No True Blood, no problem – we’ve got zombies!

BRAINS!!!

Sorry, I just had to do that. Finally got to watch The Walking Dead last night and I must say that it satiated my appetite for gore and fright. The only thing that bothered me – besides the innocent horse being taken from his safe little pen to Atlanta to be eaten by the “walker” masses – was that the cast’s faces were so familiar. I kept trying to remember where I’d seen these people before. So you know I had to go to IMDb. I had to. Here’s where we’ve seen this unfortunate/fortunate lot before:

Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) – before playing a Sheriff’s Deputy from a small Georgia town who is one of the few survivors of the zombie apocalypse, Mr. Lincoln was best known as the poor sod who falls in love with his best friend’s wife (Keira Knightley) in Love Actually. That scene in which he tries to hide the wedding video and is forced to watch it with her as she comes to the realization that he’s in love with her is such a simultaneously beautiful and excruciating scene. I think Mr. Lincoln is such an amazing actor and I was reminded of this when he was stuck under the tank and had just about decided to blow his brains out rather than be eaten by the zombies (BRAINS!!) and then suddenly switched to survival mode when he saw a way out. Beautifully shot scene, if you’re allowed to call almost being eaten alive beautiful.

Lennie James (Morgan Jones) – Mr. James is not new to American television having starred in the ratings-challenged but rabid-fan-supported series Jericho as the mysterious Robert Hawkins. However, for me he will always be known as the smarter half of the unlucky duo of ne’er-do-wells in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch.

Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes) – prior to being saddled with what will surely turn out to be the most awkward of love triangles ( plus ,you know, the zombies), Ms. Callies played Dr. Sarah Tancredi who was used by a tattooed prisoner to get himself and his thick-necked brother out of prison, was later beheaded for her troubles, then brought back to life only to be impregnated on the guilty-pleasure that was Prison Break. Sarah played one of the few females on a show that was basically a smorgasbord of fine man-meat (not that I complained). The plot was never important, and logic was … not encouraged.  I was honestly shocked that the show lasted 4 seasons.

 

Yeah, I'd break Wentworth Miller out of jail too

Jon Bernthal (Shane Walsh) – before committing the cardinal TV contrivance sin of not checking to make sure that your buddy is dead before trying to bang his wife, Mr. Bernthal played Al Capone in the second (and completely unnecessary) Night at the Museum film. I guess Ben Stiller needs to pay for his hair plugs. However, my introduction to Mr. Bernthal came from his brief stint on the HBO miniseries The Pacific where he played the unfortunate Sgt. Manuel Rodriguez, friend of Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. John Basilone. Rodriguez’s death really impacted Basilone and added to his uneasiness about being recognized for his heroics on Guadalcanal.

With Jon Seda (Basilone)