The Walking Dead: 6 Things "Slabtown" Did Right (And 4 It Didn't)
The Bad:
4. Crappy Writing
Right now television is going through something of a renaissance. Those cookie cutter franchises (CSI, NCIS, NTSF:SD:SUV::), game shows, or else trashy reality nonsense still exist, but starting on the fringes and creeping slowly into the mainstream has been a better quality of dramatic TV writing. Starting with Shawn Ryans superior cop show The Shield which begat Sons Of Anarchy, Mad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad and any number of other programs you watch to keep up with the water cooler, the brilliance of small screenwriting has never been more assured. The Walking Dead, sadly, cant quite be counted in those higher echelons. Its certainly a damn sight better than the tired witticisms and hackneyed plots of other serialised shows, but its still not quite strong enough to run with the big boys. So whilst Slabtown was a definite success in its pacing, plot and structure, the dialogue - something the series has struggled with since day one, which is a problem when youre basing the show around human interactions and confrontation - was a bit naff. Officer Dawn had a few clangers, the girl who tried to leg it had that whole thing about the deal with the devil...seriously, who speaks like that? Especially in a zombie apocalypse...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
