I’ve tried in to do Episodic TV Reviews.  Here’s is my newest attempt to try and make this work (for me as well as you).  I’ve decided that this season I will blog the newest AMC Series The Walking Dead.  Make sure to comment below and tell me what you think of this new weekly column.

This column will be tackled in three parts (Episode Summary, Character Watch & Where is it Going?) where I will break down all the real parts of the series episode by episode.  I will wrap it all up with my short feelings on What did I think? section where I will talk shortly about what I liked about the episode specifically.  Be forewarned that I will be mentioning spoilers for each episode (and the episodes that came before) obviously in these reviews.

Episode Summary

The show opens with Rick Grimes walking down to a gas station with his small canister to try and fill up on gas and sees a small girl in hopes that she’s not a walker (as they refer to them).  We soon found out that the little girl is a walker and the show begins.

We’re taken back to before the dead come to life and we see Rick in his professional life as a Sherriff’s Deputy.  He and his partner, Shane, get a call and speed off.  On this call Rick is shot which puts him in the hospital.  The show quickly fast-forward’s, with a few cuts of a visit that Rick kind of sees while he’s still healing, to the end of the world.  We wake up with Rick in this world where the dead are walking around and hungry.

Character Watch

Morgan Jones – We’re introduced to Morgan, a regular guy who’s been surviving ever since the beginning.  He helps to catch us, and Rick, on what we’ve missed out on.  He’s definitely being set up for a bigger arc as we leave him with a bag of guns and hopes that he’ll be catching up with Rick later on in the series (if not in the immediately following episode).

Shane – We meet him in the beginning joking with Rick in the cruiser before Rick is injured.  We see him visit Rick and then that’s it.  He seems like a nice guy who we can have a lot of fun with.  However, towards the end of the episode when we get confirmation that Rick’s wife and child are still alive we also see that Shane and Lori, Rick’s wife, are being intimate which definitely sets up some tension for when Rick eventually does meet up with the group (or so I hope he does).

Rick Grimes – The main character of the show that we’ll be following around throughout the series.  We see that his life wasn’t in the best of shape before his injury.  He tells us about the trouble existing in his marriage, but at the same time it didn’t sound like anything that was insurmountable.

We see that his character is one of these very honourable characters that will be walking this world and try to keep his manners intact.  We see him step up to a home and even though we’re in a lawless land he decides to knock on the door and ask nicely as if everything is normal.  He even decides to wear his Sherriff Deputy’s uniform as opposed to any of his personal clothing that he could’ve gotten when he stopped at his home.  So I’m sure in episodes to come he’ll be quoting laws and all that madness that isn’t exactly applicable right now.

Where is it going to go?

We’re left in a tank in the middle of a city where Rick is trapped with walkers all around trying to find their way inside for some tasty flesh.  Rick has a pistol full of ammunition on hand and nothing else.  The radio turns on with an unknown voice saying ‘hey idiot, cosy in the tank?’ (or something like that).  So I immediately believe that Rick will be getting some help as how to get out of this problem by his new made friend and we’ll meet him eventually.  I imagine that Rick will be with him and then move on into some other minor mission that he hopes will help him reach his major goal (finding his wife and child).

What did I think?

I loved the episode.  It definitely has a very 28 Days Later feel to it with the main character.  The basic plot of the episode is slightly cliché but since it’s only the first episode that is taking it’s time to introduce us to this world you have to give it time to get into the meat of the matter.  I do love the character of Morgan Jones and I hope we get to see a lot more of him and his son.  His conflict with his wife and where we leave him trying a failing to solve it makes me feel that we’re going to have to be with him so more as we watch him confront this issue.  I just hope at this point that the show doesn’t become zombie town of the week.

What did you think of the series premiere of The Walking Dead?