The Walking Dead - Welcome to the Tombs

So, Season 3 is in the books.

After all this build-up I really wanted a satisfying end (particularly Zombie Milton eating The Governor), but instead got an ending similar to Star Wars as The Gov goes spinning off in his TIE fighter to who knows where, with his last two surviving goons (Martinez and Bowman) along for the ride. (Why the hell would they get into the truck after all that, or not shoot him at the first opportunity?)

The whole fight was kind of a let-down, actually. They'd been stringing us along all season with skirmishes and negotiating ploys, but I kept thinking -- it'll all pay off with that last episode. The battle started out well -- I liked the tension of searching the prison while not being sure if Rick's crew was there or not (I was thinking they'd run off to Woodbury for a showdown with Tyreese, which didn't happen until later), and then... ambush!

Usually when someone takes his helmet off after an ambush and says something like, "We won! They're retreating!", he gets shot in the head. But this time, they really were retreating. The show had laid the groundwork -- while Rick and company were roughing it in the woods, learning how to fight like a team, the Woodburians were watching gladiator fights and picking off walkers from behind their huge walls. When the actual shit started going down, it made sense that they panicked and fled. But still, it was over way too quickly for me -- after all this build-up I needed more action. It didn't even look like any of them got killed! I can't blame the Governor for being annoyed and shooting the cowards after that despicable showing.

Also... I know I'm not alone in thinking Carl did the right thing in shooting the "boy" in the woods. Look, we all know this trick from movies -- when someone says "drop your gun!" and you step closer as if you're going to hand it over instead of dropping it, it's a trick.


Way to go, Carl! Besides, did we really want Season 4 to have another Randall?

So we lose Andrea, who, let's face it, was probably irredeemable after this season. She doesn't even get the benefit of a redemptive death, though she does get a chance to explain why she was being so annoying, naive, and two-faced. "I just wanted everyone to live" -- yeah, good luck with that, on a show called The Walking Dead.

Adios, Andrea. I still love you in the comics.

And the ending... all the people from Woodbury who couldn't go on the raid, basically little kids and old people, are taken in by Team Prison. I guess this is supposed to show how Rick -- who has turned down every wanderer he's come across this season -- is becoming a nice guy again. OK. But instead of taking in the Woodbury huddled masses, why not simply take over Woodbury? I guess you could argue the prison is more defensible, although the gates keep getting knocked down, and there's a whole wall down where Tyreese came in. Woodbury has those nice big walls. On the other hand, it took a fairly large number of people to patrol those walls, and most of those people are dead now. Ah well.

Overall, I thought it was a good season -- the first half was very good, but it got bogged down in the second half except for Clear. The second half felt like they were padding -- we have to get to 16 episodes, what else can we do? -- and that led to a lot of frustrating dead ends. I don't have a problem with dead ends, but I do have a problem when we KNOW they are dead ends. We knew the negotiations weren't going to go anywhere. We knew Andrea wasn't going to kill the governor. We knew Rick wasn't going to fall in love all over again with Ghost Lori.

I know it's a problem if you have a 16-episode run and only 12 episodes worth of stories to tell. It's such a heavily serialized show that you feel every week you have to advance the ball. If I was on Scott Gimple's writing team (have your people call my people), I'd suggest avoiding so many dead ends by working in more stand-alone episodes like "Clear". Wouldn't it have been cool to have an episode that was maybe 10 or 15 minutes of life in the prison, and the rest about the hitchhiker, or the Spanish-speaking family, or whoever? And then an episode or two later they pop up again, and you think they'll become part of the story... but no, they're just passing through. Or maybe have some people who don't even pop up again. There's endless potential. Explore the world of Walking Dead, instead of just this one group in the prison.

The Walking Dead: This Sorrowful Life

A couple weeks ago I wrote about how I was optimistic about next season because the writer of "Clear" -- the best episode since the pilot -- was going to be taking over as the showrunner. Alas, Scott Gimple also wrote this episode, which was yet another example of the uneven writing that has plagued this series since the beginning.

The problem is we all knew that Rick was not going to turn Michonne over to the Governor. It's been a long time since Rick was paralyzed with indecision over what would be the just thing to do with Randall, the young prisoner they had on the Farm. Remember those days? Rick refused to leave Randall stuck on the spiked fence. Then he refused to abandon him in the overrun factory yard. Then he refused to execute him. And yet all this time he also refused to consider allowing him to join the group.

