The Walking Dead Season 6 DVD Box Set - Complete 16 Episodes | AMC TV Series | Zombie Apocalypse Action Drama | Perfect for Horror Fans & Collectors | Great for Movie Nights & Halloween Parties

I'm reviewing the last episode of season 6 "Trouble is inside and outside the gate," playing off of the episode that saw the Ws get into the compound, just before this episode. I'm writing this review because we think that any humans in this position would be discussing ways to prevent further attacks and breakthroughs in the perimeter, and put on hold love stories and emotional problems. It's human nature to go into survival mode until the threat is dealt with. It is not human nature to want to have sex or discuss long term human relations when you think your life in danger. I know some of you will disagree with that, but it is true. There is plenty of time to have those interaction in this series, but not right on top of the after math of murderous criminals breaking easily through their perimeter and murdering them. That's a little hard to swallow.It's interesting from a tactical point of view, and my friend and I both had this same problem with the entire series. We both have military background, and we understand the imperative nature of secure perimeters and tactically advantageous positioning. We were trained that way. This is a good episode to critique in that there is a bonified military person in their ranks, Abraham, but we don't even see him advising Rick on perimeter defenses. Let me tell you something. ANY military person trained in tactical defense will immediately be looking for perimeter defense possibilities upon this type of activity--you know, the zombies, bad people, etc. It's drilled into us. Yet, nothing so far. (One exception is that Rick did bring up the supports for the wall being a possible way into the compound.)That said, tactical strategy is mostly common sense, except for the physics of trajectory flight. And then, a basic understanding of that can be gotten from simple experience suffices. For instance, if you have high ground, your projectiles have a greater distance than you opponents--you're firing downhill, while they must fire uphill. In a close situation, that isn't going to matter. But when using arrows or hand held projectiles, it means the difference between winning and losing. Think of it as dropping rocks down a mine shaft onto your enemy while he or she must throw them up to hit you. It is the exact same principle.That's just one example of tactically advantageous positioning, but like I was saying, it becomes fairly common sensical if you are in such a situation where you experience it first hand.So with that said, enter TWD.So Rick is pretty good at understanding tactically advantageous positioning, and perhaps they will have a discussion on how to "harden" their position in the next episode. Perhaps they will not because we have seen the characters make huge tactical mistakes, commonsensical things you would not think people in their situation would make over and over again. Let's start and end with their current situation.First, the fence was built wrong, and any architect would know that. The force is coming from outside, therefore you put the supports on the INSIDE. Can anyone see that? It's one of those common sense types things where force coming from one direction is met with resistance front the opposite. Think of it as if someone is pushing you backwards. You automatically extend one of your legs out and to your back, opposite side of where the force is coming. The same principle applies to any support. Like I said, any architect would understand that. Pretty hard to understand how the writers could have an architect build something like that.Rick noticed that in some degree. When he first got there, he said, which is also correct, that anyone wanting to get inside could simply climb the outside supports and jump the wall. For any one constructing a base, that would have been a top priority to fix, before any other construction was performed. But, they failed to do it and sure enough, they came over the top.I would also like to say that a properly hardened position will require three times the number of people to overcome it. That means if you are in a fortified position, say a castle, and it has been built properly, it will take your opponents three times the resources to defeat you, all things being equal. That means three times the personnel, three times the ammo, etc. So let's move on.So now from the last episode we saw that there was a great concern by Carol that the Ws would find the armory and use the guns on the towns good people. This concern is CORRECT! You NEVER want to leave ordinance lying around for others to use on you. Thus, priority number two, after the fence or at the same time, would be to build a secure armory for the ordinance and firearms. Yet, they haven't even discussed that yet. Currently, the ordinance is behind a household door and nothing else. Next.The fence is good, and it might even stop a large tractor trailer from going through it. However, the entrance is weak and will not stop a large vehicle from plowing through. This is known by the residence because they discuss it referring to the character who shot out the driver and caused the truck to hit a stronger place in the fence. The solution is to use, for instance, seatrains or