'The Walking Dead' Season 4 Ends on a High Note

The Walking Dead had seemed to get a bit of a lukewarm response from some in recent episodes. Any doubts should have all went out the window with the Season 4 finale. The episode was a thrilling nail biter throughout, and ended with the return of bad-ass Rick (Andrew Lincoln) after the group gets locked in a old train car by those at the Terminus. Good news though...no main character died! I'm glad they flipped the switch, as it seems before each season or mid-season finale people wonder who will die, since they've pretty much killed someone each time.

We still don't know much about the Terminus yet, except that they almost make the Governor (David Morrissey) look nice in comparison. The people look very robotic. The creepy room of candles seemed to suggest they no longer trust outsiders, so something obviously happened before. People will also be wondering why they wouldn't just kill Rick & Company, instead shooting at their feet. Maybe they're a cult of cannibals? Hence why they lure people towards the Terminus and then trap people instead of killing them. The new slogan should be "Those who arrive survive...until they become next week's dinner." The whole idea of Terminus furthers the message of the show that we've come to expect, which is you need to fear the living as much as the zombies.

Many questions have been answered recently, such as how Michonne's (Danai Gurira) son died and why Rick became a farmer at the prison. The finale left more questions to be answered in regards to the Terminus, setting us up nicely for Season 5. Also...where the fuckity fuck is Beth (Emily Kinney)?! When she was kidnapped in that car, maybe it was someone from Terminus? I assume we'll find that out come October, as well as what will happen to Carol (Melissa McBride) & Tyreese (Chad Coleman) as they make their way towards Terminus.

'The Walking Dead' Ratings Kill Everything Else on TV

Another season premiere, another record shattered by 'The Walking Dead'. 16.1 Million people tuned into the season 4 premiere of 'The Walking Dead' on AMC, becoming the highest rated show of the season. The previous record for the series was 12.4 Million. The Cable show is getting live ratings that the Broadcast networks could only dream of right now. It also seems like the walkers took a chunk out of the ratings for all the broadcast network shows, which were all down across the board in competition. 'The Walking Dead' is an event now, people want to watch it live so they can talk about it afterwards rather than DVR it and possibly get spoiled.

Another big milestone is that the show received 10.4 Million viewers in the 18-49 demographic, which makes it the most watched program of the season in that advertising coveted group, surpassing every NFL game. Before last night, all the highest rated programs among 18-49 year olds were all NFL games. The pigskin is no match for flesh eating zombies.

The new season is off to a solid start as well with a good first episode. Some clear storylines forming with Rick (Andrew Grimes) now taking on a role as farmer & having a new hatred of violence. Michonne (Danai Gurira) is leaving the prison for extended periods in search of the Governor (David Morrissey) to get her revenge on him for the death of Andrea (Laurie Holden). Glenn (Steven Yeun) & Maggie (Lauren Cohan) have a wedding to look forward to...and we have to wonder if it will be as insane as the Red Wedding on 'Game of Thrones'.

Carol (Melissa McBride) is teaching story-time to the children...with a fun twist of knife lessons to defend against walkers. Story-time during the zombie apocalypse is badass. Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green) & Tyreese (Chad L. Coleman) have acclimated well and are important members of the prison. Daryl (Norman Reedus) is still the Daryl we love. The survivors finally found a Big Lots! superstore after 4 years...and just their luck the roof caves in with zombies raining down. Dear superstores: please build stronger roofs.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Finale

Another season of The Walking Dead is in the books. Season 3 went out with a bang, though it was not quite as good as the season 2 finale which gave us a Michonne (Danai Gurira) tease when she rescued Andrea (Laurie Holden) in the forest and the beginning of the "Ricktatorship".

A week after the emotional death of Merle (Michael Rooker), we have another sad goodbye of an original character with the death of Andrea. It was played out well and had a very powerful build. Even though I don't like her death, I understand her story came full circle, and ever since the death of her sister in season 1 she hated seeing others meet a similar fate. She tried to save everyone at the prison & Woodbury, including The Governor (David Morrissey), but it didn't work out. Seeing Milton (Dallas Roberts) stand up to The Governor before being stabbed and left locked with Andrea to turn also brought his story to a close. 

