Fear the Walking dead is a spin-off of the Walking Dead (How could you not know that when it’s in the title?)
Full Cast on IMDB.com * Official Site
The 1st season, 6 episode ‘Companion series as AMC puts it ot the Walking Dead is created by Dave Erickson and The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman. Don’t call it a sequel I’ve read but you can say that all you want because ‘Fear’ is a prequel. I mean how many years down the road are we into in the Walk Dead’s timeline, and what year was it supposed to have started?
With ‘Fear’ we get out of the backwoods of Georgia and explore a major city on the verge of disintegrating. Remember this takes place in the beginning while Rick is in his coma (which was for 5 weeks) when the outbreak first starts. Sorry to those who would like to see a crossover it’s already been said that won’t happen, at least not right now with Geography and timeline constraints (Let’s hope in a few years maybe our Atlanta crew will try to make their way west, to L.A. where ‘Fear’ takes place.) The only question however is, are those characters in L.A. still alive in the current TWD timeline). L.A. was used as it works with the parent show’s theme of shifting identity and reinvention. Los angeles specifically is a place where you go to reinvent and cast aside your old self to become someone new” -says Erickson in an issue of TV guide. And don’t expect to see any landmarks (darn. That sucks cause I think a scene with a celebrity having their hands immortalized in the cement would somehow be a cool shot like the point when they turn) Well I’ll just have to tweet that to the creators who knows, maybe they’ll change their minds at least for next season if things go well. Erickson says the ocean is important. ‘There’s something interesting about having your back literally at the edge of the continent during the apocalypse.
We have a cast of characters that as far as the first few episodes, I’m not sure if I like any of them; let alone grow to like.
Widowed guidance Counselor Madison played by Kim Dickens has a pair of teens Nick and Alicia. Her finace Travis is the English
teacher at the school and seems cool with Mad’s drug addled son Nick who Frank Dillane plays with big wide eyes that I thought for a bit that he was ‘junior’ from Under the Dome. Nick sees the first ‘scary’ gory moment of the series which he mistakes for an hallucination. No decomposing rotting flesh corpses here, these zombies aside from what came off to me as ‘glowing’ eyes could just be mistaken for any cannibal. Greg Nicotero again is who built the visual aesthetic for the freshly turned, which he says is ‘Trauma based, instead of decomposition based. THere should not be a tremendous amount of difference between what a junkie looks like and what one of the infected look like.” for the first few episodes anyway. Executive producer Dave Erickson notes the importance of a ‘soulfulness’ in the zombies’ appearance that would cause the living to question the morality of killing the creatures. It becomes a mind F— if you want top do away with someone. We couldn’t have them be faster, hipper and more ‘citified’ but they’re definitely leaning as much toward human as possible”
Travis has his own strained relationship with his ex-wife and son Chris played by Lorenzo James Henrie. It’s a menagerie of ill-equipped, dysfunctional family matters, with a slow burn in the first few episodes.(Is that the reason this doesn’t feel as fun as TWD?
Through out parts of the show we get some news by news reports and I word of mouth, by which I think first comes from one of the students; ‘Reports from 5 states of a virus or microbe’ . Watching the preparations to leave town by the characters, including one having a coughing fit as he packs up the car. This feels slow as we already know the state of the future ahead and what it holds. Seeing the shock on peoples faces when they see bullets don’t work feels a bit odd, as I am not sure if it was supposed to be dumbfounded horror or surprised shock. And Instead of ‘walkers’ they are called ‘Infected’
Travis comes off as captain obvious when he goes to check out the drug den where Nick saw his first zombie. When Travis slips on and puts his hand right in the gore (ok all together now…EWwwwwwww) all he comes out with is “Something bad happened here” The writers couldn’t have given him something with more personality, or at least a bit of wit (it is a coping mechanism for some) or more educated sounding than this? Let’s hope the younger cast members will have more personality than him, however I’ve seen 2 episodes so far as (initially) writing this and I don’t see one. I can’t relate to any of the characters not even if I place myself back to being a teen.
Thanks to Travis lit class we get what I think is a neat outline of what Jack-London’s to build a fire is trying to teach us “How not to die” Frankly, isn’t that what The Walking Dead has already taught us, how to survive in a zombie apocalypse?
