Wait, this isn't Mad Men: The Walking Dead on AMC

After months of waiting, the day we've all been waiting for has finally arrived: Halloween.

With Halloween this year comes a very appropriate premiere: The Walking Dead on AMC. The show, based on the Robert Kirkman comic of the same title, is not an unfamiliar concept. The pilot shows shades of, among other things, Night of the Living Dead and 28 Days Later, yet something about this show appears fresh, even if it's not the premise.

The special effects of The Walking Dead are nothing to scoff at - and in case you have any doubts, here are two words for you to consider: bicycle girl.

The pilot, penned by none other than Frank Darabont, possibly one of the finest screenwriters of our time, is gracefully written, and translates to the screen just as vividly as it reads. Darabont brings life to these characters, their struggles and desires, much like in his other familiar works (it would be shameful not to mention that he also penned the screenplay to The Shawshank Redemption).

Much of the pilot focuses on the struggle of Deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who wakes in a suburban Atlanta hospital after recovering from a gunshot wound to discover that he is alone. He escapes from the hospital and makes his way home, only to find that his somewhat emotionally estranged wife Lori (Saray Wayne Callies) and their son Carl have packed up and left abruptly. In a neighbors house, he meets refugee father and son team Morgan (Lennie James) and Duane. It's through these two characters that Darabont shows off his ability to tug at the viewers heartstrings. Morgan describes to Rick how he lost his wife recently to the Walker outbreak, but he didn't have it in him to put her down - she is, after all, the mother of his children. Perhaps the most moving scene of the pilot is one where Morgan tries to bring himself to do it, to shoot what remains of the woman he loves to end her suffering, but again, he fails.

Morgan's wife provides the emotional storyline of the pilot, but also raises one of the most unsettling questions. Walkers are roused by noises like gunshots and car alarms. These noises also bring Morgan's wife along, but unlike the other Walkers, she tries to get in the house, and continually returns to the location of her family. The question at hand is, do the Walkers still have the ability to feel the emotions of their human vessel? Because if they do, that is the most terrifying trait of all.

The pilot continues with Rick's trek on horseback into Atlanta, where he hopes to find his family. Unfortunately for him, Lori and Carl are safely camped out with a group of survivors outside the city, one of whom is Rick's partner Shane (Jon Bernthal), who, believing Rick to be dead is involved in a romantic relationship with Lori.

Upon reaching Atlanta, Rick is greeted by droves of Walkers, and takes refuge from them inside of a military tank. The episode ends with a sense of uncertainty and a radio transmission, all of which paving the road for an exciting first season.

Although any zombie fan has seen this all before, The Walking Dead leaves its audience rooting for it - after all, it's an AMC show, and everyone knows that AMC makes damn good television.

And there's more where that came from.
-Meljo

Best New Series? I think so.

I rarely watch the first season of a show when it airs.

This is because of two things. One, I normally don't have time to watch them, since I have my schedule pretty much full. Two, they have a tendency to get cancelled before they can get to a stopping point in the series, and that breaks my little TV loving heart. I have broken this promise to myself several times, and this year is no different.This brings me to today's topic - what is the best new fall series?

My vote goes to Terriers, on FX.

A brief synopsis for you - an ex-cop and an ex-con  make a meager living by being private investigators in the San Diego area.

My first thought was, "oh great, another crime drama." That's not surprising. It seems that every other show on TV today is a crime drama. When one goes off the air (Law and Order), they just make another one with the same name and put it in the same time slot (Law and Order: Los Angeles). This is different, though. It's well written, well acted, and, dare I say it, refreshing.

The show's two main characters, Hank (Donal Logue) and Britt (Michael Raymond-James) are extremely complex, which is rare to see these days. Hank is a former cop who earned a dishonorable discharge from the force because of his alcoholism. Additionally, he also lost his wife and his dignity, which all drove him to get clean and sober. Despite all this, you root for him - he's a lovable character with the very human quality of regret, and almost every choice he makes as a character is the result of this. He's trying to make things right. Midway through Hank's season one arc, we meet his autistic sister (played by Logue's real-life sister Karina), whom he lovingly cares for. Not all drunks are bad guys, it just takes sobriety to show it. He is a completely selfless character at the beginning of his character arc, which is almost unheard of. Almost everything he does is for someone else. It seems that his want is to help people, but his need is to help himself. That's backwards! But like I said - refreshing.

Britt is completely different. He's a former thief who met his live-in girlfriend in the strangest manner possible - he broke into her house to steal her stereo and saw her picture on the refrigerator and decided to visit her place of business in order to pick her up. He met Hank when Hank caught Britt trying to commit yet another robbery, and, instead of dragging him into the police, offered to make him a business partner. Unconventional! See? Refreshing.

