I feel trapped by The Walking Dead's mediocrity

I feel trapped the mediocrity of The Walking Dead and the show’s popularity

I want to love The Walking Dead, I really really do. I absolutely love the comic which the show is based on and I will admit that the show has had some great moments. None of those have occurred in the first half of season six. It is easy to point to the Glenn storyline as the reason that I’m almost willing to bail on the show but the problem goes deeper than illogical survival and the protection of dumpsters.

Don't forget to check out Into the badlands

The recent midseason finale encapsulated most of the problems I have with the series. There is a huge threat that the group faces, a herd of walkers has entered Alexandria and it will take prompt planning and action to clear the herd, surely this will lead to a lot of action and excitement… or the characters could fight amongst themselves and nearly get everyone killed. Whether it was the horrible Ron, or the beloved Carol these characters chose to settle internal struggles rather than dealing with external threats. Ron’s actions are more excusable than Carol’s (I can’t believe I typed that) Ron is a teenager whose father was killed recently, and is losing his girlfriend to some random outsider whose father also happened to kill his dad… and is probably going to pork his mother. 

Oh yeah that's happening

Ron hasn’t been living outside with the zombies, Carol has. Whatever problems she has with Morgan keeping the wolf in his basement could have been settled later. As Morgan says “it should have”. Ron is also an idiot and Carol is an extremely capable survivor who has shown the ability to make intelligent rational decisions even under dire circumstances.

Rational

But not as rational as watching Into the Badlands am I right? 

We did lose a character in this hour long snoozefest. Deanna the leader of Alexandria, the woman who is responsible for establishing this sanctuary. She dies because she trips and falls onto a buzzsaw and then gets bitten by a walker. The last time we see her she is shooting walkers before running out of bullets and inviting them to attack her. I mean she could still be alive maybe she hid underneath the bed?

#DeannaIsAlive 

That is the problem though her death was supposed to be the highlight of the episode but really she was just another Alexandria red shirt. The show has been unwilling to kill off any more of the original cast since Andrea way back in season three. In fact at times it feels like the Greene family was added so that we could have terrible things happen to them.

Not as terrible as this show... I mean great... yeah great

At the end of the episode we are setting up for an exciting scene where Rick and Co. are walking out of the house covered in walker guts. Then… the episode… ends. That’s it see you in February where the show will continue to not live up to expectations… also don’t forget to watch Into the Badlands… seriously please watch this show… if you don't we’re going to start airing important parts of The Walking Dead during it… we swear we’ll do it!

Do you want to know who Negan is? Well he's on this show 

So why do I keep watching the show? Well because it has become an easy way to socialize with people. So many people watch it that it has become a simple conversation piece much like sports. Also the comic is so incredibly good and I want to believe that the show can live up to its source material. I truly feel that the show has hit a low point rivaled only by the infamous second season. These six episodes have felt like a waste and I can only hope that the introduction of Negan. Mentioned in the two minute prologue aired during Into the Badlands… 

I told you we would do it

Will help solve some of the problems that the show is currently suffering from.

For more on Brian’s thoughts on The Walking Dead be sure to tune into The Badlands airing Sundays on AMC.

NFL Week One Picks

Week One Picks

I for one should probably not be making picks, but it’s week one, I’m excited and it’s my blog so here’s what I think is going to happen.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots

Everyone outside of New England hates that Tom Brady got off without a suspension and are ready for him to get his just deserts. So naturally the Patriots are going blow out the Steelers and we’re all going to be mad.

Miami Dolphins @ Washington Redskins

The Redskins have been the model of consistency over the last few years. Unfortunately they are consistently terrible and plagued by off the field issues. I expect them to keep with the trend and I’m going to have to go with Miami on this one.

Cleveland Browns@ New York Jets

In a real clash of the titans I have Cleveland edging out New York.

Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills

Andrew Luck has a great supporting cast this season, to go along with his awful facial hair. I think the Bills are going to pull this one out though.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Houston Texans

The Kansas City Chiefs are lead by Alex “take no chances” Smith and Texans are lead by JJ “Holy Crap that’s a large man” Watt. Unfortunately I don’t think Watt can play quarterback and that leaves Brian “Hasn’t done anything to deserve a nickname” Hoyer to make plays and he won’t. Chalk one up for the Chiefs

Detroit Lions @ San Diego Chargers

Wow… what a boring match up. I’ll take the Lions I guess.

Baltimore Ravens @ Denver Broncos  

We all know that Peyton Manning is done after his disappointing 4,727 yards and 39 TDs to 15 INTs last year. But never underestimate Joe Flacco’s ability to be incredibly mediocre in the regular season. Broncos and it’s not close.  

Cincinnati Bengals @ Oakland Raiders

Andy Dalton is awful on the road, and it would be funny if the Raiders won. So you know what Raiders over Cincy!

Carolina Panthers @ Jacksonville Jaguars

There are playmakers all over the bench on this one, at least the Panthers have Cam Newton. Panthers obviously.

Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams

I’m really expecting big things out of the Rams this year… wait their QB is Nick Foles? What do you mean Gurley is still healing from a torn ACL? Okay Seahawks.

New Orleans Saints @ Arizona Cardinals

Neither team got better this off season, but the Saints got a lot worse. Cardinals.

Tennessee Titans @Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A possible Super Bowl preview? No. But I think despite problems up front the Buccaneers win this one.

New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys

The Giants have been pretty bad the last few years yet people expect them to be good this year. I don’t see it. Cowboys all day.

Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons

People who hate defense and good football rejoice. Eagles over the Falcons.

Minnesota Vikings @ San Francisco 49ers

Nobody had a worse off season that the 49ers, and I like the Vikings to be much improved. Vikings.

Survivor Second Chance Potential Winners

Ciera Eastin

Original Season: Blood vs Water

Original Finish: 5th place

Ciera Easton was a lock to return after voting off her mother on her original season. She’s smart, savvy, and above all nonthreatening. She should survive the bloodbath of alpha players picking one another off at the beginning of the game, and if she makes the merge I find it difficult to see a scenario where she doesn’t go deep. Had she flipped over to the Hayden, Katie, and Caleb alliance at final 7 she would have had a great case for why she should have won. I think she’ll have the opportunity to redeem herself in season 31.

Pegh-Geig Law

Original Season: China

Original Finish: 5th place

Pegh-Gee was really the only member of Zhan Hu that could have possibly beaten Todd. She showed great strategic acumen and adaptability when she came up with the idea to throw challenges to get rid of Aaron after the swap. I feel as if this season will have twists on twists and her ability to adapt will be her greatest asset.

Kelly Wentworth

Original Season: San Juan Del Sur

Original Finish: 14th place

Kelly is an almost unknown commodity in terms of how effective of a player she can be. She was greatly hampered by playing with her father, in fact he was the reason she got voted out. She won’t have her father weighing her down this season and she’s a popular winner pick.

Andrew Savage

Original Season: Pearl Islands

Original Finish: 10th place

Savage is maybe the single most screwed over player in the history of Survivor. The outcast twist was never used before and hasn’t been used since. Eliminated players were not a part of the game and there was no way he could have predicted it. He was the leader of the Survivor equivalent of a sinking ship, willing the Morgans to challenge wins in order to tie the game up at 5 heading into the merge. The twist brought Lil back into the game and she was not happy with Savage. This time I don’t see them doing a twist like that again, and I do think he has what it takes to win.

Stephen Fisbach

Original Season: Tocantins

Original Finish: 2nd

I think time has been kind to Fishbach. He lost the jury vote 7-0 in season 18 but people have come around to realize that he was the brains of that operation. (Especially with JT’s showing in Heroes vs Villains) He will be in trouble right off the bat due to his perceived weakness in challenges, but if he can make the merge he will be one to watch.

Tasha Fox

Original Season: Cagayan

Original Finish: 6th place

Tasha is one of my all time favorite Survivors. She was amazing in season 29, winning three individual immunity challenges after the merge, and proving she was a strategic force premerge. If she can get on the right side of the numbers post merge I can see her taking over and winning the game.

