Fear the Walking Dead, episode 5 and 6

here the final show has aired and has wrapped up this season with a nice little bow that blew all of us away. I did not write on the 5th episode last week because it was so hard to nail down just how I felt about it. I rewatched it several times and warred within myself as to who was the good guy and the bad guy. Who would be the Rick Grimes of the group. I debated, this way and that. Watched the 5th and 6th episode together this Sunday and started to watch the reruns of The Walking Dead from the very first episode and you know what? I found my answers about the 5th episode!

To begin with nobody on this show is Rick Grimes or any other cast from the TWD show because this isn’t that show. FTWD may be a spin off and in the same universe but it’s a whole different show all together. The 5th show we saw the characters swing wildly from good guy to bad guy except for two people. The Dr. and The lead military guy.

Daniel went from good husband and father, provider to bad guy who could get out secrets with a steady hand an a sharp instrument to feeling horrible because his daughter finally saw him for who he really was.  He had intentions of killing Andy off because Andy was no longer useful he had given all the information he knew.

Ofelia was also manipulative in that she conned Andy back to her house where she and her father Daniel tied him up to question him. She didn’t want him to be hurt but then again she didn’t set him free when she saw her dad cutting him up either. She did start dating Andy to try and get meds for her mother. I think in some way she liked him too but not enough to help free him.

Liza is working her tail off learning everything she can from the Dr. all the while trying to find her son Chris and Grizelda. Talk about your crash course, I think this rates right up there with even the toughest classes ever. All hands on, all on the run. Putting people down with the cattle gun, wow. That I didn’t see coming but it is efficient and effective. She thinks the Dr is up to something but no, she is just trying to save as many wounded as she can all the while holding onto her staff. Who wants to take a guess as to what she did with that gun at the end of episode six when all the wounded were dead? Yep, that’s what I was thinking too.

The kids Chris and Alicia were both supposed to be good kids who did nothing wrong, they go to a house and try out the clothes, toys and just generally trash the place. Teenage aggression at its finest. Do I think they had a right to do it? Heck yeah! they had been under an incredible amount of stress with the world ending, Chris’s mom leaving like that, Alicia’s mom and new boyfriend arguing and bickering the whole thing. These two by far so far, have neither been manipulative, secretive (other than the normal teenage stuff) or vying for someone’s attention, affection or drugs. O.K. Alicia drank, and possibly Chris too. but eh. they aren’t addicted to it.

Travis, now here is a real corker of a character. He refuses to be bullied by the military into shooting the waitress. But will beat the tarnation out of someone for breaking their word to him. Travis seems the meekest person on there he is a high school teacher not a cop or any military person at all. (that we know of yet) But he definitely earns a bit of respect from Daniel when he pummels Andy even though he let Andy lose in the first place who then hunted the group down and shot Ofelia. It’s o.k she was only grazed in the arm.

Madison, well, she is a person who is pretty much the same throughout. She wants her family together no matter the cost. She will use you up and spit you out if it means getting her son back. Was I surprised she let Daniel do what he did? yeah, I kinda was. Everyone has their limits right? Travis was so shocked and appalled that she knew and allowed it. And yet might I remind everyone Travis didn’t set Andy lose either.  So now we are down to just a few characters. The so called nutty ones.

Nick, well, Nick is Nick. He is an addict with a heart, but also his number one focus and need is his drugs. He meets up with Strand who is talking like some radio announcer who isn’t quite all there. But then again, he manipulates the poor neighbor into going total bonkers and saves Nick in the chain cages in the compound. He is offered a chance to make a run for it with Strand when the time comes and he is like, sure dude, whatever.

