Withholding Judgment: Fear the Walking Dead

Sunday marked the beginning of Fear the Walking Dead on AMC with it the following reaction from myself: “Hmm”. It started very slow. Slow as a Walker in fact.  The exact polar opposite of the “infected” from 28 Days later which I saw as one review comparison for the show. Zombie-centric is the only comparison I could see between the two franchises but it stops there. 10 quick hit first thoughts from premier viewing:

1. Nick is younger Johnny Depp look-alike. I remember his name because they said it around 798 times in the episode
2. I can’t remember her name but Saracen’s mom from Friday Night Lights wasn’t that good.
3. The dad character was ok. He’s just trying to be the good guy which isn’t a bad thing
4. Alicia was teenage angst personified
5. Why was Nick wearing a half girl blouse-sweater thing at the very beginning?
6. Nice foreshadowing with Tobias’ knife Saracens mom
7. Tobias is like the McLovin’s character from How to Train Your Dragon for FTWD. He is a survivor and knowledge outlet, perhaps the Carol of this show?
8. Nick really worked on his Edward Scissorhands crossed-over with Jack Sparrow walk when trying to show mom and pseudo-dad Cal’s “dead body”
9. Nick’s zombie junkie girlfriend was cute..for a zombie.
10. I hope all the other episodes are not this slow.

It’s honestly too soon to judge this show. I enjoy the genre and this is only a six-episode prequal season. Not sure if there is enough story there right off the bat to develop into anything, but it’s a zombie show with decent production. I think my initial reaction comes from not being 6 seasons and 100+ comics invested into a story and characters. I’ll take the “wait-and-see” approach to the West Side Walkers..for now.