The Walking Dead

I suppose we would be remiss if we didn’t discuss AMC’s new series The Walking Dead (Sundays 10/9c). This show is based on the very successful comic book of the same name. The basic premise is that of an ongoing tale about survivors of a “Zombie Apocalypse” and how they cope in a Post Vital world.

It is a very well done show, with good effects and excellent writing, and lives up to the comic very well, which is also of the highest caliber.

Sadly though, it is not very Zombie friendly. It centers on a vitalist stereotype of mindless ghouls, always seeking the flesh of the living. None of the Zombies in the film are characters, and one of the first acts by the protagonist in the show is one of zombicide. Zombies do not figure in the story as anything more than props, villains, and a setting for an apocalyptic vision, totally at odds with the goals of this organization.

We do recommend watching it, however, if only to see firsthand the kind of vitalist attitudes that make it very difficult for the Modern Zombie to exist peacefully in this world.