Analysis

Aidan Chesters

purposeThe series is a thrilling escapade through a zombie infested America which has sub plots dealing with the problems of being in a group with other people you meet while also defending yourselves from the zombies.The audience can feel scared, happy or sad depending on the events seen on screen. The writers have redefined the zombie genre to be more about the drama of the group and surviving the zombie hoards rather than the standard zombie film tropes.

Content outlineThe walking dead is a AMC series about a sheriff who wakes up from a coma to a zombie apocalypse. After being shot on the job rick wakes up some time later in an empty hospital where large numbers of body bags are stored. He soon finds that the dead has risen and he must find his wife and son. Over six seasons he meets a variety of characters such as michonne a woman who has survived unnoticed by having arm and toothless zombies at her side.The series began in Atlanta but has gone all over rural America to escape the zombies and groups of mentally unstable people such as cannibals and the governor who set up a thriving village but was ultimately a villain.

characters

This page will only show characters who have managed to stay alive for the entire series as many characters were introduced and subsequently killedRick Grimes- late 30s male who was a sheriffs deputy before the apocalypse. He has become the groups leader and often takes care of other people in his groupCarl Grimes-Ricks teenage son who rick has been protecting since season 1Glenn

Form and styleAlthough it can fluctuate the episodes tend to be and hour long with adverts. The opening title for the series shows the theme of the show in a relatively short amount of time compared to series such as true detective which runs for 1.30 where as the walking dead title only runs for 37 seconds. Although the title is very short it hints at many elements in the series and uses very iconic imagery such as the empty and full highway out of Atlanta.The series has a very dirty look and represents the zombies as no longer people which gives a contrast to a later villain called the governor who keeps the zombie of his daughter around. The series has a very distinct themes of family and friendship while also having the suspense of a zombie hoard which may ambush the characters at any time.

genre

The series can fall into a number of different genres such as horror, thriller and drama. The series may be about zombies but the zombies are only a vehicle for a very good series about people trying to get along in a terrible event in order to survive which is a big change from other zombie media as zombies in a television series is a very little used idea.

Target Audience

• The first season has an age rating of 15 while all subsequent series have an age rating of 18

• Although the age rating for the series is fit for mid to late teens, people of other ages are also a large audience as many themes of trust and fatherhood. This can be shown in the first episode as it is shown that the main character has a family which he has to find.

Meaning• The walking dead is the story of one mans recovery from

wounds both physical and psychological.• Before his accident he was a careful sheriffs deputy but there

was an incident which left him shot and he fell into a coma• When he wakes from his coma his physical wounds have healed

but he has deep physiological trauma.• When he wakes he is deeply reliant on others taken in by a

father and son who have to save him from walkers.• He then leaves them with guns he retrieved and finds a horse at

a farm. He rides into the town but is surprised by the zombies and his horse is eaten and he becomes trapped in a nearby tank. He relies on Glenn to get him out.

• As the series progresses he becomes much more of a leader and the person he was before his accident

• The series is also about how people confront their problems as a group only in this series the problem is the walkers

frequency

The walking dead has been running since Halloween 2010 and is currently on its sixth series. Each series is split in half and the episodes come out weekly. Although watching the entire series would be ideal, it is possible to start watching mid way through

• Idea – the walking dead is based on a comic book of the same name • Development – AMC ordered a pilot for the series but after the scripts were made

they pre ordered a six episode series . The writer from the comics, Robert Kirkman came back to write the scripts. The rough cost of each episode is in between two and three million dollars.

• Pre production – Andrew Lincoln , a British actor was cast as the title character Rick Grimes. The main location for filming is in Georgia, America in the Atlanta area. Hundreds of extras were employed to be the zombies , or walkers.

• Production –The filming has used hundreds of extras dressed as walkers. Some had full makeup on neck hands and face , others had only face and the walkers in the far background only had masks for minor detail.

The Atlanta area has been the location filming since season 1.• Post production – The score for the series was done by Bear Mcreary ,who has also

done the score for other television series such as batlestar galactica and the Sarah Connor chronicles.

• Distribution- The series premiered Halloween 2010 and has been going strong since on season 6. The series is no where close to catching up with the comic at issue 150 with currently enough stories for four more series.