MovieChat Forums > The Walking Dead (2010) Discussion > I think I may actually be done

I think I may actually be done

posted 7 years ago by Aphrodite (110)
24 replies | jump to latest

I’ve been watching the show since the very beginning. With every new season there was an annoyance with how the show was being written (the farm, then the prison, then the governor, etc.), how dumb the characters were being (wasting bullets, target training on anything except a walker, the whole arc of Carol’s lost daughter, etc.)

The show did pick up a bit here and there. Some good episodes were mixed in with really bad ones. But I think for me the change happened when Negan showed up. I just can’t stand him. I think the whole storyline is stupid. I hate him more than I hated Governor. I also hate what’s happened to many of the characters. Darryl went from being my favourite character, to one of the most annoying. Sad to say, but I now hope he’s one of the next ones to die. Michonne went from being badass to a sell of her former self.

I actually missed episodes this year, including the last two, and I don’t really even care. I just read some spoilers and was done with it. And it seems like I’m not the only one. This season, and last, they’ve steadily been losing viewers. It’s no longer the powerhouse it was before. Seeing your faves lose so much every week, eventually got to people. Especially losing to idiots like the Saviours.

I think it might also be an oversaturation of zombie shows. I watched the first season of Fear the Walking Dead and it started off good, but then when they skipped ahead a few months after the virus started spreading, it started to go downhill quick. A show that was supposed to be showing the start of the outbreak, quickly turned into another Walking Dead, where they were already at the point where Rick was at the start of the whole series. I think at that time it started becoming too much zombie for me. It killed the excitement of the show.

When Walking Dead started back up, I didn’t care as much. I watched a few episodes of season 2 of Fear, and the boat was a horrible idea. I ended up watching up until the mid season and then just gave up. Haven’t seen the show since. In fact, I completely forgot about the show and wondered whether it got cancelled or would be back, because I didn’t hear anything at all about it before the start of this newest season Walking Dead. The ratings have been horrible for the show.

When I saw Walking Dead was coming back, it reminded me of Fear, and then I looked it up and saw they had just finished their 3 season. I can only imagine how badly it must have done, since no one was talking about it. There weren’t any summaries up on IMDB like there have been of Walking Dead after every episode. In fact it felt like the only way you would have even known Fear was on, was if you actually watched AMC on the regular. I didn’t see promo anywhere else, not even on other websites.

Anyway, I don’t know if I’ll somehow get back into Walking Dead, or if this is it for me. It’s sad what this show turned into, and what happened with so many characters I once enjoyed watching.

[–] winslow (1318) 7 years ago

Fear season 3 I thought was better than some seasons of the main show. they really stepped up their game, but Scott Gimple is going to be the showrunner for season 4.

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

I think the last time I saw Fear, they were in that Mexican house? I don’t think I even fully watched the mid-season finale, but I did see some scenes from it. After that, it had just gone too downhill for me. I found myself not caring about any of the characters. The only ones I actually liked, and thought had some smarts, were Strand and Nick. I couldn’t stand the mom, or the sister. The step-dad and step-brother were annoying to me (they’re both dead now, I heard). I just really didn’t care about any of them, which is bad for a show like that. I really didn’t care if any of them died. No idea what’s happened since then, aside from those 2 deaths I heard about.

I thin Fear really killed the suspense of TWD. I mean you pretty much had zombies year round. Before you could build up that anticipation between season, but Fear satisfied the appetites for a lot of people, leaving less interest in TWD. But I haven’t liked the any TWD has been written since Negan showed up. Really the only things I’ve liked, have nothing to do with the show at all. Like the sneak references to JDM on Supernatural, like with the bat covered in barbed wire. That got a good chuckle from me. Or the little twitter or Instagram chats between the two.

