Because of the hiatus of The Walking Dead, I have found myself losing the eagerness to get back to watching the show, not that I'm not looking forward to its return but there is a loss in that adrenaline fueled rush to watch week by week for me presently.
So in order to stimulate my brain, I wanted to compare why I think TWD has not been as successful or "good" as Breaking Bad.
#1. Season/story structure:
Because of the short first season and the second season being broken up into two halves, I feel The Walking Dead has been structured in a more predictable and less engrossing fashion as Breaking Bad, whose seasons run for 13 straight weeks. Because we get these 6/7 episode clusters, I don't feel that the stories can become too complex and layered like in Breaking Bad. The other problem is that when we have one "bad" or slow episode, it leaves a bigger impression on the show overall.
#2. Slow pace vs. Slow Pacing
While Breaking Bad takes its time in its storytelling, it usually did so because you were not expected to know what was going to happen next. With The Walking Dead this season, we knew eventually Sophia was going to be found dead or alive, we knew the Walkers in the barn would spark a huge conflict, and yet we waited week after week (for 7 weeks) to reach the conclusion. I was unaware there was going to be a hiatus in the first place, so it never occurred to me that episode 7 would serve as the ending of the mini-arc at the farm, so I waited through episodes 3,4,5, and 6 fully expecting the story to move on.
#3. The Main Character
I understand that characters do not always act in the smartest or most logical way, but Rick was not a fun character to watch in the first half of the season. I feel it was a combination of the writing not being 100% and the pacing of the story. (because forcing the character to remain stationary for 6 episodes in one location doesn't allow for much character development and Rick is a very straightforward character to begin with) With Walt, even in the worst of moments and writing he has always remained a complicated character and changes from season to season.
I still like The Walking Dead as a show, and there are other problems with the show besides what I've listed, but I hope the writers can tell a more engaging and complex story that what they have in 13 episodes so far. The setting is brimming with potential, and as I have no knowledge of the comics outside of the fact that they are popular, I would assume lots of comic derived stories could make for good television.
Or to put it another way, it will become like 24. Where the same things keep happening over and over again without any character really growing or changing.