Fear the Walking Dead

[SittingBull]

So these zombie settings, that dont have zombies, do they also not have the existence of real life zombies in the animal world?

That last 10 or 15 zombies books I have read all had zombies in the media before they happened for real in the book.

10 or 15 books you read all had zombies in the media before they happened for real in the book?

Can you please list these titles?

I will have to get back to you on that, I cant take the bright light of my phone right now to look at the books.

I can the EX series (4 books) by Peter Clines. The Zombie Chronicles by Chrissy Peebles. After First Light by Scott Nicholson. Omega Pathogen Mayhem by J. G. Hicks Jr. Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo. The Eden Plague by David Vandyke. Panic by K. R. Griffiths. Hive by Griffin Hayes. LZR-1143 Infection by Bryan James. Occupation Lazarus Infinity. Voyage of the Dead by David P. Forsyth. Of the top of my head.

And all those books mentioned Zombie media, in the books pre-existing the zombie rise itself?

Yes, all but one. Hive is way after a zombie apocalypse, so they know about zombies like we know about lepers today.

[SittingBull]

I was thinking, it the worlds that don't have zombies then that means there is the strong chance that there is no Voodoo also, or it was eradicated before it was around long enough.

[wick]

In real life, zombies in pop culture got their name from Voodoo zombies. They could have pulled similar undead from other cultural mythology and we would be calling zombies something else. If zombies never hit big in popular culture, the word could still be in the dictionary but would not be a concept in common thought. There are plenty of mythological monsters from various cultures of which most people have never heard. Fantasy and horror RPGs usually borrow these monsters, so as gamers we may be more aware (sometimes the conversions vary from the myths). Try asking a person on the street to describe a Raksahsa to you, you will likely get blank stares and they would definitely not know that you can kill them with a blessed bolt.

A zombie series where zombies are in pop culture: John Ringo's Dark Tide Rising series. Although the zombies are not undead, but more like rabid humans who lack higher reasoning. In the series it was spread initially by a hybrid flu like virus and blood borne pathogen. Initial police response was to taser and drug the infected to be collected and detained until a cure could be found. The response took time and put responders in danger from these fast zombies and being bitten. Basically the zombies were different enough from the pop culture zombies that the cultural knowledge was not particularly useful to most people.

[wick]

Just watched Episode 5 "Cobalt" last night.

***SPOILER ALERT***
Well things are certainly starting to pick up in L.A. and more information is revealed.
Background revealed:
- So, as the crap was hitting the fan in the city, refugees where taken to a university stadium by the thousands. Apparently there were those who expired or were bitten among those refugees and as they turned they started to attack the other refugees. You can imagine the chaos as the refugees panic and the National guard try to pickoff the infected among the maelstrom. As that situation spirals out of control the National Guard decide to take drastic action and lock the stadium doors. They probably locked some of their own soldiers in their as well in their hast to contain the situation. After all you don't want anyone to leave in case they are infected. I would say based on their limited knowledge of the disease at that point, this response is akin to amputating a limb ( you may cut off more of the limb that strictly necessary, but you just don't know if you are getting all of the infection so you cut a bit higher than the infection) and was probably the right decision. It is doubtful the soldiers could have contained that large of a spike in infected, especially since they likely had few troops guarding the refugees and with many of their force guarding the perimeter, on patrols, bring in supplies, rescuing survivors, etc.. Their base camp could have been quickly over run.

- You can see their methods of quarantining survivors is a lot more draconian and controlled by the time we see Nick and the new character Victor Strand. They partition them up between cells and monitor them regularly for signs of turning or infection. Fairly good measures with limited resources. If one guy slips through the checks and turns, he is only going to infect a hand full of his cell mates.

-Cobalt: We find out that the military has a bug out plan code named "Cobalt" which has been broadcasting o the radio. One grisly detail of the plan is that the soldiers are to kill any survivors before leaving. This is probably ordered because a.) they cannot take everyone with them b.) the fall back base has limited resources to support the survivors and the soldiers especially over the long term c.) Leaving behind living survivors will just make more infected that the soldiers will have to fight if they later have to come back and clear the area.
--What would you do?: Personally I think it would be better just to kick out a crate of guns and ammo as you roll out the gate. This would allow the survivors to hold out and therefore keep the zombies occupied while your soldiers bug out. Hopefully the survivors can kill at least enough zombies ( 1 zombie per survivor) that they don't increase the zombie population. They could even potentially kill much more than their number. The soldiers likely have enough extra guns but should limit how much ammo they give out, say 1 full mag per survivor. At least you are giving them a sporting chance.
-It is revealed that the soldiers have been really busy taking out zombies (50 hours without sleep) and patrols are getting taken out. See all of the parked Hummvees at the police station where Moyers buys the farm? Morale of the soldiers is breaking down. Castro tells Travis he will drop him off in the safe zone but he is going back to San Diego to get his family. Things are coming apart at the seams.

