You'll want to jump up and scream at your TV: "C'mon! Wake up, you idiots! They're zombies!"
That'll be one reaction when AMC's Fear the Walking Dead debuts at 8 p.m. today with an extended 90-minute episode.
I've seen the first two episodes and I know you'll want to scream because the oblivious denizens of Los Angeles are a little slow on the undead uptake. It takes them a while to realize that, um, well, something's not right -- even for Los Angeles.
Fans of AMC's hugely popular The Walking Dead have an advantage over the hapless citizens of LA. We already know what happened, how bad it got and how quickly, and how only the strong -- and lucky -- will survive.
Fear the Walking Dead, the highly anticipated prequel to The Walking Dead, basically covers how the whole zombie apocalypse got started and what happened during the three months that our Walking Dead hero, Rick Grimes, was in a coma.
Just to remind you, Episode 1 of The Walking Dead premiered on Oct. 31, 2010, with deputy sheriff Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and his partner Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) in a high-speed pursuit. There was a crash; shots were fired; and Rick was seriously wounded.
Three months later, Rick awakened from a coma in a seemingly abandoned hospital. Rick and viewers were quickly plunged into a nightmare world overrun by zombies -- a world of blood, gore, shuffling walkers and the occasional survivor searching for sanctuary.
All of that is still in the future on Fear the Walking Dead. In the prequel, we switch from Georgia to Los Angeles, where there are already a lot of weird folks stumbling around, so maybe those early zombies would go unnoticed for a while.
It will be interesting to see how quickly creators Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson can establish this prequel universe. The first season will only have six episodes with which to work. AMC, however, has already ordered 15 episodes for Season 2 next year.
The adventure unfolds gradually (some will claim too gradually) through the eyes of a single mother, her two teenage children and her live-in boyfriend. Here's the background for the four main characters:
• Madison Clark (Kim Dickens). A popular high school guidance counselor and widow, she raised her kids by herself until she fell in love with Travis, the high school English teacher. AMC says, "Madison is quick to make the hard choices that will keep her family alive."
I detect a little Carol Peletier or Michone edginess in Madison. That should come in handy, because surely sprawling LA will have its own version of The Governor or feral humans to be dwelt with.
• Travis Manawa (Cliff Curtis). The divorced English teacher is a caring, decent guy who is protective and pragmatic. While trying to become a father to Madison's children, he attempts to maintain a relationship with his angry ex-wife, Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez), and their surly, resentful teenage son, Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie).
Will Travis step up to the Rick Grimes role? Someone has to lead, maybe it's he. Will outsiders join the Travis-Madison survival group? We'll see.
• Nick Clark (Frank Dillane). Madison's 19-year-old drug-addicted son has been to rehab several times and has finally hit bottom. He's one of the first to witness a zombie attack, but who's going to believe a junkie? Nick finally seems determined to rebuild his life and, oddly, the zombie apocalypse might help him do that.
• Alicia Clark (Alycia Debnam-Carey). Madison's teenage daughter is an overachieving model student eager to leave the exhausting family drama (especially older brother Nick) behind. Alicia also has a jock boyfriend, Matt (Maestro Harrell).
With all these teenagers skulking about, there would be more than enough angst without zombies in the mix. Perhaps that's another reason why it takes everyone a few days to suspect weird stuff is going down.
Finally, in the second episode there's a glimmer of an epiphany when Travis comes across a puddle of guts and goo and proclaims, "Something really bad happened here." Then the "corpse" staggers up. That'd be a big clue for me, and a major reason to get out of town.
With only six episodes, I'm assuming things spiral out of control fairly quickly after the first two.
Fair warning: Fear the Walking Dead has a different pace than the mother ship. Those who simply want more of the same, only set in Los Angeles, will be disappointed, at least with the first two episodes, before civilization begins to unravel.
Approach FTWD as a separate family story of growing tension, anxiety and dread and you'll not be disappointed.
Mark your calendars: The Walking Dead Season 6 premieres at 8 p.m. Oct. 11 with a 90-minute episode. Talking Dead follows at 9:30.
Style on 08/23/2015