I don’t think I have yet seen the cultural anxiety metaphor yet of the show (Like how vampires are used as a metaphor for
addiction), though the second part and possibly some of the next episode will have the police brutality (against one of the turned). THe backdrop of L.A. does not provide any industry driven on feeding the masses like in other survival shows it so far has offered nothing but cliches. Is Nick worth saving as other shows of this magnitude ask Are others worth saving if they can’t or won’t save themselves? (well at one point Nick does as well as mother & Travis!)
So far there is a lack of character development although we do see Nick at the start of withdrawal. Also the exact cause or pursuit of a cure for the outbreak will not be touched , though we do get the fun of seeing these characters learn Zombie defense and if the ‘humanity’ of the zombies can be preserved.
Alicia psychoanalyzing her son’s addictive behavior can also be referred too about Fear as well “You repeat the same behavior and expect different results”
In the 3rd episode “The Dog” Love Madison’s conversation with son about the drugs.
son: Do we have more
Madison: enough to get you east
son: and then what
Madison: You howl at the moon
My question is why is the religious one the one that doesn’t hesitate with the whole morals, ethics and humanity thing?
“It’s the good ones that go first”
A few Facts
-Fear is already renewed for a 15 episode 2nd season.
-New viewers will not need knowledge of the Original series ‘if you are one of the 7 people who have not seen the Walking Dead, you can come into this show Fresh” says Erickson
-The creators ‘Hope people come into fear expecting it to be its own thing as opposed to comparing it to The Walking Dead.”
Honestly How would we? Different Coast, we have no where near the same archetypes as the characters in Walking dead, nor the knowledge the characters do. I’m sure there’s others that i can’t compare. The only way to do so is ‘it’s a ‘zombie’ show but not yet really zombies.
I have thought of one way however…
In the Walking Dead the guy at the CDC tells Rick that they all carry the virus and when we die we will turn. So why is it that in ‘Fear’ people are just getting ‘sick, and turn; but they never even died?
With the finale coming this sunday (October 4), the episode better be a doozy. So far this season the people were very slow to notice their neighbors, co-workers, maybe family even were really ‘sick’ (but how did they get sick in the first place, when others did not?) and just seemed to turn. Rioting, sneaking, and the government taking the injured and sick including those that may not be able to handle the situation mentally or those that are addicts. Travis doesn’t seem to do a thing, and the kids though yes they are teens are just gallivanting around town; and what is this crap with not being allowed to use the cars in the safe areas? We really need our Atlanta group to make their way to Cali and beef up the show. I hope the finale will vindicate this is a show worth watching, otherwise… I’m not so sure though I thought instead of just focusing on california (& the west coast ?) for Fear… do you think show creators should expand so we can see various parts of the states and the rest of the world.
(I will likely update this once the finale airs and I gather my thoughts.
The finale was not exciting at all, it should have been some big climax, but was just predictable. It was as empty as the rest of the season, not even a faster pace, darker mood or anything. I think the actors may be phoning in their performances, because I don’t feel any emotion from them. By now I should have at least one character I like, and one I want dead, Nick to me in an odd way is the only one I sort of like and I am not even sure why. But would I be all Noo!!! If he was killed off? No, none of them I just want the show itself to be a little more on the lines of the quality of The Walking Dead. That arena filled with zombies? I think it was opened, and the horde look like the crowd at a metal festival.
I want to know who Nick’s cellmate is. Is he good, can we trust him cause so far he on my No radar. Is he just a wealthy businessman or some sort of shady dealer? But then what dealer (other than casino) have you seen or heard of that wears a suit or cufflinks? He’s smooth looking so maybe in some sort of mob?
I think they need a new spin for next season, if it comes back which I think it will only because I heard it was renewed before the show even aired! I hope next season will be the same length of only 9-10 episodes, as I think that was the only reason I was able to stand watching it (besides the fact I don’t think much else was on at the time)
(Possible Spoilers) fear the walking dead finale will be the deadliest episode of the season didn’t look so much to me.
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2005 R 1:48 Charlie Hunnam Elija Wood 
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