OT: The Walking Dead

[Dorian2]

People are different. If you tried it for a full season and didn't like it, at least you are making an informed judgement and nobody can fault you for that. I watch because I'm a sucker for anything apocalyptic, not because I like zombies. I watched some pretty lame shows just because I'm interested in the way the industry portrays the human approach to a calamity of massive scale. So much so that I watched Terra Nova, Falling Skies, Under the Dome and Defiance.

The measuring stick for our generation. RIP James Gandolfini.

Is he playing the transvestite from Jimmy Smits past on SOA? If so, pretty well done there I would say. No?

I love the way SOA has used major long time TV stars in roles that make you think "huh, I never expected that kind of performance from him/her". Ron Perlman (excuse me for not having seen any of the Hellboy stuff) is a guy I had totally written off after watching Beauty and the Beast way back. I watched the entire first season of SOA over a week or so on DVD without realizing that Gemma was Katey Sagal from Married With Children. Talk about a blown away moment when I looked at the cast list. But the best for me is Jimmy Smits. A long time favorite of mine stretching all the way back to LA Law. Nobody can do a seedy pimp and pornographer with a heart of gold like Jimmy Smits.

I sure look at all of those actors with a new respect after watching SOA. Would definitely recommend the show to anyone who hasn't seen it.

I'm watching SOA for the first time. Love the show. I totally agree with your comments on the cast. There is some fantastic acting going on from people I would never have expected it from.

I did recognize the chaaracter Bobby Munson though. He was awesome in 30 days of night!

Oh yeah. I finally googled who the hell Sam Crow was. It was driving me crazy. Who woulda thunk.....Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original Charter

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Maybe I'm biased because I've read whats been published so far, but you are so far off base here. No plot momentum? You sure you've been paying attention?

CupOfOil I can't take your taste seriously if you think Spartacus is a great drama.

I have to disagree with you about Spartacus not being a great drama. Though i will agree Game of thrones has the better writing, but Spartacus is what 300 the movie should have been and was missing as far as the violence, crudeness and sex. I feel that movies in general have become way too pg-13 in order to get the bigger ticket sales and attract the entire family.

Considering the creators of 300 made this show you could see the similarities in the over the top action and the sometimes intentionally cheezy dialogue. Sometimes you want to watch something you don't have to analyze too much or think about. I thought it was an underrated show, the writing was not too bad and i am also a fan of history even if its very loosely based. How could you not enjoy a slave rebellion beating the piss out of the Romans for a few years?

We should not really compare Game of thrones seeing as the dialogue and character development carry the show whereas Spartacus is mostly about the action. Would you compare Die hard to the Godfather? lol

 

[CupofOil]

CupOfOil I can't take your taste seriously if you think Spartacus is a great drama.

I loved Spartacus, the show had a big following as well. The first season in particular with the late Andy Whitfield was great drama.
I honestly didn't have much expectation going into it, figured it would be a gorefest with awful acting and poor writing but it was quite the opposite. Yes, it was gory and there were some cheesy looking slow mo action scenes (similar to 300) but the acting by Andy Whitfield as Spartacus and John Hannah as Batiatus was really powerful with some good supporting characters as well. The last season was pretty good too IMO, just didn't grab at me like the 1st season did but still good nonetheless.

 

[KenLinsemanFanClub]

Another show to consider if you haven't already seen it is Longmire. The writing is really good and the clash of cultures makes for some pretty interesting plot development. Really underrated IMO.

 

[McOilers97]

Maybe I'm biased because I've read whats been published so far, but you are so far off base here. No plot momentum? You sure you've been paying attention?

CupOfOil I can't take your taste seriously if you think Spartacus is a great drama.

Now I haven't read the Song of Ice and Fire book series, so I don't know exactly what's coming, BUT there are so many things going on that the episodes feel like a high-light reel, basically giving you a few minutes with one character/group and then on to the next one. I like the complexity, but for a show that is apparently so condensed from the books I cannot figure out why they would make the seasons 10 episodes instead of a more standard 12 for HBO. They would be able to develop the story more completely. Also: I'm not one that needs a ton of action to be entertained, BUT from what I have heard, a lot of the fighting etc scenes are omitted in favor of...sex and ******. I get the HBO need to include this stuff, and I appreciate it to a degree, but it feels WAY over the top at times in the show. I guess everything just feels kind of abrupt: lots of talking and sex and then a sudden death here and there to make it feel exciting.

 

[Oilerdiehard]

The mid-season finale should have happened at last season's finale.

Excellent season so far IMO. The mid-season finale was awesome, very brutal too. You get kid munching, brutal beheading of a human, a really emotional episode. Good stuff.