But TWD iteself, I hated how they’ve written Darryl for a while. He was my fave before. He started going downhill back before Negan showed up. Back when they decided to do that zombie walk a few seasons ago that shockingly (not) went horribly wrong. And now there’s Negan, who I can’t stand. The show would be better if they stopped with the same formula over and over again. And it would be nice if they actually went around the country or tried to go up North and deal with snow, instead of still being near Georgia. It’s just gotten too repetitive. There really aren’t any characters I care about anymore, similar to Fear. I’ll probably eventually just stop watching TWD soon too. Hell, I might not even watch when the show returns in a few months.

[–] winslow (1318) 7 years ago

Fear ran double episodes on the premiere and finale nights, so both half-seasons ran for only 6 weeks each. It was done that way to avoid Game of Thrones. If season 4 is anything like season 3, they would do better to make it a fall show and air it on a weeknight.

TWD will be a different show after the All Out War arc is over. It looks like they are using Carl to make that transition because they're spending a lot of time on those scenes where he argues with Rick about what their way of life should be, how they treat each other, etc. Alexandria was burned down but they're not going to leave like they did at the prison, they're gonna come back and rebuild it.

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

Does watching both shows diminish either of them to you? That’s what I found to be one of my issues. It was just...too much zombies. I felt like Fear took away from TWD. It was just an oversaturation of the market. I don’t even know what happened on Fear except for those 2 death. Are they still in Mexico? Have any of the characters improved? I really couldn’t stand the mom. Strand was really the one one who had smarts about the wold apocalypse, followed closely by Nick. But everyone else was just....expendable to me.

As for TWD, so they burned down Alexandria? I heard that the Kingdom and Hilltop were destroyed. So all 3 places are gone? I pretty much just read the spoilers instead of watching the episode. All they really talked about was how they escaped Alexandria through the sewers, and that Carl was bit. What else happened? I don’t care about spoilers, obviously. I probably won’t even watch the episode. The last full episode I think I watched, was when the gang went to the Saviour compound and got all those zombies to swarm the place. I saw parts of the other episodes...like when Carol saved Ezekiel and his bodyguard. I didn’t see the part where Rick was talking to that guy from the first season who was now a Saviour. I saw Darryl getting pissed off at Rick for not taking action. Rick following that helicopter and talking to those trash people. And part of Darryl pulling that stunt at the Saviours place, that I guess allowed them to escape. And Eugene annoying the hell out of me. But yeah, I’ve missed a few episodes, at least. LOL.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

I don't think watching both shows diminish any enjoyment of either. I agree with the dislike of characters on Fear. They are insufferable but the acting has gotten better. I really only like Nick and Daniel. The other actors acting , was terribly poor in the first season but has gotten better, believe it or not. The boyfriend of the mother is one of the WORST ACTORS I have ever seen. [spoiler]Fortunately , he died! Yay!![/spoiler]

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

Yes, that will kill the show. He has single-handedly ruined TWD.

[–] Sandoz (2021) 7 years ago

Speaking as someone who's read the comics before the TV show, I'm going to be done with the TV show once the Negan arc concludes. That was the same point I gave up on the comics, because the next group of villains--if the show follows the comics (and it has for the most part)--was just too ludicrous for me to take seriously. I won't spoil anything for you, but let me just say that if you think the Garbage People group currently in the story are too far-fetched, wait until you get a load of The Whisperers.

As for Fear The Walking Dead being an overkill to TWD, I never had that problem because I hated the first season of that show for multiple reasons, among which were lead characters I hated, and the fact that the show promised to deal with the beginnings of the zombie outbreak...and then spent just a mere couple of episodes with the outbreak and then cut forward to a week and half afterwards and it was TWD 2.0. I know some people claim that FTWD has gotten better since then, but I'm not the kind of person to revisit a show if it doesn't hook me from the beginning. Besides, I hated the main characters, and I've heard they're still around so there's no reason for me to return.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

Well, yeah Fear did get better. I may stick around to see what happens there. I was royally p*ssed that we didn't get much of a pre ZA as they HIGHLY promised. We got some in a few early eps, and then some in flashbacks. BUT I really wanted to see the beginnings.
I also care not for any of the characters, except maybe Nick and Daniel.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

I know your your feelings. I feel similar. It certainly had devolved and yes, with the the very bad choice of Negan. I don't like the character or how he is portrayed by JDM. He's a cartoon , yes, but he is OTT and just ridiculous. I'm not sure how or why he had decided to play this character the way he has. It and he have been an EPIC fail.

