[TV] New version of Stephen King's THE STAND

[gameoverman]

Pass. No interest. The 1994 one was amazingly good and I dont need a new fancy pants version.

I will agree that the '90s version had some great casting, and some fine moments. I have to disagree with it being amazing or even good. It's all about Randall Flagg, they have to hit a home run with that character and the '90s version didn't. He was kind of corny and hokey in that version. The effects didn't help. He needs to be the Heath Ledger Joker and not the Cesar Romero Joker. But then I remember telling a friend "I've waited 15 years for this" when we saw a promo for the minseries on tv. The book I had read, in 1979, had a blurb on the back saying "Soon to be a major motion picture from George Romero"- that was a LIE! So the long wait probably caused me to judge it harshly to a degree.

[Holman]

The only bit of casting I'm not thrilled about is Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abigail. It's the equivalent of casting Morgan Freeman as a "wise magical black man." I don't really have anything against Whoopi, per se, it just lacks imagination.

But Mother Abigail is literally a wise magical black woman. Like, the wisest. And most magical.

[Daehawk]

Ive never read horror books or King. All Ive known are his movies and from most of them Im not a fan. My wife loved his movies though so I ended up seeing them with her. This one we watched together on tv. To me its the best movie of his. Im sure my wife would disagree though I recall her liking it too. She'd maybe pick Pet Cemetery but then again I cant name more than these two and Christine from what I remember seeing. I know ive seen more. Guess they were really bad lol.

[gameoverman]

Ive never read horror books or King. All Ive known are his movies and from most of them Im not a fan. My wife loved his movies though so I ended up seeing them with her. This one we watched together on tv. To me its the best movie of his. Im sure my wife would disagree though I recall her liking it too. She'd maybe pick Pet Cemetery but then again I cant name more than these two and Christine from what I remember seeing. I know ive seen more. Guess they were really bad lol.

The movies and tv shows are hit and miss for the most part. You have winners like Carrie/The Shining/Stand By Me(movies) and Salem's Lot/Storm of the Century/Nightmares & Dreamscapes(tv). Then you also have the lesser efforts. I'd place The Stand somewhere in the middle, not great but not terrible.

I'd say what you miss by not reading the story is the life he puts into those characters. The Stand is one of my favorite novels he wrote in large part because even though it's packed with characters they all stand out as individual people. None of them get lost in the background while the main characters dominate. There's no way even a multi part miniseries can duplicate that. Television productions have gotten much better in recent years, so I have hopes that THIS will be one of those adaptations that turns out to be a winner.

If you're interested in trying to get into his writing, I recommend a short story collection like Night Shift. The short stories are a pretty good sample of what he does. If you can't find even one story in a collection that interests you then with a minimal time investment you'll know his writing just isn't for you.

[em2nought]

The Dead Zone

is my favorite Stephen King movie.

[Jaymann]

The Dead Zone

is my favorite Stephen King movie.

I agree! Especially the part about a populist despot going down like scum.

[Daehawk]

Lets see. These are the ones I remember seeing since I have a list to look at. The rest I can say Im not sure about.

Carrier - was ok . Wife loved that movie.
The Shining - never cared for it really. I was young when I watched it.
Cujo - Liked. Seen multiple times. Wife liked more
Christine - semi liked. Saw as a teen so of course I did
Children of the Corn - liked as a kid and talked about in school. Now probably wouldn't
Firestarter - meh
Silver Bullet - Loved it a lot..wife too. We've seen it a few times...her more than me. Busy and the kid are great in it and the preacher. And hey its Anne of Green Gables girl lol
Maximum Overdrive - really liked because I was a teenage boy lol .And the soundtrack helped.
Stand By Me - loved.....ok this is better than The Stand sue me. Both loved it.
The Running man - fun in theaters but never watched again. Dawson really stood out.
Pet Sematary - No idea why he spelled it that way. I didn't like it but wife loved it. I just wanted to choke all the characters from the annoying kid to the stupid parents.
Graveyard shift - i think I liked it but can really not recall it other than thinking I saw it lolz
Misery - saw parts ..meh...wife loved it. I might if I ever sat to watch it all.
The Lawnmower man - for the time it was barely ok
The Mangler - meh
Thinner - had forgot about this. really liked this movie. And Kari Wuhrer helped
The night flyer - this one creeped me out seriously but I liked it a lot.
The Green Mile - I forgot this was King. This is the BEST of the movies. we both loved it.

