Like many who've been on this journey with TV's The Walking Dead since it started I suppose it's safe to say that I have a love/hate relationship with the show.
Now, when I say hate, I don't really hate it, per se. Honestly, I don't really hate anything, not even shows I don't watch or understand. I attribute the hate to a measure of frustration I might have with subplots that have served to anchor the show down when they instead should've challenged it to achieve more from, arguably, one of the most talented casts to ever grace a primetime show. Yes, the problem gets a bit shoddy from time-to-time; and the writers try to eke a bit too much emotion out of some elements of the narrative. But, again, I don't hate it ... certainly not the way some who write about media online do these days.
I've loved most of the journey. As I said, the cast has been mostly phenomenal; and I think it many ways the franchise -- unlike some others -- has actually been very good for fandom. For example, Star Trek and its crew of ideologically-driven writers seem to be content on dividing fandom into its respective segments. It seems Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard would rather shun long-established fans in favor of propping up what they perceived as -- erm -- tomorrow's members of the Federation. They see themselves as trailblazing authors welcoming in a new era of social justice, and I see them as just trying to beat a dead horse in a new way in order to prop up an enterprise that was never about dispiriting people but elevating all of mankind.
By comparison, The Walking Dead has stayed true to doing what it does best: put good people in dire circumstances and let 'em figure out how to survive. Some of their humanity may've been lost in the process, but isn't that part and parcel about what we want our storytellers to do with characters? Put them through their paces so that we can see what they look like on the other side? When Trek has taken to preaching its weekly sermons, Dead is more about surviving than Trek ever was.
I don't mean to wax on, and I won't belabor the point any longer: all I really wanted to point out was that the trailer for the second third of episodes for Dead's swan season is here. Be warned: it's a bit jumbled (for my tastes), not quite presenting a clear picture of what to expect when the show returns to the airwaves in late February on AMC but rather just an assortment of fast-moving sequences pitting character against character ... with very few walkers. Call me old-fashioned, but I do prefer we keep our focus on the real enemy -- that being the undead.
In any event, I'll put it below so you can check it out if you're so inclined. As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
Now, when I say hate, I don't really hate it, per se. Honestly, I don't really hate anything, not even shows I don't watch or understand. I attribute the hate to a measure of frustration I might have with subplots that have served to anchor the show down when they instead should've challenged it to achieve more from, arguably, one of the most talented casts to ever grace a primetime show. Yes, the problem gets a bit shoddy from time-to-time; and the writers try to eke a bit too much emotion out of some elements of the narrative. But, again, I don't hate it ... certainly not the way some who write about media online do these days.
I've loved most of the journey. As I said, the cast has been mostly phenomenal; and I think it many ways the franchise -- unlike some others -- has actually been very good for fandom. For example, Star Trek and its crew of ideologically-driven writers seem to be content on dividing fandom into its respective segments. It seems Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard would rather shun long-established fans in favor of propping up what they perceived as -- erm -- tomorrow's members of the Federation. They see themselves as trailblazing authors welcoming in a new era of social justice, and I see them as just trying to beat a dead horse in a new way in order to prop up an enterprise that was never about dispiriting people but elevating all of mankind.
By comparison, The Walking Dead has stayed true to doing what it does best: put good people in dire circumstances and let 'em figure out how to survive. Some of their humanity may've been lost in the process, but isn't that part and parcel about what we want our storytellers to do with characters? Put them through their paces so that we can see what they look like on the other side? When Trek has taken to preaching its weekly sermons, Dead is more about surviving than Trek ever was.
I don't mean to wax on, and I won't belabor the point any longer: all I really wanted to point out was that the trailer for the second third of episodes for Dead's swan season is here. Be warned: it's a bit jumbled (for my tastes), not quite presenting a clear picture of what to expect when the show returns to the airwaves in late February on AMC but rather just an assortment of fast-moving sequences pitting character against character ... with very few walkers. Call me old-fashioned, but I do prefer we keep our focus on the real enemy -- that being the undead.
In any event, I'll put it below so you can check it out if you're so inclined. As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
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