With credits on Life and FlashForward on his resume, Gimple joined the writing team at the beginning of season two and has helped turn the show around from the sluggishness of Frank Darabont‘s early episodes. Series creator Robert Kirkman seems to like him too. “Scott has been an essential part of this show since he came aboard at the very beginning of season two,” says Kirkman. “He’s contributed to guiding this show in a substantial way that has resulted in a lot of the key scenes and storylines fans have dubbed signature moments of ‘The Walking Dead.’ I am thrilled to begin work on a brand new season of The Walking Dead with Scott at the helm, and I truly believe we could be embarking on what will be the best season of this show yet.”

No word yet when Gimple will exit the show and who his replacement will be. Vince Gilligan could be available by then. That’d be cool. (LA Times)

The series is set in 1847, so it will also appeal to all those fans of English period pieces that also love watching high-budget action TV in which the protagonists get ripped to pieces. That is to say, it will appeal to everyone.

The Terror will be based on a 2007 novel of the same name, so, at the very least, this story might turn you on to a pretty cool book. If you’re the type of person that can or wants to read.

The spoiler-heavy promos campaign began immediately after the show faded to black insinuating that all of our favorites would be sticking around. The tradition continues with a brand new teaser for the show’s February 10th return. That’s the second teaser this week. Watch at your own risk if you want to save yourself at least some surprises.

Sons Of Anarchy creator and fan of his own voice, Kurt Sutter took to his Twitter to weigh in.

AMC is run by small-minded, bottom-line thinkers who have no appreciation or gratitude for the effort of its creative personnel. Time and time again we see events like what happened today with Glen Mazzara. They continue to disrespect writers, sh*t on their audience, and bury their network. Mazzara took the work-in-progress that was Walking Dead and turned it into a viable TV show with a future. Without him, that future is dim. Showrunners are not development executives, we’re not cookiecutter douchebags that you plug into a preexisting model. TWD will suffer. Even Zombies need consistency. Mad Men and Breaking Bad will be gone soon. So will AMC. I hope their f*cking stock takes a dive and the shareholders line up (Josh) Sapan, (Charles) Dolan and (Charlie) Collier and sh*t in their open hands. C*nts. (Via)

While Mazzara did make The Walking Dead a better show, it still remains a clumsy show. Version 1.0 was too slow and Version 2.0 is a little too heavy on bashing in zombie heads. Hopefully, whoever steps in for Season Four will find the right mix between the two. In other words, develop Michonne. Right now she comes off as a dickhead with a sword.

There’s a Long Island man who would say, “yes.” Jared Gurman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting his girlfriend in the back with a .22 caliber rifle during an argument about whether or not a zombie apocalypse could happen.

“He felt very adamant there could be a military mishap that would result in some sort of virus being released that could cause terrible things to happen,” Detective Lt. Raymond Cote said a news conference. “She felt it was ridiculous. He’s passionate about it. And it escalated from there.”
Gelderman chose not to spend the night at his home following the argument, but the heated exchange continued by text message, NBC 4 New York reported. When she returned to Gurman’s home to check on him around 2:30 a.m., he was outside his door waiting with a .22-caliber rifle.
“She tried to diffuse the situation, to calm him down,” said Cote. “She was walking up the stairs when Mr. Gurman raised the rifle, pointed it as her and fired one round into her back, causing serious injury.”
Gelderman suffered a shattered rib, a pierced lung, a pierced diaphram and is in serious, but stable condition, Cote said, according to CBS 2 News.

This raises a lot of questions. For instance, is that a Christina Aguilera t-shirt he’s wearing in his mugshot? (NY Daily News)

R.I.P. T-Dog. It was nice almost knowing you.

The network has been in a standoff with cable provider, Dish Network, since they were blacked out in early July. Now, in order to grab headlines and help lazy bloggers like myself reach their quota, they are sending undead Presidential hopeful Mr. A. Zombie, his wife Patty Morgan-Zombie, and running mate Noah Pulse to the upcoming Republican and Democratic conventions, to speak out against Dish.

The hope is to end the blackout by the time The Walking Dead returns with season three in October, so AMC won’t suffer further ratings drops. I could spout off averages and percentages but numbers are boring. Let’s get back to the zombie politician thing. I feel he should be invited to the debates. He’d easily win over the Right by moaning and vomiting when asked his thoughts on ObamaCare. (via Warming Glow)

• Pay rent and broker’s fee
• Submit change of address to post office
• Split brains of current undead inhabitants
• Put up new drapes

Says showrunner Glen Mazzara says of the new season, “I’m incredibly proud of the prison. I think our crew has done a great job. It’s a huge sense of scale and magnitude I haven’t seen on any other show as far as construction. What’s important to us is the prison itself is now a character in the show. It’s a haunted house, it’s scary, it’s frightening, and there are parts of the prison that are always terrifying, that are always inaccessible to our group. It’s not necessarily the blessing that the prison in the comic book turned out to be.”

