‘The Walking Dead’ – still watching?

  
As we wait for “The Walking Dead” to return tonight, I’m wondering …

Are you still watching?

Obviously a lot of people are. It’s a top-rated show. It has a huge social media impact. There’s still a ton of buzz.

But I’m torn about continuing to watch.

As the cast and producers tease how brutal the second half of this season will be, I’m wondering if the show is going anywhere or if it’s more of the same: torture and misery for characters we’ve grown to like.

There’s some suspense, certainly, and I love characters like Carol and Darryl. 

But is that enough?

I just don’t know.

‘Fear the Walking Dead’ so far, so good

  
We all have George Lucas to blame, I think, for the number of prequels in pop culture right now.

But I’m willing to stick with AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead.” 

The series, which follows a couple of families in Los Angeles in the early days of the zombie apocalypse we know well from “The Walking Dead,” is in the right mode so far. Everybody is still wondering what’s going on as people start attacking each other. Chaos is beginning to build but society still seems salvageable.

Even though we know it’s not.

I’m enjoying the depiction of the breakdown of everyday life. 

We’re getting a look at the period when Rick was in a coma in the original series.

I like the characters with the exception of the addict son. And I’m sure he won’t be eaten. 

I remain weary and wary of the show’s treatment of black characters.

But I’ll keep watching for now.

What I’m watching: Playing catch-up

It always feels like a new TV season when “Mad Men” starts up again on AMC. It’s not of course; we’re in the awkward part of the calendar when some shows have completed their seasons, others have a few episodes left and some – “Sleepy Hollow,” in particular – are long gone.

Here’s some thoughts on what I’m watching or watched until just recently.

“The Walking Dead.” This season, after staging a battle at the prison that saw Hershel and the Governor die, seemed to build to a climax in the middle of its year. The last half of the season was made up of really-pretty-good character pieces. The finale, with Rick and the gang playing into the hands of the Terminus cannibals, was shocking in that it was not bombastic. Curiously, it made me look forward to next October more than almost anything else.

“Agents of SHIELD.” This small-screen Marvel flagship series struggled early in the season. I wonder if the “slow build” story the showrunners are maintaining now is really the case – if so, they didn’t do it very effectively – or if, like many other series, it just took them a while to hit a stride. With recent episodes, including tie-ins to “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “SHIELD” is finally clicking. I hope it doesn’t falter again in the final episodes of the season.

“Dallas.” I miss J.R. I miss Larry Hagman. But the series is good, soapy fun.

“Arrow.” It’s possible I’m not enjoying any series on TV more than this take on the classic DC hero. The cast is really good, the stories are fun and the show is stuffed with comics characters. What’s not to like?

“Justified.” One of my favorite series, “Justified” had an uneven series at best. Lawman Raylan and outlaw Boyd and their supporting players were good, but the messy Crowe family story just didn’t do it for me. Next year is the final season and the last scene of this past season forecast the story: Raylan vs. Boyd. Can’t wait.

“The Mindy Project.” This Mindy Kaling comedy is funnier than I ever expected. I wish it would run for 10 years.

“Community” and “Parks and Recreation.” With only one episode left this season – and its future uncertain – “Community” has bounced back this year with the return of controversial creator Dan Harmon. It’s so odd and inside baseball that it’ll never grow in viewership. I just hope it hangs on. And “Park” has grown from a series full of oddballs to a series with characters I really care about.

I’ve probably forgotten something. With “Mad Men” back tonight and “Orphan Black” returning April 19, we’ve got more weeks of good viewing ahead.

But you know what? I think I miss “Sleepy Hollow” more than anything.

‘The Walking Dead’ – Six things we want to see

When “The Walking Dead” returns tonight for the final eight episodes of season four, your guess is as good as mine as far as what we’ll see.

But I know a few things that we want to see.

Rick and Carl together and strong. The father and son left together, after the devastating loss (?) of Baby Judith, aka “Little Asskicker,” during the Governor’s raid on the prison in the first half of the season. The Grimes boys will probably take a leading role in tonight’s episode and the next couple of episodes. But despite their loss, I want Rick and Carl to pull themselves out of their misery and start making a new life for themselves as quickly as possible. We don’t want Rick, wandering, hallucinating and mumbling to himself, times two for the rest of the season.

