Walking Dead

[Ard]

Biting is a pretty shitty and ineffective way to spread a disease.

What if the zombies had mechs though?  I mean, mechs are clearly superiors to the tanks the army would be using to reign in this mess.

[Ironwood]

Hey, there's a Tron thread just down there somewhere.  Why not pop in and discuss the relative merits of Human Digitisation.

No, really, go.  I heard they have cake.

[Teleku]

You know, in the Black Company books (anybody else been reading those?), there are some fairly realistic portrayals of how a military company can hold out against supernatural enemies such as this.  Lets discuss.

[stu]

I live in Miami and a concern about living here is being in a potential zombie bottleneck. To the east is the Atlantic. West is the Everglades. South is the Keys and Cuba. North is densely populated cities and 'burbs for dozens of miles. Whenever I jump into a backyard pool, I find myself looking for escape routes in case zombies show up while I'm swimming.  (I actually wrote "chow up" the first time)

I did like the take on Cuba from Brooks, although I think the country would more easily fall into chaos rather than what he portryed.

It's been a while since I read the Walking Dead comics but

[Ironwood]

[Velorath]

Don't read the following spoilers if you haven't read the comic:

[Ironwood]

[MrHat]

Just a general question:

Has the show revealed how long it has been since the outbreak started? I feel like it was discussed in the first episode but I missed it.

[voodoolily]

Just a general question:

Has the show revealed how long it has been since the outbreak started? I feel like it was discussed in the first episode but I missed it.

Not that I can recall - it seemed to jump pretty directly from "cop got shot" to "cop wakes up from apparent coma in completely dilapidated hospital." 

[MrHat]

Just a general question:

Has the show revealed how long it has been since the outbreak started? I feel like it was discussed in the first episode but I missed it.

Not that I can recall - it seemed to jump pretty directly from "cop got shot" to "cop wakes up from apparent coma in completely dilapidated hospital." 

I thought maybe when we were camped in the house with the dude and his boy and they were relating to Rick? what was going on.

[Cheddar]

We can assume it started directly after his buddies last visit.  The flowers end up all wilted when he wakes up; maybe one of the science types can give us an estimate on how long it takes them to wilt.

[angry.bob]

Just a general question:

Has the show revealed how long it has been since the outbreak started? I feel like it was discussed in the first episode but I missed it.

He would have had to have woken up no more than a week to ten days after his last IV, or else he would have died from dehydration. Lots of stuff can change that - mostly shortening it, but three to ten days without water is pretty much the range that people die in.

As far as zombies and whatnot, virus/bacteria zombies are impossible physiologically. Muscles need ATP to work at all, and being dead - especially the not breathing part of it - means no ATP. That's why dead people get rigor mortis until they start to decay enough for the muscles to break down. But even then, they wouldn't be able to use any of their muscles without ATP, plus their muscles are all fucked up or they wouldn't have relaxed to begin with, so there you go. All you need to do to avoid dying in a zombie apocalypse is to not french kiss/fuck/do IV drugs with the completely immobile zombies for about a month until they all decay/get eaten by maggots/get tossed in zombie fires. The only sort of zombie that would actually work is a magically animated zombie.

TLDR: Zombies that don't breath are identical in every way to a corpse except for more moaning. Except they're not breathing so they're not moaning either. Fuck, for all we know, every person who's ever died has actually become a zombie...

[DLRiley]

I loved World War Z and I love this show, but if there were a real zombie outbreak it would be exterminated in short order. As soon as everyone is alarmed enough to lock themselves indoors and the local SWAT team is deployed to take out zombies, that's pretty much it. Biting is a pretty shitty and ineffective way to spread a disease.

Agree. An infection based zombie appolocapse won't get very far. However if it was old school dead rising zombies than there is a good chance that everyone is fucked because even at most it make take 3 months to contain the initial outbreak. But once a year lapses...err yeah everyone's boned and less prepared. It will take another year before people realize that it isn't an infection and they need to cremate every corpse.

[Margalis]

I really don't care about realism but I draw the line at characters doing retarded shit like not closing the front door of their house or living in a tent. That simply does not make any sense. I close my front door when I go outside and I don't have to worry about Zombies. Also I don't like sleeping in tents because of bugs - not Zombies, bugs.

[voodoolily]

I really don't care about realism but I draw the line at characters doing retarded shit like not closing the front door of their house or living in a tent. That simply does not make any sense. I close my front door when I go outside and I don't have to worry about Zombies. Also I don't like sleeping in tents because of bugs - not Zombies, bugs.

[Ironwood]

Fuck me.

OK.

Ok, if we're going to do this, let's do it properly.

