we're gonna be pee pee pen city here
real soon
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
things that led to the rise and fall of
the walking dead
supposed to make me feel better don't
don't let it go to your head
let's start over for this list we're
looking at why
fans fell in love with the zombie show
and what made some people turn away from
it
since we'll be talking about events from
the first 10 seasons of the show
beware of massive spoilers ahead and let
us know what you adore or despise about
the walking dead in the comments below
number 10 unique and terrifying zombies
rise the walkers made a huge impression
when they first stumbled onto the screen
they looked gruesome sounded terrifying
and felt like they could exist as a
threat in the real world
and unique walkers like the bicycle
woman showed the creators could remix
the traditional look of the undead
creatures we were used to
the combination of mind-blowing makeup
and great acting from the people playing
walkers
immediately drew us into this new world
the walking dead zombie effects were so
good that the show won two
emmys for outstanding achievement in
prosthetic makeup
the amount of effort it took to create
these walkers had us coming back
every episode to see what the crew would
come up with next
number 9. small and relatable stakes
rise
the walking dead's first episode finds
rick grimes waking up from a coma in the
midst of the zombie apocalypse after
finding that his wife
son and best friend are part of a group
of survivors rick tries his best to keep
them all together
as the world around them falls apart
this simple setup allowed for a lot of
complex drama
supposed to make me feel better don't it
was fascinating to watch rick and his
crew grapple with whether they were
doing right by the world and each other
while trying to survive
they made us question what we would do
if we were in their shoes
it ain't hard man the right choice is
the one that keeps us alive
it's always the same with you it's like
the first moments is whenever you're put
to the test stop acting like you know
the way ahead like you know the rules
there are no rules man we're lost the
series commitment to exploring the moral
and practical problems of a zombie
apocalypse
immediately made the show compelling you
once said
we don't kill the living well that was
before the living try to kill us
number eight casting relatively unknown
actors
rise it's better this way what is
before 2010 casual audiences probably
would not have recognized
most of the cast while some people may
have remembered norman reedus from
boondock saints or
seen andrew lincoln in love actually the
show is full of relatively unknown
actors
since the cast wasn't that recognizable
it was easier for fans to see the actors
as the characters they portrayed
it really felt like norman reedus was
the capable and dirt-covered daryl it's
gotta be the brain
y'all know nothing the actors were so
tied to their characters that the show
felt more like a documentary than a
fictional drama
and it also didn't hurt that all the
actors were extremely talented
by relying on great unknowns the
creatives gave us a fantastic cast that
we could easily get invested in
i told you so now you're getting cocky
huh
number seven rashon rise when michonne
first appeared on the show she was
presented as a cold katana wielding
walker slayer
while she was always dynamic in a fight
her character's reluctance to show
vulnerability made her personality feel
static and underdeveloped
really
but everything changed when michonne
started dating rick
fans finally got to see the gentle and
loving side of her character
seeing michonne balance her
responsibilities as a mother with her
duty to cut down enemies that threatened
her family
made her feel more three-dimensional
i right this is it it has to be
their relationship had the added bonus
of softening the harder edges rick had
developed over the series
overall the adorable richonne ship gave
a lot of humanity to the characters who
needed it the most i can't
lose you number six departing from the
source material
rise while the show began as a nearly
shot-for-shot adaptation of the comic
the creators didn't hesitate to make
some significant changes
you're putting every single one of us at
risk just know that rick
come on you saw that walker it was here
it was in camp
instead of abruptly being killed off
rick's best friend shane stirs up
trouble throughout season two
let us do this then we can talk but you
won't talk about rick
these things ain't sick they're not
people they're dead
ain't got to feel nothing because all
they do they care
carol also survives the prison arc that
claimed her comic book counterpart
and despite never appearing on the page
daryl dixon was created to break hearts
and perform
badass feats on the show these changes
kept comic book fans engaged because
they couldn't predict what would happen
next
and daryl and carol became so popular to
all audiences
that the duo is getting a spin-off show
let's start over
these relatively small departures from
the source material had hugely positive
