Stephen King's The Outsider - HBO Series airs 1/12/20

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Madness, Jan 12, 2020.

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  1. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    The pace is slow. But it's been a slow boil from the first minute. But it's a tense, white knuckle kind of slow. I get it may not be for everyone. But I'm okay with it.

    I don't see how this boogeyman story resolves itself. How do you catch the supernatural?

    Oh... regarding the casting. Seems fine to me.
     
  2. Something to keep in mind is that this is also a procedural show as well as a supernatural thriller which is reflected in the pacing.
     
  3. While I pictured someone else once I heard it was going to be adapted, I like Mendelssohn just fine in the role now. I can see why the affect bugs Marc but K got kind of used to it.

    Again, this wouldn’t have been the cast I selected but I think they’ve done a good job with it as far as this script goes. I mean one could complain about the casting of Holly but I just went with it and she’s giving a nicely nunanced performance very different from the Mercedes actress.
     
  4. I meant to say Ben Mendelsohn as the cop Ralph Anderson is his characters name.
     
  5. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    The biggest character of this series... is grief. It's everywhere and everyone suffers from it. 6 hour long episodes in and there hasn't been one fleeting moment of joy.
     
  6. Achn2b

    Achn2b Forum Resident

    Location:
    N. Conway, NH
    Yeah, after the first two, I was like, good on King for stretching beyond his usual forte, and then here comes the mysterious and supernatural.

    But the combo of police procedural and creepy has been really compelling.
     
    marmalade166 likes this.
  7. Bachtoven

    Bachtoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    When a child dies as horrifically as Frankie Peterson does (and the book provides a few more ghastly details), it's hard to write a joyful story.
     
    MRamble likes this.
  8. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    Yeah. No doubt. But that was done, thankfully, off camera. Even then it was one scene in one episode.

    I'm not asking they turn this into a comedy. I love what they're doing with it. But tense moments can offer a relief laugh or giggle as a release.

    Even showing, via flashback, a soon to be dangerously infected "not really them" go off and kill someone, have a light moment with one of their kids, or lover, or sibling. In a way it'd be more tragic.

    Anywho... just an observation.
     
  9. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I have said before I'm shocked that King used the same idea (young boy Little Leaguer tortured and murdered) at the beginning of both The Outsider and Dr. Sleep. Very disturbing. I was particularly surprised that the R-rated film got very graphic, but the novel was far worse. Really rough.

    The show is dull as hell for me, but I'm slogging through it as best I can. For those who have already read the Outsider novel, here's a spoiler-filled list of all the differences between the book and the show:

    All the Changes HBO’s The Outsider Makes to Stephen King’s Novel

    To me, a bunch of these are really lame, like name changes and characters combined, and I'm surprised the producers would p!ss in the punchbowl this much.

    BTW, this show has the shortest depth of field I've ever seen in a movie or TV show, like absolutely everything outside the characters is completely soft. It's a weird stylistic choice, but by god, there's nothing on TV that looks like this.
     
  10. Bachtoven

    Bachtoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    At first I thought they omitted the tree limb, but it was there for a frame or two. One of those "blink and you'll miss it" deals. They really couldn't get as graphic as the novel does.
     
  11. Balthazar

    Balthazar Forum Resident

    Same here. The cast is top notch, I like the look of the show, but somehow the story and/or the pacing is killing me. 6 episodes in and I still don't care what happens.

    I'm only holding on out a vague feeling of curiosity, but there's no excitement.

    Between Watchmen and this, HBO is cranking out the high-rated (at least on RT) stinkers.
     
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  12. marmalade166

    marmalade166 Sous les pavés, la plage!

    Location:
    Aberdeen, Scotland
    Really? Another reminder why I pay no attention to Rotten Tomatoes i guess...

    I'm loving the show, almost feels like the first season of True Detective in the way it combines a police procedure with the supernatural (although of course TD disappointed in how it ended), and with the slow burning atmosphere
     
  13. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Yeah, exactly. I'm all for slow & methodical, but this is just creaky pacing. The thing with a novel is that the writer can introduce a lot of description and exposition to explain what's going on, but that's impossible to do in TV without narration or a character actually saying the words out loud. King's novel actually moved pretty fast, but it's hard to duplicate that in the show.

    Don't get your hopes up. The ending of Outsider may not be what you're expecting.
     
    Balthazar likes this.
  14. Chrome_Head

    Chrome_Head Planetary Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA.
    Anyone know how many episodes The Outsider is going to be, or how many are left?
     
  15. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    Really cute avatar you got there!
     
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  16. Chris from Chicago

    Chris from Chicago Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes

    I think you're misreading what he's saying. I read his words as... he doesn't really care for it in spite of the high percentage the show is getting from RT.
     
    marmalade166 likes this.
  17. Balthazar

    Balthazar Forum Resident

    Exactly. I agree that RT scores or anyone else's opinion doesn't necessarily matter for these things, though. It's a creative work. There's not really any wrong or right in opinions about it.

    I've enjoyed plenty of things other people hated. Didn't affect my enjoyment.
     
  18. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    i've watched every episode, and NOTHING ever happens, nothing.

    we know now exactly what we knew after the first episode......nothing.

    something is out there, we don;t know what it is. little by little the whole cast agrees that something is out there. they don't know what it either.

    quite possibly the most boring TV show i have ever stuck with this long.

    on a 1 to 10 i'd give it a 2 right now.
     
    Daryl M likes this.
  19. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    hmm, how are they actually going to fill out two more episodes? last night's felt very penultimate.
     
  20. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    One hour to FIND the cave.....
    then , another hour to find El Cuco!
     
  21. Pastafarian

    Pastafarian Forum Resident

    This is American TV, they'll still be searching for the magic bullet after El Coco's 100th transformation in series 12.

    I just pray this won't have a season 2, even though I'm really enjoying the series.
     
  22. jojopuppyfish

    jojopuppyfish Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    I enjoy the show.
     
  23. It won’t.
     
  24. jojopuppyfish

    jojopuppyfish Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    So it's a mini series?
     
  25. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    It's what they call a 'limited-series'.
     
    jojopuppyfish likes this.
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