And thats all Ive seen afaik.

EDIT: Awww crap thats just films..I forgot TV

Salems Lot - loved it. Scared me to death as a kid. But I watched because it had Hutch from Starsky and Hutch on it
The Tommyknockers - good but cant recall it all
The Langoliers - ok then meh
Under the Dome - I never watched it but my wife enjoyed it and watched it all

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Never watched Shawshank Redemption?

[Daehawk]

No just clips so i know the story . Wife saw it and liked it. At least the ending is good.

[ImLawBoy]

At least the ending is good.

WRONG!

[TheMix]

At least the ending is good.

WRONG!

I would argue that the ending is good if you aren't aware of what it actually should be. I never read the story. And it wasn't until fairly recently that I even discovered that the ending had been changed (probably due to posts here). But once you know what it should be, you can't ever go back. It would definitely have been more powerful an ending if left the way it was written.

[ImLawBoy]

I don't disagree. I just enjoy my contrarian role on this one and like to lean into it.

[TheMix]

[gameoverman]

Some thoughts on your list:

The Shining - The Kubrick movie is nothing like the novel, you'd probably like the novel a lot
Cujo - Very faithful to the novel, but something is missing(for me), or maybe the novel isn't as good as I think it is
Christine - The novel is way better. The movie did nail the car rebuilding itself though, that was awesome to see
Firestarter - This is one of my favorite novels of his, the movie is nowhere near as good. George C Scott as a native American? lol
Maximum Overdrive - Based on 'Trucks' from the Night Shift short story collection, the story is far better
Graveyard shift - Night Shift story, the story is better
The Green Mile - It's very faithful to the story so you'd probably love reading it

About The Dead Zone, it amazes me that not only did King somehow predict Trump's rise to power but even foresaw his signature hat in a way. Stillson's thing was a hard hat, but just the fact it's head wear is eerie.

[em2nought]

Never watched Shawshank Redemption?

No just clips so i know the story . Wife saw it and liked it. At least the ending is good.

What? You must remedy that.

Sometimes I forget that "Stand by Me" and "Shawshank Redemption" are Stephen King because of genre, I guess I have to rank both of those above "Dead Zone" as my favorites but not by much. Funny, I always pictured Obama as Stillson.

[Moat_Man]

Funny, I always pictured Obama as Stillson.

I admit, I had to laugh at that. Probably not for the same reason as you but I still laughed.

[Holman]

Cujo - Very faithful to the novel, but something is missing(for me), or maybe the novel isn't as good as I think it is

Is Cujo the one King says he can't remember writing?

(Because of the drugs, not because it came so easily for him.)

[YellowKing]

I'm not sure on the Cujo question, but go watch MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE to see what Stephen King directing while coked out of his mind looks like.

[ImLawBoy]

Cujo - Very faithful to the novel, but something is missing(for me), or maybe the novel isn't as good as I think it is

Is Cujo the one King says he can't remember writing?

(Because of the drugs, not because it came so easily for him.)

Yes. It's also easily my least favorite King book.

[gameoverman]

I guess because of the drug fueled writing Cujo is kind of shallow. But I enjoyed it a lot because it had a great 'what if' concept. It helps that a close friend of mine back then had a St. Bernard and so I had a good idea of how dangerous it would be if one of those dogs got rabies. The movie is missing that 'what if I was in that situation' element for me. I'm watching people caught in that predicament, I never feel like I'm in there with them.

The Stand WAS a great 'what if' story. Now I feel like what I'm living in is close enough that I don't think it qualifies as a what if anymore. Absent the dreams those characters had, now I know what everyone would do if they were in that situation. I was just thinking, the bad guy sets up shop in Vegas in The Stand. The Raiders are now based in Vegas, coincidence?

