The Walking Dead Season 2 Kicks Off Sunday

Die-hard fans of AMC's The Walking Dead can stop holding their breath waiting for Season 2. Originally scheduled to launch in July, according to MoviesOnline.com , the 90-minute season premiere will launch Sunday, October 16. The series follows a group of survivors in the aftermath of a viral pandemic which has turned the majority of the world's population into flesh-eating zombies. As the protagonists battle hordes of hungry ghouls, they also struggle to hold onto their sense of humanity. Tensions grow in this tightly-knit group, often close to the breaking point, as survivor's guilt, jealousy and revenge constantly threaten to destroy it from within.

British actor Andrew Lincoln plays the series' central character Rick Grimes, a former police officer. Lincoln is no newcomer to high-profile TV dramas, his IMDB profile reveals. American TV audiences remember him best for his portrayal of neurotic English teacher Simon Casey in the widely popular series Teachers and Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins in Moonshot. No stranger to nail-biting action and suspense, he also stars as MI-6's power wielding Section 20 chief Hugh Collinson in the military drama Strikeback airing on Britain's Sky1 channel.

Between seasons, AMC has fed the zombie-fans' insatiable hunger for more by posting brief web-only episodes on its website amctv.com. They do not feature the TV cast. Still, they are as just as gore-intensive and well-executed as the TV series. Fanning the flames still further, they are peppered with behind-the-scenes documentaries and Season 2 teasers.

The Walking Dead Season 2 premiere is "non-stop, edge-of-your-seat, pulse-pounding zombie action and suspense at its best," AOL TV's Maggie Furlong raves after viewing a pre-season screening.

Stunning, graphic visual effects set The Walking Dead apart from a throng of lowbrow efforts in a genre that is beginning to grow tired. It is also the series' well-developed characters, tightly plotted episodes, and titillating sub-plots centered on hope, love and revenge that promise to be developed further in Season 2 have left fans clamoring for more.

Fans are still wondering, for example, about the fate of Morgan Jones (Lennie James) and his son Duane (Adrian Kali Turner), two survivors who rescue Rick in Episode 1. They part ways. Rick embarks on a search for his wife and son, while Morgan decides to stay behind. They agree to meet again in Atlanta, Georgia. However, in Episode 2, it is discovered that Atlanta is overrun by zombies. Rick's attempts to contact him throughout the series remain fruitless. Morgan and Duane's fate remains a mystery.

Rick's best friend and former partner Shane Walsh (Jon Bernthal) strikes up a romantic relationship Rick's wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies), since Shane believes Rick is dead. He becomes a father figure for Rick and Lori's son Carl (Chandler Riggs). Things get complicated when Rick arrives - very much alive - at the survivors' makeshift camp in Episode 3. Feeling betrayed by Shane, Lori nurses a growing rage toward Shane over the next three episodes. Shane, on the other hand, continues to struggle with mixed feelings of guilt and his love for Lori. Rick knows nothing of their brief romance, but the audience cannot help wondering how long it can be kept secret.

Loyal followers of The Walking Dead also speculate whether Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker), a racist, mentally unstable survivalist will return to wreak his revenge the band of survivors. Rick handcuffs him to a pipe on top of a department store to prevent him from murdering one of the survivors in a fit of rage. As a mob of ravenous zombies draws near on the group, he is left behind unintentionally as the others escape at the end of Episode 2. When Rick and his friends return to rescue him, they discover that Merle has already escaped - by cutting off his own hand with a hacksaw.

Fans looking for hints as to how any of these subplots pan out in Season 2 will need to watch the show. Apart from the teaser trailer that is circulating on the Internet, the producers remain tight-lipped. Neither The Walking Dead IMBD page nor the AMC site has posted any episode synopses.