'Walking Dead' gets six-episode order

AMC series based on Robert Kirkman's graphic novels

By Nellie Andreeva

March 29, 2010, 04:13 PM ET

Updated: March 29, 2010, 06:20 PM ET

"Walking Dead"

"The Walking Dead" will become AMC's fourth original series.

The cable network on Monday gave a six-episode order to the apocalyptic zombie drama based on Robert Kirkman's graphic novel series.

The project, written and directed by Frank Darabont and produced by Gale Anne Hurd, has been on the fast track since AMC acquired the rights to the books in August after a bidding war. It was ordered to pilot in January. That was followed by the early series pickup while the pilot still in the casting stages with one actor, "The Ghost Writer" co-star Jon Bernthal, locked in so far.

"Dead" will begin production in June in Atlanta and is set to premiere in October during Fearfest, AMC's annual marathon of thriller and horror films.

Joel Stillerman, AMC's senior vp programming, said the opportunity to debut "Dead" during Fearfest, which he called the "perfect platform" to do that, was key to the network's decision to go ahead with an early series order.

Additionally, "we felt like we had the appropriate road map in place in terms of the story," he said.

He praised Kirkman's series for "brilliantly capturing the social commentary and ongoing human drama of the zombie apocalypse. And it lets us kick a little zombie you-know-what from time to time."

"Dead" tells of the time after a zombie apocalypse and follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a secure home. Bernthal plays Grimes' partner and friend Shane.

"Dead" was one of two pilots AMC greenlighted in January. The chances of the other one, "The Killing," which also is in a casting stage, are not affected by the series pickup for "Dead" as "Killing" is being done on a different timetable, with shooting slated for summer. Stillerman said it is being eyed for a potential 2011 launch.

With the series order for "Dead," AMC will run four different original series in a single calendar year in 2010, with flagship "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad"; "Rubicon," which starts production this week; and "Dead."

"We're delivering on the promise we made several years ago when we entered the original series arena," AMC president Charlie Collier said.

Kirkman Darabont, Hurd and David Alpert from Circle of Confusion executive produce "Dead," along with Charles Eglee ("Dexter").

 

Steve Jobs felt compelled to take jabs at the netbook market when he announced his magical Apple iPad stating at one point, "The problem is that netbooks aren't better than anything." But don't ditch that netbook just yet. Here are 42 reasons (ranked in no particular order) why I think netbooks can give the iPad a run for its money.

 

 

1)	Netbooks are cheaper. The majority of them run between $200-$400. And after you spend all that money on accessories and upgrade options for the iPad, you'd be able to buy three netbooks for the same amount of money.
2)	With a netbook, you can multitask, allowing you to run several apps at the same time.
3)	Though it hasn't been confirmed that there is absolutely no Flash support in the iPad, we at least know netbooks have full Flash support.
4)	Netbooks have USB ports, about two to three on average. The iPad has none.
5)	Higher Resolutions. There are several 10-inch netbooks that offer 1,366-by-768 resolutions, namely the HP Mini 5102, Dell Mini 10, and Sony VAIO VGN W-Series. The iPad tops out at 1,024 by 768.
6)	Netbooks have options for bigger screens. You can get one with an 11-inch or 12-inch widescreen.
7)	Removable batteries. You can buy an additional battery for your netbook if you want, allowing it to last for multiple days.
8)	Every single netbook comes with a webcam for video conferencing and chats.
9)	They have physical keyboards, so you don't have to spend extra money to buy a physical one that docks.
10)	Multiformat card readers are built into every netbook, so you can download photos and videos from your camera.
11)	Netbooks have the potential to support handwriting recognition. Handwriting recognition is built into Windows and convertible netbook tablets already exist, so it's only a matter of time before Wacom bursts into action.
12)	Netbooks have a clamshell design, so their screens are less likely to get scratched.
13)	Netbooks use faster processors.
14)	Yeah, spinning drives on netbooks are less durable than the solid-state drives (SSDs) found in the iPad, but they come in greater capacities; and at least you can upgrade a netbook up to a 128GB SSD.
15)	Netbooks can easily be "modded" with more RAM, bigger hard drive capacity, or a different operating system.
16)	The Dell Mini 10v can be "hackintoshed" with a full-blown version of Mac OS 10.
17)	With a netbook, you can get apps through other means besides iTunes.
18)	Netbooks have widescreens, which aren't necessarily better, but at least rotate, which gives you true portrait mode. The iPad screen can rotate, but it's square-ish in dimension.
19)	Netbooks have an Ethernet port and some have a Gigabit Ethernet. Thus, if the Wi-Fi's throughput is not enough for streaming HD video, you can always plug in a network cable.
20)	Some netbooks can play back 720p and 1080p HD videos, using the latest Nvidia Ion chips.
21)	Netbooks have shown that they can last longer than 10 hours on a single battery charge.
22)	There are countless netbook designs to choose from. So if, say, the Toshiba mini NB305-N410's plastics don't suit you, the metals in the HP Mini 5102 might.
23)	Netbooks can run a full-blown Windows OS.
24)	You're not tempted to spend hundreds of dollars on accessories for netbooks.
25)	Some netbooks have both VGA-Out and HDMI-Out, without the need for a connector.
26)	Gaming is more advanced on a netbook, albeit not by much.
27)	Some netbooks, like the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and S10, have ExpressCard slots, so you can add expansion cards for FireWire, TV tuner, legacy ports, or 3G/4G wireless.
28)	You can choose different 3G wireless carriers with a netbook.
29)	Netbooks purchased from Costco or ASUS come with two-year standard warranties. The iPad will likely give you one year standard.
30)	You can print files from a netbook.
31)	Netbooks have more networking capabilities, such as the ability to map to drives and printers.
32)	We know Intel and AMD processor and chipset technology will scale each year. The iPad is using an unproven, homebrewed chipset, so we don't know how well it will scale.
33)	With a netbook, you can connect an optical drive for all your Netflix and Blockbuster rentals.
34)	You can buy turn-by-turn direction software for netbooks that have embedded GPS options.
35)	Netbooks can support multiple OSes. Most netbooks have Linux pre-boot environments that will get you access to a browser and e-mail data within seconds.
36)	Netbooks are more child-friendly. Disney and Nickelodeon have launched netbooks with a ton of child-friendly software. And netbooks like the Dell Latitude 2100 and HP Mini 5102 are being deployed in schools.
37)	The Dell Mini 10 has an option for a built-in TV tuner, so you can watch and record live TV.
38)	Your netbook can run multiple browsers, so you're not stuck with Safari only.
39)	Netbooks can run Java.
40)	Netbooks can run multiple Exchange Mail accounts.
41)	You don't need another computer to sync your data.
42)	Netbooks with Nvidia's Ion chipset can support external Blu-ray drives.