large tractor trailers (turned on their sides) to make a corridor heading up the entrance, one that requires at least two switch back turns, in order to slow any hostile from getting any speed.Perimeter defense. The fence simply needs reinforcement from large vehicle attacks. We already know the people of the town are resourceful and have access to heavy equipment. It would be quite easy to round up the necessary trailers and or seatrains and put those around the outside of the fence. You would want to leave enough space between each trailer for personnel to move though, but only at strategic locations. Those are called "kill areas." They call them kill areas because they represent the place where it is easiest to get through the first perimeter. Of course, you would have your gunners already zeroed in on those locations, and when they come through, they are an easy target. You make it as hard as your situation allows for them to go right through the hardest aspect of the perimeter. Sure, they can hook up to the trailers and try to tow them off, but that takes lots of time and they are getting shot at the entire time. And that's what you are buying in a situation like this. It's a war of attrition. If you make to hard enough, your opponents will stop. You can also use heavy equipment to build up a dirt berm around the fence, making sure it is no too high, depending on how high the fence is. That was you can still fire down past the burn from the fence onto the enemy, making sure your berm gives them no cover at all. A six foot berm with a high angle of attack will stop just about any non tracked vehicle, until the attackers can dig out of it. Again, as one builds these things, it becomes common sense about how to build them. You can also use sandbags about two feet from the fence, 4' high, 4' deep which absorb any impact, saving the fence.Clear all vegetation, including trees, around the entire town for at least 100 yards. That makes it necessary for attackers to be in the open for 100 yards before they reach your perimeter. Easy kills.Last, when constructing any position, you want a fall back area, which will also be fortified. It's also where your first line of tactical planning takes place, the field planners that plan how to defeat the attackers. And, you want a last fall back position where your higher ranking planners are, they can be outfitting in a tower with binoculars, in this show's instance, for spotting enemy movement, and then relayed to the other tactical position planners.So in summary, the people in Rick's group should well know that priority one is:(1) Front entry reinforcement.(2) Wall reinforcement with kill pathways.(3) Moving wall support beams to the INSIDE (geeze, really writers?).(4) Hardened fall back positions inside of the wall.(5) Hardened armory with very limited access (inside of a seatrain which has been barricaded from all but one entry point, with multiple pathway obstructions (locked steel doors, gunmen, check points).(6) Having a treeless open area at least 100 yards all around the perimeter. That way any attackers must move over 100 years of open area.I think most humans in this particular situation would be screaming about how to harden their position. That's because it is human instinct to go into survival mode, and part of that is reinforcing your position. This lack of planning has us cringing when we fail to see any of it. It's just not realistic with a law enforcement person and a military person in Ricks group.I used to be a Die Hard Fan of this show, but no more. Beware - there will be spoilers as I rant. I fully admit it's a rant. A long rant.Season 6 took basically everything good about the show and ruined it: plot, character arcs, and most egregiously the impact of the death of beloved characters. Show runners used manipulation and contrived everything from ridiculous character behavior to "cliff-hangers" that went nowhere. Glen's close call became a joke. Then he was surrounded and nearly died again mid-season with another unbelievable save. Nail biting episode endings that never went anywhere sapped all impact from the show: Rick surrounded by walkers as he approaches RV - next episode and he's ahead of the horde nearing Alexandria's gates. Another episode ended with an ominous "help" over the walkie talkie. Next episode...whatever...at some point we see that it was Eugene but not in any kind of meaningful way. Sam calling out for his mom while they are walking through the herd is how the mid season finale ends. Well, we all KNOW that there will be repercussions to that right? Nope. Mid season premiere skips that entirely and sets up a whole new opportunity for Sam to doom himself. Daryl is shot with blood splattering the camera lens at the end of an episode. Oh NO! Oh wait...yeah, no biggie...next time we see him he seems fine. We never actually find out whether he is or not...a little blood on his shirt and he seemed tired...by the time they let us know, if they do, I won't care.Show runners manipulated viewers throughout the season and every single time, they lost any impact an event might have had. Had Glen escaped in the episode immediately following the one in which we were left hanging, I'd have been interested in his fate. But waiting 4 weeks - and the obvious audience manipulation in that decision - made me not only get irritated at the show, but