Scott Gimple marks the third showrunner in the four year lifespan of The Walking Dead. He recently spoke to Hollywood Reporter, and while the conversation was largely about how he will fill the shoes of predecessors Frank Darabont and Glen Mazzara, he did sneak some hints as to what we can expect from the upcoming fourth season. We've dug out the best bits:

THR: Darabont's run was nuanced, while Mazzara's was fast-paced. How do you envision your run being described?
Gimple: I'm trying to take a greatest-hits approach and take the best of both those runs and run with it. As far as my own personal stamp, it's more of what we do here already with character-driven stories and really delving into these characters while having some amazing, horrible scares and exciting sequences but all in service to a greater story that builds. A phrase that I've been caught using a bunch is "cumulative storytelling." It's about having everything stack up so it means something. When The Walking Dead has been its best, all that stuff is happening at once: the emotion, action, horror, scares. I'm very proud that I was able to write an episode where a little zombie girl could walk out of a barn after a horrific zombie execution and have people cry. That's one of the proudest things I've ever done.

THR: A lot of people were angry at the end of season three when the Governor escaped and Andrea died. How will season four be different?
Gimple: Hopefully all those people will be excited about the stuff that's coming in this new season. Maybe some of the [conflict with Michonne, Rick and the Governor] wasn't entirely skipped over. It's all part of a greater story because the story is continuing. All that stuff is going to affect the future.

THR: There are some big watershed moments from the comics that come with the Governor and Rick -- including the latter losing his hand. How will you approach those moments?
Gimple: Going back to the remix idea, there are going to be big moments from the comic that will be seen in a very different context that fans will recognize but aren't that different in the continuity of the book. There are a lot of things that are different at this stage in the story than they were in the comic. The Governor on the TV show is a different character than the Governor of the comic. You will recognize a bunch of those big moments this season, but you will also see that they aren't exactly the same as they panned out in the comic, and you'll know why because of where the story is now. Daryl Dixon is a huge part of the show and he's not in the comic. The stories that happen involve him heavily and he, as a character, changes those stories. That happens in so many ways through our story. What's cool is we can get in those moments, those themes and those dynamics but they happen in different ways, at different times and sometimes between different characters. It's so cool for me, as a fan, when we do it. And it's a way to take something that the comic fans know and present it in a different way and hopefully with a different emotional context but just as powerful as it was in the comic. So you still get something new, but it serves the story that's just been told.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC this October. The show's panel at Comic Con will be Friday afternoon. To read the whole interview, head to HollywoodReporter.com

Monsters of Legend is slated for release next Friday, July 19th, and we'll be sharing plenty more info about it soon!

As I groused previously in my review for the Scorpion DLC for Injustice: Gods Among Us, DC Comics has close to a century and hundreds, if not thousands, of possible characters to mine for the character roster.  After the fanservice slam-dunk of the Main Man, Lobo, Netherrealm has seemed content to deliver mediocre analogues (Batgirl) and out-of-their-element character transplants (MK’s Scorpion), while leaving countless obvious and intriguing options off of the table.  Where’s the Martian Manhunter?  Blue Beetle?  Big Barda?  Goddamn Swamp Thing?

Now, because it’s cinematically topical with Man of Steel in the theaters, General Zod has been released as the fourth (and possibly final) DLC character for Injustice.  Sadly, he proves to be a less-than-compelling addition to the title, with his main move set being analogous to Superman’s (heat vision, freezing breath) with a few Kryptonian assault weapons adding more ranged attacks to the repertoire.  However, be prepared to deal with the most frustratingly slow walk of any character in the game, as Zod stalks across arenas at a positively glacial pace. 

As much as I loved Injustice, I must admit that the DLC roster has been disappointing at best.  Hopefully Netherrealm and WB Games has plans to pull out some real heavy hitters in a ”Season 2” pass, or possibly a sequel.  As it stands, the overall DLC experience has been a bland gravy on top of one hell of a cut of meat.

Dexter Episode 803
“What’s Eating Dexter Morgan?”
Written By: Lauren Gussis
Directed By: Ernest Dickerson
Original Airdate: 14 July 2013

In This Episode...

A patrolman finds Deb asleep in her car. She is drunk and her car isn’t as much parked as it is crashed into a parking meter. He has no choice but to take her to the station, but at least he keeps her out of the drunk tank. She begs him not to call Dexter, and instead call Quinn. Quinn tells Jamie he was called in on a case so as not to upset her, then talks the arresting officer out of booking Deb before taking her straight to work.

