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The Walking Dead is now almost halfway through its fourth series and the show is continuing to grow in popularity, despite having some highly vocal critics.
Since its launch in 2010, the AMC’s zombie drama has stuck to a heart-thumping formula of ‘no one is safe’ as a way to keep fans on their toes.
Writer Robert Kirkman tells a never ending zombie story initially through a monthly black and white comic series, which is then adapted for the screen.
This has put Kirkman in a unique position of being able to re-organise his own story lines, which allows him to prevent previous decisions, he has regretted.
He said: “When I’m writing a comic book, I don’t think about what I’m doing. I go, ‘Oh, it’d be pretty cool if they cut his hand off right now.
“That’d be pretty shocking, right?’. Then I do it, and five issues later, I write ‘Rick opens a can of beans’ and then I look at the script and think ‘He can’t do that now’. I didn’t even think that through.”
The writer has spoken about the debilitating effects that a one handed Rick has had on the story, has made him adamant about altering his own story lines for the screen.
Featuring a varied cast of characters, ranging from older survivors like 71-year-old Scott Wilson who plays Hershel Greene, to young children like Carl, shows how the plot explores the effects of survival against all adversity across all spectrums of society.
The stars of the show are undoubtedly the British-born actors Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and David Morrisey who stars as fan favourite ‘The Governor’.
Rick and ‘The Governor’ have spent the past season spreading death and mayhem in a personal war of good and evil waged between the two leaders.
The show has been criticised for lacking in horror, being no more than a tedious melodramatic soap opera. But the show is about the struggle for survival, not the zombies who are chasing people, eating brains and unleashing havoc.
The strength of imagination and constant presence of tension and suspense compliments the clever writing. But, with a monthly comic establishing the story, spoilers are rife – which can often spoil viewing.
The Walking Dead easily sits alongside other classic American cult shows such as the original Star Trek and The Invaders. This unique take on story telling in the zombie apocalypse makes the show a must for any fans of the undead scourge.
A series that aims to have longevity needs to be more than just wall-to-wall gore, and The Walking Dead achieves this with its rich variety of characters, believable acting and interesting stories.