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Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

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Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Old 12-27-12, 08:54 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

An ABC sitcom runner might be able to cut it if he's diverse. I mean we have Sopranos writers who have worked on Sister Sister, Baby Blues and 2 Stupid Dogs, so why not.
Old 12-27-12, 10:11 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Draven
I too enjoyed Season 2. I still don't understand the complaint that they spent too much time on the farm. I wouldn't have left there doing the zombie apocalypse, that's for sure.

I'm too lazy to look up who this would be, but my guess is that they'll simply promote someone from within to run the show. They've canned too many showrunners to get anyone interesting in there. It'll be someone who already works on it.
My complaint isn't that they spent too much time on the farm ... it was what they did with the time. In the near future I may take the advice of some on here and re-watch it on video.

I was actually one of the few who complained about the pacing of the first season ... while I enjoyed it, I felt they left too many locations too quickly. There was potential for some great stories left on the table.
Old 12-28-12, 10:58 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by chowderhead
TWD is probably so big now it *should* survive these internal changes due to momentum. However, the point that Ryan was making is that AMC's cheapskate nature i.e. cutting budgets to give to low rated MadMen, firing showrunners, etc will affect future shows. Producers with new shows to pitch may go to other networks that will support them over AMC and that is a good thing.
Basic cable has certainly gotten more ambitious lately, by is there anything quite as challenging as The Wire or other stuff on HBO? You still get more freedom there, and likely more production value, if not quite the viewership.

Originally Posted by Abob Teff
Wow ... three pages in and nobody has figured out that Kirkman will be the next showrunner?
I doubt Kirkman has the slightest clue how to run a TV show, it's a wholly different thing from what he usually does.

Originally Posted by Dragon Tattoo
Not really. Kirkman has his hands full getting the comic out on time. I doubt he has time to become a full-time showrunner.
Plus he's probably involved in many, many business things, he's a bigwig at Image and he's merchandising the living hell out of The Walking Dead, he clearly has much business skill, and that must be something that takes up a lot of his time.

Originally Posted by DJariya
You need someone experienced in TV to be a show runner. Kirkman doesn't have the day to day experience. It's a grueling job with tight deadlines.
Yeah, John Hamm was on BBC Five Live a whole back talking about directing his Mad Men episode and talking about how TV production and direction are factory-like. I'm sure getting out the necessary number of episodes in the proper budget is an incredibly difficult thing, especially in conjunction with the creative aspect.

Originally Posted by Navinabob
Of the best I can think of who are unattached to other projects, I'd pick between: Kevin Falls, J. Michael Straczynski, and Kyle Killen.

JMS is writing comics right now so I'm not sure he could do it. Anyways... Its a fun game to guess
I've heard JMS comics getting very mixed receptions. Haven't seen any of his work, excepting Ninja Assassin, and we won't talk about that.

Originally Posted by Supermallet
Also, I don't care if Kirkman is an asshole, The Walking Dead is one of the best comics being published right now, and Thief of Thieves is pretty damn good, too.
He seems hugely amicable and goofy in most interviews, but I'm sure the business side of him is significantly different than what he general shows publicly. I wish he'd plot out TWD to some sort of endpoint, the endless nature of comics is sort of what keeps me in and out has me gravitate more towards stuff like Vertigo that has an eventual endpoint.

Originally Posted by Navinabob
The gossip I heard was he wanted them out of the prison at the end of the season and AMC wanted them there for one more. I'm guessing it was to cut costs since they already have the sets and interior shots costs much less to produce then outside ones. It sounds plausible, but who really knows for sure unless they start talking about it?
Sounds possible, like I've said, I'm sure it has something to do with money, in some fashion. Nicotero and Berger are high-end film guys and so was Darabont, that's a pretty high level of production value, and I'm sure it's costly as hell, and AMC is probably pretty interested in how the money is spent.

