The Walking Dead March On to the Bedroom! – Letter from the Editor 3/1/18
Steve Barton
|
We watch a lot of TV in the Creepy household. The good stuff, whatever it may be, is for our living room area with our 4K television and surround sound. Watching there is an event.
Then there are the not-so-good shows. Ones that we wanna watch but at the end of the day do not demand our full attention. We call these “bedroom shows.” Once in the bedroom, we turn on whatever and watch it while at times dawdling with our phones, playing with the cats, etc. There was a time when AMC’s “The Walking Dead” was essential viewing for fans of the franchise, horror fanatics, and even casual fans. Now, at least for us… it’s become a “bedroom show.”
The question beckons… what the hell went wrong? Things were cooking along nicely once we got to Alexandria, and then the introduction of Negan (who is played masterfully by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was a bat-swinging home run (literally). But then it happened. Like Glenn’s eyeball dangling out of his head… all focus became lost.
Characters were split up… some we cared about… some we were about as invested in as watching paint dry. Sure, the stories always ended up coinciding with the bigger picture, but everything seemed to be hopelessly all over the place. Time lines have been played with. Characters arcs have for the most part been misfires; and Negan, who has consistently been the most interesting thing about the last couple of seasons, has been mostly absent. In his place we have bickering. Lots of bickering.
This past weekend’s episode, “Honor,” dealt with the death of a major character, but it too felt less heart-wrenching and important and more drawn-out and achy. It was like watching the The Last Jedi‘s slowest paced space chase scene all over again. You knew everything was leading to a final conclusion, but good lord, did it take forever to get there. And why did that character take so damned long to die and turn? We’ve seen others get bit and go in a matter of hours!
Now that we’re passed that bump in the road, if handled right, things are poised to come back strong; but I just don’t have much faith to be honest. Who knows what’s gonna happen… I hope one day “The Walking Dead” reclaims the magic that made it so damned good. For now, though, it’s a “bedroom show.” Even so, it’s one that we won’t stop watching any time soon. It almost feels like viewers are akin to battered spouses who keep coming back, hoping that a glimpse of what we once loved so much is still alive in there somewhere.
Nicotero! I’m talking to you, brother! Come on, Greg! You more than anyone know the importance of re-animating things! Let’s see “The Walking Dead” come back like the most toothy flesh-hungry herd to ever shamble down the post-apocalyptic TV landscape. We truly do need to see it…
Categorized:Editorials Letter From the Editor
