For anyone who's ever read Stephen King's "The Stand":

[SmileyBoy]

Yesterday was June 13, the date in the book (1990) when the whole story began, namely the release of the plague from the Project Blue labratory via Charles Campion and his family. I read the book a few years ago, and every year for the past few years whenever June 13/14/15, etc. rolls around (all the way to July 1, the end of the plague outbreak), I get this weird creeped-out feeling. I haven't read the book in a long time, and it's still affecting me in ways.

It just feels kind of weird, the way I feel everytime this time of the year rolls around. I know the book is complete fiction, and science has proved that there's no way a virus can kill almost 100 percent of people it comes in contact with (at most it can kill 90 percent, because it needs breathing room to travel from host to host). But still...

[Richardo]

1. Read "The Great Influenza" by John M. Barry...

...about the 1918-19 flu outbreak that killed 100 million people worldwide. King must have had this in mind when he wrote The Stand. I remember thinking that "the flu" could NEVER be as virulent as he made it. How wrong I was.

[democratreformed]

2. That was my first King book

I have read it several times. It's one of my favorites.

[PinkTiger]

3. You aren't the only one.

Every June I get the same feeling. King's Stand, IMHO, is one of the most influential books of the late 20th Century in that genre, much to King's chagrin, by the way.
He has said he doesn't understand what all the fuss is about, since he saw this as just another one of his stories. I don't think he realized just how deep a chord he sounded with it. The most intriguing part of the book to me is, not the plague part, but the part where good and evil are sorted out. It is interesting that aligning oneself with one side or the other is usually an early decision, and then the choice has to be lived with.
I think of that often when confronting Republicans who have chosen to go over to the "dark side" from the Democratic ranks. It is a conscious choice, I believe, to become "one of them."
While sometimes on this board I'm not totally convinced that all Democrats are good at heart (especially with some of the posts I've been subjected to), my heart tells me we are the good guys.

Edited first paragraph for clarification

[SmileyBoy]

4. Oh good, I'm not the only one.

Yeah, that book certainly struck a deep nerve among its readers. I guess King never intended it to do that much, but it really penetrated my deepest emotions and feelings. That's kind of why I feel so weirded out every time June 13/14/15 etc. comes around.

[PinkTiger]

6. I think we are in good company.

And everytime someone reads it for the first time, they get weirded out by it, too.
What I don't understand is how my dorky little brother read it, enjoyed it, and then voted Republican.
Very, very strange.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. Great book...shitty miniseries.

Pissed me off by how bad they messed it up.

[mede8er]

7. Keith Richards....

should have been the walking dude.......

[TheDebbieDee]

15. Actor Tracy Walters should have been Trash-Can Man!

[southpaw]

8. See, I've never understood that opinion...

What was so bad about the mini-series. The casting? The acting? I thought they did a great job of communicating the best elements of the story.

I particularly loved Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen.

[Loonman]

9. The directing

King adaptations are notorious for miscasting, poor directing and bad adaptations with a few exceptions.


I thought Lowe did a good job, the actor who played Harold was good. Molly Ringwald, gods love her, but she stunk this one up bigtime.

The guy who played Stu was pretty good, and Tom cullen, but's that all I can remember, now.

[Liberal Veteran]

11. Yeah, they glossed over the dreams a lot....

....and further they totally screwed up the period between the plague and going to Free Zone.

[southpaw]

12. Molly was weak, that's for sure...

Rob as Nick was good.

Absolutely LOVED Ray Walston as Glen Bateman

Ruby Dee was an excellent Mother Abigail

I even thought Jamie Sheridan was a good Flagg (the smile with the evil glint in the eye...)

Corin Nemec as Harold didn't even approach my mental image of the character, but he played the bitter, insecure misfit to a T.

Ossie Davis as the Judge, Adame Storke as Larry, and Gary Sinise as Stu were also good choices...

... and Laura San Giacomo as Nadine!!!

O.K. I'll stop now.

[Liberal Veteran]

13. I rather LIKED the casting...but the adaptation just didn't work for me.

I didn't even mind Molly Ringwald that much. I just thought they had such a fantastic book to work from and it just seemed like they turned it into a bland movie of the week adaptation.

[PinkTiger]

10. Yes, Fagerbakke was excellent casting.

I think the problem with the series was the fact that most of us read the book several times and put our own "cast" on it, and then it didn't seem like the same vehicle when we saw the miniseries.
The book was long; putting it into a miniseries of six shows (I believe that is how many) was a gargantuan task, and difficult to pull off.
I always felt sorry for Harold.

[southpaw]

14. After watching the series, I went back to the part in the book...

where Tom Cullen is first described. It was as if Bill Fagerbakke were standing in front of King when he wrote that description. Amazing! And he played the part so well.


Oh, Miguel Ferrer was a good choice as Lloyd Henreid.