So my wife Luisa and I are what you could call two pretty hardcore Walking Dead fans. In an age where more televised content is being consumed than ever before, The Walking Dead has become pretty much the only show truly deemable of the “must-see” mantle, in our humble opinions at least.
We won’t bore you with details of how we’ve rewatched entire seasons binge-style with our kids locked away from threatening ghouls upstairs, but I do want to explore some of the reasons why this post-apocalyptic fiction has captured our attentions unlike anything before it. Partial spoiler alert – When I’m not desperately trying to relive my youth through music (or intensely following the exploits of Rick Grimes and his band of survivors), I work in the media business. I find it utterly amazing how in a world of disposability where people move on to whatever is deemed as buzzworthy without giving it a second thought, the age-old theory of a good story triumphing over all actually holds true.
***WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW***
We’re repeatedly told The Walking Dead is the highest-rated program around, even though the majority of viewers seem to do everything in their power to subvert traditional distribution channels such as Bell and Rogers in Canada, or gleefully skip the advertisers who essentially pay for the TV buffet we wolf down every sitting like mindless, ravenous zombies. (Oh the irony!)
As it turns out, the show itself is the thing. That’s what we keep coming back for and want to get at more than a beefy carcass being torn apart by the hangry undead. The alternate reality Robert Kirkman borrowed heavily from George A. Romero and made into his own franchised universe wouldn’t be worth squat if it wasn’t for the convincing human conflict between personalities he’s created. Never mind how they’ve taken a preposterous situation which could easily be nothing but blood and gore to the disappointment of few, and make us legitimately care about people we wouldn’t bother speaking to or socializing with in a “normal” environment.
No disrespect to Walter White, but his questionable actions didn’t elicit nearly the same emotions his AMC counterparts continue to do episodically. Don’t even get me started about Kardashian-like posers who have to keep feeding media outlets garbage that they’ve convinced themselves is news in a desperate attempt to stay top-of-mind with their admittedly fickle fanbase. The moral here in this lawless, immoral, fantastically dreadful world where time stands still is that great writing and character development are everlasting traits. Rock-solid storytelling won’t ever change, no matter how drastically the methods of delivery or the way in which audiences absorb information might…
Oh, and for the record, my money is on Glenn surviving (somehow). You’re telling me Nicolas purposely saved a bullet to do himself in, all hazy and dreamlike? It’s what makes fot a great drama, right?
