This week's Amazon TV Deal of the Week are the first two seasons of The Walking Dead (both DVD and Blu-ray formats).
The Walking Dead is adapted from the graphic novels by Robert Kirkman. It premiered on AMC in October 2010, and has been not only the cable network's highest rated show, but some episodes are often the highest rated on all of cable.
Here's a "new to the show" summary of the series: Waking up in an empty hospital after weeks in a coma, County Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) finds himself utterly alone. The world as he knows it is gone, ravaged by a zombie epidemic. The Walking Dead tells the story of the weeks and months that follow after the apocalypse, an epic, edge-of-your-seat drama where personal struggles are magnified against a backdrop of moment-to-moment survival. A survivalist story at its core, the series explores how the living are changed by the overwhelming realization that those who survive can be far more dangerous than the mindless walkers roaming the earth. They themselves have become the walking dead.
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The Walking Dead
The Complete First Season
Season overview — may contain spoilers: Wounded in the line of duty, small-town Georgia sheriff Rick Grimes wakes from a coma to find the world infested by zombie-like "walkers." Alone and disoriented, he sets off in search of his wife Lori and their son Carl.
Rick soon encounters two other survivors — Morgan and his son Duane. Morgan explains that the undead are driven to eat the living. "One thing I do know, don't you get bit," Morgan says. Bites kill, then you become one of them. Morgan has seen the transformation first-hand. His wife was bitten then turned into a walker. Now, she haunts him and his son by frequently returning to the house where she died.
Rick takes Morgan and Duane to the police station, where they stock up on guns and ammunition. Rick is headed to Atlanta where supposedly a refugee center has formed and the CDC is working on a cure. Along with a rifle, Rick gives Morgan a walkie-talkie with instructions to check in daily at dawn — that's how they'll meet up later.
En route to Atlanta, Rick runs out of gas near a farmhouse, where he finds a horse to ride the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, Lori and Carl are living outside Atlanta in a camp with Shane (Rick's best friend and partner), and other survivors. Believing her husband dead, Lori has begun a romantic relationship with Shane, who has become the group's de facto leader.
In a deserted Atlanta, Rick is overwhelmed by hordes of walkers who topple his horse and force him to retreat inside a tank. Guided by Glenn, an adventurous young man who instructs him via radio to make a run for it, Rick grabs a gun and a grenade and flees for his life. Glenn then leads Rick to a department store, where they meet up with other survivors: Andrea, Morales, Jacqui, T-Dog and Merle Dixon — a redneck ex-con.
Rick handcuffs the volatile Merle to the store rooftop after Merle attacks T-Dog. Rick then hatches an escape plan, which involves Rick and Glenn smearing themselves with walker guts as camouflage. Having navigated through the crowd of walkers, Rick drives off in a cube van to evacuate the survivors while Glenn lures the undead with the sound of a car alarm in a hotwired Dodge Challenger.
Back on the rooftop, T-Dog accidentally drops the handcuff key down a ventilation pipe, then chains the access door shut so that the stranded (and furious) Merle will be relatively safe from hungry walkers.
Driving back to camp, Morales warns Rick about Merle's brother Daryl, who will be irate about his brother's abandonment.
Glenn arrives at camp first. Shane and Dale (an older survivor who owns an RV) chastise Glenn about drawing walkers with the alarm. Jim, another survivor, disconnects the alarm just as the cube van approaches.
Andrea tearfully reunites with her younger sister, Amy, as does Morales with his family.
Rick emerges from the van and is shocked to discover Lori and Carl living at this camp. The family is tearfully reunited. Later, around a campfire, Lori tells Rick she was told he would be medevaced to Atlanta. But it never happened. "Mom said you died," Carl says. "She had every reason to believe that," Rick replies before thanking Shane for saving them.
That night, Rick and Lori have sex in their tent, vowing to each other that this is a new beginning in their marriage. The next morning, Rick and the others find a walker feasting on a freshly-hunted dear in the woods. Jim theorizes the walkers are running out of food in the city.
Daryl returns from an overnight hunt. After being informed of his brother's whereabouts, Daryl attacks Rick and Shane who quickly subdue him. Daryl vows to retrieve Merle. "I'm going back," Rick volunteers. Glenn and T-Dog also enlist.
