Wow, I can't believe it's already the last Thursday of October. Time really flies away. Anyway, since it's the last Thursday of the month and it's October, the TMP, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves (if you still don't know what it is, shame on you!) has a double theme, Halloween and Television, and this time we have to pick three horror series. Not my favourite genre, but I watch so many, it was easy to pick three more or less great shows.
The Walking Dead (2010- )
Sheriff Rick Grimes wakes from a coma only to find that the dead are coming back to life and eventually leads several groups of survivors. Walkers (zombies) aren't the only problem though since it's plenty of evil people around. I really used to like this show. I started watching it only a couple of years ago and I saw 5-6 seasons in something like a month. It's not as good as it used to be now, but I still watch it because I don't quit.
Fear the Walking Dead (2015- )
It's a spin-off of the previous one set on the West coast during the same time frame Atlanta was under attack and Rick was in a coma, and it shows the beginning of the outbreak that caused people to turn into zombies. This one has been a rollercoaster. Season 1 was good, I almost gave up at season 2, but season 3 was quite good.
Hannibal (2013-2015)
This one explores the early stages of the relationship between Doctor Hannibal Lecter and his patient Will Graham, an FBI criminal profiler. This is easily the best of my picks. And it's also one of the best phycological thrillers I've ever seen. I loved every single episode of this (it's such a shame it's over) and Mads Mikkelsen is fantastic as Hannibal.
I never got around to watching Hannibal, though I always meant to. The Walking Dead used to be my favorite show, but like you said it's gone down hill. I'm still so invested in the characters that I continue to watch though. lol
ReplyDeleteI tried a few different TV horror series but none of these though I've heard good things about Hannibal and wildly different takes on Walking Dead.
ReplyDeleteHorror's not my bag but though the years I've found a few series that I've enjoyed, at least enough to come up with three!
Dexter (2006-2013)-Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is a highly respected blood splatter expert with the Miami police department. He seems a little odd and secretive but his co-workers including his sister Deb know that in his past he had some traumatic experiences so they allow him some space. Thing is Dexter has a sideline that keeps him pretty busy off hours…he’s a serial killer who only pursues the evilest of men & women and disposes of them without a trace. Dark, dark comedy that intermingles gallows humor with gore, its absurdist viewpoint is greatly enhanced by Hall’s performance in the lead.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974-1975)-Weathered persnickety Chicago newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) seems to have a real knack for stumbling across bizarre often ritualistic seeming deaths. Turns out that’s because Chicago is apparently a hotbed for every sort of supernatural being, witches, vampires, zombies etc. imaginable. Kolchak usually get to the bottom of each case but somehow can never quite make a believer out of his editor Tony Vincenzo (Simon Oakland). One season series originated with two highly rated TV movies (the first earned a 54 share!), was stacked with familiar faces and had a twisty sense of humor mixed with its horror. The studio however never quite figured out how to market it and buried in a bad time slot.
Night Gallery (1970-1973)-Second anthology series by Rod Serling isn’t quite the masterpiece The Twilight Zone was but had many original memorable episodes. Unlike the original this usually contained two or even three shorter vignettes that leaned more often towards horror and the supernatural than science fiction. Thought neither as well-known nor as critically respected as the first it did create several famous episodes including “Green Fingers”, “The Diary”, They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar”, “Silent Snow, Secret Snow”, “Caterpillar” and “Whisper” starring a very young Sally Field among others. Originated with a TV movie that provided Steven Spielberg with his first directing gig in an episode starring Joan Crawford.
Oh hey, first time I'm seeing anyone pick Hannibal too! I thought for sure it would be popular this week, it was such a good and creative show. I love Mikkelsen as Lecter, too.
ReplyDeleteI started with The Fear of the Walking Dead and quite enjoyed the episodes I watched but then I just stopped watching. Don't know why though.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t seen any of these. I have no desire to see The Walking Dead because it just sounds like everything is hopeless, ugly and evil. The same goes with Hannibal because it is about the dark and how it seems to win out.
ReplyDeleteTWD - I'm one of those that feel like giving up. It gets a little to repetitive and also it's just so manipulative in the way it tells it's story, especially with Glenn's story. I've seen the 1st episode of the latest season and it feels like same old same old...so I don't know if I'll continue.
ReplyDeleteFWD - I've seen the first season and it was just ok for me.