I get that Rick is a much harder man now. He wouldn't stop for the hitchhiker (twice) -- only pausing long enough to pick up his backpack after he gets eaten. He's also the guy who won't allow Tyreese and his crew to stay in the prison.

So he's not going to help strangers. I get that. But is he now the type of person who is going to hand over a member of the group, albeit a relatively new one, who he knows is going to be tortured, maimed, and killed?

Hey, if they were seriously going to take this show in that direction -- if they were going to make Rick a cold and cruel pragmatist with no thought about sacrificing others to protect himself -- then fine, let's go that way.

But no, of course not. It's just another excuse to navel gaze for 20 minutes as Rick ponders what to do. If this was written better, or maybe acted better, maybe it would be compelling drama, watching Rick agonize with his decision. Instead, it's just dull as we watch Rick inevitably come to the decision we knew he'd make all along.

But oh! There's a twist. Because while Rick is hemming and hawing, someone else comes along and makes the decision for him. Wait, that's not a twist? That's right -- they've done it before, with Shane. Shane was the one in Season 2 who ultimately decides what to do with Randall. (He's also the one who decides to take out the walkers in Hershel's barn.) They've also done it in Season 3, with The Governor taking aggressive actions against the Prison while Rick mopes.

Rick is the Hamlet of Walking Dead, thinking, plotting, agonizing, while others run around actually doing stuff.

I'll give him the line of the night: "I'm not your governor." But it was amusing how he delivers a big speech about how it's no longer a Ricktatorship and they will have to decide together what to do... then he walks away without listening to what they had to say!

I also don't quite get Merle's logic -- OK, not that he has any -- in carrying out Rick's wishes by delivering Michonne, when Merle is the one who has been saying all along that it won't make any difference to The Gov, who intends on wiping them all out no matter what they do.

But once we finally get away from the prison, it's not a bad episode. Michonne was cool, maybe a little too cool, going along with Merle and really not making any effort at all to escape. Nice line though, about how she's not going to leave until she has her sword back. I loved Merle pretending to give the zombie a drink of whisky and then cackling. And bringing all those walkers into the compound and then ambushing the Governor's ambush was pretty cool.

It was very symbolic that Glenn rips off two fingers to get a wedding ring from a zombie, and then later, The Gov bites off two of Merle's fingers. It was symbolic of... uh... fingers, I guess? I dunno.

Daryl killing Walker Merle was the second time someone has had to put down a sibling... Andrea killed her zombiefid sister Amy way back in Season 1. I'm guessing they had Walker Merle moving slowly not because he recognized Daryl, but because they just wanted to linger on the scene. I don't think there was supposed to be any "recognition" of Daryl or anything like that.

So pour out a shot of Wild Turkey for ol' Merle and let's bring on the season finale next week!

The Walking Dead: Prey

I didn't hate this episode as much as some people did, but it did have some glaring flaws.

I especially like the one-eyed governor spotting Andrea in a field as he whizzes by. He's got good peripheral vision out of that patch. I think he should probably keep his one eye on the road while he's driving, don't you?

The flashback between Michonne and Andrea had the potential to be interesting, but it was just the same ol' same ol'... people asking Michonne direct questions and her just glaring instead of answering.

The extended cat-and-mouse scene in the old building -- what I presume was a factory that made improvised weapons for serial killers in slasher movies -- went on far too long, but had a nice payoff of Andrea unleashing the zombie staircase horde on the Governor. (What do you think those people were doing before they turned -- fire drill? Smoke break in the stairwell?) When she walked out, leaving the Governor to swing his Vorpal Shovel at the zombies, why didn't she just take his car? If he didn't leave the keys, at least slash the tires. Sheesh.

And what about Milton? He says he knew Phillip before he became the Governor. Does that he mean he knew him pre-Apocalypse, or just pre-Woodbury? Maybe they're brothers? He obviously wants Andrea to stop him, but then doesn't let her shoot him. And it goes both ways -- the Governor obviously thinks Milton burned up the walkers. but doesn't do anything about it. Hmm.

I'll go ahead and predict that Milton becomes zombie'fied and then eats the Governor. So many people "deserve" the chance to kill him -- Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Merle, and of course Andrea -- that I think they'll go another way and give it to Milton. And it's almost inevitable that the bad guy who sees the light gets to die a redemptive death. Anyway, that's my prediction.

Line of the night goes to Rick:

"..."

As he's looking across the field with his binoculars and thinks he sees something, but... is that Andrea? The ghost of Lori? A zombie? Ah, fuck it. Note to Team Prison: The guy who is seeing hallucinations probably isn't a good choice for a look-out.

