Walking dead premiers in 31 minutes.

[K Frame]

Anyone notice that when Rick pulled the gas mask off the one zombie that its entire face degloved?

That leads to a very interesting possibility...

That, while rate of decay is very slow, they are decaying, and at some point the musculature that makes these things mobile is going to rot away.

That, however, leads me to a continuity point I've had since the end of last season...

As Jenner said, the brain restarts enough to get the zombies going again, which means that the brain is sending nerve impulses to the muscles. We saw that yesterday when Mishon decapitated the zombies in the store and the bodies were immobile, but the one zombie's skull was still alive and kicking.

That said... how the hell was Randall up and mobile at the end of last season?

Randall was the one whose neck Shane broke...

[TommyGunn]

....As Jenner said, the brain restarts enough to get the zombies going again, which means that the brain is sending nerve impulses to the muscles. We saw that yesterday when Mishon decapitated the zombies in the store and the bodies were immobile, but the one zombie's skull was still alive and kicking.

That said... how the hell was Randall up and mobile at the end of last season?

Randall was the one whose neck Shane broke...

Well, this is not really a totally satisfactory answer, but just because a neck is "broken" doesn't mean the  spinal cord has been severed.  THAT'S what conducts the nervous impulses that control the body.
Having said that, one might think that such a body, moving around enough, the broken vertebrae in the neck would manage to severe the spinal cord, or damage it to the point it wouldn't function.  Inflammation the the spinal cord will produce temporary paralysis ... but OTOH how things work in a zombie .....

I did notice the degloved face.  Icky!

[K Frame]

But if the neck has been broken badly enough to cause death, that means that there has been signficant disruption of the nerve pathways from the instance of the break.

You simply cannot break a neck specifically enough that it paralyzes respiration but leaves the individual fully mobile as Randall's zombie was.

At very best, you'd have zombie that could paint a picture with its left foot....

[K Frame]

Oh, and let's not even talk about the fact that when they sink a brush hook or clever into the front of a zombie's skull they're not coming anywhere remotely close to disrupting the brain stem.

They are, essentially, hacking dead tissue and the zombie should still be fully capable of running down some human tartare...

[TommyGunn]

But if the neck has been broken badly enough to cause death, that means that there has been signficant disruption of the nerve pathways from the instance of the break.

You simply cannot break a neck specifically enough that it paralyzes respiration but leaves the individual fully mobile as Randall's zombie was.

At very best, you'd have zombie that could paint a picture with its left foot....

I did say it was an unsatisfactory answer . . .  right?      
The whole zombie thing really doesn't make any sense from the get-go anyway.  How do you "re-animate" a dead body by just activating the brain?  The whole body is a metabolizing machine.  You breath and take in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, eat to obtain "fuel."  Zombies apparantly don't breath as they can walk around underwater (according to some zombie fiction atleast).  Some need "brains."  The walkers apparantly muscle tissue.
But all the time their bodies are decaying.  
So, on one level, worrying about broken necks seems a bit superfluous.  It doesn't make sense a zombie with a neck as broken as you suggest should be able to move .... but then, the whole zombie thing just should not work.



But then, there'd be no AMC series and where's the fun in that? ? ? ?  

Oh, and let's not even talk about the fact that when they sink a brush hook or clever into the front of a zombie's skull they're not coming anywhere remotely close to disrupting the brain stem.

They are, essentially, hacking dead tissue and the zombie should still be fully capable of running down some human tartare...

I think you're over-analyzing the problem.   Crunching up even "dead" brain tissue might not sit well in zombiedom.

[K Frame]

Uhm... excuse me, I think you are WAY overthinking this...


 



As I said, it's a continuity issue in a TV show, so it's no shock.

But it vexes me, it vexes me.

[TommyGunn]

OK OK.....let's just go back to enjoying the stupid show, OKAY?    [ ]

[Jamisjockey]

Yep. Actual zombies would require a suspension of belief.  Or something wwwwaaaayyyyy beyond our current understandings of medicine, science and nature.

Poking a hole in unsound tactics, that's another matter

I think corraling or drawing the zombies out of hiding would be the prudent thing to do when you're in a dark enclosed space.  Use of a barrier you can poke them through or even the rudimentary use of a fatal funnel.  Lighting your way with something, anything, anyone? 

