Doug Goodman

If you are like me, then Halloween this year has an extra-added bonus.  I am really excited that "The Walking Dead" will premiere on AMC on Halloween night.  Even cooler, the first episode will be written and directed by Frank Darabont, who has a habit of turning great Stephen King stories into excellent cinema.

I am really curious to see Darabont's take on Rick and his apocalypse-surviving Pequod.  However, I have some concerns about how it will translate to the small screen.  Here are six hopes for "The Walking Dead:"

1.  Stick to the Story.  No matter what you see me write from this point forward, number one has got to be sticking to the story.  Robert Kirkman has created a very textured story in his comic books.  (Yes, if you have not heard, The Walking Dead is based on a stellar comic book.)  Sticking close to the material will be really important to the hardcore fans, but will keep the storytelling arcs that are its foundation.

2.  Reduce People.  No, I don't mean reduce the cast, though there are many, many characters in "The Walking Dead" comics.  But in the books, when a person receives a gash, it stays with them.  No mutant healing power here.  A good example is how in Volume 12 (I buy the volumes), one character wears her hair down to hide a disfigurement.  This is a tough world, and the hardships are no more revealing than in the depiction of the cast.  I hope the television series stays true to how and when and if people are reduced.  Fans of the comics will know what I mean.  Hopefully, fans of the show will eventually get to see this. 

3.  Re-Write Horror.  Like "BattleStar Gallactica" was said to re-write the Space Opera, "The Walking Dead" has a chance to re-write (or write) the serialized horror television show.  ("Serialized" would dis-include "The Twilight Zone" or "Tales of the Crypt" (which was only a premiere-channel show anyways).  Shows like "The X-Files" would have horror episodes, but most of it was scifi, not pure horror like a zombie apocalpyse story would be, so I am not including it, either.)  Several Stephen King (that name keeps coming up) attempts have been made recently, but the closest thing to recent horror-as-a-television-show I remember seeing was the first season of "Supernatural."  It would be really nice if "The Walking Dead" could become that first great horror show.  It has all the essentials, such as...

4.  Zombie vs. Wild.  What originally attracted me to the comics was the "survival" aspect.  Of course, "Survival" is becoming more and more synonymous with zombie, as shown in George Romero's "Survival of the Dead" and "The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks (son of Mel.)  But "The Walking Dead" is not a comedy.  Its survival has a definite philisophy.  As the book jackets for "The Walking Dead" read:  How many hours are in a day when you don't spend half of them watching television?  When is the last time any of us REALLY worked to get something that we wanted?  How long has it been since any of us really NEEDED something that we WANTED?...In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living.

5.  Please Be Scary.  I don't want "The Walking Dead" to go the way of "Godzilla" or "Monsters."  If it isn't scary (or at least really, really bad ass), then it isn't a monster.  So far, the zombies in the trailers and posters look scary enough.  We will know on Halloween.

6.  Keep Off Total Drama Island.  I really like how the comics explore relationships in light of an apocalypse.  That is a deep well, and there is a lot of human drama to be mined there, but sometimes I wonder if there is a 3-page/10 panel drama rule.  The comics isn't allowed to go 3 pages or 10 panels without somebody yelling or shrieking or getting into a fight or balling or... you get my point.  The story needs the drama.  Sometimes it is overkill, and if Darabont can temper it while bringing it to television, I will be a happy man.

Happy Halloween, and I hope you enjoy the zombie apocalypse!