TV Review: The Walking Dead 8.5 “The Big Scary U” (dir by Michael Strazemis)

Posted on November 19, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Could it be that I just watched a Negan-centric episode of The Walking Dead that wasn’t terrible?

It’s true! I’ll admit that I rolled my eyes a bit when I saw that tonight’s episode was going to be about Negan and the Saviors. Last season, though there were a few exceptions (particularly the episode where Eugene was first taken to the Sanctuary), the Savior episodes were my least favorite. But tonight’s episode was actually pretty good.

That doesn’t mean that it was great, of course. To be honest, I’m not totally sure that you could ever have a truly great Savior episode. Whenever I watch the Saviors, I always find myself thinking about The Others on Lost. One reason why the Others were such a fascinating group was because they weren’t just one-dimensional villains. Whenever one of the Others would say something like, “We’re the good guys,” you could actually see their point. There’s never been that type of ambiguity when it comes to the Saviors. Negan is an asshole. He has chosen to surround himself with other assholes. They were all probably assholes before the zombie apocalypse and they’ll continue to be assholes until Sanctuary is eventually overrun by walkers.

With all that in mind though, this was still a pretty good episode. If nothing else, this episode made it a little bit clearer why people started following Negan in the first place. Even when Negan was trapped in the trailer with Father Gabriel, he did not allow himself to show any fear. Instead, he was actually able to persuade Gabriel to make a run with him for the Sanctuary. Even his confession to Gabriel about his first wife mostly served to reveal that Negan is a master manipulator. He shared just enough to keep Gabriel intrigued. After spending almost all of previous season bellowing, Jeffrey Dean Morgan dialed things back just enough to make Negan interesting again. For that matter, tonight’s episode finally gave Seth Gilliam to show what he’s capable of when he’s actually given a decent line or two.

In the trailer, Negan told Gabriel that the Saviors would undoubtedly end up killing each other if they thought he was dead. That may have sounded arrogant at the time but it quickly turned out that Negan was correct. I think that’s also going to be the Saviors’s downfall. By literally setting himself up as the strongest man in the Sanctuary, Negan has also ensured that the Saviors are lost without his presence and direction. While all of his lieutenants may go out of their way to imitate Negan’s style, none of them have his leadership skills. It doesn’t matter how much Simon and Regina insist otherwise. They may say “I am Negan,” but everyone know that they’re not. That said, Negan’s sudden appearance after everyone had assumed he was dead will probably leave him in an even more powerful position. All messiahs return from the dead and Negan even returned with a man of God!

As for the rest of the episode, I didn’t really get the whole point of Rick/Darryl fight. (It did, of course, remind us of the difference between Rick and Negan. Rick forgave Darryl, something Negan would view as being a sign of weakness.) Josh McDermitt is obviously having a blast as Eugene. Eugene may be a traitor but McDermitt’s performance still makes me smile every week. And then there was weaselly Gregory, of course. I think we’re all ready to see a bunch of walkers pounce on Gregory.

As I watched tonight’s episode, I found myself making a few more predictions about the rest of season 8:

There’s no way that Gabriel is still going to be alive at the end of this season. He is so being set up for martyrdom.
If they get Dr. Carter back to Hilltop, does that mean that Maggie will finally have her baby?
Judging from the flashback/flashforward structure of this season (and the fact that they’re going to have to explain why Carl no longer looks like he’s 13 years old), I’m going to guess that there will be a considerable time jump between season 8 and season 9. Either that or Zombie Carl’s going to show at some point soon…

As always, we’ll see what happens!

TV Review: The Walking Dead 8.4 “Some Guy” (dir by Dan Liu)

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

(SPOILERS)

(YOU GET THE IDEA?)

My heart is broken.

It’s funny. If Ezekiel had been the one to die, I don’t think it would have upset me as much. If Carol had died, I would have been sad but tears would not have sprung to my eyes. Rick? Hey, Rick should have died a long time ago. I wouldn’t have gotten upset. I would have said, “That’s life. No one’s safe.”

Instead, Shiva died and now my heart is broken.

