqueror. And the Brits aren't writing it. 

This show started to lose me when when the slugs in my garden started moving faster than the story. 

They almost lost me with the way they killed Hershel. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, after seeing Hershel lose his head - literally! Blech. I was sobbing, and ended up watching Family Ties, trying to cheer up a bit. 

I liked the slow pace in the beginning of the show, because it still moved, and the characters meant something. They were a hell of a lot more real than they are now. Shane was actually scary, and I miss him, even though I didn't like him that much. Terminus was chilling, but that's something you could also possibly imagine happening, if people went crazy dealing with that life. Cannibalism is a real thing. 

If you will excuse my wording, the eternal hard-on for Negan, the most annoying character to ever grace this show, was the final straw. That, and killing Carl, the kid we've watched grow up. Although seeing Rick go crazy over a blonde, that was just dumb. Don't get me started on the garbage pail people. They shouldn't have made them up and included them. The season before should have ended with the killing, as much as I hate them killing Glenn an Abraham. Although my personal choice would have been for Negan's deputy to kill him instead. Just end it before it begins. Since comic fans wanted him so much, that we heard about him from the time the show began, "all out war" (or "all out snore" LOL - can't remember who called it that) should have been the second half of last season, not this entire year. Since they like to change things from the comics, they should have killed Negan. gimple must still be kicking himself, wondering why he thought losing Carl would be a good idea.  

Edited April 18, 2018 by Anela

[CrashTextDummie]

Alexandria was a creative dead-end. As long as the group was searching for permanent safety, there was a basic narrative momentum that carried through in spite of the generally weak characterization of the group's members. Everyone had a shared purpose. Thin as it may have been, it was enough. Even the most disposable characters at least had the prospect of becoming a walker snack. Now that they are settled, even people who used to be core characters are floundering in obscurity or suffering through stupid, forced and often repeated plots. The arrival at Alexandria also roughly marked the end of TWD being a zombie show and its transition to being a show with occasional zombies.

It's not that you can't write a compelling show about a group settled in relative safety during a zombie apocalypse. But it's beyond the narrative scope of what they set up in previous seasons. There is almost no sense of camaraderie or community, no compelling relationships or rivalries. There is a general lack of narrative arc, characters are either thinly drawn or stuck in a perpetual loop of development and regression. Characters work with or against each other seemingly at random depending on what the plot requires. The show always had dead space in-between big storyline beats but at least it wasn't transparently repetitive.

Finally, the writers simply weren't prepared for what establishing Alexandria and the surrounding settlements as a believable scenario would require. There's not even a basic sense of geography. And they never figured out how to write for large groups of nameless people. As long as the group was small, you could more easily buy in into its inner mechanics and the show's favorite topics of leadership, loyalty, etc. The world of TWD as it is currently presented has the creative depth of a tabletop board game, where Alexandria, the Hilltop, the Sanctuary, the Kingdom, Oceanside, etc. are solely characterized by who has control over it. They don't feel like real places inhabited by real people because the writers had no interest in them beyond being a unit of measure for who's winning the "great war". It's impossible to get invested in that.

[zobot81]

The moment when Jesus looked at the group and said, "Your world's about to get a whooole lot bigger," with a big grin on his face -- as if anything about this flesh-eating, completely monstrous world is anything to get cheeky about -- I knew in my heart that I hated the show, forever.  I don't even remember which episode it was from, or in which season (one of the last three...I don't really care and it doesn't really matter).  What does matter, however, was the cascade of negative thoughts and revelations that poured into the space between my ears, where my brains used to be (before this failed zombie series ate them all up): 

1) That line sucked.  In fact, a lot of the lines have sucked, lately. The dialogue, in general, has been getting suckier and suckier.  Ergo, this show probably sucks.

2) That delivery sucked. In fact, several of the B-characters have been portrayed by some pretty sucky actors.  And the acting is going to be garbage, if the dialogue already sucks.  Ergo, this show probably sucks. 

3) That costume sucked.  Jesus looked like what a small-town theater would use as a costume for "Homeless Man #1". And Jesus just suuuuucks as a character.  Ergo....

4)  Ergo, SCREW this Mickey Mouse show!!!

...then I proceeded to watch the series, all the way through, until the season 8 finale.

But NO MORE!!  Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever...not ever...never, never..............wait, what was I talking about, again?

(I'm telling you, the show made me stupider. And that I cannot forgive).