New character insights:
-Daniel Salazar: He was an interrogator during a conflict in El Salvador. Scary dude. As distasteful as his methods are he did get the survivors critical information. They would only have gotten this information from a.) torture or b.) when the soldiers put a gun to their head and pulled the trigger.
-Travis Manawa wusses out yet again when given a firearm and asked to kill a zombie. Strike 2 Travis! 3rd strike and you are out fella, or was strike 2 when he did not kill Mrs. Tran with the hammer? All in all, I liked the scene. 1LT Moyers trying to bond with Travis? Maybe he is just trying to get Travis to see things from his point of view (interesting if you think of looking down a scope as looking through someone else's eyes). Since Moyers can see the writing on the wall in regards to Cobalt, perhaps he does not plan on killing the civilians but wants Travis to get over his problem with killing zombies because the Army will be abandoning them soon. Moyers also asks Travis if he still thinks of the zombies as people and if so, does that make the soldiers murderers.
-Christopher Manawa likes Alicia Clark. Destruction of the rich house = rejection of previous world view. Welcome to the new age.
-Madison is semi ok with the soldier getting tortured, probably was super outraged until she heard about Cobalt but still.
-Ofelia not ok with Daddy torturing her Boyfriend.

OMG moments:
-When Daniel was outside of the zombie filled stadium. I was yelling, "Don't do it. Don't open those doors!" Whew! he didn't.
- It does not bode well to see the soldiers leaving and one Humvee with a flat screen TV and other loot in the back.

[say652]

Knew the barber had potential to be a force, eye for talent. Lol

[Tags]

Don't have cable and haven't gone out to our friend's so haven't been watching.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Yeah things geared up pretty quick.

Anyone else get the feeling that the troops fragged their own LT, to be able to bug out on their own? I got that feeling for sure.

The Barber going all torturer on the guy in the basement seemed... radically fast of a shift. Sure he's been growling around the edges for a few days, but "They took my wife to the hospital last night TIME TO KIDNAP A US ARMY TROOP AND PUT HIM TO THE KNIFE TO GET HER BACK!!!!" like.. 12 hours later? How fast did he think the hospital WAS going to work? Take her. give her a shot and bring her back an hour later?

What's his end game? They planned on ransoming the troop for the wife..... Like the Army would just go "sure, take your wife. We'll take the troop. Yall go that way. We'll go this way" and not just shoot him about 500 times?

The Wife being 'mostly ok' with the torture actually didn't surprise me, as much as the guy's quick jump to USING torture that fast. She's been on the ragged edge since this started. Of them all she's the most 'in the know' of what they've been facing. She's killed a zombie in hand to hand combat (With a fire extinquisher) and he was one ofher friends. She also (Quite frigging stupidly) Snuck into the danger zone and saw the corpses in the street, both of the walkers, and of 'living' that were killed. So she knows both the danger of the zombies and of the military. When they took her son, they pushed her to the edge and she'd do "anything" to get him back. (Damn Druggie. Die already)

You forgot to mention the rather Evil guy in the cage with the Druggie at the detention area. Talked that one big guy basicly into geting himself killed, and then just chose Druggie kid to be his helper. That guy's gonna pop up again. Maybe not too much 'this' season (One more ep. Only so much can happen) but he's going to be a player in next. he's a manipulator.

[wick]

Mr. Strand was the "Closer" guy in the cage with Nick. My first thought was that he was saying things to Doug (the big guy) to wind him up and cause the guards to haul his butt away. But on reflection he may have been trying to comfort Doug, since the guards were on the way to come execute/take him away; he was telling Doug that his wife and kids would be ok once he is gone. I need to go back and watch the scene again to be sure. Yes, that cat has style and he is a survivor. He can definitely manipulate people, which could be a good skill especially when a group lacks a strong leader.

The thought did cross my mind that the 1Lt got fragged, but he could have fallen to zombies or some other mishap. Would like to see a transcript of the radio communication to be sure. Since morale was pretty low it is certainly possible. Did you notice that, the location was an LAPD station?

The capture and torture of the soldier did seem precipitous. I guess Daniel could see that things were coming to a head and they needed to act. It would not make sense to do this if the situation falls apart a week or a month later. He and perhaps those around him as well would have been executed once the Army did a house to house search for their missing comrade. Instead, because of the troop pull out the soldier will likely go unnoticed or since the survivors are to be executed anyway, being caught would not matter.

The character Nick, perhaps the actor is playing this character too well, because I too want this junkie to just die. I have a feeling that he will endure. There is too much potential growth to this character. I think he will continue on his slimey way until he has what is called "a call to action" which is a crisis that causes him to try to make a real change to his life. Unfortunately, this may come at the expense of another character. Basically he is going to get a loved one killed before he decides to kick his habit on his own.

Anyone recognize the University?

[say652]

The Barber is a bamf in disguise.

Daddy two wives is an idiot, his kids are also morons.

Nurse mommy is gonna buy it when the hospital falls.

