FEAR THE WALKING DEAD Premieres

Ever since The Walking Dead began, fans of the show wondered if we would see how the apocalypse began. Well now we get that opportunity with Fear the Walking Dead. I have been so excited for this show to debut and it didn’t disappoint. The show is very different from it’s counterpart and will give us an entirely new look at how people reacted at the start of the outbreak.

The premiere eases into the zombie outbreak slowly. And I exaggerate slowly. We see several accounts of zombies in the first episode, but it’s more about establishing characters.

The first scene takes place in a church, many people saw this when AMC released the first three minutes on Friday. Nick, a drug addict, is the first character we see who comes in contact with a zombie. He’s baffled by what he saw but was so high he doesn’t know if it was real or a hallucination.

All the characters seem to be aware of some sort of virus that has broken out over the country. At the start of the episode we don’t hear about reanimated corpses, but my mid-point video leaks of officers unloading rounds into someone until a headshot finally takes him out. There are definitely some people who are concerned and students aren’t showing up to school. Are they turning or just scared to leave home?

The majority of the episode introduces us to characters and their normal lives. With The Walking Dead, we’re thrusted into the reality of a full blown apocalypse. We don’t really think about anyone other than the characters we see or see much of their lives prior. With Fear, we’re going to have to see society fall. People we would interact with everyday will be gone, characters we didn’t have to mourn in TWD. That to me is something that will be emotional to watch.

Overall I liked all the characters. I think the idea of featuring a blended family adds a different element to the show. Madison is a high school guidance counselor who’s boyfriend Travis has just moved into the home she shares with her two children, drug addict Nick and daughter Alicia. Travis is a teacher at the same school who has a son of his own, and the two have a difficult relationship. As the zombie outbreak becomes a greater threat it will be interesting to see how the dynamics of these two families will change and how they will interact with each other.

Don’t expect this show to be like The Walking Dead, at least not in the beginning. This isn’t an all out zombie fight. No one knows how to take care of themselves in that situation. So I can only imagine what sort of carnage we’re in for.