And for those who read the comics, Glen Mazzara has a pretty f***ed take on what is and is not a blessing.

Basically, the obstacle course will give visitors a chance to experience a zombie attack in a safe and judgment-free setting. You pay $70 to be chased by zombies through an obstacle course. Sound steep? Well, maybe you’d prefer to play as a zombie instead, where the goal is to spread the “infection” as much as possible through physical contact. No biting.

It’s not known what other obstacles will make up the obstacle course – it seems to me that any obstacle course that includes zombies doesn’t have much to worry about on the obstacle front. I mean, isn’t “zombie” pretty much the ultimate obstacle? Even without the biting?

The show has shot two different outcomes for the season finale. One in which Leslie loses, and another in which she, ya know, wins. Speaking at PaleyFest, showrunner Michael Schur has said it‘s “in case they change their minds,” but we all really know that he’s made up his damn mind, and he’s just doing this to mess with us.

And that’s fine by me. While Parks and Recreation isn’t a show built on suspense, I like the fact that the producers care enough for the show and characters to protect a secret, no matter how incidental. Maybe Schur could work his magic on The Walking Dead in that regard.

A spokesperson for AMC commented: “The post on the AMC store was completely unauthorized. The matter is currently under investigation.”

“And when we find the offender, the networks President and VP will drive them 18 miles away from AMC headquarters. Then they will argue at length about whether or not to kill them. In the end, the offender will be brought back to headquarters and probably killed regardless.” (EW)

And so, if you’re not a fan of the Oscars or award shows in general, or, if you’re not insane, here are your best viewing options this Sunday night.

Celebrity Apprentice – NBC @ 9PM EST/PST

Would you prefer to watch Billy Crystal make jokes about Jack Nicholson, or would you rather watch Teresa Giudice, Arsenio Hall, and Lou Ferrigno put on a medievial-themed show for an audience? What if I told you it lead to bodily harm? Sign me up for the ren faire with the has-beens. It’s our best bet for seeing Dee Snider bite the head off a goat.

The Amazing Race 20 – CBS @ 8PM EST/PST

This season features hot chicks, party clowns, and federal agents all competing against one another. That sounds far more entertaining than watching Cirque du Soleil dangle from trapezes while scenes from A Better Life are projected onto them. Especially if one of the clowns gets ahold of one of the federal agents’ gun.

The Walking Dead- AMC @ 9PM EST/PST

I’ve gotta admit that the second half of season two is off to an okayish start. And when talking about The Walking Dead, “okayish” is pretty damn good. This week, tensions between Rick and Shane grow to a head. Which leads to a headbutt. And I’m assuming that leads to an all-out brawl. The way the plot has been speeding along, this could be the last we see of Shane. At least until he rises from the dead. Even so, something could happen on this show. That’s rare! Are you really willing to miss that?

For those unfamiliar with the comic, The Governor is the worst villain in the series run. Evil incarnate. It’s awesome that the character will be on the show, however, it seems a bit soon in the mythology to bring him in. Though Walking Dead could use s creative jolt, and this storyline is a good way to do that.

But John Hawkes doesn’t need to play the part. In fact, there are several guys creepy enough (or who are at least able to grow a cool goatee) to pull it off. In no particular order, these are those guys. (via The Wrap)

Tom Savini

There are so many reasons why this role should go to Savini. First, he broke the news about John Hawkes. Second, he loves zombies. Third, the guy was seemingly modeled after him. However, it seems like Savini wasn’t taking the hint when The Walking Dead producers were trying to let him down soft. Whereas Savini is great in schlocky over-the-top genre films, his acting might not be “just wooden enough” for The Walking Dead.

Daniel Buran

Daniel Buran could take this role, hold it captive, and slowly torture it. He proved this with his largely underused role on True Blood last season. Also, check out the physical resemblance. The characters of werewolf pack leader Marcus and the Governor have a lot of crossover. If he’s up for the typecasting, this could and should be his.

Danny Trejo

I don’t really see Danny Trejo as getting this role but wouldn’t it be cool? Problem is, Danny Trejo is far too badass and outwardly scary. Though incredibly evil, the Governor is a nuanced character whose shady intentions must remain ambiguous for a time. It’s hard to be charmed by someone with such a rough exterior.