I see blondey mommy living a long life, the next carol maybe.

And i see dopefiend wuss turning it around and getting tough or dead, his choice.

"Hello my name is Sweeny Todd,you killed my wife prepare to DIE!!"

[gaby]

That Show is full of Political bias,more people are going to die and add to the Zombies.
the Dumbsit move Ever!

[say652]

Season finale was very good.

[Pepsi Jedi]

That Show is full of Political bias,more people are going to die and add to the Zombies.
the Dumbsit move Ever!

Political bias? I don't think Zombies vote...

[Tags]

That Show is full of Political bias,more people are going to die and add to the Zombies.
the Dumbsit move Ever!

*facepalm*

[filo_clarke]

That Show is full of Political bias,more people are going to die and add to the Zombies.
the Dumbsit move Ever!

Wh...What?

[wick]

Great season Finale. Welcome to the new age!

Items of interest:
-Watches in TWD are a symbol of civilization. IN TWD Dale winds his watch religiously and when he dies Rick inherits the watch. For a time the watch is not re-set, but when he reaches civilization in Alexandria he winds the watch and sets it to the time the Alexandrians are keeping. A return to civilization? Now in Fear TWD, Strand gave his watch to bribe a soldier, but when he loots his cuff links from the dying soldier he tells him that he can keep the watch. A complete rejection of civilization? We will have to keep an eye on Mr. Strand.

-I need to re-watch it to confirm, but Travis never fires the shotgun when raiding the military HQ. He does club a few zombies with it. Since those zombies were not confirmed to have been dispatched, that puts Travis at zero confirmed kills for both zombies and 1 for humans, since he does shoot his ex wife before she turns. He does beat the heck out of Adams, but still refuses to kill him. I suppose all in all it is a step in the right direction, albeit a baby step. Shooting his ex was an act of compassion rather than of calculation, survival, or anger.

-The soldiers in the safe zone leave without killing the people there. Either: a.) they disobeyed orders, being without an officer to force a hard choice, b.) the Cobalt kill order referred to the sick at the HQ rather than the people in the safe zones (although they still abandon them), or c.) the safe zone will be attacked by an airstrike or kill squad at dawn.

- Daniels opening of the stadium, although a great distraction ends up getting lots of people killed. Soldiers, doctors, wounded, and locked up civilians. A subtle as a sledgehammer to a kitten, our Mr. Salazar. And pretty risky considering they barely made it out and took some casualties. Lets see the score: -1 medical personnel , +1 junkie, +1 Real Estate agent with a yacht.

-Dr. Exner euthanizes the wounded. It is unclear whether she makes it out but she looked fairly defeated. I hope there is enough air pressure in that pneumatic gun for one more. She may survive if she can pull herself together or if they zombies don't stumble upon her before she can pull herself together.


Best scene:
-As the survivors roll out the gate you see a family eating dinner over candlelight, totally oblivious that they have been left to defend themselves.
-The bitten soldier suiciding into the chopper's tail rotor


Glaring errors or inconsistencies:
- A brightly lit HQ or even the safe zone fail to attract hordes of zombies. I realize Army patrols were keeping the surrounding areas cleared but the rest of L.A. is completely dark at night.
-Not every single road in L.A. had a log jam of cars. Not even signs of cars being pushed out of the way to permit traffic. They do show the highways and interstates clogged though.
- The survivors in L.A. know fairly quickly that those who die turn, but in TWD this is not known until they meet the guy at the CDC. We don't know what interactions TWD survivors had with authority before they left their homes but surely that tidbit of info would have made it to local authorities like I dunno a sheriff's deputy (Shane) before everything went to hell.
- Mass media (internet, TV, and Radio) not used. IRL in an emergency people are glued to the TV set, internet or radio to get even a sliver of info. Could have been a good opportunity to make the show more realistic or to show that the authorities don't know what I going on initially or to show a clamp down on news as martial law gets imposed.

[say652]

Daryl could have accomplished the entire season of zombie kills by himself, and smoked maybe three cigarettes.

[wick]

That Show is full of Political bias,more people are going to die and add to the Zombies.
the Dumbsit move Ever!

Perhaps, you care to elaborate?




The only effect politics have on survival may be a survivor's view of the world.

(please note these are broad generalizations and no criticism intended. There may be exceptions such as Dems that like guns or Republicans that champion the causes of minorities)

-More left wing (Democrats) area used to many things that would be maladaptive to the ZA world. For example many Dems are antigun, more government (therefore less self reliance), more sensitive to the rights of the few rather than overall societal rights. See differences and variety as strengths (although groups that tend to think, look, and value alike are stronger, they are in truth less flexible.)

-Right Wing (Republicans or Tea party) . Many are pro-gun if not outright gun owners. Most people in the military and police forces are conservatives. Generally more religious and values favoring cohesive groups (good for survival, but maybe not so good for acceptance of outsiders which can hinder flexibility.) Many self reliant people are conservatives Ex. the farmer who can maintain their cars and tractors and hunts to supplement their food (and this is before the apocalypse.)

