While vampires might be the new zombies, the undead have an upper hand in this intensely plotted and well scripted series from creator Frank Darabont. The Walking Dead takes its history from a comic book of the same name based on a series of survivors who try to find unity in the wake of a zombie take over. While the show has been uneven in tone and direction with its six episode first season there are some extremely fine moments that bring this from mediocre gore fest to a higher art. I must say the pilot of the series is by far one of the most well written and taught scripts this side of Mad Men. Its incredibly well conceived bringing so much attention to detail and neurosis that it almost single handily brings up the zombie brand from straight to DVD fare to psychological thriller. Having almost movie like cinematography helps establish hauntingly realistic cinematic moments where the camera expands to show true horror in a way that most shows are no where close to replicating. The scene where police officer Rick rides into Atlanta on horseback with rifle in tow is both poetic and daunting. The transfer to HD is beautifully realized and shades of deep amber fill most scenes with low light giving a very natural feel. Though I feel that many characters are clumsily introduced the main story arch of Rick finding his wife and son is well written and thoroughly thought out. Andrew Lincoln brings a strong presence to the screen as Rick giving him an almost heroic glow every time hes on screen, making even the most trite scenes relate-able. Rick's friend Shane (Jon Bernthal) and wife Lori (Sarah Callies) help bring some nice dramatic overtones to their parts. While the zombies may not be terrifying they are nicely gory and perfectly haunting. Overall the FX are nicely not over powering and the sound mixing isn't grating while being extremely ambient. The main problem with the Walking Dead is its uneven tone through out episodes that go from gory zombie chases, to implausible broadly drawn characters, to deaths that don't render much feeling beyond the “Who were they?”. At this point none of the survival camp characters register much emotional depth even though they get well crafted back stories. The quality fell sharply after the pilot, but there have been nice moments that rise the series beyond monster bash TV. The season final was actually interesting though not doing much to move the series forward. In order for The Walking dead to reach a higher level of
8 out of 10: Frank Darabont revives the dead