Originally Posted by GreenMonkey
JMS has a show with the Wachowskis (Sense 8) that was picked up to Series last month.

http://www.facebook.com/StudioJms/posts/427501543969679

and a pandemic show in development:

http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/abc-...andemic-drama/

He's my favorite TV guy (Babylon 5 being my favorite show) and he can handle a cast, and he's got comic book background...but my sense is right now he's got enough movie scripts and TV shows in development to keep him busy.

And he definitely likes creative control...from the above, it doesn't sound like AMC is playing nice with regards to showrunner creative control on The Walking Dead.
Yeah, well, I'm guessing maintains creative control in the TV world is a bed hard thing, I have undying respect for HBO for how they treated The Wire, apparently it's ratings were in the gutter and it won next to no awards and they were princes and kep it on the whole time. JMS alleged had his share of creative clashes on B5, especially regarding his long-form plan vs. cancellation, didn't he? On a side-note, god damn you Netflix for not streaming B5, SG-1, and the DCAU.

Originally Posted by Supermallet
Other than the pilot, the writing in S1 was abysmal. Season 3 is the first time that The Walking Dead felt like a real TV show.
I was blown away b the pilot, and I don't know if I thinly be rest of the show has ever lived up to it. Apparently, it was highly expensive, Kirman says it's a large part of the reason that the first seasons was so short. I didn't hate the first half of season 2 when I first watched it, but my memories of it are fuzzy, I certainly dog remember disliking it as vehemently as some do. Mazzarra ends ever episode with a cliffhanger that leads into the nex that feels much more like regular cable to TV to me. I'm not saying that's good or bad, it just OWS differently.

Originally Posted by PhantomStranger
Yep, season three is the only season that feels like a well-oiled television machine. The first season is nothing more than a mini-series and the second season was interminably slow for anyone that watched it as it was broadcast. People need to realize that watching something on DVD or Blu-ray in the matter of a few days is not the same experience as watching from week to week.
I dot thinks that should affect your enjoyment, if anything, it should improve it that it flows together so well. Season one did play like a miniseries, now that I think about it.

Originally Posted by Abob Teff
My complaint isn't that they spent too much time on the farm ... it was what they did with the time. In the near future I may take the advice of some on here and re-watch it on video.
TV has to constrain its settings to keep the budget down, I imagine.

Last edited by hanshotfirst1138; 12-29-12 at 07:52 AM. Reason: You need an iPhone app!
Old 01-14-13, 03:17 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0991355/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/walk...-glen-mazzara/

Scott Gimple was promoted to showrunner. He has been a supervising Producer on the show and has worked on the show since season 2.

He previously worked on Flashforward, Chase and Life.
Old 01-14-13, 03:25 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by DJariya
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0991355/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/walk...-glen-mazzara/

Scott Gimple was promoted to showrunner. He has been a supervising Producer on the show and has worked on the show since season 2.

He previously worked on Flashforward, Chase and Life.
Did any of those make it to a second season?
Old 01-14-13, 03:39 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by DVD Josh
Did any of those make it to a second season?
Life did, although it was a reduced episode count.
Old 01-14-13, 05:01 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by DJariya
He previously worked on Flashforward
"Rick, why did you shoot that gun?"

"Because it WAS LOADED, okay?"
Old 01-14-13, 05:58 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Scott Gimple is sort of a wet fart from a fanboy perspective. No real resume that can give us an idea of what to expect. I think it was a safe choice... just not very exciting.
Old 01-14-13, 06:03 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

It was pretty obvious they weren't going to hire from the outside and go with someone who is already on the writing staff. Definitely a safe choice.
Old 01-14-13, 06:07 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Navinabob
Scott Gimple is sort of a wet fart from a fanboy perspective. No real resume that can give us an idea of what to expect. I think it was a safe choice... just not very exciting.
Worry not, they can bring in Guarascio and Port for season 5.
Old 01-14-13, 06:44 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

everyone had a shitfit when Darabont left, and look what happened... the show (by S3) fucking rocked everyone's balls off. Everyone just needs to chill out... the story practically writes itself.
Old 01-14-13, 06:52 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by TallGuyMe
everyone had a shitfit when Darabont left, and look what happened... the show (by S3) fucking rocked everyone's balls off. Everyone just needs to chill out... the story practically writes itself.
Darabont didn't fit with the show. The first half of season two a lot of people complain about was Darabont, and he planned on including random one shot episodes that didn't fit with the series overall.

