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[Wookietim]

So I watched this on a week to week basis when it was originally run but I am going through the netflix version of it so I can watch the story in a more compressed way (And because it's october and a good month for Zombies). To be honest, I wasn't a big fan of this season when I first saw it and I still am not. It's not unwatchable by any means - it's still a lot of fun. But there are a few things missing.

First off, let's be honest - the loss of Darabont combined with the lower budget shows. The show runners are good enough that the lower budget doesn't show much, but yeah, it's there and it's a problem that they have to work with. And the loss of Darabont is reflected more in the feel of the show. It just seems a tad deflated.

But I do think I can finally put a finger on the basic problem in this show that has been bugging me. Right now there has to be a question : Why does this show exist? Beyond ratings and a zombie fascination in the public, the question is "What is this show's reason to be on the air?"

That sounds harsh and it's not really meant to be. Let me explain - in case people haven't noticed, TV has decided to become serialization friendly in recent years. Even sitcoms are into it (With "How I met you mother"). One of the hallmarks of serialization that distinguishes it from soap operas is that there is an endgame implied in it. It's a promise (Spoken or unspoken) that there is an end in the minds of the creators.

"The Walking Dead" is serialized... but has shown no movement towards promising in any way that endgame. Even if it wants to put that off for a decade or more, it really has to move in a direction of saying that there is one in the minds of the people behind the camera. It can't just keep going with this "Make plans, have them go badly, stop for most of a season" story structure for much longer without that being introduced. Because otherwise it starts to feel like random flailing in service of a media fad... and I don't want this show to descend to that.

So I am kinda hoping that that hole get's plugged this season - other genre shows did that in season three (Think "Deep Space Nine" which had it's over-arching story kicked into high gear with season 3 or even "Buffy the vampire slayer" that started including hints about season 5 at the end of season 3). What do you think?

[Wookietim]

Just as an example of how not to do serialization... Witness how far the show "Dexter" has fallen over the course of it's run. It was forced to spin it's wheels with no clear indication that the show runners had any idea of where they were going and as such essentially turned into a show that repeated it's general formula over and over every season. I hear that, considering it is finally entering it's final season, it seems to actually be moving forward again but I would rather see "The Walking Dead" imply that it has an idea of where it's going earlier in it's run than "Dexter" did in order to avoid falling into that same trap...

[Imaginarynumber1]

Well, to be fair, the comics have no endgame either. They've openly said that the characters will never find any sort of stability and will always be in danger.