[Pepsi Jedi]

Great season Finale. Welcome to the new age!

Items of interest:
-Watches in TWD are a symbol of civilization. IN TWD Dale winds his watch religiously and when he dies Rick inherits the watch. For a time the watch is not re-set, but when he reaches civilization in Alexandria he winds the watch and sets it to the time the Alexandrians are keeping. A return to civilization? Now in Fear TWD, Strand gave his watch to bribe a soldier, but when he loots his cuff links from the dying soldier he tells him that he can keep the watch. A complete rejection of civilization? We will have to keep an eye on Mr. Strand.

-I need to re-watch it to confirm, but Travis never fires the shotgun when raiding the military HQ. He does club a few zombies with it. Since those zombies were not confirmed to have been dispatched, that puts Travis at zero confirmed kills for both zombies and 1 for humans, since he does shoot his ex wife before she turns. He does beat the heck out of Adams, but still refuses to kill him. I suppose all in all it is a step in the right direction, albeit a baby step. Shooting his ex was an act of compassion rather than of calculation, survival, or anger.

-The soldiers in the safe zone leave without killing the people there. Either: a.) they disobeyed orders, being without an officer to force a hard choice, b.) the Cobalt kill order referred to the sick at the HQ rather than the people in the safe zones (although they still abandon them), or c.) the safe zone will be attacked by an airstrike or kill squad at dawn.

Naa Sort of a.5. Those soldiers deserted. You see it twoards the end of the previous episode. After they fragged their LT they started pulling out, but if you watch you can See Big screen TV's and stuff in the back of their trucks. They deserted and looted and left with out killing anyone because 1) It'd slow them down and 2) at that point they'd 'quit'.

The order likely still stood but the soldiers were all 'Screw this noise. I'm taking anything not nailed down and getting out of here"

- Daniels opening of the stadium, although a great distraction ends up getting lots of people killed. Soldiers, doctors, wounded, and locked up civilians. A subtle as a sledgehammer to a kitten, our Mr. Salazar. And pretty risky considering they barely made it out and took some casualties. Lets see the score: -1 medical personnel , +1 junkie, +1 Real Estate agent with a yacht.

Yeah really. I get 'making a distraction, but that guy goes from 0mph to warp speed nuts really fast. Went from 'They took my wife last night" To 'LETS KIDNAP AND SKIN A GUY" in just a few hours, with no real honest indication that anything bad would happen to his wife.. then let out over 2,000 zombies to form a distraction? Seesh. Dude's a closet psycho. I mean bad enough he was a torturer during the El Salvidorian war, but wow dude. 2,000 zombies sicked on troops that you don't even know have done anything?? What a poke.

-Dr. Exner euthanizes the wounded. It is unclear whether she makes it out but she looked fairly defeated. I hope there is enough air pressure in that pneumatic gun for one more. She may survive if she can pull herself together or if they zombies don't stumble upon her before she can pull herself together.

She checked out.... I don't think we'll see her again, but during Talking dead, they DID say there's a number of people that we didn't see 'die' that might pop up again. I think they meant the fat kid from the school but you never know.

Best scene:
-As the survivors roll out the gate you see a family eating dinner over candlelight, totally oblivious that they have been left to defend themselves.
-The bitten soldier suiciding into the chopper's tail rotor

Uhh that wasn't a suicide. lol he'd had his throat tore out and was staggering around half crazed. I said the SECOND he got bit "Now watch, Tail rotor" and sure enough.

Glaring errors or inconsistencies:
- A brightly lit HQ or even the safe zone fail to attract hordes of zombies. I realize Army patrols were keeping the surrounding areas cleared but the rest of L.A. is completely dark at night.
-Not every single road in L.A. had a log jam of cars. Not even signs of cars being pushed out of the way to permit traffic. They do show the highways and interstates clogged though.
- The survivors in L.A. know fairly quickly that those who die turn, but in TWD this is not known until they meet the guy at the CDC.

The "Survivors" in LA know this, when the military doctor tells the nurse and she tells ex wife. Before that they didn't know. The reason it's not as widely known is, that this all happens in a realitivly short amount of time. People kicking off of natural causes during a zombie rise would happen but the majority of the dead will be 'killed' in some fashion, human, accident or zombie.

We don't know what interactions TWD survivors had with authority before they left their homes but surely that tidbit of info would have made it to local authorities like I dunno a sheriff's deputy (Shane) before everything went to hell.

Not really. If nothing else, the military seemed to be withholding information and then there was the 'kill the survivors when you pull out to prevent having to killthem as zombies later bit" The military wasn't playin' by normal rules.

- Mass media (internet, TV, and Radio) not used. IRL in an emergency people are glued to the TV set, internet or radio to get even a sliver of info. Could have been a good opportunity to make the show more realistic or to show that the authorities don't know what I going on initially or to show a clamp down on news as martial law gets imposed.

