The Walking Dead (2010) New On TV

Based on the graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, and developed as a television series by Frank Darabont, The Walking Dead follows a group of survivors, led by sheriff deputy Rick Grimes, travelling in search of a new home following a zombie apocalypse.

The very first episode aired only a couple of weeks ago and opens with Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) waking from a coma in an abandoned hospital to find the world has ended. When he arrives home back at his home, his wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (Chandler Riggs) are nowhere to be found. He learns that a quarantine zone has been set up in Atlanta so decides to make his way there to look for them. On the way he encounters an enormous horde of “walkers” but manages to escape by hiding inside a tank.

If you’re a fan of zombie movies like Dawn of the Dead (1978), 28 Days Later (2002), Resident Evil (2002) and Zombieland (2009), then you will no doubt want to be watching this series. From what I’ve seen so far, I love it. Its character driven with really superb special effects that’s more fitting for a feature film rather than a television show. Although it does “borrow” heavily from zombie films; in episode #2 Grimes finds survivors holed up in a department store (Dawn of the Dead) and of course episode #1 with him waking from a coma (28 Days Later). There are some great moments though such as when a half-severed walker crawls its way through the grass toward Grimes.

The music for the show is composed by Bear McCreary adds a lot of depth as well. He has previously worked on Battlestar Galactica, Caprica and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles but provides a score here that is dark, haunting, cinematic and epic which is exactly what a show like this needs.

It will be interesting to see where this show leads and if it will ultimately give us something new in the zombie genre or if it will remain close to the graphic novels.