[K Frame]

"Actual zombies would require a suspension of belief."

No, not really, considering most of the Liberals whom I know.

[TommyGunn]

"Actual zombies would require a suspension of belief."

No, not really, considering most of the Liberals whom I know.

  Quoted for truth. 

[Ned Hamford]

I am mostly upset about their tactics in the prison.  It just seemed like they were making random turns, marking their way back.  There are solid doors and bars; Use them!  It should have been a slow and methodical process.  Clear a section, lock it off.  Lather rinse, repeat; orderly retreat as necessary.  Things get rough, close yourself in a jail cell and pointy stick stabbity stabbity.  Handcuffs and other restraints are great for high quality on the fly locks.  I was rather upset when the half dozen of them stumble onto about a like number of zombies and then just run away.  They found all the riot gear and were using poleaxes before.  Its a darn hallway and they have some folks in decent shape.  Shield the advance, pop em (pointy stick, cross bow, whatever).  As long as you aren't flanked the number of zombies could be in the dozens without causing any major risk in the engagement. 

 I'd venture to guess the average person on APS represents maybe 5% of the country

Once the zombies rise I think our percentage will climb quite a bit 

[kgbsquirrel]

I am mostly upset about their tactics in the prison.  It just seemed like they were making random turns, marking their way back.  There are solid doors and bars; Use them!  It should have been a slow and methodical process.  Clear a section, lock it off.  Lather rinse, repeat; orderly retreat as necessary.  Things get rough, close yourself in a jail cell and pointy stick stabbity stabbity.  Handcuffs and other restraints are great for high quality on the fly locks.  I was rather upset when the half dozen of them stumble onto about a like number of zombies and then just run away.  They found all the riot gear and were using poleaxes before.  Its a darn hallway and they have some folks in decent shape.  Shield the advance, pop em (pointy stick, cross bow, whatever).  As long as you aren't flanked the number of zombies could be in the dozens without causing any major risk in the engagement. 

Once the zombies rise I think our percentage will climb quite a bit 

Five percent and proud!!   

Also ditto to the tactics. But then again, if they took your APS'er and asked him for tactical advice you might as well rename the show to "The ReDeaded."

[Jamisjockey]

Five percent and proud!!   

Also ditto to the tactics. But then again, if they took your APS'er and asked him for tactical advice you might as well rename the show to "The ReDeaded."

Yep.

Although, just the taking of the prison shows a real honest shift in thinking and tactics.  Defensible, securable, with enough areable land to use for growing things. 
Any supplies found in the prison, of course.
Back up generators might be usable to even restore power.
Prison should have vehicles as well.  Busses, vans, trucks, farm equipment.  Tools, all kinds of stuff.

[SADShooter]

Yep.

Although, just the taking of the prison shows a real honest shift in thinking and tactics.  Defensible, securable, with enough areable land to use for growing things. 
Any supplies found in the prison, of course.
Back up generators might be usable to even restore power.
Prison should have vehicles as well.  Busses, vans, trucks, farm equipment.  Tools, all kinds of stuff.

And the preview suggests they're setting up a fight over all those goodies...

[kgbsquirrel]

Yep.

Although, just the taking of the prison shows a real honest shift in thinking and tactics.  Defensible, securable, with enough areable land to use for growing things. 
Any supplies found in the prison, of course.
Back up generators might be usable to even restore power.
Prison should have vehicles as well.  Busses, vans, trucks, farm equipment.  Tools, all kinds of stuff.

Generators are nice, but the fuel is at this juncture a non-renewable resource. Good to have in a pinch, but I'd start by salvaging any car batteries I could lay my hands on and build a solar/wind turbine system.

[Jamisjockey]

Generators are nice, but the fuel is at this juncture a non-renewable resource. Good to have in a pinch, but I'd start by salvaging any car batteries I could lay my hands on and build a solar/wind turbine system.

Walker bio-diesel?

[kgbsquirrel]

Walker bio-diesel?

Good point, though it might take a while to get it set up initially. Don't you need a buttload of sodium hydroxide for that? The flip side is your fuel walks to you. Excavate a big catch pit adjacent to one of the walls, occasionally have someone walk the wall to drag walkers around and into the pit. Setup a mobile crane with a big claw scoop. Grab and drop em in the processing vat as necessary.