it made me not care by the time we found out. If there's a cliffhanger now, my reaction is: Well, no reason to care. It either won't be addressed at all going forward or it will take so long to get there that I won't care anymore.In addition to the cliff-hanger frauds, the characters went from interesting, street-savvy survivors to people wandering around stupidly with contrived motivations and zero story impact. Daryl seemed like a main character in two episodes. Two. And in those he was not given the kind of material the character (or the actor) deserved. In other episodes, if he was there, he was completely out of character. Just how many times do you think sure-footed, expert tracker/hunter Daryl - who knows damn well what the stakes are - is going to get ambushed by a bunch of dudes creeping in the woods?And Carol - what have they done to Carol? She has been a great character played by a wonderful actor and the recent changes to her story arc have been so contrived and ridiculous that I'm not even thinking about the story (what story?) - the only thing I can think when she's onscreen in the last couple of episodes is "oh, poor Melissa McBride that she had to take Carol in this stupid direction."Morgan. Morgan was awesome and now he's not. And his most important episode was shoved in between finding out whether Glen was alive or not so instead of enjoying his episode I was irritated and couldn't care less about that particular story. And then they took him too far. Morgan is not stupid. He wouldn't have sacrificed the lives of many to save the life of one....the math doesn't work if his goal is lives saved.And Rick - Rick rattles from psychotic, to determined leader, to overconfident a$$hole for some reason - oh wait - that's right, they need to get everyone where they need to be for that BIG FINALE that will BLOW OUR MINDS!!The result is that while they are taking my favorite characters from me through terrible writing, they aren't introducing any new ones worth my time. Abraham, Rosita and Eugene have always come across as caricatures to me and I have never really cared too much about them. Aaron? What happened to Aaron? What happened to his friendship with Daryl? Talk about missed story opportunities. Denise was great and I was so hoping for a great story with her character, but yeah...the Walking Dead narrative is basically bankrupt - they've got no currency but contrived death and dead-maybe-not-dead manipulations. Denise had to go so that Daryl would start the stupid domino crash course for Negan- even though there was no real story there that demanded he do that.The finale was the last straw for me. The entire season we were promised the most intense, hardest hitting finale ever in the history of TV. But the finale was one more bait and switch in a season full of them. The first 90% was our entire savvy group of survivors getting herded around like rats in a maze and not one of them gave it a second thought. Why on earth would they load everyone into an RV rather than send one fleet-footed person to fetch the doctor? My point is that the writers could have come up with something better than the ridiculous contrived thing that was The Finale. Was J.D. Morgan as Negan impressive? Absolutely. I loved him. I enjoyed about 6 minutes of Negan but it went on for too long and I got bored. And then, finally - all impact was totally sucked from that episode - and the season which lived only to get them to that episode - when they stole that scene from us. Who did they kill? The Show. They killed their show.I miss Daryl. I miss Carol. I miss Rick. Michonne remains and I love her but her story has stalled in spite of Richonne. Sasha is getting dragged down too. Glen and Maggie haven't been totally lost yet either but Glen's fake death and subsequent near death drained me. I grieved for him already so I don't really care if he lives or dies and Maggie seems peripheral when she shouldn't. Carl is still Carl and that's not necessarily a good thing.I don't have cable so I've been buying Walking Dead seasons on Amazon. But after this finale I won't be paying for it anymore. There's no point. If I have to wait 6 months to find out who died, why not wait 17, find out if I should even bother, then watch it for free? I certainly won't care less in 17 months than I do right now. Bummer.I love horror movies and I I'll always will because I am huge horror movies with of blood and I gore. I Also bought the complete series of the walking dead and now I can watch it anytime. ??????????????Series 5 ended with Rick covered in blood and gore as he brutally demonstrated to the people of Alexandria exactly what it took to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. It was a series that had many highlights, with the deaths of many regulars and the return of Morgan - played by the always excellent Lennie James - but often meandered through its sixteen episodes; a common criticism of the these longer seasons. It would be fair to say that this series suffers from the same problem but to a lesser degree, as I think it's somewhat tighter than the previous two. The acting is again excellent and there is the introduction of a major new group and charismatic leader. As before, it demonstrates how the greatest danger they face is not from the legions of undead but from other people. I shall now go through the episodes without