There were only a few zombies featured in the kick off to "Fear The Walking Dead," but there were just enough to pack a punch. FYI, spoiler alert!
The beginning of the end, leans on scary musical cues and anticipation, naturally it is the dawn of new day. However, this day is not so bright. In the prequel to "Walking Dead" unsuspecting Angelenos hear of and even see the zombie apocalypse slowly taking place before them, but naturally it is taken for disbelief and even desensitization.
Like that of its companion series "Walking Dead" the first episode begins with a character walking up to the unknown. In "Walking Dead" Sheriff Rick Grimes awoke in an abandoned hospital. In "Fear The Walking Dead," Nick Clark, played by Frank Fillane, awakes inside an abandoned church. The druggie stumbles around the deserted building looking for his friend Gloria. He finds a man whose neck looks to have been gnawed on by a savage animal before descending down a fight of stairs to find Gloria. But she is not really Gloria. She is a zombie. In contrast to the post-apocalyptic series, the first zombies are not as ghastly or decayed looking.
Nick flees the scene, but is hit by a car and land himself in the hospital, where he is questioned by police until his mother, Madison Clark (Kim Dickens) shows up a few scenes later and tells them to charge her son or leave.
At another point in time, viewers are introduced to Maddie aka Madison, as a guidance counselor to the high school. She is dating Travis, the high school English teacher, played by Cliff Curtis. Maddie is seen having a conversation with a troubled teen who fears to admit what is coming. Their session is interrupted by her notification of Nick's accident.
Travis hears of the something terrible happening in the church. He decides to investigate, of course by himself, at night, with a lack of weapons. Suspense mounts to the English teacher being startled by a scared junkie.
Maddie's daughter is also introduced as the somewhat angsty Alicia (Alycia Debnam-Carey). She is stood up by her boyfriend for a date and quite omniously texts him, "Where r u?" and "You better be dead!"
Amidst the family drama, Alicia is pictured watching an online video of a police officer shooting what appears to be a bloody "sleepwalker," according to Variety. In disbelief, she says, "This can't be real" to which her friend retorts, "This here's the new real."
Nick escapes the hospital, so his mother and her boyfriend go looking or him. In doing so, the couple find themselves talking to Calvin, who appears to be a reformed druggie. He offers some assistance in locating their son.
Nick on the other hand, meets up with Calvin in a coffee shop. Calvin promises to provide Nick with more drugs while the two decide to drive out towards a deserted and dried up part of the L.A. river. Calvin obviously fears Nick has informed the police that he is dealing the drugs in town and pulls a gun on him. In the end, the two scuffle and Calvin is shot in the chest.
Nick contacts Travis and Maddie about what has happened. They meet the troubled teen to see Calvin's corpse rising from the dead.
Although critics seem to be critical of the storyline that requires anticipation and music to create suspense, the internet seems to have been reeled right in - even appreciating the slow build to the corpse-ridden Earth in "Walking Dead.
Fans exclaimed their excitement over the new series to take over Sunday nights on AMC.
@GaleaMonster tweted, "based off just the pilot, i'm going to opine that "fear of the walking dead" looks incredibly promising. i'm in."
@MikePortnoy "LOVED the premiere of ‪@FearTWD! I have no problem w the slow burn and setup...enjoying seeing how the zombie apocalypse all began..."
Even celebrities gushed over the new hit show. Hayley Willaims of the band Paramore tweeted oh, Fear The Walking Dead. You give my Sunday nights meaning again. ‪@FearTWD. Her message alone received over 3,200 favorites and 1,500 retweets and Sinbad who said, "Just saw the premiere of fear of the walking dead. GONNA BE GOOD"