New ‘Walking Dead’ webisode series ‘The Oath’ is out now, and it’s a prequel

Now you can watch all three Walking Dead webisodes for this year (they generally do it between seasons, so this is the third batch).  For the first series we had the gruesome, gut-wrenching (in more ways than one, but damn it was sad) Bicycle Girl backstory. The second was a stand-alone featuring some really good talent (and a grim, satisfying payoff).

This year we get a prequel, and here’s a small spoiler as to what iconic moment from AMC’s The Walking Dead –come to think of it, the comic had it too–check out the four words from the below image (copyright AMC):

Screen shot 2013-09-14 at 1.48.01 AM

Buckle up and enjoy, these three new webisodes (ominously titled “The Oath”)  should hold you over until the season 4 premiere this Sunday …especially since Greg Nicotero created and directed them!

The Walking Dead: Showrunner Glen Mazzara Discusses The Latest ‘Edge of Your Seat’ Ending (SPOILERS)

We really wish Glen Mazzara wasn’t parting ways with the show after S3 ends. Oh well, his interviews w/EW.com are always great. And yes, when that arrow from Daryl went into the walker’s head, PLENTY of viewers cheered!

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The Walking Dead – Unpleasant Surprise : Showrunner Glen Mazzara Leaving At End of Season Three, Goddamnit!

People would still watch this show with a shitty show-runner, but our enthusiasm just dimmed a little. Kudos to Mazzara for handling his exit so gracefully and professionally. We weren’t thrilled about the way Frank Darabont was treated, but we had faith in Mazzara as a show runner after his work on The Shield.

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Guess we’ll have to wait and see –this show has a huge built-in fan base; we’re of the opinion most viewers will watch no matter who the show runner is, but the quality of the show could suffer . Though if for whatever reason, they ever part ways with Greg Nicotero unless it was TOTALLY VOLUNTARY on his part, then I will officially quit watching.  Nicotero is a pretty gracious guy, though, so he’d never say anything, but some inside sources would probably hint around like they did with Darabont, who was also classy about it. The same goes if they treat its creator Robert Kirkman like shit to the point he completely gets so fed up that he has to sever all ties with the show (but I don’t this they’re that stupid-same goes with Nicotero).

 

 

At least we have Glen Mazzara for the second half of Season Three of TWD – which picks up where it left off in February 2013. Oh, and if they tried to get creative and kill off Michonne for shock value (she’s been alive for almost a decade in the comics and is still going strong), we’re fucking outta there (and this time we wouldn’t be the only viewers).  It’d take a lot to get rid of that kick-ass sister, though!

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A.Zombie For President – Another Entertaining New “Drop Dish” Zombie Promo From AMC

A one-issue candidate, A. Zombie’s mission is to rally zombie fans around the country who don’t have access to these networks and shows to find an alternative television provider before the highly anticipated third season premiere on October 14, 2012 of A.Zombie’s favorite show: AMC’s The Walking Dead!

Remember the “Put Zombies Back on TV” ad spot from AMC that I covered a couple of months ago? Yet another fun  “Drop Dish” zombie-themed campaign –this time with a 2012 Presidential Election theme (EEEEEK!)– has gone viral;  A. Zombie is backed by an independent zombie party endorsed by AMC Networks. Yes, if you vote for A.Zombie, his only goal is to make sure everyone in the U.S. gets the choice to watch The Walking Dead! Committed to equal viewing opportunities for all. Watch his campaign ad below. No mud-slinging (or blood-slinging) at other candidates or similar bullshit here! Just pure zombie goodness. And guess what his favorite TV show is? It ain’t Here Comes Honey BooBoo!*

A. Zombie for President: He’s dead right. You’ve been wronged. Paid for by citizens who want zombies back on DISH.  The fictional Weekly World News columnist, Ed Anger, has officially endorsed him – read the hilarious column on the WWN website here.

Here’s the full official Press Release from the official website/campaign headquarters:

A. Zombie Enters the 2012 Presidential Race
NEW CANDIDATE VOWS TO RESTORE ZOMBIES TO TELEVISIONS EVERYWHERE

New York, NY — August 20, 2012 –The 2012 Presidential race is about to get more lively thanks to something quite dead – the news that A. Zombie, America’s first Zombie Presidential candidate, is entering the race. A formidable third party contender for the nation’s highest office, A. Zombie is slated to announce his candidacy at a high-energy rally on Monday, August 20th at Westfield Horton Plaza in San Diego.