The Walking Dead: Arrow on the Doorpost

After last week's great episode, The Walking Dead returned to another blah-blah-blah fest. Lots of people talking but not actually doing anything.

I don't get The Governor's whole negotiating strategy -- or why Rick bothered to sit down to negotiate with him at all. People on this show seem to have a lot of short-term memory problems. Like when The Governor brings up that "we could have killed you all" when they attacked the prison a few weeks ago. Rick could have pointed out that a) the half-assed attack resulted in one dead on either side, and was at best a draw; and b) when Rick and Co. launched their attack on Woodbury, it resulted in several Woodburians getting killed (and alas, poor Oscar), including The Governor's own zombie daughter. Not to mention his eye.

You'd think Rick would bring this up, but no, he just likes to glare. I would have loved it if instead he had just pulled a Malcolm Reynolds and shot The Governor as soon as he hung up his gun.
 
Andrea continues to be the most annoying person on the show, but everyone else isn't helping. You'd think when she explicitly asks what The Governor did to Maggie, Hershel might tell her. But no, let's just let it lie. Because otherwise it would make it too painfully obvious that Andrea is backing the wrong team, and we have to leave her "conflicted" for another few episodes... even if we all know no sane person would be conflicted in her position.

Line of the week goes to Glenn, who can't get it on with Maggie while the walkers are watching. So romantic! Also, props for having people on guard duty fuck around, literally, and nothing bad comes of it... so far. Probably the first time in television history that a distracted guard didn't result in an immediate attack.

Dumb line of the night goes to Milton, who says he wants to see Hershel's stump because it's important to know how high above the bite the leg was amputated. Um... how are you supposed to figure out where the bite was by looking at his stump? Do you think he carries around the amputated leg in his pocket? I thought Milton was the smart one.

The Walking Dead: Clear

The best episode since the pilot is, I hope, a preview of what next season will be like. The writer of this week's episode, Scott M. Gimple, is taking over as showrunner next season.

I know... who the hell is Scott M. Gimple? His middle name is Milhouse. He's from New Jersey. He's written five episodes, including "Save the Last One" (where Shane shoots Otis) and "Pretty Much Dead Already" (where they kill all the walkers in the barn, and find Sophia). Those are two really good episodes, and along with this one, I'm really encouraged about next season.

If you hate Gimple's writing, well... just give it a little while. Walking Dead showrunners have about as long a lifespan as hitchhikers on this show.

I felt bad for the hitchhiker, and of course we all would like to think that of course we'd stop for the poor guy. There's an empty seat in the back, after all. But if there's one thing Rick has learned, it's not to be nice to strangers. As I pointed out last week, if you're a latecomer to Rick's crew, you're better off finding the Governor. Rick isn't going to let you join.

But if you think about it, how many times has Rick survived because strangers took him in? Morgan... Jenner... Hershel. What ever happened to "pay it forward"?

The highlight of the episode was Lennie James as Morgan. The guy is just electrifying on screen. You really felt his horror and anguish as a man damned to live in Hell on Earth. Of course I wanted Rick to bring Morgan back to the prison, even though that means (given the show's strict "one black man at a time" policy) that Tyreese would be permanently on Team Woodbury. But you knew Morgan wasn't going to go. He survives while everyone he cares about dies around him, not because he's brave but because he's weak.

Does anyone else feel the last three seasons would have been awesome if it was about Morgan and Duane? Season 1 ends with Morgan, realizing he and Duane are in over their hands, finally turning on the walkie-talkie. Season 2 ends with Duane getting eaten by his mother. And Season 3 ends with Rick's return.

Not in this universe.

In the real Walking Dead, Michonne finally emerges as they give her something to do other than glower. She even gets the line of the night:

Rick: We're eating his food now?
Michonne: The mat said welcome...

When Carl gets annoyed and stomps off by himself, she does the smart thing and follows him at a distance -- letting him know she's there but not crowding him for space. Close enough to keep an eye on him but not so close that he runs away. Wow, she's already a better mom than Lori "Where's Carl?!" Grimes.

There were a few stupid moments in this episode, though. I get that Michonne is a bad-ass, but now she can teleport? She bamfs up to the roof to go after Morgan, and then bamfs into the restaurant to get the picture (and the weird cat sculpture). Pretty impressive.

I also liked when Carl is told to stay outside the restaurant, so he stands with his back to the doors (with windows) as a horde of zombies inside pounds away. That sounds like a smart idea.

But this was by far the best since the pilot. I'm looking forward to more of Gimple's work.

