Of course I’ve watched The Walking Dead from the day the series first aired. My always-suspect and rapidly fading geek cred pretty much demanded this — especially after I learned that the show’s title refers to the humans, not the zombies.

But now, as Season 3 of the show kicks in and the true humanity of the survivors fades ever more, I’ve come to realize that I like The Walking Dead’s spinoff/talk show/geekfest/companion reference program nearly as much as the original product.

I’m talking about Talking Dead, the let’s-talk-about-what-just-happened talk show that airs immediately after new episodes of The Walking Dead. And it is filled with awesomeness.

Hosted by Chris Hardwick, who is incredibly quick on his feet and has a frightening Adam’s apple, Talking Dead usually has an actor or writer or two from the show as guests, along with the occasional Geek Hall of Fame member like Will Wheaton or Kevin Smith. And it gets even more meta-frightening: There’s a Talking Talking Dead after-after show that’s online-only. A recent example:

Of course, both the TV and online versions of Talking Dead are fully Twitter and Facebook-integrated, with Hardwick reading out questions and tweets that are submitted as the show goes along. This week, after one of the “regular” show’s main characters got part of his leg hacked off, fans were encouraged to tweet to the #oneleggedhershel hashtag. “I’m stumped,” one fan tweeted.

Talking Dead is funny, freaky, airs the occasional teaser and prominently features a piece of artwork made out of baby doll arms. It often seems to come within an inch of careening completely out of control and naturally, it’s live. Even if you think The Walking Dead is a waste of good film stock, you very well might enjoy Talking Dead.

Previously: A little piece of film confectionary | Hokum home