BE PREPARED

I have been watching The Walking Dead on AMC since it began on Halloween. I am not usually captivated by Zombie shows but this one is so well written that I think it should be a MUST SEE for everyone.

There have been other post apocalyptic zombie shows. Dawn of the Dead from 1978 established a cult following and The Walking Dead uses Dawn of the Dead as a starting point for its plot. Zombieland took the same basic concept but made it into a dark comedy. In The Walking Dead there is the familiar global epidemic and people are dying, only to become reanimated as flesh eating Zombies. It is a farfetched idea. But, given the spread of viruses, this not a completely crazy idea. In most of these movies the zombies attack and the remaining humans try to escape. In The Walking Dead it's more complicated and far more interesting.

In The Walking Dead the writers have expanded the characters to create a morality play about the meaning of life and the choices we all make. The Zombies are a back drop for bad decision making and evil. At the core of The Walking Dead is the idea that to be human is to be selfless. Team work, sharing, planning, and cooperation are essential to survival. Deputy Rick Grimes explains this with the line, "We don't kill the living".

Regardless of the Zombie premise, The Walking Dead is a great morality lesson. It teaches the importance of being prepared, team work, and doing the right thing because, it is the right thing to do. It reminds me of the Boy Scouts is an odd way. There is nothing wrong with being prepared. Mom always said, "You need to buy a hand gun BEFORE you need a hand gun. You don't want to try to buy one the minute you need it." Mom would have liked The Walking Dead.