Walkers broke my heart…twice

Twice in the last two weeks AMC’s The Walking Dead has broken my heart.

For those of you who are fans of the show but have not seen the latest episodes, I urge you to stop here and return once you’ve caught up. If you have no idea to what I could possibly be referring, I suggest you walk away and come back in a few weeks when The Walking Dead frenzy has turned all fandom into cryo-walkers, stuck in purgatory awaiting the third season, and I return to my normal political and current events fare.

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Dale had me at hello. I have always felt a kinship with Dale in that he sees the world, even a messed up conflict-ravaged one, the same way I do. Rick admitted early in episode 11 that the Randall decision needed to be made because people were scared. When Dale stood in front of the main survivors’ group, begging them to stand against fear, rage and hurt, and somehow find it within themselves to see the bigger picture—the risk they were all taking; the ‘humanicide’ they were prepared to perpetrate upon themselves—I positively howled through the entire scene.

Continue reading Walkers broke my heart…twice

Team Terzieff…self aware?

Ok I have to admit this didn’t turn out quite the way I planned it. I know, I know. Big surprise there. As Commander-in-Chief of the Zombie Survival Crew I’ve gotten very used to that. *grins*

When I started out my The Walking Dead mid-season break character profile series I didn’t figure that I would end up self-analyzing the entire way through.  But it seemed every time I went to delve into the mind of a character from AMC’s hit television show (based off a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman), I found little pieces of myself along the way.

Well, not always.

I purposely started out with the characters I felt the most kinship for: the tormented former lawman Shane Walsh, the squirrel-tossing badass Daryl Dixon, and the elder statesman, Dale,

…before moving on to Glenn, Andrea, Rick Grimes, Merle Dixon and Theodore “T-Dog” Douglas, Carol Peletier, Hershel and Maggie Greene and finally Lori and Carl Grimes.

Now I may not have stared down a horde of hungry zombies, but I have been through multiple war zones and natural disasters. I know how I react when being shot at, manhandled, detained by people whose language I do not speak or standing ankle deep in body parts.

Continue reading Team Terzieff…self aware?

Team Andrea…on the hunt

Temperamental and rash, Andrea is determined to prove herself. But she remains prone to emotional outbursts that cloud better judgment, and result in foolish half-thought actions. That Andrea does have natural strength and the gumption to use it make her missteps all the more painful to watch. And often in the case of her fellow survivors, that pain is literal.

Who is Andrea? She is a character from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. They have created cast of characters I have a great deal of love for:

Continue reading Team Andrea…on the hunt

Team Dale…ever steady

Everyone, whether fictional or flesh and blood, needs a person they can go to in times of emotional turmoil. That person holds up a mirror to reflect their true self. Without them, we are doomed to keep repeating mistakes, or worse, destroying who we really are by trying to pretend we’re someone different and going against our nature. Dale is that man. He speaks the truth, no matter how hard it is to hear.

Who is Dale? He is a character from The Walking Dead—a series of graphic novels by Robert Kirkman turned into one of the world’s hottest cable television shows by AMC and an insanely talented production crew. Like the tormented character of Shane Walsh, the squirrel-tossing badass Daryl Dixon and the honorable Glenn for all of whom I’ve already expressed great affection, Dale’s tireless battle to honor his fellow man has my unflinching support…and gratitude.

Continue reading Team Dale…ever steady

Betting on a squirrel toss? Whodda thunk?

 Top Moments of The Walking Dead Season 1

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It’s over. (*sobs*) And now fans of The Walking Dead are left to ponder and pine for almost a year before we get to see Rick Grimes and crew decapitate more zombies.

Anyone who was on twitter the night of the finale got to laugh, squeal, shake their head as I bit my finger bloody through the explosive last episode.

I got so thoroughly over-excited that had it not been for faithful #zombiesurvivalcrew members @PatriciaIVicens, @jogden38 and @creativeconduit I would have missed the code to enter for the shamble on role – thank you again ladies!

Our only solace in the immediate aftermath of the finale was the generosity of IronE Singleton – a.k.a. TDog – our #zombiesurvivalcrew co-captain, who came on to the blog and answered all our questions with a depth of sincerity that was astounding.

I ended up having to go back and watch the finale two more times before I was even able to begin processing what I actually saw. Sitting down to think about it after, I began running through my

 top moments of season one

 

Here is where I landed ….

1 – Rick & Glenn take a walk –

Anyone who wasn’t shaking on their couch when walker-goo-covered Rick & Glenn took a horrifying walk through Atlanta’s zombie-infested streets just simply isn’t human. This was the epitome of (fictional) bravery and left many of us watchers wondering – could we do the same?

This was the perfect example of what it would take from each individual to survive a zombie apocalypse, and if you can’t hack it – you’ll be meat.

2 – Dale & Andrea –

A lot of people have asked and here is the answer. The scene near the finale’s end when Dale makes his amazing sacrifice was the moment my finger began to bleed. If the interplay between this loving, wise, generous father figure and the “daughter” he’s devoted to had gotten any more real I probably would have ended up in the hospital.

It’s moments like this that will carry The Walking Dead forward. And, yes, I know that death stalks them all, but I’m hoping Darabont, Kirkman and crew will keep this kind of character interaction very much alive.

3 – Daryl’s Squirrel toss –

Daryl had the best entrance of all the characters (with the exception of maybe Glenn). Three plus weeks later I’m still trying to figure out my favorite part. It’s a hard choice, because everything in that sequence was sublime — from the squirrel toss and the illegal choke hold, to “C’mon people, what the hell?!? It’s gotta be the brain. Dontcha all know nothin’?!?” and tears for his brother.

In the span of just a couple minutes The Walking Dead gave us a multi-dimensional character you just knew you were going to love to hate.  This was refreshing compared to the very one-dimensional introductions we received to most of the other characters. And, of course, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Daryl quickly became a fan favorite.

Continue reading Betting on a squirrel toss? Whodda thunk?

Hotties, not Rotties …

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I can’t even begin to count the times I’ve wondered why in the name of all that is good and great in the world The Walking Dead production team makes all these handsome actors look like crap. Not that we don’t like the sweaty look, but they all look like they’ve just survived an apocalypse. Ummmm … yeah, about that.

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Andrew Lincoln? IronE Singleton? Jon Bernthal?

 

(and yes, yes, YES, I hear ya screamin’…)

 

Norman “badass” Reedus?!?!?!

 

Talk about taking the, uhhhh… wind out of our, ummmm, sails ….

But the truth is, they have hit upon an undeniable apocalyptic truth: Even the hottest survivors are going to smell and look like walkers pretty fast.

So that got me thinking, … again.

What kind of men are we going to encounter

in the event of a cataclysmic global zombie outbreak?

And would any of them be worth braving the smell?

 

(I asked #zombiesurvivalcrew co-captain @RCMurphy to help me examine the evidence …. And here is where we landed)

Continue reading Hotties, not Rotties …