But they were. In the first few episodes you saw it. Fat kid at the school gets his information off the internet. The government was lieing to the people. That was clearly stated. Then power started to drop and the internet and news with it. Remember them sitting inc lass and watching videos on their phones? Then schools being let out because over half the kids wern't there? From the very first episode you constantly heard sirens in LA till it geared up to and past the point where you didn't hear them any more. The scene with the cop loading up on water to leave? The information was getting out there but the government was down playing it. Even if your phone is charged, once the cell towers don't have power it's just a pretty flash light for a few days (Then not even that) It's not like the internet would remain up once people started kickin' off.

Most people just wouldn't believe in Zombie "Rise" if it actually happened and we're in a world that's heard of zombies. TWD world they've never heard of zombies so it's that much less likely to be believed till it's too late. If you look at FTWD they call them 'Infected'. Just sick humans. Till they die and get up.

[wick]

Watched the last episode again here are some things that I missed:
-When calling in the helicopter evac, Dr. Exner says there are a dozen soldiers (IIRC) and patients.
-Confirmed that Travis never shoots the shotgun and is seen clubbing one zombie out of the way (probably wouldn't have bee a mortal blow to a human).
-During the end of the last scene with Dr. Exner, as the survivors leave she picks up the pneumatic gun and sits cradling it in her hand and staring at it. That would lead us to think she will suicide, but maybe she decides to live at the last moment and we have no further information to confirm or deny. I say she possibly lives.

Pepsi Jedi:
-It is certainly possible and highly likely that the soldiers fragged the LT and later desert before Cobalt is executed, but that hasn't been confirmed. Nor do we see what happens to the safe zone at 0900 or dawn since our witnesses leave before then.
-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.
-Rotor blade death. Maybe an accident, but it seems like he went right for it after briefly talking to the air crew. Maybe has asked them to save him or shoot him? That particular accident does happen IRL, and under less chaotic situations, so its plausible.
-Knowledge of death causing zombies: None of the survivors in TWD ran into that scenario or had interactions with authorities despite having a sheriff's deputy as part of the group seems a bit flimsy, but I will let it pass. It is unclear how the scenario played out in Georgia, but Rick's hometown was used as a base for the military and the hospital where he wakes up is right in the middle of the military activity. I am certain that they would utilize local cops , especially as manpower became taxed.
-Mass media: When the Boston bombers struck that was the only thing on the news and people watched the minute to minute updates. The news was replete with reporting to the point of reporting the tiniest detail as "Breaking News". I don't live in Boston and its dangers are far removed from me and I still watched for updates. What would I do when the disaster is in my own back yard? I would be scouring every news source to find out what the heck is happening. in the show the characters play this off as keeping their kids in the dark about what is really happening so they don't scare them. Personally not knowing is scarier and I would damn well want my kids frightened so they don't do something stupid. Sure most people would not believe in a zombie rise, but civil disorder, riots, terrorist attacks , etc..? The show could have shown a few more short news reports or have a radio reporting in the background of a scene. It would have been flavorful and maybe added information as to what was going on in the wider world.
-The cop loading the water scene: Even if he saw zero zombies he can see that something is happening and is prepping for the "storm" . It is not necessarily a conspiracy. Or perhaps he has seen enough to know he should be prepared in case things go pear shaped.

[Pepsi Jedi]

Pepsi Jedi:
-It is certainly possible and highly likely that the soldiers fragged the LT and later desert before Cobalt is executed, but that hasn't been confirmed. Nor do we see what happens to the safe zone at 0900 or dawn since our witnesses leave before then.

Well we have the soldiers that bugged out for San Diego after the LT was fragged. They wouldn't even go all the way back to the fence. They threw Travis out so he could walk back. Then later we see other troops pulling out with TV's and stuff in their trucks. I some how doubt they were ordered "Oh and round up all the flat screens and leave before you were ordered to". So I'm going to count that one as a given.

-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.

Well that's the thing. If they were in LA, you 'could' gather some zombies by rolling through neighboorhoods and making noise and leading them to the gates. Opening a door and leading 2,000 zombies to a military hospital to 'try' and get your wife out is psychotic overkill by any standard. 100s died there so he could try and get to his already dead wife. There was 1000 things they could have done that wasn't 'release 2000 zombies on fellow humans"

-Rotor blade death. Maybe an accident, but it seems like he went right for it after briefly talking to the air crew. Maybe has asked them to save him or shoot him? That particular accident does happen IRL, and under less chaotic situations, so its plausible.