The realism in the show was totally fucked for me when Rick woke up a mere ten days or so later and then when he wandered around it was clearly shown that the apocalypse had the whole 'the bushes, shrubs, trees and flowers are all overgrown' look.  This isn't I am Legend (fucking be there) where things have been falling apart for years.  It's a mere ten days later.  The flora would be fine.

Oh, and you know what ?  I don't think the zombies in this show could possibly be real.  I mean, some of them are wearing clothes that just don't look right.  I wasn't sure, but in some of the footage I saw (50 inch HD set here) they just looked like, I dunno, actors in makeup.  I mean, wtf, right ?

[NowhereMan]

Sometimes people need a TV that will issue them with a timeout for things like this. "Muscles need ATP? That's 10 minutes of no zombies for you mister, go sit on the suspension of disbelief step." Kind of like supernanny for pricks

[Ironwood]

And yet we're drowning in vampire shows.  Fucking DROWNING in them.  And I'm not hearing a lot of 'but vampires couldn't exist.'  Cause, you know, Porphyric Anaemics, right ?  Oh, and you put a couple of sluts in Tron and it's ok too.  Hell, you want suspension of disbelief problems ?  Did you watch Dexter ?  Good God.

I sat as a kid and watched NotlD and I couldn't sleep for weeks.  I love zombies.  And you assholes are ruining it for me.

Adenosine Triphosphate.  Really.  You drag me back to Mr Kelly and my biology lessons when all I want to do is watch some guy say 'The Basements the place to stay !  We'll be safe there' as his daughter eats his fucking guts.

(Actually, was it Mr Kelly ?  I'm not sure he did Biology.  I remember his daughter though.  She was hawt.  I wonder what happened to her.)

[Surlyboi]

Just a general question:

Has the show revealed how long it has been since the outbreak started? I feel like it was discussed in the first episode but I missed it.

Not that I can recall - it seemed to jump pretty directly from "cop got shot" to "cop wakes up from apparent coma in completely dilapidated hospital." 

28 days later...? 

[palmer_eldritch]

28 Days Later was not a real zombie story precisely because only people who were infected became monsters. In a real zombie story, everyone who dies for whatever reason comes back as a zombie. Otherwise it's not a zombie story.

Furthermore

[Surlyboi]

Wasn't comparing the two. Was making a shitty attempt at a joke.

That said, still a quasi-zombie story. And damn well told at that.

[palmer_eldritch]

Wasn't comparing the two. Was making a shitty attempt at a joke.

That said, still a quasi-zombie story. And damn well told at that.

It was a fine joke. I was merely making a very important point about zombies.

[MrHat]

I'm with Ironwood on this.

Zombies are awesome.  Zombie stories are awesome.  Creepy little zombie girls, even more awesome.

I think someone mentioned earlier in the thread that the zombie outbreak could've been going for a while and only just reached the quiet town, and I guess, within 7 days, all hell broke lose?

His 'friend' brought him those flowers on his way out of town?

[waffel]

Lets be honest, there are usually a few things per episode that (even in a zombie scenario) don't much sense.

I can't even recall how many zombies movies have survivors in a zombie-filled city but yet, somehow, are able to drive cars/trucks/whatever around the streets and avoid EVERY SINGLE OTHER CAR and/or zombie. It seems once survivors get in their get-away vehicle, all the dilapidated cars and zombie hordes conveniently avoid the middle of the streets. We have asian-dude able to drive his shiny dodge challenger all over the downtown streets that are now empty of cars/zombies. Whatever.

Or how about the "lets chop this zombie into tiny bits" scene? Most of the 'choppers' didn't wear a mask or any protective clothing. I'm pretty sure chopping up a zombie corpse with an AXE is going to send blood and guts flying, yet people are standing around watching it with mouth agaped. Good idea. Or how about passing around a mask full of zombie guts? The guts were on the INSIDE because some dumbfuck took it off using gut-filled gloves. If one person takes a swing and the mask swings back and hits them in the mouth ITS OVER FOR THEM.


Thats the kind of "wait a second.... eh whatever" moment I go through in zombie movies/tv shows. I've moved past the "Hey, wait a second, if that zombie's leg is broken how can he walk?"

[KallDrexx]

I didn't even notice any of the things you people are complaining about until I read them here. 

Just relax and enjoy the show for what it is, good plot, acting, and effects.

[voodoolily]

Lets be honest, there are usually a few things per episode that (even in a zombie scenario) don't much sense.

