I am not sure when it happened exactly, since zombies still scared the proverbial out of me, but thanks to my housemate, who is a devoted viewer of The Walking Dead, I have begun to appreciate what a cleverly constructed drama it is.
Like many genre shows such as Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Once Upon a Time, it effectively uses a place and time removed from our day to day reality – although a zombie apocalypse could be closer than we think, some suggest, given our modern predilection for gene-splicing and biological experiments on a god-like scale – to tell a dramatic tale, that could work equally as well in reality if it has to.
But whereas we may tune out to a show anchored firmly in the world we see every day, we will happily watch a genre-based show, and watch a drama that we might not otherwise pay much attention to.
I may not watch a show about the breakdown of society if it is set in the city I live in in 2012 but I will watch the world go to hell in a hand basket when it’s set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse or when aliens are invading from the skies, and we must stand guard or be forever wiped from existence (Falling Skies).
That’s why The Walking Dead, which would be a top grade drama no matter what genre it ended up in, has captured me as a viewer. It is just good TV. Period.
So to my surprise, and the eternal shock of my house mate, I am actually looking forward to season 3, which kicks off in October in the U.S. That anticipation has been heightened by the following clip, which shows the various actors being interviewed just days after filing commenced.
It augers well for a dramatic, full speed ahead that will take no prisoners.
We have been warned.