tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post6362833272524370440..comments2024-02-10T10:52:58.614-05:00Comments on THE DIG: WALKING DEAD Consumed By The Soapcinemarchaeologisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-43456915791593956122014-11-24T23:14:21.621-05:002014-11-24T23:14:21.621-05:00Solid.Solid.cinemarchaeologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-71526782177292764082014-11-22T20:45:56.224-05:002014-11-22T20:45:56.224-05:00"I'm a doctor, not a nuclear physicist.&q..."I'm a doctor, not a nuclear physicist."<br /><br />Great line.crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04669900632326853467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-78216953434398798672014-11-18T15:41:33.240-05:002014-11-18T15:41:33.240-05:00And Anon, the van is probably hanging over the sam...And Anon, the van is probably hanging over the same side of the bridge, but there's an axis problem with the cinematography, an amateur error that makes it look as if it's hanging over one side in the shot through the scope and the other side in the shots on the bridge. When Daryl and Carol approached it, it should have been hanging off the side to their right instead of their left. Or it may actually be hanging off two different sides of the bridge, but I'm betting it's just an axis problem, the sort of utterly amateur thing you learn not to do in the first year of film school.cinemarchaeologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-37922636795958328482014-11-18T15:22:52.774-05:002014-11-18T15:22:52.774-05:00@NinjaGhost, I don't use those words to "...@NinjaGhost, I don't use those words to "hate on episodes and on the show"; it's my contention that soap melodrama--low-grade melodrama--is incompatible with a quality TWD, and I've explained why many times. TWD is, in its original form, an open-ended character study of how the zombified world changes people over the long-term. You can't do that if you don't have characters, and soap melodrama--the genre in which TV TWD's creators have chosen to drop their show--doesn't. In a character-driven drama, the characters are conceived as fully-realized human beings (or as close to fully realized as possible) and the plot goes where it does because of who they are and where they would take it. When it comes to soap melodrama, on the other hand, the writers conceive a plot, one aimed at generating melodrama they can milk, then just arbitrarily impose a characterization that gets them to that point. Characterizations being dictated by momentary plot needs in this way is why, for example, we're up to the 7th entirely different version of Rick right now. None of his 7 characterizations flow from the others or are in any way consistent with them (except sometimes coincidentally); they're just pulled out of the air and imposed, with minimal overlap. Multiply this by every character and you have TWD. It's why the Greenes are shown to be close knit in one episode then, in the next, Maggie has no interest whatsoever in the fate of her sister.<br /><br />More broadly, the soap melodrama approach is why everyone on TWD talks to one another in proposterous, brutally anti-naturalistic pseudo-profound speeches. It's why everyone is written as being a moron at all times, and all plot progression is made dependent upon this. It's why the characters are so relentlessly anti-human.<br /><br />This <i>shit</i> is some of what was passed off as dialogue on this week's ep of TWD:<br /><br />"I don't think we get to save people anymore."<br /><br />---<br /><br />"The reason I said we get to start over is because we gotta."<br /><br />---<br /><br />"Who I was with him [Ed], she got burned away. And I was happy about that. I mean, not happy, but... And at the prison I got to be who I always thought I should be, thought I should've been, and then she got burned away. Everything now just consumes you."<br /><br />"Well, hey, we ain't ashes."<br /><br />---<br /><br />Do I really need to point out that real people don't talk like this? This is melodrama. Crap. People making nonsensical speeches. Talk, talk, talking about starting over instead of just starting over. Violating the first rule of screenwriting: "Show, Don't Tell." It isn't "character building"; it's rubbish.cinemarchaeologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-52372790171495524482014-11-18T11:35:01.802-05:002014-11-18T11:35:01.802-05:00Once again I couldn't disagree more with you. ...Once again I couldn't disagree more with you. At this point I feel like you are trying to stand out and look different from other web sites to attract readers. I also hate the way you use Soap Opera and Melodramatic to hate on episodes and on the show.