‘The Walking Dead’ record-breaking premiere a disappointment for some

Hit television series “The Walking Dead” aired its mid-season premiere episode, “The Suicide King,” on Sunday, breaking several ratings records and trumping its own previous viewer record.

With a record-breaking 12.3 million viewers in the initial broadcast, the episode proved to be the most anticipated of the series.

Coming back from a several-week hiatus, the show picked up again with an increase in viewers, bringing the season’s total viewer average ahead of other popular network shows like “The Big Bang Theory” and “NCIS.”

Though numbers for the premiere were high, some fans were displeased with the episode’s progression.

“I was expecting a little more of a sea- son premiere,” Jessica Strong (freshman, communications media) said. “They took away my favorite character so it wasn’t a good start.”

George Tickerhoof (senior, biology education) said the premiere was too calm.

“I was a little disappointed,” Tickerhoof said. “They advertised it to be better than it was. There wasn’t much action. The first few minutes were action-packed, but the rest of the episode was pretty docile.”

Elijah Herman (freshman, marketing) also agreed that he was disappointed with the premiere.

“I was excited for the premiere, and I found myself let down,” said Herman. “It was pretty uneventful, and the zombie killing was at a minimum.”

While the premiere got some lackluster reviews, it does not seem to have projected negatively on the series itself.

“I know several people who watch it,” Tickerhoof said. “‘The Walking Dead’ is in my top ten favorite shows, and I will continue to watch the third season.”

One episode will also not change Herman’s opinion of the series.

“I have a lot of friends who watch the show,” Herman said. “None of them have said anything about not liking the premiere. I hope to keep with the season as it comes out.”

On Dec. 21, “The Walking Dead” was renewed for a fourth season to the pleasure of die-hard fans. That season will premiere with a new showrunner, Scott Gimple, after current showrunner Glen Mazzara and AMC disagreed about where the story should go in future seasons.