Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water

I've been on a TWD Universe binge for the last several months. I'm almost caught up for the new mini series! With that said... I've watched every single web series and let me say... most of them have been terrible. But this one? It's high quality. It was written well. I loved it. It was great seeing Nick Stahl again and he once again proves he is an amazing actor. Right now? This web series killed FTWD Season 7. Which is really terrible. I wish they would put the same effort into FTWD they did into this mini series. I do really enjoy seeing everyone's origin stories. The show doesn't concentrate enough on that.

I thoroughly enjoyed this as a twd fan but I can see why this wouldn't be for everyone. What makes it so great is the little titbits of information it gives us about the world and lore of twd universe. Also Nick Stahl was really solid in this and managed to make Riley a really likable decent character. I wish there was more of John Glovers Teddy, but his Cameo was done pretty well I think.

Overall, this was better than just about every episode we have had so far in Fear Season 7 so far. However I would recommend watching it as 1 whole 40 min regular episode and not in little 5 minute webisodes.

...because every once in a while, things didn't make logical sense. And over the seasons, it just added up as did my frustration. So I gave up on them.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this 41-minute story.

(Was looking forward to five more episodes, but apparently, this was all 6 mini episodes in one)

Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water is a good example what's wrong with the whole TWD franchise since season 5 or 6 of the mothership TWD - the writing is lazy and not only occasionally plain stupid. I never was on board of a submarine but can't imagine that a zombie outbreak would overtake the crew in such a way (the show makes a convenient time jump, so the writers don't have to explain how the infected take over the sub), I just mention all those bulkheads, close them and you are save and/or you can confine the infected, on top, secure and control the Combat Information Center - easy work for a military crew, one might think. Anyway, the little show is not a total fail and not worse than the regular Fear the Walking Dead show (I must admit, that I do not watch that one anymore and missed the last two or three seasons) but you get just served the same lukewarm characters like in all the other shows, nothing really makes sense or provides real suspense, it's like eating a cheeseburger while you still do some stuff on your machine.

This six episode mini-series or webisodes, call them what you like, was actually a fun way to pass the time while waiting for the "Fear the Walking Dead" series to start again. The people behind these series have been good as dishing out these small mini-series to stoke the fire and keep the fans anticipated and baited while waiting.

And it works. Oh yeah, it definitely works.

"Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water" follows the crew and the fate of the submarine USS Pensylvania in the early days of the zombie outbreak. It was actually a nicely enough written storyline from writer Jacob Pinion and director Kenneth Requa.

Running at about 41 minutes, these six episodes actually do make for adequate entertainment, especially when binging through all six episodes in one rapid succession.

It was nice to see cast members return to reprise characters from the days before the time we saw them in the ongoing "Fear the Walking Dead" series, and especially good to see Nick Stahl (playing Riley) and John Glover (playing Teddy Maddox) back on the screen.

The special effects are good in "Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water", as they have been in all the various series in this franchise. However, I just never comprehended why the face would be so sullen and sunken mere moments after someone has died and turned into a zombie. Sure, I get it that it visually makes for a more menacing zombie and lets the audience have no doubt about whether or not someone has turned, but come on, the human body just doesn't decompose and deteriorate that fast.

All in all, then "Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water" is a good way to stoke the interest of the "Fear the Walking Dead" franchise. And it certainly is a mini-series that you should sit down to watch if you enjoy the ongoing series.

My rating of "Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water" lands on a six out of ten stars.