Presented with no other comment than: October seems far too far away!
Showing posts with label amc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amc. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Review: The Walking Dead (AMC)
Small-town cop Rick Grimes pulls into an abandoned gas station. Nothing moves. Nothing makes a sound. Cautiously wandering between derelict vehicles and scattered personal possessions in search of fuel, Rick suddenly spots a small figure shuffling along in the adjacent row.
'Little girl..?' he calls out.
The figure stops. And then...
Well, any zombie fan can tell you what happens next. But if you don't recognise this as a scene from Robert Kirkman's cult graphic novel The Walking Dead, that's because it's not a scene from the comic; it's the opening scene from Frank Darabont's television adaptation (for AMC) of that same graphic novel.
That's an important word to keep in mind, here: adaptation. Because, while the first episode of the show does indeed closely follow the plot of the novel(often to the point of achieving near-identical visuals), it's not a completely faithful reproduction. Scenes have been changed, shortened, elongated; more (or less) screen-time given to particular events, characters and plotlines.
So, what does this actually mean? (I hear you ask). Is AMC's The Walking Dead actually any good?
Frankly, it's magnificent.
There's scarcely a change made to the original source material that doesn't strengthen the TV adaptation in some way, say, by heightening the tension, or perhaps rounding out a character a little more. Despite some initial misgivings over that 'flashforward' opening scene (which, to my mind, potentially could have robbed the subsequent scene in which a bemused Rick wakes up in hospital of any major tension), I was drawn almost immediately - through a combination of excellent acting, scripting, and direction - into Darabont's vision for the world of The Walking Dead; a world in which the 'rules' of Kirkman's novel - such as 'no neat escapes', 'no tidy endings' and 'no true heroes' - are brutally enforced; a world in which violence - even against the hungry dead - is depicted as an ugly, vicious thing, robbed of all vestiges of action-movie wish-fulfillment.
Darabont opts for creeping tension over short, sharp scares; human emotion over kick-ass action, and the result is one of the most devastating and emotive ('enjoyable' probably isn't an appropriate term, here) televisual offerings I've ever seen. I'm not afraid to admit that Rick's almost painfully-extended exodus from the hospital left me with knots of tension throughout my body; nor shall I deny that another 'extension' of a scene from the graphic novel, in which Rick tracks and puts down a wretched, crawling half-corpse - while at the same time, young Duane's father tries to bring himself to put down Duane's undead mother - literally brought a tear to my eye.
In short, Frank Darabont has created an adaptation that is guaranteed to win over both hard-core Kirkman fans and those ignorant of the source material alike. This is as close to a perfect cinematic representation of the human side of the zombie apocalypse as I've ever seen, and I simply can't recommend the show highly enough. Watch it now, and keep watching.
The Walking Dead premieres on U.S. television tonight (October 31st in the States), and is also available internationally to download now from iTunes.
(Image copyright AMC).
Monday, October 4, 2010
News: October Competition: The Walking Dead
This competition is open only to NecroScope subscribers, so be sure to join up now. To enter, simply email your answer to the following fiendishly-difficult multiple-choice question to necrokeeper@optusnet.com.au.
What is the name of the main protagonist from The Walking Dead?
a) Rick Grimes
b) Rick Springfield
c) Ricky Ricardo
d) Dusty Springfield
e) Bub
One lucky winner will be drawn from the pool of entrants on October 31st (EST), and notified via email.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Review: The Walking Dead
Robert Kirkman (creator/writer) & Tony Moore (illus.), 2003 -, Image Comics'An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months, society has crumbled. The world of commerce and frivolous necessity has been replaced by a world of survival and responsibility. No government. No grocery stores. No mail delivery. No cable TV.
'In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living...'
With US cable network AMC rolling out a much-anticipated TV adaptation of this iconic comic series this October, it seems the perfect time to take a quick look back at where it all began: with Issue #1 of The Walking Dead ('Days Gone Bye'), back in 2003.
Yep, that's a long time for a zombie comic series to run, especially keeping in mind that this series kicked off some time before the current zombie boom. But then, that's precisely the premise behind this groundbreaking publication: that in the event of a zombie apocalypse, there would never be any neat conclusion, with our heroes walking off into the sunset; things would just...keep going. Day after day after day...
In issue #1, small-town cop Rick Grimes is gunned down in the line of duty, awakening from his subsequent coma to discover that the world he knew - along with his wife and child - has gone. From there, the series focuses almost exclusively upon Rick, his journey, and the lives of those he encounters along the way. Kirkman's vision of life after the zombies is bleak and uncompromising, pulling no punches with regards to zombie mayhem and human brutality alike. The ongoing plot, meandering along in a disturbingly lifelike way, is always engrossing (though occasionally and deliberately mundane), and features a strong cast of evolving characters that the reader will quickly empathise with (though not necessarily like).
The Walking Dead stands as a wonderful and affecting piece of literature, complemented beautifully by Moore's strongly detailed black-and-white illustrations. Fans of zombie literature who may not necessarily be fans of graphic novels (and I count myself among them) are nonetheless strongly advised to pick up a copy of Issue #1; I defy you to be able to put it down again.
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