I had to pull out my zombie pillow within the first ten minutes of the season two opener of AMC's 'The Walking Dead' this past Sunday. What, you don't have a zombie pillow? Allow me to explain. It's large enough that when held tightly in your arms at waist level, the top edge is about eye level, where it can easily be shifted into a view-blocking position in times of particular stress. If your zombie pillow can be made to smell like vanilla or warm pie through the miracle of scented oils or room sprays, so much the better.

'The Walking Dead' (9PM ET Sunday, AMC) went through a lot of public controversy over the summer when executive producer Frank Darabont abruptly left and his second-in-command, Glen Mazzara, was appointed showrunner. The good news is, you wouldn't know any of that from watching the show.

In the first two episodes of the drama's second season, scares are efficiently dispensed, the action moves along briskly and there are credible attempts to make the survivors of a zombie apocalypse more than a collection of types.

The bottom line is, if you liked the what the show was dishing out in its first season -- genre storytelling made with admirable restraint and economy, except for those jump-out-of-your-seat scary/gross moments -- you're likely to enjoy what you see in season 2.

As riveting as the Conan/Jay saga may be, network execs have their plates full with other dramas -- and comedies -- as orders for fall 2010 pilots keep coming in.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the newest batch of pickups finds ABC wed to two new dramas. One, 'Cutthroat,' is about an "ambitious single mother who finds running her own international drug cartel is perfect training for navigating the cutthroat world of Beverly Hills high society." Think 'Weeds' for the Prada set.

The alphabet net has also committed to a flashback-based show called 'Generation Y' that focuses on a group of present-day folks who wax sentimental about their senior year in high school.