Strand, is an enigma wrapped up in a damned onion. Who the heck is he? what is his game? has he embraced the madness as he said so eloquently in the 6th episode? Or does he have a secret mission. Oh one thing I noticed that you all should too. The cufflinks say with love from A. A boat can’t do that, only a person can. When shit hits the fan Strand and Nick make a run for it and leave the rest in the cages. Nick questions it but Strand says if they take the time to set them free, they will kill them. So they book it only to get trapped. It looks like it’s the end for Strand and Nick but no, here comes Madison, Travis and gang to the rescue. Liza finally gets the damned locking door open and they escape.

So when it is all said and done what was bugging me? The fact that this show is not The Walking Dead, there is no core group that could survive. There is no “good guys” or clear cut “bad guys”. It’s just everyone trying to survive and we don’t know who will survive to the next show and who will get bit or killed. Just as the show the Golden Girls was during the same universe as Dallas, did not mean they had the same energy or flow. In 5 episodes they swung the characters so wildly that took TWD several seasons to do. So here we are at the end of the show and well, I have to say I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next season to come in the spring of 2016. I hope you all enjoyed reading this blog as much as I did have of writing it.

The Cast:

Madison Clark — Kim Dickens
Travis Manawa — Cliff Curtis
Nick Clark — Frank Dillane
Alicia Clark — Alycia Debnam-Carey

Liza Ortiz — Elizabeth Rodriguez
Chris Manawa — Lorenzo James Henrie

Daniel Salazar– Ruben Blades
Griselda Salazar — Patricia Reyes Spindola
Ofelia Salazar — Mercedes Mason

Recurring Cast:

Dr. Bethany Exner — Sandrine Holt

Matt — Maestro Harrell

Strand — Colman Domingo

Reynolds — Shawn Hatosy

Tobias — Lincoln A. Castellanos

Jazz — Megan Danso

Art Costa — Scott Lawrence

Fear the Walking Dead airs on AMC in the US at 8 p.m. CDT

Fear the Walking Dead episode 4

This weeks episode of Fear the Walking Dead opens with Chris up on the roof recording with his camera what has been happening to the city around them. The burning of houses, the putting up of the fence to keep them all safe. The military taking over their area and doling out rations to each family who are considered the “Lucky ones” to be living in the safe zone. It’s been 9 days since the military arrived and still no more medicines, no steady electricity and no outside news or contact. He sees a reflection from a house outside  in the dead zone. 

Fear the Walking Dead, Episode 3

this episode of Fear the Walking Dead showed a lot more zombie action and whole lot more hysteria and partying from the general population at large. We open with Travis, Chris, and Liza stuck at the barber shop with the Salazar’s. There is a riot/street party for some going on outside the door. They have safety as long as the rioters don’t get inside. As luck would have it, the rioters break in next door, setting the building on fire.

Fear the Walking Dead; Episode 2

Sorry for the delay of posting this but have had a couple of busy days what with family reunion on Sunday and also getting to meet my older brother Mike, his wife Felicia and their son Russell for the first time yesterday. By the time it was all said and done I was wiped out. 

Fear the Walking Dead; Premiere episode

The show has arrived! finally in all it’s glory we feasted on the excitement and the drama that can only be associated with Robert Kirkman and the whole crew’s brilliant genius! If you haven’t seen the show, please stop reading now. MASSIVE spoilers ahead. O.k you have been warned.

The first show starts with Nick (played by Frank Dillane) waking up from a heroin induced sleep looking for Gloria

Fear the Walking Dead, Part 7

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Tis the season to be jolly! oh wait too soon. O.k. we are heading into the home stretch of finally getting to watch the show we have all been awaiting to see with baited breath. Would you believe there are already people popping up and posting negative things about the show? It hasn’t even aired yet! They are saying it won’t work. Yeah, the Avengers and all the spinoffs on that isn’t working either, right?

