Further Research Part 1- The Walking Dead

As part of my research I decided to look into other films and television shows which have a similar theme to mine which is post apocalypse drama. There have been many of these genres but two mainly come to mind for me, the most obvious nowadays would be “The Walking Dead” which is one of my favourite’s shows to date, the second for me would be “The Road”. The following is a short review and my opinion of both of these.

The Walking Dead

“The Walking Dead” horror drama set in America and follows a large range of characters and how the impact has affected their lives. Each character having their own history and issues to deal with whilst trying to live in this unstable world defending themselves from the un-dead (walkers) and other survivors who have given up all morals and do anything to survive.

The television series was adapted from the comic book series “The Walking Dead” which was created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore & Charlie Adlard. The television series was developed by Frank Darabont who is known for his remarkable writing styles with “ The Shawshank Redemption”, “The Green Mile”,” The Mist” and a lot more.

A great deal of the narrative follows the structure of the comic book but there are changes to the characters to keep the audience engaged. For example, the characters Daryl and Merle Dixon were added to allow an emotional death to occur after a large amount of character development and also it allowed the audience to understand that people in a similar situation wouldn’t necessarily have the same reactions. From what we know Daryl and Merle had a very similar abusing upbringing but both have taken on different roles since the un-dead rising. Merle driven away early on, surviving on his own takes it upon himself to be a killer. Merle sacrifices others as long he gains something out of it, willing to follow order no matter how drastic as long as he survives and gains safety from it. Daryl grows with the group, becoming a key member and showing skills of leadership. With the odd hiccup, he binds with the group and is emotionally attached with each one of them.

The narrative does follow a range of characters but the main attraction is the leader of the main group Rick Grimes, he was a police sheriff before the outbreak and missed the early stages of the outbreak due to being comatose after being shot on the job.  Once he has awoke and realised what has happened due to the help of what seems last survivors in town, Morgan and Duane, he heads out into the “new” world to find his wife and son. Shortly after he finds them along with a large group of survivors, we follow each of them trying to find a safe place which they can live their lives. With every turn comes a new obstacle either that be the walkers, crazed survivors, starvation & winter approaching.  The main concept of this drama in my opinion is simple as an audience member; I am asking myself if I could do what some of these characters have to do. Constantly ask myself what would I sacrifice to ensure the survival of what I love and cherish either it be a friend, family member, the innocence of others or even my morals.

Rick was an honest law abiding citizen that had moral guides in all areas of his life be it work and /or home, he has the typical lifestyle of a sheriff struggling with criminals and having the somewhat casual difficulties with his wife but wishes for nothing more to please her. Awaking and taking lead of the surviving group is constantly being challenged with his morality by making the difficult decisions for the group such as allowing a potential threat to live. The threat is just a young boy. Do you trust your best friend who may have killed an innocent man? Can you allow a child to be born into this world? etc.

Each season follows a basic structured storyline; this is what I interoperated from each season -

• Season 1- Character and story development.  What is in store?
• Season 2- Finding somewhere to survive. Allowing the physiological side of humanity to be tested.
• Season 3- Can anyone be trusted?  Is anywhere really safe? It’s time for everyone to take responsibility.   

What I practically find fascinating about this drama is the fact is that the zombies aren’t the main attraction, yes they help create scenarios and are entertaining but it’s are about the characters and how a drastic situation can change a person’s dynamic completely. If the writers wanted to change the zombies to another drastic situation, the show could still be a well respective drama. Also it covers a massive range of believable character developments throughout; near every episode has a memorable moment which the audience will remember as it has affected the narrative drastically. In my eyes the character Karl, who is Rick’s son is a brilliant realistic one.  People say he is a soft character and has only lately made a decent impact, which is true but the character is believable. He is an innocent kid who has dropped into a world people of age don’t understand and is being forced to take responsibility. First season he was a real character, a scared little boy not truly understanding what is going on around him. Second season, Karl was even more alone now as the only other child of the group was gone and the only way he could amuse himself was by getting more involved with the group as a reliable member of the group. In the third season, time has passed and in my eyes the writers have pushed him a bit quickly but it was so Karl would be more appealing but now he is showing that he is his father’s son. He is getting involved in killing walkers, taking charge, helping the group in any way possible.  My view is that he is the most believable character and is the most interesting at the moment, as he is a young age. I think I can relate to him more by the fact I have never had to take a life, never been a situation where someone’s life was in danger.

It is difficult to say which is my favourite episode or even my favourite moment as it is a great horror drama, and almost every moment has a different impact to everyone. But one of the hardest hitting scenes I would have to highlight is the one below. The girl is the lost daughter and they have been spending the majority of the season looking for her, the group have recently found evidence that she is alive and moving around so this came as a total shock to me.

This is a tribute remake, unable to find proper footage;