Stephen King's "The Stand" remake on CBS All Access

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Spaghettiows, Sep 24, 2019.

  1. I loved Storm of the Century, the best King Miniseries in my opinion but I will watch them all and my expectations are always low. A free trial of CBS All Access is in my email folder if I remember correctly, hopefully I can watch this for free.
     
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  2. P(orF)

    P(orF) Forum Resident

    Might want to wait on the free trial... I think they’re releasing this weekly, so it might be February before you could binge the whole thing.
     
    Chris Gerhard likes this.
  3. Lenny99

    Lenny99 The truth sets you free.

    Location:
    Clarksburg WV
    You have a point. It’s crazy to tell a story out of chronological order unless one has a legit reason: Just ask Charles Dickens.

    Really, if doing so is somehow necessary, such as flashbacks, why confuse the viewer/reader. I think most great writers kept an even flow. Mark Twain, Dostoyevsky, Herman Melville. I don’t believe they often used flash backs or mixed up the chronological order just for fun.

    I loved your post, and I agree with your account of “The Stand”. The first part was fine, but the last part was, I thought, over done.

    I hate to be critical of humanity, but I know by experience, if you present your ideas above the 5th or 6th grade level in the USA you will loose a good portion of your people. So it is with any entertainment including books, movies, tv, etc.

    If one just starts to read a “classics” such as “Great Expectations” it becomes obvious. To the great writers, writing was an art.

    I had an uncle who was a very good poet. His name is Russel Marano. He was pretty famous in the literary areas. His works were used to study in classes for Northwestern University, and several Ivy League schools.

    I once fancied myself a writer. So, I showed him my work. He took some time then after a few days asked me who I had read. I ran off the name of some best selling authors in the field of science fiction and basic fiction field. I noted one famous writer in particular. He looked at me like I was from Mars and said, “I know him personally. He’s a hack”. I was stunned.

    My uncle went on to say, “If you want to be a good writer you must read the great writers”. If all you want to do is write to make a buck, keep reading the best sellers. But, you must make a decision. Do you want to be an artist or a hack. IE write anything for a buck.

    I was so shocked you could have knocked me over with a feather. That was over 40 years ago. I used to think he was a snob, but that wasn’t his personality. Now, looking back as a wiser man ( at least I hope that correct) I believe he was fighting for his craft. I later found out He really was an artist. He only wrote when inspired. He had other sources of income. He never wrote to make a buck. That wasn’t important to him. Concerning my work, he told me, “It’s obvious you have something to say, but you don’t know how”.

    I’m going on, but in the USA, to be a popular writer one has to write down to a lower level. I’m not a writer. I did read the great classics. I learned a great deal. And, I’m not mocking anyone who writes, but I think my uncle is right. You can write for a living, and I don’t have a problem with that type of writer. We have writers who write all types of work: instruction books, manuals, short stories for entertainment, and on snd on. But truly some are artists.
     
  4. P(orF)

    P(orF) Forum Resident

    Terrific post. I was going to add some commentary, but, really, just read this post again.
     
  5. '05Train

    '05Train Crashin' & Flyin' & Livin' & Dyin'

    Location:
    Roanoke, Virginia
    Well.....

    The guy playing Harold is nailing it.

    I hate the non-linear storytelling. It's all wrong. Harold's hatred of everyone in the Free Zone hasn't been earned yet, and it's just not right to introduce it in the first episode.

    1 episode in and I'm wanting a fan edit in a linear fashion. That's not a good sign.
     
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  6. Kyle B

    Kyle B Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    Well, he’s gotta be better than Parker Lewis as Harold. That was a terrible piece of casting.
     
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  7. The non-linear story telling is a fail in my view too (the old mini-series nailed this aspect of the book). They are taking some big liberties with the story, which I'm o.k. with, 'cause it could add a surprise or two.
     
  8. Scotian

    Scotian Amnesia Hazed

    My wife watched the first episode with me. She didn’t say much through it so I asked her at the end what she thought. She said the whole episode didn’t make a bit of sense. I tried to explain it to her the best I could but she said don’t bother, that was her last episode. I can see trying to do something different with a story that’s been told a couple of times already but it has to appeal & make sense to the non-fans that have never heard of it before.
     
