'The Walking Dead' Season 6 Photos Introduce Characters From The Comics

Over the years I’ve had a trouble relationship with AMC’s mega hit zombie drama The Walking Dead, to say the least. I’ve been a huge fan of Robert Kirkman’s comics since day one, but season 3 sucked so bad I almost stopped watching. But they righted the ship, especially starting with the second half of season 4, and I’m actually looking forward to the upcoming season 6. That said, some details have emerged, as well as photos of new characters.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Review: "What Happened And What's Going On" Delivers Another Blow

Well damn. The other day Andrew Lincoln, who plays Rick Grimes on AMC’s zombie hit The Walking Dead, promised the first two episodes back from their hiatus were going to be brutal, and he wasn’t lying. The second half of season 5 just kicked off with “What Happened and What’s Going On,” and not only does it pile tragedy on the already abused group of survivors, it’s also likely the most stylized episode in the show’s entire run. We don’t know about the next episode, but if it’s in the same ballpark as this one, it’s going to be a rough go for fans, as the midseason premiere delivers a stout gut punch.

If you haven’t watched tonight’s episode yet, seriously stop reading, there are SPOILERS beyond this point.

5 Things 'The Walking Dead' Needs To To For The Rest Of Season 5

Season 5 of The Walking Dead is about to return from a long winter’s nap for the back eight episodes of what may be the strongest season yet for AMC’s hit zombie drama. While it is a different world from a couple of years ago (I was so frustrated with season 3 that I almost stopped watching), there is still room for improvement, and some things the series needs to do to maintain the momentum they’ve built and deliver a satisfying conclusion.

2014's Best Sci-Fi TV

2014 may be in the rearview, but all around it was a damn good year for science fiction. We got fantastic movies big and small, new and interesting additions to the literary side of the genre, and we’ve even got three, soon to be four, Doctor Who comic books. There was also a ton of great stuff to watch from the comfort of our very own couch and tune into week after week on ye olde boob tube. There are some definite gaps in my viewing for the year, but here are some of my favorite sci-fi shows of the past 12 months. In retrospect, this is actually kind of a sad list, as multiple entries have already been cancelled or are definitively on their way out.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Review: "Crossed" Sets Up Conflict In More Ways Than One

The Walking Dead is building towards something, something big. A major conflict has been brewing between the core group and the group at the hospital, and tonight’s episode, “Crossed,” the last one before the annual mid-season hiatus, pushes things even farther. It’s kind of all over the place, and there’s a lot going on, but it drives the arc of season 5 in a direction it needs to go.

Stop reading this if you haven’t watched “Crossed,” we’re going to get all kinds of spoilery from here on out.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Review: "Consumed" Digs Into Carol's Past

During the last half of season 4, AMC’s The WalkingDead took a different approach to telling the zombie story, breaking the core group up into smaller factions and following each one for an episode, or at least most of them. Season 5 has taken that strategy and added even more narrative tweaks and gymnastics. They’ve staggered the timeline, so not only do events in different places play out simultaneously, each chapter adds to your overall knowledge, filling in blank spots and answering questions posed earlier. Thus far, it’s been an inventive tactic, creating a tension that carries week to week, and builds the arc of the season in a different and unusually satisfying way. (It’s weirdly like watching Arrested Development, letting stories unfold over multiple episodes, in multiple timeframes.) This week’s episode, “Consumed,” follows this path and delivers one of the best installments of the season.

There are SPOILERS beyond this point. If you haven’t watched “Consumed” yet and have any interest in doing so, stop reading now or what follows falls on you.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Review: "Self Help" Drops Bombs And Mullet Jokes

Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, “Slabtown,” wasn’t great, and is the weakest episode of the series since the middle of season 4. But luckily, it was just a slight speed bump, as the hit zombie drama returned to its recent form with the fifth episode of season 5, “Self Help.” As the core group has broken up again, they’re sticking with the narrative structure where each episode follows one splinter, and this installment sheds some light on members of the cast who, though they’ve been present, haven’t had much to do.

It should go without saying that there are spoilers coming, but I’ll say it anyway, there are spoilers coming.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Review: "Slabtown" Lets Beth Fly Solo

They’ve been hinting at it and building up to it, but tonight The Walking Dead finally lets you know what happened to Beth (Emily Kinney). Another one of the characters that had been, for too long, basically useless, Beth started to come into her own in the latter portion of season 4. In fact, maybe the best episode of the entire season, “Still,” belongs almost wholly to her, featuring two people, Beth and Daryl (Norman Reedus), and no one else. But can she carry an entire episode all on her own? You’re about to find out with “Slabtown.”

As usual, we’re going to take a stroll through Spoiler Town, so if you haven’t watched the episode yet, you may want to cool your jets for a while.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Review: "Four Walls And A Roof" Proves Pretty People Taste Better

As we approached the premiere of season 5 of TheWalking Dead, AMC’s mega-popular zombie drama, my biggest question was whether or not they could maintain the progress and momentum created over the second half of season 4. By far the best run in the entire series, I wasn’t a huge fan of the season finale, but here we are, three episodes into the young season 5, and they not only kept it going, they’ve started building even more. The season started out with a tense, action heavy debut, and followed that up with a more introspective episode, which brings us to tonight’s installment, “Four Walls and a Roof. And this is the episode fans of the comics have been waiting for.

It should go without saying, don’t read this unless you’ve already watched the episode, or you just don’t give a damn, because we’re going wade through some deep ass spoilers.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Review: "Strangers" Carves Off A Chunk

Despite having drastic ups and downs over the course of the series, the last half of season 4 of AMC’s The Walking Dead was, by far, the best run in the series, giving me hope, guarded as it was, going into season 5. And thus far the young season hasn’t let me down. After starting with last week’s high-paced, action-centric season premiere, “No Sanctuary,” the massively popular zombie drama returns with “Strangers,” a quiet, moody, contemplative episode that continues to ratchet up the tension and build towards something even bigger.