[Defiant]

I've never read any King, but from what I've watched:

Excellent: Stand by Me, Dolores Clayborne, Shawshank Redemption

OK: Carrie, Dead Zone (but the TV show was excellent)

Bad: Thinner, Langoliers

It could just be that I don't like his type of horror.

[Smoove_B]

I've never read any King

Go read 11/22/63. Not horror. Really, really good.

[Daehawk]

My wife loved the show.

[gameoverman]

I've never read any King, but from what I've watched:

Excellent: Stand by Me, Dolores Clayborne, Shawshank Redemption

OK: Carrie, Dead Zone (but the TV show was excellent)

Bad: Thinner, Langoliers

It could just be that I don't like his type of horror.

Thinner and Langoliers are a couple of his lesser works. I wouldn't judge his writing on those movies or stories. Of more recent movies in the horror category I think one of the best ones is 1408, with John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson. By 'best' I mean it is creepy and unsettling, so it works as just a horror movie. It's a faithful adaptation of the story and also captures whatever you call the mojo that King puts into his best writing. And it works as an example of his type of horror, since a lot of his common tropes and themes are in that story and movie if you pay attention.

[Smoove_B]

EDIT: updated with new link because apparently showing a trailer is piracy

[JCC]

Your video wouldn't play for me but I found it elsewhere. Whoopi at her current age is pretty inspired casting. Unfortunately, it's on a streaming service I have no interest in ever getting. Oh, and the fact that they will likely stick with SK's horrible, terrible, putrid ending. Still it is a ripping good yarn until then...

[Holman]

Has anyone taken a look at this?

I'm tempted to go for a free-week-then-cancel just to watch the first episode, but if it's good then I should wait until I can binge the whole thing.

Gotta say, though, the voice-overs and visuals of the trailers I've seen leave me unimpressed.

[hepcat]

It’s not terribly good. At least in my opinion. However, it did make me realize that Heather Graham is still a goddess at 50.

[Holman]

I'll probably do the free-trial trick just to watch the first two or three episodes. The best part of THE STAND is the onset of the virus and the collapse of social order. I lose interest after that, although Randall Flagg and the Trashcan Man are still fun.

[hepcat]

They don’t really spend much time covering the fall of civilization though. At least not in the first two episodes. They jump ahead to after they build their little community, which I thought was odd.

[Holman]

They don’t really spend much time covering the fall of civilization though. At least not in the first two episodes. They jump ahead to after they build their little community, which I thought was odd.

Wow, that seems like a really bad choice. The spreading virus and its steamrollering effects are Stephen King at his best.

[hepcat]

It’s not all bad. Have I mentioned Heather Graham?

[gameoverman]

I've seen the first two episodes, my thoughts:
They've changed/streamlined quite a bit but that in itself is not a problem like I would have thought it'd be.
The actor playing Harold steals the show so far. It's not Harold as he is in the book but he's a great alternate take on the character.
Lloyd is also good so far, although he hasn't done much. The 'Pokerizer' scene was great, true in spirit to the characters and book if not 100% the same.
Stu is almost creepy in how pleasant he is. I notice he has mentioned military things more than once, that's makes me think we will find out he has some kind of military background.
Larry is given more obvious flaws in this series. That's understandable, since they have a limited amount of time to draw these characters and so need to emphasize the important bits.

Don't like:
The bouncing around in time robs scenes of meaning and/or tension. At one point a certain character meets another one and gives them a gift. That other character examines the gift, which the audience can't see, and has a reaction. Because they are not telling the story in order, that scene has no impact unless you've read the novel. You could argue that they are setting up a payoff, that in a later episode we will see what that gift was and why it means something. The problem is that by the time that happens, if it does, most of the audience will have forgotten the gift giving scene. I bet a lot of people won't realize it's a payoff. Another example is if you see two people together in the past, but future scenes only show one of them. Well now you know that one survives no matter what happens in scenes from the past, and you know that the other character dies or is otherwise removed from the story.

Other scenes I don't like are more personal taste than criticisms. Corn is prominently featured but they don't go anywhere near corn country. I would have picked a more relevant motif if Nebraska was off the table. One fun thing to see, Sunrise Amphitheater has Google street view photos that give almost the exact same view of Boulder as the one in the show. Maybe that's what they based their effects on lol.