The spouse and I watched "The Walking Dead" last night. It was pretty good. I didn't really have any expectations, so anything would have been fine with me. I really liked how the humans felt sorry for the zombies. There was a scene where the main character is just getting out of the hospital and is trying to figure out what is going on. He heads to the park and finds a bike. Next to it is half a corpse, which of course comes after him. Later, when he has a better idea of what is going on, he finds the corpse again (it doesn't go very far since it doesn't have legs) and he tells her he is sorry for what happened to her before putting her out of her misery. It made me think about the whole situation. Yeah, these people have been turned into mindless killing machines, but they were human at one point. They didn't ask to be the living dead. They are still scary and have numbers on their side so they will eat/kill you if given the chance, but they do deserve a little sympathy. I know that scene was just there to show you the depth of the character's feelings, but it struck me.
The other scene that struck me was when the black character couldn't bring himself to shoot his wife. I told my spouse I wouldn't have any qualms about putting one in his brain, and he told me ditto, but then I started to think about it. Would I really be able to if it came down to it? I'd like to think I'd be able to put him out of his suffering, but how do I know he's suffering? I've never been a zombie, maybe it's really peaceful. I mean, the only thing you have to worry about is finding food, but you don't really even need that to survive. You're not really alive. Then, the other thing that plagued me was what if they find a cure? In the traditional sense, with the dead rising from the grave, I'm pretty sure those people are gone. I'd be OK with dispatching him then. But the live ones that they bite, well, they might be able to be saved. THEN, if you follow the fast, rage infected zombies, it's totally possible they could be cured. There is a lot to consider that I didn't think about when I initially made my statement. I really, really hope I never have to be in that situation!
I was really surprised at the special effects, too. I'm used to watching the Syfy channel, which has awful, awful effects, but AMC obviously has a bigger budget for those things. There's a chance to be a zombie extra, too, which would be awesome, but I don't have time. Maybe if they ever turn my book into a movie, my stipulation will be I get to be a zombie!
I'm very excited that this series is on TV. I hoping it spurs a renewed interest in the zombie genre and people will want to listen to my book. Perhaps by the time this series has really taken off, my book will be available to read! Keep your fingers crossed!
