Monster Mania Day 12: The Walking Dead Season 4 Premiere

Written by Stu Cooper

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Unless you live under a rock you've probably heard that "The Walking Dead" came back to television this week. Following the tradition of previous years they released the new season just in time for Halloween. At the end of the last season we lost a few memorable cast members...Merle and Andrea come to mind. The loss of Merle was particularly sad for me. I'm a huge fan of Micahel Rooker and I really wanted to see more of The Dixon brothers as a team. Andrea was hit or miss for me so I'll be alright without her. And unfortunately for the group, the Governor got away. But as the last season closed we saw Woodberry residents piling into the jail, becoming part of Rick's community.

The new season opens 6-7 months later and the community has absolutely flourished! We see shots of a garden, pigs being raised, children being read stories (and taught how to use weapons), and a routine that seems to be keeping the group safe. There is a great shot of Rick going out into the garden and there is some music playing while he kind of smiles and reflects on his life at the prison. It turns out Rick had headphones on and when he takes them out, the music stops and the constant howls of the zombies come back. This moment really symbolized Rick's attempt at escaping reality for a second, only to come crashing back into it. We also see a few teases that Maggie may be pregnant, and Darryl is also now a hero of the community. It seems like life has moved on for most of the cast and has evolved into a home of sorts. Sadly for the group the happiness is doomed to end. The group runs into some zombie trouble during a run and loses Beth's boyfriend almost immediately after we are introduced to him. We are also introduced to a new member of the group is apparently an ex-soldier with a serious alcohol problem. After Beth's boyfriend is killed we see her flip the calendar in the jail from "30 days with no accident" to "0 days". The sad part is that she has almost no reaction because she has become numb to the death surrounding her. I really like the Beth character. Aside from her being cute, you really want to side with her because she went from being suicidal, to becoming a staple of this group and always kept fighting. So as the episode passes we see that pretty much everyone has evolved and moved on.

There is a side story during the episode where Rick encounters a woman in the woods who swears she is good and needs his help. So he says he must ask her three questions that the group will ask every outsider from now on...and that's "How many walkers have you killed? How many humans have you killed? And Why?". Which is a pretty cool moment and makes sense. If Shane was still around he would be having none of that! The woman says she has nothing left to lose and that she wants Rick to meet her husband. What unfolds is a creepy series of events that leads to a surprise, which I don't want to spoil. If you can watch for yourself, I'd suggest that. Meanwhile back at the prison we are introduced to a nerdy little guy named Patrick. Patrick thinks Darryl is a hero, loves storytime, oh and he is apparently carrying some type of bacterial infection/virus upgrade that ends up killing him by the end of the episode. Also for all you germaphobes out there, he takes the time to cough all over the water supply. This is where the episode closes and we are left with a lot of questions. Where is the Governor? What killed the farm animal? What killed Patrick? Why are the zombie numbers around the prison increasing? They introduced a lot of great ideas in this first episode and a lot of it showed maturity. The show is totally different than it was a season or two ago. There is a whole new sense of family amongst the characters and i'm really excited to see what happens next. After 3 seasons I've grown to care about a few of the characters (Rick,Hershal,Maggie and Glenn,Daryl) and I really hope they make it out of this mess alive! I guess we shall find out soon enough. According to the executive producer it's going to get "a lot worse" before it ever gets any better. I've got Walking Dead fever and the only cure is MORE COWBELL! Wait that's not right...the cure is MORE WALKING DEAD! I think it's about time for me get into the comics as well. From what I hear, this point in the series is A LOT different in the comics, and a lot more violent. So I'm itching to read them. I'll probably check back with you guys throughout the season with my thoughts. Enjoy the rest of the season and if you missed the first episode, DVR the repeat and get caught up! Netflix also still has seasons 1 and 2 up. As for where to find Season 3, I'll leave that up to you.

Breaking Bad Finale Review

Written by Stu Cooper

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Well it's over. The Heisenberg saga has come to an end. Unless you live under a rock you've probably heard about “Breaking Bad” , especially over the past week. Thanks to syndication, Netflix, and DVD's, the show itself has become a binging favorite. I know a lot of people who only got into the show over the past couple months and binged watched their way all the way to the current season. Along with “The Wire” and “Battlestar Galactica” I'd say it's the most recommended show of this generation. The story itself revolves around a former chemistry teacher named Walter White who turns to a life of meth cooking in order to raise money for his cancer treatments, and to give his family something to hang onto after he passes. During this venture he meets one of the most lovable screw-ups in T.V. History Jessie Pinkman. Jessie is an addict who dabbles in the drug trade world. Once Walter and Jessie team-up they become the odd couple of the show and tons of adventure, murder, crime, and madness ensue. The show finally came to a close tonight. Unlike Dexter and The Sopranos, we got some serious resolution.

