I hope nobody's watching The Walking Dead for tactical lessons in survival.
Gareth, the head cannibal in The Walking Dead.
The latest season has introduced a cannibal cult (now defeated) that Rick and his merry band have had to overcome. Yet for folks who have supposedly been living by their wits for years now (and whose group includes military veterans), they still haven't learned how to move as a group with point men and flankers, nor how to maintain listening/observation posts when stationary, nor even rudimentary perimeter security. People are always haring off on their own and getting into trouble or endangering the group. I mean, how did these people stay alive this long, other than the good graces of the writer's imagination?
17 comments:
On the other hand, the mistakes made are so outrageous, even those with zero tactical background take note, and get upset at the self-endangerment presented.
It's also amazing simple lack of hygiene hasn't killed off members of Rick's surviving band.
Love the show but this criticism is ON POINT! Just the last episode Rick was telling his son that he is NEVER SAFE. Words were said proper but then tactically they make errors that would indeed see them killed instantly.
Last night I kept saying , what are you waiting for? Shoot the bastards already!!! This show has a chance to be here to stay and break records of many kinds. If those producing the show want that they will improve the security aspect criticized here.
But notice this - even the survivor reality shows NEVER put up real survivalists. The Old Media refuses to show the country that some actually know what they are doing. Why? Simple really. Those in control of media FEAR self sufficient people and the LAST thing they want to propagate is knowledge so useful as tactical awareness and actions that highlight SELF DEFENSE practices that don't require someone else to handle it FOR you.
However - there is a reverse psychology aspect here. Some of what they do on the show is sooooo obviously stupid that folks can learn what NOT to do.
Reminds me of a story my father-in-law told me of his platoon, part of the 30th Infantry Division, that happened during the Battle of the Bulge. (The Germans nicknamed this division "Roosevelt's SS.") His infantry platoon had two knuckleheads that kept doing dumb--and dangerous--things like sleeping on guard duty. So as a last resort the platoon decided to put them in the same fox hole one night. They found them in the morning, both dead, with their throats cut. Based on the intel of their area at that particular time, they concluded that some of those special Germans who could speak perfect English and wore American uniforms had slipped through their lines that night to escape and evade.
Funny, when I watched that show last week I was asking myself the same questions
Enh, all horror movies/shows require the protagonists to behave as stupidly as possible. Par for the course, really.
Tactical lessons? Nope, I just want to see which super-duper weapons will turn up next as well as how deadly they are! :)
Merle
I stopped watching after the 1st season and the millionth tactic mistake.
I saw stupid 'tactical' crap going on from scene 1 of the 1st season, and from then on.
Of course, it's "HollyyyyWood".
However, Anon @ 2:53 has a point. There are perfect examples of what not to do being shown.
I like to count the number of rifles without sights on that show.
I wonder where they get the ammo for all that full auto, but watch religiously. It's entertainment, not instruction. Oh, and LOVE Rick's Python.
Oh, and FFS learn how to tie someone up so they are no longer a threat.
In that scene where Rick gives his son a long lecture on not being safe ever , ever , ever . As their leader he makes huge tactical errors in that get people killed. Even simple light and sound discipline he overlooks.
I can not help but point out that that, for the most part they are fighting slow moving mindless animals. The dumbest animal is smarter than a zombie (when you are hunting do you ever run into any creature that will let you stab it in the eye with a screwdriver?). With that said, they do run into humans once and a while so your criticism is well founded. Your real complaint should be that this is Hollywood.
But I do like Carol's camo!
They're a group that have managed to eke out survival using "wrong" methods because they had to learn as they go and most of them had nothing from their prior lives to go on. I used to know someone who would fish holding the rod upside down (a spinning reel on top) and the fish he caught were no less caught just because he was "doing it wrong."
The other groups they encounter also make tons of tactical errors, so there's enough plausibility that it doesn't break my suspension of disbelief. It's just a world gone to hell with small pockets of survivors who basically became self-taught.
Plus it's also just a TV show :)
For some reason, I am reminded of this:
http://xkcd.com/734/
:D
If they were smart, the show wouldn't last very long. All the episodes would be five minutes long and it would end after the first season.
Like this:
http://youtu.be/dmLxWXJkq1c
It's a lot harder to write good stories with people who know what they're doing.
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