[Anela]

1 hour ago, zobot81 said:

The moment when Jesus looked at the group and said, "Your world's about to get a whooole lot bigger," with a big grin on his face -- as if anything about this flesh-eating, completely monstrous world is anything to get cheeky about -- I knew in my heart that I hated the show, forever.  I don't even remember which episode it was from, or in which season (one of the last three...I don't really care and it doesn't really matter).  What does matter, however, was the cascade of negative thoughts and revelations that poured into the space between my ears, where my brains used to be (before this failed zombie series ate them all up): 

 

It was two years ago, when they did the Benny Hill-type episode, and found they couldn't keep Jesus locked up or tied up. When he was more than willing to help them get a bunch of people killed. 

[Gobi]

58 minutes ago, Anela said:

It was two years ago, when they did the Benny Hill-type episode, and found they couldn't keep Jesus locked up or tied up. When he was more than willing to help them get a bunch of people killed. 

That really bothers me. He got CDB to kill a bunch of Saviors in their sleep, then later was all "we can't harm the prisoners". And to add insult to injury, now he seems fine with getting rid of Rick and Michonne. There aren't characters anymore, just figures who do whatever is needed to move the plot along.

[Nashville]

On 4/9/2018 at 5:22 PM, Persnickety1 said:

I used to immediately blame it on Gimple, but checking out Google I learned that Gimple actually wrote some of my favorite episodes (I had to pick my jaw up from the floor when I saw he wrote The Grove and the season 5 premiere where Carol took down Terminus).  

Using the Terminus subplot as a reference, though - wasn’t this an excellent precursor example of what we could expect from Gimp?  

• Elaborate - spinoff-worthy, even - staging setup.
• Characters with barely-alluded-to backstories just begging to be fleshed out.
• Establishment of a self-sustaining operational structure.

...all liquidated in a one-episode thrillchase.

Frankly, I wish the Terminus story line had gotten the longevity which has been (unworthily IMHO) bestowed upon the Saviors.

 

On 4/9/2018 at 9:19 PM, ShadowHunter said:

The cliffhanger for one thing is something they have to stop. 

Cliffhangers aren’t the problem, per se; more accurately, the problem is cliffhanger abuse.  Especially when half the supposed “suspense” is gone - as in:

• When the question stops being “Did Glenn survive the walker horde?” and becomes “HOW did Glenn survive the walker horde?”
• When the question stops being “Is Negan going to kill someone?” and becomes “Who did Negan kill?”

...etc., etc.

 

On 4/9/2018 at 9:19 PM, ShadowHunter said:

They should have not told us about no cure. Why did this start? Will it just stop like it just started? They stopped trying to get any answers. I realize it may not be easy but nobody seems to bring it up even.

I assume at the point TPTB are ready to shut down the series, the ZVirus will conveniently mutate into a nonlethal variant strain.

[zobot81]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

It was two years ago, when they did the Benny Hill-type episode, and found they couldn't keep Jesus locked up or tied up. When he was more than willing to help them get a bunch of people killed. 

Let me ask you this:  Are there any likable characters left on TWD? Or have the lot of them turned out to be boring, anemic, manic, apathetic, naval-gazing, morally bankrupt murderers? 

No...on second thought...those simultaneous qualities make no sense in a single human being....

Okay, allow me re-phrase:  Are there even any believable characters left on the show?

[rab01]

25 minutes ago, zobot81 said:

Okay, allow me re-phrase:  Are there even any believable characters left on the show?

I only know the last 4-5 episodes from reading the snark here but that's probably as informative as watching the show so I want to take a stab at this ... None of the main cast obviously (unless Michonne's passivity can be attributed to the beating she's taken over the past few months).  Hmmmm ....

Maybe Aaron and Enid?  From his introduction, Aaron's been overly trusting/optimistic about people that he thinks are decent and I think he's kept that and Enid went from sullen teenager quietly mourning the death of her parents to quietly latching onto a new mother figure.  I'm bored to death by both of them but they aren't spinning weathervanes ...   

And that's all I got.   Shit, this show really does suck now, doesn't it?

[ByTor]

I still find Father Pee pretty consistent and believable.

[Lunula]

We have been trying to slog our way through the last six episodes for weeks now - last night, we ended up watching two more (we're only four behind now) and it was torture. 

The introduction of Negan seemed to also have ushered completely unrealistic dialogues and diatribes - having to listen to Negan pontificate every.single.time he opens his mouth is not enjoyable. And really, when did everyone get so deep? I feel like every teensy bit of dialogue is meant to have hidden meaning behind it, like we're all supposed stop and think about what it could all mean and why we're all here. And then, apparently to work against the philosophers, we have some of the most unbelievable characters. The Scavengers are/were pointless. Simon - are we really meant to take him seriously at all? And Negan is just a giant cartoon, meant to be scary but instead of feeling any anxiety when he appears, I just roll my eyes. Even Ezekiel, a character I really wanted to love so much, was so cartoony I couldn't take any of it seriously. And last night as we watched these old episodes, these random people show up at Hilltop and give them crates of food for records or some such nonsense? Didn't the chick say all the knowledge was "in her head" yet as she left, she handed Maggie a big binder of...knowledge. For records. Um okay. Believable? No. 