The Walking Dead: I Ain't No Judas

I don't have much to say about this episode, another one where it felt like the writers were stalling for time.

What happened to last week's big finale of dumping walkers into the prison? I didn't think a yard full of zombie was as big a problem as they were making it out to be last week, but I thought it would be at least a little bit of a problem. Rick, Daryl, and Merle getting back into the prison wouldn't be much of a challenge... but why not show it?

I actually think leaving the yard full of walkers is a good idea -- use the walkers as a defense. If nothing else, the Woodbury people (Woodburians?) will have to shoot at the zombies first.

We did get some nice scenes of Andrea and Milton -- aka Smithers (thanks Scott Adsit) making a pet zombie. But other than that, and Tyreese and crew making their way to Woodbury, nothing happened in this episode. Andrea is completely clueless and just runs around lecturing people. Michonne actually had some speaking lines for once, but came off as whiny and petty.

Merle had the line of the night, when he told Michonne he was "just following orders" when he tried to kill her.

Michonne: "Like the Gestapo?"
Merle: (brightly) "Yeah!"

Let's look at the big picture. The Woodburians are gearing up for war. They have more people. They have lots of powerful guns, thanks to killing those soldiers (and Rick's bag o' guns, which he took from Andrea). They have a strong, ruthless, and wacky leader. They have a competent #2 in Martinez, although he didn't exactly impress us with his marksmanship last week, and he seems like a bit of a hothead.

Meanwhile, Rick's merry band is confused, disorganized, and disheartened. They have much fewer people and they're low on ammunition. On the plus side, they're a lot more competent when it comes to killing -- quality, not quantity. Rick, Daryl, Merle, and Michonne are the best fighters on the field. (And when Hershel proved to be a crack shot when he finally picked up a gun during the last stand on the farm.) They also have a fortified position, but as Merle pointed out, the Governor could simply surround the prison and starve them out.

Then we have the wildcards of Andrea and Tyreese. What will they do in an all-out war against the prison? Will they side with the Governor, or with Rick?

Andrea is a mystery. The writers clearly don't know what to do with her. We've seen too much of The Governor's evil side -- and she has, too -- to simply write it off as her not knowing he's a monster.

I can understand her desire to broker a truce between the two sides. But if she's convinced The Governor is evil, why return to Woodbury? If she's not convinced, then why hover over him with a knife? I just don't get how we're supposed to read her.

Meanwhile, Rick's decision to freak out and boot Tyreese and his people went from being a dumb decision to a catastrophe when they showed up at Woodbury. The Governor knows not to kick people out when you're gearing up for war... especially people who have inside information about your opponent. 

Which makes me think -- who would you rather follow, Rick or The Governor? They're both crazy now, so put that aside.

Yeah, The Governor is a ruthless prick who wouldn't think twice about feeding you to the zombies... but Rick has done the same thing, either directly (Andrew) or indirectly (Tyreese's group). Let's face it, if you weren't around in Season 2, Rick isn't going to be your buddy. Judging from the Tyreese experience, if you were wandering the post-apocalyptic world, you'd be better off coming across The Governor instead of Rick.

But neither one is a great choice. I wonder if that Hispanic family would let me sit in the back.

Walking Dead: Home

So, Walking Dead.

Eh. Again, lots of blah blah blah in the prison. Glenn is apparently the new boss, but I'm not quite sure who he is the boss of, since it doesn't appear that anyone is listening to him, or doing anything really. We see Glenn trying to figure out how to defend the prison with, I kid you not, Beth and Carl. That's the A-Team right now.

Andrea is off in Woodbury playing Vice Governor. Daryl is back to hunting squirrels with big brother Merle. Dale, Shane, and T-Dog are dead.

The only chance for replacements, Tyreese and his friends, are gone. There was a terrific scene as they grimly walked away with the prison behind them, Tyreese casting one last look over his shoulder... no, wait, that didn't happen, they just weren't in this episode. I guess they left after Rick freaked out last week... and who could blame them?

So who's left?

• Rick, wandering around looking for Lori's ghost;
• Michonne, standing outside glaring at weeds;
• Hershel, who somehow got passed over as Vice Rick but seems to have settled into the consigliere role, though most of his advice seems to consist of saying, "are you sure you want to do that?" and then staring mournfully as that is indeed what they do;
• Maggie, hiding in her bunk;
• Carol, who is growing her hair out;
• and Axel, who suddenly has lines this week. (Ut-oh...)

