How do you think Walking Dead managed to kill it with ratings?

You need to elaborate on what you find ridiculously overdone with the characters. I'm not getting that.

I imagine it has to do with the fact that the Story of the surviving humans is so well written. The zombies, though a nice constant conflict, could be replaced with any other kind of creature and the show would likely still be a success.

Also, it had a fanbase before the first episode aired: The folks who read the comics.

I started watching it late, and now just watch as it comes on Netflix. At first, I got caught up in who was going to die (or not-die, as it were), and where they would end up, etc etc. Then I started watching to see which character would make the next bone-headed move. Now I watch to see if they ever explain why the characters (choose one) seem to automatically give perfect strangers more credibility than the people they've been surviving with for the last however months.

It's a conundrum...

Steve Coate said:

I imagine it has to do with the fact that the Story of the surviving humans is so well written. The zombies, though a nice constant conflict, could be replaced with any other kind of creature and the show would likely still be a success.

Also, it had a fanbase before the first episode aired: The folks who read the comics.

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I agree with all of this. It's not the zombies/walkers that make the show so compelling. It's the survival story -- and witnessing the downward spiral of ethics, morality and sanity in the name of survival -- specifically, the survival story of the characters we've come to care about. Though at times the storytelling has been uneven, overall the writing has been outstanding and the acting has been superb. (And considering that it is a zombie story, the special effects have been equally stupendous; for this particular genre, anything less would have turned it into a farce.)

And of course it helped that it had a built-in fan base.

I think the quality of the acting makes a huge difference when you're attempting a serious show about something as ridiculous as a zombie apocalypse. The ensemble cast is quite good, and most importantly, good enough to get past the pitfalls and plotholes thus far. It's a very compelling group of actors.

That said, I do hope they take care not to make too many more Deep Thoughts With Daryl episodes.

Actually, I don't think zombies are overdone, and on the top of the list of "over it" monsters, I think vampires have beat out zombies just about every time.

The thing about slow zombies is what they represent - death itself. Slow, creeping, taking the things you love most and turning them against you. No one is safe. No place is secure. They are an inevitable tide that you can't escape.

Fast zombies are just another monster, but Walking Dead zombies are the embodiment of the most basic of human fears.

So, you take that inherently frightening premise and populate it with characters that people can believe in, portrayed by actors that are doing an amazing job, and you've got a show people can't stop watching.

Top it off with the idea that anyone in the cast may die at any time. How could it not be a hit?

dragonjax said:

It's the survival story -- and witnessing the downward spiral of ethics, morality and sanity in the name of survival -- specifically, the survival story of the characters we've come to care about.

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This is definitely a huge part of it for me. Basically...this IS it for me. The writing is excellent, combined with the fact that...

Perks said:

It's a very compelling group of actors.

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Makes me care about the characters. I am sad when I see how far Rick's morals have fallen, I rooted for Bob to live, I cried with Daryl when Beth was killed. Heck, I cry in a lot of episodes. I'm emotionally involved, and the reason I am is because the writers have written something amazing, and the actors have become the characters.

Myrealana said:

Actually, I don't think zombies are overdone, and on the top of the list of "over it" monsters, I think vampires have beat out zombies just about every time.

The thing about slow zombies is what they represent - death itself. Slow, creeping, taking the things you love most and turning them against you. No one is safe. No place is secure. They are an inevitable tide that you can't escape.

Fast zombies are just another monster, but Walking Dead zombies are the embodiment of the most basic of human fears.

So, you take that inherently frightening premise and populate it with characters that people can believe in, portrayed by actors that are doing an amazing job, and you've got a show people can't stop watching.

Top it off with the idea that anyone in the cast may die at any time. How could it not be a hit?

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I bolded the first part b/c I agree completely.

The rest of it...wow. I've never thought about it like that. But you're right. Interesting...

First, I love zombies. And I absolutely disagree with your premise that they're overdone. Vampires have been around longer and have had far more tropes and mythology behind them than zombies.

Second, it's not actually about the zombies, although the special effects are mostly fantastic. The Walking Dead is a story about how humans deal with loss and trauma in an atmosphere of constant fear and danger. What happens to your morals and ethics when you're forced to do unspeakable things and make impossible choices? Which characters will sink and which will rise above, and why? It's a study in character, and these characters have enough depth and complexity, supported by this stellar cast, to compel me to watch and speculate episode after episode.

I wasn't a fan of the comic, so didn't come to this series as a built-in audience. I came as a fan of the mythology -- from the Living Dead series to Night of the Comet (if you haven't seen this, do; it's a scream) to Zombieland -- and now am a solid fan of The Walking Dead. And I'll continue to be until the series ends or they destroy it by jumping the shark.

When I grew up (in the 70's and 80's), zombie movies were about mindless things coming after you and stupid people running from said zombies. Jason (Friday the 13th) style. It was pulpy and B-movie(ish). Not meant to have a lot of substance beyond the special effects and gross-out factor. Maybe some fear tossed in there as well.

Nowadays, some horror tropes seem to have gone a more literary route. Is the Walking Dead really just about zombies? Sure, they're fun and you get special guest stars that get to come and be a zombie for an episode. And there are some serious gross moments and great special effects. But, for the most part, the show seems character-driven to me. And I think that's attracted people who might not otherwise be interested in zombie movies.

And it's on AMC. They have Mad Men. And that wins awards, right?

And, as others have said, there was an established fanbase with those who read the graphic novels. Same as there was a fanbase for people who read GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire series before GoT came out on HBO.

The point of the show, imho, is not to make people scream and shout, "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!" It can do that at times, sure. The point is to show us how these characters survive and what it does to their humanity and their society.

Sometimes, they actually go too far on the "let's have a chat in the barn for 10 minutes on screen about God and hope Carl doesn't hear us" moments. (Cough: season 2.) For me, The Walking Dead is best when it balances character and plot a wee bit more. But, that's my aesthetic.

And it has that guy who held up all of those signs for Keira Knightly in Love, Actually.

LINK

I've never bought the argument that Walking Dead succeed because it's "not about the zombies."

Every single critically acclaimed zombie movie ever made is not about the zombies.

They have never been about the zombies.

As to why Walking Dead is successful...I have no idea. I stopped watching halfway through the second season because I hated the characters and hated their bone-headed decisions.

Now, if someone made a World War Z series...

Zoombie said:

I've never bought the argument that Walking Dead succeed because it's "not about the zombies."

Every single critically acclaimed zombie movie ever made is not about the zombies.

They have never been about the zombies.
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i disagree with a lot of this simply because the words "never" and "ever" are thrown around a bit carelessly. And I'm assuming you're talking about recent zombie movies like Warm Bodies. Unless you want to clarify,

emax100 said:

Surprised that several posters have said that vampires are more overdone. Really? I mean, I could see them being basically neck and neck...

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...heehee. Was that pun intentional?

Trick question ... who are the "Walking Dead" of the title?

On one level, the walking dead are the zombies. They should be dead. They used to be dead. But now they're walking. D'oh!

Except, they aren't the stars of the show. The stars are the humans and the plot is about their struggles to stay alive. In many episodes the biggest danger comes from other survivors and not the "wockers".

When a death row prisoner takes his last walk, the guards call out "dead man walking". And that's how the "Walking Dead" feels to me. The human survivors are all on death row. They are all "the walking dead".

Zombie stories aren't really about zombies. Not even mine, which has a zombie as a first person main character!