Should I watch Stephen King's "The Stand" mini-series?

[Pryderi]

Poll question: Should I watch Stephen King's "The Stand" mini-series?

[old mark]

1. Yes. It is a very good series, especially if you like scarey stuff and

some very fine actors.


mark

[DeadEyeDyck]

2. Loved it

[Lasher]

3. Absolutely.

It's memorable. One of the things I wouldn't have missed, looking back.

[RandomThoughts]

4. It has many label traps in it.

But King spreads them around many different ways.


The comments in the jail cell by the bully was changed last time I saw it on TV.

[leeroysphitz]

5. Did you like the book?

[pinboy3niner]

6. Like just about everything King writes, it's too long...

...but he's a great storyteller, and he's always worth reading or watching, despite his shortcomings. Mainly, his tendency to overwrite.

I remember one book he wrote. His editors cut it to some 700 pages. King later restored the material they'd cut, and republished it at some 1200 pages. That should tell you something about him. He's a great storyteller, but sometimes a good editor is a good thing...

[RandomThoughts]

7. Depends if the editor has the same goals as the writer.

Some editors think they know what something should say.


Does an editor enhance for readability, or censor for a different meaning.


Funny thing, sometimes a change in a meaning of something, can be to republish an edited thought that did not get out. That is interesting. A bias added to something is a form of an edit, as would be saying something again without that bias. I guess what is ironic is that people think of an argued position as a bias, something that makes sense and has not been shown wrong. They just say that is a bias, to not have to argue against it.

[Paladin]

8. Between Word Processor Laziness And Intimidated Editors.....

....the quality of King's work (and that of other prominent authors) has deteriorated. That said, I thought "The Dome" was pretty good (keeping in mind that King based it on an idea he caome up with in the 70's).

[AngryOldDem]

10. King's work has declined.

But then, in his defense, he's older, and he's had a long, hard recovery from his accident. That said, I have been disappointed in a lot of his recent stuff -- like Cell, for instance -- because I get the feeling that at points he's just phoning it in and I consider that to be one of the greatest insults a popular author can hurl at his audience.

I did enjoy Under The Dome, but I almost didn't read it because of its length (see my post below about The Stand) and lack of plot summary on the flyleaf. But I liked it. A lot of his best work seems to percolate over decades, it seems, before he commits them to paper. (But as a funny aside, I happened to catch an episode of The Simpsons a few weeks back that had almost the same plot line as The Dome, only funnier. I couldn't help but wonder at the coincidence.)

[Paladin]

11. If King Had A Tough, Old-School Editor.....

...who made King produce all his work on a typewriter, rather than a word processor, I believe his work would dramatically improve. Like I said before, King is far from alone in this trend toward 800-page novels that would be a lot better at 400 pages.....

[AngryOldDem]

16. Agreed,

I've always said Stephen King is an example of why authors need editors.

[AngryOldDem]

9. You're talking about The Stand.

The bloviated, rereleased version does no service at all to the original. Too much detail, too much superfluous character development that it literally kills the plot and pacing and makes it a horrible bore to read. Why King and his editors thought this would be a good idea still boggles my mind.

I had to read The Stand for an English class back in the early '80s and it was one of my first introductions to King. I was hooked. I remember staying up all night reading it. Flash-forward to the uncut version, and I wondered why I bothered. I consider the original Stand to be one of King's best works. He should have left well-enough alone.

[slay]

15. That book was called "The Stand"

:P

[XemaSab]

12. I thought the miniseries was not well done

YMMV.

[frogmarch]

13. I liked it, but

one of the main reasons I did is that I live near Hemingford, the real "Hemingford Home," which King immortalized in The Stand, It, Children of the Corn I and II - and in his 2010 book, Full Dark, No Stars.

Every time I drive through Hemingford on my way to the Berea Beauty Boutique, in nearby Berea, where I take my dog for grooming, I wonder why there are no signs in Hemingford bragging about it being King's favorite town in the heartland of America, and that it's the real Hemingford Home. There are lots of church signs in and around Hemingford, and there's a big wooden fence at the county fairgrounds that depicts Christmas nativity scenes year round, but there's nothing about the town being the real Hemingford Home. I can't figure it out. lol

[slay]

14. ONLY after you've read the book

it was a network mini-series - so it obviously can not be as graphic as the novel. And it's only one of the best novels ever IMO. It was an OK mini-series but doesn't hold a candle to the book.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

17. yes, one of the best SK adaptions

(of course, The Shining being the gold standard)

[TreasonousBastard]

18. Read the book instead-- fewer boring parts and you can finish it faster.