The Stand

[PatsFan2003]

Man...i do. movie tech advancements could help this movie out a lot. Plus people are into series now. So they can slow burn this like the book was. I thought the book was great.

That would great but King really gets into the grizzly details that I dont know if a series can reproduce. Maybe after shows like Game of Thrones or the Boys to name 2 its possible. We'll see.

 

[Comeds]

The original version is over 40 years old and the updated version is almost 30 years old. And I read the updated version right about the time it was released (‘91? ‘92?). At this point, all I REALLY remember about it was that I LOVED it (even if it was depressing af).

I had forgotten that when he added to cut parts back in he updated the time period. A few references really threw me off.

Best book SK ever wrote.

I really like it, it's probably, my favorite too. However I still read his stuff now and re-read It and The Stand this summer (covid boredom) and he's a much much better writer now. I really like the plots of his earlier stuff, but the writing was clunky at times.

If they do a slow burn, the entire first episode needs to be nothing but a study of how the virus escaped the lab then was spread by the fleeing security guard. Throw in some small intros of Fanny, Larry and Nick, and the foundation will be set.

the first 100 pages of the book were hard to get through, but they absolutely gave the reader the needed foundation.

Lol, that may be my favorite part. I love the virus escaping, attempts to contain it, and society falling apart.

King wrote a new ending for the new miniseries too, though its thought to be a new epilogue not a complete new ending.,

 

[Comeds]

Another part that made me laugh was there were 4 characters going for a long walking journey. They kept mentioning how they would slow down so one could keep up because he was so old. Then they give his age - 57!

Lol, big difference between 57 in 1975 and 57 now. Plus he was probably in his 30s when he wrote it so 57 probably did seem ancient.

 

[calsnowskier]

Another part that made me laugh was there were 4 characters going for a long walking journey. They kept mentioning how they would slow down so one could keep up because he was so old. Then they give his age - 57!

Lol, big difference between 57 in 1975 and 57 now. Plus he was probably in his 30s when he wrote it so 57 probably did seem ancient.

What are you talking about? 57 year olds are on first name basis’ with all the morticians in town...

 

[BusSport]

Trailer:

 

[calsnowskier]

They flashed it so fast I had to rewind about 7 times to catch it...

debuts 12/17...

This may be a trigger for me to re-up my cbs subscription for a month or 2.

 

[nynasty]

Episode 1 "The End" out yesterday.

Had high hopes, but wasn't overly impressed with the start. Too much time jumping back and forth, IMO.

 

[Clayton]

I had no idea they were doing this again and its claim to fame is doing it out of order? Yikes.

 

[PatsFan2003]

If they do a slow burn, the entire first episode needs to be nothing but a study of how the virus escaped the lab then was spread by the fleeing security guard. Throw in some small intros of Fanny, Larry and Nick, and the foundation will be set.

the first 100 pages of the book were hard to get through, but they absolutely gave the reader the needed foundation.

That was great. King wrote the details in his usual gruesome fashion.

 

[calsnowskier]

I have been itching to reup CBS just for a month or so to watch the whole disco season (I think that 8s almost done, isn’t it?). Maybe I should wait for this to finish as well...

 

[calsnowskier]

So I re-upped cbs and got caught up on this. I think they are at ep 4 or 5.

Not a fan of the casting.

The new Fanny doesn’t hold a candle to Molly Ringwald.

New Harold and new Flagg are good, but the old ones were good too.

Giacomo as Nina, while not attractive and annoying, hit the part better than Heard. However, Giacomo may have overplayed her while Heard is doing a more “believable” rendition. I am interested to see how the character develops...

Woopie couldnt hold Ruby Dee’s jock strap. Sorry, but Woopie just doesn’t fit.

Rob Lowe was a much better Nick than this nobody.

While Sinise was a GREAT Stu, Marsden isn’t bad.

I typically like Henke when I see him, but Faggerbakke was the perfect Tom Cullen. Laws yes. M.O.O.N. That spells “perfect”.