Not only that - the plots and twists feel forced now. How have the zombies somehow gotten smarter? How are they able to sneak up on people so easily? For example, the last episode we watched last night when the gang was trying to get to the Hilltop and walked through the swamp - how were the zombies just lying in wait at the bottom of the swamp? Were they sleeping? I've never seen them sleep before.  

I think the show is also suffering from the "unbelievable villain syndrome," as I call it. I've stopped watching so many shows because they create villains that are too bad, too powerful and too unbeatable. I don't want to watch episode after episode, spanning multiple seasons, with an undefeatable villain. It's not interesting and it doesn't create angst, it only creates boredom. On top of that, they've had SO.MANY opportunities to kill Negan. Seriously, if you go visit the Saviors and you're all hiding with guns pointed at the door and Negan walks out and starts speechifying - YOU SHOULD SHOOT HIM. Stupid, lazy writing. 

I also hate Rick and Michonne together. I love her and I even still like Rick, but I think they have zero chemistry. I kind of get the feeling the writers thought people shipped them together so they smooshed them up and it never made much sense to me. Much like so much of the show now, it felt completely random.

[AngelaHunter]

On 4/18/2018 at 2:59 PM, zobot81 said:

Are there any likable characters left on TWD?

For me? Not any more. I kept trying to find someone to like and would think, for a few eps, Okay I like this person. Then TPTB would destroy that character by making them idiotic, boring and/or a 1-dimensional cartoon. Good job!

On 4/18/2018 at 5:28 PM, ByTor said:

I still find Father Pee pretty consistent

Yeah, he IS consistant. He usually spends every ep he's in crying, praying and/or being terrified. Well, okay - his 'butt-hole' vision is something new. ;)

 

1 hour ago, Lunula said:

On top of that, they've had SO.MANY opportunities to kill Negan. Seriously, if you go visit the Saviors and you're all hiding with guns pointed at the door and Negan walks out and starts speechifying - YOU SHOULD SHOOT HIM.

How many bullets did Rick alone fire at him with no results? Hundreds? Reminds me of eps of the old Star Trek, when some bad alien is able to project a force field that stops any weapons from harming him, or makes the weapons fly out of the hands of the good guys. Don't mean any insult to Star Trek. Their plots and characters were, for the most part, way superior to what we get on this show. Mr. Spock was far more human than anyone on TWD now.

[zobot81]

12 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

For me? Not any more. I kept trying to find someone to like and would think, for a few eps, Okay I like this person. Then TPTB would destroy that character by making them idiotic, boring and/or a 1-dimensional cartoon. Good job!

In all sincerity, I also kept hope alive that someone -- anyone? Carol?? Help? I hafta still love you, of all characters!! -- but not even Carol could keep me attached to her arc.  In fact, I feel like McBride was constantly breaking the fourth wall with an obvious eye-roll, or an "I'm really sick of this garbage" sigh (inconsistent with the context of the scene).  She has seemed especially IRL exasperated during the past two seasons and unable to hide it any longer.  I mean, she's a grade-A quality actor, guys! She ain't got no time for no nonsense, not as Carol, nor Melissa.

[peach]

2 hours ago, zobot81 said:

In all sincerity, I also kept hope alive that someone -- anyone? Carol?? Help? I hafta still love you, of all characters!! -- but not even Carol could keep me attached to her arc.  In fact, I feel like McBride was constantly breaking the fourth wall with an obvious eye-roll, or an "I'm really sick of this garbage" sigh (inconsistent with the context of the scene).  She has seemed especially IRL exasperated during the past two seasons and unable to hide it any longer.  I mean, she's a grade-A quality actor, guys! She ain't got no time for no nonsense, not as Carol, nor Melissa.

Melissa was openly upset about them getting rid of Chandler, which her character just shrugged off.  Your theory here makes me wonder if she wasn't being passive aggressively ridiculous in that scene, where Carol was all, huh, imagine that, Carl just randomly died helping someone out.  Oh well.   Because it's stupid.  She's also one of the few Darabont originals (and has worked with him in the past), so I'm sure she has to have some feelings about what is happening to this show.

