Action Figure World

By Scott West (ScienceFiction.com)

Glen Mazzara, the showrunner for AMC’s hit show ‘The Walking Dead’ held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss the show. In that conference, Mazzara talked about Michonne’s appearance in last week’s season finale, the upcoming prison storyline, and the appearance of a new character from the comic series. (No. He wasn’t referring to Merle).

On the appearance of Michonne:

Michonne is one of the lead characters in the graphic novel. We are excited to finally introduce her. She is a loner. She is a very kickass character. She is very dynamic. We really see her as an important addition to the cast. She is a significant character, and she will be carrying a lot of the story. We are excited about her, and we are excited about Danai Gurira, who is going to play this role. We are lucky to have her, and we look forward to seeing what she does with it.

On the prison storyline and how long it will last:

Right now, I do see the prison storyline lasting through both Season 3 and 4. I do think that is a major storyline. I know we were on the farm, perhaps, longer than people wanted. There were reasons for that. What we want is for that prison to not feel claustrophobic. I think the farm played a little claustrophobic for some people. Now that the entire landscape has fallen victim to the zombie apocalypse, zombies are literally at the gates of this prison. That prison is a very small safe corner. There is a lot of danger around. It won’t feel like we are bottled up, the way we were on the farm. I do think that prison is a significant storyline, but we are also interested in opening up this world. The Governor has the world of Woodbury. There are other factors out there, other groups. I do think that Rick’s group is stumbling into a much larger world.

On characters from the comics that may appear soon:

There is a lot of great material from the comic book. This show would have to go on for twenty years to get to all of it. I think the Tyrese character is someone we are interested in introducing at some point. We still have Morgan and Dwayne, who are out there from the pilot. We are interested in them. There are new characters that will be original too the series. Not coming straight from the comic book. I think the first two seasons have served as a prologue. Now we are hitting the ground running. I see Season 3 resetting the show in terms of what I really hope to convey.

For the full interview, head over to Movieweb.

Personally, I’m excited to see that the prison story will last for a few seasons as there’s so much to explore there. And, even though I understand Mazzara’s reasoning, I’m just glad that the group is FINALLY off of that blasted farm.

And, with the possible appearance of Tyrese, it’ll be cool to see what part T-Dog plays since he wasn’t given much to do this past season but carry stuff around. Mazzara did confront that issue in the interview and said that T-Dog will have a larger role to play in season 3.

So… what do you think? Is the prison storyline big enough to encompass two whole seasons of the show? And, with the setting confined to a single spot for two seasons, will it eventually grow stale the way that the farm did in season 2?

If you want to check out the video of cast members discussing the next season (3), you can go to the official AMC site.

Are you worried that reading the comic book novel will ruin the storyline for you?  Answer is…No…if anything, it will enhance your appreciation of the TV series.  The TV series is quite different from the comic book.  The locations in the comic book are the same as they move around but the characters and storyline vary.  I highly recommend you read the comic book series (and you can pick it up at Amazon.com at a really cheap price).