And no trashy? Seriously?

 

[returnofjakedog]

So I re-upped cbs and got caught up on this. I think they are at ep 4 or 5.

Not a fan of the casting.

The new Fanny doesn’t hold a candle to Molly Ringwald.

New Harold and new Flagg are good, but the old ones were good too.

Giacomo as Nina, while not attractive and annoying, hit the part better than Heard. However, Giacomo may have overplayed her while Heard is doing a more “believable” rendition. I am interested to see how the character develops...

Woopie couldnt hold Ruby Dee’s jock strap. Sorry, but Woopie just doesn’t fit.

Rob Lowe was a much better Nick than this nobody.

While Sinise was a GREAT Stu, Marsden isn’t bad.

I typically like Henke when I see him, but Faggerbakke was the perfect Tom Cullen. Laws yes. M.O.O.N. That spells “perfect”.

And no trashy? Seriously?

It seems fairly mediocre. But the original miniseries wasn't a masterpiece either. I mean, the first half of the original was excellent but the second half was just bad (in typical Stephen King miniseries fashion).

The biggest failure to me is the jumping back and forth in the timelines. I think it was to try to level out the story to account for the previously mentioned weaker 2nd half. I am watching it with my bro-in-law who is completely unfamiliar with the story in book or other series form, and he is having trouble following what is happening.

As far as the casting, I generally agree with you with a couple of exceptions.

The biggest miscast was Whoppie imo. She never comes off as physically fragile as the role is supposed to require.

The others are generally good. The only big problem I have is with the Lloyd and Julie characters. Lloyd is supposed to be dangerously crazy, and Julie is kinda broken and violent but here they play them off as a couple of fucking clowns. That really sucked. I don't blame the actors though, but instead script and direction.

The two castings I differ from you on:
I actually like the new Fanny (Odessa Young) better than Molly R., who I have always found to be a poor at best actress.

I also never liked the Rob Lowe casting as I could never buy him in the role of an outcast. I mean, it's '90s Rob friggin Lowe! Because of that I think the new guy is playing it better because of that.

There is a reason it has dropped to a 5.3 on imdb and I can't really disagree with that. It's a sadly missed opportunity..........but still better than that Dark Tower movie bullshit!

 

[calsnowskier]

It seems fairly mediocre. But the original miniseries wasn't a masterpiece either. I mean, the first half of the original was excellent but the second half was just bad (in typical Stephen King miniseries fashion).

The biggest failure to me is the jumping back and forth in the timelines. I think it was to try to level out the story to account for the previously mentioned weaker 2nd half. I am watching it with my bro-in-law who is completely unfamiliar with the story in book or other series form, and he is having trouble following what is happening.

As far as the casting, I generally agree with you with a couple of exceptions.

The biggest miscast was Whoppie imo. She never comes off as physically fragile as the role is supposed to require.

The others are generally good. The only big problem I have is with the Lloyd and Julie characters. Lloyd is supposed to be dangerously crazy, and Julie is kinda broken and violent but here they play them off as a couple of fucking clowns. That really sucked. I don't blame the actors though, but instead script and direction.

The two castings I differ from you on:
I actually like the new Fanny (Odessa Young) better than Molly R., who I have always found to be a poor at best actress.

I also never liked the Rob Lowe casting as I could never buy him in the role of an outcast. I mean, it's '90s Rob friggin Lowe! Because of that I think the new guy is playing it better because of that.

There is a reason it has dropped to a 5.3 on imdb and I can't really disagree with that. It's a sadly missed opportunity..........but still better than that Dark Tower movie bullshit!

I totally forgot about Lloyd. I thought Ferrer did a GREAT job with him in the original. He was a bad ass, but he was actually a thinker. I got the sense that he knew Flagg was no good, but that he was loyal to him because he saved his life. The new kid, like you said, is just a freaking clown. Julie is OK. She seems like a spoiled entitled millennial.