[AngelaHunter]

5 hours ago, peach said:

Your theory here makes me wonder if she wasn't being passive aggressively ridiculous in that scene, where Carol was all, huh, imagine that, Carl just randomly died helping someone out. 

Really, we were given to understand - by Maggie's reaction - that the death of Neil should be more shocking and traumatic than that of Carl.

I have always had a hard time believing that key characters in any series could shrug off the ridiculous by saying, "Hey, I just work here. Nothing I can do about it." Maybe in this case, the stars have zero input on anything, no matter how ludicrous, they're given, but I just don't buy it.

[Gobi]

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Where the hell did everyone go?   Did you all get bit and turn?

Where have all the flowers gone?

[Nashville]

4 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Where the hell did everyone go?   Did you all get bit and turn?

Latest plot twist: turns out the ZV is actually airborne-spread, and everybody dies just from breathing it.  Helluva thing to find out 8 seasons in, huh?  :P

 

6 minutes ago, Gobi said:

Where have all the flowers gone?

Whatever you do - DON’T LOOK AT THEM!!!

[zobot81]

On 4/23/2018 at 6:43 PM, Lunula said:

I also hate Rick and Michonne together. I love her and I even still like Rick, but I think they have zero chemistry. I kind of get the feeling the writers thought people shipped them together so they smooshed them up and it never made much sense to me. Much like so much of the show now, it felt completely random.

I agree. I hate that relationship and I (too) love those characters, individually. I mean, just cuz  something makes sense on paper, doesn't mean it makes sense on-screen.

[raven]

I like Rick and Michonne together and see chemistry between them.  However, the show has handled them badly by putting Michonne in the background and making Rick erratic or incompetent or both.  We don't see much of them together as a couple and there should have been more discussion and feelings between them after Carl's death; Michonne was Carl's friend before she was Rick's lover; Carl was important to Michonne. 

One of the biggest issues with the show is that they put stuff in because COMICS; alot of which ends up looking nonsensical because not all comics stuff translates to the show.  Also the show has taken some different directions thus, to an extent, character interactions are happening a certain way because of how the actors work together.  Forcing the characters into certain situations doesn't work because you're dealing with flesh and blood people and not comic page people.

We have way too many characters so stories that should carry weight aren't given their due (Glenn's death, death of most of Ezekiel's people, CARL'S DEATH).

Oh yeah, Carl's death was a big mistake IMO.   Bringing in Henry the replacement moppet is too.

I read an online article about trimming TWD fat - 10 characters who you would like to see go.  Here are mine:

Negan - I like JDM but the character is awful, from the dialogue to the acting choices.  Fine, Rick's group needs a foil but Negan is not it.  Simon was legitimately more threatening and Gregory, as weaselly as he is, well at least Xander Berkely can act.

Tara - I kind of liked her but she has no purpose on the show, along with having her make dumb decisions, she can go.  Carol should have gotten Tara's Oceanside story.

Daryl - has not had a storyline in ages, if we were going to HAVE to have the dumb Negan storyline, he should have gotten the bat, it would have been more of the "shocking death" the show seems to think we need.

Jesus - the guy ping pongs back and forth between kill them all/save them all.  Go away.

Henry - go away, replacement moppet, I don't care about you.

Enid - what does she do? why is she here?  go away.

Eugene - the show doesn't know what they want to do with him.  Does he just want to survive?  I don't care anymore.  Plus his way of speaking is stupid.

Aaron - I like Aaron, but he doesn't have much to do; again, Carol was the logical choice IMO for the Oceanside story.

Well, that is eight definite LOL.    I think Fr Gabriel has had an interesting arc and his scenes with Negan almost made Negan tolerable.    Rick's character has been so misused that if he were killed off I would be OK with it, I hate to say and I've stuck with this show for so long because of Rick and Carl and how we started with them and now one is gone.    I'm sure if Rick goes, it will be in a dumb way, just like Carl.   We don't know what's really going on with Maggie because we rarely see her; Rosita either, so maybe one of those two.

Cut all the fat and have Michonne/Carol/Ezekiel/Jerry and maybe Rick rebuilding Alexandria and working with Hilltop, led by Maggie/Rosita.   Jeez I really didn't leave anyone, maybe there is someone I forgot LOL.

[Ohwell]

21 minutes ago, raven said:

Cut all the fat and have Michonne/Carol/Ezekiel/Jerry and maybe Rick rebuilding Alexandria and working with Hilltop, led by Maggie/Rosita.   Jeez I really didn't leave anyone, maybe there is someone I forgot LOL.