Frank – we expected this from you. You quit your own show amid criticisms over the writing and presumable conflicts with AMC execs.

But Variety? You’re better than this. I know you have an obligation to report the news, but when you have to spoil our favorite TV to do it, you should take a long look in the mirror, Bub, and see what you’ve become.

Variety has recently reported that Frank Darabont has begun wooing actor Jon Bernthal to star in his upcoming series L.A. Noir. The big issue here is that Bernthal is currently playing Shane on The Walking Dead, so either Darabont is really good at persuading people to do stuff, or Bernthal is getting killed off the show and is available for other pursuits.

It’s unlikely that Bernthal would leave voluntarily for another unproven show, given the huge success of The Walking Dead, so that sort of leads one to believe that he’s going to be killed off.

To be fair to both parties, I don’t know how this could have been kept a secret. It’s not like Darabont was advertising this news – Variety found out about it on their own. And Variety is in the business of reporting entertainment news, so I can’t really fault them for doing their jobs. I am going to say the fault here lies with Jon Bernthal for being such a top-notch actor.

Stop bein’ so amazing, Jon!

Every episode of the zombie apocalypse drama will air beginning December 31st at 11 am with the pilot episode. Then end with the second season’s mid-season finale airing at midnight. It’s the perfect way to catch up or refresh yourself on the series if you didn’t get the Blu-Rays for the holiday. It’s sure to inspire your New Year’s Resolution. 2012 To-Do: Don’t become a zombie. (THR)

Banning “overly entertaining” shows is certainly a drastic move by the Chinese, but fortunately, that move creates a vacuum which many awful American shows can fill. Consequently, I would like to offer up these synopses to the Chinese government, so that they may see how not-“overly entertaining” these shows really are and perhaps take them off of our hands.

Minute to Win It

This is a show hosted by an American personality named Guy Fieri. Guy Fieri is to humanity what southwestern eggrolls are to your regular eggrolls – a horrible bastardization. In case China is unfamiliar with Guy Fieri, he has bleached blonde hair, wears bowling shirts and sweatbands all the time, and pretty much acts like a big plate of nachos everywhere he goes. He’s everything you hate about us. No one will like him.

On the show, contestants have 60 seconds to do something really stupid in order to win money. You can see a list of the things they have to do right here. It is sort of like a Japanese game show, and I’m not sure how you get along with those guys, but I remember there was some unpleasantness a while back.

Hart of Dixie

This show features two things that you would probably like a lot individually: Rachel Bilson, who’s really cute and awesome, and medical dramas, which are pretty fun as well. But the combination of Bilson and medical dramas just doesn’t make much sense. And it’s set in the American south. You would NOT like the American south, I’m guessing.

Other non-entertaining aspect of this show: Bilson’s character’s nemesis is named Brick, and Brick’s daughter is named Lemon. You will find that some of these names are actual words, which is actually a pretty uncommon practice in our culture. In your culture, your names mean awesome things like “Dragon Warrior” or “Delicate Flower.” We decided to name our people “Brick” and “Lemon.” Go ahead. Look those two up. Pretty ridiculous, no?

Chinese audiences will have no idea what to make of this phenomenon, and spend most of the show wondering why a man is named after a structural block of dried mud. That doesn’t make for great television.

Not only has the show set records domestically, but its international roll out has been equally impressive, hopefully quelling some of this off-season’s concerns about budget cuts going forward. The word is that AMC took some money earmarked for The Walking Dead and purposed it for Mad Men, which is pretty silly, considering Mad Men doesn’t even have awesome zombie characters or gnarly post-apocalyptic sets.

While this announcement ensures the security of the show, nothing has been done to address the continued gripes of fans that the writing and the characters have not improved since the maligned, but successful first season. Perhaps they’ll just say, “To hell with it,” after news of the renewal and spend more money on zombie action, which is what the people want anyway.

Why would he be so awful and mean and deny us this one thing? THIS ONE THING!

Romero went on record as saying, “Listen, I love Frank [Darabont], I know he’s done a good job. I love the books, I never watched any of the episodes because… my zombies are sort of my own. I didn’t want to be part of it. ”

What a jerk.

He views his zombies as more of a “natural disaster” than the looming, malignant threat that many storytellers today have adopted. For this reason, he’s content letting the Darabont-less team behind The Walking Dead have at it.

I guess it’s not really that big a loss, because unless Romero could write multi-dimensional characters and non-wooden dialogue for The Walking Dead, he really wouldn’t be able to help them out.