"You're putting every single one of us at risk," Shane replies, arguing they need everybody to protect the camp. What they really need, Rick contends, are the guns that he dropped when the walkers attacked. Lori is against it, but Rick tells her he has to get the walkie-talkie back, otherwise Morgan and Duane will walk into the same trap he did.
After Rick departs, Lori tells Shane to keep away from her family. "You are the one that told me that he died," Lori seethes.
Nearby, an altercation breaks out between a hulking survivor, Ed, and his meek wife Carol. After Ed slaps Carol, Shane intervenes and beats Ed to a pulp.
In Atlanta, Rick and company find the rooftop deserted save for a severed hand lying beside a hacksaw. They follow Merle's trail of blood down to the streets, but decide to retrieve Rick's guns before continuing the search.
Glenn goes for the guns while the others stand guard. Their plan is derailed when Daryl is jumped by two men, who eventually take Glenn hostage at an inner city fortress that turns out to be a nursing home. Glenn is set free and Rick passes on some guns to the nursing home staff for protection.
Rick, Glenn, T-Dog and Daryl discover their vehicle is missing. "Merle," Rick says. "He's going to be taking some vengeance back to camp," Daryl predicts.
Back at camp, Andrea and Amy present fellow survivors with fish caught at a nearby lake. Dale interrupts the excitement to express concern over Jim, who's feverishly digging holes without explanation.
Shane subdues Jim, who can't remember exactly why he was digging: "I had a reason, don't remember," he says. "Something I dreamt last night."
Andrea, meanwhile, roots through Dale's RV looking for something to wrap up Amy's birthday present: A necklace stolen from the department store.
Later, the group jovially feasts on fish around the campfire. When Amy steps away to go to the bathroom, she's bitten in the arm by an unseen walker — one of many about to attack the camp.
Rick and his cohorts arrive to drive the zombies back, though he's too late to save Amy or Ed. Jim is also bitten in attack.
The survivors burn walkers' bodies, though Glenn insists they should bury their dead. Andrea cradles Amy nearby, unwilling to let anyone near the body. Dale commiserates, explaining that since his wife's death, "you girls were the first people that I cared anything for."
Andrea tells Dale she feels guilty for missing so many of Amy's birthdays. "I'm sorry for not ever being there," Andrea sobs, shooting the now-walker Amy in the head.
When Jim's injury is revealed, Rick suggests the group go to the CDC for help. Shane thinks the Army base in Fort Benning, 100 miles away, is safer.
While sweeping the forest for walkers, Shane tries to convince Rick to change his mind. "I've gotta do what's best for my family," Rick says. "If it was your family you'd feel differently." Enraged, Shane aims his gun at an unknowing Rick, but comes to his senses.
Later, Shane announces his support of Rick's plan. Morales says that his family will not be joining the group and they head off in a different direction.
En route to the CDC, the RV breaks down. Jim, in agony, asks Rick to leave him behind. "I want to be with my family," he says of his late wife and children. The group reluctantly leaves him beneath a tree.
In a CDC laboratory, disheveled scientist Dr. Jenner performs experiments on tissue sample TS-19. He accidentally spills corrosive fluid initiating a decontamination sequence that destroys the sample.
Meanwhile, Rick's caravan approaches the CDC. Jenner watches the group's approach via a security monitor. He agrees to allow them into the building, provided they submit to blood tests.
The group feasts on food and wine, then luxuriates in hot showers. Afterward, Andrea laments the fall of civilization as Dale attempts to comfort her.
Later, Shane drunkenly confronts Lori, professing his love and insisting he did not lie about Rick being dead. (Indeed, at the outset of the walker outbreak, Shane visited Rick in the hospital where amid sheer chaos he attempted to rescue Rick, but failed). Drunk and out of control, Shane tries to force himself on Lori, who scratches his face and neck to stop him. Horrified by his own behavior, he flees, leaving Lori shaken and afraid.
The next morning, Jenner shows the group brain scans of his genius wife who allowed her infection to be recorded. He admits he doesn't know what the disease is or how to treat it. Plus, he's lost contact with other facilities. Worse yet, the CDC's generators are running out of fuel. When they're empty, the building will self-destruct as per a decontamination protocol.
