Creating a spinoff to The Walking Dead is, inherently, a bad idea. And not only because a second show about average civilians surviving in a zombie apocalypse felt a bit redundant. Walking Dead’s refusal to follow traditional rules of television is what resonated with audiences, creating a dangerous world where truly anything might happen. “Anything” as in horrifying, life-altering events, even to major characters.

Spinoffs are from the standard rulebook of television execs. If a show is popular, just give the audience another one exactly like it. People are responding to Andy Griffith’s wacky pal Gomer? Then it’s time for more family-friendly fun with Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C.! It’s crassly commercial, but understandable from a network’s point of view. Applying that thinking to a series that, at one time, was genuinely innovative just felt cheap.

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Someone Was Paid Good Money for that Title

Naming the spinoff Fear The Walking Dead didn’t help matters. It’s a title so bland, so unimaginative, it earned nearly a week’s worth of social media ridicule. And what's the purpose of the series? Early promotion played up the idea of the series as a prequel, beginning on the day the dead first arose. Set on the other side of the country, however, with characters we've never met before.

Even with a weak title and no obvious creative justification for its existence, many fans were hopeful. The opening episodes of Fear, however, didn’t deliver. For one, the show proved to be uninterested in telling "the true story" behind the dead's rising. And while the main series begins with a strong hook — a desperate father facing the end of the world, separated from his family — the familial dynamics of Fear were far less compelling.

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The Cul-De-Sac of Death 

Establishing the Clarks and Manawas as a dysfunctional blended family in the early stages of accepting one another does, conceivably, offer numerous story possibilities. In practice, it leads to countless scenes of unlikable characters screaming at each other. The true standout character in Season One is Daniel Salazar, a barber hiding his bloody past as a Sombra Negra member. Daniel’s internal conflicts, dramatized wonderfully by actor Rubén Blades, make the suburban concerns of the Clark/Manawa family seem petty in comparison. Victor Strand, a conman who befriends the family late in the season, is also more compelling than any of the leads. Granted, great dramatic potential exists in the character of the drug-addicted teen Nick Clark, but much of it’s squandered.

While the first season did earn mostly positive reviews, critics and fans turned against the show in increasing numbers as the years went on. The first season felt claustrophobic, with much of the action occurring within a cul-de-sac. (Cheap to film, but visually dull.) Seasons Two and Three felt aimless, with the characters wandering from California to Mexico, never building the kind of community that fans grew to love on The Walking Dead.

The Harshest Reboot in History

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Fear’s ratings likely weren’t bed enough that the show was in any danger of cancellation, yet drastic decisions were made to revamp the series for the current season. Much of the Clark and Manawa families are now, well, dead. Continuity with the previous run is maintained though a mere three characters, and only one of them goes back to the pilot. It’s legitimately surprising to see a cast so thoroughly weeded out. Losing Kim Dickens as Madison Clark was especially unexpected, given her status as the show’s previous lead. Dickens is an exceptionally talented actress (any fan of Deadwood can tell you this), even if Fear often gave her weak material.

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Filling the void are several familiar faces from other television shows. Garret Dillahunt, another actor who proved his worth on Deadwood, debuted in the season premiere as the “lonesome and friendly police officer” John Dorie. He’s turned out to be one of the more likable characters in the overall Walking Dead canon, an earnest and compassionate hero that immediately draws in the viewer. Dillahunt’s decision to play John as sincere in an almost childlike way could easily be irritating, but Dillahunt’s skilled enough to pull it off. The midseason finale teases John’s murder, and it’s one of the few Walking Dead death stunts that genuinely moved the audience.

More Talented-Yet-Affordable Stars

Maggie Grace is a face many fans will remember from Lost, even if the actress has totally reinvented her look. Her character Althea might initially seem gimmicky, riding through Texas backroads in a heavily armed military vehicle, but it’s the kind of gimmicky Walking Dead does well. Althea’s hook, the idea that she obsessively collects stories of the survivors in the hopes there will be someone to pass them on to the next generation someday, is actually poignant. There’s no shortage of tough chick characters with the “Psychobilly Wedge” haircut in modern fiction, but Althea has enough depth to surpass the rest.

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Younger viewers might not remember Jenna Elfman, but she was one of the biggest television stars of the late 1990s/early 2000s, best known for playing a hippie married to a straight-laced businessman on Dharma & Greg. The charm she exploited as a sitcom star comes through in her character Naomi... or maybe it’s June. Or Laura. One of the better mystery characters in the franchise, the chemistry between Elfman and Dillahunt is bittersweet and memorable.

More recent episodes have introduced veteran comedians Daryl Mitchell and Mo Collins as truckers/grifters, caught up in a shadowy scheme. The characters aren’t purely comedic relief, but they do add a light element missing from the franchise in the past. If nothing else, they’re more likeable (there’s that word again) than the standard player in this world.

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We Can't Forget Morgan

Even with an improved supporting cast, the main draw still turns out to be an old TV standard. This spinoff always did feel just a little too removed from the main series. Was traditional television wisdom correct? The show needed a character the audience recognized. With the opening of Season Four, the producers had a great surprise. Most of the major Walking Dead cast appeared to send off one of their own. Initially touted as a “crossover” story arc, it appears the new lead of Fear is, in fact, Lennie James as Morgan Jones.

Walking Dead hasn’t always done right by Morgan -- frankly, the extent of his mental illness seems to vary based on the needs of the plot. But he’s remained a popular character. Morgan’s history with the franchise goes back to the pilot, and the earliest comics. The fantastic James has the gravitas to pull off most of the bizarre twists his character has taken. Extending his character arc from the original series to the spinoff could’ve been a tactless ratings stunt, but so far Fear doesn’t come across as cheap. As of this season, it feels like a genuine continuation of the main series.

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MORGAN FEAR THE WALKING DEAD

Maintaining What Works

Truthfully, an argument could be made that the new Fear is surpassing the original. Creator Robert Kirkman has been open about establishing concepts in the comics that could “never” be adapted to TV, only to see them adapted in recent years. Perhaps the challenge of bringing the increasingly absurd world of the comic to the screen is fun for the producers.  Unfortunately, it’s led to a show that often feels silly. What began as a character-driven drama that centered on a father reuniting with his family has devolved into something else. Mainly, one ridiculous survival group with its distinctive gimmick waging war against another ridiculous survival group with a distinctive gimmick. The humanity is lost. The weirdness doesn’t feel weird enough to be that entertaining.

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Fear, even though it has no connection to the comics, feels closer to what initially made Walking Dead so compelling. Yes, it drifts off into oddball territory, but doesn’t lose sight of the basic humanity of its characters. The cast feels less ridiculous, and the conflicts less tired. (Pretty remarkable given the episode count of both shows combined.) Whether or not it can maintain this momentum is unknown, possibly even unlikely, to be honest. But so far this season has more than enough reasons for jaded viewers to give it another look.