What a wonderful first episode. It flies by (is over an hour but felt like 20 minutes to me) and does several important things. It introduces some main characters, especially Rick, a family man and cop. He wakes up from an injury related coma and finds lots of corpses, lots of zombies and a few people. The first two people he teams up with are father and son, and the camaraderie established between Rick and the father is amazing. I really felt for these characters, almost as though they were real people right in front of me, and found myself hoping they would protect themselves from the zombies. There is a very touching subplot involving the father and son that I will not spoil; it is painful without being melodramatic. The episode shows that people who are desperate can still have a sense of fun; by enjoying the first shower in a long time, or by riding an enthusiastic horse when one runs out of gas for a car. The episode is captivating but casually paced, until a thrilling scene at the end. My all time favourite TV show (The Wire) had a relatively dry and unappealing first episode; the Walking Dead has done the opposite, drawing me in right from the start. Well done AMC!
Review of Days Gone Bye
