Bob:
Not to be a complete downer, but I have to admit that I’m not super thrilled about most of the new shows coming up this season. I’ve seen a few underwhelming pilots and there are other shows that just aren’t up my alley. Sure, there are a few that I want to check out, but there’s only one that has me genuinely excited: The Walking Dead.
AMC has a great track record so far, with what I consider to be the two best dramas on television (Breaking Bad and Mad Men), as well as the great Rubicon. Just about anything they put on catches my attention at this point. The Walking Dead, however, is based on a great comic book series by Robert Kirkman that I have been catching up on and I’m eager to see how it translates to the screen. If the three minute preview that the series released is any indication, it’s going to be epic. Seriously, that trailer is better than a couple of the pilots that I’ve watched.
The Walking Dead follows a group of survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Zombies are certainly getting a lot of attention in books, movies, and video games these days, so it was only a matter of time before they made it to the small screen. The special effects seem incredible based on the trailer, but I’m curious to see if the show has the budget to keep it up over its run. While zombies are ever-present in the comic book, I’ll be interested to see if, like the book, the show focuses on the drama with the characters more than the titular walking dead.
You can’t deny that AMC has style, and a part of that means premiering The Walking Dead on Halloween. It definitely seems right, but it means that I have to wait an extra month before I get to check out the show.
What new show are you looking forward to?
Debbie:
Zombies = the new vampires.
Not one single new show has me squeeing, I can tell you that for sure. I haven’t had the chance to check out many of the new pilots … I know, what am I waiting for? I did watch Hawaii 5-0, and while I’ll probably only tune in every so often, I do think Alex O’Loughlin finally has the hit he deserves. It was very good but not ground-breaking enough for me to tune in every week.
Another that fits into that category is Terriers. While wholly enjoyable, I’m sure I won’t watch every episode.
Now, I’m not sure what rock I’ve been living under, but when I saw Blue Bloods on the schedule, I seriously thought it was a reality show about a rich family. Why, oh why, did no one send me the memo that Tom Selleck has a new TV series? This show is strangely under-publicized. Hello? It’s Tom Selleck, people! I’ll definitely be checking this one out, as I’m excited to experience the quality that Selleck aligns himself with. OK, not that Las Vegas fiasco, but the guy’s gotta pay his mortgage….
I checked out that Walking Dead trailer … I’m not even remotely interested. I generally like supernatural tales, but not “the day after” sort of garbage. It’s a little too disaster movie for me … Independence Day with zombies instead of aliens.
Bob:
Sorry, I just can’t get excited about another cop show, regardless of what actor is in it. I’m always looking for something different, and after watching that trailer again, I’m even more convinced that The Walking Dead is going to be the best new show on this season. Either that, or I’m going to be one very disappointed blogger.
By the way, comparing it to Independence Day is just downright mean. If the show follows the books at all, and that has yet to be seen, it is going to focus on the struggles and drama within the group of survivors. It should be powerful drama — with zombies! How can that not interest you? Would it help if the lead grew a big bushy mustache?
Debbie:
No disrespect to the awesome Dean Devlin, of course, right Bob? That’s just it — I don’t want to watch an apocalyptic struggle (don’t you dare bring the awesome Supernatural into this, because that is so not what I mean) with angst-ridden survivors. I could end up eating my words, but right now, not squeeing. Maybe that mustache would help….
Bob:
No disrespect to anyone — the movie made a lot of money and has its share of fans, but when it comes to Mr. Devlin, let’s just say that I love Leverage and leave it at that.
What new show are you most looking forward to this fall season?
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Sep 09, 2010 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
I never get why people say zombies are the new vampires. Vampires have become overly sexualized and romanticized, which I think did more damage to Vampire lore, than just making a lot of crap about them. Zombies are what they are, shuffling corpses that eat you. You can’t lessen the blow by making them pretty or sparkle, all you can do is make them more dangerous (ie. running zombies). Plus its one of the few genres that can be both scary and hilarious at the same time. So while there may be a lot of zombie stuff coming out, I fully welcome it and can’t wait for Walking Dead.
Runner-up show I can’t wait to see: Boardwalk Empire. I’m a huge fan of Scorsese’s mob epics and The Sopranos so the two brought together has to be amazing.
That’s all I meat by zombies being the new vampires … just that there’s a trend with zombie stuff now that the vamp thing has been overdone. Could have gone the werewolf route, but zombies it is! I agree that zombie shows won’t be like the vampire shows. But I do want to see a sparkly zombie. ;-)