The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘WALKING DEAD’ IS BACK: YOUR GUIDE TO THE SHOW
As we get ready for season eight, a look at the AMC phenomenon.
“The Walking Dead” producers from day one said this show on the surface is about zombies but it’s really about how the end of society can turn humans against each other. It worked. The series has been the most popular TV show of this decade.
The drama — shot in metro Atlanta — celebrates its 100th episode on Oct. 22 on AMC. It’s also the start of the show’s eighth season. Here is my take on the show’s first seven seasons from A to Z.
A. Atlanta. The comic-book “Walking Dead” started in Atlanta, and thanks to the state’s generous tax-credit system, AMC also chose to plant the show here production-wise. The first season and parts of season five were shot in the city, though most scenes are set in the rural woods around Senoia.
B. Bunny slipper girl. She’s the first walker Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln) kills on the show. Despite the fact she’s in a bathrobe holding a teddy bear, Rick sees her missing jaw and foggy eyeballs and shoots her in the head.
C. Carl. Over seven seasons, Carl has gone from a frightened, naive little kid to a gun-toting eyepatch-wearing warrior. He’s been shot not just once — but twice — and survived. Actor Chandler Riggs graduated from Etowah High School this year.
D. Daryl Dixon. Could I do an A to Z without Daryl? That
would be blasphemy! No offense to Rick, but Daryl (Norman Reedus) is Mr. Popular and the character least likely to die. He may be laconic and downbeat, but that James Dean-like aura makes him the perfect man for this world.
E. “Easy Street.” Season seven was anything but easy street for Rick’s gang under the rule of Negan. In fact, a captive Daryl is tortured listening to this catchy ditty by the Collapsable Hearts Club over and over again. It’s an earworm that will remain implanted in your brain long after you’re dead.
F. Farming. In the zombie apocalypse, Twinkies are soon in short supply, and scavenging has its limits. But tending to crops? An absolute necessity to survive. Rick even becomes a farmer for a time in season four, growing carrots and tending to pigs rather
than toting a gun.
G. Governor. On the surface, he’s a charming rogue, his community a seemingly well-oiled machine. But underneath lurked a crazy mind, haunted by his young daughter’s zombification. The Governor (David Morrissey) later tries to take over Rick’s prison and ends up on the receiving end of Michonne’s katana.
H. Hershel. In season two, this genial vet (Scott Wilson) saves Carl’s life and stockpiles walkers in a barn, thinking they could be cured. Wary of Rick at first, he transforms into the group’s fatherly moral compass — even after he loses a leg. This made his sudden beheading at the hands of the Governor that much more shocking.
I. “I Will Find You.” Glenn
(Steven Yeun) was a naive pizza boy entering the show but fell in love with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) on the farm and became a fighter with a heart of gold. After way too many feints, the producers finally had Negan and his bat Lucille kill him off a year ago, one of the grossest/saddest moments in the show’s history.
J. “Just Look at the Flowers.” Can this A to Z get any more depressing? Yes! During season four, Lizzie was a child who found zombies more enticing than dangerous. She even murdered her sister Mika, unable to differentiate between humans and walkers. Carol, played by Atlanta actress Melissa McBride, had no choice but to mercy-kill Lizzie, prefacing the death with the line “Just look at the flowers.”
K. King Ezekiel. Ona lighter note, King Ezekiel (Khary Payton) is a Shakespearean actor and zookeeper to Shiva the tiger. He ends up creating a humane colony despite speaking in a comically pretentious way.
L. Lori and the love triangle. Rick’s wife, Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), quickly shacked up with Shane after she thought Rick was dead. But he wasn’t! Awkward! Rick, of course, won that battle.
M. Morgan’s madness. Morgan (Lennie James) helped school Rick about walkers in the very first episode. Later on, Rick reunites with his friend, who had slipped into paranoid craziness after the deaths of his wife and son. After recovering, he becomes a valuable member of Rick’s group.
N. Negan. The man is either a loutish bully or a charming bully, depending on your point of view. Negan ( Jeffrey Dean Morgan) commands respect with a violent authoritarian streak, torturing or killing folks who betray him. Rick wants him dead season eight. It may take awhile.
O. Olivia. The Alexandrians were a weak lot when it came to handling outsiders. Olivia (Ann Mahoney), given the job of protecting the armory, looked completely unfit to fight walkers. Last season, she was shot dead randomly by a Negan underling after Rosita tried to off Negan.
P. Pet walkers. Katana-wielding Michonne entered the show at the end of season two with her two jawless walkers to ward off other zombies. Tough as steel, Michonne (Danai Gurira) only began revealing her softer side to Carl and Rick once she gained their trust. She eventually became Rick’s squeeze.
Q. Quarry. Formerly Bellwood Quarry, this scenic site in Atlanta was the site where Carol, Andrea and others camped out season one. It’s going to become Westside Reservoir Park, set to open in 2019.
R. Rick’s monologues. Every few episodes, Rick in husky, urgent tones feels compelled to get the troops in order via a speech. Sometimes, he’s strong and inspiring. Other times, he’s contemplative. Once season five, he was just plain loony, and Michonne literally knocked him out to shut him up.
S. Sophia. With budgets tight, “The Walking Dead” stayed in one place season two at Hershel’s farm. Much of it was spent hunting for Carol’s daughter Sophia (Madison Lintz), who ran off after a bevy of walkers converged upon them on the highway. She was later found in Hershel’s barn as a walker, forcing Rick to have to shoot her dead.
T. Terminus. After the prison was broached, Rick’s crew scattered, but they saw signage pointing to Terminus: “Sanctuary for all community, for all who arrive survive.” As we now know, that was a big fat lie. They were seeking human meat for dinner.
U. Us. vs. Them. This thematic drives the entire show. “Us” is almost always from the standpoint of Rick and his gang. The “them” is virtually everybody else, be it the walkers, the Governor or Negan’s Sanctuary, which will be the focal enemy of season eight.
V. Virus. The reason for the zombie apocalypse has never been fully explained. Perhaps it’s a virus. Never- theless, everyone is infected. If someone dies and isn’t moshed in the skull, they turn. Ironically, it was a pig virus that killed many members of the prison folks season three after Rick tried to domesticate himself.
W. Woodbury. Woodbury was the Governor’s colony. It was actually Senoia, a small town 40 miles south of downtown Atlanta that has since become a de facto “Walking Dead” tourism site.
X. Xander Berkeley. This actor plays Gregory, the incredibly annoying, Scotch-drinking, mealymouthed, checked-out accidental leader of the Hilltop Colony. He is somehow still alive as we enter season eight.
Y. “You’re My Brother.” Rick told Daryl this line season four. Although there was some minor friction between the two early on, they quickly became copatriots. Rick could always trust Daryl to kill when needed and provide necessary support. In real life, Reedus and Lincoln are best buds on set.
Z. Zombie. No character on the show has ever used the term zombie. It’s as if the people on the show had never seen “Dawn of the Dead,” “Zombieland” or “28 Days Later.” Instead, they come up with their own terms for the undead, which is why Rick’s crew ended up calling them “walkers” and others show up dubbing them “biters,” “creepers” and “roamers.”