Running From Walkers by Brian Meza

Watching everyone turn into chaotic creatures, it's the end of the world for you, but others are making their way through the turbulent world they now live in and are surviving. "The Walking Dead" is a drama suspense/horror TV show based on the comics of the same name written by Robert Kirkman. It is about various survivors who persevered as the rest of the population dies and turns into flesh eating zombies they call walkers. Throughout the series, we are taken through the main character, a former police officer Rick Grimes’, daily life and the various struggles he encounters with the walkers as well as other heartless people who have been drastically changed by what is going on.

           "The Walking Dead" takes place in the present everything revolves around Rick, who is usually the leader of the group. Although it does switch from different stories at times, it is never confusing and is easy to follow. Other important characters are the ones in the group which he leads. It began with Rick waking from a coma and realizing the turmoil that has happened around him. He first flees in search of his wife Lori, son Carl, and eventually finds a group of survivors and his family who all team up together. We are then introduced to the various situations they have to go through in order to survive. Yes they have to look for food, water, and other necessities; they run from place to place running from the walkers, however one of the things that proved to lead more fatal where the various conflicts they had with other groups who were struggling to survive as well. At one time they lived in a prison; however the leader of another group decided to tear it down and destroy the fences that protected them from the zombies. In the process, multiple people were injured and even killed. You would expect people to work together to try to bring everything back at a time like this, but most people only strived to survive and would do anything it takes to do so; the writer of the original comics not only thought about the aspect of the walkers but also what effects the living people would have on each other. This TV show has amazing acting, a well written plot and is composed of a variety of subjects all which keep the viewer waiting for the following episode.

            First, the plot of the story is well written. Everything is actually believable and if something like this would actually happen, realistic situations are shows. Other TV shows can be extremely unrealistic, for example there might be a problem they have which has an obvious solution yet the characters for some reason never think about what to do. Unlike that, in “The Walking Dead” there always seems to be no solution to the immense troubles they are facing, which also makes it suspenseful and makes everyone wonder what will happen next. Although at times there are things that seem to have happened very coincidentally, only occasionally does this happen and it does not ruin your experience watching the show. Also, there are twists in the plot that make it more engaging. They found a disease control center at one point and everything seems like it is going to go great, they have food, electricity, water. Until the one doctor they met there reveals the entire facility will explode. The unknown leaves you captivated and overall, the conflicts are well constructed and every scenario was obviously thoroughly thought over.

            Additionally, many different genres or themes come up in “The Walking Dead”. Multiple different things are always happening to keep any one interesting. One thing that first comes up is their religion. It comes up with Hershel, he seemed very dedicated to what he believed in and was always encouraging people. He didn’t kill any of the walkers because he thought they were still people. However after meeting with Rick he eventually saw something that changed his mind and realized that they were not alive any more. His beliefs are also challenged various times by Rick’s son. Also, there were many times when family and love came up. For example Lori Rick’s wife had a daughter and they were having issues with it. It can also be humorous or depressing and because of the different things happening, many different types of viewers will enjoy watching it.

            Finally, the actors perform very well, any TV show cannot be successful with bad acting; the walkers also look very realistic, although some might think of that as a bad thing. All of their acting is very believable, although at times it could be a little off, the contrast between their acting and that of other TV shows makes the acting in “The Walking Dead” seem almost perfect.

            “The Walking Dead” in my opinion is one of the best TV shows. It is the most viewed drama on television with 9.6 million viewers ages 18-49 (Bauder, 2014). Although obviously this should not be watched by young children, teenagers and adults of all ages would enjoy watching this. Also anyone who likes zombies would no doubt live to watch this. I would rate “The Walking Dead” nine out of 10. The acting is well done, and the tension and plot will keep any type of viewer interested.