I'm putting too much thought into a never-gonna-happen situation, aren't I? 

[brimic]

I spent the whole weekend watching the second season before the third season first episode came on.

The whole gun thing confounds me.
It shouldn't take more than a few hours of scrounging to find a 10/22 and a thousand rounds of ammo for each being that the 10/22 is about the most popular .22 in America.
That much firepower should be able to decimate the biggest herds they run into in not time.

[Viking]

I'm putting too much thought into

No.
 

a never-gonna-happen situation, aren't I?  

You sure?

[kgbsquirrel]

Another thought for power, is there a nearby river? A simple water wheel rigged up to a bunch of scavenged alternators.

[AJ Dual]

If that's at all true, then it's another show I'm glad I didn't get sucked into. I find I'm starting to have some serious hate for all fiction on TV, even the "cool" stuff with cult followings on cable. ("Reality" TV? I'd chuck 95% of the contestants/people into a gas chamber as my first act as dictator of Earth as my first official act, don't get me started...)

I just don't care anymore. 

The older I get, the more I find I can only enjoy documentaries and educational/historical/technical shows. This is problematic because the wife thinks "togetherness" is primarily watching shows together.  Although in her defense, with four girls in bed by eight, it's not as if we could go out dancing or something...

When "Castle" and "How I met your Mother" run their course, I think things will be even worse for us.

[brimic]

I am mostly upset about their tactics in the prison.  It just seemed like they were making random turns, marking their way back.  There are solid doors and bars; Use them!  It should have been a slow and methodical process.  Clear a section, lock it off.  Lather rinse, repeat; orderly retreat as necessary.  Things get rough, close yourself in a jail cell and pointy stick stabbity stabbity.  Handcuffs and other restraints are great for high quality on the fly locks.  I was rather upset when the half dozen of them stumble onto about a like number of zombies and then just run away.  They found all the riot gear and were using poleaxes before.  Its a darn hallway and they have some folks in decent shape.  Shield the advance, pop em (pointy stick, cross bow, whatever).  As long as you aren't flanked the number of zombies could be in the dozens without causing any major risk in the engagement.

I was thinking something similar...
When they were clearing the outside of the prison, they used some group tactics... What I immediately thought was 'phalanx.'
A few more shields up front could take up the entire width of the hallway, longer spears in back.... it should be easy and realatively safe to clear the prison.

[Ned Hamford]

I was thinking something similar...
When they were clearing the outside of the prison, they used some group tactics... What I immediately thought was 'phalanx.'
A few more shields up front could take up the entire width of the hallway, longer spears in back.... it should be easy and realatively safe to clear the prison.

I also don't understand why they were clearing it in the first place.  They saw a civilian non-inmate or prison guard walker corpse and figured there must be a hole in the prison; so they have to close it.

Its a prison, big old fences and gates around the whole thing.. Why don't they walk the perimeter to check for a hole?  Once you've got that locked down and have one cell block cleared, it should be a slow and safe methodical operation; not some running through the hallways emergency.  

Proper prior planning prevents predators perforating people prey.  

[Ben]

I also don't understand why they were clearing it in the first place.  They saw a civilian walker corpse and figured there must be a hole in the cellblock; so they have to clear it.

Internet nitpicker point of order: Everyone in the prison was a civilian, unless it was a military prison.

[TommyGunn]

I also don't understand why they were clearing it in the first place.  They saw a civilian non-inmate or prison guard walker corpse and figured there must be a hole in the prison; so they have to close it.

Its a prison, big old fences and gates around the whole thing.. Why don't they walk the perimeter to check for a hole?  Once you've got that locked down and have one cell block cleared, it should be a slow and safe methodical operation; not some running through the hallways emergency.  

Proper prior planning prevents predators perforating people prey.  

Hmmmmm.  I thought Sheriff Rick did that....it was remarked he'd circled the place repeatedly at one point.

As for the interior tactics .... I doubt anyone of them had any military experience.  I wonder how a group consisting of a bunch of average Joe Off The Street would do.   I don't think any of 'em would be mistaken for Seal Team Six.