What’s funny is that TSL co-founder and editor-in-chief Arleigh Sandoc warned me that Shiva was probably not going to survive. Based on what he had seen in the comic, he told me exactly what was going to happen to her. So, I can’t say that I was totally surprised. Even if Arleigh hadn’t warned me, I remember the walkers eating that horse during the first season. I know that animals aren’t safe in the world of The Walking Dead.

Still, it broke my heart.

Maybe it’s because I’m a cat person. Maybe it’s because Shiva died protecting her master, which is not exactly typical cat behavior. Ezekiel was at his weakest when Shiva sacrificed her life for him. And now that Shiva’s gone, Ezekiel is going to have to learn how to be a leader without her help. Before she died, he was shouting that he wasn’t a king. He shouted that he was just some guy who found a cat. The cat’s gone. Can Ezekiel prove that he deserves to be known as “your majesty?”

If not, maybe Jerry can step up and lead The Kingdom. Tonight, I was really impressed with Jerry and the actor who plays him, Cooper Andrews. They both did a great job. I know some people would say that Ezekiel should give the keys of the kingdom to Carol but I wouldn’t suggest that. Carol’s a badass but I still get the feeling that she’s just a day or two from snapping and killing everyone she sees.

As for the rest of tonight’s episode … who cares? Shiva’s dead…

Okay, okay, I know. I’m a semi-professional blogger! I need to get through this post and mourn later. Okay, just a few observations:

Does everyone just have an unlimited supply of bullets all of the sudden? One of the few things that I liked about the previous season is that the show did try to realistically deal with the fact that there aren’t many supplies in the post-apocalyptic world. But this season, everyone just seems to be shooting guns for the Hell of it. I’m not an expert on firearms but I do know that bullets aren’t like knives or arrows. They can only be used once.

So, I guess Rick is suddenly an action hero! I’m not complaining. A Rick who can suddenly jump into a speeding jeep is still preferable to a mopey, indecisive Rick who can’t bring himself to fight back.

Let’s give it up for Khary Payton, who did a great job tonight! Ezekiel is a character who I’ve sometimes found to be annoying but Payton did a great job. I think one reason why it was so unsettling to see Ezekiel acting so desperate was because The Kingdom has always provided the grim world of The Walking Dead with a little bit of fantasy. It’s always served as an escape from all the terrible things going on in the rest of the world. It’s very existence is a tribute to the power and importance of imagination. Seeing the fantasy shattered was not easy and that’s something Payton wonderfully captured in his performance.

This season’s flashback structure actually paid off tonight. I’m occasionally skeptical of shows that do the whole nonlinear timeline thing because I often feel that it’s just a gimmick, as opposed to really necessary storytelling device. But tonight, seeing the contrast between the confident Ezekiel and the nearly defeated Ezekiel was undeniably powerful.

Speaking of nearly defeated Ezekiel, what about that Savior asshole who was holding him prisoner? Oh my God, that guy had to be the most annoying bad guy ever! I was so happy when Jerry split him in two.

Tonight’s episode was not bad. It was exciting. The pace didn’t drag. And it made me cry.

Shiva, R.I.P.

TV Review: The Walking Dead 8.3 “Monsters” (dir by Greg Nicotero)

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Before watching tonight’s episode of The Walking Dead, I was starting to worry that I might be impossible to please.

I spent all last season complaining that The Walking Dead was too talky and slow-paced. Then last week’s episode was pretty much nonstop action and I ended up getting bored out of my mind, largely because I didn’t feel like I had any sort of emotional stake in any of the characters. When tonight’s episode started, I was literally wondering if perhaps I’m destined to never be truly satisfied with anything that happens on The Walking Dead.

When the episode started with the attack still going on and Morales and Rick still talking, I was a little bit concerned. I was really worried that the entire episode was just going to be the two of them discussing what constitutes morality during the zombie apocalypse. I honestly didn’t remember much about who Morales was so I have to admit that I wasn’t terribly affected by his tales of woe and death. Morales explained that he lost everyone. Rick mentioned that he had lost a lot of people that he cared about. (Rick didn’t mention that most of them died as the result of Rick being a terrible strategist but no mater.) I was really starting to get concerned that the conversation was never going to end but then Daryl showed up and killed Morales. Thank you, Daryl. From now on, whenever a minor character threatens to hijack an episode, Daryl kills them. That’s the new rule.

