Flavours of the Month: July & August 2024...

Seventies sauce, humorous horror, and seeing how far the rabbit hole goes is just some of what's been setting the tone of my July & August 2024...

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Flavours of the Month: November 2018...

Carpenter classics, ascending zombies, and the biggest videogame release of the year are just some of what's been setting the tone of my November 2018...

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Daddy Grimes Edition: The Walking Dead 9x03 Meme...

Find more Walking Dead memes here.

So far so good for the ninth season of TWD. Under the leadership of Angela Kang (the new showrunner), the show has rediscovered not only its proper sense of pacing but the central thing that draws you in: interesting characters involved in complex conflicts. Many of the tweaks are subtle, but amount to a large and welcome rejuvenation which has gifted TWD a breath of fresh-but-familiar air. Here's hoping that Kang & Co can keep it up after the well-advertised and imminent departure of Rick Grimes...

Click image for FULL SIZE.

Click to Enlarge: Rick needs to catch Michonne up on the first two seasons...

Flavours of the Month: August 2018...

Complicated comics, all-out action in middle America, and an elf named Elfo are just a few examples of what's been setting the tone of my August 2018...

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Flavours of the Month: May 2018...

Bundles of Blu-Rays, aerial dog fights from a century ago, and FWOAN's first big screening have been setting the tone of my May 2018...

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Flavours of the Month: July 2017...

Wrestling 80s style, "something weird and strange", southern hostility, and murderous molluscs - just some of what's been flavouring my July 2017...

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The Walking Dead: Season 2 & Bonus Memes...

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Season 4 is nearly with us, so in the meantime I've been doing what a lot have been doing - having a TWD marathon of the first three seasons on DVD/BluRay boxset - and it's inspired a bundle of new memes.

N.B. Click on each image for their FULL SIZE.

Click to Enlarge: Dale's got experience.

Click to Enlarge: Victory will be Hershel's.

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The Walking Dead Season 1 Memes *UPDATED*...

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1x02: Quite chuffed with this one...

N.B. Click on each image for FULL SIZE.

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Walking Dead gifs...

Rummaging through some files I stumbled upon these couple of animated gifs that I cobbled together a few months ago - I'd never created a gif before and fancied a stab at it, and yet for some reason I forgot about these, so I might as well share them here.

These two are from the The Walking Dead season two finale "Beside the Dying Fire".

The first one was supposed to be used as an avatar for forums and the like, and the second was my very first stab at creating an animated gif image. I was only using a relatively basic gif creator, and I couldn't really figure out how to get the perfect balance between smooth motion, image size, and the actual size of the file itself. Still though - worth sharing - I hope you enjoy them.

The Walking Dead – Season 2 Deleted Scenes Review...

The DVD and Blu-Ray box sets for Season 2 of The Walking Dead are now available, and among the special features are a range of deleted scenes. The following is a review of those scenes, and naturally there are season two spoilers ahead.

“What Lies Ahead” (2x01)

The bulk of the cut scenes comes from the opening episode of the season, which was originally to be two episodes, but problems arose and Frank Darabont either walked or was pushed from the show during the editing process. The true story will never be known as to what went down, but anyway, on with the deleted scenes:

1)      It appears that a sequence is missing here showing Shane running away from a hoard of walkers as he desperately screams for attention and fires his shotgun (as glimpsed in the season two Comic-Con trailer). As evidenced from the conversation they have once Shane hops aboard the RV and they continue their escape, Shane's vehicle must have run out of fuel and he honked his horn to alert them. Then they come up with a plan to buy them some time – head to the Vatos' hideout at the old folk's home within the city.

2)      Our gang arrive at the Vatos' hideout, but discover a series of dead bodies outside being feasted upon by walkers – Rick says to hell with the noise and they gun down the zombies.

3)      They enter the building and discover yet more dead bodies. Sophia begins to cry and make too much noise, so Daryl tells her to shut up in no uncertain terms (before his character was softened as he became more involved with the group during the season).

4)      The men continue to sweep and clear the building upstairs. Bodies lie everywhere and there is an increasing sense of hopelessness. Meanwhile downstairs the others hide from a passing walker outside the now-barricaded front door, and when Sophia begins to panic Carl calms her down. It's a nice little beat for Carl, who is clearly coping with the situation far better than poor Sophia, and it's a nice juxtaposition to all the death and despair around them.

5)      In an excellent moment of foreshadowing, after they plan to stay the night in some of the upstairs rooms, Daryl points out (in a sneering spat with Andrea) that the people have all been executed before the zombies arrived – clearly there is now a human danger out there, somewhere, waiting for them.

6)      “Cough drops and bonzo beans” - the group, huddled in a small room, lay out their meagre supplies for Glenn to ration between them all. Shane makes friends with Daryl with a peace offering of a bottle of booze he pinched from the CDC. There's also an extra moment between Dale and Andrea – no doubt the first moment for the two of them to have a chance to debrief after he convinced her not to die in the CDC explosion – which adds a horrific reality check from Andrea. Furthermore Rick begins to blame himself for not following Shane's lead in heading to Fort Benning instead of the CDC, but Shane and Lori say he shouldn't blame himself. After Glenn makes a comment about their dire situation, the men exit to formulate a plan – to ditch some of the vehicles, siphon the fuel, and head for Fort Benning. Numerous small character beats here, as well as some exposition which covers a couple of minor plot holes – particularly explaining why their vehicle count is markedly different between the last shot of season one, and the opening montage of season two.

7)      Fast forwarding to the highway, Rick returns from his woodland encounter with walkers after Sophia ran off, and quickly discovers the girl didn't make it back.

8)      Carol stands alone by the roadside late at night looking into the woods.

Click "READ MORE" below for the rest of the deleted scenes in-review...