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AMC's The Walking Dead

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by KYSportsWriter, Nov 1, 2010.

  1. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Well-Known Member

    I don't think it's a matter of zombies being smart, though they do show an unusual amount of intelligence in TWD. You can see that in how the undead wife retains memories of how to open a door, how the zombies in the hospital grab for the lock and the ones in Atlanta chase Rick under the tank. Other series have treated them as more unthinking feeding machines.

    Part of the issue is that, unless you're familiar with the zombie oeuvre, people wouldn't have any idea what they're dealing with. They would likely treat the undead the same as they would any other sick or injured person, leaving them vulnerable to infection by an unexpected bite or scratch. Like Rick, they may be reluctant or unable to grasp that these shambling people are actually zombies (a phenomenon not seen during our existence, voodoo aside), or like Morgan, they may not be able to bring themselves to kill an infected loved one, thus jeopardizing the entire family.

    You're right that one guy could probably take out a bunch of zombies on his own. Problem is, he could only do that so long as his body and weapons hold out. In addition to needing more sleep, food and water than his opponents, a man can only carry so many bullets. Once those run dry, he's forced into hand-to-hand combat, and the advantage is all with Team Z there. Zombies only die by removing their head or destroying their brain -- anything less is as good as a flesh wound. Humans, on the other hand, are remarkably fragile -- even a scratch (or stray spray of blood, depending on the scenario) is enough to transmit the infection. Plus, with all the shooting this man has done, he's also drawn more zombies to the area.

    Granted, an invasion that would threaten mankind would take weeks and months, not days. In an isolated, well-armed part of the country, a single person could be a formidable fighting force. Stick that same person in a major metropolitan area -- where there are more people than bullets and it's easier for zombies to sneak up on you -- and they can quickly be overwhelmed, though. Zombies' strengths (don't need sleep, may not need to eat that much, don't feel pain, only drive is to feed, infection has 100 percent fatality rate, etc.) play out over the long term. The longer an outbreak is treated as something that can be cured and not as an existential threat, the more zombies can thrive.
     
  2. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Well-Known Member

    Those questions depend on what kind of zombies you're dealing with. One of the common themes of zombie literature is the unknown virus or contagion that renders the person medically deceased, shutting down almost all the body's systems but keeping it ambulatory and aware enough to find, kill and consume food. If the zombies actually process this food and draw sustenance from it, then it can be assumed that they really do need to feed (as do humans) and will eventually starve if not fed.

    There are other kinds of zombies, though. In the world of Max Brooks (author of "The Zombie Survival Guide" and "World War Z"), the undead do not necessarily digest the flesh they consume. Their behavior is dictated by a remnant of the reptilian brain, rather than a physiological hunger, and their food goes undigested in their stomachs. If this is the case, the zombies do not necessarily need to feed in order to survive, even if that is their primary drive. That doesn't mean they're immortal, though, as they would still have to contend with their own decomposing bodies and any potential predators (human or animal).

    As to your last question, remember that zombie bites don't kill instantly, but they all kill eventually. People can get nicked or scratched while attempting to treat a zombie (as I said in my previous post) or while fleeing an attack. Once their skin is broken, though, they're as good as (un)dead.
     
  3. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Well-Known Member

  4. NDub

    NDub Guest

    TrooperBari is bringing it. That's some really good information. Thanks.
     
  5. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Well-Known Member

    My pleasure. It's the product of a misspent childhood.
     
  6. HeinekenMan

    HeinekenMan Active Member

    I only heard about the show a few days before it aired. I believe someone mentioned it on Facebook. The reason I tuned in is simple. The person said it's already been renewed for a second season. I don't understand why there are only six episodes. I hope the second season offers at least twice as many.
     
  7. lantaur

    lantaur Well-Known Member

    There has been no official renewal for The Walking Dead yet. My theory on only 6 eps is it probably costs a boatload to produce and then wanted to make sure it did well before committing to a 13-episode (or whatever) season.
     
  8. HeinekenMan

    HeinekenMan Active Member

    Oops. Apparently, that rumor has been going around despite efforts to dispel it. I guess we'll see.
     
  9. farmerjerome

    farmerjerome Active Member

    Negative. I can't afford HBO. ;D

    I loved this show. I didn't hear about it until I was watching Dawn of the Dead before it premiered and I'm sooooo glad I did. I thought it was great from start to finish, though the second half really picked it up.

    Another 400 episodes would be great.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 1, 2015
  10. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    Just watched it and am looking forward to the next show.

    A few nitpicking problems (because I do that):

    What was the time element, and why didn't Rick ask how long it had been? He couldn't have laid in the hospital for more than a week or so without any nutrition after his IV ran out ... food maybe, but not water. From the looks of it, it's been months. It would take that long for the infection to spread to that level, the buildings are shoddy, weeds take a little time to grow up through roads even if they aren't used. There is no way he laid there 6-8 months.

    Taking that into consideration, his wife is a whore and his partner is a douchebag.

    How did Rick go unnoticed in the hospital by the folks that were left and chained up the walkers? Maybe they figured he was in a coma and couldn't take him, so that's not that big of a deal.

    At the early scene where Rick told the other deputy to make sure the safety was off his pistol, the guy moved his thumb up and you heard a "click" but he had a Glock. Glock's don't have a safety like that. It's in the trigger. A book a matches at a nurses station in the hospital? Doubt it.
     
  11. TrooperBari

    TrooperBari Well-Known Member

    I'm not sure who Rick was supposed to ask once he woke up, but most of the posts I've read say it was around a month.

    http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/Volume_1:_Days_Gone_Bye

    It's a little on the rapid side, but for me it's still plausible. The nurses could have been checking in and feeding him periodically as the situation worsened but left him behind when they decided to evacuate the hospital. The zombies are drawn to light and sound, and Rick wasn't emitting much of either while in a coma.

    As for the wife, remember that Rick demanded Shane not tell Lori about the incident. For all she knew, Rick had left her and Carl -- they had just gone through their worst fight as a couple the night before he got shot. I agree that the partner moving in that quickly would be skeevy under normal circumstances. However, given the friendship between the two deputies, I doubt Shane would leave Lori and Carl all alone to face the walkers.
     
  12. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    He could have asked the other guy and the kid when they found him. I didn't mean when he first woke up at the hospital.

    I get can buy the zombies not messing with him in the hospital. If you watched, there was a gurney blocking his hospital door.

    He told Shane not to tell her about him getting shot the first time when it was in the vest. I'm pretty sure when he actually got wounded, she would have had to know about that. "Rick, ummm, haven't seen him. I have to go take these flowers to my grandmother in the hospital. I'll see you later." Yeah, I don't think Shane would have left the wife and kid behind, but jumping in the sack is pretty low.

    Like I said, I just have a habit of picking anachronisms out of stuff and calling them on it!
     
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