Days Gone Bye

When adapting an original piece of work into a televised serial it is undoubtedly impossible to avoid comparative critique, particularly when you're adapting something as popular and long lasting as The Walking Dead. This opens up the great task of doing justice to what inspired the series, pleasing the fans that make up the original fan base. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon the series having not read the comic, giving me no prior notion or expectations as to how the story/characters should look or play out. I was therefore able to sit and watch a pilot to a show in which I was as clueless as protagonist Rick, with no clear indication as to what caused the outbreak, or who he would meet and learn from along the way.

Now re-watching the episode several years on having read 150 issues of the comic, and seen up to the most recent episode of the shows sixth season, I can safely stay that this remains one of the greatest openings to a television show I have ever witnessed. The 67 minute episode captures the necessary story from Issue 1 of the comic to a T, whilst adding original content that helps branch out the story and flesh out the characters for witnessing audiences.

The episode adds a scene between Rick and Shane unseen in the comics, acting as a good way to get across a sense of normality in the protagonists lives before the apocalypse. The entire set up is successful in introducing Rick and his family (despite Lori and Carl being unseen), letting us know what Rick will be seeking out the second he leaves the confines of the hospital. The entire hospital scene is well done, creating an eerie atmosphere with the shots of bullet holes in the wall, blood smeared over the floor and a devoured carcass under a flickering light. Despite it all seeming to mirror the opening to 2002 British Zombie horror 28 Days Later, it still feels unique and fresh in its opening, particularly as the zombies (or "walkers") remain unseen at first, with only a glimpse at the elongated fingers of one sliding through the crack of the "Don't Open, Dead Inside" door. The whole mystery set up allows the viewer to remain ignorant (despite beginning the series with the knowledge its a zombie survival show), allowing them to further identify with the confusion felt by Rick.

The strongest portion of the episode for me is when Rick runs into fellow survivor Morgan and his son Duane, who provide an array of emotions during their short stay on the show; adding laughs as Morgan attempts to continue parenting his son on correct English during the apocalypse ("What the hell was that out your mouth just now?"), and immense sadness as we see Duane weeping under his fathers arms as he catches a glimpse of his now undead mother (who I may add is utterly terrifying as she peers at the door on the other side of the peephole). Most importantly, Morgan and Duane act as the fill in narrators during the crucial first episode, letting Rick know the 'rules' behind this particular zombie apocalypse, meaning he no longer has to go around so naïve in future episodes unaware that being bitten equals imminent death. As Rick departs to head for Atlanta (leaving Morgan and Duane behind to rejoin him later on... something I still don't fully understand), the show produces one its greatest scenes, and one that I would call one of its most memorable. It pans between two scenes, with Rick putting down the bicycle girl zombie, and Morgan attempting to shoot his undead wife whilst Duane reads his comic books downstairs, desperately holding onto the normality of childhood. Lennie James' acting during this scene is superb, illustrating the pain Morgan feels in trying to shoot his wife, not needing a line of dialogue to transparently show this to the audience as he is unable to do so. This scene becomes even more tragic when one sees the consequences of this during season 3.

Days Gone Bye draws to a close as Ricks venture into Atlanta results in him being swarmed by a horde of the undead (and a horse is subsequently devoured, painful for any animal lover to witness). As it seems like all is lost for Rick, now stuck within a tank and no clear means of escape, we hear the voice of a fellow survivor on the radio, confirming to the audience that there are others out there, and that Rick's journey is by no means over. This was a perfect way to end the episode, combining a strong sense of closure for this first part of Ricks journey, as well as teasing us as to whom he will be with next. Frank Darabont perfectly puts together one of the strongest opening episodes to a television series, and does the original comic script absolute justice in his adaptation. Its a shame to know now several years on that Darabonts influence on the show is cut way short, and we are instead taken into what feels like a completely different show (albeit still a good one), and one that never quite matches the strength of early episodes such as this one.