Mazzarra was a better fit, but was too quick to kill off characters.

We'll see how Gimple ends up.
Old 01-14-13, 08:21 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Terminal
The first half of season two a lot of people complain about was Darabont, and he planned on including random one shot episodes that didn't fit with the series overall.
How do we know that? I guess we'll never find out. I think a Lost type format would have absolutely worked, with flashback episodes and one-offs.

My biggest complaint about season 2 was the lack of diversity in the story since everyone was grouped together. Season 3 alleviated that by splitting screen time between the prison and Woodbury.
Old 01-14-13, 08:31 PM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
How do we know that? I guess we'll never find out. I think a Lost type format would have absolutely worked, with flashback episodes and one-offs.
He planned a wild card episode every season. People were bitching by that time that the show was deviating way too much from the comics, already, why do we need wild card episodes? What was the point of that?

The inclusion of Sam Witwer in the episode that explains the origin of the tank zombie sounds good in theory, but the episode is pointless. I don't need to know the origins of the zombies or minor characters that have no overall effect on the series.
Old 01-15-13, 05:37 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Actually, explaining the histories of some of the zombies helps humanise the walkers. It might seems silly but it actually gives weight to the gravity of the situation of the characters. In the end, all the dead they encounter are people too and not just monsters. That helps present Hershel's view of the walkers in his barn and the theories of that doctor guy at Woodbury. And if the plan was only one wild card episode per season, that's not all that bad. Another benefit of wild card episodes is that they can give us further glimpses of how everything fell appart. Also recall that the tank zombie episode was to be the season 2 premier. That's a great way to bring in new viewers without bombarding them with the current story right off the bat.

Last edited by RocShemp; 01-15-13 at 05:57 AM.
Old 01-15-13, 07:12 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Terminal
Mazzarra was a better fit, but was too quick to kill off characters.

We'll see how Gimple ends up.
I'm pretty sure that's Kirkman's influence, not Mazzarra's. Kirkman kills off TONS of people in the comic.

I thought Mazzarra did a great job with the show. Hopefully the new guy will keep up the quality level. Most of it is coming from Kirkman's brain anyway, so I have high hopes.
Old 01-15-13, 08:36 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by RocShemp
Actually, explaining the histories of some of the zombies helps humanise the walkers. It might seems silly but it actually gives weight to the gravity of the situation of the characters. In the end, all the dead they encounter are people too and not just monsters. That helps present Hershel's view of the walkers in his barn and the theories of that doctor guy at Woodbury. And if the plan was only one wild card episode per season, that's not all that bad. Another benefit of wild card episodes is that they can give us further glimpses of how everything fell appart. Also recall that the tank zombie episode was to be the season 2 premier. That's a great way to bring in new viewers without bombarding them with the current story right off the bat.
The whole point of The Walking Dead is that when Rick wakes up from his coma, the world has ended, shit has gone down, and guess what? Humanity has lost the battle against the walking dead.

If Kirkman wanted to show us how it all went down, he would have.

Even in the spin off novels about the governor he never explains how the walls came tumbling down.

I don't need my hand held for The Walking Dead by Darabont.
Old 01-15-13, 08:38 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Xander
I'm pretty sure that's Kirkman's influence, not Mazzarra's. Kirkman kills off TONS of people in the comic.
I know. I've read the comics since issue one. I'm just saying Mazzarra seemed pretty obsessed with just murdering every character like it's a bodily reflex. Kirkman bided his time and only did it when necessary to a plot.
Old 01-15-13, 09:04 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Terminal
He planned a wild card episode every season. People were bitching by that time that the show was deviating way too much from the comics, already, why do we need wild card episodes? What was the point of that?