It was pretty well done, aside from making Andrea take FOREVER to pick the pliers up with her toes. It should have taken a few seconds, maybe one minute. The main reason I hated seeing Andrea die is because it feels like too many of the original cast has been killed off. We're down to Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Carol (Melissa McBride), Daryl (Norman Reedus), Glenn (Steven Yeun) and Carl (Chandler Riggs). Of course it keeps you on your toes, but I hope it doesn't come to a point where its overkill. After watching Merle and Andrea die in back to back weeks, we've now lost well over half of the original cast members. Dale, Andrea, Shane, Sophia, Merle, Lori, & T-Dog have all died since the middle of Season 2. Though I'm sure we will see Andrea some more through Michonne flashbacks. 

We saw Carl basically turning into Shane II. That will clearly become a storyline, as Rick will attempt to handle Carl becoming affected by the awful world around them. The Governor escaped, which leaves him at large and sure to pop up again. I guess we'll find out this summer when the show begins filming again if he'll be back in Season 4, or sometime after. Talking Dead also got prank called by some creep who breathed heavy then said something about the end coming and the graves being full, which was odd yet funny.

The 4th season of The Walking Dead on AMC begins in October. To help hold us over, Mad Men returns next week!

The Walking Dead: Andrea Chooses a Side

The Walking Dead ramped up the intensity in the episode titled "Prey", with a #PreyForAndrea hashtag being hyped up on The Walking Dead twitter. We found out why in a big way.

The episode was mainly about Andrea (Laurie Holden) and The Governor (David Morrissey). Andrea, by the way, returned to the Season Two badass Andrea finally. She also finally chose a side, opting to return to the prison once she'd seen what The Governor was planning to do with Michonne (Danai Gurira) in his dungeon. Milton (Dallas Roberts) shows it to her, and has seemingly lost his trust of The Governor as well. Its assumed he burned the walkers they were planning to unleash on the prison.

Back to the Andrea/Governor scene though, which filled most of the episode. The game of cat and mouse was absolutely perfect, and created what was perhaps the most intense, edge-of-your-seat episode of the entire series. The Governor turned into the full-on evil Governor they'd been building up to as he made his way through the warehouse searching for Andrea. He even pulled a little Freddy Kruger move, taunting her with whistles as he dragged hit metal shovel against the fences. I like that both characters were able to use the resources to get a leg up on the other. When Andrea found the stairway full of zombies, then entered and hid behind the open door as the zombies streamed out towards the Governor was one of the most exciting scenes they've had.

Then when she finally arrived at the prison, about to wave for Rick's (Andrew Lincoln) attention, he grabs her from behind and ends up taking her away. Just seconds from a happy reunion, she ends up in the worst possible spot. You have to wonder why she didn't just take his truck back at the warehouse, but then I guess that messes with the plot.

In a preview for next week on Talking Dead, we saw Merle (Michael Rooker) actually trying to convince Rick not to give up Michonne, knowing how The Governor operates and that it wouldn't make a difference. The two factions will have their war, and The Governor may use Andrea as bait to separate Michonne from the rest of the group. Or will Milton save Andrea and then die for doing so? With just two episodes left this season, the intensity is sure to continue at the high level of "Prey". Fear not though, as The Walking Dead ends, Mad Men returns a week later. Two very different shows, yet both fit well together because of the excellent storytelling and passionate cast & crew.

Tips For Winter Storm Nemo

Winter Storm Nemo is approaching the Northeast with a ton of snow ready to be dumped, then some strong wind to blow it all around for good measure to mess up your car or sidewalk should you try and clean them halfway through the storm.

Here are some tips for staying busy during the storm before eventually heading out for some winter snow fun.

1 - Watch Finding Nemo. This one is a no-brainer. Remember just how much you love Nemo when you feel like cursing the name that locked you in the house on a Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) will help provide some comic relief to your night. And don't forget that they are making a Finding Nemo 2! Maybe they should name more storms after our favorite Pixar characters? Certainly makes them seem less intimidating. Plus, we should all understand where Nemo is coming from. I would be incredibly pissed if Pixar made Cars 2 before Finding Nemo 2 also.