In the morning, Miami PD arrives at the Lyle Sussman crime scene. He is no longer hanging from a meathook, but has been taken inside. His death is made to look like a suicide, with a gun blast to the head to obscure the damage from the meathook. That afternoon, Vogel gets two more gifts, left at her front door, marked “His” and “Hers.” Inside are two more scoops of brain. She shows them to Dexter, who is ready to investigate the next potential subject on Vogel’s list: Ron Galluzzo, a man who strangled his friend in high school. Galluzzo convinced Vogel a bully committed the murder, and Vogel spoke for him at his trial. Then it turned out that Galluzzo lied. Galluzzo will have to wait: Quinn calls Dexter to let him know about Deb. Dexter goes straight to her office and won’t leave until she agrees to go to dinner with him. That night at dinner, Dexter gets the ball rolling on conversation by showing her a video of the club shootout from last season (two seasons ago?) then points out a guy having dinner with his family a few tables away. That is the guy Deb saved, the family she helped keep in tact, proving that she is a good person. Deb accepts this, at least on the surface.

Dexter vets Galluzzo. He is a douchey fitness guy hawking gym equipment at a mall kiosk. Dexter plays the casual customer, who “happens” to have Vogel’s book with him. Galluzzo plays dumb, but Dexter knows he is hiding something. He goes to Galluzzo’s house and finds the place a cross between a frat house and a hoarder’s house: it’s filthy - except for the dining room. The  table is set for a formal dinner, and the kitchen is immaculate. Dexter immediately recognizes this as Galluzzo’s kill room. He peeks into a crock pot and discovers that tonight’s menu is finger stew. Interestingly, Dexter is taken aback by this discovery - who knew that cannibalism would be one of his “buttons?” Inside the freezer are carefully labeled containers: liver, ground thigh, intestines, kidney. An in-tact brain marinates in garlic sauce. All human. He’s not the Brain Surgeon, but he fits the code. Dexter will return to kill Galluzzo before the episode’s end. First, he must take care of his sister.

Deb has spent all night drinking and watching the video Dexter showed her. In the morning, she stumbles drunkenly into Miami Metro, desperate to confess. Quinn whisks her off to an interrogation room, shuts off the mic, and tries to talk to her. Deb insists that she killed Laguerta; Quinn keeps explaining that Estrada killed her, that this is just guilt. The more he denies it, the angrier she gets. To calm her, he gives her paper and pen and tells her to write it all down. He then steps outside and calls Dexter. He comes running with Vogel, who explains that Deb is probably suffering from survivor’s guilt. Deb grows more hysterical when Dexter enters, so he tranquilizes her. When Quinn comes in, Dexter says she passed out and they were going to take her home. Vogel pockets the notepad with Deb’s confession, and they leave out the back.

Back at Deb’s house, Dexter realizes that, as much as he wants to, he cannot fix Deb, and finally accepts Vogel’s help. She insists Dexter leaves them, and he does - but first he handcuffs Deb to the sofa. “She will be pissed, maybe even violent,” he explains. “I can handle her.” “You don’t know my sister.”

Dig It or Bury It?

This episode really didn’t pick up until the last act or so, with Deb confessing and Dexter and Dr. Vogel “rescuing” her. But I don’t think Deb has hit rock bottom yet; this was her trying to crawl away from rock bottom.

I am no longer convinced that Vogel is the Brain Surgeon, but I believe she may be working with the Brain Surgeon, controlling him, something like that. There is definitely something hinkey with her.

Greatest moment in the episode: when Dexter gives Deb a sedative injection. Vogel watches and says, “Well that was interesting.” It was as if she was watching a YouTube video and she didn’t know what to think about it. It was almost adorable.

Psychobabble

Dexter’s relationship with Deb is a source of fascination with Vogel. She is shocked to know that Deb knows about Dexter’s secret, and more shocked that he seems to genuinely feel bad about it. It’s unusual for a psychopath to have, you know, feelings. Vogel asks why Dexter didn’t kill Deb when she walked in on him stabbing Travis. Dexter seems disgusted by the thought: “She is my sister. I love her.” “And what is it you love about her?” “I don’t know, having a beer with her. She was always there. She looked up to me.” Vogel points out that everything he mentioned involved things that Deb does for Dexter. 