Fear the Walking Dead, Part 4

Elizabeth Rodriguez as Liza, Lorenzo James Henrie as Chris and Cliff Curtis as Travis – Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 1, Gallery – Photo Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMC

The Cast of characters have been set and now it is time to discuss who will be playing the main characters. Plus since there are no new videos showing any more sneak peaks, because, hey, too much will give it all away! We should discuss the cast of characters and take guesses on what we see for them in the show. So let us begin with the male Character of;

Cliff Curtis who plays Travis Manawa, a high school English teacher, Madison’s fiance and a divorced teacher who shares custody of his son Chris with ex-wife Liza,  is a native New Zealand born actor who has been in several movies such as  Whale Rider, Once Were Warriors, Blow, and The Dark Horse. His television roles include NBC series Trauma, and Body of Proof, and starring in ABC’s Missing. He has played both Latin and Arabic characters in his career. I have seen him on the show Trauma as the character Reuben “Rabbit” Palchuck. I really related to his character as he played an emt who had a traumatic childhood. Cliff plays, in my opinion, strong characters who most people wouldn’t suspect of having the depth that he does. He may not be Clint Eastwood strong or Mel Gibson strong but I definitely see a quiet strength and determination that I feel will be a blend of Rick and Morgan from the original show, The Walking Dead. He has a petulant son who defies him, just as Carl does at times with Rick. Cliff’s character Travis will have his work cut out for him in keeping his blended family together in the crumbling world around him. 

Kim Dickens who plays Madison Clark, a high school guidance counselor and is the single mother of Alicia and Nick. Kim is an American actress who is best known for her roles in the HBO dramas Deadwood (2004–06) and Treme (2010–13). Dickens also had supporting roles in films Mercury Rising (1998), Hollow Man (2000),House of Sand and Fog (2003), The Blind Side (2009), and Gone Girl (2014). Madison has had her “Flu shot” so continues to attend her duties as a guidance counselor. She has the tough job of keeping the kids from getting scared and spreading potentially false rumors, and keeping everyone calm as the world seems to fall apart around them. I see a possible blend of Lori and Andrea in her character Madison. It will be interesting to see.

Frank Dillane as Nick Clark, Madison’s college-flunk out son who is battling a drug problem. Frank Dillane is an English actor, known for playing Owen Coffin in In the Heart of the Sea and Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This young man  has grown so much since his days on the Harry Potter Franchise as young Tom Riddle. He has changed and seems to have immersed himself in the character wholeheartedly. He is a stereotypical  blend of young college dropout with a drug problem and  one of the first to see the feeding frenzy going on at the drug house. His character Nick, has a lot of developing to go through during the show, what with trying to get people to believe what he saw and also go through drug withdrawals as they begin the fight for their lives.

Alycia Debnam – Carey who plays  Alicia Clark, Madison’s high-achieving and ambitious daughter who is in a relationship with her jock boyfriend Matt. She is able to read situations well and often finds herself at odds with Nick due to his unmotivated nature. Alycia is an Australian actress. She is best known for her roles in the 2014 films Into the Storm and The Devil’s Hand.^[3] Debnam-Carey is also known for her current portrayal of “Lexa” in The CW series, The 100. Alycia’s character is the opposite of Nick in that she is an over achiever looking for solutions. I see her as a wonderful blend of Beth and Maggie. She has a quiet strength and determination that Beth seemed to lack at times but Maggie had in spades. It will be interesting to see her character development as well going from someone who knows the rules to living on the run and off the grid so to speak.  

Elizabeth Rodriquez as Liza, Travis’s ex-wife and mother to their son Chris. A free-spirited bohemian type, she is attempting to rebound from her disastrous marriage. She is in nursing school. Elizabeth is an American actress. She received a Tony Award nomination, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award, as well as a Theatre World Award, for her performance in Stephen Adly Guirgis 2011 play on Broadway, The Motherf*cker with the Hat. Rodriguez is best known for her role as Aleida Diaz in the Netflix comedy-drama series, Orange Is the New Black (2013–present). Elizabeth’s Character Liza will definitely be of great use  with her nursing skills in the coming apocalypse. She is a woman who already has a lot on her plate and is about to be overloaded with even more bad news when her son Chris, seems to be swallowed up by the chaos that ensues. Will she have the strength to carry on like Michonne? Only time will tell.

