Andrew Lincoln
Norman Reedus
Steven Yeun
Chandler Riggs
Lauren Cohan
Danai Gurira
Melissa McBride
Michael Cudlitz
Emily Kinney
Chad L. Coleman

Developed by:
Frank Darabont

2010-
Drama, Horror
AMC
TV-14

“The Walking Dead,” based on the superlative comic of the same name, starts with a sense of urgency in its fifth season. The first episode of that season should be the template for what this show does from now on. Unfortunately, you never know what you’re going to get from episode to episode. The first season started off well and then descended into annoyance. The second season tried to rectify that. And subsequent seasons have had their moments, both good and bad. Will this season finally provide the cure? (More on that later.)

The overall problem with “The Walking Dead” is that many of its characters (not all) are very annoying. If a zombie outbreak happens, I hope I never meet these kind of people. Despite that, the writers love to craft various character studies with regularity. So, when they explore an annoying character or annoying characters, it can be irritating to watch. Just get on with it.

And that leads to this: Will they ever find a way to maintain an appropriate sense of urgency and action? Will they ever be able to develop a consistently engrossing rhythm? That’s what “The Walking Dead” has lacked – a consistent rhythm and forward momentum … until now. The fifth season actually finds that consistency. Yes, yes, I have to say it does. But will that continue in the seasons to come? Well, under the leadership of showrunner Scott M. Gimple, this show has taken a turn for the better. (He took over those duties during the fourth season.) I have a bit of faith in him.

Overall, “The Walking Dead” has good to great moments interspersed with inexplicably boring ones. Have they finally found the right balance? Have they finally figured out how to focus on the right characters for the right amount of time? Stay tuned.

(By the way, I love Daryl and Michonne. I like a few of the other characters, too; Glenn comes to mind. But I would choose to be stuck in a room with a zombie over having to spend time with many – though, not all – of the rest of the characters. And I’m not even talking about the villains.)

Verdict: Good Overall

About: (Source: walkingdead)

Wounded in the line of duty, small-town Georgia sheriff Rick Grimes wakes from a coma to find the world infested by zombie-like “walkers.”