"11/22/63" Hulu mini-series

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by dirwuf, Mar 15, 2015.

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  1. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    Good to know, thanks!
     
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  2. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    let me know what you think if you watch it! I was very impressed with the quality of this show.
     
  3. goodiesguy

    goodiesguy Confide In Me

    Location:
    New Zealand
    So there's one episode left? I'm sort of bummed, as I've really enjoyed it, I wish there were more show's like this. It reminds me a wee bit of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes (both british shows).
     
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  4. dirwuf

    dirwuf Misplaced Chicagoan Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fairfield, CT
    Loved the book, wasn't crazy about the series, but they really nailed the ending....
     
  5. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    That's true, though I'd say that Life On Mars was a fair bit better, while Ashes To Ashes was pretty horrible.
     
  6. xj32

    xj32 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Racine, WI
    Loved both of those shows. The American Life On Mars was pretty awesome too!
     
  7. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Good to know:righton: IMO the book has one of Stephen King's best endings- normally the weakest part of his books.
     
  8. Heroes was OK in concept, less so in execution.

    And now it's a Bowie thread.
     
  9. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    I thought LoM was excellent both in concept and execution. AtA was like a cheap, campy rehash that trampled all over the interesting characters that were established in LoM. I love Keeley Hawes, but she was really annoying in AtA.
     
  10. jriems

    jriems Audio Ojiisan

    I just got done reading the book for the first time. In the afterward, when King is thanking folks, he says, "My son, Joe Hill, pointed out several consequences of time-travel I hadn't considered. He also thought up a new and better ending. Joe, you rock."

    I guess King still can't write a good ending!

    The book was really good, and the mini-series is just completely different on so many levels, I just don't understand why. I get the inclusion of Bill Turcotte to avoid an internal dialogue/V.O. situation, but there are numerous other changes that simply don't seem like they were necessary - or in any way better.

    I've watched the first seven episodes, and will watch the finale tonight. I'm hoping you're right that they get the final part between assassination and ending correct. That's a truly excellent part of the book.
     
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  11. MoonPool

    MoonPool Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    I first discovered Ashes to Ashes, and then found Life on Mars. I've watched both series a few times now. I think Life on Mars was a little better, but I think the third season of Ashes to Ashes is its equal. I understand the campiness and all in the first season of Ashes could be a turnoff, but I think it all made sense the way it was played out.

    That said, I'd really like to see 11/22/63. I read the book last Fall after my wife did, and we both loved it and found it to be right up there with IT as far as a great Stephen King book.
     
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  12. Neil Anderson

    Neil Anderson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Yeah, Oswald had a very distinctive voice, and the actor really got it--add to that that he really looks like Oswald, it's an impressive performance. Great series all around.
     
  13. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    In the original ending, the hero reads about the life of <another major character> on the internet and is happy that this person had a good life. In the revised ending, the hero goes back to Texas in modern times to meet this person one last time.

    I was disappointed that it only looked like they had about 100 people in Dealey Plaza on the day of the assassination. In reality, it was jammed with several thousand people. They also missed putting the (very visible) Hertz Rent-a-Car billboard on top of the Texas Book Depository, I assume because of rights problems. I think the relatively low TV budget hurt the show.

    [​IMG]

    I also recall from the book that there were about a dozen major issues that conspired to stop our hero from getting to the building in time for the assassination to take place, and by that point, he was kind of wounded, he was still recovering from a severe head injury, and he was limping. All of this was cast aside for the TV show, which surprised me. I get the impression that the TV version was a simplified "no frills" version of the story that left out a lot of details that would've helped... but it would've been about a half-hour longer and required far more money to shoot.

    I also could swear there was a mention in the book of "massive earthquakes in California," which I don't recall hearing in the TV show. Did I imagine this, or was it in the book? Maybe that was in another one of my own realities.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2016
  14. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    oh boy! finale tonight!
     
  15. mynameistaken

    mynameistaken Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oklahoma City, OK
    Yes, this did happen. Before returning to present day, he learns about massive earthquakes in Los Angeles that killed thousands.
     
  16. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Hulu actually started playing the finale at midnight early Monday morning, which is when I caught it. I only discovered it by a chance review on Facebook -- I also thought it wasn't up until Monday night, but I was mistaken.

    There's no other way the ending could have gone, so anybody objecting to it I think is a little off-base. Time travel is one of those tricky story things where you kind of know going in that a) things could go horribly wrong, and b) we'll probably wind up with a "here we go again" ending, or a "sadder but wiser" ending.

    You wonder why the hell they left this out of the show! Idiots. There was also a more-detailed conversation with the "Yellow Ticket Man" who explains to him why Jake has to go back and undo what he did, and how nothing he does will ever give him the ending he really wants.
     
  17. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    That was a beautiful way to end the series, it really was. It was so bittersweet and emotional, especially in the final scenes, that the tv room got so dusty it irritated my eyes!

    Was this a standalone mini-series?
     
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  18. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    one of the best mini-series ever...I wish they would have had the love of his life made up as an older woman...the replacement threw me off...but all in all just wonderful.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    yes, 8 episodes...
     
  20. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    Just saw the last episode. Liked how when history was changed it actually made it worse.

    Darryl
     
    Michael likes this.
  21. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    yes...so much worse...Kennedy camps! Damn.
     
  22. dirwuf

    dirwuf Misplaced Chicagoan Thread Starter

    Location:
    Fairfield, CT
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  23. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    There's another terrific interview (print only) with the producer and Stephen King discussing what was changed and why:

    '11.22.63': Bridget Carpenter and Stephen King On the 5 Biggest Page-to-Screen Changes »

    It's interesting the stuff that was cut just for money (some sports scenes, because it'd cost a fortune to stage an early-1960s baseball game or a football game), and they justify the reasons why Jake didn't hop back and forth in time very often -- though he does do that in the book. And it was made clear that the expanded character of Bill was done just so the lead character had somebody to whom he could explain what was happening, filling in for the audience.
     
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  24. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident

    Oh gosh no! That would have been terrible. Nothing worse than seeing a young person trying to look old with rubbery makeup, bad hair, etc (CGI augmentation would work better, but would have been an unjustified expense). Having a naturally older person play the role helped to make the whole scene so much more authentic. In fact, I give them points for doing it. And they did do a brief flash scene where he saw her as he remembered her - also a great decision.
     
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  25. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I disagree and the only why they did not do it was budget...IMO.
     
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