The Walking Dead

Everyone knows that the last few seasons of The Walking Dead weren't the same quality as the earlier ones, those early seasons were groundbreaking in so many ways that this series is considered among the best ever. Because of that this show still gets a high rating from me. Like most long running shows, it had its ups and downs but even at its worst it was still the #1 show on cable, in fact it has been #1 every season it's been on the air. The last few seasons without Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) haven't been as good but it at least started to get back to being a pretty good show during this last season. Norman Reedus (Daryl) and Jeffery Dean Morgan (Negan) continued to carry the show after Andrew Lincoln's departure to the point where people looked forward to it again. Having said all that, it was still probably time for it to end.

This is a very long running TV-show (10+ years) with many seasons. One common view is that the first seasons are great, then it becomes garbage. I decided to binge-watch in 2021 to make an opinion for myself.

What I will say is that season 1 is definitely the fastest paced season, reminiscent of typical Zombie films such as Dawn of the Dead with a simple "escape the undead" premise. After season 1, the pacing becomes very slow (lots of episodes, each 1 hour), and the story drags on and is more about watching the cast settle down in bases/single locations. It becomes a post-apoc survival show.

Personally, I very much enjoyed binge watching this entire show. I even prefered the later seasons than the first seasons. It felt enjoyable to watch a slower paced story of survival and base/world building by the core cast of the show, mainly Rick Grimes and his son Carl. The reason is that "escaping the zombies" and being stressed & running all the time, gets old. I liked the other aspects of post-apocalypse survival themes such as the danger of other human groups (Negan and the saviors, I really liked, the Negan actor is amazing and very charismatic).

One of the common views I read online is that the entire show is amazing if binge watched, as it forms one great story. However it was HELL for the people that watched a single episode per week/month, because often very little happens in each episode, dragging the seasons on forever. But binge watching a season makes for a nice "kick back & relax" TV show to enjoy.

So in conclusion, I would very much ignore the reviews that say "Only season 1 is great" and "anything after season 5 sucks". I would advise you binge watch from season 1, and stop when you no longer want to watch. For me, I just couldn't stop and really started to enjoy the show from season 6 onwards (when the "running from zombies" premise ends).

Overall, no matter one's opinion, one undeniable fact is that this is the QUINTESSENTIAL zombie TV show, with the number of seasons to match. It is simply epic and I cannot wait to see how season 11 concludes this story. Enjoyable through the dead. Just Watch it.

Really loved this programming, especially Rick. It is a shame that COVID seemed to have slowed Andrew Lincoln down as he was seemingly bound for big things before hand. The first couple seasons were brilliant, for me it was the Negan effect that really hurt the show, especially making it out as if Rik would fear him which was laughable. Rick delt with the Governor, he won't fear someone like Negan who was essentially a coward. I especially did not enjoy the six year jump as it did not make sense as to why Daryl would still be looking after so long when they would have come to terms with it by now. The finale was probably the poorest episode in the entire show.

I've been a fan of The Walking Dead ever since the first episode of the first season. Even though the quality has gone down in recent years I still haven't missed an episode. While the last few seasons weren't quite as good they were still worth watching. It did go out on a high note though, the last season was actually pretty good. It had a few slow filler episodes but overall it was solid. Even though it was definitely time for it to end I'm still going to miss it. When something's been apart of your life for so long it's hard to say goodbye. The good news for fans is that there are a few spinoffs coming in 2023. I'm actually interested in the spinoffs considering they all star my favorite characters from the main show. There's three of them so far...one with Rick & Michonne, one with Negan & Maggie and one with Darryl going over to Europe. Again, those all happen to be my favorite characters so I'm looking forward to them and hope they're good!

I just watched all seasons of this show. This is a pretty well crafted piece of t.v. To be honest, if your a horror fan; this is pretty much: a masterpiece dream come true. (Gem).

Pros: The show is good at changing topic season to season: good amount of likable characters, has good character conflict. The show explores several genres: Drama, melo-drama, action, romance, civil war, human connection, friendship, horror, birth, child-loss, survival, family, love that touches the heart, and much more. The characters are put into some interesting situations: very creative scene design. Good main character casting, very entertaining. Solid character growth. Soulful dialogue, and Good acting from the main cast. 👍

Cons: Some of the costume designs are basic. Basic scene music. Production is good, but could have been a little bit stronger. Some dramatic scenes drag longer than needed. Scene editing shakey at times.

Overall: To be honest this is a grate show. Good t.v reflection of human survival. Anyone who knows anything about t.v or film could not rate this no lower than an 8 out of 10. It can be scary and gory at times: but it's called the walking dead for a reason. First 3 seasons are excellent. Im guessing their the best ones to be honest. 5,6,7, and 8 are grate too. However the Negan saga had some of the better acting. Final rating: 8.2 out of 10.