Though at first he tries to convince them to stay, Jenner agrees to let Rick and the others flee when the self-destruct is activated. Jacqui, terrified of ending up like Amy or Jim, opts to stay behind. After a fiery explosion, Rick and his fellow survivors caravan away from the smoldering rubble, destination unknown.
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The Walking Dead
The Complete Second Season
Season overview — may contain spoilers: After the CDC explosion, the survivors caravan down a highway until the RV breaks down. While scavenging, the group encounters a herd of walkers. In the ensuing chaos, Sophia flees and is lost.
As Rick and Daryl lead a search party, Shane contemplates leaving the group. "I have a few mistakes under my belt," he tells Lori.
Nearby, Andrea wants her gun back. Dale is concerned she's suicidal. "You took my choice away," Andrea says, angry that Dale coerced her to leave the CDC.
The next day, Rick leads another search, but finds no sign of Sophia. Shane orders everyone to return: He, Rick and Carl will continue.
Later, Carl gets shot while admiring a deer in the woods. The unwitting gunman is Otis, a ranch hand from a nearby farm. Horrified, Otis leads Rick and the gravely-wounded Carl back to the farm. The owner Hershel, a veterinarian, proposes surgery.
Shane and Otis collect surgical supplies from the nearby school.
At the school, Shane and Otis are soon surrounded by walkers. Their ammunition dwindling, Shane shoots Otis in the leg, sacrificing him in order to escape. Shane returns with supplies in time to save Carl's life and tells the others Otis "told me to keep going."
Later, Shane checks on Lori and Carl. "Stay," says Lori.
The next day, Daryl searches for Sophia. Glenn and Hershel's daughter Maggie plan to go to the pharmacy, where Glenn will pick up a pregnancy test that Lori requested.
Daryl finds a Cherokee Rose blooming outside an abandoned farmhouse — a sign, he tells Carol, that Sophia is still alive.
At the pharmacy, Maggie thinks Glenn's buying condoms and propositions him. They have sex.
Carl wakes up and declares he's like Rick now: They've both been shot. Rick gives Carl his cowboy hat, then places his sheriff's uniform and badge in a drawer.
Lori takes the pregnancy test. It's positive.
Daryl takes Hershel's horse out on a search for Sophia. The horse gets spooked, tossing Daryl into a ravine. He hallucinates his brother Merle taunting him as he struggles back up the ridge: "Ain't nobody ever gonna care about you except for me."
Andrea is sitting watch with a rifle when a bloodied, limping Daryl emerges from afar. Assuming it's a walker, she shoots and nearly kills him.
Later, Carol brings Daryl food, thanking him for looking for Sophia and assuring him he's "every bit as good" as Shane and Rick.
Glenn slips a note to Maggie to meet him for sex in the barn, where he discovers walkers corralled inside. "You weren't supposed to see this," Maggie says.
Maggie begs Glenn not to tell the others but he confides in Dale. Dale talks to Hershel, who insists walkers are people.
At shooting practice, Andrea shows proficiency. Rick recommends her for Shane's "advanced class." But while she's shooting, Shane flusters her by mentioning Amy.
Shane later apologizes and invites Andrea on a search for Sophia, where they're soon surrounded by walkers. Andrea shoots an attacking walker in the head, and with newfound confidence takes down the others. Driving back, Andrea and Shane pull over for sex.
At the farm, Lori asks Glenn to make another pharmacy trip for morning-after pills.
In the pharmacy, a walker grabs Maggie. Glenn kills it. Back at the farm, Maggie angrily thrusts the pills at Lori, then tells Glenn he's being used like an errand boy.
Dale tells Shane to leave, accusing him of killing Otis and trying to kill Rick. Shane threatens Dale in response.
In her tent, Lori swallows the morning-after pills then vomits them up.
Rick finds the pill box, and challenges Lori for going to Glenn instead of him. "I don't know how we do this," Lori cries, and then admits to her affair with Shane. "I know," Rick replies.
The next morning, Glenn reveals that walkers are in the barn. Shane insists they kill them or leave. Rick argues against it since Lori's pregnant and Sophia's missing.
Worried about Shane, Dale takes the bag of guns to the swamp. Shane trails Dale and forces him to hand the guns over. Shane brings the guns back and arms the group.
