Episode 1: "The Rabbit Hole"

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Bev Vincent

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I was really glad of the changes -- it made the show more interesting for me. If it had been a more literal translation, there wouldn't have been any surprises for me. Nothing to make it compelling to watch. This way, I was as on board to see what happens as anyone who hadn't read the book, although I appreciate the way the adaptation captures the spirit of the novel. To the core.
 

Brooks

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Nov 4, 2014
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I really enjoyed the first episode! If you didn't like the changes compared to the book, contact tv executive producer Stephen King :)

One thing that stood out to me compared to the book was:

The emphasis that Jake "shouldn't be there". It was a constant reoccurring theme that I don't remember as early in the book. The yellow match man following him out of Maine, the destruction of the telephone booth, the cockroaches, etc. In the book, these warnings only seemed much stronger once he was attempting to save JFK.

Overall, great start to the series!
 

carrie's younger brother

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Mar 8, 2012
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Glad to see Im not the only one thinking something is wrong here with the adaptation - what about the using the phrases " Life turns on a dime" and "The past is obdurate"? Did we really need to see the scene with the cockroaches - what was that all about? I do think Franco is well cast though as Jake(George).. And I agree not having anything about Derry is SOO unKing-esque - really, dont fans deserve something more? Granted there are a LOT of subplots going on in the book so we shall see what gives in the next 7 episodes but so far a C+ movie adaptation start to an A+ novel..

Yes, fans deserve respect, but if only SK fans watched this show, there would not be a big enough audience to make it cost effective. They have to draw in a large enough audience that is not familiar with the source material to make money on this. You think James Franco works for cheap? ;-D
 

M&P15 2

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Jan 8, 2016
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My problem are changes that really add nothing to the story and happen seemingly only to give someone a writer credit.

Totally unnecessary name changes, earlier chance meetings of characters, the cockroach scene, the political event, and so forth.

I could kind of understand advancing the alternate timeline 2 years if this was a 2 hour film but I think even that was unnecessary and was done probably to fit in a bunch of other unnecessary crap that was never in the book.

I have no problem with it being on Hulu, mostly because I was already a subscriber, the only reason I am watching it because I only buy King books, movies on the secondary market these days.

At least it's a little better than the "dome" so far.
 

Grant87

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Jan 3, 2015
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Agreed. Earl
I was really glad of the changes -- it made the show more interesting for me. If it had been a more literal translation, there wouldn't have been any surprises for me. Nothing to make it compelling to watch. This way, I was as on board to see what happens as anyone who hadn't read the book, although I appreciate the way the adaptation captures the spirit of the novel. To the core.
Agreed. Early on in the episode, I kept pointing out the changes to my wife. However, by the end, I let that go and decided to simply enjoy the ride.
 

JasonLight

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Feb 16, 2016
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Possible spoilers ahead but only concerning minor changes.

I enjoyed the debut but thought it missed a little of the charm of the book, which I suppose is subjective and hard to get across on the TV medium. Little things like the visit to the Fruit Company and dropping a 2011 dime into the pay phone. I also disliked how Jake dropped into the middle of a picturesque scene full of people rather than behind the dirty shed with only the Yellow Card Man in sight. But I suppose it's necessary to give a TV audience something appealing (besides James Franco, I mean) to look at from the get-go. I thought Al's transformation taking place almost before Jake's eyes instead of overnight was nicely done and brought a sense of immediacy into it. Looking forward to the rest!
 

The Nameless

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The Darkside of the Moon (England really)
I watched it today and really enjoyed it. 11/22/63 is my second favourite book so I was expecting it to fall below par as most adaptations do, but I think it was a very solid start. I understand changes are necessary to keep time down, but I'm always bemused by the seemingly so insignificant ones when you say to yourself "why even change that?" such as George amberson to James amberson - that change doesn't help speed anything up or make more sense for TV, it seems like a change just for the sake of changing it, like in the stand - mother abigail is 108 in the book and 106 in the series, a change that does nothing at all.

I'm disappointed not to see Derry but understand why - there was never going to be references to it, especially with the change from 58 to 60, and without the connection to King's other works, any place will do. I guess it also makes it easier to separate the story angles - present day "jake" story in maine, harry dunning story in kentucky, the jfk stuff in texas.

Another thing I'm slightly disappointed with is the lack of the Kennebec Fruit Co. But I also understand this would throw up many difficulties including royalties, frank's compliance, and I know filming in maine can be tricky (and expensive) can't it?