It seemed accidental to me. The guy was staggering around in pain and tried to run to the building under the tail of the chopper and SPLOOSH. Thing is, any time there's a chopper on TV, sitting on the ground. You wait for this to happen. TV would have you believe that the things are super sized weedwackers. Even shows that have 'reason' to have choppers do it. ER cut off Rocket's arm with a chopper blade.. then later... blew one up and dropped it on the same guy, in the ambulance bay. lol. If you see a chopper on TV, and there's ANY CHANCE for someone to run into the tail rotor. someone's running into the tail rotor. lol

-Knowledge of death causing zombies: None of the survivors in TWD ran into that scenario or had interactions with authorities despite having a sheriff's deputy as part of the group seems a bit flimsy,

Not really. I grew up in the south. I think you're affording way way WAY too much credit to small town sherrif's department. lol. Even normal police look down on them like hicks and good for serving warrants and what not. They're not in the loop of all things military. That's not to say all of them are, but a small town deputy Sherrif isn't going to have insider information on a nation wide national security concern. If anything they'd purposefully be kept out of the loop. As they're NOT military trained and are smaller town sized departments and what not with 'elected' officals that sometimes hold the office for decades on end. They would likely be seen as 'too close' to the people and not able to keep secret information secret.

but I will let it pass. It is unclear how the scenario played out in Georgia, but Rick's hometown was used as a base for the military and the hospital where he wakes up is right in the middle of the military activity. I am certain that they would utilize local cops , especially as manpower became taxed.

Use? Likely. Give all information? Highly unlikely. If you look not even the troops in FTWD knew it all. The doctors at the hospital did, but the troops out in the street were still shooting people and what not, even live ones. The ones at the fence didn't calmly walk up to the fence and shoot them in the head. Theywere going full auto and spraying the herd. You could just calmly rest your barel on a link in the fence, let them walk 10 feet away and pop them in the head. One after another. Those guys were spraying and praying.

-Mass media: When the Boston bombers struck that was the only thing on the news and people watched the minute to minute updates. The news was replete with reporting to the point of reporting the tiniest detail as "Breaking News". I don't live in Boston and its dangers are far removed from me and I still watched for updates. What would I do when the disaster is in my own back yard? I would be scouring every news source to find out what the heck is happening. in the show the characters play this off as keeping their kids in the dark about what is really happening so they don't scare them. Personally not knowing is scarier and I would damn well want my kids frightened so they don't do something stupid. Sure most people would not believe in a zombie rise, but civil disorder, riots, terrorist attacks , etc..? The show could have shown a few more short news reports or have a radio reporting in the background of a scene. It would have been flavorful and maybe added information as to what was going on in the wider world.

The difference being that the government was activly trying to keep the Zombies under wraps to avoid mass scale public panic and an overwhelming of the health care system and first responders, and then the military, in the case of the zombies.

In Boston, as horrible as it was, it was localized and a few 100 people died on Tv. Even then they rolled in cops and military on a drastic scale andshut down a major US City in a matter of minutes. Most people don't realize just how many 1000s of troops and cops were deployed in that instance. There were armored personelle carriers on the streets and troops in full battle rattle with automatic weapons all over the city.

Sure, we're in a 24/7 media state now, but if the government activly represses something it's hard to get it out. Add in that the 'truth' is insane, and people aren't going to want to believe it to start with.

if the news started reporting about mutants from the sewers tomorrow and all government officials said it was stupid and just a hoax and started to control the Media outlets under homeland security... the only way you'd "Know" is thorugh third hand sources on the internet. The same ones that complain about birth certificates and lizard men. Which discredits the story.

-The cop loading the water scene: Even if he saw zero zombies he can see that something is happening and is prepping for the "storm" . It is not necessarily a conspiracy. Or perhaps he has seen enough to know he should be prepared in case things go pear shaped.

lol That cop was getting out of dodge. he had a trunk full from a service station in the back of a police cruiser and the looooong poignant look of Travis as he drove by made sure we saw it.

[SittingBull]

wick wrote:
-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.


Well that's the thing. If they were in LA, you 'could' gather some zombies by rolling through neighboorhoods and making noise and leading them to the gates. Opening a door and leading 2,000 zombies to a military hospital to 'try' and get your wife out is psychotic overkill by any standard. 100s died there so he could try and get to his already dead wife. There was 1000 things they could have done that wasn't 'release 2000 zombies on fellow humans"





Ever think it was combination of 'make a distraction' and 'REVENGE WILL BE MINE' at the same time?

[Pepsi Jedi]

wick wrote:
-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.


Well that's the thing. If they were in LA, you 'could' gather some zombies by rolling through neighboorhoods and making noise and leading them to the gates. Opening a door and leading 2,000 zombies to a military hospital to 'try' and get your wife out is psychotic overkill by any standard. 100s died there so he could try and get to his already dead wife. There was 1000 things they could have done that wasn't 'release 2000 zombies on fellow humans"





Ever think it was combination of 'make a distraction' and 'REVENGE WILL BE MINE' at the same time?

Revenge for what? At that point they hadn't done anything except take her to have surgery and save her life. He was the one kidnapping and skinning people. lol.

[SittingBull]

wick wrote:
-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.


