What You'll Want to be Watching:

                                    
                                       The Walking Dead

     Anyone with any intelligence about television drama knows that AMC is quickly becoming number two to HBO in relation to show quality and entertainment level. The station has the best show on T.V. right now, Breaking Bad, and one of the best shows on T.V. right now, Mad Men. Both are heading into their fourth seasons within the next year. AMC has two new shows on the horizon for this summer/fall: the intriguing Rubicon, which centers around an analyst at a national think tank who discovers that his employers may be part of a secret society that manipulates world-changing events, and The Walking Dead, which I am very excited about because it looks like one of the first worthwhile shows based on the popular zombie film genre. The zombie genre holds a special place in my heart recently. The unbelievable 28 Days Later redefined the class for a newer generation, and the amazingly written (adding the perfect jabs and homages to past "Z word" films) Shaun of the Dead is my favorite comedy in the history of my 20+ years of film watching. Could The Walking Dead become one of my favorite television shows? With the talent and interesting source material involved, it is certainly possible.
     Some old fogies would argue that a show or movie with zombies isn't worth laying their eyes on if the zombies can sprint and be nimble like a cougar on crystal meth. Luckily for both parties (the old fogies and the new, more impatient generation), these zombies are kind of the best of both worlds. Frank Darabont, the writer and director of this show (while also being the writer and director of The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist [all, coincidentally, Stephen King adaptations]), states that these zombies are both: "After they eat they're a little dopey, you can walk by them...but if they're hungry you're prey, and they're very dangerous." Lethargic after a meal? Sounds realistic, like myself after getting an omelet at IHOP. The show itself is based off a black and white comic book that started back in 2003 and is still in production today. The story is centered around Rick Grimes, a small-town police officer in Kentucky, along with other family members and partners in the little village trying to survive the zombie apocalypse. I just hope that the characters know the one basic technique for killing them: by removing the head...or destroying the brain. If they don't, it could really exacerbate things for them. Entertainment this fall is looking more and more badass as the days go by. Coming in September, we have Boardwalk Empire. Coming in October, we have The Walking Dead, and we can all finally survive the zombie apocalypse from the comfort of our couches and blankets, on a week to week basis.