'The Walking Dead' has taken over television

Move over vampires...zombies are taking over the masses, courtesy of AMC's "The Walking Dead."

Premiering on Halloween, "The Walking Dead" had the pleasure of taking in 5.3 million viewers in the first episode alone, making it the most-watched premiere episode of any AMC television series. Take that "Mad Men." (Don't worry, I still love you Don Draper.) And episodes two and three hauled in almost as many, with 4.7 million and 5.1 million viewers, respectively.

If numbers don't mean anything to you, I get it, but for a series based on a comic book, those are good numbers. So good, in fact, that AMC picked up the show for a 13-episode second season after only the first two episodes. Fanboys are delighted, and you should be too.

If you haven't heard the buzz on "The Walking dead" floating around the television atmosphere, or around the water cooler at work yet, then maybe you're a zombie yourself. You might want to get that checked. But for now, here's what the show is all about.

Based on the comic books of Robert Kirkman, we have our central character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), a sheriff's deputy who wakes up from a coma after being shot, to find, well, no one. Dead bodies and chaos surround him, until he comes across various survivors in different parts of the city.

In episode one, we get Morgan and his son, Duane, who first inform Rick of what is going on and some of the rules that come with killing zombies - for instance, loud sounds, such as gunshots attract them; one little bite spreads the plague; individual zombies are weak, but in large groups they can be deadly; and the only way to kill a zombie is to destroy the brain, either by smashing or shooting it.

In episode two, we get Glenn, a young man who is part of a larger group of survivors looking for food and supplies. Glenn helps Rick escape an angry hoard of zombies that Rick attracts by not following the rules.

In a later scene, as one of the best I've seen on television in a long time, Rick and Glenn smother themselves in dead zombie guts and parts in order to blend their smell in with the other zombies and get help for other survivors trapped in a store. It is the perfect amount of cringe-worthy delight in which you can't look away. (See photo to the right.)

All this time Rick is simply trying to find his wife, Lori, and son, Carl, whom he presumes is alive because he found some photo albums missing when he stopped in at home. Wife Lori, on the other hand, is struggling with the fact that she presumed Rick was dead and ended up sleeping with Rick's best friend and partner, Shane, who is also a part of the surviving group to which Glenn belongs. Emotional turmoil ensues for Lori after Glenn arrives back at camp with Rick (no spoiler there, really).

That's what makes "The Walking Dead" different from the typical zombie flicks. Yes, we have killer (no pun intended) zombies with great special-effect makeup jobs and mannerisms that are so unbelievably realistic; if the show was in 3-D, I'd be running for the hills. But, the show is also about the relationships and interactions of the characters in their zombie-inhabited world. How will these people live as their personalities start to shift under the stress and pressure of this new world? How will they deal, as is the case with Morgan and his wife, with finding zombies that were once their friends or loved ones and having to save themselves by killing said zombies? How will they work together to escape this world?

It's this added element of human emotion that brings "The Walking Dead" to life and to a level that's not just appealing to fanboys of the comics and zombie fanatics alike - it's a drama filled with horror-like elements, not the other way around.

As much as I enjoy the show, I will say this. I was disappointed with the third episode. I'm a little worried as to where the plot is going - it slowed down a bit and was rather mediocre compared to the first two episodes - but maybe that has to do with Rick being reunited with his family. And the ending was a little too reminiscent of an action from "Saw" or the recently talked-about "127 Hours." I know the writers can do better. I won't say what happened for those who need to catch up or may start watching after reading this, but let's just hope next week the show returns with the oomph that the first two episodes carried.

As stated before, a 13-episode second season was announced after the major haul the show took in from episodes one and two. It'll start shooting in February 2011, and it is said to not premiere until October 2011, due to AMC's other two hit shows "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," along with another newcomer "The Killers," running from March until September. Hopefully viewers will retain their interest despite the time lapse, but all I can say for now is, have a little heart and ive zombies a chance. Just be sure to watch your back.

"The Walking Dead" airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC.

He's bacckk.... 'Conan' premieres with a strong start

"You want me to move 'The Tonight Show' to 12:05. Forget it. What can they do to me?" - Conan O'Brien

As if you haven't heard already, Conan O'Brien is back...finally. It's been nine months since the NBC debacle that shafted Conan from his "Tonight Show" gig, bringing in Jay Leno to regain his seat and Conan to move on over to TBS.

So how'd he do during his opening show? According to the numbers, not bad...not bad at all. He raked in 4.1 million viewers on opening night, to beat out Leno's 3.5 million; and his second night garnered 2.8 million. Let's hope it lasts.

And let me just throw this out there. Conan is not my favorite late-night host, so I have no bias here. That award goes to Craig Ferguson. Ferguson's humor is so off-the-cuff that you can't help but laugh. His opening monologues aren't one-liners, right after the other, (sometimes puppets are even involved!), and his interviews are so candid and brutally honest, it just makes for a better interview. And the fact that his sidekick, Geoff Peterson, is a robot, is so random, it makes it all the better. There is never a show where I don't laugh out loud, so much sometimes that tears come to my eyes. Ferguson is the most underrated late-night host out there.

Anyway, that being said, where does that leave Conan?

