Top 10 Shows: The Walking Dead

Half way through my list and at number five is The Walking Dead. The show that is almost as bad as Game of Thrones for killing off peoples favourite characters and has still managed to keep me intrigued over the 6 and a half seasons it's been going so far. Starting with Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes who was badly injured in a gun fight and put into a month's long coma, when he awakens the World he knew had gone and overrun by Zombies. The show follows him, his family and the group of survivors he is part of as they adapt and survive in the World they are part of.

The show has many good points about it, but probably my favourite thing about the show is the writing. Since season one it has only developed and got better, I will admit in seasons one and two the writing could have been better, but especially in season four and five you can see that the writers have learned from their mistakes and is the best written season yet (in my opinion). Season six's writing also seems to be a step up at places. Not only this but the development of characters has also been huge and played a large role to the narrative. Especially if you look at Rick who started off as a man you can reason with and would probably let you into his survivors group. But the tough World around him has changed who he is and is quite an unpredictable man now, one example would be when Him, Carl, Michonne and Daryl were ambushed in season four finale. Rick surprises everyone with an unthinkable action that results in a lot of blood being spilt. Another character is Carol who started as a soft and compassionate woman abused by her husband, but after the death of her daughter and other horrible actions she is now one the most badass characters still going!

To an extent the show itself doesn't seem that far from reality, you could imagine a Zombie Apocalypse happening and rather than the show focusing on fantasy elements like zombies it puts emphasise on the humans. In this show the humans are in fact the main source of horror as they learn and adapt to the World other survivors pose more of a threat than Walkers do. They either use the Walkers for their own good or generally are just as barbaric as the zombies. This is unpredictable yet something that we can imagine humans doing, like cannibalism. The Walkers in the show are also all done with practical effects and not CGI, which also adds to the relatable atmosphere it's trying to create. This I do like about the show because it focuses on the gruesome details and tells a story that to a certain sense is believable!

The show is based off source material with it being adapted from comics but does not follow the story closely. It has made its own story and makes the show rather unpredictable in many senses. One being that characters are easily killed off, like Game of Thrones but The Walking Dead is much loosely connected to the source material and occasionally connecting with elements from the comics. This seems to be working for the show and keeps it open for ones imagination to think of how it could end. Or does it even have an end game? Although everyone knows the World will end with the death of all humans and Walkers roaming around hungry for the rest of eternity!

This show does not come without its flaws, one being the flow of the episodes, it can take so long for something to happen especially in the early seasons. Particularly in season three in the prison when war between the main group and another group breaks out, it takes a good two or three episodes before anything is done about it. Between there and then not a lot happened and it got quite boring as the episodes dragged out before they returned to the main story again. This also occurred in season two when Carol's daughter went missing and too much time was spent trying to look for her before they found Hershel's farm. Another problem I have is the obvious product placement which is more hilarious than a sin. The perfectly conditioned Hyundai car that never runs out of fuel and never gets dirty or damaged was just as much of a group member than Judith was then and now. I don't mind product placement but if you include a car in a show like this at least find a way to fit it in, otherwise it does look weird!

Probably my biggest gripe of all is Lori, I have to say her death was sad and a moment to forget for Carl, but her character was just annoying. First she's with Shane after believing Rick to be dead, but Rick finds her and Carl and all of a sudden she doesn't care for Shane anymore, I mean Shane was a dick but I think she worsened the situation. Not only this but she put Maggie and Glenn in jeopardy when she wanted Glenn to secretly pick up a pregnancy test from the pharmacy, resulting in Maggie nearly getting bitten. These are just two things on a long list of reasons why I don't like Lori. But I do believe the show started to get better after she died!

So that's it for number five on my list, I do enjoy the show and almost every aspect of it. I don't think I'm the only one excited to see it return after its long mid season break!

I salute you for reading! :)