What I'm bitching about this week:
Where'd they go?... Where'd WHO go? Daryl and Merle are off in the woods playing redneck when they hear a baby crying. Which is kind of strange because the baby's crying during a zombie attack and the people are defending themselves by shooting guns. But again, they don't hear the gunshots... they hear the baby crying. All right. Daryl and Merle -- well, mostly Daryl -- helps kill off the zombies. Then, without so much as a vaya con dios, the two groups go their separate ways again. You know, if I lived in a post-apocalyptic zombie world and came across another group of survivors, I might want to ask a few questions, like... where did you come from? Where are you going? Why is your baby so freakishly loud? Nope.

What's on Daryl's back? Merle and Daryl have to argue about whether or not they should have robbed the other group, because you can't do anything on this show without getting into an argument about it. In the course of the argument Merle rips off Daryl's shirt to expose the big tattoos on his back. Actually, no, you weren't supposed to notice the huge tattoos, but rather the scars on his back, which Merle immediately recognizes as coming from getting beaten as a child, even though he'd apparently never seen them before. (I guess they didn't share a bedroom growing up?) I'm not sure what the tattoos are supposed to be -- they appear to be winged men of some sort. Angels? Demons? Hawkmen? I dunno.

The last 10 minutes... The first 50 minutes seemed like nothing was happening, but then those last 10 minutes -- woo! Guns! Swords! Zombies! The last 10 minutes were lots of fun. But also a little confusing. What exactly was the Governor's plan? You'd think if it was a full-out assault on the prison he'd bring more than a couple guys, but whatever... maybe this is just a scouting mission. Except it is a full-out assault! They even get a guy into one of the prison guard towers (how'd that happen?) and flank out Martinez to pin down the survivors. Victory! All they need to do is pick them off one by one and... er, well, not exactly. Because other than the guy who shot poor Axel, it appears that everyone on this show went to the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy. In fact, a couple times The Governor just stands there firing his assault rifle into the air with a big grin on his face. What exactly are they doing? Then the Governor hears a truck coming, and, oh boy, here it comes! It's not an attack... it's a diversion! The big ol' truck crashes through the gates and dumps out a load of zombies. The driver jumps out of the truck in body armor and a motorcycle helmet with a tinted face shield, firing a pistol and running to... I'm not sure, they never show her again. (Yes, I said her, because it looked like a woman's body and also, when people on TV shows wear motorcycle helmets with tinted face shields, they always turn out to be women.) Ah, so that's the real attack -- send in the zombies while you remain outside and pick them off one by one and... nope, that's not it either. They unload the zombies and leave. Let's call it a day, fellas!

So I guess the plan is use the zombies to wipe out Rick's group, but that doesn't seem like a brilliant plan either -- the Governor knows these same people killed probably 10 times that many zombies in order to take over the prison in the first place. Hell, Michonne killed a half-dozen in about three seconds before the Governor even left. Even if there are, what, 20 zombies wandering around the yard, it's not like that's an insurmountable problem.

But I'm sure they'll spend a lot of time talking about it.

The Walking Dead is back!

How many eyes rolled in last night's "Season 3.5" premiere of The Walking Dead, "The Suicide King"?



I don't mean how many eyes popped out and rolled across the ground, although that would be fun to see. No, I mean how many times did something happen that made you roll your eyes. I really like this show, but it drives me crazy sometimes.

Last night's eye roll count, for me, was four. Spoilers ahead, of course.

1) Glenn replacing Lori as the "how dare you do exactly what I just told you to do" person in the group. He tells Rick that under no circumstances can Merle be allowed to return to the prison. Daryl says if Merle can't go, he's leaving too. Rick tries to convince Daryl to stay, but Daryl isn't having it. In the very next scene, Glenn is screaming at Rick... for letting Daryl leave. What?

2) Maggie not telling Glenn that she actually wasn't raped. Glenn obviously thinks she was -- why wouldn't she say she wasn't? I can understand a woman not wanting to tell her boyfriend that she was raped... but in this case she wasn't. The bad guy wanted to make her boyfriend think that she was. Why wouldn't she say she wasn't? Because he wouldn't believe her? OK, but... why wouldn't you try? This show has a long history of characters talking endlessly but not actually saying what needs to be said (paging Michonne...), and it really gets annoying.

3) Andrea staying with the Governor even after figuring out that he's evil and her friends are still alive. Granted, she doesn't know where her friends are. But you would think she would start making plans to leave, not stand around making speeches endorsing the Governor.
 