I was fed up as far back as the Glenn dumpster show. I felt manipulated by Scott Gimple and the rest of TPTB. It was a cheap trick and was compounded by the Season finale of whomever "got the bat". By the time the season started we all knew who did.

I will watch a bit more, but I always have said, when Rick goes, I will too. I have a strong feeling that this season will be Andrew Lincoln's last one.

As for Fear, it has gotten better, actually. Maybe you should catch up with that.

[–] Sandoz (2021) 7 years ago

As for Fear, it has gotten better, actually. Maybe you should catch up with that.

Nope, can't do it. The expression "beating a dead horse" comes to mind...there's no life--even zombie life--in that animal.

And there's too many TV shows that premiere in the spring that I consider to be actually good to occupy most of my tv-watching time.

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

I’ve always had some issues with the show, going all the way back to the 2nd season. There were a lot of dumb scenes, and things characters did that didn’t make sense. It’s been going on for a long time. I still can’t get over how much everyone wastes bullets. And not only that, but they insist on doing ltarget practice” or anything but zombies. Just dumb. If you want to learn how to be a got shot and kill them at first go, what better way than to get a small group of walkers together and try to get head shots?

But for me it really started going downhill when Darryl started becoming Rick’s second in command, and when they decided to do that march of walkers from the quarry...instead of just blowing them all up, gunning them all down or setting them on fire...or doing really anything else except what they did in the end that went so tits up. I still kept watching, but I was getting increasingly annoyed. All the standalone episodes too really got annoying. All the character-specific episodes, that then left you uncertain for weeks about what was going on. Morgan’s constant back and forth, also super annoying. He’s either “I don’t want to kill anyone, even zombies” or blood-lust crazy man who gets into a zone and goes psycho. No middle area, like the others. Carol leaving then coming back into it all, also a bit annoying.

But really, I just can’t stand Negan. His whole arc is dumb and makes no sense. How people don’t just overthrow him is a mystery, especially when he’s so hated by his own group. At least the Governor convinced people that he was on the good side, and Rick’s group were monsters, andhis group lived fairly well...until they ended him. Negan’s own workers hate his guts, they’re treated like slaves and treated badly, and even his small group of captains kind of want to overthrow him...either that or they act like a group of chickens witht heir heads cut off. It just makes no sense why he holds so much power over them. And he’s not a good villain.

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

A good villain is someone you love to hate. Even when they’re evil, they’re so good, and they may even have redeeming qualities. A bad one is someone you just hate, and want gone. Negan is a bad villain, someone I can’t wait to die so we can be done with him. His whole cocky attitude, and the way he kills people...just...ugh. And oh man, the way they killed off Glenn and Abe were just so over the top. Especially with Glenn trying to talk. It was probably one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen. It was way too over the top and traumatic.

I have to say I’m glad the viewers and ratings are tanking. This last mid-season finale was the lowest rated ever for the series. They’ve losing viewers and have been for a while. Their characterizations have been horrible for a while now. Darryl has really gone downhill, Michonne used to be a badass but hasn’t been for a while, Carol is really the only one who has improved. Carl is soon to be gone...I feel sorry for the kid, but I’m surprised he outlasted that baby. Overall, there just aren’t too many characters left to root for, and Negan sucks, and that whole storyline sucks.