 

[returnofjakedog]

I totally forgot about Lloyd. I thought Ferrer did a GREAT job with him in the original. He was a bad ass, but he was actually a thinker. I got the sense that he knew Flagg was no good, but that he was loyal to him because he saved his life. The new kid, like you said, is just a freaking clown. Julie is OK. She seems like a spoiled entitled millennial.

Tonight's episode was probably the best of the series so far. Not coincidentally it was also the first episode that didn't have tons of timeline jumping.

Totally agree that Miguel Ferrer was great as Lloyd in the original series. At least they toned down Lloyd and Julia in this episode but the cartoony Caligula vibe of Vegas, and the portrayal of these 2 characters are a couple of the worst aspects of the series.

Not sure on the Trashman character though.

 

[nynasty]

Just not enough character development to actually care about any of these people. The mindless jumping back and forth in time with no explanation isn't helping.

Maybe someone someday will get this right, but this ain't it.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Just not enough character development to actually care about any of these people. The mindless jumping back and forth in time with no explanation isn't helping.

Maybe someone someday will get this right, but this ain't it.

Its hard for me to comment on character development since I've read the book, and seen the 90s series both twice. Already knowing all the characters so well kinda makes it tough the evaluate.

The timeline jumping basically stopped a couple of episode ago, which unto itself was a bit confusing since they didn't really connect the timelines with the finish of the trip and the arrival in Colorado. Also just weird that they use it so much in the first 5-6 episodes, and then just stop.

Not sure what it would take to get it right. It appears even the 8 to 10 hour series isn't enough to cover the entire story. Maybe a multiseason series? Regardless, no chance of that for at least a decade until another reboot can be considered.

 

[calsnowskier]

In the books, Nick was clearly a main character. Probably THE main character up until his death.

In the original miniseries, they cast a BIG name in the role to help convey that he was a major character.

In this telling, they basically just threw in the towel and made him a near background character.

Maybe deciding to pass over Nick was the best decision from a production POV. But it just feels like a cop out during first viewing of the show.

 

[nynasty]

In the books, Nick was clearly a main character. Probably THE main character up until his death.

In the original miniseries, they cast a BIG name in the role to help convey that he was a major character.

In this telling, they basically just threw in the towel and made him a near background character.

Maybe deciding to pass over Nick was the best decision from a production POV. But it just feels like a cop out during first viewing of the show.

The friendship between Nick and Tom was also a big part of the book, and it's been pretty much an afterthought in this series.

 

[returnofjakedog]

In the books, Nick was clearly a main character. Probably THE main character up until his death.

In the original miniseries, they cast a BIG name in the role to help convey that he was a major character.

In this telling, they basically just threw in the towel and made him a near background character.

Maybe deciding to pass over Nick was the best decision from a production POV. But it just feels like a cop out during first viewing of the show.

The friendship between Nick and Tom was also a big part of the book, and it's been pretty much an afterthought in this series.

Good points.
So, in my mind at least, Rob Lowe was a far too popular and well-kept "pretty boy" for the role (at least give him an unkempt wig and tell him not to flash the dimple smile all of the time). The new series lacks focus and character development for the 2 (particularly in regards to Nick imo).
I always thought of Stu as the "main character" but the focus shifts a lot so I don't know that there truely is a "main".

So what have we learned from a 1200-1400 page tome, and 2 failed mini series? What can be done in the next reboot 10 to 15 years from now to actually do the story justice?

 

[calsnowskier]

Good points.
So, in my mind at least, Rob Lowe was a far too popular and well-kept "pretty boy" for the role (at least give him an unkempt wig and tell him not to flash the dimple smile all of the time). The new series lacks focus and character development for the 2 (particularly in regards to Nick imo).
I always thought of Stu as the "main character" but the focus shifts a lot so I don't know that there truely is a "main".

So what have we learned from a 1200-1400 page tome, and 2 failed mini series? What can be done in the next reboot 10 to 15 years from now to actually do the story justice?

Don’t wait until episode 7 to introduce Trashy?