For the past decade, our human lust for apocalyptic destruction and despair has been described with one word: zombies. Zombies have taken over literature with such Pulitzer Prize-winning novel such as The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead
Now zombies have even taken to television, as AMC released one of the most graphic, yet poignant series to grace general cable: The Walking Dead. What had started only a year ago as every horror fanatic’s wet, television dream has quickly become one of the most watched shows on television. Amazingly bloody special effects and make-up work that used to be taboo for television has joined forces with the emotional theme of a zombie apocalypse to present how humanity would join together to survive, or drift apart and fade away. The public appeal continued to grow, and now AMC has signed the show on for a third season.
But what about the people who may have jumped on the zombie bandwagon too late? how can they possibly catch up in time to watch the premiere of the second half of season 2 on Sunday, 02/12 at 9pm EST? Well, we won’t spoil everything, but here are some awesome moments in the history of The Walking Dead that may not explain everything, but it will help you understand how awesome this show is.
**WARNING: CONTAINS MENTIONS OF EVENTS IN THE WALKING DEAD LEADING UP TO SEASON 2: PART 2**
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1) Not Your Parents’ Family Programming
One of the greatest things about The Walking Dead is that the production was not watered down to appease non-premium cable programming. Until recently, to see any sort of original television series with some bite, you had to go to HBO, Cinemax, or Showtime. Granted, you still need to spend the money on those stations if you want to see some T&A and hear more than one of the words you can’t say on television, but AMC helped push the envelope by letting their audience decide if they wanted to watch piles of rotting, bleeding corpses feeding on human beings. The answer they received was a resounding “F*ck YES!”
Oh, the above picture doesn’t prove that? Then I introduce to you Fattie McZombie.
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2) Zombie Camouflage
Finally, zombie apocalypse survivors get a brain in their heads by rolling around in slimy zombie flesh in order to cover their scent. While Shaun of the Dead tested these waters, as their gang decided that acting like mindless, drooling corpses would get them a pass through a zombie horde, The Walking Dead takes this a step further by wrapping each other up in chopped up zombie bits and walking really slow. Genius!
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3) Leisure Suit Larry the Zombie
Iconic zombie displays need iconic zombie characters. C.H.U.D. had Bud the CHUD. Zombieland had a clown of the undead. Night of the Living Dead had Bill Hinzman. The Walking Dead has this guy. I don’t know who he is, but those stylish threads say that he’s a somebody. Or, used to be.
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4) Summer Rapture Loving
It’s hard to tell what happens more in The Walking Dead: killing, or sex. It sure seems like sex, even if it’s just by way of fantasy. Lucky for Glenn, his fantasy of bedding down the country girl next door came true. So what if it was in an abandoned pharmacy in post-zombie apocalyptic Georgia. He got laid, something we all need to feel alive when running from flesh-eating corpses.
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5) Emotional Gut-Checking
Just think: you’ve been looking for that little girl Sophia for half of a television season. That’s 7 episodes of pain, anguish, adultery, deceit, and heart-ache. An old man pleads the case for his barn full of walkers, explaining that they are still people. While you debate this topic, your people go and wipe out the walkers as the old man wails. Then one last zombie stumbles out of the barn: Sophia, the little girl you have put every last ounce of strength and willpower you had left into saving. You have to pull that trigger, telling yourself that everything you’ve had to endure up until now is dust as her body hits the ground. If that isn’t an emotional gut-check deserving of an Emmy, I don’t know what is.
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Tuning in on Sunday night now, aren’t you?