<br /><br />Carol and Daryl both come from abused homes and find themselves in a shelter. They have been constantly trying to work through their problems they are having and Daryl is finally opening up to Carol about it. It was huge reveal that Daryl had the Child Abuse Recovery book. <br /><br />Have you ever met anyone who has been abused? It takes years to open up and years to accept it and move on. So just saying they are being melodramatic is lazy writing on your part. The show is trying to take real elements and incorporate a zombie filled world. Many people complain about the story in the show and its always about character building. As soon as someone dies people cheer and are like this show is the best. However if there is no character building the deaths wouldn't matter.NinjaGhosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01826170320976913144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-23116982377388404902014-11-18T03:27:05.861-05:002014-11-18T03:27:05.861-05:00Am I crazy, or was the van facing the opposite dir...Am I crazy, or was the van facing the opposite direction when Carol and Daryl first noticed it teetering precariously over the side of that bridge? Then again, continuity isn't really one of the show's strong points..!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-85857134916010823782014-11-17T18:35:25.279-05:002014-11-17T18:35:25.279-05:00This episode was so damn awful... Can it get worse...This episode was so damn awful... Can it get worse, I wonder? Gimple wants to turn the show into a soap opera. I'm still going to watch all of season 5 to see how it turns out, but if it ends up being utter crap again then I think I will be done with TWD for good.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08469271216359175770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-60125136878047584252014-11-17T13:13:19.201-05:002014-11-17T13:13:19.201-05:00Sharp eyes on the Negrete thing, TJO--I put a nota...Sharp eyes on the Negrete thing, TJO--I put a notation about it in the original article (and feel rather dumb for having entirely missed it).<br /><br />It doesn't really take any effort to get miles ahead of the Mazzara era. Episodes like this week's are throwbacks to that period though; the weeds that continue to strangle TWD.cinemarchaeologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507603255666191405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-48141937524430216742014-11-17T09:26:53.985-05:002014-11-17T09:26:53.985-05:00"Indifference" writer Matt Negrete also ..."Indifference" writer Matt Negrete also penned this episode, so I'm not surprised. He's the go-to guy for calmer episodes, and his eps are inconsistent - "Inmates" and "Slabtown" were also co-penned by him. I actually liked "Slabtown" because it had a (somewhat) definite plot and conclusion despite its cliffhanger, unlike "Strangers" and, to some extent, "Self Help".<br /><br />I think the reason why there's slower eps this season is because they based it off their stronger episodes, such as "Clear" and "Days Gone Bye". Minimalist, dialogue heavy, anti-season 2 eps that focus on small groups. This is very evident this season, with mixed results. This is very risky, and based on many FB comments from several fansites I follow, many diehard fans are getting antsy. Lots of episodes this season are joint efforts from different writers (this one co-written by "Four Walls and a Roof" writer and new addition Corey Reed), which could be the reason of the several mixed results in the episodes. I think they're stretching this story hard by even adding the hospital threat to give allowance to the comics, which they're dangerously close to following.<br /><br />Gimple spoke in a Larry King Now interview that the show could become a zombie soap opera, which somehow <i>excites</i> him. Something to ponder.<br /><br />I have a feeling that next week's episode will be the S5 version of "When the Dead Come Knocking", as it's the penultimate episode of the midseason, and I've pretty sure that the action doesn't show up until the mid-finale. And based on recent rumors, Beth might die in the midseason finale, and if that happens, I'll be mighty pissed. This season is not on the level of the best of season 4, but it's still miles ahead of the Mazzara era.The Joesen Onehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09286819395753404041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-585323794423400780.post-79438144380207120462014-11-17T05:15:58.680-05:002014-11-17T05:15:58.680-05:00I have to agree with you, again. I wanted to like ...I have to agree with you, again. I wanted to like this episode. I really did. The opening seemed promising and the first few minutes with them in the car following the police was fine. I did enjoy the change of setting and the threat of walkers throughout this story. I was hopefully anticipating an above average episode and I honestly would've been able to overlook the gaping coincidental flaws if the interaction between Daryl and Carol as you mentioned had been handled naturally and realistically. Alas, though it looks like the writers have let us down once again. <br /><br /><br />And on other note....are they trying to input more humor into the show? I will admit that the falling walker scene got a chuckle out of me. One previous episode showed Glen tripping over accidentally and then Gabriel joking that he was leading the gang into a trap..... <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com