Yeah, I've been waiting for some flashbacks too. Those would all be interesting story arcs, and I really just want to learn more about the virus, the zombies, and the immediate days around the fall.
Still wondering if there is some bastion of civilization out there somewhere and a group working on a cure. Kinda feels like they've given up on that story arc and focusing on the tribal nature of the current population and how people are coping in the new world.
Shoot, we haven't even left Georgia yet.
there's a reason no zombie show ever goes into detail about how the zombie apocalypse started
Sure they go into detail. World War Z is nothing BUT detail, about how it all started, how it grew, how people dealt with it and how it was stopped.
All of the observations in that piece are easily answered.
1. Animals feasting on the shambling dead - first, let's say something about the virus makes them utterly inedible. Second, any predator attempting to eat a zombie - which does not react like a human but rather continues trying to bite and scratch you even after being torn in half - will receive at least minor wounds and, presumably, die as a result. It's pretty easy for the sake of a zombie-oriented-story to come up with parameters for a disease that takes this out of the equation.
2. Decomposition and putrefaction - same here. Perhaps the disease does not de-activate the immune system, but rather supercharges it, notwithstanding the physical rotting effects. Perhaps the virus itself immunizes its host against such effects.
3. Freezing - this is actually a staple part of the mythology. The thing is, they tend to thaw. Even when significantly compromised, they're still a threat.
4. Spread by biting - this isn't necessarily so; in certain cases it's blood-borne (and there tends to be a lot of blood flying around), and in others scratching etc. infects you. In TWD, everyone's already infected (presumably it's airborne) so this isn't even an issue. Again referring to WWZ, the issue was that the original outbreak was in rural China, and a large volume of people were infected before anyone could figure out what was even going on.
5. "they'll just walk into #### and destroy themselves"... well the difference between people and zombies is that infection doesn't seem to be an issue for them. Nor do gaping wounds. They keep going in spite of injuries that to a human would be debilitating. This is a pretty puzzling argument.
6. Zombies would walk into rivers diminishing their numbers - really? Has this guy ever seen a zombie movie or anything? They don't drown, they eventually get out of the water. Sure, some obstacles are pretty effective zombie barriers, but then you have the issue of being behind a zombie barrier with no food. You've gotta come out sometime.
7. Lots of people can shoot them - yes because "the good guys have guns" never happens in a zombie flick. The "wouldn't the military be able to deal" argument could be had at length, but the answer is "probably yes". The weapons exist to put down a massive zombie epidemic, sure, but it would likely require killing a lot of innocent people. In any event, the point is that it's not implausible that these measures could prove insufficient, allowing us to create a plausible enough zombie fiction.
7. Lots of people can shoot them - yes because "the good guys have guns" never happens in a zombie flick. The "wouldn't the military be able to deal" argument could be had at length, but the answer is "probably yes". The weapons exist to put down a massive zombie epidemic, sure, but it would likely require killing a lot of innocent people. In any event, the point is that it's not implausible that these measures could prove insufficient, allowing us to create a plausible enough zombie fiction.
The book World War Z touched on this quite nicely. Weapons weren't the problem, it was the tactics used. They assaulted the horde like they would have with normal living humans and that proved to be a disaster.
I would love it if they revealed how the outbreak started or what caused it. Best way to do so is with flashbacks IMO. Like stated above, I LOVED the flashback of Shane and Lori out on the road and walked through the woods to see Atlanta getting burnt to the ground by the military. That makes for some unreal TV.
If I'm not mistaken, do the comics not reveal how the outbreak started? If I had to hazard a guess, I'm going with the "military experiment gone wrong". It fits nicely. Military working on a method of creating "super soldiers" that don't die when shot or at least very reistant to heavy damage. Create a virus of sorts to infect it's troops with. Virus mutates becmoing airborne and spreads to general population. Nasty side effect is it works a little to well.
Last edited by GoinAllTheWay; 03-19-2013 at 10:33 AM.
As I seem to recall, Kirkman stated that he didn't want to explore the cause of the outbreak or provide definitive answers as to what was happening in the wider world - the story is the characters and how they are dealing with the situation without any of that knowledge. Not claiming this as gospel, I just seem to recall reading that somewhere...
While I would love to see more of the outer world & what's happening, I like the whole "you see the people you see" pov of TWD - their world isn't large & interconnected like it was before the ZA, it's small, narrow & deadly. The tension caused by their predicament is what makes the show work for me! (Well that and Norman Reedus....LOL)
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The thing with TWD universe is that the characters don't even know how the ZA happened, so going and doing a flashback about how it happened doesn't really fit in my opinion.
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Yea, no comic book talk allowed but this is kind of relevant to the current discussion, the whole part in the TV show with the CDC never happens in the comics.. they are literally in the dark, scrambling to figure things out.
That is one of the major aspects of TWD.. it isn't hey lets go find a cure, its hey lets survive and how will people act when they no longer are being watched and policed. The slow decline into anarchy is what the artist is trying to get across here..
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
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Well that's a tiny downer. I did hope they would reveal how the whole thing started. Even if it was just in passing. The outbreak would have been in the news before it really hit the fan so I thought perhaps someone would recall rumours when it all started.
That's what I really liked about "I am Legend", the whole "cure for cancer gone wrong" was an interesting angle.
We were down in Australia last year and one day my Uncle took us for a walk along the beach of his summer home. At one point he stopped and pointed out a small island off in the distance. He told us that was where they were experimenting with a virus that was only fatal to rabbits in an attempt to eradicate the rabbit problem they have been having for years.
All I could think of when I was staring at this little island was this was the zombie outbreak waiting to happen. Even more amusing was when he mentioned that somehow the virus got off the island and created some sort of issue. Can't remember all the details but ya, rabbit control, that will be our downfall.
We don't need to know how the apocalypse started for the flashback concept to work. I think you can stay with the "you see the people you see" theme and learn more about, for instance, how Shane ended up hooking up with Lori and Carl and heading out of town.
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Still looks like it will be fun to watch. At least from the promos I saw anyway.
Totally agree. This is the first time we've seen herds of this size. It should be pretty damn intense. Completley overwhelming numbers was a main theme in all the soldiers recounts and from what I've seen in the trailers, they capture this part of the book very well.
REALLY looking forward to seeing this movie.
Last edited by GoinAllTheWay; 03-21-2013 at 12:09 AM.
Little spoiler about the death count for next episode, not actual deaths (no names) but a speculated number:
Spoiler!
27
__________________ "In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil's might / Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!"
Little spoiler about the death count for next episode, not actual deaths (no names) but a speculated number:
Spoiler!
27
Here is the list!
Spoiler!
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