Published on April 17th, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
When I first opened my RSS reader today and saw this headline, all I could think of was "Thank god!" After months of speculation and huge anticipation, the premiere of Breaking Bad's final season has been set. So after witnessing over 50 hours of the tales of Walter White, when exactly can you expect to see his final eight? Well later then expected, that's for sure. Hit the jump to find out exactly when... Read More→
Published on April 4th, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
With most TV shows that I plan on watching, I enforce a Six Episode Rule as a form of policy. I watch the first episode and, if I like it enough, I counted watching (as I'm sure most people do). However, there are some shows that I watch that seem to perpetually be on the verge of capturing my interest; I find certain things that I like and enjoy about the show, but they still don't capture my attention the way that other shows do. And with series' like that, I use the Six Episode Rule: if, in six episodes I find myself not actively wanting to watch the show, I just stop doing so. I know that most shows struggle to find their footing in the first few episodes, so I wait a little while to see if things get better. And if they don't, I leave. That's what I did with The Following. That's what I did with last year's Alcatraz. And, I'll be honest, that's what I intended to do with The Walking Dead. But here's an interesting thing about that—for the second season of the show, I was obligated to watch it. I had to review the show on a weekly basis for a former outlet, and I can't say I enjoyed every moment of it (or many moments at all of it, actually). But while the first half or so of that season was absolutely dreadful, I will admit things started to get a little better after the mid-season break (coincidentally following former showrunner Frank Darabont's departure, but more on that later). Either way I stuck with the show, abandoned my Six Episode Rule strictly because I hoped for better from such a promising series. And finally, after years of wait, I finally got what I wanted with The Walking Dead Season ... Read More→
Published on March 31st, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
Well here we are, the final episode of The Walking Dead’s third season. And let me tell you, I’ve been worried about this one from the get go. This show has surprisingly come out of the gate running this year, delivering some great episodes of television that made the show’s rampant success actually deserved. But all of that goodwill could disappear in an instant if the show fucked up its season finale. There’s an old mantra that says it’s not the destination, but the journey itself that counts. That, at the end of the day, we should just be able to take away the good that comes from a show regardless of how it ends its various plotlines. Well, that saying is wrong. The ending is very, VERY important, and a bad one can EASILY take away all the good stuff that was associated with the show in the first place. Just ask our good friend Lost, which was once considered one of the best shows ever made and now is lucky to get the time of day after its lackluster finale (which I personally loved, but whatever). So now that the smoke has cleared a bit and the season is finally through, the question must be asked: did the season go out on a high note? And sadly…the answer is no... Read More→
Published on March 25th, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
When I first heard that Merle would be returning for The Walking Dead Season 3, I didn’t know what to think. Merle’s first appearance on the show way back in Season 1 was, in a word, cringe-worthy. His crazed hick personality matched with his blatant drug use and racist tendencies simply did not work in a show primarily about surviving the zombie apocalypse, and it and the whole spousal abuse scenario with Carol proved to be some of the worst plot lines the show tackled in its first season. But Season 3 seems to be a dramatically different show than Season 1 (blame the departure of showrunner Frank Darabont for that), so I was curious all the same to see what Glenn Mazzara and company would do with the character upon his return. Even then though, I don’t think this season had used Merle to his full potential—he’s a fun character that’s well performed by Michael Rooker, but he seemed too often to return to his ill-defined “evil hick” role from Season 1 on even his best days. But now, one week before what’s sure to be an epic finale, Merle finally got the focus. And low and behold, we got a fantastic episode out of it... Read More→
Published on March 18th, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
Late last year, right at the start of The Walking Dead’s third season, I commented on the idea of the season focusing every episode ONLY on Woodbury or the Prison, with each location getting one episode to shine while the other took a break for the week. And well that concept was only used the one time at the beginning of the season, it seems to have turned up once again here, as “Prey” focuses exclusively on the goings on of Woodbury…specifically, the problems of Andrea, Tyreese, and the Governor... Read More→
