Tuesday’s Top Ten: Reasons The Walking Dead Is the Best Show on Television
Let me preface the title: The Walking Dead is the best show on television right now. In a month, Game of Thrones returns to the top spot for me. You are welcome to argue with me. In my defense, I don’t watch much television. TWD‘s biggest competition on my DVR: Street Outlaws New Orleans and Forged in Fire.
10. Best premise. “What if the world had no canon for zombies, and then the apocalypse happened and boom, zombies?” First, they don’t know how to kill these undead beings. I don’t know how many times I’ve screamed, “SHOOT IT IN THE HEAD” over the past six seasons. Second, they don’t call them zombies, and each group has a new name for them. Walkers. Biters. Roamers. Corpsebeasts. What.
9. Gratuitous undead violence. Or is it? This isn’t a Raimi production, and while sometimes the producers show their humor, they also make this seem like a real-life situation, no matter how surreal.
8. The Buffy moral of the story: People are worse than the monsters, and then bad things happen to good people. Dark Willow, anyone?
7. The world has become larger. So far, people are worse, so knowing there are more people out there is a very, very bad thing. Oh, and a Supernatural crossover: Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
6. It makes you think. I watch Supernatural because it’s a feel-good show. I know the good guys will always be good guys, even if there’s a little dust on their white hats. TWD is not a feel-good show. People I love die on the show. It hurts. So why continue to torture myself? No, really, I’m asking you.
5. The Writers. From Abrahamlet to Eugenisms, from “Where’s CARL?” to Carol’s campfire chats, the writers know how to tug heartstrings and to play on humor, gore, violence, and love to make an audience feel.
4. Powerful black characters. Memorable Hispanic and Asian characters. If there’s a token character on the show, it’s the token white girl. (Sorry, Beth.)
3. Treatment of Women. As one article put it, “It treats its female characters like people instead of rape victims in waiting.” I can’t stop talking about Carol, but I love Michonne, Maggie, Sasha, Tara, and Rosita, too.
2. Dream Ships come true: Yay, Richonne!
1. The Gay. Aaron and Eric. Tara and Denise. My new dream ship in the making. Shh…don’t wake him.
Fear the Walking Dead is still in the infant stages, where I hate all of them for being so stupid. I suppose I’ll give it another chance. Hey, I swore I would NEVER watch The Talking Dead, and now I watch it every week, so anything can happen.