The episode definitely picked up after the death of Morales. In fact, thing got so much better after Morales died that I almost felt as if, by killing Morales, the show’s producers, writers, and directors were specifically telling us, “Don’t worry. We learned our lesson last season. We’re not going to let random characters wander in and take over the show this season.”

As for the rest of the episode, I know that many would probably say that the fight between Morgan and Jesus was a highlight and I’ll agree that it was a very well-done sequence. (It helped that it was combined with scenes of Rick and Daryl fighting their own battle, for once giving us a chance to understand where all of these characters are in relation to each other.) The scenes with Aaron and Eric were definitely the episode’s emotional high point and the sight of Eric wandering around as a walker served as nice reminder that, before it all became about Negan and Alexandria, The Walking Dead a show about … well, the walking dead.

For me, though, the best part of tonight’s episode was Gregory showing up at Alexandria and begging to be allowed to come back in. Maggie, of course, immediately noticed that Gregory was driving Father Gabriel’s car. Gregory lied and said that he had just found the car. (Of course, we all know that he deserted Gabriel, leaving him with Negan.) When Maggie said that Kal had told them that Gregory went to see Negan, Gregory announced that Kal couldn’t be trusted.

Suddenly, Kal leaned over the side of the wall.

Gregory looked up at him. “Kal,” he sad.

Kal gave Gregory the finger.

Now, it may be a case of me being easily amused but that one hand gesture made the entire night for me. It was so simple and yet so appropriate that it was pure genius. If Gregory had been caught telling lies about Rick, Rick would have launched into a speech about why no one is allowed to lie in this new world. If Gregory had been caught telling lies about Negan, we would have had to spend three episodes listening to Negan’s lecture. Gregory got caught telling lies about Kal and Kal responded quickly, silently, and efficiently. Everyone on The Walking Dead should try to be more like Kal.

Anyway, Maggie did let Gregory back into the compound. Rick probably would have shot Gregory in the head. Maggie does things differently.

Speaking of which, at the end of the show, Rick promised a savior that he would be allowed to escape if he would just tell Rick and Daryl where they could find a case of guns. The savior told them and Daryl promptly shot him in the head. I can’t say that I blame Daryl. That’s just the way things work in the heartless world of The Walking Dead.

Anyway, despite a shaky start, this episode turned out pretty well. It was certainly a huge improvement on the previous two episodes of this season.

Allow me to end this review with a question and prediction.

First, the question: “Where’s Carl?”

A prediction: The first half of season 8 will end with a zombiefied Carl walking towards Rick. I know that would be a major departure from the comic book but, honestly, it makes sense. On the show, only two or three years have passed since Rick woke up from that coma. In the real world, it’s been nearly 8 years and Chandler Riggs isn’t getting any younger.

We’ll see what happens!

A Blast From The Past: Degrassi of the Dead

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, Halloween and this year’s horrorthon are both nearly over.

Since I started things off with The Curse of Degrassi, it only seems appropriate for me to end my part of it with Degrassi of the Dead! This 10 minute film takes a non-canonical look at what would happen to everyone’s favorite Canadian high school if there was a zombie apocalypse!

(By the way, I know what you’re thinking but this was actually made in 2007, long before the premiere of The Walking Dead.)

Enjoy watching Drake turn into a zombie!

Horror on TV: Thriller 2.20 “The Hollow Watcher” (dir by William F. Claxton)

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s one final episode of Thriller for this October’s horrorthon!

In this episode, we learn what happens when you stuff a dead body in a scarecrow. The scarecrow stalks you!

Seriously, scarecrows are so freaky.

Enjoy!

Horror on TV: Thriller 2.19 “A Wig for Miss Devore” (dir by John Brahm)

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s televised horror, we have yet another classic episode of the Boris Karloff-hosted anthology series, Thriller!