Well, there was an unnamed good-looking manbun dude who, I think, was friends with Jerry.   So I'd keep him too. : )

[AngelaHunter]

3 hours ago, raven said:

Tara - I kind of liked her but she has no purpose on the show, along with having her make dumb decisions, she can go. 

IMO, she should have gone before she came strolling back with the dopey sunglasses on. She just sucks up air time for no reason.

3 hours ago, raven said:

Daryl - has not had a storyline in ages, if we were going to HAVE to have the dumb Negan storyline, he should have gotten the bat

They don't have the guts to off Daryl . I liked him before TPTB turned him into a muttering fool who just gets into trouble constantly by being a moron who has no impulse control.

3 hours ago, raven said:

Jesus - the guy ping pongs back and forth between kill them all/save them all.  Go away.

"Go away" x 2, and take your stupid leather midi-coat and wool beanie with you.

3 hours ago, raven said:

Henry - go away, replacement moppet, I don't care about you.

Ugh, that dopey nuisance. Get lost, permanently this time.

3 hours ago, raven said:

Aaron - I like Aaron, but he doesn't have much to do;

I did like Aaron. Again, show turned him into a total fool, rolling in the mud and speechifying. Go away, you too.

Sick of Eugene. Sick of Enid. Thoroughly sick of Maggie and Rosita.

Ezekial, with the King Arthur schtick. He can go too.

3 hours ago, raven said:

I think Fr Gabriel has had an interesting arc and his scenes with Negan almost made Negan tolerable.

Personally, that scene in the trailer had me rolling my eyes and bored stiff. Negan jacked off. How impressive and we're supposed to get teary-eyed over his boring Lucille backstory. And Father Pee is always either crying or preaching. Go way, both of you. Negan (as someone said, sorry can't remember who) is a frail-looking bad guy who is so un-scary he couldn't intimidate a schoolboy out of his lunch money.

Rick is not a good guy and now they've made him a mental case/asshole who wants Negan alive after Rick had no problem killing countless others, many who deserved it less than Negan did. I don't know who we're supposed to root for in this mess. I don't care what happens to a single one of them. Michonne "Stand by Your Man" - not a popular opinon, but she can go away too.

Hmm. Not much reason to keep watching this, I guess.

[Smad]

21 hours ago, AngelaHunter said:

IMO, she should have gone before she came strolling back with the dopey sunglasses on. She just sucks up air time for no reason.

I'm still wondering what the actress did on the casting couch. Or what damning evidence Scientology has on the AMC higher ups. Tara is pretty much the leading lady of the show now. Wasn't she like in almost every freaking episode? Rosita is probably second. While Michonne/Carol/Maggie can be seen every 4 or so episodes and often in 'blink and you miss it' appearances.

[peach]

19 hours ago, Smad said:

I'm still wondering what the actress did on the casting couch. Or what damning evidence Scientology has on the AMC higher ups. Tara is pretty much the leading lady of the show now. Wasn't she like in almost every freaking episode? Rosita is probably second. While Michonne/Carol/Maggie can be seen every 4 or so episodes and often in 'blink and you miss it' appearances.

I agree this has got be $cientology related.  She is Danny and Chris Masterson's sister!  Look what Danny's gotten away with all this time.  It actually makes me feel better to think there's a REASON for Tara being the center of this show.

[Giselle]

I said to Mr. Giselle just a few days ago...

 

"You know the show has changed when we struggled to keep watching The Damn Walking Dead, thankful that the tedious show is over, and that we are looking forward to seeing "Lori"  this week on USA's Colony. And we hated Lori, she couldn't die soon enough! Now we're wishing someone would take out Rick and the rest of them. Morgan got out at the right time"

I have no hope nor expectations for next season. I don't care they are making changes. Don't think it will be enough to pull it back from the abyss.

I skipped out on a couple episodes, we played with our phones during most of the others, didn't pause to get a snack and we don't feel we missed anything. Plus we stopped watching the verbal blow job of an after show.

We used to be excited to watch the show. Not anymore. 

[peach]

2 hours ago, Giselle said:

"You know the show has changed when we struggled to keep watching The Damn Walking Dead, thankful that the tedious show is over, and that we are looking forward to seeing "Lori"  this week on USA's Colony. And we hated Lori, she couldn't die soon enough! Now we're wishing someone would take out Rick and the rest of them. Morgan got out at the right time"

Too funny!  I've never wanted a character to die as much as Lori.  Then they managed to make it terribly heartbreaking anyway, because it was a good show then.

