of a small band of people
making their way across a post-apocalyptic America infested with the
flesh-eating title menace. Or is it our heroes themselves whom the title refers
to? As the series has progressed, their situation has only become more dire, and
the thread running behind the series -- as expressed by Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies) to her husband and group
leader Rick (Andrew Lincoln) -- is whether it's even worth it
to keep trying to survive.
"The Walking Dead" has put hard-core zombie gore on the small screen in
unprecedented fashion, making it more grisly than a lot of recent Hollywood
movies, but it has also maintained a rigorous attention to character
development, something that critics accuse the horror genre all too often of
lacking. There are different interpersonal conflicts within the Grimes group
that could blow it apart at any moment, and their recent arrival at the farm of
Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson) and his family has opened the door
for problems between the two camps.
As with many post-apocalyptic scenarios, "The Walking Dead" examines human
behavior under the very worst of circumstances and continually finds its
representatives either rising to the challenge or being bitter disappointments.
The show has its faults -- the last few episodes have featured a tendency to
have the characters make self-important speeches, and we still can't understand
why one, let alone two, men would be attracted to Lori -- a critical casting
mistake because the gravity of the players involved. But more often than not,
"The Walking Dead" takes a concept that was worn to the point of exhaustion and
gives it a new lease on life.
Verdict: Pass
(AMC)
