under the dome..fan or not?

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Are you a fan of Under the Dome on CBS?

  • Yes

    Votes: 4 12.1%
  • No

    Votes: 16 48.5%
  • Meh

    Votes: 13 39.4%

  • Total voters
    33

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I fall into the "moth to the flame" category or maybe "can't take my eyes off the train wreck." ;-D

I've watched the whole thing (except for the last episode) and there have been several episodes where the show looked like it was going to right itself but would veer off course in the next one. The Stephen King penned episode was a good one.
I am recording it, actually. I have not watched this week's episode yet. It doesn't bother me one way or another. I am just glad
that Barbie has apparently gotten out of the clutches of that nasty Ava who was trying to hypnotize him with her supposed pregnancy - what is she going to give birth to?
a giant spider?
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
There are three reactions- like/ dislike/ and watching cause you have become the moth attracted to the flame.
The key word is "adaptation" . The definition of adapt is to adjust or modify something or to a particular situation or circumstance. The TV series does just that- it modified the book in a BIG way.
This is me - moth to the flame

moth.gif
by the way - can you (i.e. anyone) read this? I can - it is backwards, but not upside down. Can you read upside down, too?

Ooops - sorry - bit of a thread diversion or whatever that is called...

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Oh right! (thread hijack)
Sorry fljoe0 :love::chuncky:

I mean mjs9153 :a11:
 

chief4db

When it doubt, run!
Feb 11, 2015
733
2,676
whatsamatteru. usa
this is kind of interesting. i saw season one and liked it very much. this was before i read the book or even reading king for that matter. I think it was right after that show that i read my first king book 11/22/63. well i read the book and then i just could not watch season 2 or 3. didnt even know season 3 was out. this is totally on me, but I just cant get it out of my head when they vary from the book. I keep saying things like, that's not how it happened or that never happened. so even though I will say the series is good, with good actors and directing. I wont be watching it.
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
I've made it pretty clear on other UTD TV series threads how I feel, but for the sake of this thread I'll put it bluntly: the show really sucks (bad acting and worse writing) but I have watched every episode because I am, for want of a better word, addicted and have to see how it turns out. Call me stupid.

I've been called worse. ;-D
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I've made it pretty clear on other UTD TV series threads how I feel, but for the sake of this thread I'll put it bluntly: the show really sucks (bad acting and worse writing) but I have watched every episode because I am, for want of a better word, addicted and have to see how it turns out. Call me stupid.

I've been called worse. ;-D
393916.gif
:biggrin2:
 

mayday10

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2011
86
66
I hated it. Lasted about 5 episodes... (the one where it rains and people instantly transitioned from killing each other to helping each other with buckets). I still followed from afar reading synopses/reviews as well as the comments on IGN because it was just hilarious.

I don't need the thing to be a mirror of the source material. But this was transparent in just borrowing Mr King's highly popular name and title of a book to drum up interest in a poorly written, acted, and thought out show. There was no cohesion. People were shot and stabbed and would be up and running/swimming the next day in story time. Kids grew up in a week. Awful plot arcs. Characters acting in ways that was just not believable (such as early on when Julia's husband was MIA for like a day or two and townspeople in a small town were asking/jibing her about her 'budding' relationship with Barbie).

This bugs me to a point because Im a huge SK fan, going as far as to call him the "Shakespeare of our time/culture". But lets face it, most people get their story telling from the TV box. I heard (and read a lot of comments) from people criticizing King's abilities at this point. IMO Under the Dome was a great book, but most people who crossed paths with this "thing" don't understand that we are watching not a King story, but whatever writers the show had (who's main interest is keeping the ball in the air as long as possible for $$$).
 

Ebdim9th

Dressing the Gothic interval in tritones
Jul 1, 2009
6,137
22,104
Both yes and no. I liked it as far as adaptations go at first, but I saw a random episode in the second season, and it was pretty awful... trying to capture King's emotional impact and character development, but failing....
 

