The Walking Dead: Season 1 (Review)

There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart. - Rick Grimes

Based on the best selling comic book of the same name written by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead has easily cemented its place in television history as one of the most watched shows of all time. But what is all the fuss about? Why are so many people tuning in on Sunday nights to watch a zombie show? Well, for those of you who have never seen The Walking Dead here's a quick review!

Do you like the zombie genre? If yes, then this is a must see as it takes the genre to a new and interesting place! If no, I still say give it a try! The Walking Dead is more than just a zombie show. Zombies are not the main focus of the series. The Walking Dead is a show about people, more importantly how people survive in difficult situations. The series raises many questions about the human condition, such as what is morality in a world devoid of humanity. Another big aspect of the show is what makes people a family. Is this concept just based on blood relation or is there something more based on community and shared experiences? If you love drama and deep questions about the human condition, then you may very well love The Walking Dead. However, this is still a TV-MA rated horror show so expect a large amount of violence and gore.

The production is mostly consistently high quality, the acting is wonderful, and the prosthetic effects are the best of the best. Some may find the writing to drag on in parts, however this does allow for extremely well done character development. This show is one I would recommend to most adult viewers who believe they can stomach the content.

Now, for those of you who have already seen the first season of the show or don't mind spoilers I will continue with my in depth review of The Walking Dead: Season 1!

When talking about Season 1 of The Walking Dead, one has to mention the opening scene of the entire series. We open on a seemingly vacant highway as a single police car pulls up into frame. Our main protagonist, Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), steps out of the car wearing a police uniform. He walks down the street looking for gas only to see a young girl walking alone. He calls out to her and says he is a police officer. She turns around revealing that she is already a walker. He pulls out his gun and warily shoots her in the head. This scene is very haunting and expertly sets the tone of the show for the viewer. This is the creators of The Walking Dead telling us that no one is safe, not even children and that they won't shy away from showing the horrors of the world they've created.

The first season, consisting of six episodes is a very memorable piece of television. Compared to many of the later seasons it may seem small in scale and less action packed, but it definitely brings the horror and does an amazing job of setting up the world the show resides in. The writers do an excellent job building up our main cast of characters and creating compelling character drama. For example, the key conflict between Rick and his police partner Shane (John Bernthal). When Rick reunites with his wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son, Carl (Chandler Riggs) after waking from a coma to the shock of the apocalypse, it is revealed that Shane has been taking care of them and having a sexual relationship with Lori. This causes much unspoken tension between the two as Lori pushes Shane away at the return of her husband and Rick is unaware of the relationship between the two.

Where the first season of The Walking Dead clearly succeeds is creating a fear of the walkers. They are established as the new alpha predator in this new world and are shown early on to be a force to be reckoned with. A perfect example of this is a scene in the second episode titled 'Guts' where Rick and newly met survivor, Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) are forced into a situation where they must smear walker guts over their clothes and walk through a crowded street of walkers. The scene is full of nail biting tension as at any minute they could be noticed and overwhelmed by the hoard.

A little more than halfway through the season the writers prove, what has now become a defining trait of the show, that they are willing to kill of characters almost indiscriminately. Our group's camp is set upon by walkers in the middle of the night, which results in almost half of the cast being killed. This show does not mess around with character deaths.

So how is the production? In my opinion, this season is not the best season of the show visually, however it sets its own unique style that will be expanded upon in later seasons. Cinematographer David Tattersall and show runner Frank Darabont make some strong creative decisions in the pilot episode that carries on throughout the series. One of those is the decision to shoot the show on 16mm film. This creates an interesting, gritty texture to the visuals that really shines on the blu-ray releases of the seasons. Another highlight is producer and special FX guru Greg Nicotero's stellar use of prosthetic make-up to create the look of the walkers. Nicotero is a master of his craft and creates interesting characters that stay in your mind long after the episodes end. A stand out this season is episode one's now famous 'bicycle girl,' a gruesome walker missing the entirety of her bottom half.

One has to remember going into this season that this is the first installment of the show. That being said, there are some growing pains to get through. Original show runner Frank Darabont seemed less interested in faithfully adapting the source material than creating his own universe, which will be expanded upon in my reviews of later seasons after he is no longer a part of the show. This may cause some comic readers to become annoyed with aspects of the season. This season, without any prior knowledge of the later seasons creates for a wonderful viewing experience, but this season can be brought down by the grandiose nature of the later seasons. As a huge fan of the show and comics I have found that going back and re-watching this season does not give me as much enjoyment as some of the later seasons do, but this could also depend on taste of the viewer. There are many Walking Dead fans who swear by the first season as the best of the show, but I am not one of them as I believe there are better storylines adapted in a more interesting way later in the show's timeline. With that in mind, if after viewing this season you are not completely gripped by the show, but still find it compelling I would recommend to continue through as you may find later seasons more interesting.