As for Fear, well I watched up until around the mid-season of the 2nd season, so I don’t know how good the show has gotten since then. Could they really improve that much in a season and a half? Plus since it’s been so long since I last watched, I’d need to catch up. But considering the only characters I even liked were Strand and Nick, I really have no interest in seeing the others again. Out of everyone, I really wanted the mom and sister to bite the big one. Ha! The reason I started watching the show to start with was to see the start of the ZA, which never happened. We were lied to and I lost interest. As someone else said, it’s just TWD 2.0 now. They’ve already caught up with that show, which loses my interest. I wanted to see what led up to the ZA, the start of it all going so wrong - not another TWD.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

Well, you may need to reconsider watching Fear again, Scott Gimple is headed over to that show to be Executive Producer and writer. He'll probably ruin it , as it is finally getting watchable. The mother and daughter actually got better with their acting.
The mother's boyfriend is the worst actor I have seen on that show. [spoiler] thankfully, he got killed off[/spoiler].

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

Ha, well Gimple is definitely a reason to stay away. And with Morgan now also appearing on the next season, forget it. I can’t stand Morgan. And I don’t know if it was the acting or just the characterization that I hated so much with the mother and daughter. I couldn’t stand either one of them, and I can’t really see it turning around. Once I hate a character, it’s pretty damn impossible to turn them around to one of my faves. Hell, I liked the boyfriend more than I liked the mother and daughter. That says how unlikable they were.

I still can’t get over how stupid that daughter was on that boat, what a complete idiot. And nothing the mother has done has turned her character around for me. With every episode, I kept hoping those two would get bit. That is never a good thing when you’re cheering on the zombie or bad guys whenever they got attacked.

[–] LennyNero (498) 7 years ago

Actually, I think the whole dumpster gate rigamarole was the beginning of the end. It was just too stupidly, and intensely obvious a red herring to manipulate the audience. Throw in the whole "who did Negan beat to death will Lucille?" bit, and it's simply tiresome.

I'm saying that I'm interested, but I've got a million other real life things going on in my life. I'm only going to be interested for so long. I'm busy, so tell me what's up, or my focus is going to go somewhere else...and most likely into something more interesting.

I'll keep watching (out of habit), but it isn't "must watch" material for me anymore. For me, this is like Dexter after season 4 - I'll watch it when I have time for it rather than enthusiastically watch the episodes as they premier.

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

I get that feeling. I used to watch TWD every Sunday out of habit. I figured I’ve watched since the beginning, may as well keep watching it. But for the last few episodes this season, I just....don’t care anymore. The characters aren’t enjoyable anymore...the show itself isn’t enjoyable. And the viewership shows. They said that the whole Negan arc will last throughout this season. I don’t think I’ll be around for the end of it all especially if Negan survives (which seems likely, given he’s still alive in the comics, after they reach a truce)

They said before that they can see this show lasting easily for 10 seasons or more, but if they keep losing viewers like they are, I can’t see it lasting too much longer. They used to be a ratings powerhouse, but now all I keep hearing is how poorly it’s doing compared to other seasons. It’s still probably the highest rated show on AMC, so they’ll keep it as long as they can, but if it keeps declining to huge numbers like it has been, the end might be nearer than they think. It’s doing numbers similar to season 2 now, which is still good compared to other AMC shows, but horrible overall. This show, at one time got 14 millions viewers quite regularly (or near there). Now it’s only bringing in around 8 million, or less. And the mid-season finale brought in the lowest numbers yet for a mid-season finale.

Who knows how much longer they’ll continue to do the show, with such huge declines, it may just become too expensive to keep producing if the viewers aren’t there. Sure it might still have higher ratings than some of their other shows (they have shows that only bring in about 1 million viewers), but those shows are likely a hell of a lot cheaper to produce than TWD. And fans won’t accept a show like this that goes cheap, and drastically cuts costs. Not only would that mean a much smaller cast, but they might even kill off the ones who take in the most money like Rick and Darryl. They might as well end it then.

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

In a way, I think the kid who plays Carl will be lucky to get out now, before the distaste for TWD grows higher, and they lose even more viewers. I mean at this point they’re only slightly beating season 2’s numbers. Soon they’ll be hitting season 1 numbers, and can they survive if the show pulls in even fewer numbers than season 1? It’s doubtful. So in the long run, even though the kid says he’s sad to be getting killed off in the next episode back...it may be the best thing for him to get off of this sinking ship now, than closer to the end. He has a head start over some of the other younger actors on the show.