4) Rick freaking out at the new people even as he surely realizes that they need all the extra hands they can get. I especially love when the others bring up the fact that Oscar proved to be a worthwhile ally, Rick retorts: "Where's Oscar now?" He died fighting for you, dumb ass! Don't blame the Ghost of Lori, either -- he was saying no before she showed up. Speaking of which, I know a lot of people are annoyed with Rick's "I see dead people" moment, but I'm withholding judgment on that for another week. Could be interesting to see him go totally bonkers.

Again, I really like this show, but I hope they're not sliding back toward the Season 2 morass.

I know zombies traditionally move slow...

...but goddamn Walking Dead, are we really already done with Episode 5 this season and we are still looking for Sophia?

I don't mind a slow-moving show with a lot of character development and intrigue... but this is just a slow-moving show. None of the characters have developed. There's no intrigue.

It's time to speed this apocalypse up!

Every zombie kill on The Walking Dead

I don't like Miser's cover of "Zombie"... I don't like the first 80 seconds of Rick walking out of the hospital... and I know they missed more than a few.

But still, this will get you in the mood for tonight's Season 2 premiere!

Every Zombie Kill in "The Walking Dead" from Flavorpill on Vimeo.

UPDATE: Ut-oh... looks like they took the video down! Bastards.

This isn't every kill, but it's a giant-sized recap.



Also: Check out Nerve's Five Things The Walking Dead Needs To Do In Season Two.

I agree with most of their points, although I don't think they "forgot" about Merle as much as they're saving him to turn into a Big Bad -- one who will be familiar to those of us who read the comics. Still, I have to agree with the big points: Keep it moving, keep it creepy (not just gory), and sometimes, you have to have some humor. Daryl and Glenn shared some great lines in Season One... keep it up!

'The Killing' -- it's not what you think

Once again, a marketing department does its best to chase away the right audience from a promising new show.

After seeing the commercials for AMC's The Killing on heavy rotation, I assumed it wasn't a show for me. It looked like it was some kind of Law & Order: SVU rip-off... cops tracking down the serial killer of the week.

It's not that at all.

The Killing isn't a typical police procedure, more like a mystery novel. It unfolds slowly, even though the two-hour pilot takes place over a single day. Think Mystic River, not SVU or CSI.

The pilot is re-airing Sunday at 8 p.m. (followed by the second episode at 10 o'clock). Ignore the commercials; if you like a good mystery, give it a try.

The strange progression of 'Lights Out'

I really like Lights Out. I better enjoy it now, because the ratings don't make a second season likely.

The conventional wisdom surrounding the late and lamented Terriers was that FX's marketing department didn't do it any favors with a minimalist, avant-garde ad campaign that usually just featured a little snarling dog. That, and the title, convinced a lot of people it was a show about dogs, not private investigators.

Lights Out went the other way, with an ad campaign that made clear it was all about boxing... lots and lots of boxing.



But if you watched the first few episodes, there was hardly any boxing. It was mostly about a family man with financial problems, struggling to find a way to keep up his million-dollar lifestyle even though he can no longer do the only thing he was ever good at -- being a boxer.

So, once again, a problem for FX's marketing department. If you're a fan of boxing, you saw those commercials and tuned in -- only to see a compelling family drama with just a dash of boxing mixed in. If you don't like boxing, you didn't give the show a try -- and likely missed out.

So who is watching it? I guess weirdos like me who like shows about boxing but also like shows about family dramas.

But the last few episodes, Lights Out has turned into a series mostly about boxing, with the family stuff there but increasingly playing a smaller role. It's as if it's finally caught up to the initial ad campaign. Hopefully some of the boxing fans will come back.

Assuming there are enough boxing fans left in the world to make a difference, anyway.

'Lights Out' looks like a really good show

I could have gone with, like, 'Lights Out' is a knockout or 'Lights Out' is hard-hitting fun or, uh Leave the 'Lights Out' on or whatever, but I'm just going to tell it to you straight: This looks like it's going to be a really good show. Assuming it doesn't get canceled, Terriers-style.



I don't want to give too much away, but from the commercials, everybody knows that Lights Out is a boxing show about a Great White Hope. Right? Rocky on TV? Not exactly. The main character is a boxer, but he's retired and quickly running out of money, and his options for making more are getting bleaker and bleaker. The boxer, Patrick "Lights" Leary, is played by Holt McCallany, who I never heard of before. I think he looks like a puffier version of Jimmy Smits, somehow?



No? Whatever. Anyway, you might remember Holt from a bunch of guest appearances on various cop procedurals or maybe as the guy who wanted to build a house before he died in Fight Club (6 minutes, 57 seconds).



