Viewers that complained the second season of AMC's horror series "The Walking Dead" had languid pacing and aimless narratives are likely eating their words right now, and possibly the show's remaining doubters. Creator Robert Kirkman's promise that season three would have a barnburner approach from the start seems to have been an understatement.

The season's first two episodes, "Seed," and "Sick" have been gore-drenched buffets of zombies, pressure cooker intensity, and intriguing new directions for the show. And can we talk about that amputation scene?

The premiere episode of season three was up more than 50 percent from season two, receiving a rating of 5.8 for adults in the 18-49 demographic. The only broadcast entertainment show even close to that this fall was ABC's "Modern Family" season premiere, which pulled a 5.5 - and that's on network TV. AMC is at a severe disadvantage as it's only available in a fraction of U.S. homes, and had been dropped by DISH Network prior to the third season premiere of "The Walking Dead."

DISH Network has since settled its dispute with AMC, and once again carries the channel and "The Walking Dead." According to CNN, DISH paid Cablevision and AMC $700 million to settle the suit, and also agreed to give up its 20 percent stake in Voom HD.

Kirkman stressed the need for the show to continue to strike its own path while still mixing in healthy doses of elements of the comics.

"There are elements of the comic that will come into play with the missing leg story line we're doing with Hershel but there's also some new areas we're going to explore and some unexpected twists we'll see coming up."