I'm beginning to be intrigued by Colony.  I take it you like it?  I might have to try it.  Gave The Terror a go, but I couldn't get into it.  Finishing Wild, Wild Country this week, but that's only 6 episodes and a documentary.  I want a good series.  My college son just made me watch the Devilman Crybaby anime on Netflix.  It's...out there.  But it was kind of amazing watching every episode build to a perfect cliffhanger at the end, with a big climactic finale.  Maybe Gimple and co. should watch it.

[Smad]

17 hours ago, peach said:

Too funny!  I've never wanted a character to die as much as Lori.  Then they managed to make it terribly heartbreaking anyway, because it was a good show then.

S2 and 3 get a lot of flak but they were awesome TV in comparison to what this show has become over the last few Seasons. Both Seasons had the group together, S3 split time between only 2 communities. And while S2 could often feel like a soap, at least the characters were consistent along with their motivations.

[AngelaHunter]

On 5/4/2018 at 1:47 PM, Smad said:

S2 and 3 get a lot of flak but they were awesome TV in comparison to what this show has become over the last few Seasons.

And everyone spoke like actual human beings, not taking turns making grandiose speeches as though they're at some motivational speaking conference or giving 10 minute monologues before killing someone - "I'm going to hold this gun to your head. I want to shoot you but I won't because I need to keep talking about how clever I am to have you at my mercy and I will continue talking long enough for you to figure out how to get away or until someone comes and knocks me off and saves you."

On 5/4/2018 at 1:47 PM, Smad said:

And while S2 could often feel like a soap

That's what made me stop watching back then, but now I am nostalgic for it.

[Anela]

On 5/3/2018 at 5:15 PM, Giselle said:

I said to Mr. Giselle just a few days ago...

 

"You know the show has changed when we struggled to keep watching The Damn Walking Dead, thankful that the tedious show is over, and that we are looking forward to seeing "Lori"  this week on USA's Colony. And we hated Lori, she couldn't die soon enough! Now we're wishing someone would take out Rick and the rest of them. Morgan got out at the right time"

I have no hope nor expectations for next season. I don't care they are making changes. Don't think it will be enough to pull it back from the abyss.

I skipped out on a couple episodes, we played with our phones during most of the others, didn't pause to get a snack and we don't feel we missed anything. Plus we stopped watching the verbal blow job of an after show.

We used to be excited to watch the show. Not anymore. 

I keep forgetting about Colony. My DVR forgot about it, too. I thought it was stored there to record every year. I was waiting for it to start, earlier this year, and then missed it completely. 

On 5/5/2018 at 3:05 PM, AngelaHunter said:

And everyone spoke like actual human beings, not taking turns making grandiose speeches as though they're at some motivational speaking conference or giving 10 minute monologues before killing someone - "I'm going to hold this gun to your head. I want to shoot you but I won't because I need to keep talking about how clever I am to have you at my mercy and I will continue talking long enough for you to figure out how to get away or until someone comes and knocks me off and saves you."

That's what made me stop watching back then, but now I am nostalgic for it.

I miss it, too. Shane was crazy, but he wasn't dull. Lori was annoying, but not nearly as annoying as the person whose name I won't mention, because I'm tired of it (and he's dull, too - not nearly as interesting as the writers seem to think he is). Glenn! We had Glenn, although I didn't like the whole "biggest love story, ever" with what's her name, Maggie, who forgot that she had a sister, and only wanted to get to him. And so on...

Edited June 20, 2018 by Anela

[Nashville]

33 minutes ago, Anela said:

I keep forgetting about Colony. My DVR forgot about it, too. I thought it was stored there to record every year. I was waiting for it to start, earlier this year, and then missed it completely. 

Time to hit up On Demand, if it’s available - Colony has managed to stay more interesting than I thought it would.

And 12 Monkeys just started back up as well.

 

Quote

I miss it, too. Shane was crazy, but he wasn't dull. Lori was annoying, but not nearly as annoying as the person whose name I won't mention, because I'm tired of it (and he's dull, too - not nearly as interesting as the writers seem to think he is). Glenn! We had Glenn, although I didn't like the whole "biggest love story, ever" with what's her name, Maggie, who forgot that she had a sister, and only wanted to get to him. And so on...

 

Lori was as annoying as a tick on a ballsack, but The Big N is worse in that he’s committed the cardinal sin of recurring characters - he’s DULL.  

I think the writers and directors think Noogins comes across as LARGER THAN LIFE®  every time he kicks his histrionics into high gear, but oh my god - every time Noodgie opens his mouth and starts speechifying, he bores the tits straight offa me.  Every.  Single. Fucking. Time.

Edited June 20, 2018 by Nashville
Typo

[diebartdie]

So we can safely say, @Nashville clearly has no tits to give.

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, diebartdie said:

So we can safely say, @Nashville clearly has no tits to give.

