Surviving a zombie apocalypse is complicated business, but watching a drama about a zombie apocalypse shouldn't be.
To get new viewers up to speed and give returning fans some humanoid factoids in preparation for Sunday's season premiere, here's our "Walking Dead" A to Z -- a helpful list of 26 things you need to know about the undead and the people who loathe them.
A is for Andrew Lincoln, the British actor who plays "Walking Dead" Southern sheriff and de facto leader Rick Grimes. When the series began, Rick woke up in a hospital, after having been shot on the job. Unfortunately, while he was in a coma, a zombie apocalypse occurred, and Rick was left by himself to go on a mad hunt for his wife, Lori, and son Carl, all while fighting off the zombies that saw him as lunch. He finally met up with Lori and Carl, who'd been living with a group of fellow survivors at a makeshift camp.
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B is for "Bicycle Girl," a.k.a. Hannah, one of the first zombies we met in season one. Her half corpse was stuck under a bicycle and growling at Rick when he first left the hospital. Now, we're getting the chance to learn more about Hannah, including the events that preceded her zombiedom, in a series of six webisodes at AMCTV.com.
C is for Chris Hardwick, the "Nerdist" podcaster and G4 host who will also host the new, live "Walking Dead" after-show, "Talking Dead." Airing each Sunday night at 11 p.m., "Talking Dead" will find Hardwick and company -- including "Walking Dead" cast members and producers, as well as fans of the show -- recapping and dissecting new episodes. It's like Bravo's "Watch What Happens: Live" post-"Real Housewives" talk show, except that the zombies are less nasty.
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D is for Dale Horvath, the eldest survivor in Rick Grimes' group and the owner of the RV in which the survivors have hung out on many occasions. Dale (played by actor Jeffrey DeMunn) had planned to travel in the RV with his wife when he retired, but she died of cancer first. After the country became zombieland, he met up with sisters Andrea and Amy and they formed a pseudo family unit. Dale is a savvy, kind man, whose thoughtful observations have aided the Atlanta-bound group of survivors on more than one occasion. At the end of season one, he saved Andrea's life, but we learn in the season two premiere that someone, surprisingly, is not happy about that.
E is for Eat, something zombies try to do to the survivors, and something you probably shouldn't do while watching the show.