Playing his wife is Catherine McCormack, who has to decide if she's going to hide her English accent or not. Catherine played William Wallace's wife Murron in Braveheart.



And it also has Stacy Keach, who has been in about a million things. He was in American History X with Edward Norton, who of course also was in Fight Club; do you think Stacy and Holt sit around and tell Edward Norton stories?

I loved the first episode of "Lights Out", which did a great job slowly unfolding the story through flashbacks. I also really like Holt; he has a great way of conveying menace by just standing there. I just hope the show gets a fair chance; apparently the pilot episode drew a Terrier-sized audience. Not a good sign.

While it's on, Lights Out is on Tuesdays at 10 on FX.

Walking Dead marathon!

For those who missed Walking Dead, AMC is doing a two-night marathon of the entire series, starting Tuesday night at 8. If you're not sure if the series is for you, or even if you're pretty sure the series is definitely not for you, at least watch the first episode. It's great.

Spread Your Song

It's a little unusual to have two commercials running at the same time using the same relatively obscure song, isn't it?



It's nice to see Ellis from Diehard is finally getting some work again. You'd think a bullet through the head would end your acting career, but here he is, back in action. Way to go Ellis!

"Hans... bubbe! I'm your white knight."



This is one of those commercials where, if you're not paying attention, you have no idea what the fuck they're trying to sell you. And hearing that distinct song, you probably think, "wow, those Ketel One people drank a lot of vodka before making their next commercial." For the record, it's a commercial for the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas hotel. I'd have to say the weirdest moment for me is when the woman is lying in bed making sexy eyes while holding up the baby chicks. Is this like... bestiality kiddie porn? Not cool. The deer also looks a little worried. I guess what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

OK, so what exactly is that song, anyway?



It's "Spread Your Love" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Gotta love that garage rock sound. Not only is that song in two commercials, but they've had other songs used in movies and TV shows, including "Shuffle Your Feet" in the first episode (and a trailer) for the very underrated Generation Kill.



I'm sure there are lots of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club fans who are pissed that they "sold out" to Ketel One and Cosmopolitan, but how many more people heard them for the first time through these commercials? They were formed in 1998, so it took them 12 years to become an "overnight success." So hoist a glass of Ketel One and kiss your baby chick: Here's to you, BRMC!

Every zombie death!

Eric Linn took the time to edit all six episodes of The Walking Dead into a 69-second kill fest. Every zombie death in the series!



I saw one I forgot to count... Dr. Jenner shooting TS-19. But that was a recording, not live. Does it still count? What the heck. You go Doc!

You kill the joe... you make some mo'!

Not really sure how it sold sneakers, but man I loved this commercial.



The first one was the funniest, but this one had some funny moments also:



And I never saw this one before:



There are a few more, but those three are the best.

Walking Dead Kill Counter: Episode 6

I'm only counting on-screen kills, and only when zombies kill humans or humans kill zombies.

Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen this episode yet!

Episode 6: "TS-19"



A little disappointing for a season finale. I get the point of the whole CDC arc -- there's no hope, and that point has to be hammered home to the survivors as well as the audience. So many zombie stories end with a rescue, either in the form of the military/government finally striking back (World War Z, 28 Days Later) or some crazy isolated scientist coming up with the cure (I Am Legend). Well, in this case, it's not about just holding out until the crisis is over. No one is working on a cure, no military is coming to the rescue. (I suppose the best case scenario is to last long enough for the zombies to starve or decompose or whatever.)

So you have to establish that there's no government, no cure, no savior coming. It's not enough just to wait out the apocalypse -- it's about surviving in an entirely new world. I get that. Maybe if they had more than six episodes to work with, they could have had this in the middle of the season instead of at the end; it just felt like a build-up and then not much of a payoff. No cliffhanger, just driving off into the unknown.

Random questions:

What did Jenner whisper to Rick? The big question, of course. If you read the comic books, there's a few possibilities, but so far they've strayed from the comic books enough that I wouldn't be confident assuming it's something from the comics. Maybe he saw something in the blood tests, or maybe he saw Shane and Lori, or maybe he wanted to know if Jacqui was going to put out. ("Hey, I see we have 10 seconds left...")

Did the French come up with a cure? OK, so maybe forget everything I said about there being no hope? Maybe they wanted to give a little light at the end of the tunnel for the truly optimistic viewers out there. Still, what Jenner said -- the French "thought they were close to a solution" before running out of power -- doesn't sound too promising to me. And besides, what are they going to do, try to sail to France? Still, the French scientists staying in their labs while everyone else ran off is a nice aversion of the cheese-eating surrender monkeys meme.