Ruben Blades as Daniel Salazar, Ofelia’s father. He is a barber that moves his family to LA from a different culture decades ago to start fresh. Ruben is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, actor, Latin jazz musician, and activist, performing musically most often in the Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz genres. Ruben is a true heavy hitter with the star power in that he has appeared in many movies and television shows spanning a career since 1983. He is a world renowned Latin Jazz singer, who has been active since 1968 in the music industry. Ruben’s Character Daniel is a force to be reckoned with. He has a quiet strength who will stand by his family and defend his own. Reluctantly he accepts Travis’s family during the fallout but make no mistake. He will protect his own.

Mercedes Mason as Ofelia Salazar, born and raised in the U.S. and protective of her immigrant parents. Mercedes is sometimes credited as Mercedes Masohn, is a Swedish American actress known for playing the role of Zondra in the American television series Chuck and the role of Isabel Zambada^[3][4] in the American procedural drama The Finder.^[5] She starred in the 2011 American horror film Quarantine 2: Terminal. She played Louise Leonard in the 2012–13 American supernatural drama 666 Park Avenue. Mercedes character Ofelia, is another with a strong familial protective side to her. It will be interesting to see who will help keep this main group of characters together as the show progresses beyond the first show. Could she be a love interest for Chris or Nick? Or will she become a strong independent woman who looks for more character and strength in her partner than what the two young men show at the beginning.

Lorenzo James Henrie who plays Chris Manawa, Travis and Liza’s son, who resents his father for their divorce. Lorenzo is an actor, known for Star Trek(2009), Almost Kings (2010) and Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. Lorenzo’s character Chris looks like, in the beginning, that he gets swallowed up by the crowd and is lost in a sea of chaos. It is very plain in the previews that Chris resents his dad for the divorce and leaving both him and his mother to start a new family with Madison and her kids. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and how the teenage and young adult kids work out their differences to work together for survival.

There you have it, the main characters that are to be seen during the first season of the show. Who will survive and who will thrive in the newly developing world. I am looking forward to this show and have high hopes that it will be able to catapult itself into the cult status that The Walking Dead has become. With many awaiting with baited breath, (pun intended) for the sound of walkers to fill the screen and a refreshing look at the collapse of a large city like Los Angeles. What are your thoughts and do you think it will be a hit or a miss?

Fear the Walking Dead, part 3

This week we have finally, finally gotten a date for the new show “Fear the Walking Dead”! Cassidy Frazee called it saying the show would start on August 23rd! Cassidy has been writing for Rachel Tsoumbakos and giving his insight to the show “Humans”. So our hats are off to Cassidy for calling this one and being absolutely correct! The weeks are counting down rather quickly and with each new preview we get to see a bit more of the big picture. We even get to see a couple of walkers munching away!

I like how it shows everything falling apart and the descent into the madness that Rick and the gang have been living in for the past 6 years. It will be interesting to see who the core actors are who manage to survive season after season. I saw a brief glimpse of the principal of the school and it doesn’t look like he makes it to the second show. That, however, remains to be seen on August 23rd. I know I am looking forward to how they will spin the whole falling apart and am greatly interested to see if any people group together to help each other out for the greater good or if it is basically every man or woman for themselves.

It will be interesting to see how fast the scenery changes as well around the characters. Will it take quite awhile to have things start reverting back to nature or will people struggle to continue their lives as they knew it before, basically struggle to stay in denial. I see portions of the show that almost make you want to scream at the t.v. Nick is telling the truth about what he saw in that druggie house! The kid, Tobias, is on to something teach, you better listen! We all know how much the government always tells us the truth as well. Will the kids adapt faster than the adults? Up until now we have really only had Carl to base our reactions on and how he has adapted. Will the new teens with family struggles with newly joined families be able to cope better than the parents?