Well that's the thing. If they were in LA, you 'could' gather some zombies by rolling through neighboorhoods and making noise and leading them to the gates. Opening a door and leading 2,000 zombies to a military hospital to 'try' and get your wife out is psychotic overkill by any standard. 100s died there so he could try and get to his already dead wife. There was 1000 things they could have done that wasn't 'release 2000 zombies on fellow humans"





Ever think it was combination of 'make a distraction' and 'REVENGE WILL BE MINE' at the same time?

Revenge for what? At that point they hadn't done anything except take her to have surgery and save her life. He was the one kidnapping and skinning people. lol.

For keeping him from his wife when she died. Not being there with her during her last breath. That matters a lot fo some people.

[Pepsi Jedi]

wick wrote:
-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.


Well that's the thing. If they were in LA, you 'could' gather some zombies by rolling through neighboorhoods and making noise and leading them to the gates. Opening a door and leading 2,000 zombies to a military hospital to 'try' and get your wife out is psychotic overkill by any standard. 100s died there so he could try and get to his already dead wife. There was 1000 things they could have done that wasn't 'release 2000 zombies on fellow humans"





Ever think it was combination of 'make a distraction' and 'REVENGE WILL BE MINE' at the same time?

Revenge for what? At that point they hadn't done anything except take her to have surgery and save her life. He was the one kidnapping and skinning people. lol.

For keeping him from his wife when she died. Not being there with her during her last breath. That matters a lot fo some people.

Ohhhh so in your mind, he was a psychic and able to remote view the compound and knew that she was dead?

In the episode I watched, he had no clue she was dead what so ever, and it was an attempt to go in and get her out of the hospital. It was only after he'd sicked 2,000 zombies on US troops, doctors, sick people, and those hearded in cages, that he found out that she was dead.

[SittingBull]

wick wrote:
-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.


Well that's the thing. If they were in LA, you 'could' gather some zombies by rolling through neighboorhoods and making noise and leading them to the gates. Opening a door and leading 2,000 zombies to a military hospital to 'try' and get your wife out is psychotic overkill by any standard. 100s died there so he could try and get to his already dead wife. There was 1000 things they could have done that wasn't 'release 2000 zombies on fellow humans"





Ever think it was combination of 'make a distraction' and 'REVENGE WILL BE MINE' at the same time?

Revenge for what? At that point they hadn't done anything except take her to have surgery and save her life. He was the one kidnapping and skinning people. lol.

For keeping him from his wife when she died. Not being there with her during her last breath. That matters a lot fo some people.

Ohhhh so in your mind, he was a psychic and able to remote view the compound and knew that she was dead?

In the episode I watched, he had no clue she was dead what so ever, and it was an attempt to go in and get her out of the hospital. It was only after he'd sicked 2,000 zombies on US troops, doctors, sick people, and those hearded in cages, that he found out that she was dead.

I think he already figured she was dead. Especially based on how the military had been acting and that they were getting ready to pull out without the people they were protecting. So if she wasn't already dead, if he didn't get to her then he might never see her again.

[Pepsi Jedi]

wick wrote:
-While I don't think Daniel was very subtle, I also don't see much more he could have done. it is not like he could have attracted just 100 zombies rather than the full 2k. Perhaps another distraction like setting a truck to crash the gate may have worked but that is by no means certain.


Well that's the thing. If they were in LA, you 'could' gather some zombies by rolling through neighboorhoods and making noise and leading them to the gates. Opening a door and leading 2,000 zombies to a military hospital to 'try' and get your wife out is psychotic overkill by any standard. 100s died there so he could try and get to his already dead wife. There was 1000 things they could have done that wasn't 'release 2000 zombies on fellow humans"





Ever think it was combination of 'make a distraction' and 'REVENGE WILL BE MINE' at the same time?

Revenge for what? At that point they hadn't done anything except take her to have surgery and save her life. He was the one kidnapping and skinning people. lol.

For keeping him from his wife when she died. Not being there with her during her last breath. That matters a lot fo some people.

Ohhhh so in your mind, he was a psychic and able to remote view the compound and knew that she was dead?

In the episode I watched, he had no clue she was dead what so ever, and it was an attempt to go in and get her out of the hospital. It was only after he'd sicked 2,000 zombies on US troops, doctors, sick people, and those hearded in cages, that he found out that she was dead.

I think he already figured she was dead. Especially based on how the military had been acting and that they were getting ready to pull out without the people they were protecting. So if she wasn't already dead, if he didn't get to her then he might never see her again.

No... He didn't know she was dead. He thought he was going in to get her. There was that handy lil scene where he runs into 'ex wife FAKE nurse' and she tells him that his wife died and he looked like he got kicked in the crotch.

[wick]

Good, thoughtful replies. Although we can agree to disagree about some and other comments we cannot verify but really can only speculate unless the show offers further information later.

