Focus on Fall Sci Fi TV: The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead, AMC, Returning Series (5th Season), Premiere Tuesday October 12th 9 PM EST

Here’s the official description for the fifth season of The Walking Dead:

Season Four of The Walking Dead ended with Rick and the group outgunned, outnumbered, and trapped in a train car awaiting a grim fate. Season Five picks up shortly thereafter. What follows is a story that weaves the true motives of the people of Terminus with the hopeful prospect of a cure in Washington, D.C., the fate of the group’s lost comrades, as well as new locales, new conflicts, and new obstacles in keeping the group together and staying alive. Stories will break apart and intersect. The characters will find love and hate. Peace and conflict. Contentment and terror. And, in the quest to find a permanent, safe place to call home, one question will haunt them…After all they’ve seen, all they’ve done, all they’ve sacrificed, lost, and held on to no matter what the cost…Who do they become? AMC

Season 4 of this show was definitely an exhausting affair, giving us the final showdown with the Governor and then all the struggles that followed when the group was scattered afterwards.  I’ve heard that the upcoming season will deliver a bit less in the way of gut-wrenching drama and instead focus more on action.  That may not be such a bad thing, as fans could use a break from some of those heart-stopping moments.  But TWD being what it is, don’t count on too much of a respite (especially with the specter of cannibalism lurking in Terminus).  Still, I expect this show to keep up the level of quality we have seen through its first four years (that includes the much-maligned second season), and I would direct you to Syfy’s Z Nation if you are looking for any zombie levity.

As far as the show's ratings prospects for this coming season, don't expect those numbers to be dropping much any time soon.  And the fact is that it could still slip a couple of points and still rank as the highest rated shows across the broadcast nets and cable. TWD even beat high profile sporting events pretty regularly based on the ratings in the 18-49 demo several times last season. This one will almost certainly be going out on its own terms and that won't be any time soon (and that spin-off series should be hitting some time next year).

Here is the Trailer for Season 5:
 

Buy The Walking Dead on DVD and Blu-ray or Stream Episodes from Amazon.com: