Walking Dead season 3...

I'm ready!

Walking Dead returns with new episode tonight at 9pm EST on AMC

That was a pretty good episode to show how they got out of the "fight club", and Rick going around the bend.

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On The Talking Dead, Steven Leung (Glenn) explained how they did the scene where he stomps the Walker's head. The new one hour format works okay but they will need to have interesting guests to fill the extra time, always actors or prods. from the show rather than unconnected guests like that "comic book " guy last night.

Daryl Dixon is a fan favorite. I can't imaging he will by away for long Yeah Rick needs a few days off and a lot of sleep. Rick and his small group need the extra people before the Governor and his clan attack.

On The Talking Dead they had the actor that plays Axel and Joe Maganiello (Alcide on True Blood) as guests along with the show creator and they hashed over the usual theories about 'motivations', etc. And yes, they are poor shots at longer ranges with rifles than they are close-up with hand guns... :P

'The Walking Dead' Recap: A Zombie Van is a Horrible Housewarming Gift
Sunday, February 17, 2013

Christopher Spicer
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

The Walking Dead has been delivering an action-packed season 3 with lots of drama and major plot turns. "Home" almost feels like a teleportation back to the farmhouse as the characters spend the first 40 minutes of the episode whining and proving why this show is best when it remembers it is about zombies. Well, Rick isn't whining, because he's too busy trying to make out with imaginary Lori. The Governor rescues the episode by delivering a van full of zombies and reminding Rick's crew that he is the villain.

The Walking Dead Sets New Ratings Record with 12.3 Million Viewers >>>

Shootout at the Prison

Just when I was ready to write an essay about how most of the characters have become illogical and write this episode off as a snore-fest, Axel gets snipered right in the eye. This may be the most unexpected kill on the show, though I should have expected something since a rarely seen character suddenly gets lots of screen time. Poor Carol loses out on romance once again, but at least dead Axel does the noble thing of being her body shield from the bullets.

Governor shocks absolutely no viewers by lying to Andrea and deciding to assault the prison. Remember when people wondered where the prison was and it appeared this mammoth structure was hidden? Now, it seems like everyone stumbles upon it within seconds, and makes you kind of wonder why it took so long for it to be inhabited.

The Woodbury army of five does a rather fine job of making life hell for the prison crew. Things may have gone better for our heroes if they didn't take target practice lessons from stormtroopers. All the good guys are cowering for cover from the bullets, but the Governor calmly stands out in the open, not afraid that any bullet will come near him. The bullets hit everything but what should be their targets, until Maggie finally takes out the Woodbury baddie on the guard tower. Now we know why they like to use knives instead when battling zombies.

The big moment of the battle is when Rick becomes the salami of a zombie sandwich, and the Dixon brothers come to the rescue. Darryl is by far the best thing in this entire episode, and he has become the heroic knight of The Walking Dead. In this episode, he shows that he has the super power of hearing crying babies from far distances, he saves a young family from a zombie horde, he stands up to his sleazy brother and also rescues his friends. It's a rather busy day of heroism for everyone's favorite redneck warrior.

Now for the Dull Stuff

The shootout is only the last 20 minutes, and we have to put up with the characters doing some annoying antics.

Rick apparently spends an entire afternoon playing hide-and-go-seek with his dead wife, which for Hershel is a sign that he is the best leader they have.

Hershel proves his own great mind by thinking it makes the most sense for him to hobble around in the wilderness when he needs a van to even get back up to the prison.

Maggie and Glenn's relationship is now centered on pouty faces and growling. I realize Maggie went through a traumatic event, but the writers are dealing with the issue in the most contrived fashion possible.

Maggie is shaken up, when she appeared fine and composed last week.

Glenn handles things by taking a joyride to possibly get some milk, but then appears at the end when he realizes they don't have a fridge.

Michonne plays in a van, which she obviously still makes look cool, but she's underplayed this week.

The episode is rescued by the super-hot ending and the actually compelling scenes with Darryl. Now we've got some pretty exciting fallout for next week. The group will need to either decide to fortify or fight back. Maybe Andrea will finally clue in that the Governor shouldn't be in the running for man of her dreams.





How will the prison crew respond to the attack?
Fortify the prison & be ready for the next attack
43%
Ask Ghost Lori for advice
22%
Try to find the Tyreese crew for help
21%
Spend the majority of the next episode complaining
7%
Pay a less than friendly visit to Woodbury
7%

That was a lot of wasted ammo and very few kills on either side. You would think by now they would be able to hit their targets a little better.

It would have helped if they had taken time to aim, and the Gov.'s gun on full auto wouldn't be very accurate anyway.

Good catch !

Chris Hardwick who hosts The Talking Dead after each Walking Dead episode has some funny bowling contests on the You Tube/nerdist channel. I didn't know this until he was on Conan last night.

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He and his team came to Albq. to challenge the Breaking Bad cast.

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They challenged the Dr. Who cast in San Diego during Comic Con.

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Nope, doesn't look like Andrea will be slitting the Gov's. throat.....too bad.

On the Talking Dead they explained how they did the scene where Andrea cuts off the Walker's arms to use him as a 'shield' to get past the other Walkers and get into the prison. But when they did the scene where they put the Walker's teeth on the rock then bashed him in the head to knock out his teeth, it was too much for one of the producers and she left the set until it was over.

Good grief ! That season finale ending sounds almost like The Sopranos series finale, except they didn't have to come back and TWD does.

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On The Talking Dead last night, the guests and the host thought that that episode may go down as the best of the season if not of all time. It did reveal some closer and developing relationships between Carl/Rick/Michonne. And the return of Morgan missing since S1 was greeted with great enthusiasm. They should have carried more guns and ammo out of his stash, they had the room in the car......

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'The Walking Dead' Recap: The Return of Morgan Minus Sanity
Sunday, March 03, 2013

Christopher Spicer
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

It looks like the next stretch of The Walking Dead will be focusing on building up towards the eventual Woodbury army vs. the Prison crew showdown. "Clear" takes us on a little road trip to Rick and Carl's old hometown and the reappearance of an old friend. It is once again pretty clear that sanity is a rare commodity in this world, and being kind to strangers is an almost extinct behavior.

I Hate It When an Old Friend Greets Me with a Knife to the Shoulder

Rick returns to his hometown, and it looks very different than we remember from the series premiere. But I want to know how they're even anywhere close to where Rick started three seasons ago. During the excursion over the entire series, were they content with covering a little less than a quarter of a mile a day? Or was their goal to travel in a circle because, hey, who doesn't love circles, since they resemble doughnuts? Rick obviously misses doughnuts. If you ever have to move across the country, it appears it would be best to not ask for assistance from Rick's crew.

It doesn't really make sense that Rick would be anywhere near his hometown, but it does end up becoming important. Like many long-time Walking Dead viewers, I've been wondering what ever happened to Morgan and Duane from the first-ever episode. It appears poor Duane became dinner for his zombie mom, and Morgan has become about 50 more kinds of crazy than Rick.

Despite Morgan creating a deathtrap wonderland that would make Kevin McCallister proud and seeming to have a new life goal of killing Rick, our favorite crazy former sheriff wants to reminisce about old times with Morgan. Once Morgan suddenly breaks out of his daze of crazy, he realizes he does know who Rick is. It probably would have been less painful for Rick if Morgan figured that out before stabbing him in the shoulder. It also appears Morgan isn't thrilled to see the man who failed to radio him every noon like what was promised. Obviously, Rick's life got a little busy for a daily noon-hour broadcast, but apparently, he has been close enough to shout out to Morgan.

Morgan's purpose seems to be a representation of what Rick could turn into if he isn't careful. Rick is lucky that he still has some family alive and aligned himself with people that care about him. Morgan was a sane and kind man when this series started, and now he has a hobby of caging mice so he can make zombie traps. This may be the moment Rick needs to stop isolating himself from the group and being kept company by images his mind creates.

The big question posed by this episode is, Should Rick feel responsible for Morgan's current loss of sanity? Maybe things would have been different if Rick continued to call Morgan for weeks and weeks. He also was the person that told Morgan he needed to permanently put away his zombie wife, and it looks like that advice could have saved Duane. Rick isn't really at fault, but I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't carry guilt with him for several episodes anyway. After all, this is the man that saved his life and is responsible for this series being about Rick for longer than one very special episode.

Lennie James delivers a stunning performance as Morgan. The confrontation is a little contrived, and the character has moments of bordering on being too far-fetched. He does jump out of insanity a little too quickly. But James makes you believe in Morgan, and it's a pretty emotional exchange with Rick. It definitely ends up being one of the more powerful and memorable confrontations of the entire series.

Bonding at the Cafe

We also get some character development with Carl and Michonne. Carl seems to suddenly acquire an extreme dislike of Michonne this episode, and he starts reminding me of the annoying spoiled brat he was a season ago. It looks like the sudden strong dislike is the writers' attempt to finally allow Michonne to get accepted into the group. Carl and Michonne have a bonding moment, and that's enough for Rick to decide Michonne might be buddy material now.

Carl is on a mission to retrieve a family picture. The Grimes were apparently celebrities here, and worthy of having a framed photo in a local cafe. Carl almost offers up a tasty ankle to a hiding zombie, and Michonne comes to his rescue with the old classic "blade to the noggin" defense. They then enjoy a good zombie killing party in the cafe, which is always a great way to bond.

It is Michonne's great magic trick that wins Carl over. It is clearly shown that Carl drops the picture and is dragged out of the cafe by Michonne. Carl is then pissed off that she won't allow him back into a cafe, where it appears zombies are continuously repopulating inside. Michonne then makes it all better by turning a corner and then reappearing with the picture in hand. This is the episode we learn Michonne's career before the zombie apocalypse was being the warm-up act for Penn and Teller, it would seem.

At least the storyline now means Michonne has finally connected with the group. It's sweet seeing her try so hard to impress Rick and warm up to Carl. It's a subtle character development for her. It reinforces how badly she wants to belong and contribute to the crew. Hopefully, this now means her storyline can move in a different direction, and Rick can finally add a new person to his trust list.

Hitchhiker isn't Any Way to Make a Living

The last key moment of this episode is the hitchhiker. The poor fellow is ignored by Rick and company at the start of the episode. At the end, we see smeared guts and his backpack on the road. Michonne then stops the car so they can take the backpack. It is a reminder that these characters have drastically changed their outlook in season 3. They are focused on doing whatever it takes to protect their family, and they no longer have time to help any outsiders. Each of these characters may have times when they'll be willing to risk their lives for each other, but they'll also become much darker and less willing to care about the outside world as things progress.


What caused Morgan's plunge into insanity?
The death of his son.
Never hearing from Rick.
Having to kill his zombie wife.
He really misses pizza.
The isolation.

Yes they should have taken a lot more gun and ammo. The few bags they carried out were not even full. The Governor and his crew would have taken everything. Leaving that much of a stockpile for one person to defend does not seem wise at all.

Laurie Holden was on Craig Ferguson last night. Those Walking Dead actresses sure clean up nice once they get out of the blood and gore....

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She lives in Toronto and Craig knew that Toronto residents pronounce it differently than anyone else, so she demonstrated that it's pronounced "Taranno", as far as I could tell....

She said that fans do the usual thing and accost her in the grocery, etc., and demand that Andrea dump the Gov., and why is she sticking with such a bad person, etc. etc.

She played the harmonica for her task and wanted to know , "How do I follow that ?" ,after Craig played "Dixie".

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I finally watched an episode with Bryan while he was home on break.....it is his favorite show right now. It was hard to follow not having watched other episodes, but Bryan tried to fill me in........I know it is good, but not sure it is "my" kind of show........

Of course it is "your" kind of show Jojo ! Jump right in ! There are only three episodes left this season, I have my predictions as to how it will end, might reveal them later. Meanwhile, last night on The Talking Dead, Eliza Dushku and Lauren Cohen (Maggie) and a guy from the Comedy Channel were the guests. Of course Lauren revealed nothing but had no objections with how Maggie and Glenn's relationship is going.

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So Merle bought the farm, not too many people saw that coming. Michael Rooker who played him was on The Talking Dead last night. He seems to be somewhat of a 'character'.

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David Morrisey who plays the Gov. was also on. He had some good insights into the Gov's. psyche.

One thing I'm wondering is why there are still Walkers inside the prison. If they are ex-inmates or staff then there must be a finite number of them and Rick and the group need to track them all down and eliminate them. Just because they are not in the groups cell block/living area doesn't mean they might wander up there. If they are coming in from the outside then they need to find out where the breach is and close it. It doesn't make sense to have good security out front with the fences, locked gates, people on watch, etc., and then have a unknown breach somewhere....

Judging by next weeks preview it looks like they might have packed up and left the prison before the Gov. and his crew attacked.

Next week will be the season finale. We will miss the show, even if it does free up some 'live'/DVR Sunday night sched. dancing.

Starting today there will be a week long marathon showing all 3 seasons.