S05.E09: Channel 4

[nodorothyparker]

Airdate 2019.08.11

Quote

The group, traveling in a convoy, doubles-down on their mission to help survivors.  In an effort to encourage more survivors to reach out, Al, Luciana and Charlie document Morgan and the gang on a dangerous mission to help a reclusive survivor.

Remember that this thread is for what you see in the episode itself.  If it doesn't happen here, it doesn't belong here.

[raven]

Inspiration with a dash of zombies flying into the air via landmines.  Set up with a pissed off Max Headroom.

Needs more Strand but I kind of liked it.

Oh and we do have ourselves a convoy!!!!

[heisenberg]

My testimony: 

"I have watched this episode and it bored me to death...  This is why now I'm a zombie"

👨‍🎤

Edited August 12, 2019 by heisenberg

[DrNowsWeightScale]

Someone was asking in the Live thread what was the point of this episode -

My take away was that it dealt with getting second chances,
and, the group making a video to put in truck stops in the hopes of recruiting new members.

That episode seemed to fly by.

It didn't feel like a lot happened.

IMO, exploding zombies (thanks to the land mines) are several steps above hot air balloons shaped like beer bottles.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Where was Wendell, did I blink and miss his death?

[DrNowsWeightScale]

10 minutes ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

Where was Wendell, did I blink and miss his death?

I don't recall seeing Wendell this time.

Though the cat was in a scene or two (someone was asking about the cat the last episode or two). That cat better not end up being zombie chow.

[UNOSEZ]

25 minutes ago, MrsRafaelBarba said:

Where was Wendell, did I blink and miss his death?

Naw he's at an undisclosed location with the kids... I enjoyed the episode.. Tho I gotta know who's been shaping up strand.   I doubt its Daniel and morgan's hair game really isn't on point like that

[nodorothyparker]

I didn't hate this one once I got my mind around the idea that they really did intend to do the entire episode documentary style.  It mostly worked even if these people were coming across as both kind of naive and a little full of themselves to think that their entire problem is marketing and hey, if we film ourselves doing our best Dudley Do-Right routine, surely we'll figure out a way to get it out there and everyone will see us as the heroes we want to see ourselves as.  Nobody will be looking at it and thinking these are people we can easily lure and just take their stuff, which is exactly what evil Max Headroom was setting up at the end.  I'm actually kind of enjoying him being just bitchy and over these people because while I like that they're good people and trying to do good, yeah, they can be a bit much.  By the end of the video montage after they'd somehow managed to not blow themselves up all running into a landmined yard, I was fully expecting a Sarah McLaughlin musical cue and won't you please donate to save other agoraphobics and stragglers who've managed to not get their shit together in the nearly two years showtime since the ZA happened voiceover.

If one of your characters has to make a point to mention that they left Wendell behind to babysit all the random children of the corn they acquired before the break, that's probably your cue that the show has too many characters.  It's like they saddled themselves with a whole gang of baby Judiths who like to build zombie art projects out of entrails but don't have any idea what to do with them beyond that.  I do like that John thinks of Morgan as a partner and that Morgan has managed to find a whole group of people who accept him and his way of looking at the world without immediately sneering and shitting all over it like the Alexandria group regularly did, even if it feels like the show is setting them all up to get knocked down hard and disabused of their hopefulness.

Zombies triggering landmines will always be funny to me.  As were the Convoy references.

[heisenberg]

I did not mind the documentary.  The problem is that nobody had anything interesting to say or do.  I am tired of the preaching of values being told ad nauseam.

At first it was ok, even if it was weird (Taking a plane to help a stranger) but now it is the only thing we hear from all the characters in every episode.    In a 40 minutes episode we have about 30 minutes of preaching and 10 minutes of real storyline. 

Someone is in danger and they are on a break whining about something.  Ok we get it.  Shut the fuck up and go help him or just go away, I can't take it anymore.

Did not mind the mine field but it was poorly done.  The traditional stepping on a mine while everybody stand by waiting to explode was crazy,  the only one missing in that scene was Frank Drebin...

One more thing.  I think that they made this one documentary style to save money.  Most of the episode you see one actor at a time making a head shot.  Not having to bring them all the actors together at the same time can save a lot of money to the producers.

Edited August 12, 2019 by heisenberg

[FishyJoe]

The question I have is, what kind of nutjob family keeps land mines?

[nodorothyparker]

The landmines are half of a less than terrible idea in a world where dead things are likely to be creeping up to where you sleep to eat you or your kids.  The problem, as we saw, is that they also made prisoners of the wife and kid inside the house since they conveniently didn't remember where they were buried until all these random strangers were already in the yard and the zombies were setting many of them off.  

I'm guessing dearly departed dad was a prepper because that seems like the sort of thing a prepper would have along with his two years of rations that would allow them to stay there all this time.

