Have you noticed this?

[nikvoodoo]

You always give so much to respond to Crowbar! I love it!

Totally agree with Durai's leadership. You are what you know, and he knows how to lead by gangland mentality. And his propensity to get weapons vs. finding a safe place to live has really handcuffed the Mallers. I can imagine defending a mall, but I can't imagine defending a strip mall. It's so wide open, I can't imagine how the Mallers have even survived this long.

1a. I'd throw the Gatekeeper in there as well. He was probably there from the beginning. I'd also hedge a bet that Pete and Tanya were there relatively quickly afterwards, if not from the beginning.
1b. I think Marcus leads on his own. If there was a council, we'd probably have heard Victor and Fernando talking about how "The Council doesn't need to know" not just Marcus.
1c. Agreed. Marcus' playpen, Marcus' rules.

2. I don't think you'd need to have thugs there. I would bet for just about everyone there it's a great life. Pete seemed to like it that's for sure.

3. There may be some initiation now that they have to go through with Marcus. First rule of the Colony is you don't tell anyone the rules, 'cause that's Marcus' job.

4. Except our Tower folk. Though now that Vic is gone, they may very well be allowed to go where ever.

5. I agree with your a and b points. C- I believe Marcus doesn't necessarily care about handicaps so long as you can do something. What Hope can do isn't much, but at least it's helpful to someone.

6. Agreed as well. Michael being a soldier is probably one hell of an asset that can be used for training outpost guards like Victor.

7. I'll just play Devil's advocate on this: The entire plan hinged on pissing off/distracting the behemoth long enough. Angel, being a good leader, decided the best thing for the mission was for a more accurate shot. After saying that, yeah, I agree he should have done it himself. I long for the day he truly gets both feet firmly planted underneath him and stands up. I think he will be clutch at that point.

8. I've been advocating Skittles as a high functioning sufferer of X (no idea what). Despite being not all there, he would still have the ability to perform all sorts of complex tasks. Throwing the cocktail isn't all that difficult (except the part about not burning yourself). Driving the car is definitely complex. And honestly just because they are mentally handicapped doesn't mean they don't register exactly what people are saying about them. How much do you want to bet Skittles heard that brief exchange between Kalani and Angel about Skittles screwing up the plan?

9. Hell, if he truly wanted to leave, Vic could have told them exactly why the colony is so bad (in his opinion), and convinced them to take him back to the Tower.

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

heheh. Thanks Nik,

Lemme start from the bottom and work up.

1. My boy skittles: I do believe he took off after he threw the bottle. He did hear them and it bothered him to no end. I think that's why he took off to do what he did.
I can buy your theory on him being the podcast's "Rain Man" except that he seems to be getting better. It's like he's regaining his old self bit by bit.
Remember what state he was in when they originally found him? He was mad stressed, dirty, damn near naked and rambled worse than Glen Beck. He's clearly not as traumatized and functioning damn near normally. I feel that he's down to just a stutterer now. Now that I think about it,.. his motor skills are pretty damn smooth too. He's been running, shooting, climbing on his own. Not trying to be funny, but I don't think he'd be a fit for the Special Olympics. He's over qualified. LOL.. (maybe i was trying to be funny after all..)

Victor: Yah, he could have told them exactly what was going on. I'm kinda glad he didn't because they wouldn't have believed him... Mike's dumb ass would have wanted to see it for himself... Peg's super dumb ass sure wouldn't believe it. Kelly... well, she'd probably take it at face value, but go along because she had no choice.

Remember.. the last thing he told them was that "Someone will be by in the am to assign them jobs." Not, teach you the rules or have a meeting with Marcus.. hell, he didn't even say "someone will show you around."
Nope, get your culo's to work.

Angel is growing and I dig that he's away for his shortcomings. Skittles just happened to have a better arm than Kalani and Angel. LOL. He'll return to the tower with a ton of information. Burts not a tactician though, so Riley will be the best person to see the big picture.

Marcus the leader: He's the head honco.. but like you said, others like the "Gatekeeper" have the ability to make exceptions and take liberties with the rules. The doc was TOLD to see Michael. That makes me wonder why?

Try this on for size: Folks can't leave the Colony for one very good reason. Fear of infection if/when they return. Wait, ixnay that. I forgot about the inspection process.. dammit!

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

LOL.. i'm my own thread here..
My grandmother always said people who talk to themselves are crazy... I wonder how that translates to typing?
Anywhoooooo, I'll pretend this is my Journal. hahahh..
I think we've overlooked a very important creature development: Remember the thing at the beach house? Remember it was eating DOG food? Hmmmmm.. No one has talked about that one little tid bit important info.
Dog food? That shows real hunger instead of the NEED to rip, tear, infect and chomp on FLESH!
Zombie mythology 101
1. Dead have risen
2. People are "Turned" without dying
3. People are infected, die then turn
4. They NEED to eat people
5. Now KC and his sick... twisted crew have thrown this crowbar *chuckle* in the machine.

[nikvoodoo]

LOL.. i'm my own thread here..
My grandmother always said people who talk to themselves are crazy... I wonder how that translates to typing?
Anywhoooooo, I'll pretend this is my Journal. hahahh..
I think we've overlooked a very important creature development: Remember the thing at the beach house? Remember it was eating DOG food? Hmmmmm.. No one has talked about that one little tid bit important info.
Dog food? That shows real hunger instead of the NEED to rip, tear, infect and chomp on FLESH!
Zombie mythology 101
1. Dead have risen
2. People are "Turned" without dying
3. People are infected, die then turn
4. They NEED to eat people
5. Now KC and his sick... twisted crew have thrown this crowbar *chuckle* in the machine.