All say Aye!

[Anela]

2 hours ago, diebartdie said:

So we can safely say, @Nashville clearly has no tits to give.

Neither do I, at this point.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

We must keep abreast of this 'no tits' situation.   Nip it in the bud before all the mammaries of season 1-5A are gone.  I don't want to have to watch TWD just to see boobs again - masquerading as actors trying to portray worthy scripts or plot lines.

[Gobi]

2 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

We must keep abreast of this 'no tits' situation.   Nip it in the bud before all the mammaries of season 1-5A are gone.  I don't want to have to watch TWD just to see boobs again - masquerading as actors trying to portray worthy scripts or plot lines.

We have to remain bosom buddies.

[LydiaMoon1]

What went wrong? For me, the downhill slide began with ASZ. The writers really didn't seem to be working with a plan there. Rick and Michonne were the only good thing to come out of that period of relative stagnation. Then, things really went off the rails when the show introduced the other settlements and took the focus off the the show's core characters. This is the point where they completely lost control of the show and this happened:

1. Negan.- I don't care how popular he supposedly is in the comics, everything about this character blows. From his Glen and Abe-killing introduction to his tiresome monologues, to his endlessly juvenile comments about his dack and all the other bro-speak coming out of this skinny, 50-year old geezer's mouth, to the show elevating him at Rick's expense, to them celebrating a coercive rapist during the era of #metoo, Negan as a villain has been more ridiculous than menacing.
2. Jadis and the Trash People. -Why were these idiots speaking gibberish less than 2 years into the ZA?
3. King Ezekiel-Although I like Ezekiel, his non-stop Shakespearean soliloquies were just waaaay too cartoonish. The only thing less plausible was his pet tiger who could miraculously distinguish friend from foe.
4. AOW. I was done S8, Ep 1 when Rick and the Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight had Negan and his saviors standing there like ducks in a row.........and all they did was shoot out all of the windows. *facepalm* That was so, so, stupid. Who greenlit that B-movie nonsense? The whole season was a low-budget action movie that failed on every level.

Individually, these characters might have stood a chance, but the show seriously erred by introducing them at virtually the same time. Their behavior removed all plausibility from the show. TWD totally became a cartoon. It wasn't edgy. It wasn't relatable. It was just dumb.

Edited July 12, 2018 by LydiaMoon1

[ByTor]

On 6/20/2018 at 10:46 AM, Nashville said:

Lori was as annoying as a tick on a ballsack

I guess it's official, I am the only person in the history of the universe who liked Lori :)

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

4 hours ago, ByTor said:

I guess it's official, I am the only person in the history of the universe who liked Lori :)

I didn't hate Lori, but her decisions and actions made her very meme-licious.

And hey, I'll give her some credit;  her very last earthly sacrifice helped save a life - and then in the greatest act of human kindness, fed an unfortunate soul..................

[nodorothyparker]

8 hours ago, ByTor said:

I guess it's official, I am the only person in the history of the universe who liked Lori :)

I understood Lori.  She could be as aggravating as hell and had some spectacularly shoddy decision making skills for which she could be spectacularly self righteous, but I could generally see how she got there and her presence actually did make sense within the group and where they were within the story.  This still remains one of my favorite memes of the show of all time, typos and all:

 

 

The show really went off the rails for me when they devoted an entire half season to building up the coming of Chatty Cathy.  Negan's coming!  Negan!  Did you hear?  Scary scary!  And then as Nashville said, he was just so very dull for the outsized character they were wanting us to think he was.  We get it, you're a 50-something adolescent with a Fonzie fixation who thought that one Robert Palmer video was just the hottest thing ever.  And you Won't. Shut. Up.

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

 

 

This may be my next tattoo.

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

On 7/12/2018 at 9:19 PM, Nashville said:

This may be my next tattoo.

You have to get it done with the misspelled word and unneeded comma, or it doesn't count as a real tattoo.

Edited July 14, 2018 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[Mr. Sparkle]

15 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

You have to get it done with the misspelled word and unneeded comma, or it doesn't count as a real tattoo.

 

Weird that they got "apocalypse" right, but "making" was a bit challenging. 

Edited July 14, 2018 by Superclam
I made a typo on my post about typos. Yes, I'm aware of the irony.

[Anela]

On 7/12/2018 at 2:24 PM, ByTor said:

I guess it's official, I am the only person in the history of the universe who liked Lori :)

I only hated her when she seemed to encourage Rick to harm Shane. Then she turned on Rick when he killed him.

