Walking Dead: Self Help

"Self Help" is the fifth episode of season five of the critically acclaimed survival horror television series The Walking Dead and the fifty-sixth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Ernest Dickerson with a script written by Heather Bellson and Seth Hoffman. The episode first aired on AMC on Sunday, November 9th, 2014 at 9:00 pm.

Notes & Trivia

 * The Walking Dead was created by writer/executive producer Robert Kirkman and developed for TV by Frank Darabont.


 * "WD: Self Help", "TWD: Self Help", "Walking Dead: Self-Help", and "The Walking Dead: Self Help" all redirect to this page.


 * This episode is rated TV-MA. It contains strong language and acts of extreme violence.


 * This episode had a viewership of 13.50 million people upon its initial broadcast in the United States, which is down by .03 from the previous episode, "Slabtown".


 * This episode is included on the Walking Dead: The Complete Fifth Season DVD and Blu-ray collections. The DVD was produced by Anchor Bay Entertainment and released in Region 1 format on August 25th, 2015.


 * Co-executive producer Denise M. Huth is credited as Denise Huth in this episode.


 * Director Ernest R. Dickerson is credited as Ernest Dickerson in this episode.


 * This is the tenth episode of The Walking Dead directed by Ernest R. Dickerson. It is his first episode from Walking Dead/Season 5|season five]]. He previously directed "Alone". His next episode is "Coda".


 * This is the first episode of The Walking Dead written or co-written by Heather Bellson. It is the first of two episodes she writes in season five. It is her only episode from season 5A. Her next episode is "Them".


 * This is the fourth episode of the series written or co-written by Seth Hoffman. It is his first episode from season five of the show. He previously wrote "Us" from season four. His next episode is "Crossed".


 * The flashback scene in this episode takes place in Houston, Texas. This is the first episode of the series to show a location other than Georgia.

Allusions

 * Eugene Porter's confession is adapted from The Walking Dead #67, which is part of the "Life Among Them" storyline.


 * The title of this episode is taken from a scene where Abraham Ford and Rosita Espinosa are having sex in the Self Help section of a library.


 * When commenting about his hair, Eugene Porter makes reference to the Biblical story of Samson. Samson was given superhuman strength by God, which he used to kill a lion and slay the entire Philistine army, using nothing but the jawbone of an ass.


 * Maggie Greene makes reference to Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier in this episode. Daryl and Carol are both members of the original Atlanta group, which also consisted of Rick Grimes, Carl Grimes, and Glenn, who are the last remaining survivors of that group.


 * Eugene Porter makes reference to his old employer, T. Brooks Ellis, who he alleges was the director of the Human Genome Project.


 * The book that Eugene Porter is reading is "The Shape Of Things To Come" by H.G. Wells.

Bloopers

 * When the bus flips over, Tara protects Eugene from a walker that tries to get in through the bus' window by stabbing it in the back of the head. The kill is done with CGI effects, so the stab wound is still visible in the kill scene, but after Tara gives Eugene a knife and they both leave the bus to help the rest of the group. The stab wound behind the walker's head isn't there anymore.


 * The scene where Eugene uses the powerful water monitor on top of the fire-truck is unrealistic, as all water pumps inside a fire-truck can only work with a working and running engine.

Appearances

 * This is the earliest chronological appearance of Abraham Ford. It is his 8th actual appearance on the series. He appeared last in "Four Walls and a Roof". He appears next in "Crossed".


 * This is the 8th appearance of Eugene Porter. He appeared last in "Four Walls and a Roof". He appears next in "Crossed".


 * This is the 8th appearance of Rosita Espinosa. She appeared last in "Four Walls and a Roof". She appears next in "Crossed".


 * This is the 46th appearance of Glenn Rhee. He appeared last in "Four Walls and a Roof". He appears next in "Crossed".


 * This is the 38th appearance of Maggie Greene. She appeared last in "Four Walls and a Roof". She appears next in "Crossed".


 * This is the 11th appearance of Tara Chambler. She appeared last in "Four Walls and a Roof". She appears next in "Crossed".


 * This is the 1st and only appearance of Andrea Moore in the role of Ellen. She appears in flashback only in this episode.

Quotes

 * Rosita Espinosa: It's getting a little messy for you.
 * Abraham Ford: Gettin' ready for retirement. Relaxin' the grooming standards. Thinkin' about becomin' a plumber, a sheepherder, or something.
 * Rosita Espinosa: You ain't herding sheep now, Abraham. Eyes on the prize.
 * Abraham Ford: Damn right. That's my girl. Maybe I'll let you shave me down all over, dolphin-smooth.
 * Rosita Espinosa: I'll cut it for you tonight.
 * Abraham Ford: Yes, Ma'am.

....
 * Glenn Rhee: You'd better turn in. You've got a late watch.
 * Abraham Ford: Yeah. I really need some ass first.
 * Glenn Rhee: Didn't need to know that, but cool.

....
 * Glenn Rhee: How long will it be? After you get on that terminal and do what you have to do?
 * Eugene Porter: Depends on a number of factors including density of the infected around target sites worldwide.
 * Glenn Rhee: Wait, target sites? Are you talking about missiles?
 * Eugene Porter: That's classified.
 * Glenn Rhee: I thought we were over that.
 * Eugene Porter: What if we all live?
 * Glenn Rhee: The secrets will matter then?
 * Eugene Porter: They might. Anyway, the speed with which things normalize depend on a number of factors including worldwide weather patterns, which were modeled without the assumption that cars, planes, boats, and trains wouldn't be pouring hydrocarbons into the atmosphere this long. Changed the game quite a bit when it comes to air-transmissible pathogens.

....
 * Glenn Rhee: We need the map. There's gotta be a detour.
 * Abraham Ford: I'm not doing it. We detoured and detoured and detoured from Houston to Georgia. I'm not playing that game anymore.
 * Glenn Rhee: We are not going through this, okay? It isn't gonna happen.
 * Abraham Ford: You got a shit storm behind door A and a storm of shit behind door B. If you're lucky, it's walkers or a shot-up truck. But sooner or later you get cornered. You wind up stayin' and you wind up killin'. We don't go back. We can't go back.

Crew

 * Robert Kirkman - Executive producer
 * David Alpert - Executive producer
 * Greg Nicotero - Executive producer
 * Tom Luse - Executive producer
 * Gale Anne Hurd - Executive producer
 * Scott M. Gimple - Executive producer
 * Bear McCreary - Composer
 * Dan Liu - Editor
 * Grace Walker - Production designer
 * Michael E. Satrazemis - Director of photography
 * Paul Gadd - Producer


 * Jolly Dale - Producer
 * Matthew Negrete - Producer
 * Channing Powell - Producer
 * Corey Reed - Supervising producer
 * Angela Kang - Co-executive producer
 * Seth Hoffman - Co-executive producer
 * Denise Huth - Co-executive producer
 * Heather Bellson - Co-producer
 * Caleb Womble - Co-producer
 * Kenneth Requa - Associate producer