REVIEW: Fear the Walking Dead

(photo credit: Flickr: ORSVP NYC)

AMC's The Walking Dead spin-off show Fear The Walking Dead began yesterday over in America, and I'll be honest, I was pretty damn excited to watch it today. Having been a huge fan of The Walking Dead for about three years now, I was interested to see how the creators would put together this spin-off. It's also been a constant curiosity of mine regarding how the apocalypse we witness in Walking Dead came to be, and what the hell happened as people started to find out about it, which is what this spin-off is aiming to be all about. So, Fear The Walking Dead...

The first scene of episode one really impressed me. We are introduced to a man, sleeping rough in a church. The dirty and squat-like surroundings give the impression that the apocalypse has begun, that we are in the midst of zombies already. The man walks through the church, calling for a woman named Gloria. But it's not good news when he finds her. Shocked, he recoils as he witnesses her, already ripping apart someone's neck. Petrified, the man runs for his life. The creators are clever at this point, portraying a run-down image of the surroundings that could easily be taken for a country in the grips of the apocalypse. The man is hit by a car in the deserted streets. And then, mere moments away from where he witnesses the zombie Gloria, lots of civilians come to his aid. Normal, unsuspecting civilians, driving, going about their day, in suits, on phones. To them, any sense of a zombie apocalypse still lies contained within films and comic books.

This juxtaposition was so effective. As The Walking Dead takes places solely within the apocalypse, never before or after, it's great to see the very beginnings of the disaster in this spin-off, before anyone even has a clue what's going on.

The first episode was slow, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. For me, it was actually a good thing that the complete chaos of the beginnings of the apocalypse wasn't shown all in the first episode, as it makes for a far more tense, gripping and long-lasting show. All the way through to around the last 40 minutes, there were subtle signs, such as helicopters whirring and sirens in the distance, which, to a viewer who knows what's coming are obvious, but are things that the characters are totally oblivious to.

The show started with a slow introduction to the characters and their lives. While I can't say yet that I really care about the characters, it was interesting to witness their lives before the impending destruction. The creators of The Walking Dead are particularly skilled at really developing their characters and their personalities, so I'm sure these people will soon be fleshed out enough for them to really resonate with an audience.

Overall, it was a slow-paced, but tense and intriguing introduction this new zombie show. I will definitely be tuning into the next episode to see what happens next! If you are a fan of The Walking Dead, I'd really recommend the show from what I've seen so far. Although I suspect it may be quite a slow-burning series, if the tension and scenes set up in the first episode are anything to go by, it will be a very entertaining watch.

Do you watch The Walking Dead, and will you be catching up with spin-off Fear The Walking Dead? Let me know!

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Why MTV's new show infuriated me regarding youth unemployment

Okay, so this is definitely going to be a rant-type post, but if you can't write these sorts of things on your own blog, where can you?
So feel free to read on if you dare!

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MTV's new 8pm weekly show began three weeks ago Tuesday, and poses the young people on it the ultimatum; get a job or get out. The young people on the show are told by their parents that they must get their act together and start contributing to the family home/income, or be sent packing.

The episode introduced Robyn, a 21 year old girl living with her parents and generally being pretty lazy. 

Viewers were told that she had had, and lost, thirty jobs in just the past TWO years. 30. In two years. That's a lot. 

So far, so acceptable. It seemed a pretty solid premise for an MTV show.

However, this is where it got annoying. And plain old unrealistic. 

Robyn had, in recent years, discovered she was pretty enthusiastic about all things beauty and make-up. So logically, the show sent her to a top hair and beauty salon in London. This is fair enough. MTV is a big channel with a big budget and presumably, pretty huge public sway, allowing Robyn to get in at this salon.

However. What infuriated me was what followed. Robyn was given, okay, some quite menial tasks to complete first, such as wiping down the shelves, organising a window display, and handing out flyers. But general work experience 101 has taught anyone aspiring for a career in a difficult industry, that you happily accept any task, acknowledging it as a necessary learning curve and a chance to really show what you can do, and how hard-working you are. But not Robyn. Robyn merrily moaned and swore her way through the entire thing, and to be honest, performed pretty poorly. Getting tired of handing out flyers, she threw away 1000 of them after handing out only 6 to the general public, effectively destroying company property. She openly criticised the salon boss when he asked her to change the window display, showing a lack of willing to accept criticism to improve her skills for the better.

And this is what frustrated me.

If this were any ordinary employer, after such a poor show and clear lack of professionalism shown over two days, you'd be out. But not Robyn. She was invited back, and after one, one successful day, given a full time job at the salon.

I get it. It's a TV show. I fully understand that the aim of the show was probably to show the inspirational and perhaps even aspirational story of a lazy, unmotivated twenty-something learn from her mistakes, grow, and become a person that her parents were proud of. I get what they were trying to show, and I understand that it was more than a bit set up for the show itself.

But I cannot describe how frustrating this depiction feels, as a 21 year old graduate trying to establish herself in her chosen career. The notion that you can rock up at a highly prestigious company, no matter what sector you're in, and perform abysmally, yet still get a job after one less-than-abysmal day, is kind of offensive. I know tons of people who work insanely hard, and still haven't been offered a full-time, paid opportunity. And I accept that. I accept that this is the nature of the times we are living in, and the nature of the economy as a whole. It's tough now. But we've always been told, that if you work hard, are polite, helpful and enthusiastic, you will eventually make it to where you want to be. And this is why 'Fired by Mum and Dad' was so frustrating. Robyn was shown to put in minimal effort, display a less-than-professional attitude, work one solid, good day, and be given a job that I'm sure many would give their left arm for. I think that this portrayal of such a process is damaging, especially to young people who have perhaps not entered the work force yet and think this is how it works, and it's as easy as just showing up. However, it's also damaging in the way that it dismisses, and undermines the hard work being done by young people the country over. Damaging in the way that it exacerbates the notion that becoming famous, or getting yourself on any random TV show is the way to be successful. And I think that hard-working, motivated young people deserve a little bit more credit than that.

At the end of the day, it is a TV show, and it is always going to be slightly unrealistic, in the way it's been edited, the fact that the scenario has been set up for the purpose of a show, and that the people on it have been specifically chosen for the show. But it would be great if they really tried to show the realistic path young people go through towards unemployment, instead of making a show that somewhat misrepresents that. 

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