Maybe now he’ll surprise a lot of people. I’ve never had an issue with Carl or the actor, but I know a lot of people hated him and thought he sucked. Who knows, maybe he’ll show people he’s actually really talented. I just feel sorry for the kid now, because he said Gimple basically lied to his face and told him how he wanted him on the show for like 3 more years, and told him all this other stuff about his future on the show...and then decides to kill him off for a shock moment. He also said, because of what Gimple told him, he decided to put some roots down in Georgia and buy a house, and not that’s all kind of gone to hell. But then, being a home owner now, hopefully he can get a bit of a profit from the sale and not be out any money. I hope he’s saved most of what he made from the show.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

I never thought the kid was a good actor. I frankly don't care about his status on the show. Maybe he will surprise us. I'm sure he will be able to resell his house.

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

I never thought he was great, but I didn’t think he was horrible either. I’ve seen way worse actors than him. He was decent. Maybe with some acting classes and theatre he can become a real standout. I think he’ll do alright off the shoe now. He got out when it was really starting to go downhill. As bad as the show is doing in the ratings, it still gets a lot of press. Many of the other actors who left have gone on to have some decent careers. Others seemed to disappear. But with him being so young, who knows. I wish the kid well.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

I don't see the show lasting to 10 seasons, no way. I think Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus and Danai will leave way before that. The show has not ,up to now, been renewed for season 9, and Lincoln and Reedus HAVE NOT YET renewed their contracts. I feel as though, Andy will leave at the end of this season.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

I didn't mind Dexter and Rita because that seemed believable, but the other chicks? Give me a break. Yes, Dexter slowly devolved with the "romance" crap after the 4th season. John Lithgow's 4th season was phenomenal.

TWD used to be must- see for me too, but I am very disillusioned.

[–] Hans-Wilhelm (1355) 7 years ago

Face it, it's the writing. I've been saying it for years now. The writers on this show are just poor. When the writing is really top notch, when they are really talented and know how to create tension and drama with skill then things just work, you are drawn in by it and you aren't left questioning every situation, every move every one makes, frustrated by how stupid every decision and scene is.

The show had great potential, the first season was really good. Since then the writing is very amateurish. The audience is constantly left in frustration with the idiocy of the situations, the stupid character decisions over and over, the cartoonish scenarios they use to threaten the characters with zombie violence. So many viewers are so annoyed and frustrated because they have bad writers. They don't know how to create tension and drama in a skilled way that naturally flows and doesn't require stupid decisions and silly, contrived techniques to put someone in danger from a zombie.

The really have BAD writers.

[–] lennonforever (2453) 7 years ago

you aren't left questioning every situation, every move every one makes, frustrated by how stupid every decision and scene is.

Absolutely

[–] Aphrodite (110) 7 years ago

I think it’s more than just bad writers. Bad show runner, bad producers and definitely bad writing. A bunch of people need to be fired and replaced.

The writing has been pretty bad since Frank Darabont left. Sure there have been some decent episodes, but season 2 and 3 sucked. The farm was horrible, the prison sucked less but was still pretty bad. All the solo character episodes that took you out of the story because it took you weeks to find out what happened to the characters - also really bad. All the bad and dumb decisions have been infuriating. The only great season they had, was the first one. Everything else has been hit and miss.

Like others, I’ve only continued watching the show out of habit. Hoping it would get better. For every episode that finally hit the mark, they would take 2 steps back with the next episodes. And now with Negan, I just find myself not caring. Especially with how bad Darryl and many others are written. Carol leaving yet again, was just like when she left a few seasons ago...only to come come back like she did this time. Darryl making bad decision after bad decision...what happened to the Darryl from a few seasons ago? He’s just an idiot now. I don’t really care about the others much either. Morgan has pissed me off so many times, and now I hear he’ll be on Fear? LOL. There aren’t many reasons to keep watching with how bad the show has gotten.