Reunions. Daryl is that-a-way and Tyreese is that-a-way and Michonne … well, the only thing we know about Michonne, apparently, is that she ends up – based on a publicity photo – with a couple of zombies on leashes again. We want the core cast reassembled as quickly as possible and moving on to the next big confluence of plot and setting. I’m not sure we’ll get that, however.

Carol. Just when Carol became tough and complex and controversial, Rick cast her out. We want her back, on her own terms.

Some plot points resolved. Who was feeding rats to the walkers at the prison fence?

A good villain. The Governor (David Morrisey) was a great psychopath. We need his equal, someone charming and dangerous.

The big picture. When AMC announced that it was planning a “Walking Dead” spinoff series, I wondered if it would be one set in another part of the world, or if it would be in a remaining center of power. It’s been a long time since the survivors got a few answers at the CDC. It would be great to get some again. What’s the rest of the world like? Who’s working on the problem? What’s happened somewhere besides this little corner of Georgia?

One thing we don’t have to wish for, apparently, is surprises. Cast members speaking cryptically in advance of tonight’s return say the upcoming episodes are dark and eventful, with plot points that will blow our minds.

TV catch-up: ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ ‘The Walking Dead,’ ‘SHIELD’ and more

The highlights of my TV viewing year are the limited runs of “Mad Men” on AMC, “Justified” on FX and “The Walking Dead” on AMC. That’s not to say there aren’t other shows that I’m hooked on.

But they always take a backseat to those three.

This fall, there’s a surprisingly high number of shows that have rapidly become must-see (to coin a phrase) viewing. This doesn’t count “Parks and Recreation,” for example, a charmingly daft sitcom that just keeps chugging along.

Here’s a roundup of what I’m digging right now:

“Sleepy Hollow” – This fantasy adventure series, which has become something of a hit, is one of the greatest pleasures on TV right now. If you haven’t watched the first half of this 13-episode season, go catch up, online or on demand, right now. I’ll wait.

Okay, back? The story of the return of Revolutionary War soldier and spy Ichabod Crane, reborn in modern times more than 200 years after he and the (now) Headless Horseman fought it out on a New York battlefield, is terrific fun. Crane is teamed with a young female cop as they investigate the rebirth of the Horseman, who turns out to be one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelations. 

The show has something for everyone: Fish out of water comedy and commentary, monster of the week, creepy thrills, fun special effects and great chemistry among the cast members.

Tonight’s episode found the 21st century characters explaining to Crane the secret relationship between Thomas Jefferson – one of his contemporaries and heroes – and Sally Hemmings, all the while preparing a snare to trap the Headless Horseman with ultraviolet light. You don’t have to ask. Just go with it.

“The Walking Dead” – I was relieved to see the Governor show up at the end of last night’s episode. I was feeling a little claustrophobic with the flu storyline that’s dominated this season so far. I do love the beefed up roles for many in the cast, including Carol. Was anyone else as surprised as I was about Carol’s exile?

“Agents of SHIELD” – I was looking forward to this Marvel spin-off more than any other series this fall, and I’m not alone in my disappointment at the resulting show. Each episode is an improvement on the last, for the most part, but I can’t be the only one that’s impatient with the character development and over-arching plot. I’m still watching, however.

“The Blacklist” – God help me, but I’m enjoying this series more than “SHIELD.” “The Blacklist,” about a mysterious criminal (James Spader) who comes in from the cold to help the FBI catch other criminals, isn’t quite as looney as “Sleepy Hollow,” but almost. Spader is the main reason to watch as he gives a master class in unsettling but entertaining villainy.  I can’t wait to see him as the bad guy in “The Avengers: The Age of Ultron.”

“The Mindy Project” – As fun and kooky as “Parks and Recreation” is, there’s not a more clever sitcom on TV right now than “The Mindy Project,” with Mindy Kaling as a neurotic doc surrounded by neurotic docs in NYC. The second season of the show is even better than the first.

Today in Halloween: ‘Sassy’ Rick Grimes costume

Fan of “The Walking Dead?”

Fan of Andrew Lincoln’s portrayal of Rick Grimes, the show’s lead?

Want to go dressed up for Halloween as Rick Grimes?

Have the secondary sexual characteristics of the female of the species?