Is Andrea pregnant? That's not what happens in the comic books, of course, but there are a few clues: First, when they draw blood, she gets lightheaded; second, in the shower, she does the classic After School Special rape victim pose (hugging knees, staring off into space); and third, after the big meal, she throws up. Then of course we have her almost committing suicide at the end of the episode. Maybe the mystery whisper was Jenner telling Rick that Andrea is pregnant, and that she's unhappy about it? Should we all just assume she was raped by Meryl?

Line of the night goes to Daryl again:

Shane: What are those lights?

Jenner: It's a person's life. Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere, in all that organic wiring, all those... ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you... unique, and human.

Daryl: You going to make sense, ever?

I also like Daryl continuing to bash the metal doors in the background as everyone is quietly trying to reason with Jenner.

Now, onto the kills!

Tough to see if the military actually killed any zombies in the open, or if the zombies killed any soldiers. (They grabbed one guy, but we don't see what happens next.) Let's just move on to the bust-out at the end of the episode: Shane shoots two, Rick shoots one. Daryl cuts off a head, but come on Daryl, you of all people know that doesn't kill them! Now you just left a bitey head laying there on the ground for someone else to trip over. (Good thing it was probably wiped out by the blast.) Shane then turns around and takes a shot that looked like he was aiming... that's probably a third kill for him. But T-Dog took a shot that looked like it wouldn't have even hit the building. Miss!

This episode:
Humans Killed: 4

Zombies Killed: 40

Season Total
Humans Killed: 4

Zombies Killed: 86

Season Leaderboard: Rick 40, Daryl 9, Shane 8, Morales 7, Glenn 6, Merle 6, Morgan 3, T-Dog 3, Jim 2, Dale 2, Andrea 1

Still a chance to eat some flesh!

I've done this many times -- heard a show was pretty good but missed the first couple episodes and thought, "I'm too far behind now, I'll catch up with reruns/on DVD." But I forget about it, or I've already heard all the spoilers, or whatever, so a year or two goes by before I catch a random episode and say, "hey, this is pretty good!" And I wish I'd been watching all along.



Well, now's your chance with The Walking Dead. The Season 1 finale is on Sunday night at 10, but leading up to it, AMC is showing the first five episodes starting at 4:30 p.m. A zombie marathon -- that's an unsettling thought.

So set those DVRs!

Walking Dead Kill Counter: Episode 5

I'm only counting on-screen kills, and only when zombies kill humans or humans kill zombies.

Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen this episode yet!

Episode 5: "Wildfire"



A strong episode, heavy on the character development and light on the killing. (Lots of dead bodies, but only two kills.)

A couple observations:

• This is, what, the third time that Rick has happened upon a military checkpoint/last stand, but no one's gone looking for an M16? Inside the tank, Rick came up with a pistol and a grenade (you didn't forget about the grenade, did you?), but that was out of pure desperation. Surely there's some usable weapons and ammo among all those dead soldiers.



• Really liked the early scene between Jim and Jacqui, where he can't even finish saying "don't tell anyone" before she's yelling "he got bit!" to the group.



• Thought the show really had a chance to go off the rails with the Amy reanimation -- if Andrea had been surprised to see her sister open her eyes and start yelling "she's alive!" -- but it turned out to be a strong scene.



• I guess Daryl isn't too interested in finding Merle anymore?



• The introduction of the Centers for Disease Control is an interesting idea and definitely shows this isn't just an adaptation of the comic book. But wouldn't it have been better if they hadn't had that segment introducing Dr. Jenner (aka Truman's best friend), building up the tension as to whether it was still occupied or not, before the door opened?

Line of the night:

Rick: We don't kill the living!

Daryl: That's funny, coming from a man who just put a gun to my head.

Just two kills -- Andrea has the first of what should be many kills as she takes out her zombiefied sister, and Daryl kills a zombie outside the CDC. All of Daryl's head-splitting pick-ax swinging is cool, but those zombies appear to be dead. As for Jim, he's still alive when they drive away, so I don't count him as a human death.

This episode:
Humans Killed: 4

Zombies Killed: 36

Season Total
Humans Killed: 4

Zombies Killed: 82

Season Leaderboard: Rick 39, Daryl 9, Morales 7, Glenn 6, Merle 6, Shane 5, Morgan 3, T-Dog 3, Jim 2, Dale 2, Andrea 1