Under the Dome TV mini series disappointment

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Avi Sokol

New Member
Jan 8, 2014
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Mr. King, Hi my name is Avi Sokol and I am almost finished reading the "Dark Tower". I read your books in Hebrew but I do not think that they lose any of their meaning. about 15 months ago I read your book "under the (transparent) dome" Recently, a TV mini series was made based on the book. loosely based is more like it. It is so different and I just finished watching the pilot. You were the executive producer. Why were so many liberties taken with your book?


discrepencies noted:


1. Angie and Joe were not brother and sister

2. Barbie was trying to hitch a ride out of town, NOT burying the body of Julie's husband that she was not married in the book

3. Barbie stayed at the motel

4. Julie stayed at her home above the "independence"

5. Junior and Barbie had a fight before the start of the book

6. The plane that crashed was cut in half by the dome not crashed into it

7. Junior killed angie in her home and stuffed her in a cupboard and later he would kill another girl there and later frame Barbie

8. Maybe the most important discrepency was the fact that Rusty was in Chester Mill in the book and outside in the tv series. Rusty played an integral part in Barbie's escape from jail and the discovery of the power source.

9. Rusty and the police woman were married and had kids and dogs.

10. Julie's "husband" took Barnie's dogtags in the movie instead of Big Jim framing him for Angie and the other girls murders that his son committed as per the book

I read the explanation by Mr. King as to why the movie was so different than the book. That is not a valid argument. And if Mr. King thinks it is a valid argument, then he knows nothing of human nature, which I find surprising based on the excellent books he has written. Ask anyone who has seen a movie based on a book, whether it by on the big screen or the TV screen. "Sum of all fears" was changed from Muslem Arabs building the bomb as in the book, to Russians as in the movie, so as not to offend the Muslems. Harry Potter movies got alot of criticism because the first five movies did not reflect the book. The portrayal as in the book makes for the good movie. That is what the fans want to see.

There was nudity in "under the dome" pilot and at the beginning of the second in the TV series (that is when I stopped the video and swore I would not continue watching it.

But the real reason that Mr. King changed whole plot lines and characters was because he capitulated to womens' groups. If you remember how Junior killed those girls and stuffed them in the pantry or cupboard, womens' groups would say that is violence against women, leaving Rusty out of the picture would allow entrance to a heroine. Having Barbie kill Julie's "husband" makes him a murderer from the start, so no tv viewer will side with him. This TV mini series of Under the Dome" could be on Lifetime channel with no problem
 

Moderator

Ms. Mod
Administrator
Jul 10, 2006
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You'd have to have a more inside understanding of how Hollywood works to really "get" why the changes were made. It had nothing to do with capitulating to women's groups. He didn't even write the scripts for the first season. You are making assumptions that have no basis in fact.
 

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
44,082
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New Zealand
Actually no...

Hi Avi, I have absolutely no problem with people expressing displeasure over work associated with Stephen.... at least not until someone makes (wild) assumptions based completely without fact. (how on earth could you possibly know what is inside his mind? Or the minds of the rest of the Production team?)
But feel free to dislike the show and to choose not to watch, I wouldn't expect every body to like it. :)
 

Sundrop

Sunny the Great & Wonderful
Jun 12, 2008
28,520
156,619
Actually no...

Hi Avi, I have absolutely no problem with people expressing displeasure over work associated with Stephen.... at least not until someone makes (wild) assumptions based completely without fact. (how on earth could you possibly know what is inside his mind? Or the minds of the rest of the Production team?)
But feel free to dislike the show and to choose not to watch, I wouldn't expect every body to like it. :)
See!....you are much better at this than I am ♥
 

Haunted

This is my favorite place
Mar 26, 2008
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The woods are lovely dark and deep
542680~Welcome-Mat-on-Forest-Trail-Posters.jpg
 

Lisey Landon

Well-Known Member
May 20, 2009
754
3,966
Germany
I can understand some of the disappointment, but not the arguments. None of us knows why things were changed, and we either like or dislike the series. For those who have seen other screen adaptations of Mr. King's books, we know there will be changes. For me, it's about what changes are acceptable from my point of view that decides if I like it or not.