Published on March 11th, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
Despite being the two leaders at the center of the conflict between Woodbury and the Prison, it's interesting to think that Rick and the Governor have never met face to face before this week's "Arrow on the Doorpost." In fact, no two members of the Woodbury forces and Prison dwellers have actually talked to each other about the conflict brewing between the two groups: they either scheme amongst themselves, or have Andrea as a messenger between the two parties. So on the one hand, an episode such as “Arrow on the Doorpost” was essential for that reason alone, as it forced both groups to deal with their problems man to man and actually try to create a peaceful compromise—something that would realistically happen if a feud like this were to actually occur. But on the other hand, it doesn’t exactly lend itself to an action packed, nor particularly exciting episode of television... Read More→
Published on March 4th, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
I hate to once again start a Walking Dead review with talking about Season 2, but this time I'm doing it in the name of positive comparison! Even though I felt that last season was mostly a lackluster one for the show, there was one big highlight for me; "18 Miles Out", which is not just a terrific episode of television, but one of the best episodes of the show yet (it actually was my favorite episode for while, until this year's "Made to Suffer" usurped it.) And here's the odd thing about this week's "Clear"; from the moment it began, I knew that it had to be written by Scott M. Gimple, the same man who brought us last year's "18 Miles Out." Not only is the episode very similar in concept and execution...but also in quality as well. To put it bluntly, "Clear" is everything I could possibly want in an episode of The Walking Dead... Read More→
Published on February 27th, 2013 | by Matthew Legarreta
If you’re like me, there’s a high chance that the events that occurred in The Walking Dead: The Video Game have still stuck with you despite the first season ending almost three months ago. What can I say…an experience like that doesn’t just go away, especially when it goes on to be hailed as one of the best of the year. And well we all thought that we would have to wait to feel those feels again until Season 2 of the game came out, we may in fact be getting more of The Walking Dead: The Video Game before then. Details and speculation on what that may be await after the jump... Read More→
Matthew Legarreta is the Editor-in-Chief of Geek Binge. A big ol' ball of movie, TV, and video game loving flesh, Matthew started up Geek Binge in the Fall of 2012 to convince himself that he's doing something with his life. He isn't. Matthew also loves writing about himself in the third person, because it makes him feel important or something.
Wednesday Lee Friday is a novelist and freelance writer currently living in Ann Arbor Michigan. Her fourth horror novel, The Finster Effect, is available now and features a plague of rats lending zombies the assist as they consume all life on the globe. Wednesday is a rabid fan of quality movies and TV, a horror enthusiast, kitchen witch, and internet get-about. She also writes reviews, produces audiobooks, and assembles a wacky serial-killer comic every month for Resilient Brainforest.
Jake Wilbanks is the News Editor for Geek Binge and co-host of the Screen Bites podcast. A 20-year-old Journalism major hailing from the southern recesses of Tennessee, Jake loves talking about movies and why he loves them, fancies meeting new people to laugh with, has a deep appreciation of breakfast food, and plans on becoming Batman in the near future. He’s also very proud of his beard.
Kristina "Krissie" Rettig is a staff writer for Geek Binge. She gets random Star Wars links regularly posted to her Facebook wall because she lets her geek flag fly with abandon. In front of everybody. She has covered Comic-Con for Variety.com in the past, and is not beyond sitting in line for 6 hours to get into a panel just so she can breathe the same air as the Game of Thrones cast. Even if she's about 1,000 feet away from them—but it's not a big deal. Her non-discriminate tastes even overflow into the dark realm of reality television, so expect to see her holier-than-thou rantings on that as well. May the force be with you!
Jared Russo is a staff writer for Geek Binge, a student at the University of Central Florida, and enjoys writing in his free time. He is an avid fan of fighting games, and is a tournament player for Street Fighter 4. When he is not writing or street fighting, he is podcasting about movies, developing screenplays he won't sell, and advocating The Wire using hyperbole.
Justin is a staff writer for Geek Binge and co-host of the Screen Bites podcast. Justin earned the nickname "Surly" when he worked as a video store clerk, but he's not surly, he's just misunderstood—stupid.
