It was earlier on Halloween that I realized how huge The Walking Dead was going to be. Nearly a half dozen times while trick or treating with the kids did someone bring up the show, people who rightfully never should have even heard about it. My grandma ran off on us at night because she didn’t want to miss it. (To be fair, she’s a fan of Shaun of the Dead and a few others. She’s a good’un.) But truly, it’s about time for zombies to shine in the mainstream.
The ratings are in for The Walking Dead and they’re absolutely massive. Here are the stats direct from AMC.
5.3 Million Viewers.
3.7 HH rating for 10PM airing, cumed to 6.0 with 11:30 and 1:00 airings. (Meaning 6% of households watched it.)
Largest audience for any premiere in AMC’s history.
Largest audience for any cable series premiere in 2010 in the 18-49 demo.
Can we say that it’s pretty goddamn safe that we’re going to be getting a second season? Perhaps Darabont will relive his dreams (and perhaps a few bouts of deja vu) of getting to that prison after all.
“It’s a good day to be dead. We are so proud of this series, its depth of storytelling and the remarkable talent attached,” said Charlie Collier, AMC’s president. “As the network dedicated to bringing viewers the best stories on television, we are so pleased to have the opportunity with ‘The Walking Dead’ to raise the bar within this popular genre and continue our commitment to being the home of premium television on basic cable.”
Right about now I suggest you head on over to the blog of Bear McCreary, who did the music for the show. You might not know his name but you’re familiar with his work- he did Battlestar Galactica and The Sarah Connor Chronicles, just to name a couple. He’s got a great deconstruction of each piece of music from the first episode of The Walking Dead up there. There may be just scant amount of it in the show so far but what’s there is meaningful and powerful. Love that theme song.
28 comments
I don't know much about much, but I do know this: 1) The show was fantastic and deserves the accolades. 2) Alex, you have the coolest grandmother in the history of grandmothers.
Finally something horror-related beats the shit out of SAW, and it's this.
I DVR'd it and haven't watched it yet. (What's the point of DVR if you make it a point to keep watching everything live?)
Whatever. I'm just waiting for vol. 13 of the trades.
Governor!Governor!Governor!Governor!
Get Tom Savini to play him and we have THE GREATEST TELEVISION SHOW EVER MADE!
It was a really good show! I'm glad a great show finally got the ratings it deserved. Now lets just hope that people keep tuning in. With just The Mist and now this, Darabont has officially become my new favorite horror filmmaker.
Those numbers are going to drop. They got a massive boost from Halloween and a really good billboard campaign. Unfortunately, the show wasn't that great.
I was falling asleep a little over an hour in, so I'll watch the rest tonight. The one action scene (the shoot-out) was staged poorly and the ineptness of the officers made no sense. The pacing was atrocious. Great production values are being wasted by such a languid pace. The interminable conversation between the two cops in the opening minutes should have been cut down to about 15-20 seconds.
they approved a second season weeks ago.
I'm going to have to go with danny and discerning here. While the second half of the episode picked it self up a bit, the first half felt quite off. I'm not understanding all the praise the shows getting., it's now where near as good as the first episodes of Mad men or Breaking bad. Zombie effects were great. So that's something.
Apparently those who don't like the pacing are, like..14 years old? Right?
The annoucement of the second season was premature and AMC went out of their way to debunk it.
These numbers are insane though, but expect a massive drop next sunday. 55% is my prediction as the very least.
I don't think it was a pacing problem, it was just boring. And what was with the crappy direction? The drugged out effect in the hospital was laughable.
age: 31
The pacing was perfect. That was the fucking definition of perfect pacing. No pleasing you fucking cunts is there.
The only way that I can imagine someone thinking that the first hour was too slow is if you factor in commercial breaks. If you watch it with no commercials, it's perfect. The show was amazing!
The pacing and mood worked for me. F#^@kin great show. Now bring on more!
I was kind of shocked to hear you say your Grandma was a zombie fan, until I realized I'm probably old enough to be your Grandpa.
Anyone who thought the pacing was too slow, do us all a favor and instead of watching TV go by a strobelight and keep yourself entertained.
for those that bitch about the pacing, you should know that great horror films start off slow and are very effective that way. i had no complaint, whatsoever, with the pacing. age: 31 and not a troll that lives in a basement still crying over a breakup that lasted a week.
Thought the show was fantastic. Discerning Viewer is right about that opening conversation between the two cops, though. Coulda been cut down a bit. Otherwise, A-.
I thought it was meh. I actually started falling asleep during most of it. I thought it was gonna be about zombie killing and a whole bunch of tanks and airplanes shooting zombies, where is that stuff?
not to be a spoiler but there's a reason the 'two cops' talk for a few minutes. They're best friends and they don't see each other for a minute, although they do meet again…dumbies…Watch TV. Use the internet for a quich porn.
Uh, I have yet to watch it, but what did some of you expect? Explosions and zombie killing right out of the gate? I fully expect a ton of set-up and a slower premiere. Gosh, I even expect the first few episodes to be like this. That aside, a second season is not guaranteed. It's likely, but if all it took was a highly viewed first episode, many shows would get a second season. I say give it until about week 5 or 6. See how much it drops and see if it stays steady.
Length and dialogue of opening scene was well done and pays off later on. Overall, really nice story telling with a lot of emotion. Good zombie effects. Definitely enjoyed it but hoping we are treated to more scares/fear/dread in future episodes.
Missed it, was watching the World Series. Now I will catch up with it on the DVR.
Seriously? Is there no pleasing people? Jesus tap-dancing Christ! Does it somehow make you feel superior to knock something just for the sake of knocking it? This was a great hour of television and shows like this should be supported so we can get more of it's like.
Yes damien, lets give it another 5 or 6 weeks. I bet after six weeks the rating's will just completely die. BECAUSE THEN IT'LL BE OVER. only 6 episodes this season, for those who didn't know.
Ah, my mistake. I don't know where I got my info that it was 13. It definitely makes it far more likely to be renewed for season 2, but my point still stands. Until we see what happens to the ratings as the new few episodes air, we can't possibly assume it's getting a second season. I hope I am wrong, but I bet the show drops huge next week. (please be wrong, please be wrong)
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