Hershel tells Rick he has to accept walkers as people if he wants to stay. He asks Rick to help corral more into the barn.
Shane spots Rick and Hershel leading two walkers with snare poles. He flies into a rage and breaks open the barn doors. The survivors shoot the dead as they emerge. The final walker to emerge is Sophia. Rick shoots her.
Hershel orders Rick's people to clear out then heads to an abandoned bar. Rick and Glenn track him down. Two strangers, Dave and Tony, appear. They deduce Rick and company are living at a nearby farm and try to shoot Rick when he refuses to reveal its whereabouts. Rick beats them to the draw, killing both.
Impatient for Rick's return, Lori drives after him but hits a walker and rolls her car. Shane later finds her on the road. He tells her Rick has returned, thereby convincing her to come back. When Lori discovers Shane's lie, she becomes incensed.
At the bar, other members of Dave and Tony's group open fire on Rick, Hershel and Glenn. Walkers approach. The gunmen abandon one of their own, Randall, who's impaled his leg on a fence. Rick takes Randall back to the farm.
When they arrive, Rick assures everyone Randall's not a threat, but Shane thinks he'll lead the others to their door.
Afterwards, Lori warns Rick that Shane "thinks I'm his…He's dangerous."
A week later, Rick and Shane drive a blindfolded Randall away to abandon him. Randall reveals he went to school with Maggie; therefore he knows the farm's location.
Shane tries to kill Randall, but Rick intervenes. Shane says Rick can't keep Lori and Carl safe. The two brawl until walkers attack.
The three barely escape. Rick blindfolds Randall again and warns Shane, "You wanna be with us, you gotta follow my lead."
When they return, Daryl interrogates Randall, who says his group has 30 armed men with a history of raping women. Randall swears he's innocent, but Rick declares him a threat. He must be executed. Dale begs Rick to reconsider.
Rick says Dale can try to convince the others to spare Randall, but in the end, only Andrea sides with him. "This group is broken," Dale declares.
Carl, meanwhile, finds a walker stuck in a creek-bed. He pelts it with rocks until it gets one leg free.
Rick brings Randall to the barn to execute him. Carl interrupts, urging his father to shoot, which causes Rick to reconsider his decision.
While on a walk, Dale is gored by the walker Carl freed. Daryl mercy-kills Dale.
Dale's death prompts Rick and Hershel to move the survivors into the house for safety.
Rick orders Shane to establish lookouts while he frees Randall. While constructing a lookout, Shane is approached by Carl, who admits his role in Dale's death.
Lori, too, approaches Shane, apologizing: "Whatever happened between us," she says, "I'm so sorry."
Rick consoles Carl. Dale's death wasn't his fault: "People are gonna die," he says. "Best we can do now is avoid it as long as we can."
Fed up with Randall, Shane takes him into the forest and snaps his neck. Shane bashes his own face against a tree, then returns and tells the others that Randall jumped him and is on the loose.
Rick, Shane, Daryl and Glenn hunt down Randall. Glenn and Daryl find him: He's turned into a walker despite not being bitten.
Meanwhile, Shane and Rick come to a clearing, where Rick realizes Shane's intent to kill him.
Rick tells Shane he can't live with murder and hands over his gun. As Shane looks down, Rick stabs Shane in the heart.
Rick is sobbing near Shane's dead body when Carl approaches with a gun. Shane resurrects as a walker. Carl shoots him.
The gunshot attracts a nearby herd of walkers who attack the farmhouse. Jimmy and Patricia are killed in the ensuing battle and the group is separated fleeing the farm.
Andrea, alone without ammunition, is about to be killed by a walker when a hooded stranger wielding a katana sword rescues her.
The other survivors regroup on the highway, then caravan away. Hershel's car soon runs out of gas. Rick declares they'll camp by the road, sending the group into a panic.
Daryl asks about Randall becoming a walker. Rick reveals Dr. Jenner told him at the CDC that everyone is infected. Rick tells Lori he confirmed Jenner's secret when he witnessed Shane's transformation after killing him. Rick admits that he wanted to kill Shane. Horrified, Lori recoils from her husband.
Rick chastises the group for questioning his leadership. He says anyone who wants to leave can. "If you're staying," he warns, "this isn't a democracy any more."
Up ahead, a structure looms in the distance: a prison.
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