I read the book not long ago, so for me, the changes were too big for me to enjoy watching. That is why I have put it on hold, and I will give it another try in a while.
 

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
44,082
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New Zealand
I can understand some of the disappointment, but not the arguments. None of us knows why things were changed, and we either like or dislike the series. For those who have seen other screen adaptations of Mr. King's books, we know there will be changes. For me, it's about what changes are acceptable from my point of view that decides if I like it or not.

I read the book not long ago, so for me, the changes were too big for me to enjoy watching. That is why I have put it on hold, and I will give it another try in a while.
:clap: This... exactly this.
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
195,472
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Just north of Duma Key
Actually no...

Hi Avi, I have absolutely no problem with people expressing displeasure over work associated with Stephen.... at least not until someone makes (wild) assumptions based completely without fact. (how on earth could you possibly know what is inside his mind? Or the minds of the rest of the Production team?)
But feel free to dislike the show and to choose not to watch, I wouldn't expect every body to like it. :)


Eloquently stated, Flake.
 

Geraldine74

New Member
Feb 10, 2014
1
3
49
Bonjour,
Je suis en train de finir le roman du Dôme et j'ai également commencer à regarder la série.
Je suis déçue et étonnée. En effet, dans la série, il n'y a que les prénoms et le dôme qui sont repris. Toutefois, c'est Mr King qui en est le producteur...
Petite question à Mr King : vouliez-vous qu'on réécrive votre histoire ou trouviez-vous que votre roman n'était pas adaptable pour une série ?
Aussi non, j'étais, je suis et je resterai une de vos grande fan. :smile-new:
Géraldine.
 

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
44,082
175,641
New Zealand
Bonjour,
Je suis en train de finir le roman du Dôme et j'ai également commencer à regarder la série.
Je suis déçue et étonnée. En effet, dans la série, il n'y a que les prénoms et le dôme qui sont repris. Toutefois, c'est Mr King qui en est le producteur...
Petite question à Mr King : vouliez-vous qu'on réécrive votre histoire ou trouviez-vous que votre roman n'était pas adaptable pour une série ?
Aussi non, j'étais, je suis et je resterai une de vos grande fan. :smile-new:
Géraldine.

English translation via Google Translate:

"I'm trying to finish the novel Dome and I also start watching the series.
I am disappointed and surprised. Indeed, in the series, there is the name and the dome are included. However, is that Mr King is the producer ...
Quick question to Mr. King: we want you to rewrite your story or find that your novel was not suitable for a series?
So no, I was, I am and remain a big fan of yours. :)
Géraldine."
 

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
44,082
175,641
New Zealand
Bonjour,
Je suis en train de finir le roman du Dôme et j'ai également commencer à regarder la série.
Je suis déçue et étonnée. En effet, dans la série, il n'y a que les prénoms et le dôme qui sont repris. Toutefois, c'est Mr King qui en est le producteur...
Petite question à Mr King : vouliez-vous qu'on réécrive votre histoire ou trouviez-vous que votre roman n'était pas adaptable pour une série ?
Aussi non, j'étais, je suis et je resterai une de vos grande fan. :smile-new:
Géraldine.
Bienvenue Geraldine, bon de vous avoir ici. Stephen reconnaît que la mini-série diffère du roman et il est heureux avec la production. Il a écrit une note pour les fans que vous pouvez lire ci-dessous. (Vous aurez besoin de traduire, désolé.)

Welcome Geraldine, good to have you here. Stephen acknowledges that the mini-series differs from the novel and is happy with production. He has written a note to fans which you can read below. (You will need to translate, sorry.)

Letter from Stephen
 
Mar 12, 2010
6,538
29,004
Texas
Welcome to the SKMB, Avi :)

I love UTD the series. I think I might be in the minority though lol. I'm looking forward to the second season :) Differences between a novel and a movie bother me but differences between a novel and a TV series don't bother me. I would probably quit watching the series if I knew what was going to happen. If UTD is ever made into a movie, I will be disappointed if it doesn't follow the book closely though.

The discrepancies you listed are interesting. I made a list of discrepancies between Trucks the short story, Maximum Overdrive the movie, and Trucks the movie because I found the differences interesting, not because they bothered me :)