The Walking Dead at 100

Season 8 of THE WALKING DEAD arrived last night, celebrating the 100th episode of the enduring show. 100 episodes is no small feat, for sure. A lot of shows can only dream of reaching that number. It is all the more impressive that TWD reached it because the show is not a mainstream network show, and each season has been 16 episodes (or less in the case of seasons 1 and 2), requiring more seasons to reach the number than the shows that get 22 episodes per season.

I saw a post this morning on Facebook with someone saying simply: "Walking Dead. I'm done."

I cheekily replied: "Is this one of those 1 year ago today posts, or is this a new annual TWD tradition?"

Yes, fans like to get worked up over the show. They like to "quit" it in very loud and public ways. They like to claim some level of mental, emotional or physical grief being leveled upon them.

I like to roll my eyes at these complaining drama queens and kings.

And speaking of queens and kings: last year I posted a blog and recorded a podcast where I took some of the complainers to task over their cries of outrage at the panel by panel, pitch perfect recreation of the death of Glen on the show's season 7 opener. People were beside themselves with disgust at the scene and declared that TWD had gone too far.

Then they returned to posting endlessly about how eager they were for Game Of Thrones (with all of its incest, castration, rape, torture and gore of gratuitous degrees) to return.

Sigh.

Well, here we are again. A new season. A new series of wounded snowflakes who can't stand to watch the show any longer.

Melt snowflake! Melt!

I'm still watching. And I'm still enjoying it. Sure, I think that the writers are chronically lazy when they slow the pace of storytelling and split up the core cast to drag out the seasons at times. That's a creative complaint. They are crafting it for binge watching and not week-to-week. Such is the trend.

But when they are firing on all cylinders, the show is still quite exhilarating to watch. I love the characters and the evolution we've seen since the beginning. I even love FEAR THE WALKING DEAD (which had a mostly horrible first season, but has made up for it in seasons 2 and 3). I like the universe and the darkness of humanity that it explores.

I like the show.

I'm not fickle enough to abandon it over some minor complaints. Over all they keep delivering, and I keep enjoying it. AND... I don't take it so seriously that one little nudge in any direction crushes me emotionally. Anyone who does should probably seeks some sort of help. It's just a TV show. You either like it or you don't. Don't book a parade route to declare some sort of offense that you feel has been heaped upon you personally because of a plot point.

To quote William Shatner: "Get a life!"

Season 8 is off and running, and it is full of action and continued evolution of the characters. War is here, and it looks like we're in for a long stretch of action. I would be disappointed (but not shocked) if next week we suddenly find ourselves in a solo episode of what happened to Heath for an hour.

#WheresHeath?

TWD has done so much more than just achieve 100 episodes. It has created a larger geek community surrounding the worlds they have created. Walker Stalker Cons are great fun, and bring tremendous joy to people who attend. My wife and I went to one last year, and loved it.

As a comic book fan, who has gone to many Cons, I get it. It is a world and a culture that fans can feel safe and find community. How can one not applaud and respect that passion?