Okay, if you want a sure-fire way of pulling in the gigantic fandom of the flagship Walking Dead series, then here’s what you should do. Create an opening scene that could be mistaken for one in the upcoming season 6 of the widely-popular zombie drama, and do this knowing full well that the 1st few minutes will likely be released early just as they often are for the season premiere episodes of The Walking Dead. Do this and all of a sudden, poof, you’ve got the vast majority of the TWD fan base watching the premiere. Well, that’s exactly what we have in the first 3 minutes of Fear The Walking Dead where local junkie Nick Clark (Frank Dillane)  is seen running out of a church-turned-crack house only to get hit by a car as he runs into oncoming traffic. But, he’s not freakin’ because of some cheap, laced heroin as we know. As I had mentioned before, good news, damn good (and smart) way to start off a series. Talking about hitting the ground running and getting the adrenaline pumping right from the get-go. Bad news, there’s not much more action in the rest of the 90-minute premiere.

But, hey, folks, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, so stay with me, okay? Yes, opening the series that way I think was a trick, and I’m not sure how the fans will ultimately react to being somewhat duped. The jury is out on that one. But, I’m not going to judge the entire episode on just that scene, and at the end of the day, a slow pace is the best design for the Pilot of this series. Remember, FTWD is somewhat of a prequel telling the story of the few months prior to Rick’s coma in the flagship series. So, you’re not going to immediately have walkers everywhere, and you’re certainly not going to have anything close to a horde. However, what you get instead is an up-close look at the main characters, their reaction to this “sickness” that nobody believes is a real problem and a birds-eye view to the officials’ response (or lack thereof) to what will prove to be the biggest outbreak the world has ever known.

Perhaps the primary focus of the premiere of any new series is to introduce the main characters and do so in a way where they make a lasting impression. This is especially true in the Pilot of a show like FTWD because it makes such a slow start by design. And, I’m very happy to report that the writers did a fairly decent job in this area, with only a minor speed bump or two. First and foremost, Travis Manawa, who is portrayed by Cliff Curtis, is probably the best-developed character on the show and definitely the one I think most fans will be able to relate to. Live-in boyfriend to Madison Clark (Kim Dickens)   and surrogate father to Nick and Alicia (Alycia Debham Carey),  Travis may get a few gold stars with his new blended family but is failing miserably with his own son, Chris (Lorenzo James Henrie) and estranged ex-wife, Liza (Elizabeth Rodriguez). So, when Madison’s son, Nick, rambles a crazy story about people going loco and attacking and eating other people at the abandoned church he was crashing at, Travis decides to check it out. A very smart move because by listening to this seemingly crazy kid, whom his girlfriend is ready to write off and have committed, he is able to verify that Nick’s not that crazy after all which puts his family a step ahead of the horror that is about to hit.

Same with Frank Dillane in his portrayal of Madison’s junkie son, Nick. Wow, this is one talented young man. He does a fabulous job throughout the entire episode, and not just in the opening 3 minutes that will no doubt make him famous. There’s so many hats Dillane has to wear in just the pilot alone. The struggling addict son desperately trying to take the straight path to win back his mother’s love and respect. The older brother holding back his inner pain so as to serve as a good role model to his baby sis, Alicia, who’s on the fast track to Berkeley and better times. And, then, there’s the weak, desperate addict who has no qualms about bursting into tears and begging his best friend and dealer, Calvin, for anything to get him past “these bad times.” And, Dillane does an impeccable job in every single role. Something tells me this kid will end up as a fan favorite very quickly.

Besides the wonderfully-developed characters, we also get a first look at the public’s initial response to this “unknown illness,” and ironically, this turns out to be the most shocking part of the episode. Now, don’t get too excited, because we don’t get a “ground zero” or anything close to it, but we do get to see the disease in its infancy. People are getting sick and going missing. Groves of students are absent from school, and the number keeps rising. People are dying, reanimating, and continue coming even when riddled with bullets (and witnesses have video proof of all of this!). We learn that this virus, parasite, or whatever it is has been confirmed in 5 states, yet the CDC is nowhere to be found. How crazy is that? Hell, on most days, if there is a single person showing the signs of, say, Valley Fever, the CDC would be on top it like flies on sh*t. The military has no presence at all, not even the National Guard. No precautions such as screenings, quarantines, etc. are being taken. People are actually believing this is just a benign bug that will simply pass in due time. All of this put together is just too weird for my little mind to comprehend, which makes me believe that whatever this is, it may have been engineered, and someone with very deep pockets may be working hard to minimize the public’s concern. Hopefully the series will eventually address this, as I’m sure this will be a big question mark for a good deal of the fandom.

Finally, let’s talk about the ending. This is one thing the writers definitely got right. With all the hopping around, people believing Nick, people not believing Nick, there **had** to be some resolution by the end of this 90-minute premiere. A slow build-up is OK for one episode, but another like this wasn’t going to cut it. After a meet-up of Nick with his best friend/drug dealer, Calvin, a fight breaks out when Calvin tries to shoot Nick for possibly exposing him. The gun goes off in the struggle which leaves Calvin dead on the ground, and Nick freaking out all over again just like in the opening scene. Of course, we all can make a good guess what’s about to happen next. Nick ultimately finds his Mom and Travis and leads them to the scene, but Calvin is nowhere to be found.

Well, until they find him reanimated. Thank God Nick is there because if he hadn’t been, Madison and Travis would probably both be dead. Nick’s the one who clobbers Calvin over the dead. Nick’s the one who plows Calvin down with Travis’ truck. Nick’s the one who pushes Calvin over an embankment. And, after all that, Calvin still tries to get up and continue coming at them. If Travis and Madison didn’t believe before, they sure as hell do now.

All in all, I thought this was a decent introduction to one of the most talked-about new series for the better part of a year. Definitely a slow burn, but with some great character development and a very firm foundation, I’m optimistic the show will end up being one of the best, most highly-rated new series of the year. And, for those may end up being somewhat “bored” with the premiere and not very impressed, hang on until episode 2. I’ve already screened the episode, and trust me when I say, things definitely pick up and in a major way.

Fear the Walking Dead  airs on Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

Critic Grade — B+