The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye

It's been too long since I've had a proper fix for my heightened anticipation for everything, so I was really worried that The Walking Dead wouldn't be the miracle we've been hoping for this season. I was pleasantly proved wrong by Frank Darabont and his crew as they brought the post-apocalyptic world to life before me. The first episode begins with our main character Rick Grimes pulling over to search for gas, instead finding a little girl zombie. It sets things off for one hell of a show, bringing a dose of cruel reality into the mix, as well as a fair share of gore. This may be the most frightening show to hit television for a while, but only time will tell.

The plot is similar to 28 Days Later, but really only for this first episode. Policeman Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to find that the entire population of his small town is gone, save for a few zombies. They don't call them zombies, because apparently in this alternate reality they've never seen one zombie movie and therefore don't know the standard rules. Instead, they are simply the walking dead, and if one bites you, you become one of them. The pilot really focuses on the emotional content of consequences of what it means if that happens to you. One particular moment crosscut between two scenes remains my favorite moment of the show. You never thought you'd cry for one of these creatures, but you do.

We get a real idea of the fact that these were real people once, and that they had lives to look forward to. Not only that, but we are only one episode in and we're already scared for the lives of our characters. Very rarely does a show pull that off that quickly. There's also the set up for some genuine human drama, with Rick's wife Lori hooking up with his former partner, Shane. Many are going to talk about this and who exactly is the douchebag in this situation. In both of their defenses, Lori thought that Rick was surely dead, and Shane probably thought he was taking care of his dead best friend's wife in the best way he can. I'm not saying I don't hate Shane a little bit, because he's breaking the bro code, and that's just something that you do not do.

Frank Darabont did a terrific job making Days Gone Bye feel truly cinematic. I often forgot I was watching a television show, and if you look at this as a stand alone film, it's still among the best. I was surprised at what they were able to pull off for this production. We all remember that shot of Rick going into Atlanta that was used for the poster, but we don't quite get an idea of exactly how much that must have cost until we see it. The zombie makeup was absolutely fantastic, and that launches me into awarding the zombie-kill-of-the-week award. This week it goes to Rick mercy killing the legless zombie, which was at first a terrifying image, but turned more tragic towards the end. In the end, The Walking Dead is the new show we've been waiting for all season, and it sucks that there are only five episodes left this season.

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