2 - AMC will be airing a marathon of The Walking Dead seasons 2 and 3 this weekend leading up to the return of the show on Sunday night. What better way to spend stuck inside than with our favorite zombies and zombie killers? Seeing Michonne (Danai Gurira) slice of some zombie heads with her sword and giving The Governor (David Morrissey) an eye full of glass is a nice way to spend an afternoon.

3 - Break out the Super Nintendo, Sega Dreamcast, N64 or any video game console from the 90s. Was there anything better than playing "Mario Party" or "Sonic" during a Snow Day? Or the classic 90s Disney games?

4 - Dust off those Frosty the Snowman DVD's and remember just how much you love the snow. Okay maybe not Blizzard level snow...but when its all said and done it will make for some great sledding, football, igloo and snowman building.

5 - HOT COCOA!

The Walking Dead: Killer Within

Oh. Shit. Its safe to say when fans of The Walking Dead on AMC sat down to watch tonights episode "Killer Within," they didn't expect two main characters to be killed off. Its just the fourth episode, but once again, they show that nobody is safe on The Walking Dead.

We lost both Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and T-Dog (Robert "IronE" Singleton) in tonight's wild episode. Everything went to hell when the fences went down and zombies infiltrated the prison. T-Dog was bitten, then knowing he would die anyway, charged some zombies to help Carol (Melissa McBride) escape. Speaking of Carol, we aren't sure yet if she survived after escaping the hallway they were in. Lori died when she was separated with Maggie (Lauren Cohan) and Carl (Chandler Riggs), and went into labor. Maggie had to cut the baby out to save it, and Lori died in the process, with Carl having to finish her off so she wouldn't become a zombie.

It was a surprisingly intense & emotional episode so soon into the third season, but once again showed that they won't hold back with the show. They will adapt characters' fates from comics to TV even if they have to kill off a fan favorite or main character, even if they don't exactly follow the comics completely, which they don't. The addition of new characters like Michonne (Danai Gurira) and The Governor (David Morrissey) helps them easily transition.

This is the reason it is one of the best shows on TV, and the highest rated show in cable history. The ratings for this seasons premiere became the highest rated premiere in the 18-49 demographic of any show on TV, the first time a cable show has achieved that. And this wild ride of unbelievable episodes is going to continue, as stated on their official twitter page: "That was only episode 4. We have four more to go before we can pick our jaws up off the floor."

Watch The Walking Dead Season 3 Trailer!

The theatrical new trailer for The Walking Dead (watch below) has been released online following the debut at comic-con. Everyone is in action in the new trailer, and you get to see how The Governor (David Morrissey) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) will fit into the epic 3rd season. And epic is the perfect word, as this promises to be full of action with even better storytelling to go with it. There's also the first glimpse at the returning Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) as well as the prison and the survivor community, Woodbury.

Andrea (Laurie Holden) & Michonne are going to make one kick-ass team. We can see Michonne does not trust The Governor from the start. Rick (Andrew Lincoln) is in full on "take no bullshit" mode, and you know once the gang joins back up with Andrea and new pal Michonne, they may go to war with The Governor. And both groups will be attacked by countless walkers (zombies). The 3rd season will premiere Sunday October 14 at 9ET on AMC. The show may be more anticipated than any show on TV, including network TV, and should beat the cable record 9 million viewers it received for the season 2 finale.

The Walking Dead Season 3 Preview

Attention all fans of The Walking Dead, AMC is currently airing every episode of the series all weekend long. Don't forget to tune into a brand new episode of Talking Dead with host Chris Hardwick on Sunday July 8 at 9pm ET. It will offer a glimpse of Season 3, complete with cast interviews and a set visit. There will presumably be an exclusive scene shown as well. 

AMC debuted a new poster featuring Rick (Andrew Lincoln), plus newbies Michonne (Danai Gurira) and The Governor (David Morrissey). Between this and the current non-stop heatwave, I can't wait for fall to begin.

Entertainment Weekly also premiered some new set photos of the cast at the prison, the main setting for the season. One is below, showing Maggie starting to kick some ass, looking like Milla Jovovich from the Resident Evil film series.