The inclusion of Sam Witwer in the episode that explains the origin of the tank zombie sounds good in theory, but the episode is pointless. I don't need to know the origins of the zombies or minor characters that have no overall effect on the series.
Wrong. Complaining about "pointlessness" in a TV series about zombies is inane. It's a TV show. Every episode is pointless. And people only complained about the show deviating from the comics because the second season was fucking terrible. If it was a good deviation, no one would've complained.

The Sam Witwer episode sounded awesome, and I'm sure Darabont would've found a way to make it work. We were lucky that the next showrunner eventually found a way to make the show work (after the terrible 2nd season was over). Will the third time work as well? Somehow I doubt it.
Old 01-15-13, 09:07 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Xander
I'm pretty sure that's Kirkman's influence, not Mazzarra's. Kirkman kills off TONS of people in the comic.
That hasn't been true for years. There are certain characters in the comic who have been "safe" for waaay too long due to popularity (Rick, Carl, Michonne and Andrea), and it's doubtful if Kirkman will ever kill or, frankly, even hurt these characters again.
Old 01-15-13, 09:16 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Dragon Tattoo
Wrong. Complaining about "pointlessness" in a TV series about zombies is inane. It's a TV show. Every episode is pointless.
That is a ridiculous statement and minus an argument. You really haven't given an argument except to say "Your opinion is wrong! Every episode is pointless! Duh!"

No, in the context of the series, I think, my opinion is that is pointless to include a wild card episode. It still is.

Originally Posted by Dragon Tattoo
And people only complained about the show deviating from the comics because the second season was fucking terrible.
No, people complained because the first half of the season was considered by many to be slow and aimless. Only when Mazzarra picked up the second half did people finally stop their bitching.

I love season two as a whole. But all the complaints were thanks to Darabont. He was wrong for the show. Kudos to him for getting the show up and running, but he was a wrong fit.

Originally Posted by Dragon Tattoo
The Sam Witwer episode sounded awesome, and I'm sure Darabont would've found a way to make it work.
For his own zombie show? Sure. But as it serves no relevance to the overall narrative or forward motion to the mythos, it's unnecessary. I don't mourn never having seen it.

Originally Posted by Dragon Tattoo
Will the third time work as well? Somehow I doubt it.
We'll have to see. Darabont had the show given to Mazzarra and Mazzarra did a better job than Darabon by miles, so we shall see.
Old 01-15-13, 09:17 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Dragon Tattoo
That hasn't been true for years. There are certain characters in the comic who have been "safe" for waaay too long due to popularity (Rick, Carl, Michonne and Andrea), and it's doubtful if Kirkman will ever kill or, frankly, even hurt these characters again.
Kirkman has never guaranteed these people will ever live long beyond the comic's ending. Kirkman only kills off characters when it's necessary to the plot at hand.

The last major death was shocking and many people assumed it wouldn't happen. A lot of the shocking deaths happened without any kind of foreshadowing.
Old 01-15-13, 10:12 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Terminal
For his own zombie show? Sure. But as it serves no relevance to the overall narrative or forward motion to the mythos, it's unnecessary. I don't mourn never having seen it.
Relavance & forward motion? The group finds a place to hole up for a bit, a few die, place becomes overrun with zombies. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

The show is one giant circle, albeit an entertaining one. Stepping outside that circle once in awhile could be interesting.
Old 01-15-13, 10:26 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Michael Corvin
Relavance & forward motion? The group finds a place to hole up for a bit, a few die, place becomes overrun with zombies. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

The show is one giant circle, albeit an entertaining one. Stepping outside that circle once in awhile could be interesting.
That's exactly why I think wildcard episodes could work.
Old 01-15-13, 11:52 AM
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Re: Another "Walking Dead" showrunner steps down

Originally Posted by Dragon Tattoo
That hasn't been true for years. There are certain characters in the comic who have been "safe" for waaay too long due to popularity (Rick, Carl, Michonne and Andrea), and it's doubtful if Kirkman will ever kill or, frankly, even hurt these characters again.
You clearly haven't read The Walking Dead recently.

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