I can't even recall how many zombies movies have survivors in a zombie-filled city but yet, somehow, are able to drive cars/trucks/whatever around the streets and avoid EVERY SINGLE OTHER CAR and/or zombie. It seems once survivors get in their get-away vehicle, all the dilapidated cars and zombie hordes conveniently avoid the middle of the streets. We have asian-dude able to drive his shiny dodge challenger all over the downtown streets that are now empty of cars/zombies. Whatever.

Or how about the "lets chop this zombie into tiny bits" scene? Most of the 'choppers' didn't wear a mask or any protective clothing. I'm pretty sure chopping up a zombie corpse with an AXE is going to send blood and guts flying, yet people are standing around watching it with mouth agaped. Good idea. Or how about passing around a mask full of zombie guts? The guts were on the INSIDE because some dumbfuck took it off using gut-filled gloves. If one person takes a swing and the mask swings back and hits them in the mouth ITS OVER FOR THEM.


Thats the kind of "wait a second.... eh whatever" moment I go through in zombie movies/tv shows. I've moved past the "Hey, wait a second, if that zombie's leg is broken how can he walk?"

I was staring intently at Rick's hands the entire time he was chopping and doling out guts, and he definitely got some shit on his skin. Like, twice.

And hey, what about the klansman left on the roof? Why did anyone feel bad for him? He woulda just raped the women and killed the black dude and the Asian the first chance he got.

[Der Helm]

It took me a while to understand that the black dude probably locked the roof access door to protect that asshole from the zombies ...

[WindupAtheist]

And yet we're drowning in vampire shows.  Fucking DROWNING in them.  And I'm not hearing a lot of 'but vampires couldn't exist.'  Cause, you know, Porphyric Anaemics, right ?  Oh, and you put a couple of sluts in Tron and it's ok too.  Hell, you want suspension of disbelief problems ?  Did you watch Dexter ?  Good God.

It's not realism in terms of whether something could exist that anyone cares about. At all. Even a cursory knowledge of the sorts of things people around here like should tell you that. It's whether it could really kill you if it did in fact exist.

[Ironwood]

That's what every good zombie story has told us EVER, back to Romero.

It's not the zombies you should be afraid of.  It's the humans.

Name a zombie story where the zombies were the bad guys.  Seriously.

That's what really freaked me the fuck out the first time I watched it, before I even knew America, before I even knew about Black people, before I even knew about history.  This black guy survives the zombie onslaught at this abandoned house and the next day he's shot by the rescue party.

The Zombies scared me.  The Posse Horrified me.

[Ironwood]

Also, protip chaps :  We're a week behind.  If you're going to talk about the black rapist dude that totally gets killed, can you at least wait another 4 hours ?

Ta.

[Surlyboi]

That's what every good zombie story has told us EVER, back to Romero.

It's not the zombies you should be afraid of.  It's the humans.

Name a zombie story where the zombies were the bad guys.  Seriously.

That's what really freaked me the fuck out the first time I watched it, before I even knew America, before I even knew about Black people, before I even knew about history.  This black guy survives the zombie onslaught at this abandoned house and the next day he's shot by the rescue party.

The Zombies scared me.  The Posse Horrified me.

Fucking. This.

Seriously, the people have always been the real horrors in any of these stories. Man's inhumanity to man doesn't take a breather just because the world's come to an end.

[Sky]

And hey, what about the klansman left on the roof? Why did anyone feel bad for him? He woulda just raped the women and killed the black dude and the Asian the first chance he got.

The bit in NotLD when the rednecks shoot the hero is one of my favorite moments in cinema. The whole movie is one of my favorites, but that scene, in the time period it came out with a strong black hero, was just some great commentary. I can't even imagine having seen that in the theater in 1968.

[Teleku]

First, ok, sorry I even brought up the tank and started all this.  I'm actually with you Ironwood.  I love love love zombie movies.  I a huge fan of the genre.  I have no problem suspending my belief when watching these movies.  I was just pointing out something I thought was funny when I read the comics the first time.  It's a quirk of the genre that somehow zombies always overrun all armed resistance and I happily run with that.  I just sort of find it funny when a story directly throws the absurdity of it in your face by directly showing that slow zombies somehow took out a bunch of tanks.  Usually it happens off camera, and is just implied.  That's it!  I have no problem at all really!

Second, why are all of you assuming he was in a coma for only a week or two?  Its been a long time since I've read the comic, but I'm pretty sure he was in the coma for many months before waking up.

[KallDrexx]

Second, why are all of you assuming he was in a coma for only a week or two?  Its been a long time since I've read the comic, but I'm pretty sure he was in the coma for many months before waking up.

I think everyone means a week since the zombie outbreak, not a week total. 

[Sky]