Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

The barn-storming (literally) finale of the second season of post-apocalyptic zombie drama The Walking Dead set a ratings record for basic cable with over nine million viewers. ‘Beside the Dying Fire’ was a suitably gorey climax to a series some have criticised as being too slow, treading water and lacking in dramatic developments. The final three episodes of the season, however, have been packed with drama and incident, resulting in the surge in viewers for the finale.

A new character made a brief appearance at the end of the second season finale that would be familiar to fans of the comic book. The hooded character that saved Andrea is Michonne, who will play a major part in season three and is to be played by Treme actress Danai Gurira. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, series producer Glen Mazzara promised the character would deviate from her comic book depiction. “We know that she’s a loner, we know she kicks ass. But we have some other traits about that her that are not in the comic book… There’s an interesting process as we start to write this character and bring her to life. We see this character as a significant character, not just as someone who’s in the mix. This is a major addition to the show.” Michonne will feature alongside Britain’s David Morrissey, cast as The Governor, another character familiar from the comic book.