As if these characters weren't complex and interesting enough on their own, these two actors have tremendous chemistry. I've only heard of Michael Raymond-James because of True Blood, but I've followed Donal Logue through the depths of his career (from Little Women to The Tao of Steve to Grounded for Life to The Patriot) and back again, and all because I saw Conan interview him in 1999 and decided I liked him. He hasn't had the most notable career, but he deserves to. He's a nice Irishman. Anyway, these two have never worked together, but you'd never know it - their banter (which is hilarious and often worth rewinding and listening to again) is flawless.

But that's not all that's good about this show.

My other favorite crime drama in recent history is Castle, but even I will acknowledge that the best thing about that show is Nathan Fillion, and to some extent, the relationship his character has with his daughter Alexis (played by the lovely Molly C. Quinn). The biggest weakness of crime drama shows, Castle included, are the crimes themselves, and the storylines that follow. Terriers beats these odds with unpredictable, original storylines that leave the audience not only guessing, but wanting more.

And there's more where that came from.
Meljo

Five Things Steve Burke Can Do to Save NBC

Dear Comcast,

Congratulations on your merger with NBCU. I'm a longtime fan of the network and its programming, but was forced to boycott as a result of Jeff Zucker. I happily await the arrival at the network of Steve Burke, and am excited to see the changes that will happen at NBC.

I watch a lot of television, and have been watching a lot of television for, well, forever. In that time, I've made a lot of useful observations that I think might help you in your new endeavors, and might bring you back to the top of the Big Four Food Chain. Here are some of them.

1. Fix your advertising campaigns.

NBC has, for many years, poorly advertised their shows. Often times the advertising won't accurately describe the program at all. The example I always use to make this point is the show  American Dreams (2002-2005). If I were to give a logline to an ad agency in order to market this show, it would be "A middle-class family in Philadelphia deals with the events of the tumultuous 1960s while drawing comparisons between that time and present day." Instead, the ad campaign revolved around the idea that "pop-stars of today portray pop-stars of the 1960s on American Bandstand."

No.

American Dreams could have been a gold mine for NBC. It was sort of the pre-Glee in that it appealed to all different demographics. High school students could watch this show with their parents and be entertained, but unlike with Glee,  hey could be educated. Every episode was a history lesson - and if any of you have been paying attention, that is the intended purpose of television. To educate, as well as entertain.

2. Stop greenlighting reality television.

Reality TV killed the dinosaurs. I read that in a history book, honest.

There is nothing more useless than reality television. Is it a guilty pleasure? Sure, but it's trash, and it's not worthy of the network that is responsible for the invention of television. There are arguments that it's cheap to produce, and therefore it brings in more revenue, but that has also proven to be harmful in the long run. For example, viewership of NBC declined drastically when they switched the majority of their programming to reality shows. My favorite argument is that reality television can, in no way, be considered reality. One, the participants are always aware of the cameras, and two, real people wouldn't eat bugs and live in close quarters with people they disliked or swap spouses. Why? Because it's humiliating. Also, bugs are not so tasty.

Scripted television is a glorious thing. Yes, I'm a screenwriter, and I am biased. But shows that make you think are really something. Look at the popularity of Lost. Heck, look at the success of the whole crime drama genre - if there's a mystery to be solved, or a puzzle to figure out, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come. No matter how much money you're saving, you're not going to keep your audiences from year to year with reality shows.

3. For the love of God, get rid of Jay Leno.

Soon, his demographic will all be dead. Additionally, the conventional talk show is dead. I was less than pleased when I heard that Jimmy Fallon would be taking over the Late Night program, but since then, I have eaten my words. Jimmy has not only done wonders for his own career, he has brought the internet generation back to television. He's doing a great job.

Am I saying to offer the Tonight Show back to Conan O'Brien with your peacock feathers between your legs? No, because he's got a pretty good thing going. Cable TV is a booming metropolis now. I'm telling you to find a fresh face, take a risk, and revamp the franchise before it takes its last breath.

4. Give shows a chance.

Neilsen ratings are not accurate, and they're outdated. Because of this, we can't really be 100% sure of who watches what. In the olden days and, to some extent, during the 1990s, NBC gave shows more than their fair share of chances to scrape up a bigger audience.

Let's talk about a little show called Seinfeld.

Seinfeld had a pretty good following, but not great, until an episode called "The Contest." We're all familiar with that particular episode, so no need for a recap (John. F. Kennedy. Junior.). What you may not know, is that "The Contest" appeared in SEASON THREE. That's right. The network gave Seinfeld three seasons to get on their feet. Most programs these days get maybe one season. But hardly.

5. Watch television.

I think the biggest failure about Jeff Zucker was that he doesn't watch TV. He is, admittedly, very into business, sports, and politics. Never anywhere did he mention how he feels about entertainment. Entertainment is the key to having a successful foothold on the entertainment business. Look at the success of past NBC president Warren Littlefield. That man loves television. He has produced numerous things during his career, even post NBC. He cares about television, and he cares about its progress. I can only hope that Steve Burke will do the same.


I want to get back together, NBC. But you're going to have to really consider these things, as well as my feelings.

There's more where that came from.
Meljo