1. The story grips you from the start

The world has ended, but life goes on. Cop Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) wakes from a coma in the first episode and discovers that a plague has transformed most of the populace into flesh-eating zombies. He makes contact with fellow survivors, learning that his wife and son have miraculously escaped, and then spends eight seasons of wildly entertaining telly looking for a permanent place of safety.

2. The cast are top-notch

Lincoln was still known to many as “Egg from This Life” or “him from Love Actually” before this, but now Rick will forever be his signature role. He does extraordinary work as a good man forced to cross his own moral lines to survive. Aside from Lincoln, the cast was a major stepping stone for future stars like Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) and Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery), with a whole heap of other meaty roles for the hardy band of survivors.

3. The death toll, however, is stratospheric

Here’s the thing that you learn quite quickly: no one is safe. Saintly old geezers and manly heroes are not the only ones who can fall prey to the zombie menace here. Women and children are as likely to die violently on The Walking Dead as anyone else, and disease or tragic accident could get you even if the undead don’t. It keeps the viewers continually on edge because anyone could go. At any time.

4. Daryl is about to be your new favourite character

Not long after Norman Reedus’ crossbow-toting Daryl joined the main cast in season 2, you could see fans wearing T-shirts that read, “If Daryl dies, we riot”. Aggressive, honest and highly lethal, Daryl’s a loyal friend, a deadly enemy and a magnetic screen presence. He may just eclipse Rick himself as the most popular and likeable member of the cast.

5. Wait, no, Michonne is going to be your favourite

OK, wait, it’s a toss-up. Michonne first appears armed with a samurai sword, awesomely leading two armless zombies around on chains, and soon proves this isn’t just for show with exploits demonstrating how tough, smart and strong she is. It also helps that she’s played by the great Danai Gurira (Black Panther’s Okoye) with emotional delicacy and huge helpings of attitude.

6. It’s terrifying

Never mind that it’s inherently scary to think about a world where most people are shuffling corpses and survivors have to struggle amid the flesh-hungry hordes. This is also proper, horror-movie scary, with brilliantly conceived shocks, slow-building tension and grotesque special effects. Best to cover the eyes of any sensitive pets.

7. It has the best bad guys

If there’s a moral to the story of The Walking Dead, it’s that the greatest threats come from the living humans and not the monsters. The series has had a succession of memorable, dangerous antagonists who range from well-meaning to completely psychotic. Look out in particular for David Morrissey’s Governor and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s terrifying Negan (pictured above).

8. Surprises are guaranteed

The show is based on a still-running series of (brilliant) comic books by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, but it doesn’t slavishly follow their story. Some current comic-book characters are long dead on TV, and vice versa, and some appear only in one medium. The show takes, at most, inspiration from plot points in the books, so even your smug comic-book-geek mate can’t spoil what’s coming. As long as you take advantage of this Box Set opportunity and watch all eight seasons now.

Find The Walking Dead seasons 1-8 in On Demand > Box Sets, or buy now on the Virgin Media Store in On Demand > Movies > Virgin Media Store

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