No problem!

Yes, folks, here’s the “sassy” Rick Grimes Halloween costume, in honor of tonight’s season premiere of the show.

If you don’t want to show off your legs, here’s components of the male version.

Yes, these are the end times.

Today in Halloween: AMC has a little bit of Fear Fest left

You know, I’m a big fan of today’s AMC. What’s not to like? “The Walking Dead,” “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad.”

But this time of year I miss the old AMC, the all-movie network that couldn’t really compete with Turner Classic Movies … except for the last couple of weeks of October, when AMC programmed virtually non-stop horror movies.

From the old Universal Monsters classics to Hammer horrors, AMC made me want to sit in front of my TV 24-7.

Well, a lot of the classics have fled elsewhere – I’m guessing TCM – and there’s a preponderance of “Friday the 13th” and “Halloween” movies during the final two weeks of October on AMC now.

But that’s okay. Cause you can never see John Carpenter’s classic “Halloween” too many times. And none of us have seen the offbeat “Halloween 3” often enough.

And yes, I’ll stop and check out a “Friday the 13th” movie, if only long enough to determine if it’s the one with Kevin Bacon.

There are a few schedules online for AMC’s lineup this year. True, too many of the timeslots are filled with inferior stuff.

But beginning with a “Walking Dead” marathon over the weekend leading up to the new season premiere at 9 p.m Sunday and great movies like “Slither” on tap, AMC will still give us some Fear Fest this year.

‘The Bridge’ – Murder from both sides

We’re living in a golden age of cable TV. Starting with “The Shield” and continuing through “The Walking Dead,” “Breaking Bad,” “Justified” and other series, what was once “basic” cable has in recent years given us serial dramas that rival novels for their depth, complexity and characters.

“The Bridge” is the latest episodic drama that fits that mold.

Based on a Danish/Swedish series, the FX series plays out on two sides of the Bridge of the Americas, between Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas.

An El Paso detective, Sonya Cross (Diane Kruger), and a Chihuahua detective, Marco Ruiz (Demian Bichir), are called in when a body is found in the middle of the bridge. To their horror, they discover it is actually two bodies: One half is Mexican, the other American.

In service of its gruesome plot, the series launches into a mix of politics and murder, with a serial killer who seems to relish making statements about the disparities between American and Mexican life and justice as much as he enjoys killing.

The cops struggle to keep up as they deal with not only political considerations but a killer who sets out to shock. One episode puts the detectives in a race against time as they try to find a woman staked out in the desert, her slow death being shown via a webcam.

Kruger’s character is especially interesting: She has Apserger’s Syndrome and is prone to tactless pronouncements. Ruiz is a family man who, nevertheless, goes astray from his moral roots.

There’s a good supporting cast, particularly Ted Levine (the killer from “Silence of the Lambs”) as Cross’ crusty cop superior. Annabeth Gish – looking very different from her “X-Files” days – is good as a widow with a secret.

The promos for the series were dark and macabre, focusing on gravesites and dark alleyways and remote haciendas in the desert. The promos sucked me in.

And the series followed through on that imagery. Each week, the story moves back and forth from the mansions of Texas to the seedy streets of Juarez to the dusty desert expanse. The tourism boards from El Paso and particularly Juarez can’t be any more thrilled with this depiction of the area than the chamber of commerce from Lexington, Kentucky is thrilled with the endless parade of meth heads, hookers and small-time criminals on “Justified.”

“The Bridge” is a little more than halfway through its first season and the early episodes are available online and on demand. It’s definitely worth the effort to try to catch up.

Coolness: ‘Walking Dead’ season 4 banner

Oh man.

AMC today released a banner for season four of “The Walking Dead,” which returns this fall.

The essential elements of the show – well, there’s no sign of Carl, but other than that – are here. You got Rick, you got Daryl.

Tyreese wielding a hammer!

Michonne wielding her katana – from the back of a horse!

The banner was released to promote “The Walking Dead” panel at San Diego Comic Con later this month.

But I like to think of it as a present for us.

Enjoy.

 

Live-Tweeting the living dead

I think I’ll be live-Tweeting the season finale of “The Walking Dead” in a few minutes on my pop culture Twitter account, @Pop_Roysdon.

See you there.