I never really got into the vampire craze. I just found it silly. I didn’t really intend on getting into the zombie fad either. And to be quite honest, I didn’t really think I wanted to watch this show. But just like the only reason why I started watching Lost was because of Dominic Monaghan, we can thank the at the time odd casting of Andrew Lincoln as Sheriff Rick Grimes as the initial reason as to how I became a huge fan of The Walking Dead.

See, Andrew Lincoln will forever be Mark, the guy from Love Actually who is secretly in love with Keira Knightley’s character.

And I’ve never seen him in anything else before I started watching The Walking Dead. So it was absolutely fabulous to hear him speak with a Southern accent (because we all know that British actors do American accent way better than Americans doing British ones). And then he started doing things like this….

Warning: the following clip contains spoilers, graphic violence and a little cursing. You were WARNED.

Lest you think this show is merely just people killing zombies, then you’re dead wrong. (har har) The writing in this show is awesome. The story is pretty much the reason why I still am watching it. Yes there are ups and downs in the way the show goes, but overall I find myself hooked because I get so sucked into the characters and their plots. So many of the characters have gone through a 180 since the show started. Weak characters have become strong, strong characters become crazy, minor characters have become game changers. I mean take a look at what they’ve done with Daryl. He wasn’t in the comics, he wasn’t a main character during the first show, and now he’s become the most popular character on the show to the point that whenever he appears onscreen, women’s ovaries explode (other people’s words, not mine).

There is also the whole idea of how lives change in a tragic situation like this. Most of us don’t want to think about what we would do in order to survive. We yell at the characters on the screen for making stupid decisions but really, if you were faced in that situation you may find yourself doing the exact same thing out of desperation. I would like to think I’d be extremely handy with a bow and arrow (oh wait, I need to learn how to do that first…) or be able to protect myself and be strong right off the bat, but I don’t know. I don’t know how long I’d last to be honest. But the social ramifications of decisions made make excellent case studies in this show.

This is one of the most suspenseful shows that I have ever seen. What I love the most about this show is how sucked up into the show I get. It is literally one of the very few shows that I will not pick up my phone, get on the computer, or basically distract myself in any shape or form while watching. You can be sitting right next to me on the couch and I will pretty much forget you exist until commercial breaks. While I’m watching, I’m clutching onto a pillow for dear life and am basically on the edge of my seat except for the times when I take even more pillows and use them as a barricade. I have been known to yelp loudly several times while watching. It’s incredibly intense, but it’s so fantastic.

Sure, you can argue there’s a lot of violence on the show.  And that there’s a lot of killing going on. Yes some humans do end up dying because of other humans. But it’s mostly zombie blood and guts. I don’t consider it to be real violence. Plus, it’s a zombie apocalypse. It’s about survival. Speaking of that, there are also some spiritual questions that are asked on the show that I find quite interesting and it makes you think.

I also had the awesome opportunity to meet Steven Yeun, who plays Glenn, while I was at DragonCon last year. He reminded me so much of a friend I have and was incredibly easygoing to talk to. I wasn’t expecting to actually talk to him myself but he drew me into the conversation. We asked him what was his favorite aspect of the show and his response was that he was glad that he wasn’t being casted as a stereotypical Asian. I will say that he was one of the most down to earth celebrities I have ever met. Please don’t let Glenn kick it on the show!  I also got to meet Chris Hardwick who does the Talking Dead show that comes on right after The Walking Dead. While he’s incredibly funny, he apparently wears a lot of makeup on the show because he looks way older in person.

Any other Dead fans out there? How are you enjoying the current season?