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What Season is your favorite?
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So, after I was in iTunes, I saw that post and it kind of made me think. 1... Paying for the last show? It's free... you pay for it if you want it early. 2. The show has become shorter? Nope. On average much longer. Jump the shark?
Anyway, you can't please everyone, but it got me thinking which Season might be a favorite. If you had to pick, which would you choose?
And side note... if you think the show jumped the Shark, when and where was that for you? I know asking this on the forum may be odd considering most people who love it are here, but it's worth asking.
OH! And I know Season 4 isn't over, but I thought it was worth asking anyway. You can assume about the finale, I guess.
Season One is like a Good Home-Cooked Meal
I'm a diehard Season One fan. I had been listening to various Zombie audio dramas on iTunes; some good, some decent. Most of them seemed to be put together by a groups of friends and or amateurs who just liked the zombie apocalypse genre. The most common thread among them seemed that they would end production without notice, almost as if cast were attacked by zombies on the way to recording.
One day while taking a road trip with my wife*, she played a couple of horror podcasts on our trip. One was We're Alive, which took me by surprise for several reasons. First and most immediately, Jim Gleason was much better at acting than anyone from the other stories. Secondly, the very first guns shots. Period. "Wow, how did they do that? That sounds real, and really loud too." Third most, I kept thinking that I heard the podcast before and was wondering how my wife* got a much better recording. I later realized that I got We're Alive mixed up with Age of Zombies.
What really got me was how the characters were trying to make sense of their changing world. They were using logic and reason to evaluate the outbreak. My favorite is when Micheal Saul and Angel were discussing if they were dealing with zombies, and Micheal laid out the similarities, ending with 'based on what we know from the movies."
The main critique that I had of the production was the amateurish way that it approached romance. I kept thinking to myself, "The writer writes like he's never talked to a girl before. What is he, an eight year-old?" Riley overdoing her laugh after she thinks Micheal is flirting with her, Pegs, asking Micheal to repeat calling her pretty, Riley and Angel awkwardly explaining why they need to be naked to clean each other, Datu's and Samantha's spin-the-bottle-like courtship in the arena.... But this was in juxtaposition to the rest of the production.
It was this professional+realism+amateurish mix that brought out a tasty flavor. I would listen to one part and think, 'don't expect too much' then BAM (literally) Holly Wood sound effects! Awkward Boy-Meets-Girl interaction then creative, well thought-out story. To put it in simpler terms, it was like a good home cooked meal. My wife doesn't cook, so I do all of the cooking at home. It's either what ever I can Pegs together or we're going out. Restaurant food is good, no doubt about that, but it can get old really quickly. Too much of a formulaic, one-size-fits-all approach. Home cooked food is on the opposite end. Might not be the perfectly seasoned and grilled steak but instead a tasty hearty meatloaf. A GOOD HOME-COOKED MEAL bridges the gap. If you often eat out of a box, the microwave, on the road or anywhere else where you get something that's been put together to please the lowest common denominator or diners, then you exactly what I'm talking about.
I've heard from a lot of fans that appreciate the improvement in writing and sound quality over the seasons and I include myself as one of them. Yet, I think KC has been a bit hard on himself when he talks about how bad the first season what put together, compared to the later ones. Yes the improvements are awesome and they do make the story better, because it improves upon the amazing tale. But the first season is like tasting Grandmother's Sunday dinner cooked like one on else in town.
*I mentioned that my wife doesn't cook, but she DID introduce me to We're Alive. I consider this to be the best home-cooked meal she's ever given me.