So I've complained about the lack of media coverage thus far. I still stand by that but I rewatched episode 3 last night and realized I missed the radio broadcast that was playing as Travis Chris and the Salazars passed the hospital. I had to rewind and listen closely, couldn't distinguish some it , but got:

Governors in 11 states have declared a state of emergency..Assistance for the National Guard has been requested to quell riots and protests...the FAA is expected to ground flights in order to contain the virus...it is unknown if the information...(indistinguishable)....

At this point they pass hospital chaos and the loudspeaker announces " you are not able leave without proper clearance... Checkpoints have been established"... the radio is still playing but too low to hear until they get past the hospital.. then

...(indistinguishable)...so desperately need to get help...Despite the fact that the citywide curfew is now in effect, we are still getting reports... ( fades out)

I wish we could get a bit more of this, can anyone make out more than I did? And if they are including a broadcast like this , why do they make it so low that I missed it the first time? Like I said before, I think this would bring the audience into the same realm as our characters and help us to relate them.
But now it's gone from reports in 5 other states to States of Emergency in 11, the FAA is grounding flights - it seems to be happening fast. The creators said they were going to show us the downfall, I think media coverage is a relevant aspect and would add to the sense of confusion and panic - more of this please.

 

Yeah, I accept that our crew would be more focused on what's unfolding in front of them, makes sense, but I don't appreciate the fact that it's so subtle that I completely missed it. The only reason I caught it the 2nd viewing was because I've been whining about the lack of coverage, I heard 'state of emergency" and had to rewind. I actually had to replay it several times and turn on the CC to catch what little bit I did - I don't want things to be *that* subtle, lol.
Maybe like Zombiemom62 said in another thread, once the military takes control, we will see a bit more of this.I hope so.
The Monopoly game...I know people are making fun of this, but I thought the whole idea here was for Madison to try and keep things normal - it was very late, Travis had been gone for many hours, Nick questioned Maddie why.. don't we just tell her (Alicia)..I was thinking Madison was keeping this from Alicia not because she's some fragile little cupcake in general, but because it would compel Alicia to go check on Matt. The scene where Alicia escapes from Susan on the fence and then Nick states...she's not sick, she's dead...Alicia immediately freaks " That's not Matt!!" Travis asks Nick why he said that, Nick replies ' it's the truth'. So my assumption was that Madison was trying to keep Alicia from realizing Matt's going to die if not already dead. Also if you listen to the dialogue during the game, they argue about who gets certain gamepieces and that one was always used by by their now dead father - Alicia says it feels like deja vu - I think Madison used this as much as a distraction for the kids as herself.

 

I think this a common complaint right now but I do try to keep in mind that we, the viewing audience, know more than our characters, so we expect reactions based on our knowledge and not theirs. They are not living in the same universe ( yet) that most of us viewers came from in TWD - I think the carelessness, naivete, etc.. is supposed to reflect how far removed our group is from what's coming. The fanbase from TWD is both a help and a hindrance to FTWD - it generated a lot of interest, but also set some tough standards and scrutiny. I kinda feel for the actors in FTWD, they have a lot to live up to.
Can anyone make out more of the broadcast than I did? I am hearing impaired in my left ear and have trouble listening when there's a lot back round noise - only a couple snippets appeared in the closed captioning. Not saying there is more, but I may be missing it?

 

So timeline wise, how long has it been since Tobias told Madison that there are reports in 5 other states but it's being denied they are related... to Governors of 11 states declaring a State of Emergency? I wonder if the 11 states are on the west coast and moving eastward.. or if it's more sporadic and showing up in more populous states first.
I agree with you [MENTION=7785]Neuropyramidal[/MENTION], about seeing them at least attempt to find something out, but Madison was deliberately, imo, trying to keep Alicia from it and there were rolling blackouts, so that's a convenient excuse. Also we see Travis try to use his cell at the barbershop with no reception, so I guess we're lead to believe that cell phones/social media is down and would prevent a lot of information being passed around. I think it would be even cooler if they could include even a brief scene showing us some global coverage, to really drive home the fact that it's not only not isolated to a few states, but the whole world is collapsing.
I guess I'm so stuck on this because the collapse of civilization as we know it is what intrigues me most about apocalypse shows.