Hi all.

Okay, so the wife and I didn’t want to watch The Walking Dead initially, since we’re BIG BABIES and get frightened easy. Due to lack of the DVR being empty we decided to give an episode a shot.

To be honest, it wasn’t scary at all AND once Rick woke up in that hospital bed, walked down the hall, and saw those zombie hands trying to break through the barred doors…WE…WERE…HOOKED…

Note to those who don’t like scary stuff, similar to me and the boss, it’s not that scary. One of the brilliant things about the show is that it is mostly character development and relationships in this zombie apocalypse world. Zombies are sometimes few and far between, but when they do show up, it’s usually all out, which is cool.

Few Gripes in General

Before I start in on season 3, I have one HUGE PROBLEM that continues to bug me.

Guns attract zombies. Guns require ammunition that is quickly running out. So why are we using guns?

Daryl has a crossbow which makes perfect sense, but there was a point in season 2 where everyone goes out to learn to shoot. Why? Yeah, we’re on this nice peaceful farm all secluded like, but we’ll waste ammunition AND possibly attract walkers to learn a skill that we’ll eventually NOT be able to use.

Why aren’t they raiding EVERY sports shop in Georgia for bows and crossbows and getting AS MANY arrows as they can? Does this make sense to anyone else?

Then you have ARCHERY training and maybe even a fletching class or two to replace the arrows lodged in zombie skulls.

Season 3 Issues

So far this season there seems to be a lot of filler.

It reminds the wife and I of the last few seasons of Lost. There’s an overall story, but we’re going to drag it on until we figure out exactly where we’re going, or to make the studios more cash (or both).

Judging by the tweets and posts I see I’m not alone in thinking that. The story’s still there, but it just feels like a lot of down time, or time spent on side stories we don’t care enough about. (See the Lost episode about Nikki and Paolo.)

Anyway, even though the season’s shot and done, here’s two major thoughts that could improve the plot from a screenwriting perspective.

The Governor

I don’t like him.

And I know I’m not supposed to, but I don’t like him in the way that he’s a douche I could CARE LESS about. He’s not some evil genius, but just some random psycho that bounces around from one misdeed to another with no rhyme or reason. If he just disappeared (and maybe took Andrea with him) you couldn’t GIVE me a finer present from that show.

I was listening to Robin on Howard Stern this morning (as she griped about Season 3) and she called him “pure evil” or something similar.

No, he’s not. Sometimes he can be, but like I said, with no clear motivation, he’s just a character who’s all over the place doing whatever the writers tell him to do.

I was REALLY excited this week for he and Rick to have a sit down, hoping Rick would just pull the trigger and be done with it.

THEN Rick mentioned something like, “You’re just the asshole who knocked down my fence,” and I thought that was AWESOME. Only I initially mistook that statement as the Governor would be some delinquent from Rick’s past that was always causing trouble, and Rick had to lay the law smack down on.

How cool is that? Instant motivation for why the Governor hates Rick, and wants to off him. Personal motivation right?

Only two lines later did I realize he meant driving the zombie truck through the gate of the prison…Hopes of a good storyline DASHED…

Tip here, when writing characters, TIE THEIR MOTIVATION into other characters. Don’t make their actions random. Drama is stronger when two characters have opposing goals.

Lack of Eye Candy

This one is probably me at my shallow best, but it’s a TV show.

Other than the occasional Michonne in a tight tank top shot, there’s really nothing to look at. And I’m not talking about for me, but the show lacks any real sexual tension.

And that’s coming after the unbelievable Sarah from Prison Break….er…Rick loves Laurie loves Shane triangle.

We have Andrea, who most people can’t stand, Maggie who’s with Glenn and cute at best, Carol…and maybe Maggie’s sister who’s cute, but enters a gray area should any characters get involved there.

I remember a character from The Stand, who Nick meets while traveling to Mother Abigail. Some pretty, young thing who’s always used to getting her way with men. She’s a bit of a flirt, but don’t cross her. That’s what this story needs. Some little vixen that’ll stir things up and cause trouble among the survivors, especially if one of the male characters refuses her advances.

That tension is missing, and I wish they’d introduce it, and with something more believable than a good looking guy like Shane pining away over a mediocre at best gal like Laurie.

The Show’s Saving Grace

Daryl.

Everyone likes him, and his reluctant hero storyline is awesome, ESPECIALLY considering Merle is back in the picture to challenge it.

The two even have their own video game that launches this week. Sadly, I don’t have high hopes for it as it was released early AND at the $49.99 price point which makes me assume it didn’t test too well. Maybe I’ll be wrong and you guys and gals can let me know.

Daryl also spawned one of the best Time Warner commercials of this season with his delivery of two quick lines.

Anyway, there are one man’s thoughts, and I look forward to hearing what you think. Especially on what could be done better (or is being done well) from a writing standpoint.