The candidate and his human wife, Patty Morgan-Zombie, will then commence a cross-country bus tour that will take them to six major U.S. cities, including Tampa and Charlotte, where they will bring their pro-zombie message to the Republican and Democratic Conventions. “My husband is someone who has dedicated his life and his afterlife to bringing equal viewing opportunities to all Americans,” said Mrs. Zombie. “He’s the right man to lead the fight to bring zombies to everyone in America, and he won’t stop — even if it kills him, again.”

The A. Zombie for President Campaign is organized by AMC Networks, home to AMC, WE-TV, IFC and the Sundance Channel. Satellite company DISH dropped these networks earlier this year because of an unrelated lawsuit and is now in the disadvantaged position of being the nation’s only major television provider without these channels and their popular shows. A one-issue candidate, A. Zombie’s mission is to rally zombie fans around the country who don’t have access to these networks and shows to find an alternative television provider before the highly anticipated third season premiere on October 14, 2012 of A.Zombie’s favorite show, AMC’s The Walking Dead, the most watched basic cable scripted drama series among DISH subscribers, according to the Nielsen company.

For more information about the campaign, please visit:
www.azombieforpresident.com.

Alas, A.Zombie did not stop anywhere in the Northwest during his various rallies, but I found a video from a recent convention appearance by the candidate and his wife, Patty Morgan-Zombie, who seems to do most of his zombie-to-human speech-translation. Not the Republican or Democratic Conventions (though the press material states he visited them– sorry I missed that coverage), but… well, you’ll see.

And the below is an actual screenshot  from A.Zombie’s official Twitter page (I swear I am not making this up) that gave me a good laugh -could NOT resist passing it on:

Hee hee! Though I don’t think A.Zombie appreciates the unsavory comparison.

They said it, not me. Do you feel especially patriotic –and anti-Dish– right now? Me too!

*A. Zombie loses his appetite watching toxic waste. Though if he paid the ‘cast’ a visit with some very, very hungry undead pals, you can bet ratings would skyrocket around the world. Hell, I’d watch it on Pay-Per-View!

Behind the Scenes at Horror Boom: Walking Dead Season Two Finale (+ Cool Links)

Well, for a little change of pace today, I thought I’d give you some fascinating insights into my work process. Let’s see, I go online, then when I’m watching something, I jot some deep thoughts down onto my sophisticated equipment consisting of a pen and a series of cheap notebooks, pretty much whatever has enough space for me to scrawl some things down. I do use some very complicated technical terms. Here’s a photo or two of my elaborate notes during the last two episodes of Season Two of The Walking Dead.

My elaborate notes taken during one of the final season 2 Walking Dead episodes (which I ended up deciding not the review on the site).

As you can see, I use a large and varied vocabulary to express myself and make sure all the nuances of the show are captured.  In case you can’t decipher my complicated lingo above, here’s another example…

My ingenious note-taking system, wherein I take a complex, thoughtful approach to mapping out important points to highlight in my review for a Walking Dead S2 episode. I ended up not reviewing the episode I so carefully documented here.

Then I have my assistant re-transcribe– I”M JUST KIDDING. Nothing complex or fascinating ‘behind the scenes’ here at Horror Boom, really! If I had a staff, the site would actually contain breaking news and interviews multiple times, 24/7, if so.  I don’t have an assistant, unless you count one of my kittens strolling across the keyboard out of the blue. My husband gives it a fresh pair of eyes after I post a piece, if he’s not too sleepy at the time.  There’s nothing thrilling enough going on behind the scenes at Horror Boom to warrant a special alert, though if something thrilling DOES happen, like an SUV driven by Adam Green with Bruce Campbell riding shotgun containing George Romero, Stephen King, Greg Nicotero, and Samuel L. Jackson riding in it breaks down in front of our house while I’m working on/writing/researching the site, and they ring the doorbell to ask to come in and use my land line because none of their cell phones have a signal, then tell me it’d be really cool if they could hang out here 4-5 hours and in return, will let me interview them and offer to post blurbs endorsing the site and all pose for various photos with me and my husband (because in the imaginary scenario, they have nothing else better to do) watch some of my DVD/Blu-Rays and record simultaneous commentary for them exclusively, that’d be worth documenting.*  It’s more likely that a parade of polar bears riding tricycles pulls up in our driveway (although that’d be pretty interesting and good for some promotion, too), of course, but you get the idea. I try not to put stuff up that’s totally fucking boring to anyone but me, unless it’s some comic relief, as here.