Going into the final episode Walt had very little left to live for. His entire family has exiled him, he is a wanted criminal, his legacy is in shambles, all of his business partners are dead, and his protege Jessie Pinkman is being enslaved and forced to make meth for a bunch of skinheads and an awkward Matt Damon look-alike named Todd. Walt using what is left of his genius finds a way to exact revenge on all those who have wronged him that remain in the picture. We see Walt rigging various devices and showing hints at what is to come later in the episode. Walt also threatens a rich couple he had previously been associated with and talks them into holding onto money that will be issued to his family. There is some nice shots of Walt watching Flynn from a distance. You can tell he is saying goodbye in his mind, and trying to get a few more mental snapshots of his son before it's all over. As much as I hated the Walter White character by this point, this episode made the audience sympathize with Walters final days. Soon after this we see Walt confront Lydia and Todd during one of their weekly meetings. At this point we see the camera emphasize the fact that Lydia is putting something in her tea as usual. We find out later that this is Walt's last little Ricin trick (which he had apparently been keeping in the electrical socket in case of emergencies). This was a fitting death for Lydia considering her obsession with getting her tea. I always kind of assumed that would play a role later on. Unlike Dexter, this show seems to remember little details from prior episodes.

One of the most beautiful moments of the episode came when we see Jessie woodworking and making a wooden box, unfortunately it's a daydream and Jessie awakes from his trance and realizes he is still shackled up to the meth lab, a slave to the lab. Vince Gillian (the director) does a great job conveying the sadness in Jessie and his terrible life. You can't help but root for Jessie and pray that he makes it out of the episode alive. Good news is, if you made that wish, you got it. Walt soon comes to the rescue, using a brilliant rigged automatic machine gun to take out the gang. During this fire fight, Walt dives onto Jessie, covering his body, essentially shielding him from any bullets. This results in Jessie and Walt surviving.

The only enemy that survived the gun attack happens to be...Todd! The smug bastard that kept Jessie chained up, survives the onslaught. But before Todd can piece together what happened Jessie grabs him and wraps the handcuff chain around his throat, then proceeds to brutally choke Todd to death, complete with a neck snapping noise. The audience had been waiting for Todd to finally get what he had coming, and boy was it glorious! It was so fulfilling to see Jessie get a break (pun intended). After this, Walt throws Jessie a gun and gives him the opportunity to finally put Walt down and end his pain. Jessie having witnessed and endured so much violence and death, opts not to kill Walt. His pain would not be cured by Walt's death and he realized that. We see Jessie ride off into the night, free and happy to no longer be enslaved. My guess is that he will now live out his life taking care of Brock. As a viewer I breathed a huge sigh of relief knowing he made it out alive. I've never seen a character suffer so much in a story, so he deserved a chance at a new life. Walt however was not as fortunate. It's revealed soon after that Walt was wounded in the gun fight and is bleeding out. Walt goes over to the meth lab and has a moment of happiness as he thinks about the joy he got from his skills in the field of chemistry. While Walt did commit terrible crimes, he did find a sense of purpose he didn't have prior to his chef days. This was emphasized by Walt rubbing one of the chemical tanks...breathing a sigh of relief. Soon after Walt collapses and the police arrive to a euphoric Walt, gazing into death.

An absolute roller coaster of a finale. Walt finally admits he did all of this for himself, Jessie finally achieves freedom, and every door is shut. As the credit hits, I felt like I was looking at the shattered remains of a city after a tornado struck. So much death and heartbreak took place in the last season. You know you felt a connection with all of that when you feel a weight lifted off your shoulders when things are wrapped up. I don't know if the show is one of the greatest of all-time, as many people seem to think, but there are certainly some beautiful moments in the show that prove it's a great piece of television. They say chemistry is the study of change, so it's appropriate that the audience sees Walter White evolve from a deluded family to a dying megalomaniac. The show itself truly deserves praise, and i'm glad the Emmys recently acknowledged the show's quality as well. We are in an era where TV is on par with most hollywood filmmaking, and this show proves that. The team of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul was truly remarkable and I hope to see more work from both of them. If this show was any indication of their talent, we have a lot to look forward to. Overall it was a hell of a ride and it was the perfect amount of storytelling...BITCH!