Originally, I thought I would write about the cancellation of Roseanne today. I still might tomorrow, but for now the below tweet shows my condensed thoughts on her show being cancelled.
The outrage over the #roseanne cancellation is a perfect example of the right-wing double standard. When the #NFL banned kneeling people said the company has a right, now another company fires an employee for a racist tweet and people are suddenly worried about censorship
— Cadeem Lalor (@CMoviegrapevine) May 29, 2018
Moving on from yet another racist being treated as a victim, let’s talk about The Walking Dead. I affectionately remember undertaking my first Netflix binge thanks to this show. By the time I got into it, it was already on season 1. I watched the first season and a few episodes of the second in one evening, and rushed to catch up within the next week. Aside from reminding me of a simpler time, when I had the option of spending that much time watching TV, those early moments also bring back a time when the show was stronger.
Although the second season gets a great deal of flack for all of the time spent on the farm, I definitely believe the last three seasons have given us our fair share of filler. After Mad Men and Breaking Bad ended it seemed like AMC realized they had to hold on to their remaining golden goose. From the beginning, the TV show introduced plotlines that weren’t in the comics, often stretching out scenarios (e.g. the farm setting lasting way longer in the show). I guess I didn’t notice how bad the filler was until season 6. I think I was in denial until the last episode. Knowing how the story goes in the comics always makes added plotlines seem more egregious since you are more impatient as you wait for a pivotal moment. In this case, I grew impatient as I waited for Negan’s introduction.
The season 6 finale basically featured a drawn out game of tag between Negan’s men and Rick’s group, finally culminating in Negan’s appearance. Then we get a cliffhanger for who dies, which was clearly designed to increase the ratings for the season 7 premiere. Like a sucker, I still watched season 7 but season 8 lost me as it continued to pad out the Negan storyline, in order to lengthen the show’s run. The mid-season finales didn’t help either, becoming another indication of AMC’s desire to pad the show’s air time.
All of this to say that the show lost me a while ago. Judging from the comments on this article, it appears that I am not the only one. Maybe this news turns out to be false, but multiple outlets are reporting that Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) will make his last appearance during season 9. Lincoln will appear in about half a dozen episodes before his character’s run comes to an end.
At this point, I think the show has run its course and should just end on season 9. Of course, the comics are still ongoing but they are way ahead of the show because the comic doesn’t pad its pages with filler e.g. teen love stories and death fakeouts (I’m looking at you dumpster Glenn). The Negan arc could easily have been wrapped up in half the time if the show removed the dumpster people and a heap of other unnecessary subplots.
A lot of people are arguing other characters can take over. I see a chance of that working in the comics, but I don’t see that working for the show. Aside from being a central character, Rick is also one of the most compelling and well-acted ones. Daryl Dixon has his fangirls but I don’t think he can carry the show as a main character. I don’t think any other character can. Season 9 can finish without Rick, but I can’t see a season working without him from start to finish. Maybe I’m biased since I barely care about the show anymore but the comments on the aforementioned article also show that others agree with me. I am not saying my opinion is therefore a popular one, but it at least shows that there are some people who are able to see where I am coming from.
The show was good at one point, but it seems like greed ruined it. The desire to milk the cow dry has turned one of my favourite shows into a distant memory and an example of a clash between art and business.