This is doubly reinforced by the grocery store Saul and Angel went to early on before finding Burt. There were cans of food ripped into and bitten open. And we also know that the ones one the island that swam to the yacht were starving to death and withering away. So I think its safe to say thee incarnations of zombies are omnivorous and will eat what ever crosses their path.

[wooly]

Add to that the policing of bodies and storage of same at the arena. If looked at from the zombie point of view it looks suspiciously like long-term food hoarding.

How many other parallels between the tower and the arena are there? Food storage, internal lighting, secure location, central leadership, entertainment (if you subscribe to the "blood sports" theory of the arena) Do the creatures at the arena have a long-term survival plan?

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

I think the bloodsport theory is pure Hoowee! Nothign supports it other than Sam being dragged to the center and lasting long enough to scream twice.
1. So, This begs the question of why do they kill if they're able to digest and are interested in "People food" *no pun intended*
2. What does this mean evolution wise?
3 How the hell can they tell what's food if it isn't running from them? Smell? Sight? Memory?
And thank you Nik and Wooly for breaking my little Soliloquy. LOL

[nikvoodoo]

I think the bloodsport theory is pure Hoowee! Nothign supports it other than Sam being dragged to the center and lasting long enough to scream twice.
1. So, This begs the question of why do they kill if they're able to digest and are interested in "People food" *no pun intended*
2. What does this mean evolution wise?
3 How the hell can they tell what's food if it isn't running from them? Smell? Sight? Memory?

1. Why does a Grizzly Bear eat fish and then also eat berries? Because it can.
2. Honestly, it means nothing in terms of evolution. Unless you are a vegetarian or vegan, you are already an omnivore. Human beings eat anything they can. Perhaps our zombified friends simply lose their ability to taste and will consume what ever they come across.
3. We know they have super human olfactory abilities. I'd assume they go by smell. That's how they eventually found the MRE's. Skittles ate them in the supply warehouse. Before that, nothing could smell them.

And I still support blood sport because Samantha says they play with their food before they eat it. Is it still a long shot? Yeah, but I like the idea of it.

[HaveCrowBarWillTravel]

Nik,
the MRE are vacum sealed (twice) and inside sealed/taped boxes, sitting in a warehouse on a pallet for eons.. hard to imagine them smelling that.. but i'll roll with you on that because Skittles aroma was lingering around and bits of food from the packets were there. I'm surprised he hadn't burned himself.
I can see your bear thing if we weren't talking creatures that are supposed to be attracted to eating flesh.. with a severe hankering for our bits and pieces.
Cat's play with mice before they take a chomp, but Sam didn't last long enough once she hit the arena floor. Anyway, I'll have a wild theory soon that I'll desperately want you to buy off on, so you can have this one. LOL
Lets say our Eat Em Ups have lost their sense of taste... that would mean they wouldn't pay attention to non human food???

[nikvoodoo]

Nik,
the MRE are vacum sealed (twice) and inside sealed/taped boxes, sitting in a warehouse on a pallet for eons.. hard to imagine them smelling that.. but i'll roll with you on that because Skittles aroma was lingering around and bits of food from the packets were there. I'm surprised he hadn't burned himself.

I'm just going off what Skittle said that he led them to the warehouse by eating the food there before he took the supplies and moved into the Water Tower. You're right, on their own sealed, nothing seems to have gotten into them, otherwise there would be nothing left of any of the MREs. The only ones that were eaten was from the pallet Skittles ate from and left behind trace scents for something to find and investigate. So I'm saying the aroma of the two MREs skittles ate in the warehouse is what attracted something to that site, and they then broke open the boxes thinking that's where the smell was coming from. Going back to my bear example, a bear in the woods will trash an entire camp site because it smells traces of food and will destroy anything to find it.

I can see your bear thing if we weren't talking creatures that are supposed to be attracted to eating flesh.. with a severe hankering for our bits and pieces.

Supposed to is a loaded word. We are all making assumptions off our collective 50 some odd years of pop culture mythology about Zombies. That doesn't necessarily mean KC isn't adding something to the mythos. Doesn't it make it a little more terrifying and harder to survive if the predator that's hunting you also consumes your food supply? Starts to leave you with very few options left. Besides, if they are supposed to be our typical "eat when they come in contact with flesh" zombies, why have they been able to lay traps, imprison prey, and organize themselves around a leader?

Cat's play with mice before they take a chomp, but Sam didn't last long enough once she hit the arena floor. Anyway, I'll have a wild theory soon that I'll desperately want you to buy off on, so you can have this one. LOL

You're right, she didn't last long. And that does indeed go against the blood sport theory...but I still like it. Can't wait to hear your wild theory!

Lets say our Eat Em Ups have lost their sense of taste... that would mean they wouldn't pay attention to non human food???

Just because they can't taste doesn't mean they don't need to feed. If we buy the omnivore theory, they will eat just about anything that they can find when they are hungry. The zombie in the beach house was eating what was available to it. Dog food. Everything needs to consume to survive. In a pinch, you or I could survive on dog food. Personally, I'd rather not eat it, but I can and I could survive off of it. And it will help make my coat shine. No reason I can't look pretty in a zombie infested world.

[lectio]

I've gone back and listened to a few episodes to help me fill in some blanks and I realized i've learned some new things:

10. Michael was an ass before everything went to hell.

Not so much an ass as socially inept, I'd say. The character strikes me as a person who was depressed before the outbreak began