Zombie Apocalypse Now

When I first heard about the TV show The Walking Dead from my friends I couldn’t understand their immense excitement about it. On the question “what is it about?” I got the answer “the world is taken over by zombies and a few people are trying to survive”. Well, that didn’t do it for me. I mean, it sounds exactly like every other zombie movie out there. So I resisted.

But more and more of my friends gave in and started to watch and they all turned into these zombie loving fanatics. It got to a point where my curiosity couldn’t take it anymore and I broke down and watched the first episode to see what the huge hype was about, then the second episode, then the third...

It’s an easy watch, you don’t have to bother your brain too much and it’s always nice to get a break from studying, just follow along the ride. But I do warn you, it becomes highly addictive and might interfere with your study time – especially if you’re like me and once you’re hooked, can’t stop watching! To break it down, Rick, who is a sheriff’s deputy, gets shot and wakes up from a coma a few months later. During his coma a zombie apocalypse has taken place and Rick finds himself as what seems to be a lone survivor. When he finds his wife and kid missing (of course they wouldn’t still be in the house, the town is deserted!) he marches on a quest to find them. During this search he meets several other survivors and it is interesting to follow the group dynamic and watch how an apocalypse can affect human behaviour. One would think people would look after one another, but the fear of not knowing who can be trusted, food and ammunition supplies being limited and with the tiny detail of flesh eating zombies all over the place, it turns in to survival of the fittest.

The show, which is developed by Frank Darabont and premiered on the cable television channel AMC in America in 2010, has received many nominations such as the Writers Guild of America Award and a Golden Globe award nomination for Best Television Series Drama. With 10.9 million viewers tuning in for the season three premiere it became the most-watched basic cable drama telecast in history. So, yep, my friends were right. But as I am writing this I understand why my friends were frustrated with me as I said “it sounds stupid” when they were talking about the show. The whole zombie-splatter theme doesn’t do it justice, there is so much more to the show. All I can say is watch it and you’ll see what I mean. Who knew I, myself, would turn into a zombie lover?