Flashback to the Future

Dexter wakes to hear Harrison calling for daddy. His voice is pained. Dexter runs... sees little bloody footprints... follows them to the bathroom... where Harrison sits in a pool of blood. Dexter’s breath catches in his throat, and he realizes that it isn’t blood - it is melted popsicles. Harrison ate an entire box of them, made a mess, and now has a tummy ache. When questioned as to why he ate all those popsicles, his response is completely logical: “Because I love them.”

Vogel tells Dexter that Harry wanted the first rule of the code be that Dexter only kill bad people. It was Vogel who made “Don’t get caught” the first rule... to give him some “wiggle room.”

Prophecies?

Dexter checks up on the next patient from Vogel’s list - and her patients just get worse and worse. Meanwhile, Deb moves in with Vogel while she treats her for PTSD.

True Blood Episode 605
“Fuck the Pain Away”
Written By: Angela Robinson
Directed By: Michael Ruscio
Original Airdate: 14 July 2013

In This Episode...

With a giant flame ball hovering over him, Warlow dismounts Sookie and slips into his British accent. He insists that he is not there to kill her; rather, he loves her, and it is their destiny to be together. Warlow insists that her parents were trying to kill her, and he actually saved her. She doesn’t believe him. Bill shows up, sensing something is wrong, not with Sookie but with Warlow, Lilith’s progeny. As his maker, Bill commands Warlow to leave with him and locks him up in his underground laboratory.

Lilith reveals to Bill (and to the audience) how she created Warlow. In 3500 BC, Warlow goes down to the river for water. Lilith finds him there, and is attracted to his scent. She immediately starts humping him, scratches his back up and tells him that God told her she would meet a creature like him, and that he would be destined to save vampire-kind. So she turns him into a vampire. Warlow returns to his village almost twenty years later and devours every single person - except Niall. Feeling horrible about what he did, he finds Lilith asleep in a cave and uses his fairy power to blow a hole through the ceiling, burning her in the daylight. Returning to the present, Billith reveals that she was hurt that Warlow felt the need to return to his family, that she wasn’t enough for him. Warlow has held on to his hatred for centuries and wishes extinction for the vampires.

We spend much of tonight’s episode in the vampire camp. There are research facilities, which see  vampires having their fangs removed, fucking like crazy, and running on a giant hamster wheel, all in the name of “science.” Pam is brought in as a level one, and forced to talk to a shrink (or some guy wearing a shrink’s sweater). She would rather be experimented on, but that is for level three vampires only (I have no idea what makes you a level one or three). She finally agrees to talk, but only after she is offered a living blood donor. When asked about the value she places on human life - the shrink’s life: “You are insignificant to me. You aren’t even food; I care more about the tuna you ate for lunch than you.” When asked about vampire bonding, Pam says that they bond when nesting together, but it is superficial. She does not feel remorse for killing vampires, and doubts that anyone else does, either. The one exception is with their makers. She plays off her own maker, saying that he released her, it hurt, she is over it. The shrink doesn’t believe her; I don’t either.

Eric is arrested and brought to the camp. He is dumped a large, white cylindrical room with three other vampires. They each take their places on red Xs marked on the ground. Three balls drop from the ceiling; the last vampire to grab one is shot by guards. Another round, another dead vampire. Down to two, cubbies open in the walls and reveal guns, leaving the last two vampires to to duel. Eric wins, and for that, he is put into general population.

Sarah is clearly pregnant - she is pushing Burrell to get married. Burrell doesn’t want to talk; he has to get down to the camp, where Willa is being transported. Sarah, decked out in black lingerie under her coat, feels unwanted. She goes to Jason’s house to seduce him. “I truly believe God wants me to fuck you” is the line that gets them in bed, fucking like mad. They are both passed out when insistent knocking draws Jason to the door. Jessica is there, desperate for an invite in. She is high on fairy blood, horny and manic, questioning God and Bill and her entire belief system. Sarah wakes and when she discovers that Jason has been screwing a vampire, a catfight ensues. Well, nearly ensues. Sarah banishes Jess from the house (not sure how she did that exactly - maybe Jason signed the place over to the Fellowship?) and once outside, the LAVTF take her into custody. She is tossed into general population at the vamp camp, and Tara becomes very protective over her. Tara is surprised to see guards bring Willa in, but she doesn’t go into gen pop; she is a “VIP” and gets her own solitary cell. Her guard makes a not-so-subtle offer of privileges in exchange for sexual favors. Willa threatens to sic daddy on him; the guard reminds her that she is there by order of her daddy.