Thanks for reading everyone. Also check out this flier and apply to Survivor Rutland!

PPS: While that season of Survivor Rutland has come and gone we are always looking for people who are interested in playing. 

Survivor Second Chance Potential Jury Members

Part two of my Survivor Second Chance Preview

Keith Nale

Original Season: San Juan Del Sur

Original Finish: 4th place

Keith is a difficult player to analyze. On the one hand he has no idea how to play Survivor, and on the other, in his original season he won immunity three times and was one immunity win away from maybe winning the season. I think in Second Chance he will have a similar role as he did in his first season, a good old boy who will become expendable and go out somewhere around the merge.

Jeff Varner

Original Season: Australia

Original Finish: 10th

I could not be more excited to see Varner back on Survivor. He was screwed by a rule that has since been replaced. Varner managed to stay somewhat relevant in the fan community and people who watched Australia most likely voted for him as well. He says he’s ready for this new age Survivor, we’ll have a chance to find out soon.

Kimmi Kappenberg  

Original Season: Australia

Original Finish: 12th place

Kimmi is another interesting person to have return. I didn’t think too much about her ever returning until the list of possible second chance players. I didn’t vote for her, but I’m not too upset that she made cast. I’m also not too high on her chances. Her most memorable moment was getting a finger waved in her face. I think she will stay around as a non threat until she becomes expendable.

Monica Padilla

Original Season: Samoa

Original Finish: 7th Place

Monica was a great character in her first season. An under the radar player who stood up to Hantz  in the final days of her game. I’m all for supporting anyone who gave Hantz crap and I’m very intrigued about her chances in this game. I’ve seen a lot of support for her in the internet fan community, many people are picking her to win. I don’t see it happening but she will probably make the Jury.

Woo Hwang

Original Season: Cagayan

Original Finish: 2nd

People give Woo a lot of crap for the move he made at the end of season 28. He chose to bring Tony to the end over Kass, and it cost him a million dollars. What is lost on a lot of people is the fact that he was so close to winning that season. I don’t see anyone coming after him until well after the merge. Immunity runs aren’t impossible just ask Mike Holloway, but I don’t see it happening two seasons in a row.

Jeremy Collins

Original Season: San Juan Del Sur

Original Finish: 10th Place

Jeremy seems like a great guy, and a good leader. The problem is he’s too intense. He loves the show so much that in his first season I feel like it cost him his game. Maybe he has learned something from his experience but considering he’s only had about a year in between attempts I can’t see it. He won’t go out premerge because there are bigger fish to fry but I think around 10th place is likely once again.

Terry Deitz

Original Season: Exile Island

Original Finish: 3rd

Terry was the last player to finish third before they added a final three. (Though Cirie, Erin, and Kass all finished in third in rare seasons when the show went back to a final two) He may have been the reason they added the final three. He was a fan favorite who could have won the game. In this season however he won’t be winning every immunity challenge. In fact his age may make him less threatening, and keep him around longer than if he had come back right after Exile Island. I think his biggest weakness when it comes to Survivor is his strategic game. He needs someone to help him out there, and if someone does pick him up as a shield they will be smart enough to get rid of him before the end.

Ps

PPS: While that season of Survivor Rutland has come and gone we are always looking for people who are interested in playing. 

Survivor Second Chance Predictions: Premerge boots

This is the first of three articles where I speculate about how people will do on Survivor: Second Chance. 

Kelly Wigglesworth

Original season: Borneo

Original finish: 2nd

What can be said about Kelly Wigglesworth? She became a household name from the very first season, as an absurd 125 million people watched (at least in part) her loss to Richard Hatch back in 2000. She probably should have been back in Survivor All Stars in 2004, but the fact that there were already four Borneo players, and three Tagi members returning made it so she had to wait 15 years for a second chance. I think that she will be a premerge boot for two reasons, one she is kind of like the Rich Hatch of losers in the sense that all of these other losers are probably chomping at the bit to take her down simply because she is so well known. The second being the fact that during her campaign, and even on the live show she didn’t seem very excited. Her Rob Has a Podcast interview inparticular she only used 15 minutes, and revealed that she doesn’t own a television, and hasn’t stayed current with the evolution of the game. She doesn’t even really want to make alliances. If you don’t want to play Survivor, don’t go on Survivor, instead go on vacation. Fortunately she’ll have the pre jury trip to look forward to.