Describing the departure as “a really unfortunate situation,” he said “I miss Frank on the show – it was a lot of fun working with him.”

But “the transition from him to Glen Mazzara was seemless [sic],” he added, highlighting that he and both men had plotted out the second season together early this year. “It wasn’t even really a hiccup.”

He also noted that showrunner changes happen all of the time, pointing out Dexter as an example. Ruh-roh. Dexter suffered in its fifth season when a new showrunner was brought in, and the jury’s still out on season six. Even so, we’re left with a sense of hope for the second season of The Walking Dead. The story and potential are there, if only everyone involved were able to rise to it. (THR)

On a show that doesn’t pull any punches in the gore department, the kills and special effects can only get more impressive. Let’s salute the goriest moments from the first season as we look forward to being grossed out by season two.

Little Girl Headshot

The series began with the protagonist, Rick, being forced to put a bullet into the brain of an undead child. I think the series really made its intentions clear in those opening moments.

Zombie Shot Through Fence

This unfortunate soul was put out of its misery with a Colt pressed against its forehead. The resultant spray of blood, bone, and brain was pretty severe, especially since this was a mercy kill.

Baseball Bat to the Dome

The severe squishification of heads via baseball bat has always been reserved for mafia dramas and that one really weird episode of Leave It to Beaver. Those days are over thanks to the advent of zombies of television, and a new day has dawned!

Host Chris Hardwick will talk with fans and the show’s creators. Says Hardwick, “As an ENORMOUS fan of both The Walking Dead comic and television show, I pretty much begged for this job. Dissecting the moves of Rick Grimes and the remaining survivors after every episode is something I would be doing with my friends anyway, so the fact that AMC is actually paying to do so is a bonus.”

Here’s hoping that dismissed creator Frank Darabont will call in and issue spoilers while disguising his voice to sound like a snooty, high-pitched British woman. (Deadline)

Picking five nominees for best drama is an impossible task. Where’s the recognition for the coolest show? The funniest badass? Who is going to recognize the role of drugs in cable dramas? Not the Emmys, that’s for damn sure.

So it falls to us to make the big decisions. Look elsewhere for “Best Actress in a Mini-Series.” We’ve got the awards that matter.

Biggest Buzzkill: Skyler White – Breaking Bad

Unfortunately, this was a very competitive category this season. Ensemble shows have their fair share of badass characters, but for every two great ones, there’s a character that brings the show to a screeching halt with whining, hating, and irrelevant problems.

Over the past few years, no one has garnered more hate for being a complete and total wet blanket than Skyler White, whose problems always seemed about 15 miles away from the rest of the characters on Breaking Bad. Playing the wife of the protagonist is a pretty thankless job. Carmela Soprano and Betty Draper also endured boundless criticism, but their characters seem more complex than Skyler, who lacks the interesting qualities that these other wives had.

Runners Up: Kenneth Purcell, Deb Morgan, Betty Draper

Biggest Badass: Raylan Givens – Justified

Justified isn’t held in quite the same esteem as the AMC shows, or HBO’s. But for a show with more conventional appeal (more procedural elements, more action), it has raised the bar, thanks in large part to Timothy Olyphant’s portrayal of a seething lawman who is cool as a cucumber on the surface.

Givens brings new meaning to the phrase “unflappable,” standing sure in front of a loaded gun, as he seems to be almost every week. He might not be as mean as some of the runners up, but he’s every bit as dangerous.

Runners Up: Khal Drogo Dexter, Mike (Breaking Bad), Sally Draper

Bang For Your Buck: Chalky White – Boardwalk Empire

This was perhaps the most competitive category of 2011, as many ensemble shows had characters that, while not heavily-featured, managed to steal the show every time they were onscreen. Chalky White (played by The Wire’s Omar, Michael Kenneth Williams) is perhaps the transcendent character on the show, a powerful black gangster who remains tiers below his white criminal counterparts.

Basically, just imagine Omar from The Wire except he’s always dressed up like Andre 3000 from Outkast and he’s not banging dudes. When you think of it that way, the choice becomes a no-brainer. Here’s hoping Chalky gets a little more depth and back story in season 2.

Runners-up: Saul Goodman, Andy Dwyer, Peter Dinklage, Tracy Jordan, Tyrion Lannister

Seriously, if these clips are a gauge of what audiences are in store for when the show returns, it would appear to be more man vs. zombie scenarios and fewer of the man vs. man conflicts that brought to the forefront the admittedly weak writing and character development.

Just so we’re clear: Anyone have a problem with a lot more zombie action in season 2 of The Walking Dead?

Perfect.