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The Walking Dead Season 2 Doubts

Although we've been waiting like puppy dogs at a window for it, there are a few The Walking Dead Season 2 doubts.

UGO Team By John Lichman August 26, 2011
  

Last Halloween, AMC delivered a massive shock to all of us by bringing Robert Kirkman's first few issues of The Walking Dead into a stunning first episode special. By the end of the first season, fans were treated with an event that never even showed up in the original story. It made fans of the book, which is now in its 14th collected volume, legitimately excited about a zombie show done right. It was a perfect combination of cast, mood and it pushed the boundaries of what a zombie story could be on TV.

Show runner Frank Darabont slipped off his feature director jacket and proved smart comic adaptations could be performed with the right funding and not treating fans like idiots.

Hence why we've come here not to bury Darabont, but praise him. Being dead on arrival in a zombie story can both be a major feat but an unfortunate caveat as well. It's the type of world where nothing can ever be perfect, no matter how hard someone tries, but at least it can't be as bleak as Zack Snyder's version of Dawn of the Dead. Well, not yet anyway.

Like any good survivor, let's trudge forward and we'll go over the some of our The Walking Dead Season 2 doubts.

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The Walking Dead - Season 2 - Shane
The Walking Dead - Season 2 - Shane
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The Cast

The problem with the teaser footage from San Diego Comic-Con lies in the editing: sure, we find Shane running from a group of zombies and stumbling with a shotgun, but he's in his Deputy clothes. He sorta gave them up once Rick returned, so is it a flashback? A dream? Likewise, we only see a few glimpses of Norman "Daryl Dixon" Reedus on the highway, so are we finally confirming the end of the Dixon Brothers? You'll remember Merle was never found, but did steal the rescue wagon that Rick brought back to Atlanta. Is he back?

Eh, chances are hazy. Outside of the "main cast" being confirmed (Rick, Lori, Glen, Andrea, Dale, Carl and Shane) everyone else appears to be up in the air. More importantly, the season premiere is titled "Miles Behind Us," hinting that we could definitely see the prison and maybe even eternal fan-favorite zombie-killing-bad-ass Michonne (who if casted, remains a secret).

But, with a production that started on June 1st, don't expect a lot of set stories, visits or even interviews about what to expect or not expect.

The Walking Dead - Season 2 - Rick
The Walking Dead - Season 2 - Rick
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Darabont And Writers Fired

It was a weird announcement because it came on the heels of how amazing the show had done for a six-episode series with a large-for-TV budget and a relatively obscure genre premise. Deadline had the original announcement that saw Darabont claiming he'd become head writer with a series of freelancers, but Executive Producer Gale Anne Hurd cited it was the writing staff that had moved onto other projects.

Then he appeared in good spirits at this year's Comic Con, where he joked about who'd show up, casting rumors and all the usual stuff one does at a panel where no information can really be given. A week later, Frank Darabont was fired without warning. That is, until The Hollywood Reporter laid out all the behind-the-scenes details at AMC. This comes after the budgets for Mad Men and Breaking Bad were both slashed, which AMC doesn't even own the complete rights to. But, they do for The Walking Dead and it seems like they're not about to let success open their wallets back up.

Chief among the Darabont complaints they had? He was filming too many zombies and outdoor sequences.

The Walking Dead - Season 2 - Rick Under Car
The Walking Dead - Season 2 - Rick Under Car
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Simple Premise

The premise of Heroes was simple: "save the cheerleader, save the world." The premise of Sanctuary was simple: "X-Men meets crypto-zoology." Simple premises have a tendency of becoming warped during a second season because channels want to capture lightning in a bottle for as long as it takes; until the lightning well's run dry and barely coughing out static electricity.

On top of the creative problems now plaguing The Walking Dead, which is still shooting mind you, we've got to see if lack of morale doesn't show itself on the set. This could force any number of stunt events by writers and execs desperate to get out from the bad press of Darabont's departure. Maybe Shane will die in the first episode now? Maybe Rick will get bitten and they'll speed up a certain handy scene. Maybe Carl will lose that eye a bit earlier than Darabont would've ever intended.

In fact, if the show loses the methodical pacing that made it great, will it still feel as fresh and innovative as last year? The entire point behind the show was a zombie setting that wasn't just "oh noes, zombies ate my neighbors! Break out squirt guns!" It was literally watching an inspiration that would color other zombie entertainment, like the upcoming Dead Island and its' haunting promo.

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