If you haven’t watched the episode, stop reading now, because we’re going to talk about it, in depth, and this will include a great many SPOILERS.

'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Premiere-"No Sanctuary"

Well that’s one way to start off a season. A couple of years ago, if I told you the biggest show on television would kick off its fifth season with cannibals, blood spurting from sliced open throats, and one group of people preparing to gouge out the eyeballs of another group of people, you might not have believed me. But we live in a world where AMC’s The Walking Dead is more popular than we ever could have imagined, and that, and more, all happened within the first few minutes.

It should go without saying that if you haven’t watched the season 5 premiere, “No Sanctuary,” you might want to stop reading right now, as we’re going to get into all manner of spoiler type things, like spoilers.

5 Things 'The Walking Dead' Season 5 Needs To Do

Season 4 of AMC’s hit zombie drama The WalkingDead is easily the best in the show’s history, especially the eight episodes that comprise the second half (okay, the first seven of those, I wasn’t super impressed by season finale, at least not until the very end). I give a lot of this credit, rightly or wrongly, to new showrunner Scott Gimple—these episodes in particular, and their narrative approach, bear the trademarks of those he wrote before landing this gig—and I’m more excited and interested in seeing what happens to these characters than I’ve ever been.

'The Walking Dead' Season Four Report Card

Now that AMC’s hit zombie drama The WalkingDead has shuffled off for another end-of-the-year hiatus full of casting updates and random fan speculation, we have some space to take a step back and examine the season that was. Going into season four, I was hopeful, despite the fact that, since nearly day one, I’ve had a troubled, at best, relationship with this show. Season three saw one of the best episodes of the series (“Clear”), and some of the absolute worst (“Arrow on the Doorpost,” among others). Plagued since the beginning by a lack of overall consistency, season three raised fluctuations in quality to a damn art form.

TV Review: 'The Walking Dead'-4.16-"A"

Despite numerous issues, general ups and downs, and an overall lack of consistency, one thing AMC’s The WalkingDead has always managed to do well is end a season. Explosions, mass chaos, and major character deaths have all played into season finales. Not perfect, and a definite tale of two halves, “A,” the 16th and final episode of season four, is a fitting and worthy addition to this family.

TV Review: 'The Walking Dead'-4.14-"The Grove"

Well that was one hell of a bummer of an episode, even for a show a notoriously bleak as The Walking Dead. If you thought Andrea’s death at the end of season three stung, Rick shooting zombie Sophia in the head in season two, or the debacle at the prison a few weeks ago were bad, you’re in for a hard slap of reality with tonight’s episode, “The Grove.” It’s like the writers went out of their way to say fuck you, here’s how bad shit can really get. So sit back, strap in, and get ready to get ready to have your day ruined a little bit.

TV Review: 'The Walking Dead'-4.13-"Alone"

Last week’s episode of The Walking Dead, “Still,” was perhaps the most contained episode of the series. Aside from a few random walkers, there are only two people in the entire thing, and most of the time is taken up with Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Beth (Emily Kinney) opening up and sharing with each other. Tonight’s installment, “Alone,” offers a wider look at the still-splintered group of survivors, following the pair from last week, who are quickly forming a tight bond, but also checking in with Maggie (Lauren Cohan), Sasha (Sonequa Martin-Green), and Bob Stookey (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.).

TV Review: 'The Walking Dead'-4.12-"Still"

Last week’s episode of AMC’s The WalkingDead, “Claimed,” was all about looking towards the future. We were introduced to a trio of new characters—Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene—who will continue shape the show for the foreseeable future and beyond. At the same time, we learned that they were on a mission to get to Washington DC, and could possibly hold the key to ending the walker apocalypse once and for all. “Still,” tonight’s installment of the hit zombie drama, however, looks into the past, specifically into the earlier life of fan-favorite Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus).

TV Review: 'The Walking Dead'-4.11-"Claimed"

At the very end of “Inmates,” last week’s episode of The Walking Dead on AMC, the show gave you your first glimpse at a trio of new characters that fans, especially fans of Robert Kirkman’s comics, have been waiting for. Presumably, “Claimed,” this week’s installment, will introduce Sergeant Abraham Ford (Michael Cudlitz), Rosita Espinosa (Christian Serratos), and Dr. Eugene Porter (Josh McDermit) in a little more depth. Does it? Read on to find out, but know that there are serious spoilers lurking in the bushes ahead.

TV Review: 'The Walking Dead'-4.10-"Inmates"

Last week’s mid-season premiere of AMC’s TheWalking Dead focused on a limited number of zombie apocalypse survivors. We saw what became of Rick (Andrew Lincoln), Carl (Chandler Riggs), and Michonne (Danai Gurira), but the episode left you hanging when it came to everyone else. Personally, I thought this was a good move, as it allowed time to really dig into those three. This week’s offering, “Inmates,” catches us up with the rest of the gang. What have they been up to? Read on to find out, but beware, for there be spoilers.

TV Review: 'The Walking Dead'-4.09-"After"

When we last saw our intrepid group of zombie apocalypse survivors on AMC’s The Walking Dead, they were, well, they were screwed, quite frankly. Their prison stronghold had just been violated, one of their own had brutally murdered in front of them, and in order to escape, they broke into smaller splinters and vanished into the surrounding countryside. That’s where we left them after the mid-season finale, up shit creek, and fans were left to wonder what would become of them. And tonight’s midseason premiere, “After,” catches us up, with some of the crew at least.

Don’t keep reading if you haven’t already watched tonight’s episode, it’ll just ruin things for you.