In the Wig for Miss Devore, Sheila Devore (Patricia Barry) is an actress looking to make a comeback. She’s recently been cast in a film about a real-life witch who was executed centuries ago. Sheila’s so determined to make the part her own that she’s even willing to wear a wig that once belonged to the dead witch.

Needless to say, that proves to be a mistake for her.

However, it’s enjoyable for us!

TV Review: The Walking Dead 8.2 “The Damned” (dir by Rosemary Rodriguez)

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I want to make one thing absolutely clear: I tried.

Seriously, I tried to get emotionally involved in this episode but there’s really only so much time that I can spend watching people shoot at each other before I get bored. It’s kinda funny, to be honest. I spent all last season complaining about Rick not doing anything. Then, this episode comes along and it’s basically 45 minutes of Rick and the members of his militia kicking Savior ass. Rick is finally doing something. This entire episode was all about Rick doing something. And I was bored out of my mind.

Basically, this episode followed several different groups as they all launched concurrent attacks on different Savior compounds. A few minor members of Rick’s militia died but the majority of the victims were Saviors. For all of their fearsome reputation, it’s pretty obvious that the only really strong savior is Negan. The rest of them are just bullies and sycophants. Unless Negan is physically there to tell them what to do, they’re easily defeated. Over the course of the episode, a few of the dead reanimated and started eating anyone they could get their hands on. That was good. The show is called The Walking Dead, afterall.

During the attack, we were allowed a glimpse into some of the group dynamics in this new alliance. Perhaps the most intriguing scenes were the ones that features Jesus (Tom Payne) and Tara (Alanna Masterson) debating whether or not to execute a man who claimed to just be a civilian. Tara’s approach was significantly more ruthless than Jesus’s. Even when Jesus had both the opportunity and the justification to kill a savior, he still decided to merely knock the man out. Jesus said that Maggie would back him up. Tara replied that Rick’s got her back.

Meanwhile, King Ezekiel, Carol, and the rest of Team Renaissance Faire wandered through the woods, with Ezekiel going on and on with his faux royal posturing.

As for Rick, he ran into a guy named Morales who is now a part of the Saviors. Apparently, Rick met Morales in Atlanta. Considering that there’s only a handful of people still alive in the world of The Walking Dead, it’s actually not too shocking that Morales and Rick would run into each other again. It’s a small world. If Rick had run into Shane’s brother or maybe Carl (who we saw running away last week), it would be exciting. But Morales? Who cares?

Finally, Morgan apparently now feels that he’s achieved some sort of immortality. I guess that means that Morgan will eventually turn out of the be this season’s surprise sacrifice.

We’ll see what happens. Maybe this episode will pay off in the future but for now, it’s just forgettable.

Horror on TV: Thriller 2.18 “The Storm” (dir by Herschel Daugherty)

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s televised horror, we have another classic episode of the Boris Karloff-hosted anthology series, Thriller!

In this creepy and atmospheric episode, a newlywed (Nancy Kelly) and her cat attempt to get through a stormy night in an isolated house. But are they really alone?

Watch, find out, and enjoy!

Horror on TV: Thriller 2.16 “Waxworks” (dir by Herschel Daugherty)

Posted on October 28, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this episode of the Boris Karloff-hosted anthology series, Thriller, murders are being committed all over Europe. What do all of the murders have in common? They have all happened outside of the same traveling wax museum!

Is it a coincidence or are the wax figures coming to life and committing murder?

This episode was written by Robert Bloch of Psycho fame and originally aired on January 8th, 1962.

Horror on TV: Thriller 2.14 “Portrait Without A Face” (dir by John Newland)

Posted on October 27, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

For tonight’s televised horror, we have another episode of the Boris Karloff-hosted anthology series, Thriller!

In Portrait Without A Face, an arrogant painter is murdered. No one knows who murdered him but don’t worry. Just because he’s dead, that doesn’t mean the artist has to stop painting! In fact, his first post-death painting might just be a picture of the person who killed him…