Don't worry, he's right there in second place. He far beats out Leno and David Letterman - so scripted - and the Jimmy's (Kimmel and Fallon) are hit-or-miss.

And Conan proved, that even on cable television, he can do just fine. He brought forth his usual quirky sense of humor to an opening sketch - showcasing the nine-month unemployment period of his life. He gets an interview with Don Draper (Jon Hamm) of "Mad Men" for an advertising job ("You have absolutely no advertising experience. Plus, it's 1965 and you're 2 years old."); he nabs a job working at Burger King; and also performs stand-up as a clown at a kids' birthday party. All to no avail. The sketch concluded with Larry King, as the basic cable network guardian angel, talking Conan off of a bridge.

In his monologue, there may have been one-too-many stabs towards NBC - "People ask me why I named the show 'Conan.' I did it so I'd be harder to replace." - but it had to be addressed and gotten out here, before we as viewers and Conan himself could move onto better things.

What works really well is the buddy relationship of Conan and Andy Richter. They are a team that can easily play off one another - the show might as well be called "The Conan and Andy Show." For instance, when Conan brings up a Halloween mask designed to be him, but simply called "Ex-Talk Show Host" mask, Richter throws it on and deadpans "It's very authentic inside. It smells like tears." Subtle jabs at Conan, where Conan can laugh at himself, work well.

As for Conan's first guests, again, not bad: Seth Rogan ("Superbad," "Knocked Up"), Lea Michele ("Glee"); and Jack White of White Stripes fame. A decent first-night lineup if we were able to have longer than five minutes apiece with them. The interviews seemed over before they started.

Night two of "Conan" held up OK, with Tom Hanks and Jack McBrayer ("30 Rock") appearing as guests. You can't go wrong with either of those guys, each comical in their own way.

And before the guest arrived, a well-done 'what can and can't be censored' skit was shown that hit off well.

It'll be tough to see where "Conan" lands in the future - Team Coco has been waiting a long time for this, and I'm sure they will stick with him, but to keep up those numbers, a little more than the usual needs to be done. At least he's back, and I just hope people will remember to scroll up to the higher numbers of cable television to back him up - we don't want him getting lost among the George Lopez' of TBS.

"Conan" airs at 11 p.m. on TBS, Monday through Thursday.

Are Disney classics fading away among Pixar flix?

With the release of "Toy Story 3" on DVD Tuesday, a wonderful movie to say the least, it got me thinking - have kids these days ever experienced a 'real' animated Disney movie? Ya know, hand drawn, not in 3-D.

Let's rewind a bit.

"Toy Story" came out in 1995. Fifteen years ago, it was the first of its kind - Disney/Pixar had never collaborated before to make a full-fledged feature film entirely in CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery). And not only did the technology draw people in, the characters - so easy to fall in love with - made the movie. Yes, boykid Andy was a central figure in the film, but it was his 'play-things' that we fell in love with. From Buzz to Woody to Slinky Dog, viewers all had their favorites.

Four years later, and only one other Pixar film made in between ("A Bug's Life"), a "Toy Story" sequel came along that held up to the original, giving us Jessie the cowgirl and Bullseye the horse.

Today, Pixar is a household name, know for always raising the bar with new and creative characters and storylines that both kids and adults can enjoy together. "Finding Nemo"; "Cars"; "WALL-E"; "Up" are just a few of the wondrous creations Pixar has brought us over the last 15 years.

And a long-overdue second sequel, "Toy Story 3" brought us back to the beginning and did so in a way that pulled our heart strings and still had us wanting more from the toy chest.

And while "Toy Story 3" captured everyone's kid-inside-them, the 2-D classics those of us not of the so-called Generation I (Internet) era were brought up on, seemed to be forgotten.

Disney's traditional animation era peaked just as I was growing up, from 1989-1999. "Aladdin"; "The Lion King"; "The Little Mermaid"; "Beauty and the Beast"; and "Hercules" were just a few of the major blockbusters that Disney produced during that ten-year span. And I still get a kick out of these movies. "Aladdin," for instance, is one of the funniest movies of its time, due in large part to Robin Williams as the genie, I'm sure - but still, the music, the characters and the stories are jsut as good as any 3-D, CGI movie today.

So why is it that we no longer feel the need to produce in 2-D? Does it cost more money? Take up more time? Are kids' attention spans just not up-to-par with 2-D?

I can't answer that. But I can say that just because a movie doesn't make $1 billion worldwide, as "Toy Story 3" did (granted it had followers and anticipation on its side), doesn't mean it's a bad movie.

Disney tried to get back to its 2-D form last year with "The Princess and the Frog." I saw it - it was a really fun movie, great upbeat, jazzy music and a fun story. Critics raved about it, and it made a decent %104 million, only to fade away when it was released on DVD. It deserved better.

Hand-drawn animation is just as impressive as computer-animated, so why can't we enjoy both? Are we going to rid ourselves of regular movie viewing and only see 3-D movies within the next 10 years? I hope not. But then again, look what sound and color did for the movies - we don't watch silent films on the big screen anymore, do we? (Although a little Charlie Chaplin never hurt anyone.)

So do your kids a favor and introduce them to some oldies but goodies, or simply relive the classic Disney days yourself. You may have to scrounge up a VHS player, but all the better - "Hakuna Matata" right?