Walking Dead Review

What you need to know: A small town Sheriff awakes from a coma to find that the world as
he knows it has been changed forever.

What you'll love

Slow burn: The show's premiere is a template for slowly building toward a climax and then delivering in magnificent fashion.

Human Condition: The zombies draw you but the story keeps you. The Walking Dead is not about Zombies, it's a story that happens to have zombies in it. For a show that is essentially about death, there's so much humanity.

Sound: Like it's fellow AMC show Breaking Bad, Walking Dead masterfully uses sound, it's not so much what you hear but what you don't.So much of the story is told without words.(like the comic)

Visuals: There are so many gripping visuals, from the zombies, to the lead riding his horse down an empty Atlanta street. AMC didn't spare any expense, things could have easily become cheesy. Instead we are treated to some truly horrifically gory scenes.

Lead: Andrew Lincoln inhaled his role as Rick Grimes, he is the lawman in everyway. From his vulnerability initially to his growing strength and morally ambiguity and finally sheer terror during the show's climax. Watch out, if Mad Men or Breaking Bad go off the air anytime soon, both Grimes and The Walking Dead may be picking up some hardware come award season.

Sarah Tancredi: Though we didn't see too much of her Sarah Wayne Callies of Prison Break fame plays a central role in the Walking Dead. I'm a huge fan of Mrs Callies and her presence can only mean great things ahead.


What you won't

Opening: There isn't much, however I'll nitpick. The opening was cheap, Grimes shoots a little girl/zombie. It was unnecessary, over the top and didn't fit the tone of the show. It felt like they threw it in there to initially hold the audience's attention. This is an AMC show, thus the audience has a built in maturity level. Viewers could have waited ten minutes before they saw their first zombie.

Gory: It's not for the weak of heart. Especially initially. I'm thinking if this kind of thing bothers you, you're not going to watch a show about zombies anyway. Walking Dead is so good that it's worth closing your eyes a few times.

Slow: More of a preference thing, if you have a short attention span and/or you thought Transformers 2 was a great movie, perhaps this is not the show for you. Otherwise enjoy.


Bottom Line: If you were late on the bandwagon of great shows like Mad Men or Breaking Bad, you definitely want to catch this one on the ground floor. The Walking Dead is a masterpiece in the making.

Grade: A