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"Warning: This article contains spoilers that some readers may prefer to avoid. You&amp;#039;d never describe The Walking Dead as a cosy family show, but fourth season premiere &amp;#039;30 Days Without An Accident&amp;#039; is about as close as the white-knuckle, visceral zombie drama is ever likely to get... Quite some time has now passed since the outbreak, with Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and company forming a society of sorts - almost a makeshift family - within the walls of the packed-to-the-rafters prison. The family analogy stretches as far as having Hershel (Scott Wilson) occupy the role of wise, kindly Grandpa, and while I&amp;#039;ve never previously got on board with the Rick / Michonne (Danai Gurira) shippers, you get the feeling that The Walking Dead&amp;#039;s writers are responding to fan&amp;#039;s desires by casting her as a surrogate mother for Carl (Chandler Riggs).  &amp;#039;30 Days Without An Accident&amp;#039; introduces us to a bevy of new characters - most a little bland at this early stage, though The Wire&amp;#039;s Lawrence Gilliard Jr immediately stands out as charming army medic Bob Stookie. Love is also in the air at the prison, with many of these newbies hooking up with old favourites. Daryl (Norman Reedus) is scowling and snarling to the best of his ability (&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s like a damn romance novel!&amp;quot;) but even he&amp;#039;s not spared the feel-goods, with the perennial outsider cast as camp hero in a rather sweet scene...  How often can you describe any aspect of The Walking Dead as sweet? When even Michonne is cracking a smile, you know things are looking up - and you also know that, at any moment, it&amp;#039;s all going to go terribly wrong.  &amp;#039;30 Days Without An Accident&amp;#039; takes a little while to establish the new set-up and fresh faces - and some of the newcomers, particularly Beth&amp;#039;s bland new boyfriend, might as well be wearing red shirts - but it all pays off in a phenomenal action sequence, with a band of survivors besieged by plummeting walkers... The Walking Dead continues to excel at imaginative brutality - there&amp;#039;s enough here to test even the strongest of stomachs - and while, in the aftermath, I was prepared to roll my eyes as the dull Beth (Emily Kinney) spiralled into misery yet again, her detached reaction to Zack&amp;#039;s death (&amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t cry anymore&amp;quot;) actually proved to be rather fascinating. &amp;#039;30 Days&amp;#039; isn&amp;#039;t perfect, though. It&amp;#039;s biggest crime is wasting Rick on a less-than-compelling runaround with a decrepit madwoman - though Andrew Lincoln remains phenomenal, even when not gifted with the strongest material, and lends some emotional heft to the subplot&amp;#039;s dark climax.  But both the walker siege and Rick&amp;#039;s meandering are just foreplay for what could potentially be the biggest narrative shift in Walking Dead history, as Walter-the-Softy lookalike Patrick (Vincent Martella) undergoes a bite-free transformation... Right now, I&amp;#039;m not sure how I feel about this twist - on one level, it ups the peril, since anyone can transform into a walker at any time. But it also makes the zombie threat feel a little fuzzy - if survivors are dropping dead left, right and centre, then there&amp;#039;s a danger of overkill and watering down the tension. No pun intended. &amp;#039;30 Days Without an Accident&amp;#039; is not a mind-blowing premiere - Scott Gimple&amp;#039;s first outing as showrunner is solid, rather than spectacular. But it does have a number of memorable moments - the explosive walker siege chief among them - and ends on a dramatic high point. Unlike its many ravenous walkers, The Walking Dead&amp;#039;s season four opener never hugely stumbles.  WATCHING DEAD\u2026  - The Walking Dead is taking a leaf out of Homeland&amp;#039;s book and making us wait, Brody-style, for the return of the Governor. But is David Morrissey&amp;#039;s one-eyed menace heading for a permanent exit? - Glenn (Steven Yeun) used to be one of The Walking Dead&amp;#039;s best characters, but, as much as we love Lauren Cohan, his romance with Maggie has turned him into a right boring sap.  - Tyreese remains underused this week - Chad L Coleman is terrific, so let&amp;#039;s hope that he&amp;#039;s given the major screen-time that his prominence on season four&amp;#039;s teaser poster seemed to suggest was coming\u2026 - Remember how Carl was once a budding young sociopath? The presence of other kids at the prison seems to have done him so good - he reminded me of a little Rick, assuming a leadership role over the young &amp;#039;uns... What did you think of The Walking Dead&amp;#039;s fourth season premiere? Share your thoughts below! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/the-walking-dead/news/a523361/the-walking-dead-season-4-premiere-recap-the-calm-before-the-storm/>