Sarah, meanwhile, has had the cobwebs fucked out of her brain, pulls herself together, and drags Burrell to one of the camp’s viewing chambers. Eric is brought in with a smug smile, until he finds out that Burrell interred Willa in the camp. Eric’s plan backfired. A cubby opens and Eric retrieves the stake within. Another door opens, and Pam walks in, a stake in her hand. “Show me how little your maker means to you,” the shrink goads. Pam and Eric just stare at each other intently, tense and scared.

Sookie needs Lafayette’s help to channel her parents on the other side. She wants to hear their side of the story. In flashback-vision, we see Warlow go to the Stackhouses with his fairy contract, promising Sookie to him when she comes of age. Corbett is adamantly against this “unholy” union, even though Warlow promises Sookie will be loved, well cared for, and live forever as vampire royalty. Corbett and Michelle kick him out, but he promises to return. Corbett decides to put an end to this and promises his wife that “she won’t feel a thing.” He drugged her on Nyquil and puts her in the trunk of the car. Michelle screams the whole time, but has no choice but to join her husband as he drives off. This is a revelation to Sookie. “All this time I thought you loved me.” Corbett possesses Lafayette so that he can speak directly with his daughter, and insists he did it to save her. “Corbett” grabs Sookie and stuffs her in the trunk of Lafayette’s car, then drives them out to a lake. Sookie fights the whole time, but “Corbett” gets the upper hand and proceeds to drown her.

Also: Andy discovers his girls, but one is still alive. He takes her back to the precinct and uses some (unrefrigerated) V from the evidence locker to heal her. Andy has vowed revenge, but Holly talks him down... for now. Sam and Nicole are still on the run from the werewolves, but Alcide’s dad spots them across the street from the sleazy motel he is crashing at. Jason goes to join the LAVTF. Terry is so wracked with guilt over killing Patrick that he seeks the help of another Marine buddy, Justin, to do what he didn’t have the nerve to do: kill him. Justin says he will do it. There is a distinct lack of emotion with both Terry and Justin that is fascinating.

Dig It or Bury It?

Wow. I am impressed. This was a genuinely good episode, the first in a very long time. There was so much good content that the annoying content (the werewolves) was easy to forget. The vampire storyline is top-notch. The cheese-factor has been minimized - even the BC flashbacks that seemed reminiscent of Land of the Lost didn’t bug me. For the first time in a long time, all the characters’ storylines intersect. They actually feel like they are living in the same universe. 

Prophecies?

Pam is hurt that Eric made another vampire. The governor is determined to “fix” Willa, while Willa is offended that he is playing god. 

Falling Skies Episode 307
“The Pickett Line”
Written By: Heather V. Regnier & Jordan Rosenberg
Directed By: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Original Airdate: 14 July 2013

In This Episode...

The Masons head off in search of Anne. They are supposed to meet up with the new rebel leader but he shows up, badly injured, and can only announce that the aliens are after the Masons before he dies. The Masons mount up and get the hell out of there. They don’t get very far when they are ambushed by a half-dozen masked bandits. They take the Masons’ horses and supplies at gunpoint. Tom isn’t exactly looking for revenge, but he wants his stuff back, so he and the boys stalk the bandits and take them by surprise on their farm. There are two men, Dwayne, the leader, and Gil his brother, and Dwayne’s three teenaged kids. All of the bandits are subdued without violence except for Gil, whom Hal attacks. They battle with a huge knife between them. Max shoots Gil to save his brother.

The shot isn’t fatal, but it could be. Ben and one of the kids take Gil upstairs to administer first aid, while Tom, Hal, and Matt take the rest of the clan into the basement and tie them up. The Pickett family have owned this farm for generations. All have been born in this very house. When the invasion happened, they hunkered down at home. It was far enough from cities that the aliens never found them. Dwayne’s wife was killed when they took in some hungry refugees for a meal. The people they took in tried to rob the Picketts; Dwayne’s wife died during the altercation. They turned to banditry when supplies grew scarce.