What questions do you have about the new show? What do you see as a big difference from the original show, “The Walking Dead.” The biggest question I have, will Chris Hardwick be doing a Fear the Talking Dead after the show? What do you think?

Fear the Walking Dead, part 2

This past week went way to fast for my liking. Once again I am here to give you new updates on new teaser trailers for the upcoming show, “Fear the Walking Dead.” There is one out about a soccer mom who is shutting a van door and in the reflection you see a walker, but unfortunately you had to be watching Humans to see it! The teasers for this show have been described by many  as vastly different than the Walking Dead premier teasers. Fear the Walking Dead is full of sunshine and light along with color and beautiful who are clean, showered and well groomed. The walking dead was dark and dreary and had a heavy, foreboding feeling to it.

The one thing I have noticed is that the scenes that are shown are so tightly closed in on the particular shot that you almost feel like pushing the boundaries of the shot and seeing what is the bigger picture. What is just out of sight of the camera that could be dangerous or a walker just out of sight. These kinds of shots that are in movies or tv shows tend to frustrate me because I can’t see what they are afraid of or what they should be running from. So I seriously hope they don’t do that all the way through the new show.

I have been very lucky to be one of the fans of the Walking Dead and get a chance to see Michael Cudlitz at Comic Con this year in Des Moines. The Wizarding Worlds Comic Con is set to come back next year to Des Moines as well and I look forward to possibly getting to meet some of the cast of the new show “Fear the Walking Dead” as well.

Still no word as to the actual date of when the show will start in August. I do hope they come up with a date soon so we can count down the days until it starts and get our recorders set to record it. You know we are going to want to watch the premier a couple of times before the second one even airs.

In this show it is said the walkers will be all freshly turned so we will get to see just how fresh they will be making them in costuming. In The Walking Dead they have had to keep aging the walkers and showing more decomposition where “Fear the Walking Dead” will have all newly dead people. I really do love the costuming aspect of it and see the creativity they come up with to keep the shows fresh and your attention on the detail.

Well that wraps it up for this week, I hope everyone has a wonderful week and watch out for new trailers to be released!

What questions, thoughts or ideas do you have about the show? Post your comments on what you would like to see as well below.

Fear the Walking Dead

This show is set to air in August sometime. We don’t have a concrete date yet but I wanted to give some insight to what I think the show will be like. I am a huge fan of the original show The Walking Dead and have mixed feelings about whether or not it will live up to its predecessor. The previews so far have been pretty minimal and leave a lot to the imagination. The cast of characters are shaping up to be some pretty good characters with actors such as Kim Dickens, Cliff Curtis, and Frank Dillane.

The story settings are completely different from the Walking Dead in that it takes place in Los Angeles where it is as different from Atlanta, Georgia as Iowa is from Hawaii.Los Angeles has a landscape that just goes on and on with one city running into another for miles.

The interesting thing I find even in my research of the cast of characters and their jobs in real life or their skill sets, none of them so far are survivalists in the apocalyptic sense. No Dooms day preppers or wilderness survivalists, just ordinary teachers, students and such. There is one military person who will have a recurring spot on the show but not even that guarantees a good set of survival skills. I like how they take the ordinary people, like you and I, who have not prepared for this type of situation and throw them in there and just wait to see if they can survive it. The people chosen to tell the story give a wide variety of opinions from “The Government would tell us the truth” to  “It’s just the flu, right?” It will be interesting to see what finally happened in the days following Rick Grime’s shooting until he awoke. Finally we will get to see how things got so bad. For now, we see people who are safe in their normal everyday lives with just a hint of what might be coming just over the horizon.

I sincerely hope that Fear the Walking Dead lives up to its predecessor, The Walking Dead. Maybe that is why they are holding previews to a bare minimum in case it doesn’t get received as well. Time and opinions will tell.

I will be doing a weekly blog update as more previews show and a set air date arrives. I look forward to your comments and questions and I will do my best to answer them.