The Return of The Walking Dead and The Half-Life of Modern TV Dramas

For those loyal and rabid fans, there are few sights sweeter than the massive banner at comic-con NYC this week reminding them:  the fifth season of The Walking Dead is nigh.

AMC has touted The Walking Dead as "the most popular show on television" for a while now (It has broken records in tv ratings for a cable show) and this Sunday's premiere figures to once again be a ratings bonanza for the network.

I was a late comer to The Walking Dead, I started watching it on rerun marathons shortly before the start of season three.  From the start it had an overly dramatic soap opera-like quality.  Even for a show dealing with a post apocalyptic near future featuring flesh eating zombies, the show could get pretty silly.  Still, its pulpy goodness was a lot of fun.  AMC has made a network on pulp.  Hell, the network's best show was about a high school teacher who became a meth cook.  Pulp is a great starting place for a tv drama.  The hard part is having the writers and cast to keep it afloat once the new car smell fades.

The Walking Dead has always suffered from a slew of unlikable and/or annoying characters, but in the first few seasons, the premise was still fresh and the relationships between the characters were dynamic enough to keep people watching.  Three seasons down the line the show has become contrived, dreary, and tired.  But ratings are as strong as ever.

I can't tell you how many times there are elongated fire fights in this show and no one gets shot.  Or how many times whole groups of people get overrun and wiped out by a zombie hoard... except, of course, for the plucky heroes.  Characters introduced for the sole purpose of being killed off in few hours.  Sitting watching the screen wanting to scream, "Just kill name of frustratingly stupid character already!". But ratings are as strong as ever.

All of this before we even get into the fact that AMC is a major believer in the "half season" programming structure which slows plot developments to the speed of molasses.  

Fans had grown sick of the insufferable "hero", Andrea. long before she was finally killed off.

Even most fans of the show will admit that the show has flaws.  Obnoxious "heroes", extremely convenient plot twists, entire story lines that you'd love to be able to fast forward through.  Their defense: almost any show suffers from the same problems and The Walking Dead has enough redeeming qualities to make up for all its faults.

It is true that many shows, even televisions most popular, suffer from similar- issues.  The crowned jewel of television at present, Game of Thrones, is often criticized for its scatterbrain storytelling and complex plot network.  What Game of Thrones also has, however, is mass critical acclaim for the things it does right:  the breath taking special effects and set work, its complex and relatable characters, award winning acting.  The major disconnect for The Walking Dead is its complete and utter lack of praise (particularly in recent seasons) from critics and sparse award collection.

But ratings are as strong as ever.

This is not an uncommon phenomenon of television.  Shows today can last for years thanks to a strong start.     True Blood lasted for lasted for seven seasons, despite only really putting out one great season (it's first) and barely even being watchable by its third.  Boardwalk Empire made it to season five despite being DOA after Season 2.  Sons of Anarchy, Mad Men, Six Feet Under, the slow dimming of the lights for small screen dramas is all too ordinary.  As much as anything, it draws attention to how incredible shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad were.

If you were the main character of a show that gave you 6 glorious seasons, you'd have a smug smile on your face too.

The reason is simple, people are too invested to bring themselves to change the channel.  All that time on the couch simply to see how something is gonna end.  It is amazing how many people will continue to giving a show hours of their lives for something they could just read in 15 minutes on a website.  Who dies?  How?  Why?  Who wins?  Okay.  Time to eat a sandwich.

There are worse things you can watch than The Walking Dead.  I watched the entire first season of Arrow (and kind of liked it), so I know what I'm talking about.  People not willing to watch serialized dramas is the reason why network tv is full of sitcoms and reality television.  Still, its hard not to roll your eyes at people getting all excited for something that hasn't been good since 2012.

The Walking Dead, you may not be going away anytime soon, but you're overrated.