Walker S2 Discussion

[Adam]

WALKER RECOMISSION ANNOUNCED – MZP HIT DRAMA TO RETURN FOR THIRTEEN-PART SERIES

Walker, the critically acclaimed spin-off from The DSR, has been recommissioned for a second series on MZP, again produced by Back Room Productions (The Heretic, Sherlock Holmes).

Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors), Miranda Raison (Spooks), Leonard Roberts (Heroes) and Philip Glenister (Life on Mars), the first series of Walker concluded in November 2009. All the principle cast members are poised to return, and for the second year they will be joined by Rose Byrne (Damages) and James McAvoy (State of Play), reprising their roles as Paige Collins and Jonathan ‘Flame’ Colby respectively.

Several popular characters from the first series – including David Morrissey as Mr Jones, Freema Agyeman as Kate Osborne, Taylor Cole as Laurel Ravenwood, Oliver Martinez as Michel Gideon, and Bill Nighy as Mark Baines – are also set to reprise their roles in a major way, alongside guest star turns from the likes of Dean Lennox Kelly (Shameless), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter) and Eva Green (Casino Royale).

Behind the scenes, the writers of the first series – creator Adam Scott (The Heretic), A.J. Black (The DSR) and Chris Haigh (The Girl in Question, Good) will be joined by two new additions to the team: Pete D. Gaskell (the forthcoming Neighbourhood Watch) and J.B. Gibson (The Pillars).

Series creator Adam Scott describes the new series as containing “Everything that people enjoyed about the first season and more. We learned a lot of really good, solid lessons about this show in the first year, and we’re keen to apply them to the new series. Season two will have a much stronger storyline and some major new developments for the characters. It’s going to be a terrific ride.”

Season Two – which has the title of “The Two Front War – is scheduled to be launched in May 2010.

[Adam]

A place to discuss the upcoming second series of Walker.

Fire away, people!

[Tony O'Stark]

This will rule. Trust me.

Oh you're gonna love it, peeps...

[TylerMoody]

Who's excited? Tyler's excited.

[Adam]

Well you're almost fully caught up mate, so I hope to be able to have you here come premiere date. And trust me - if you liked season one, season two's going to be better.

[TylerMoody]

Who's even more excited than he was two posts ago? Tyler's even more excited than he was two posts ago.

[Pete D. Gaskell]

And so you should be, mate!

Some cracking material this time around which takes what was so great about S1 and improves on it.

And that's just from the first few eps that have been written...

[Adam]

Interesting point, Tyler (and I'll open this up to anyone who's read Walker now): what do you want to see in season two?

This doesn't mean I'm taking requests, mind, but I'm interested to see what people would like to have happen.

[TylerMoody]

--The first ever VS musical.
--More Mr Jones.
--More Jackson development.
--More Boone in general.
--Werewolves.
--A comedy-slapstick episode.
--Further exploration of Alec and Chloe's whole relationship-thing.
--Kate.
--Shirtless Flame riding a motorbike across a rooftop, doing a jump onto another rooftop.

Two of those suggestions are lies.

[TylerMoody]

So that's what that means.

[Adam]

And I'm pleased to announce that Walker will return for it's second season on Monday May 17th, a little shy of four weeks away, right here on MZP.

Mark your calendars. That's the date the Two-Front War begins.

[Trix]

Well I'm hoping to be up-to-date across the board so at least I know I've got one show to keep me around MZP.

[Adam]

Well I'm hoping to be up-to-date across the board so at least I know I've got one show to keep me around MZP.

That's great news, Trix, I hope to see you here when we get started. Season two's coming together very well and I'm pleased as hell with the episodes we've got in hand so far.

[Trix]

Good to hear. As I said on twitter season one of this is next on my list of shows to read as I reach the end of The Company and Shackles.

[Adam]

Good to hear. As I said on twitter season one of this is next on my list of shows to read as I reach the end of The Company and Shackles.

Music to my ears.

