Stop Comparing Other Shows To AMC’s The Walking Dead
By Adam Carlson
The Walking Dead is not like any other show on television. That is why the hit AMC show has so much appeal to casual and hardcore fans. Even people who aren’t into the type of gore and suspense that a show featuring zombies can offer have found themselves drawn to the program. It has a fan base that spans the globe and is still growing heading into its sixth season.
Still, the media feels a need to compare The Walking Dead to other popular shows on television and make it seem like a competition to declare one show as superior to another. AMC’s zombie show has been compared to and weighed against several popular television shows like Lost, Harper’s Island, and even Z Nation. But why are these comparisons necessary?
Those type of comparisons are exactly what has been going on following an episode of Game of Thrones that featured a group of undead soldiers called the “White Walkers”. Since this isn’t a Game of Thrones site and I’m assuming there are quite a few fans of The Walking Dead that don’t watch the HBO fantasy program, I’ll save the spoilers. But needless to say that the episode has the media pitting one show against the other.
Even worse is when a writer has a bias against a show when writing the articles. An article over on Bloody Disgusting went as far to say that Game of Thrones had “schooled” The Walking Dead with their “White Walker” episode. The author went on to explain that he believes The Walking Dead is a bore because it features a central group of survivors and that the show doesn’t “push the envelope”.
While the author of that article is entitled to his opinion, I feel the exact opposite way about it. I love the intimate feel of the group and getting to know some of the little things about each character on The Walking Dead. There were times that I was wondering how the hit AMC show got away with seemingly small things things like the near rape of Carl by the Claimers and the scenes depicting cannibalism. While The Walking Dead may have been able to show more gore, nudity and shock value if they were on a channel like HBO or Showtime, I think it’s better that the show limits that kind of stuff in order to appeal to a wider audience.
That’s not to say that shows like Game of Thrones, Lost, Harper’s Island and Z Nation are better or worse than The Walking Dead. They are just different programs that offer a different experience to the viewer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with loving as many of those shows or any other programs as you want. That’s the beauty of television: you can watch whatever you enjoy.
So, let’s stop with the comparisons. There’s no need to belittle another show just to make another seem superior. That is all personal preference anyway. You’re welcome to like whatever shows you want.
And yes, I’m biased toward The Walking Dead because I absolutely love it. But I won’t be belittling other shows just to make AMC’s zombie program seem better than any other show. I’ll just let The Walking Dead’s successful franchise speak for itself.
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