Cheers & Jeers: The Walking Dead's Special FX Crew

Andrew Lincoln and Michael Raymond-James | Photo Credits: AMC
Andrew Lincoln and Michael Raymond-James | Photo Credits: AMC

Cheers to The Walking Dead for helping a trio of FX vets find life after the death of their previous series.

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SPOILER ALERT: STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE!

Terriers' Michael Raymond-James made a brief but indelible impression as a seemingly malevolent stranger who ran across Herschel (Scott Wilson) in a bar — and was promptly shot dead by the increasingly hair-trigger-tempered Rick (Andrew Lincoln). Poor Raymond-James can't buy a break; his True Blood character, Rene, got killed off, too.

The AMC horror show's midseason premiere, "Nebraska," employed two other FX alums behind the camera. The script was written by Rescue Me's Evan Reilly, which might explain the touches of dark humor (like a severed arm that fell off the back of a truck carrying Laurie Holden's Andrea). And it was directed by Clark Johnson, who's helmed episodes of several FX series, including The Shield and Lights Out. Maybe it's time The Walking Dead recruits Justified's Timothy Olyphant; even zombies wouldn't stand a chance against Marshal Raylan Givens.

What do you think of last night's Walking Dead?

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