The undead invade Foxtel

It’s no secret that the highest-rating programs in the country are either reality shows or the news.

This cheats the viewing audience because, while reality programs may be somewhat entertaining, they are incredibly cheap to produce. And while this season’s Thomas and Carla are depicted as rogues of Bonnie and Clyde type proportions, they will soon be replaced by another forgettable pair of villains on the next whatever-show hosted by a Scott Cam and Jamie Durie hybrid-being.

Overseas however, event television is king. In America, while reality programs are popular (anything to do with idols, dancing or shores comes to mind), a slew of high-budget drama are attracting a lot of attention. Gripping dramas like Mad Men and Breaking Bad have broken ratings records, but US cable-network AMC’s new program is causing a stir for its strange premise.

Based on a graphic novel of the same name, The Walking Dead is a program that revolves around a small bunch of people trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic, modern-day world. Oh, it’s also worth mentioning that there are also zombies. Lots and lots of zombies.

The story centres on a former sheriff’s deputy in a small rural town who, after waking up from a coma, finds the world overrun by flesh-eating monsters. After banding together with a diverse group of resistance (earth’s only survivors happen to be racially blended – bonus points for that), the search for a military “safe zone” begins.

At this point, The Walking Dead isn’t sounding too different to any of the other undead-related media out at the moment. Yes, the monsters are people, struck down with some sort of disease and they crave human flesh. However, this is where the similarities end. What sets The Walking Dead apart is that it still manages to be a very gritty human drama and it doesn’t shy away from confronting themes. In early episodes of its premiere season, the issues of humanity, euthanasia, torture and racism are all carefully explored.

The cast is very strong and the characters are well-written and relatable. As the danger of their situation grows, the reactions of the characters are grounded in reality. For example, when one of the group is killed early on in the series, the monsters are almost forgotten completely as the program focusses on people’s emotions.  The makeup and visual effects are also put to good use, making the world of the program even more believable.

One very slight criticism would have to lie with the portrayal of the aforementioned.

With a program of such a large scale that is teeming with extras there are some moments where the bounding hordes of zombies resemble a bunch of university students at a halloween party (or maybe just a bunch of amateur theatre actors).

This is of course inevitable and forgivable in terms of the entire show.

Unfortunately, The Walking Dead does not currently screen on free-to-air television but it can be found on Foxtel’s FX channel.