So, I just decided right now that I'm going to start reviewing television shows on this blog as well. Why? Because I can. Also? Nobody reads this anyway, so I have total freedom. Woot?I'm beginning my TV-reviewing career with the long-awaited premiere of The Walking Dead's second season. Again, why? This show is hugely popular, and I will say that it's better than most of the tripe on television. But is it deserving of its massive popularity? Is it popular because the story it's telling is captivating--its characters richly-drawn? Or are audiences just falling for the premise of a zombie apocalypse and awesome special effects/makeup?
That's debatable. The Walking Dead, throughout season 1 and "What Lies Ahead" as well, had its moments. For example, the freeway scene with our characters hiding beneath cars and dead bodies was expertly paced and truly scary. The Walking Dead doesn't go the route of your typical horror movie--there's no hysterical people running around screaming at the top of their lungs. Instead, we have the much scarier alternative of people with their hands over their mouths, watching in silence as a herd of flesh-eating zombies stagger by just inches away. Also, the dynamics that exist between several of the characters are interesting. Key word being DYNAMICS. Is Shane by himself a compelling or necessarily memorable character? What about Rick? Lori? I'd venture to say not really, but the story that exists among the three of them is ripe for plenty of drama.
In season 1, the character most brought-to-life was Darryl, but it seems as though the risk everyone put themselves in by being around such a loose cannon in season 1 has been totally forgotten by the start of season 2. I suppose the event at the CDC placed him firmly on the team--that, or the writers were tired of writing him that way. Which is a shame. Darryl existed in season 1 as the only truly memorable, or even different, character. Now, all our survivors seem to bleed into one another. Lori's the concerned loving mother. Well, her and the other concerned loving mother. But she has short hair. Rick is the leader who makes hard decisions. Well, Shane does that, too, but he doesn't wear a hat.
These characters only shine in relation to one another, and I don't think that's a good thing for a show. I believe season 1 succeeded in establishing the Shane/Lori/Rick triangle in a way that made us care about it. The near-rape at the CDC showed us just how obsessive Shane has grown over Lori, and how conflicted he really is about Rick's return. This element of the story will probably continue for as long as The Walking Dead runs. But when this element isn't touched upon in the narrative, what are we left with? Shane, when not dealing with the love triangle plot, is a totally unremarkable character. Rick on his own is only good for overwrought monologues and conflicted heroics. If you could describe Rick with three words, what would they be?
Uh...brave...heroic...uhhh...hat?
See? It's hard. And it shouldn't be. Look at AMC's other hit shows like Mad Men(*) or Breaking Bad. These characters are so richly-drawn, it's like we know them all personally. Don Draper is a cocky, womanizing ad man with a compelling and secretive past. Walter White is a man who just wants to provide for his family, slowly seduced by the dark underbelly of the drug trade. Rick is...a sheriff dad who is a good leader and stuff? Andrea is the depressed one because her sister died (and man, none of those other characters have ANY idea what it's like to lose somebody, amirite)? It doesn't make for compelling television, or at least as compelling as Mad Men or Breaking Bad can be. Look what those shows accomplish just with their characters. The Walking Dead, without it's special effects and fanboy zombie gore, is an empty show about half-established characters. The television equivalent of a shrug.
*Some of Mad Men's most minor characters are more fully-fleshed than TWD's main protagonist. Sal? Harry? Francine? Carla the maid? I know them all better than Sheriff Rick.
It's certainly not too late for the writers of the Walking Dead to place more importance on character development, but I have a feeling most of their concern is on plot and special effects. And really, I don't blame them for being stuck on the plot--how one writes an entire season of people running from zombies is a mystery to me. Once they figure this out, though, can't we get some characterization? You can create the coolest plot in the world, but if I don't care about the people stuck in these situations, why should I care at all?
All of this said, The Walking Dead is still one of the best shows on television (then again, Two and a Half Men is on television). There's so much potential here for a great show, but until the writers realize how short-lived the shock is going to be for audiences after they've see a zombie getting hacked in the face for the 250th time, The Walking Dead will be continue to be just 'okay'.
That's all I've got to say about that. Thoughts?