[JackONeill]

Unlike so many other shows that occasionally deserve but rarely get 90 minutes for those truly special episodes, the only thing TWD has been able to do these last few seasons with their very special and aren’t they divine 90 minute episodes is a whole lot of navel gazing, and even that doesn’t conjure up more than weeks old navel lint. This show needs to get over itself, and get back to telling good stories with compelling stories. Question is: Can they do it? There’s only a trace of evidence for it.

[Nashville]

@WalkerTalker - gotcha.  I dropped out on FTWD a couple of episodes into this season - just realized I was watching more out of some misplaced sense of “obligation” rather than any real interest, and that’s no fun.  :)

 

By all indications, sounds like it might be doubtful I continue sticking with TWD throughout the entire coming season as well - for the same reason.  They better surprise the fuck outta me.

[WalkerTalker]

6 minutes ago, Nashville said:

@WalkerTalker - gotcha.  I dropped out on FTWD a couple of episodes into this season - just realized I was watching more out of some misplaced sense of “obligation” rather than any real interest, and that’s no fun.  :)

 

By all indications, sounds like it might be doubtful I continue sticking with TWD throughout the entire coming season as well - for the same reason.  They better surprise the fuck outta me.

I like most of the episodes. Some shows drag because they spend too much time in one place on one subject.Rick went mad after Lori died, I did too. It was killing me how much time they spent with his hallucinations etc.. The other part that drove me over the edge was the episode when Rick, and the gov met in the barn to talk. If not for the music blaring in the car outside I would have died of boredom that night, lol. I like things to move along, even if it is not killing peeps, or walkers, just keep moving. 

[AngelaHunter]

16 minutes ago, Nashville said:

I continue sticking with TWD throughout the entire coming season as well - for the same reason.

I continue to watch because after all these years I need to see how it ends, although disappointment and severe boredom is nearly 100% assured. Yeah, I'm an idiot. I never bothered with any of the off$shoot$, like FTWD, so don't know if that's any better.

 

18 hours ago, Nashville said:

Negan didn’t even qualify as a “cunning linguist”.

Well, if you consider people dropping to their knees and yelling words of gratitude for the gift of Our Leader as he recites a poem about his leather jacket and his ballsack, maybe we, the dull-witted -  just don't "get" how cunning he really is. Grown men with automatic weapons at their disposal fall to one knee in the presence of the guy with a baseball bat, and stand by like idiots as he tortures people for... well, no reason at all, and throws a doctor (an invaluable commodity) into a furnace. To me, this is not a tribute to his cunning, but a statement of the brain-dead fools he chose as his followers.

How many fillers - people walking and walking, closeups of peoples' eyes ominously rolling to dramatic music, a few speeches, and extra commercials will consume the 90 minutes? I will wager the 90 minutes may be 45 minutes of showtime where anything at all actually happens.

[peach]

On 9/8/2018 at 11:35 AM, OoohMaggie said:

It’s the differences of opinion that keeps things interesting, long may it continue!

Yep.  I happened to like Tyrese's death episode!  Which makes me a party of one, I think. 

 

TWD was already on double secret probation for me last year, and I'm not going to watch S9.  I will leave it on my DVR, I guess, in case I hear from you guys that it's worth it.  After saying all this, I'm always folding laundry on Sunday nights, so I may end up just watching some of it by default though, lol.  There is nothing else on.

[AngelaHunter]

1 hour ago, peach said:

Yep.  I happened to like Tyrese's death episode!  Which makes me a party of one, I think. 

 

Truly, if we all felt the same way, this forum would be nothing but pages of "I agree." No fun at all.

Tyreese kicking the bucket had me ready to rip my skin off with irritation and boredom, not just for the length of the bucket-kicking, or the chorus of dead blonde girls, or even the incredibly cheap and tacky looking oodles of red paint (you'd think a show that can do such stunning zombie makeup could figure out how to make the blood not so laughably fake since I seem to recall it looking much more authentic in earlier seasons) but for the misguided, amateurish - "We are artistes, my dear!"-  pretentiousness of it all. The only good part was the Gov transforming into a zombie. That sent a chill up my spine. Okay, so maybe Michonne whacking T's arm off wasn't bad either. Well, compared to the rest of the ep.

Yes, I will watch at least the season opener, if only to participate in the Live Chat thread, which is so much more clever and entertaining than this show has become.

[OoohMaggie]

3 hours ago, Nashville said:

Only one problem with that approach, though: no way CDB would’ve lasted a week.  Shortest damn GN - and TV series - run in history.  ;>

Yeah, but what a week it would have been 

[Anela]

5 hours ago, OoohMaggie said:

Yeah, but what a week it would have been 

LMAO. I'm just picturing it.