Walking Dead Season 5 - this time it's personal

So season five of The Walking Dead premiered last night and can I just say, holy twisted cannibals Batman!

We knew at the end of season four the Rick's merry band of zombie killers had wandered into a compound of cannibals (not for the long hoped for sanctuary) but knowing it and seeing their human cattle processing are two different things.

In a scene that may be the most disturbing thing ever shown on network TV (okay basic cable) the first five minutes of the season five were riveting, and the pace barely let up from there.

However it begs the question, where does the series go from here? There seemed to be some ambiguity about getting the man with the cure, Eugene Porter, to Washington D.C.

Although to my mind that seems a little contrived, after all, zombie plague - oh here's the guy with the cure, lets gist him to Washington - what exactly is the debate there?

Well, I guess the answer is who really cares as long as they keep dishing up episodes like last night's.

Zombie attack II

Apparently my last post on how to survive a zombie apocalypse was not informative enough and people deprived of their weekly The Walking dead fix suddenly fill my inbox with increasingly inane questions.

Number one on that list is: Hey Alan do you think they'll be slow or fast zombies?

Uh, slow, duh. fast zombies are an invention of Hollywood (and how often do they get it right?) You think you can take away almost complete brain function AND then sprint like an Olympic athlete, sure.
The danger from zombies isn't that they're fast it's that they are mindless and therefore relentless in their need to devour human flesh. Really people I need to tell you this?

Next up: But what about my friends and family, how do I make sure they'll be okay?

Jeesh, youse people. Look it's the zombie apocalypse not a family reunion. As C. Montgomery Burns once said, "family and friends are the demons you have to slay if you want to get ahead in business." Same goes for surviving the zombie apocalypse.

Or how about this poor misguided fool: Don't you think the government has some sort of contingency plan in case of a zombie apocalypse?

Oh boy where to begin with that one. First off half the people working in government are already zombies (the other half are vampires). And if they're not they're as likely to share any 'contingency plan' with John Q. Public as they were all those flying saucers that crashed in new Mexico in the 1940s and 50s.

However amongst the dross were a few pertinent questions such as: So the world as we know it has come to an end, what do I look for in fellow survivors to team up with?

Well for starters my pragmatic friend you've got the right attitude you'll go far with that sort of thinking. As to the specifics of your question, teaming up with fellow survivors is indeed a quandary.
For starters at first glance you may write off the older, heavy set fellow as dead weight. But what if he turns out to be a skilled surgeon, damned handy to have around don't you think?
On the other hand there's certainly the temptation to save the hot girl, but what about when her heels break and she whines incessantly about the lack of spa service? All of a sudden saving the damsel in distress doesn't seem like such a great idea.
Of course there are also big biker types who might seem like they'd be good to have in a fight, but let's face it they're almost as slow as zombies and when the action's quiet they'll make your life hell.
No what you want is one of those middle age handy-man types, you know the ones that always have a tool belt on and love to fix things and be helpful. Or a young idealistic doctor (male or female) who place a high value on human life and will work to create a functioning society. Also extreme marathon types are good, they're quiet and introspective but obviously have lots of stamina and are used to going long periods with few creature comforts.
Scientists can be handy as well, especially chemists who can do things like make batteries from scratch and teach you how to make fuel from corn. But beware anyone in environmental science they're really just tree huggers with advanced degrees and might feel killing zombies is morally wrong or something nonsensical like that. Plus they'll always argue against jumping in the Hummer and insist on looking for a Prius to make your getaway in endangering your party for the sake of environmental purity. On the plus side if you have to choose someone to be zombie bait so you can get away, well it makes for an easy decision.

Okay can you figure out the rest from here, I've got better things to do you know.

  

What to do in case of a zombie attack

The Walking Dead had its season finale on Sunday and if the Mad Men hiatus is anything to go by AMC won't get it back on the air until sometime in 2015. So that is kind of a bummer and yes I know there's the graphic novel, but once you've started watching the show it's really not the same thing. 

Then, and how's this for irony, there's the possibility of a zombie apocalypse between now and then, which means we'll never find out what happens to the survivors of the zombie apocalypse as portrayed in The Walking Dead...and there would be a real zombie apocalypse to deal with, even more of a bummer (or possibly your dream come true depending on your world view and/or socio-economic standing.

Ok no more The Walking Dead and legions of undead pounding on your door, what to do?

First of all if you're a fan of The Walking Dead then why have you allowed yourself to be ambushed by a bunch of damn zombies? Just because your favourite show is off the air for an indeterminate amount of time and the world as you know has come to and end is no reason to throw caution to the wind.

Well let's back up a bit. With AMC's hit series The Walking Dead off the air you've got time to take care of real world problems and prepare yourself for the coming zombie hordes, so you don't wake up one morning to find yourself breakfast for the undead.

First of all if it's not already make sure your door is made of reenforced steel and make sure your windows are covered by iron bars. The neighbours may laugh and say they're ugly but who'll be laughing when their craniums are appetizers at the zombie banquet - you that's who! 

You'll need food and water of course, so make sure to have several gallons of bottled water, energy bars and lots of Red Bull on hand (you may not have a lot of time to sleep in the early days of the apocalypse). Twinkies are no longer available (Hostess how could you) but there are other gas station snack cakes that have equally long shelf lives i.e. forever. Freeze dried meals are a must as well, but avoid can foods, to heavy and cumbersome, plus what if you lose your can opener then what? 

Of course weapons are important. Guns sure, a good reliable 12-guague and Colt Python .44 revolver are handy, but guns runout of ammo and then they're just paperweights plus gunfire attracts more zombies. In the end your firearms will most likely be needed most for keeping unwelcome human invaders at bay.

What you want is a nice long machete with a strong blade (for those all important skull cracking swings) and a good sized hatchet as back-up. Plus if we've learned nothing from The Walking Dead it's that a crossbow is indispensable. 

So you're stocked up with provisions and heavily armed. You've taken the proper precautions against being caught by surprise, but at some point you're going to need to bug out and head for the country. There's really only one choice for a zombie escape vehicle, a cold-forged Jeep YJ (with hard top of course). It doesn't have the mileage of diesel but when you're out on the highway looking for abandoned cars to siphon fuel from  you don't want to be looking for the one diesel car out of a hundred now do you?

There you have it, the complete zombie survival guide in less than 500 words. Now get out there and get ready for the apocalypse because you don't want to be the one others are laughing at as zombies dine on your small intestine do you?