Since 2015, The Walking Dead spinoff show Fear the Walking Dead has grown into its own beast with its unique style, characters, and story, some of which has been more engaging and entertaining than the main show. In its third season, things are less about the zombie epidemic and more about dealing with the apocalypse and finding a place to settle. One of the better things about Fear The Walking Dead is that each episode covers almost each character in the series, by weaving the big plot points in each scene. This is not the case with The Walking Dead, where some episodes focus solely on one or two characters alone, where we are forced to wait a few weeks to see the main characters or everyone together, which drags out the storyline even longer than it needs to be.
In season three of Fear the Walking Dead, we are still close together with the Clark and Salazar families, as well as Victor Strand, as they search for a new place to live which they hope is Mexico. Of course there are some obstacles along the way, mostly dealing with people who own land in this season. You have to remember that with Fear the Walking Dead, the world and society hasn't failed just yet like in the main series. This is the start of it, so things are still working in some form or fashion, which is definitely intriguing to see the inner-workings of society fail to what we eventually see on The Walking Dead.
In addition to the main "finding a place to survive" storyline, we also have a big character who has taken up learning about the undead and what makes them tick. The Catch-22 of this storyline, is that this specific character has taken up killing living people in order to conduct his experiments, which just makes this character a murderer. We also learn what lead to some of the big climactic moments of Season Two, along with some fairly good zombie makeup and deaths. Again, what sets this spinoff series aside from the main show is its ability to tell the multi-arc storylines all in one episode and its quick pacing.
Fear the Walking Dead is smart in its storytelling and never seems to stray off the path like The Walking Dead has done in the past. There are some new in-depth characters this time around and you can get a sense of how this show and the main series will cross paths here. Whether you're a fan or not of The Walking Dead, there is enough original and entertaining story and characters here that will keep you satisfied in this undead world. If Fear the Walking Dead continues on this path, count me in.
The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats
Fear the Walking Dead: Season Three has four 50GB Blu-ray Discs that are housed in a hard, blue plastic case with two inserts telling us when several AMC shows will be back for more episodes. There is also an insert for a digital copy as well, all of which comes incased in a cardboard sleeve.
Fear the Walking Dead: Season Three comes with a 1080p HD transfer that is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The third season looks very good, with the detail looking very sharp and vivid at all times, especially in the lower lit scenes. Closeups reveal the gory practical makeup effects, wrinkles, individual facial hairs, and blemishes extremely well, while also having a decent filmic quality to the entire image. Wider shots of landscapes and cities look equally great, giving the image some great depth.
Colors are well balanced and vivid in each scene. The blood is deep and rich with varying shades of gorgeous red. Other costumes showcase the worn out look very well as do the many different decaying skin tones on the undead. Black levels are always deep and inky, too. There are no issues with banding, aliasing, or video noise, leaving this video presentation with great marks.
This release comes with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix and provides all of the necessary audio bits you'd expect from this horror TV series. Sound effects are loud and boisterous with appropriate directionality in every episode. Gunshots, explosions, and vehicles all have a powerful low end that brings hefty bass. Other noises of zombie growls and people yelling all sound terrific.
Ambient noises of people walking, and distant screams and gunshots all sound robust in the rear speakers. The score of the series always keeps up with the suspense and dramatic issues in each episode. Dialogue is always clear and easy to follow, and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, and shrills.
Audio Commentaries - There are only two audio commentary tracks here, one being on the first episode of the season, while the other is on the last episode of the season. Select cast and crew offer mundane information, trivia, and technical aspects of the making of the season and each episode. Not worth your time.
Deleted Scenes (HD, 17 Mins.) - There are nine deleted scenes in total, spanning nine different episodes. There are some decent character scenes, but nothing worthwhile.
Fear the Walking Dead: Season Three is a great addition to the series and world of this zombie apocalypse. The new and old characters all have their time to shine on screen with some in depth development. The visual effects of the undead look incredible and the plotlines are all worth the time it takes to tell them. The video and audio presentations are both wonderful, and while the extras might add some surface information, nothing is really entertaining or of value, as it's only two rote commentary tracks and a few deleted scenes. Still, if you're a fan of the series, this comes Recommended!
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