Actually I vaguely recall taking these pics as a goof (I was still all hyper and geeking out after the next-to-last episode and season finale of TWD while all hell breaks loose. Lots of times I jot shit down I can’t read it myself afterwards or it’s in sentence fragments (ADD) that are really hard for me to re-create into concrete points, or my handwriting’s worse.  My husband laughed when I showed him these, so I kept them.

I have two–it maybe just one big one, but it’s definitely happening– very cool, very scary “Ways to Beat Summer Heat with Cold Chills” pieces coming up, but they were so creepy there is no way in hell I’m gathering my notes together and writing them after dark, when I have insomnia and am the only one awake in the house. Especially since one of them actually showed up in a nightmare last night. I don’t want to talk them up that much and have it by a let down, so I’ll quit with a good quote to celebrate the upcoming Blu-Ray release of Jaws. If you don’t recognize this one then you haven’t seen Jaws, and if you haven’t seen Jaws I don’t know why you’d be reading Horror Boom! It’s too bad this is waaaaay too big for a T-Shirt*. Watched the scene so many times it’s impossible to hear in my head without Robert Shaw’s voice.

Hooper: You were on the Indianapolis?
Brody: What happened?

Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin’ back from the island of Tinian to Leyte… just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes. Didn’t see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. 13-footer. You know how you know that when you’re in the water, Chief? You tell by looking from the dorsal to the tail fin.What we didn’t know, was our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent… they didn’t even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, Chief, sharks come cruisin’, so we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know, it was kinda like old squares in the battle like you see in the calendar named “The Battle of Waterloo” and the idea was: shark comes to the nearest man… that man he starts poundin’ and hollerin’ and screamin’ and sometimes the shark will go away… but sometimes he wouldn’t go away. Sometimes that shark he looks right into ya. Right into your eyes. And, you know, the thing about a shark… he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes. When he comes at ya, doesn’t seem to be living… until he bites ya, and those black eyes roll over white and then… ah then, you hear that terrible high-pitched screamin’. The ocean turns red, and despite all the poundin’ and the hollerin’, they all come in and they rip you to pieces. You know, by the end of that first dawn, lost a hundred men. I don’t know how many sharks, maybe a thousand. I know how many men, they averaged six an hour.
On Thursday morning, Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player. Boatswain’s mate. I thought he was asleep. I reached over to wake him up. He bobbed up, down in the water just like a kinda top. Upended. Well, he’d been bitten in half below the waist. Noon, the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us. He swung in low and he saw us… he was a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper. Anyway, he saw us and he come in low and three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and starts to pick us up. Y’know, that was the time I was most frightened… waitin’ for my turn. I’ll never put on a life jacket again. So, eleven hundred men went in the water; 316 men come out and the sharks took the rest, June the 29th, 1945. (pause) Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

The Jaws Blu-Ray  will be available August 14. Also, a bigger boat-load of links for features on Jaws and The Walking Dead after the jump!

famous poster

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

**but I have a couple of versions of “We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat” for a design on my upcoming print-on-demand online stores (whenever I have time for that).

Put Zombies Back – Very Entertaining “Drop DISH” Campaign

I was getting a little tired of seeing the “not available on Dish” subtitle before every episode or promotional clip for Breaking Bad. I guess some kind of good karma came around from my frustration, and THIS awesome spot (with some of the best gore/zombie make-up I’ve ever seen, I’m guessing Nicotero-Berger had a hand somewhere) lunged into frame. Check it out! Things have gotten very interesting (and creative).

If my cable provider tried to get between me and the new season of Breaking Bad, I’d be doing some serious biting myself.  Here’s a link to the Put Zombies Back website. It’s nice to get both sides of the story. Fuck it, I’m on AMC’s side after reading about it!  Also, could I just point out that squirrel in the video has some serious balls?