[Adam]

Myself and a few erstwhile co-conspirators (well, Pete and Tony) are recording a special podcast tomorrow, all being well, to discuss the upcoming season. Anyone got any questions they want us to answer, lob them here. I can't promise we'll answer them all, but you'll definitely get some inane ramblings and, quite possibly, another of Tony's BA Baracus impersonations.

And cake.

[Adam]

And there we have it, folks - season two has begun! 201 has been uploaded, really excited to see what people think of it.

The two-front war has begun...

[TylerMoody]

Queen of the Underworld

Ooh. This is a good episode, heavily setting up the season's story after a fun, actiony intro. I like the inclusion of Flame in the team now, and my favorite part was the way all the characters were reintroduced for season 2.

And as much as Paige is a bitch, I still want her to bite Caleb's tongue out of his face.

I'm interested to see exactly who Bishop is, what he wants, what his game is. I feel like there's an even bigger picture than this vampire-werewolf war going on and Alec can't see it because it's in the way. it's a good thing Caleb and his group are so tough, too, because I felt it would be hard to top or equal last season's villains. Now I'm thinking that won't be a problem.

My last comment, this is a very angry Alec we're seeing. I wonder if that's just a side effect of this episode's events, his not wanting to get dragged into what amounts to a pissing contest between two supernatural groups and his subsequent displeasure at being manipulated, or if there's something more to his not-unprecedented but not typical level of rage.

[Chris Wilson]

Queen of the Underworld

A solid opener by Mr Scott. In the same way the animal chain of command goes mouse, cat, dog; the supernatural chain of humans (well, close enough), vampires, werewolves has occurred. It's a strange but familiar progression.

This was all set-up than character development. I feel it's a lot stronger than the first season opener, just because there's no awkwardness of introducing characters and slotting them in their place. Here, we have a running start, and learn a lot about what should set up the season. I'm particularly interested in the Paige dynamic. When she says "I'm not Edward Maitland", in her head I can imagine her saying "I'm far worse" even though she's a weakling versus Caleb.

I'm surprised Mr Jones didn't get as much as a mention.

Like Tyler, I wonder the same about Alec. He's rawer, less sophisticated this time around - replacing Shakespeare quotes with Trainspotting and The Simpsons. And with the Black Chapter being pulled and manipulated in many directions, this could lead to something significant with him later. That or he gave up reading in the six month hiatus and indulged in his DVD collection.

So yeah, I enjoyed it. Given previous standards, this is a middle of the road episode, but I'm very confident things are about to take off in a big way.

7/10

[Adam]

Blimey. Back from work, two reviews. I feel honoured.

First, Tyler: (I need to get you a 'No1 fan!" t-shirt organised)

...a fun, actiony intro. I like the inclusion of Flame in the team now, and my favorite part was the way all the characters were reintroduced for season 2.

That was very much the point. For all I hope that new readers would read the whole story up to now, this is very much meant to be a reintroduction to the team, hence the reason we see them in action from the word go. And yes, Flame's a fun new addition to the cast.

And as much as Paige is a bitch, I still want her to bite Caleb's tongue out of his face.

As she says to Alec later on, it's very much a 'better the devil you know' thing. Paige is in a bad position and yes, she's all front, but her empire's built on pillars of sand, as Caleb well knows. Caleb's a great new character and a very different kind of enemy to Edward Maitland, so a lot of fun to write.

I'm interested to see exactly who Bishop is, what he wants, what his game is. I feel like there's an even bigger picture than this vampire-werewolf war going on and Alec can't see it because it's in the way. it's a good thing Caleb and his group are so tough, too, because I felt it would be hard to top or equal last season's villains. Now I'm thinking that won't be a problem.

Trust me, this ep's barely scratched the surface of what's actually happening here.

My last comment, this is a very angry Alec we're seeing. I wonder if that's just a side effect of this episode's events, his not wanting to get dragged into what amounts to a pissing contest between two supernatural groups and his subsequent displeasure at being manipulated, or if there's something more to his not-unprecedented but not typical level of rage.

Bingo, that's exactly right. It's a result of six months worth of anger and frustration after getting nowhere searching for Gideon.

Thanks for the quick review, Tyler - looking forward to seeing you here each week as it goes, because believe me, it ain't started yet.