giving away too many spoilers:-1. First Time Again - In trying to impress upon the residents of Alexandria what is required to survive in the world as it is, Rick attempts to pre-empt an attack on the town by leading a large group of walkers away but things don't go quite as planned...2. JSS - The young girl called Enid features heavily as Carol takes charge of the town when it comes under attack from the Wolves. However, Morgan's reluctance to kill threatens to compromise their safety.3. Thank You - Rick and his crew try to make it back to Alexandria but at a cost...4. Here's Not Here - An excellent episode devoted to Morgan and how he came to believe that every life was precious.5. Now - Possibly the weakest episode in which Rick returns to Alexandria but the town is immediately surrounded by walkers.6. Always Accountable - Daryl, Sasha and Abraham are attacked and Darryl becomes separated. He attempts to help others but is not repaid in kind.7. Heads Up - Rick and Morgan have an ethical disagreement over how to treat their enemies. The walls are breached...8. Start To Finish - The walkers invade Alexandria. Deanna is bitten. Carol and Morgan butt heads. Darryl, Sasha and Abraham meet an entirely new group.9. No Way Out - Darryl comes to the rescue. Rick leads by example.The town comes to realise that they must ALL fight to preserve their community.10. The Next World - Rick and Darryl encounter a new character. Spencer makes a difficult choice. Rick gets it on...11. Knots Untie - Rick and several others are taken to another settlement in order to trade. Maggie strikes a bargain on behalf of them all. Abraham is conflicted.12. Not Tomorrow Yet - As part of their bargain, Rick persuades the town to endorse an attack on another group. In this episode we see our regulars at their most ruthless.13. The Same Boat - Carol begins to question the need to kill. Are Rick and the rest of the group in danger of losing their humanity in order to preserve their community?14. Twice As Far - Eugene has a plan to manufacture bullets. Rosita, Darryl and Denise go in search of medical supplies but tragedy ensues. Carol makes a difficult decision.15. East - Rick and Morgan go off in pursuit of Carol. Glenn, Michonne, Daryl and Rosita are placed in great danger.16. Last Day On Earth - Rick and the group slowly come to realise the true magnitude of their predicament in what is a magnificent episode! The last fifteen minutes or so is unbearably tense.The ending to this series promises great things for series seven, as I'm sure those currently watching on Fox could attest. How much longer can it run? Who knows?.. As long as the writing is of such quality it could continue for a few more years yet. I'll certainly continue to follow Rick and the group's adventures. In the final analysis, it may not be perfect but it still provides some of the best moments of drama on T.V. As with previous releases, there are hours of extras, with interviews, commentaries and documentaries.Very very poor quality DVD . Its as if someone pirated it off their computer and was thinking of selling it privately. The poor quality I would expect from one of thsoe charlatans who register their product as realand genuine. It was so poor that it impacted on my enjoyment of this couple that with amazon's 3.99 charge for returning and you're left with a tenner's worth of garbage to swapor recive Amazon gift tokens. As if they're not making enough money. So with this charge its not feasible or even cost effective to return it. Overall asmazaon are having a laugh with their returns policy. Fox are having a laugh producing such poor quality DvD's and we the consumer are all losers in this cartel. I would urge anyone not to buy this DVD. I hope the blu-ray is better but maybe that's Fox's plan right from the off.Im a huge fan of this show. Have watched it from the start and have always loved it. There of course are slow points but I dont mind these as it does add to the story and mixes it up a bit which every show needs after a while! There has been some negativity about certain episodes focusing on one character .....ok they are not my favourites but they are necessary to introduce new groups/settings etc and also it cant all be about Rick all the time (much as I love his character) the story wouldnt last long or keep people entertained if it was!Usually I will wait for the price to fall before picking up the Walking Dead seasons but as the new season was approaching the promise of the uncut season final persuaded me to bite the bullet and pick it up at full price. Anyone who has read the comics will be aware that Negan likes to curse alot and the when the finale was broadcast the lack of this made that final scene a little tamer than it should be. This uncut version of the final scene ramps up the intensity and see's Negan being more threatening and much more like his comic counterpart. I can't wait for the Season 7 Bluray with the uncut premier which should make the intense hour we saw on boradcast even more emotional.As for the rest of the product, if you are looking at the season 6 Bluray you have most likely seen the previous seasons and Season 6 offers much of the same. The Extra's are also fairly standard for TV on Bluray but are things fans will find enjoyableMy wife was mega happy we had no issues with any of the discs I feel I got a bargain thanks very much