Shirin Oskooi

Original Season: Worlds Apart

Original Finish: 8th place

Shirin is one of my favorite players ever. She was my winner pick for Worlds Apart, and in a Survivor group I’m in I chose her again. However I don’t think she will make the merge. I think this has more to do with recency than her prowess as a player. During Worlds Apart she famously had to endure a terrible triad deliver by Will. More intelligent people than I have spoken about this blow up. (In fact I implore you to check out Survivor Talk with D&D, the episode where Andy Baker guests to hear said intelligent people talk about it) That moment received a lot of discussion, and airtime, as it should have. The thing is the people who go out onto Survivor may not care about why somebody got airtime, instead they just care that they got airtime. Everyone was in one way or another the star of their original season, and they will want to be the star of this season. Shirin is also not a huge asset in challenges, and in the finale of Worlds Apart alluded to the fact that she is a multimillionaire. I love Shirin, but I also loved Rob Cesternino, and Corinne Kaplan, and that didn’t stop them from going out pre jury during their second seasons.

Kassandra McQuillen

Original Season: Cagayan

Original Finish: 3rd

Kass is another player who I really enjoyed during her original season. I do think there is merit to the argument that women, especially older women unfairly get judged for making moves that men seem to get away with. Survivor is sexist, I wish that weren’t the case, but it is. Kass is not a great challenge competitor, and Shane in his Survivor Funeral interview absolutely eviscerated her. People online seem to think that she will be the first boot. I’m not sure if that will be the case, but she is perceived as a flipper, and that will hurt her in trying to make early alliances. Of all of the people in this article she is the one that I am most sure will not make it to the merge.

Abi-Maria Gomes

Original Season: Survivor Philippines

Original Finish: 5th place

I will admit that this selection may be bias. I truly didn’t enjoy Abi-Maria as a character during her first stint on Survivor. I doubt I’m going to enjoy her this time. She is not good at challenges, and I don’t see her getting lucky and ending up on a tribe where she will be afforded the opportunity to sit out all but two challenges again. Her attitude, weakness in challenges, and reputation will all come together to make her a very early boot.

Spencer Bledsoe

Original Season: Survivor Cagayan

Original Finish: 4th

I know that people love Spencer, and that is why he will not go far. He’s the new kid on the block, a good challenge competitor, and possible strategic force. Most Survivor fans cheered him on as he made an improbable run to fourth place. The thing is I think he will suffer from the same thing Rob Cesternino suffered from in Survivor All Stars. He’s the hot new thing, and the other players are going to be somewhat jealous of his following. Also was it just me or did Spencer look incredibly skinny during the live show? He almost looked sick. Rumor has it that the conditions in Cambodia are awful, and I have a feeling that production is going to do everything in their power to make this All Star season as difficult as possible. Sorry Mr. Survivor.

Joe Anglim

Original Season: Worlds Apart

Original Finish: 10th place

Joe is so screwed. His biggest asset as a player is that he is dominate in challenges. The problem is this season is full of great physical players. He is also very new and didn’t have much time to meet the other players in this cast. I can’t see some of these players letting Joe go far. He’s too likable, and the fans love him. Even if he does last a few votes he will surely be cut off before the merge as he won the first two challenges in Worlds Apart. Joey Amazing he will not be.

Vytas Baskauskas:

Original Season: Blood Vs Water

Original Finish: 10th place

This may come as a bit of a surprise to some people, but I truly don’t believe Vytas is going to do well in this season. He’s a superb athlete who as I see it has a lack of friends in this season. The only player from his original season is Ciera and he has a feud with her mother. I think like Joe Vytas will fall to being a huge threat going into the merge.

So that’s it for premerge, I will be back soon with who I think will end up being voted off after the Jury starts.

Ps

PPS: While that season of Survivor Rutland has come and gone we are always looking for people who are interested in playing.