payoffs for the series
number five frank darabont leaving the
show
fall and this new world is ugly it's
harsh it's it's a survival of the
fittest
former showrunner frank derebot spent
years developing the first season of the
walking dead
fans have him to thank for the show's
unique cinematography grim
tone and the unforgettable pilot episode
but after derebot clashed with amc over
budgetary and creative issues
he and the network had a nasty breakup
even before season two aired
well i guess if this is the first you're
hearing i know how it must sound
while it's hard to say how different the
show would have been had he stayed his
firing definitely had one major negative
effect
jeffrey demon who played the moral
compass character dale demanded his
character be killed off in the wake of
darebot's firing
the loss of a major character and its
showrunner so early on wasn't a great
omen for the walking dead
sorry brother number four creating slow
and overstuffed plotlines
fall as the walking dead seasons got
longer the writers were tasked with
stretching out overarching plot lines
while
keeping things interesting but despite
their best efforts
a decent number of episodes failed to
develop characters or push the plot
forward
the slow pace of the story only got
worse as the cast ballooned
we haven't come up with a single viable
option yet i wish we could
let's work on it stop it while the show
only followed rick's crew in season one
fans today have to keep track of the
names and motivations of everyone in
alexandria
oceanside and hilltop don't let it go to
your head
they also have to familiarize themselves
with the whisperers and every new
character that appears
the sheer cast size and slow pace can
make episodes a chore to get through
watching a zombie show shouldn't require
a glossary of characters and a cup of
coffee
number three too many fake out deaths
fall
a good fake-out death can shock the
audience while giving them a deeper
appreciation for the character they
thought was lost
but if this story technique is used too
often viewers start to resent the
writers for constantly tricking them
audiences will also have trouble
believing that people can actually die
while nearly every main character has
experienced a couple of fake-out deaths
the king of false demises is glenn after
nearly killing him off half a dozen
times the writers tried to convince us
he was dead for three episodes before
revealing he was hiding under a dumpster
while fans were relieved to see him they
were still frustrated with the writers
for their over-reliance on this cheap
scare tactic
number two the negan cliffhanger fall
gonna be pee pee pen city here real soon
remember what we said about fake out
deaths well the season six finale left
fans with the most infamous one of the
series
in the final minutes negan plays eenie
meenie miney moe to determine who he
will dispatch with his bat
but just as his victim is about to be
revealed the screen cuts to black
you can breathe you can blink
you can cry hell you're all gonna be
doing that
fans were infuriated they had to wait
until next season to find out who
perished
and to add insult to injury abraham and
glenn were both killed off in
tremendously violent ways in the season
seven premiere well it
seems like you're trying to speak but
you just took a hell of a hit
the reaction was so negative that future
episodes were re-edited to tone down the
brutality
but for some fans the walking dead had
already crossed a line
was a joke that bad before we unveil our
top pick
here are some honorable mentions rise
expanding zombie lore
concepts like zombie camouflage became
popular
fall andrew lincoln's departure from the
show
fans weren't ready to let rick go for
the beast that knows my name
[Music]
rise rick versus shane the conflict
between best friends was engaging
and tragic
fall humans became the main villains the
human antagonist
started to get stale i don't know where
the hell he is
but lucille
[Music]
is hungry rise short seasons
shorter seasons made for tighter
storylines this was your shot to prove
to me
that that fundamental fact was sinking
in
and you failed which sucks because your
life was about to get
so much cooler before we continue be
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number one carl's death fall no matter
how
bleak things looked for rick his son
carl always gave him bright hope for the
future
i found even more but
i ate it what was it
112 ounces of pudding
but that light faded in season eight
after being bitten during the savior's
war
carl chose to end his life in the
mid-season premiere this shocking twist
had
disastrous consequences for the walking
dead's public opinion
i mean was this the plan
[Music]
was it supposed to be this way the
episode that followed the mid-season
premiere had 2
million fewer viewers and while the
series has tried to replace him with
young characters like henry and judith
they haven't been able to fill the void
that carl left his death was ultimately
a major loss the show
never fully recovered from do you agree
with our picks
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