[FishyJoe]

Even the military doesn't have land mines, they are illegal. Maybe the guy had his own bomb making factory? On the prepper scale of 1-10, land mines would be an 11.

So this guy is smart enough to build mines, but not smart enough to make their location?

The more I think about it, this guy was probably holding his family hostage. 

[DrNowsWeightScale]

Now that I've thought it over some more, it was a rather dull episode.

It's as though the writers cannot think up plot lines. We're stuck with a group of do-gooders who just want to run around helping other people.

This television critic really did not like the episode at all:

From Forbes:  'Fear The Walking Dead' Season 5, Episode 9 Review: A Boring Midseason Premiere

From another site: 
'Fear The Walking Dead' Is Bad

Some excerpts from that link:

Quote

by Dustin Rowles
....the fifth season of Fear the Walking Dead finds itself in a creative abyss. The show is broken. It barely resembles a The Walking Dead series anymore. It’s like a cheesy family drama, with zombies.

...But don’t worry: There is a villain, and he puts every other The Walking Dead villain to shame. His name is Logan, and he wants … gas. Watch out, Negan!

No seriously: A few years into the zombie apocalypse, all the gas has gone bad, except that Morgan and Company have a secret stash of good gas in a place they call “Tank Town” because they need it for their A-Team convoy.

Logan is trying to find that location so he can steal the gas because “the dead are made for walking, but humans aren’t.” His entire motive for stealing all that gas is … he doesn’t like to walk.

[heisenberg]

1 hour ago, DrNowsWeightScale said:

This television critic really did not like the episode at all:

From Forbes:  'Fear The Walking Dead' Season 5, Episode 9 Review: A Boring Midseason Premiere

Quote

"They all want to make the world a better place. They all want to "make up" for their past sins. They sit around and eat noodles by the fire and I'm still a little shocked nobody broke out into a rousing chorus of Kumbaya."

😂

[Starchild]

This interview conceit has to go.

I have that "Convoy" song on my iPod (don't judge).

I hope they find Sherry.

And I hope Madison is with her.

Yeah I said it.

[Haleth]

Quote

.But don’t worry: There is a villain, and he puts every other The Walking Dead villain to shame. His name is Logan, and he wants … gas. Watch out, Negan!

As far as I'm concerned it's a plus to have a villain who isn't an over the top cartoon character.

I still have a few more minutes of the episode to watch since I had to take a phone call, but I enjoyed it.  I like these characters even when not much happens in the epi.  I'm even warming up to Charlie since she's been replaced by other annoying children.  These characters have good chemistry like the pre-Alexandria group on the mothership.  I wouldn't want every episode to have so little plot or to use the conceit of videotaped interviews, but for a one off it was fine.  We got to hear from just about everyone.  (Except poor Wendell on annoying children babysitting duty.)

[Iguessnot]

I didn't like this PSA style filming when Madison died and I still find it highly annoying. 

Are we to assume they are now duplicating their little PSA announcement and leaving copies around town like a redbox machine? And there are vhs machines, tv's and electricity for random people to watch?

Oops, out of powered eggs this week. Guess they'll just call up Amazon prime for a grocery delivery.

And now Alicia can't kill walkers. So everybody else is going to have to babysit her while she stalks the tree writer.

I'm not even bothered by the lack of deaths, but the self pitying whining has to stop. It's as though a bunch of helicopter parents are writing these scripts. 

[Donder]

Insufferable this show is. I actively cheer the bad guys and want to see the fellowship of the ring fall!!!! Of course Strand will turn heel and say he never liked em......all along.

[Red Bridey]

My closed captioning has given up the ghost on this show and I CAN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD of what these people say.  My cc does not work for this show.  Why do I even bother?

[Red Fields]

Were they cooking with a fresh carrot? Who grew it?

[BrooklynRat]

I’m so late to the party but this shit is too stupid for life. Has no connection to the first season and has suddenly become an after-school special with a few pesky zombies and a mind-numbingly repetitive message. 

[Red Fields]

I have no idea where I am in the series or when the seasons start and finish. I can’t remember the last time I watched it.

[BasilSeal]

It's awful that so many people were apparently forced at gunpoint to watch this show, and then felt compelled to come here, to an internet talkboard and tell us all how shit said show was.

Now FearTWD is a flawed show, it has plot holes, it sometimes reaches for themes and concepts that it doesn't quite manage to realise, but despite these failings it's not without merit and it certainly compares favourably to the other occupants of the TWD stable.  

there's plenty of room for constructive criticism, but i do get a bit exasperated with the numerous 'i hate it it's shit' posts that never elaborate on why the show is so bad. i mean fair enough if this show isn't for you, but we're into the 5th season with this episode, if it's as bad as you say why are you still watching?