Nooooooooooooo Glenn ...... Nooooooooooo

I was sad last year when they killed off Beth. It was sudden. It was quick. It was heart breaking, and I hate it when they kill off regulars who have been on the show for several years.

But last night I thought there was an injustice done to Glenn. What a pedestrian way to die.

Glenn really was one of my favorite characters on The Walking Dead.
He's been on since the program started and was this quick footed runner who really matured as the series grew. He did some really dumb-ass stuff in the first couple of seasons - going into the well on Hershel's farm with the walker inside - but eventually he developed smarts.
So last year he looked like a gonner when Nicholas trapped him inside the revolving door in the solar panel factory. In that move we lost Noah - better known as the actor who played Chris Rock in the show Everybody Hates Chris. It was a gory death and Glenn seemed scarred, but he wasn't so damaged that he turned on Nicholas. No, he gave the turd another chance. And then he gave him another chance
after Nicholas shot and tried to kill him.
Aarrrr.

During Nicholas' suicide Sunday night, it turns out Glenn doesn't have nine lives.

Glenn kicked the bucket in the show long before he does in the comics. He was due to die by the end of this season or early next season when they brought in Negan. The television show does its own thing, and for some reason, I was starting to believe they'd keep Glenn alive because he was the heart of the show.


Glenn's death is tragic and sad. I know that the Walking Dead producers feel the need to kill off characters we care about to keep up the fear and realism factor, but the show will get to the point where there won't be any people left that I give a hoot about.

This is a fantasy zombie apocalypse and I guess everyone dies in the end. 

Walking Dead graphic novels

I may have spoiled everything.
One of the greatest things about the Walking Dead is I didn't know what was going to happen next and I loved it.

I don't watch the show for the blood and guts, but instead for the adventure, twists, turns, the people.
Well a few weeks ago I discovered the Walking Dead issues in my library. Firstly, the TV show is better.
On the TV show the dialogue is spectacular compared to the comics, but I have to admit, the comics have blown me away with their casual - and stunning way - they eliminate characters. That bothers me. It seems heartless, but I guess the message is that it's an apocalypse and no one is safe.

I also noticed that while the characters aren't always the same in the show as compared to the comics (Andrea is still alive in the comics) the plots follow very well.
And I know the stunning moments of last season - the doctor who went nuts and slashed Deanna's husband's throat and then Rick killed him - a blow away scene - came directly from the comics.

Perhaps the surprise is that in the previews to this season it appears that Morgan is going to be an irritant - a thorn in Rick's side - instead of a partner in crime. That is a role that some other characters played in the comics.

My compliment to the TV show is I feel that Andrew Lincoln's portrayal of Rick is much scarier, more unsettling than how he is in the comics.  

That being said, our Zombie apocalypse survivors are headed for some really hard times.

Game of Thrones!!!

So they had to end season five of Game of Thrones just like the book!!!
I guess there was no other way to end it if they were to stick to the book. And yet this whole season the television show went in a direction with story lines that weren't in the books.

It's very obvious to me the television show went in a direction that will be revealed to us in book six.
The big question is whether we get book six before season six. I'm betting on season six.
Firstly, Stanus invades and loses.

Second, Brianne moves to kill Stanus. I say moves to kill because we don't see her do it.
In the book, Brianne is long dead.
In the book,  Sansa is not at Winterfell, but heck, she could be on her way.
In the book, Jon is stabbed lots by his Night's Watch men and is left to die.

This is tortuous.

Game of Thrones season five

The television show is moving away from the books in some subtle ways or my memory of what happened in the books is full of holes. Either could be true.

I don't remember Aria being turned away from the black/white cult. I remember her being accepted and having to endure multiple trials, blindness, etc. in her training as an assassin. I also don't remember the man (can't remember his name) who gave her the coin returning. I know the assassins have many faces, and I remember him changing his when he left her, but I don't remember him returning to the island of Brazos.

 

Second, Jamie didn't team up with Bronn and go to Dorne to rescue Marcella.




Third, Brienne never found Sansa.

Fourth, Daenerys didn't have an adviser executed, although she had unrest in her kingdom because of her dragons and the revolt by the former slave owners. I loved the hissing and rock throwing scene.

 

Five, Tyron and the unic didn't stay together. I'm glad they seem to be straying away from Tyron as a circus act because that was just too horrendous. Yet there is still time.

 


I loved last night's episode. I'm very pleased they are moving away from the books because then I feel like we have two great sources of entertainment.

Catching up with fans

It's been so long. I've been teaching a journalism course at the local community college and that's been sucking up all of my time.
Oh the stories I could write.

On to more important discussions, the second half of season five of The Walking Dead was just amazing. It took me a couple of weeks to watch the last two episodes on my DVR in part because I was afraid of a massacre and Rick was making me nervous.

The Walking Dead is partly an examination of the human mind and spirit when faced with dire circumstances. It's a dog eat dog world, literally.  (Animal lovers who were upset by that scene, well, how bout this, I rarely brake for cats and dogs, especially if it's going to cause an accident.)

It's also clear that everyone has evil in them. Although I do wonder why it seems mostly the evil survived? I think in real life there are 1 million in prison, but 300 million who aren't!!!

More later. I'm eating dinner.

Walking Dead Keeps Getting Better

This has been one of the best season's of the Walking Dead, if not the best.
I've been thinking over the last few seasons and I'm just blown away at how they've maintain a great show into season 5. By comparison season 4 looks really weak.
That being said, I did have to grit my teeth to get through the "dumb ass" moments of season 1 and 2. Does anyone else remember putting Glenn in the well? Enough said.

Unfortunately in the mid-season finale we lost Beth. Waaaaaa. It was a great performance and I was so shocked I couldn't figure out who shot Beth. I had to rewind a few times until I realized Dawn reflexively shot her after getting stabbed in the shoulder with small scissors.
The show had a great start, middle and (gasp) end.

Like millions of fans, I've also become hooked on Talking Dead, although it's not quite the conspiracy relief I'm seeking. I do like when they discuss the comics because I haven't read them.
On Sunday's Talking Dead, Emily Kinney (Beth) cried and got choked up several times when she talked about leaving the Walking Dead family. Robert Kirkman, Walking Dead comics creator, looked very uncomfortable at her emotional outbursts.

I'm really looking forward to February and am dying to see what will happen. I think that's how the writers wanted it to end.

Canadian Border guard keeps Ebola from spreading

Went to Canada yesterday and Nexus lane border guard grilled me extensively. I don't see how her questions were relevant, especially considering I am a "trusted" traveler. But alas we all have to put up with useless government bureaucracy.

Was grilled in Nexus lane into Canada & asked if I had contact with anyone with Ebola. Is that the way to keep #Ebola out?
— Monica Wolfson (@mjwolfs) November 15, 2014

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