TV | The Walking Dead | PASS

Uh oh, AMC is at again. How one network can take so many interesting premises and make them so boring is beyond me. Take for example the remake of The Prisoner. A great cast and gorgeous filming couldn't compensate for the snails' pacing.

And how about Rubicon? The cool premise was brought down to such a crawl that I lost complete interest.

Does AMC stand for Arid Monotone Channel?

So, when I learned that they'd picked up a zombie series, I was tentative to say the least.

Happily, they've broken the mold, at least with the pilot. The show continues the dual traditions of excellent cast and superb cinematography, far exceeding "normal" TV standards.

The feel of the show is familiar and the first ten minutes could have been straight out of Mad Max, set in middle America of course. Then the plot turns to 28 Days Later, but without most of the frighteningly frenetic energy.

So, if you're a fan of the zombie or Richard Matheson-created I Am Legend genres, you've seen all of this before. And there sure has been a plethora of zombie movies lately. Pretty good ones, in fact. Fortunately, it's still fun and the entire production is buoyed by an excellent cast.

The lead, played by Andrew Lincoln, is not a familiar actor to me. But I found his performance to be superb. The show also features the fantastic Lennie James (Jericho), who is strangely uncredited on IMDB. Hopefully, that will be fixed and he will continue on with the show. It would be a crime if he wasn't utilized.

A common complaint recently is that some of the best true-blue American character roles are being handed to foreign actors. This show continues that criticism, as both James and Lincoln are English. How they hide their accents so well is amazing...

It's also nice to see Jon Bernthal in a decent role. He seems like a good actor that just hasn't found the right role yet. Hopefully, this will be it.

The show is gruesome and will amaze you with the nastiness portrayed on a cable TV channel. I was also less than thrilled about the violence towards children (even if pre-deadified) and animals. So, not for kids or the squeamish and definitely an R rating. What did you want, Thriller?

I haven't read the comic books that the show is based on, but from what I've read it's very, very close. Shot for shot, at times, even. So fans should be pleased.

Great usage of a little known late 90s Wang Chung song, Space Junk. Caution: R-rated YouTube clip for violence. And how about that reverse foreign subtitled video?

I loved it, especially the nihilistic angle. Two thumbs up and a Pass!