The Pilot - "Days Gone Bye"

Mom's Thoughts:

It has been said that those in the Midwest may not have the “taste” for a show such as “The Walking Dead.” Ok, I’d like to go on the record as saying, all things considered (eviscerations, little girl zombie, the poor Horsy) it rocked. We in the Midwest are in need of something that takes us from mind numbing sitcoms to something with some “MEAT” in it…no pun intended of course.

The character building is very well done, light comedy followed with heart wrenching performances by one of my favorite character actors, Lennie James as Morgan. We see his amazingly moving performance as he goes through the phases of loss and mourning to the realization that he must ultimately shoot his beloved wife.

Andrew Lincoln is both intense and interesting as the Sheriff who awakens to find the world he knew gone forever. Hubster and I argued over the length of the first scene, him:feeling it was too long, me:rationalizing that it was due to character development. The fated connection between Rick Grimes (Lincoln) and Shane Walsh (portrayed by Jon Bernthal) is laid out well.

The story moved along well with several very touching moments. Yes, I covered my eyes during the gory parts, but peaked through my fingers so I wouldn’t miss a thing! The makeup and costumes are terrific and the scenes in Atlanta, almost overwhelmingly realistic!

Yes, it will definitely step up TV watching in the Benson household. I give it 5 strips of Bacon out of five! (after all who doesn’t LOVE bacon?)

Dad's Thoughts:

First I want to provide the following disclaimers:

1. I have not read any of “The Walking Dead” Graphic Novels
2. I am not a "left brain" person, so I will be avoiding Artsy Fartsy dialog in my reviews.
3. I was a Science Fiction and DC Comic book fan before it was abbreviated Sci-Fi. Robert Heinlein was the BEST!

While I somewhat agree with the review from "Londie," I do have the following comments:

The segment in the cop car between Rick and Shane was way too long. I know all the people in the “BIZ” will say it is about establishing the characters, blah, blah, blah, but remember I have never read the GN, and I did not need this elongated scene.

Totally agree about Lennie James as Morgan. We loved him in Jericho and I believe he completely stole the first episode. As for me I would have shot the ex-wife straight out vs. the fear of her harming our son, I’m just sayin...

The story did NOT move along well. Maybe having one’s eyes closed gave that impression. It was too slow. I am not endorsing a Zombie shoot em up blood fest, but come on: pick up the pace a little. Going this slow, even a handicapped zombie will catch up to Rick. I realize that this is supposed to be the “Luke learning the Force” sequence so he can avoid traps like Atlanta in the future and get himself out of jams, but if that is the case, maybe he needs an Obi Wan Kenobie to accompanying him for a couple of episodes.

Yes, we will watch it for a week or two more, but they had better pick up the pace and heck, maybe shoot a few more Zombies. I give it 3 strips of Bacon out of five. I also like bacon, which is why I am reserving some of mine for future episodes.