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  9. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    Not a fan of the timeline, but I wonder if it will start to pay off later. As some people said the story gets bogged down in the middle, so maybe if you know where things are headed you'll be more engaged. I haven't read the book since the unabridged version was released and frankly forgot who some of the characters were. I'll stick with it. Probably should've waited til I got my vaccine though....hitting a little too close to home.
     
  10. Kyle B

    Kyle B Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I wasn’t a huge fan of the unabridged version - the Trashcan Man stuff seemed to go on forever. Sometimes, less is more.
     
  11. FVDnz

    FVDnz Forum Resident

    Loved the Dead Zone TV series tarring Anthony Michael-Hall.
     
  12. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    It's been years since I read the un-abridged book.

    One episode in and I'll probably stick around. Not much else on tv.

    I enjoyed Stu Redman and the doctor together. Would have liked some more of J.K. Simmons.

    If the virus kills 99% of the population you would think that 1% would be more survivors.

    You would think in a town there would be more than 2 survivors.
     
  13. Madness

    Madness "Hate is much too great a burden to bear."

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    One glaring fact not addressed in the book: what's going on in the rest of the world? Was there only a battle between good and evil in the United States?
     
  14. FVDnz

    FVDnz Forum Resident

    I've never read the book, and I cannot remember if I've ever seen the 90's Mini-Series either. I've seen Robert Meyer Burnett commenting on the series so far and he's not impressed with the direction the series is going either. I will watch the series and see for myself what the story is, timeline jumps an' all and then I'll check out the earlier adaptation somewhere later in time.

    It would be cool if there was somebody who has the vision to create a Stephen King cinematic universe someday, just so we could have a little continuity with King's stories. Alexander Skarsgård looks like a great pick for Randall Flagg too even.

    For now though, I've recently begun The Gunslinger from The Dark Tower series. Just learning about how that series ties into the novels is quite fascinating to me. And I hope the showrunners go ahead with the proposed TV series in the foreseeable future...
     
    Last edited: Dec 24, 2020
  15. Moonbeam Skies

    Moonbeam Skies Forum Resident

    Location:
    Phoenix, Arizona
    It's a strange coincidence that the remake of The Stand is on now, because I bought the 7 film Stephen King box set recently and am currently watching the 1994 version for the 1st time in bits and pieces. Never read the book and wasn't aware of the new version when I started watching the DVD.
    Regarding the 1994 version, in the scene where Molly Ringwald tells "East Texas" that she is pregnant and due in January (which means she conceived prior to meeting East Texas), he asks if Harold knows and she says no. Then East Texas starts passionately kissing her as if he has no reason to hold back his feelings for her. I am confused. Harold could still be the father as far as East Texas knew. Am I missing something about that?
     
  16. Second episode was pretty good. Lloyd and Larry introduced.
     
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  17. rebellovw

    rebellovw Forum Resident

    Location:
    hell
    Two episodes in - garbage as expected. I'll watch it though - mildly entertaining.
     
  18. I haven’t found it to be garbage at all. Certainly some missteps and the shuffling of the narrative timeline took a bit getting used to. Some of the changes work, some jot so much (making Lloyd something other than a ruthless killer doesn’t work).
     
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  19. She never slept with Harold as far as I know and it was never implied (in fact he continued to be a virgin before his ‘sex’ with Nadine as I recall). The timeline was just a mess up IMHO. I don’t think it was meant to mean anything. He asked her if Harold knew because he knows how Harold feels about her. He also knows that would send Harold into a tailspin. Given the fidelity to the book and King’s involvement in the original mini-series, I think it was just an oversight but it DOES provide a provocative edge to the series.
     
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  20. Good question. Considering that Randall Flagg can be many places, it’s entirely possible each continent had their version of Mother Abagail as well. There’s a sequel there for King he intends to pursue it....
     
  21. rebellovw

    rebellovw Forum Resident

    Location:
    hell
    Sewer scene - just terrible, Whoopi - terrible choice- I'm hoping her part is minimal - I'm sure it won't be.
     
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  22. Lloyd was a more complicated character in the book, I liked his backstory regarding his pet rabbits. Miguel Ferrer was more in line with how I envisioned him in the book.
     
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  23. The shorter version was the better version of the novel.
     
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  24. It varied from the scene in the novel. What was so terrible about it? I’m still not sold 0n Whoopi in the role yet but it is a difficult part to play without authenticity without -wondering to stereotypes.
     
  25. Indeed, Ferrer was the perfect choice. Not sure about the casting here.
     
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