The Stand. :-)

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Checkman

Getting older and balder
May 9, 2007
902
1,989
Idaho
The TV version of The Stand. I didn't like anything about it.

Ahhh. It is very uneven. Some parts I thought were well done and others were weak. I was in Germany and had a friend record it for me when it aired in 94. I liked it at the time and watched it several times. Then I stopped watching it when we got back to the states. I purchased the DVD box set in 2001 watched it a couple times and then put it away. A few years ago I watched it and found it corny and creaky. Interesting how ones perception changes as one gets older. I still put it in now and again when I'm puttering around the house, but I find that after the first episode I don't pay attention to it.
 

Maskins

Well-Known Member
Jun 16, 2015
640
3,700
Me too. Thought it was completely awful.

Well I watched it as a young teenager and it got me into Stephen King - at the time I thought it was amazing. So it can't be all bad! On revisiting it though - not so much.

That said, I still think the opening of it in the lab with 'Don't fear the reaper' playing is pitched perfectly. As an adaptation, I think its heart is in the right place.
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
Well I watched it as a young teenager and it got me into Stephen King - at the time I thought it was amazing. So it can't be all bad! On revisiting it though - not so much.

That said, I still think the opening of it in the lab with 'Don't fear the reaper' playing is pitched perfectly. As an adaptation, I think its heart is in the right place.
If it got you into SK then it served a good purpose. I'd forgotten about Don't Fear the Reaper. That was good.
 

Owenk

Well-Known Member
Nov 13, 2014
351
2,060
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What a book!

I have been holding off reading it because I really really thought it wouldn't be my cup of tea, as I am not at all into the horror end of fantasy.

How could I have not factored in though what an amazing writer King is. The stories of the individual characters he weaves into the overall plot are so superb and compelling, they just draw you irresistably into the book. Of course it simply becomes a story about disparate individual human beings within a horror/fantasy context.

Can't wait to finish work so I can get home to carry on reading!
 

Steven Duval

New Member
Apr 22, 2016
4
18
59
What did you guys think of
the stand ? And how long did it take you guy's to read it?

I've got 50 more chapters to read!!

I've been reading king since I was 14 and this is in the top 5 for sure. It's one of those I fell into and never completely extricated myself from and come back every few years to just for the immersive experience. It's an epic so it's a commitment but well worth it. For the short stuff I'd recommend (I know everyone has their favorite) but for sheer impact of the normality of violent death and friendship combined in a way that is shocking and strangely comforting I'd recommend the Long Walk originally part of the Bachman Books. I read that 25 years ago and man, I still have funky dreams about that story.
 

Mynxie

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2010
93
218
Merseyside, UK
The
Well I watched it as a young teenager and it got me into Stephen King - at the time I thought it was amazing. So it can't be all bad! On revisiting it though - not so much.

That said, I still think the opening of it in the lab with 'Don't fear the reaper' playing is pitched perfectly. As an adaptation, I think its heart is in the right place.


Dont fear the reaper fits the opening sequence and i hope, but am not holding out much, that its kept in for the remake. Like most people, i find the mini series now to be dated. Most of the acting was diabolical (dont get me started on Molly ...... oh my stars !!) But at the time, it did its job. Got me hooked an reeled me in. I have some time off work so ill be indulging in the mini series in one day. Im intrugued about the remake ...... very very excited

The Stand ? Definately my favourite piece of work ........ a true masterpiece in my eyes
 
Jun 26, 2016
10
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68
I've read the original three times and the long version once.

It was the second SK book I ever read. The first was Firestarter, and when I told my younger sister about it on the phone, she said, I'm sending you something.

It was The Stand. OMG! I couldn't put it down. Great and realistic characters, wonderful concept (and, it turned out, relevant), and the Good vs. Evil tension was compelling.

It is tied with The Talisman for first place on my Favorite Books list. And the one I always put down first on the "What book would you have with you if you were stranded on a desert island?" answers.
 

Lee9900

Deleted User
Jun 29, 2016
267
786
56
I've read the book about three different times. i've watched my DVD mini series many more. There are many things I enjoy about the story.

But i really don't get the ending.

Why have the characters take a Stand at all if God ends Flagg?

Mr. King says he wanted yo write an epic like Lord Of The Rings, but in lord Of The Rings it was the characters that put an end to Sauron and the One Ring, not an all powerful deity.

That really is my only contention about the book and mini series.

Edit:

But Matt Frewer, formerly Max Headroom (also a pun btw) did a heck of a job on portraying the Trashcan Man, and I also liked Gary Sinise in it and many other performances. Mr. Frewer was the biggest surprise for me though.

Gary Sinise was also in the film adaption of The Green Mile.

I once thought the actress Andy McDowell was in it, playing the lady who shot at Nick and Tom, but apparently I am wrong on that.Miss Shawnee Smith did a good scary too.
 
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not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
But he was, Tery - I had forgotten myself. He played a psychiatric doctor who was witness for the prosecutor.

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