The Walking Dead Premiere Review

Spoilers for Season 4 Episode 1!

When I first started watching The Walking Dead, I couldn't get enough of it.  I netflixed the first two seasons and watched them in an obsessive marathon. The combination of a zombie apocalypse and a ragtag group of survivors, both related and strangers, really caught my interest.

But, as the new season approached I wasn't that excited. I have a hard time keeping track of the exact details of what happened on a season finale.  Either I have a bad memory, or the abundance of shows I watch start to blur together.  When the new episode started I found myself trying to remember who all the new people were, if they were actually new or if I just forgot who they were. Where's Snow White? Oh that's not The Walking Dead. The onslaught of new characters was confusing and seemed to only serve the purpose of setting them up, just so they could die.

I miss the traveling aspect of the show. People trying to survive in the wild, going from place to place, avoiding other people and zombies. Now that they've been in the prison for such a long time it's starting to get boring for me.  I'm hoping that the ending of this episode spells a possible infestation inside the prison. This could be interesting if they have to abandon the prison all together and journey out into the unknown again.

I'm not giving up on the show.  I know it sounds like I'm bashing it, but I'm just a little disappointed.  I enjoy the show still and will continue watching it.  I just hope it starts to take a turn back to its roots where there was actually a threat of zombies and the cast was manageable so I could personally get to know each character.

We'll just have to wait for Sunday to find out.

I Love a Good TV Show

I watch a lot of TV shows.  With the assistance of the DVR, I can watch lots of shows without even thinking about what night or time they are on.  The shows that I've been watching for more than one season now are - Once Upon A Time, Parks and Recreation, The Walking Dead, Modern Family, Revolution.

I have a hard time letting go of TV shows, even if they are taking a nose dive.  This Fall season, I'm trying to drop Revenge.  I used to like that show, but the last season was like a prime time soap opera and I found myself just laughing at how ridiculous it was becoming.  The only other show I can think of that I used to watch regularly and then dumped is Supernatural.  I loved the Winchester brothers, but when the show kept going past its planned ending, I couldn't stand it anymore.  So I let it go too.  Sometimes when I see new episodes for Supernatural I look back on it fondly, wondering how it's going, like an old friend, but I refuse to start watching it again. Sometimes you just got to let shows go.  It's tough, but its for the best.

All TV shows should look at Breaking Bad for inspiration.  It had a planned story arc and it went out when that arc ended, when the show was still at its peak of success.  It has one of the biggest fan followings I've seen for a show. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the finale, but dreading it because it meant no more Breaking Bad.  It was a great show.  Involved, dramatic, humorous at times, depressing and altogether entertaining.  I already miss watching it every Sunday, even though it's only been a couple weeks since its finale.

Speaking of Breaking Bad, supposedly there is going to be a spinoff called Better Call Saul.  I'm not too keen on spin-offs, they usually don't do very well.  Remember the Friends spin-off, Joey?  Yeah, no one does, because it was bad.  This fall season we have Once Upon a Time in Wonderland a spin off of Once Upon a Time.  I'm going to watch it, but I'm a little leery of it.  I heard there's going to be a Walking Dead spin-off too. Creating a spin-off while the original still airs irritates me.  I guess I see it for what it is, a way to make even more money off of a successful series.  So I figure there won't be as much attention to making it a solid show since it's being carried on the coat tails of the original.  So I dread Better Call Saul, even though Saul was one of my favorite characters. I worry it will cheapen the memory of Breaking Bad.  Call me crazy, but I'll probably watch it anyways.  Remember, I have a hard time letting shows go.

What shows do you watch?  How do you feel about spinoffs?