About the media blackout. A few have conjectured that the government would control the media. this I doubt for a few reasons:
1.) We have free press in the United States, this is not China or some other totalitarian regime.
1.a.) If the military would seek to control the press it would be a journalists duty to try to get the story out. Some may even be willing to suffer harsh punishments such as incarceration and possibly death. Many would not believe death was on the line either until they had a clear example that the military meant business, even then there would be a few that would still report. (particularly relevant during the first few days, before everything went to truly went to hell and such draconian measures would even be enforced.)
1.b.) Would the military even have the capability of shutting down, not just every major media outlet and their associates, but also every small radio station and internet blogger? Perhaps, but it would not be easy requiring major manpower and time.
1.c) You would hear something. (Reminds me of the scene in "The Stand" where a lone radio station is broadcasting information on the Super Flu, when the character listening to the radio station hears the studio door being battered down. The radio person continues broadcasting the situation, then tells off the soldiers and spouts about the right of free press, before you hear gunshots and the station goes dead.)

2.) Why would the government seek an information blackout? Early in the outbreak they still have a good chance (perhaps only in their minds) of maintaining control and weathering this crisis. Would they risk the hell they would reap for suppressing free press and ethical issues of not allowing vital information to reach their constituents. By the time the Army/government is doing anything really questionable and therefore would need to not have the media attention, most citizens have bigger problems on their plate. Media is also a useful tool to disseminate information/instructions and to try to convey trust in authorities. Far better to utilize

3.) Instant breakdown of infrastructure and power grids? Not very likely in such a short period. Many media sources can be run on generators and much of the internet infrastructure is below the ground. Cell towers have fairly robust infrastructure, you can find them in countries that largely lack even basic paved roads. I can see breakdowns here and there initially, and over time all infrastructure should fail without maintenance, but everything going down at once?

[hbrika]

Daniel had lived through a time where governments took people away and “took care” of them perminantly.
He did it himself for his government. He knew that something bad was going down.
He could see that of many people had been taken to the hospital and not one came back.
He got unhinged and went postal in the way that only a torturer could. He wanted to make them all hurt.

As for the zombie virus

It’s not the bite that causes people to rise or spread the virus.
It’s dying. The bite just causes people to die faster.
http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/Zombies

Pathogen
Everyone in The Walking Dead universe somehow contracted the pathogen that, for reasons and through means unknown, brings the dead back to "life." It is unknown how the disease is spread, though its apparently total infection rate worldwide suggests it is either water-borne, air-borne, or both. The exact taxonomy of the pathogen is unknown. The pathogen itself does not kill its hosts, but it seems to weaken their immune systems considerably, to the point where even minor illnesses are far more likely to be fatal than normal to humans.

Reanimation
"The rule is WHATEVER it is that causes the zombies, is something everyone already has. If you stub your toe, get an infection and die, you turn into a zombie, UNLESS your brain is damaged. If someone shoots you in the head and you die, you're dead. A zombie bite kills you because of infection, or blood loss, not because of the zombie "virus.""
—Robert Kirkman[src]

The dead corpse of anyone that dies for any reason will reanimate as a zombie, unless the brain of the individual is badly damaged or destroyed or the person was dead prior to the outbreak. When a person dies, the infection they carry reactivates critical areas of the brain that support necessary vital systems, resulting in reanimation. Because only a portion of the brain is reactivated, the reanimated person retains only a physical resemblance to their former self.

So quarantining people isn’t going to do anything if new zombies happen when people just pass away.

Gang activity like that could be quite the edge California may need to save as many of their own people as they can

I’m darkly amused by the idea jacked up people spraying lead everywhere and inadvertently creating more zombies with their misses and ricochets.
One good riot and you have a herd.
I enjoyed the show. It’s kind of cool that the drug addled son is the only person who saw what was going on and no one believed him.

Z-Nation also rocks. It's fun and the people are crazy taking drugs and partying as much as they can.

One of my beefs about TWD is people waiting to form relationships or hook up, like what are they waiting for? A better time?

[Vrykolas2k]

Well if we're thinking of the same gang, they are vastly more intelligent then your average street gang. Though riding to the defense of the army...

Depends on the bikers. And whether it's an actual "gang" or a "club".
Here in Colorado Springs, I sometimes hang out with a group called the Sons of Silence; they're all veterans, like me.

[Axelmania]

One of my beefs about TWD is people waiting to form relationships or hook up, like what are they waiting for? A better time?

It probably feels kinda forced, and in general most people will be suffering from depression and anxiety for a good while, plus the stress of survival would leave you exhausted.

Trope was played pretty straight with Glenn/Maggie though, right?

[Pepsi Jedi]

Fear the Walking dead has only been a few days-a week or two from the start too. And most of the people are family or radically different in ages. Who do you think they're going to hook up with? Their brother or sister, or that 60 year old guy that skins people??

[Vrykolas2k]

Daryl could have accomplished the entire season of zombie kills by himself, and smoked maybe three cigarettes.

He's the next Chuck Norris.
"A zombie bit me once, and after three days of screaming and agony, its head exploded."