So far so good for me, the acting is good too - I wonder if king wrangled a cameo appearance into his contract?

By the way, it's not out in UK yet and when it is (in spring) it will be on Fox. Being on hulu and only in USA/Canada weren't going to stop me watching it.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
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I watched it today and really enjoyed it. 11/22/63 is my second favourite book so I was expecting it to fall below par as most adaptations do, but I think it was a very solid start. I understand changes are necessary to keep time down, but I'm always bemused by the seemingly so insignificant ones when you say to yourself "why even change that?" such as George amberson to James amberson - that change doesn't help speed anything up or make more sense for TV, it seems like a change just for the sake of changing it, like in the stand - mother abigail is 108 in the book and 106 in the series, a change that does nothing at all.

I'm disappointed not to see Derry but understand why - there was never going to be references to it, especially with the change from 58 to 60, and without the connection to King's other works, any place will do. I guess it also makes it easier to separate the story angles - present day "jake" story in maine, harry dunning story in kentucky, the jfk stuff in texas.

Another thing I'm slightly disappointed with is the lack of the Kennebec Fruit Co. But I also understand this would throw up many difficulties including royalties, frank's compliance, and I know filming in maine can be tricky (and expensive) can't it?

So far so good for me, the acting is good too - I wonder if king wrangled a cameo appearance into his contract?

By the way, it's not out in UK yet and when it is (in spring) it will be on Fox. Being on hulu and only in USA/Canada weren't going to stop me watching it.
A couple of thoughts:
George/Jake possibly happened because the writers or producers thought it would be easier for the non CR reader to keep track of the name if that stayed static between time periods. TV doesn't allow for flipping back to see, "Wait--who was that again?", especially in the early scenes, and attention spans are getting shorter all the time.

Derry--possibly trying to stay far out of IT territory. Maybe the TV rights to everything identifiably IT (and Derry certainly fits there) belong to whoever produced the original miniseries. Maybe the writers didn't want to raise expectation that the stories would overlap (yes, I know they did, briefly, in the book) when time would not allow that chance meeting. Maybe it was in the interest of streamlining the whole thing. Each page of a script is about a minute of screen time. An 8 hour miniseries translates to roughly 480 script pages. The novel was 849 pages. No way to film it all.

Kennebeck: could show up later, but might not. It's not really necessary for the storyline chosen for the movie. It is by necessity more focussed than the novel.
 

Bev Vincent

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Apr 11, 2006
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www.bevvincent.com
A couple of thoughts:
George/Jake possibly happened because the writers or producers thought it would be easier for the non CR reader to keep track of the name if that stayed static between time periods. TV doesn't allow for flipping back to see, "Wait--who was that again?", especially in the early scenes, and attention spans are getting shorter all the time.

There's also another major character named George, so it would have been even more confusing. If you look closely at Jake's fake id, you'll see that George was his father's name!
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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Meeee too, with sour cream and melted cheese...yumyumyum!!

Anyway, it seems Netflix and Chill(i) has derailed this thread, say sorry. It should clearly be all about "Hulu and Hang". :devil:
I'm planning to record it tonight from Super Channel. I hope it is as good as most people have said, so far!
 
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Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
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A certain baseball player recently discovered what it means.

Was Drew Storen Literally Doing ‘Netflix And Chill’ When Nats Traded Him To Blue Jays? | MLB | NESN.com

But that takes nothing from Rob from NJ 's point.

Btw, Rob from NJ, thank you making me glad I am not paying to get the station it is showing on here. (though I am glad it is showing in Canada for anyone willing to pay for the channel.)
:biggrin2::m_yesss::m_stretch:- it's only 9 bucks a month and I may cancel it later.
 
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AnnaMarie

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:biggrin2::m_yesss::m_stretch:- it's only 9 bucks a month and I may cancel it later.

Considering how much we are already paying for cable, I am not willing to add another 9 for one show. If I bags going to increase my bill, it would be for Orange is the New Black.
 
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Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
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Considering how much we are already paying for cable, I am not willing to add another 9 for one show. If I bags going to increase my bill, it would be for Orange is the New Black.
Never seen that one. I don't get out much so I figure I will treat myself. It's been a long winter - did you notice the days are finally starting to get longer? Hurray! :biggrin2::dbl::thumbs_up::thumbs_up: