At it's heart, The Walking Dead, the comic, was more about what people do to other people then it was about what zombies do to people. It's a story about survival, the human condition and how it reacts to adversity. It just so happens to be set in a world where zombies have taken over. After only one episode you can't really tell if the TV show will pick up this vibe, but it looks promising. It's been years since I read the first view issues, so I can't really speak to how true the show is to the comic frame for frame, but they nailed the sensitivity. They kept to the main plot points and set the tone of desperation and survival that the comic did so well. The show could have easily jumped right to zombie attacks and heavy gore, but they didn't. They kept the action to a minimum in order to develop the characters and the world they now live in. The story is about Rick and the other survivors and what they have to do stay alive on a day to day basis, not fighting zombies 24/7. The show creators seem to have stuck to the story telling that we have come to expect from an AMC show, not the mindless action broadcast stations rely on and this genre of show could have fallen into.
That's not to say that zombies don't play a role in the show. When the time was right, The Walking Dead creators pulled out all the stops. The zombie torso crawling across the park was creepy, frightening and poignantly sad all at the same time. And the huge reveal of the thousands of zombies waiting in the Atlanta alleyway was awesome. It reminded me of Han Solo and Chewbacca running around the corner of the Death Star only to find thousands of stormtroopers waiting for them.
I'm sure future episodes will increase the action and gore. Much like the comic, there will be an ebb and flow of action and drama. But it was important, if the show wanted to capture the feel of the comic, to start slow, build the characters and suspense and that was exactly what they did. Great start to what I hope will be a great show.
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