Gil is not going to make it. Against Hal’s advice, Tom lets him go upstairs to say goodbye to his brother. But Dwayne has a gun stashed beneath the bed, so the Picketts gain the upper hand. Dwayne forces the Masons into the basement and makes them line up, facing the wall, so that he and his kids can execute them. The kids don’t want this, though only Dwayne’s daughter has the guts to say anything (or cry over it). Tom tries to talk Dwayne down, and insists if he is going to be shot, Dwayne needs to look him in the eyes. The daughter grabs her dad’s arm, which distracts him enough for Tom to take the gun and the Masons once again have the upper hand. The Masons take only what belongs to them and leave. On the road, they see two mega-mechs and a half-dozen skitters heading towards the Pickett farm. Tom can’t be “that guy” so he sends his sons ahead to Mechanicsburg, the next step in their search for Anne. Tom is going to go back to help the Picketts. Unfortunately, when he arrives, he discovers the Picketts have left. But the skitters and mega-mechs have just arrive.

Back at camp, Cochise shows up, carrying the president in his arms. They survived the crash because Cochise was able to absorb much of the impact, but the president is still in bad shape. But the incident has changed the president’s views on the Volm, and he wants the plans for the massive Volm weapon to continue, unhindered. Marina disagrees and thinks the Volm have ulterior motives.

Hmmm... what else... oh yeah - Lourdes is the mole. After changing the president’s IV bag, she slips into a stairway and heads one flight down, to an area that must be storage. She measures her footsteps carefully, adjusts the gurney in the room accordingly, lies down, pulls out one of the Volm mega-guns, points up, and pulls the trigger. The president is blown up immediately. Later she goes to pray in a makeshift temple at the dirt mall, and we see little alien bugs crawling over her face.

Pope is having a bad day. Unbeknownst to him, the government is towing his trailer, his home, and his bar. Weaver tells him it is just to fit in more refugees, but Pope feels like his rights are being trampled on - and they are. Pope has his people participate in a work slow-down, and Weaver arrests him for civil disobedience. But after the whole “president gets blown up” incident, Weaver lets him out and whispers knowingly that there might come a time, soon, when his “civil disobedience” is going to be needed. Pope and Weaver have a kind of unspoken truce. Clearly, Weaver suspects Marina is the mole because, with the president out of the way and Tom having resigned from his position, Marina is now the leader of the country - or at least Charleston.

Dig It or Bury It?

This was the first episode in which I didn’t miss the aliens. It was compelling, and we finally know who the mole is. I was glad that they didn’t leave that to the last episode of the season; I think it is more interesting because we know. Now I want to know what Lourdes’ motivation is. Was she simply infected? Is there something deeper going on? Maybe the aliens have figured out how to reverse the humans-into-aliens process and she is an alien in human skin.

I also found the social implications interesting, namely the way Tom handled the bandits. I can’t help but compare some aspects of Falling Skies with The Walking Dead, the other post-apocalyptic TV show on air. Where Rick - and many of the other characters - lost their humanity rather quickly, Tom seems to be hanging on to his, but in a way that is more realistic to their current situation.

Alien Nation

As Cochise explains, the reason the weapon they are building needs to be so powerful is to get through the grid that the skitters are building around the planet. The grid is radioactive, so within three months of being built, the planet will be unable to sustain organic life. Cochise worries that if they don’t break through the grid, the rays could be stuck in this atmosphere and speed up the radioactive annihilation of the the planet.

Prophecies?

The grid is up, and the clock is ticking. Apparently the most “shocking revelation” is still to come.

If you're a die-hard 'Evil Dead' fan, then you no doubt have already seen the new 2013 remake/sort-of sequel that hit theaters earlier this year. But if for some reason, you've been holding out, perhaps this sample of the movie can persuade you to give it a fair chance. In honor of the Blu-Ray/DVD release tomorrow, we now present to you the entire opening 10 minutes of 'Evil Dead!' Based on Sam Raimi's 1981 cult classic, five kids head to a remote cabin in the woods to stage a drug intervention of their friend Mia. While there, they find the Necronomicon (aka the Book Of The Dead) and inadvertently summon up evil possessing demons. Now they're battling for their souls! Fede Alvarez directs the update with Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez and Lou Taylor Pucci starring. You can read Scott Weinberg's review right here on FEARnet. Enjoy!  

On the official The Walking Dead Facebook page, AMC has debuted the first new walker for season four:

Somehow, it is a little anti-climactic. I mean, a zombie is a zombie, and this one doesn't have any stand-out traits like Little Girl Zombie, or Bicycle Zombie or Bloated Well Zombie. This guy could just be Background Zombie #4. It's a nice picture though.

The Walking Dead returns to AMC for season four this October.