Fans of The Walking Dead spin-off TV show Fear the Walking Dead were enthralled and amused this week as some of the principal characters attempted a daring rescue by hot air balloon.
During this season, the characters have been dispersed around some dangerous territory where they have encountered, among other obstacles, sinister scientists, radioactive zombies and killer children. The dispersed group is also in trouble and, in seeking to help each other from different sides of the same mountain, they have destroyed not one, but two airplanes, and this is where the recent hot air balloon came into its own.
Soaring above what can only have been a dreadful, apocalyptic panorama, the heroes gain a moment of respite from the relentless dangers that await them on the surface, proving that hot air balloons rides are breathtaking and restorative whatever the situation.
One of the early iconic images of escape by hot air balloon is, of course, The Wizard of Oz in 1939. The use of hot air balloons was popular in the 1980s in films like Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, yet the hot air balloon has not featured much on TV in recent years, much less in horror shows. Maybe this unique apparition in the Mississippi-based show might mark a return to the small screen for this unusual mode of perambulation?
If you want to experience to delight of a hot air balloon flight for yourself – without the need to negotiate with a zombie hoard – we offer hot air balloon adventures in Bath, Bristol and other areas of the South West.
