I am watching the Walking Dead marathon and I have noticed that the walkers in the 1st few episodes were very lively and spry in Atlanta at the tank. So there may be something to the "fresh" walker theory.

 

Aye, that makes sense I guess

 

Like people have said before, decomposition plays a major part of how a walker acts. I don't know how relevant this is to the Walking Dead universe but sometimes zombies in other fiction retain some muscle memory, which would explain some of his movement. I know there has been instances of zombies grabbing stuff and climbing over things that could maybe be explained by this.

 

Daryl is an observant tracker - Merle has a large hole through his chest and out his back. Unless walkers learned to use guns in the past 24 hours Daryl knows exactly what his brother sacrificed.

 

Are you really complaining about how someone plays a walker? Anyway, I liked it. Something new and different on the show is always welcomed by me.

 

Michael Rooker walker acting was better than Norman Reedus crying... but Jon Bernthal did a better job as a walker (though just a few seconds) than Rooker, I'll give you that

 

I thought his eyes had too much expression. They were too human. Not empty enough. i heard the director say he was very pleased with his expression, so I guess we have different visions of what a zombie should look like. I also didn't like how he moved and the lip chewing. was off to me too. Otherwise, stellar performance by the actor who played Merle. Too bad the director got the last scene wrong.

 

Exactly. And the producers have said that zombies will at points maybe even mimic things from their former life. In the pilot episode the walker child was carrying the stuffed animal. And one thing Milton was trying to investigate was how much of a trace of humanity is left behind.

The thing is we don't have all the answers yet about a zombie's behavior. And I also believe a point of the whole walker Merle scenario was to humanize him just a bit more, to add to the emotional depth of the moment when Daryl came upon him.

I thought it was a great, powerful scene, one of the best of the series.

 

I was perfectly happy with his walker portrayal, the only time I thought a walker seemed odd was when Sophia came out of the barn. Iirc it looked like she was shielding her eyes from the light which seemed wrong for a walker to register discomfort.

 

Maybe it wasn't "realistic" (like zombies are real lol) but I thought it was an awesome scene by the dixon's. I guess someone else could critique it better but I personally loved it.

 

He's Merle Dixon, he got the ability to lick in his reanimated form.
Nah, I think it was good, expecting the tongue lick.

 

Most walkers seem to have chewed their own lips off if they've been around long enough so I think the acting was pretty well done.
BUT! I'll agree that Sofia acted a better zombie. I think Merle had to be a bit more human-like in order for the moment between him and Derle to have more of an emotional impact.

Not saying Sofia's turning was any less more dramatic. It was terrible. But Merle vs. Derle? Considering how many people adore Derle... it was excellent.

 

Hahah! Well. His last classic one-liner was 'RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRaaaaauuuuuuuuuggghhhh!'

 

He's a great actor. And, on Talking Dead after the episode, did anyone notice how he would drift in and out of character? for example, instead of saying "Merle's heart has always been with his brother," he actually said "MY heart has always been with MY brother." He was partly still in character, even after. It was really cool to watch.

That is all. -ZN98

 

Some of the others have also done that on the Talking Dead. Those guys really get into their roles.

 

michael rooker was awesome

I thought he was gone in the first season, but I loved him in the dream scenes with daryl.
Then to have him come back in season 3 made me really like him, we got to see a human
Side to him that developed into a kickass character.So sad to see that scene with him and
Daryl, he makes a better living person than a walker.I will miss him.RIP Merle Dixon and
Thank You Michael Rooker!

 

Michael Rooker is a great actor. And imho, he still has the greatest one-liner of all time.

The movie: Cliffhanger (with Stallone)

The scene: One of the bad guys who happens to be a big fan of football (soccer) is beating up Rooker's character and he's kicking him over and over. And during said ass-kicking, the bad guy is about ready to punt kick Rooker off of a cliff while pretending to be a play-by-play announcer for a soccer match. He says: "The striker lines up for the penalty kick. The striker gets into position. The striker moves in for the goal...." As he approaches Rooker, Rooker grabs a shotgun off his back and says...

"Season's over asshole!" As he shoots him while he swings him over the cliff with the shotgun. EPIC.

 

Watched "Tombstone" last night, he plays one of the cowboys fighting against Wyatt Earp, but he gives up and joins the posse to wrangle the bad dudes. Not really a big role, but he looks so different.