CurtSeattle

Active Member
Feb 26, 2010
28
72
LOVED the book. I watched Season 1 of the series and I liked it, but not enough to watch the next seasons yet. I'm sure I will but have been very busy is all. I think we set high standards for Mr. King sometimes and not every single thing he authorizes his name to be attached to (or that he creates for that matter...don't hate me for saying that!!!) is going to be the new standard for all to measure against.

That being said, I think they forced some things into an attempt to stay close to the book plotlines, but not match exactly which shortens the ability to develop the characters and other important "vested" emotions as you need to spend time doing story development. If they were going to follow the book exactly then they could have spent more time on development by way of the visual medium of video/tv (does anything really measure up to the vision in your head from the book though ever?) which is different than character/story development in literature.

It's a tough standard to hit and I think one of the reasons that the more critically acclaimed movies that Stephen King has put out over the years do deserve to be the standard to compare against. These movies are often more simple in their...I guess you'd call it..."otherworldliness" than ones that like Under the Dome and similar ilk.

Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Stand By Me, Misery, The Shining and even Christine in its simplicity of otherworldliness and how it affects those around the protagonists. There are many more examples of good ones. Apt Pupil, Salem's Lot (original..sorry Rob Lowe but tough shoes to fill), etc...come to mind.

With less successful movies/shows, where they tried to push that envelop and the "movie" story adapted to keep up with the plots/critters within his books, then the standards set by the visions in our own minds would seem to me to necessitate following the book as closely as possible for greater development of the characters and emotional investment.

In the case of the movies named above, most followed the story or at least theme of the story, very closely and any variance (or transgression might be a better word with the constant readers reading this right now..haha!) was minimal or easy to adapt to b/c the otherworldliness was easy to grasp and therefore enabled better story/character development in the medium of a movie/TV show.

Graveyard Shift, Riding the Bullet, Lawnmower Man, Night Flyer and Under the Dome seemed like they struggled a bit and I don't think they followed the books that were their respective catalysts as closely as the more successful movie adaptations above.

Tarantino offers a great example of the types of movies that seem to hit for Stephen King. Tarantino will take you on a journey for 3 hours in one sitting and much of it will be conversation that gets you inside the characters and, though the plots can be twisted and crazy, you follow along every step learning more through the dialogue and the sheer minutia of character interactions. I think the best Stephen King movies all developed the characters/plotlines as close to his vision outlined in his book and these same movies used conversation and more of the details of King himself and that is what Tarantino pushed out of his mind and onto his film. Stephen King is so thorough and detailed and the picture he paints and that I paint when reading are never going to be hit by a movie, but the people and characters if developed can outshine the otherworldliness and THAT is what makes a great movie/show. Each of the great movies mentioned above has a clear "hero" and you KNOW them. You KNOW the struggle within Jack in The Shining or Arnie in Christine. You live it while watching the movie.

Maybe I'm off base, but there is so much going on with the "why's" of the Dome, that trying to incorporate mini plots from show to show or season to season that don't mirror the book blow by blow is just asking for trouble. The characters are so diluted that it's hard to identify with them or maybe empathize is a better word for it.

I know I will definitely watch the entire run of shows for Under the Dome by way of reruns or buying the series online, but not in real time as they have come out after Season 1. Still a good show! :)

Crap, I type fast. Sorry about all of the blabbering. haha! :)
 
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Shoesalesman

Well-Known Member
Aug 12, 2010
1,814
4,093
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Watched the first season, gave it the old college try. But due to time constraints and a general dislike for where the show was going with the story and character-development, I bailed, never regretting the decision. The show certainly had its highs, definitely had its lows, but it didn't stand out as an epic success or epic failure for me. As I had said earlier on this board somewhere... the show is no better or no worse than the usual schlock you'll find on TV. Nothing stood out. Good shows get talked about. Even bad shows get talked about. This one is in neither category and will be forgotten soon enough.

The book, on the other hand, will live forever.
 

Harmony Wellsprings

Active Member
Dec 10, 2015
38
212
Toronto
I tried. I watched the first season. Then I was all ready to keep watching, and it wasn't there anymore. I don't follow along with any television series' because I don't like getting blue-balled. They bring you to the peak of excitement, then go on vacation and leave the plot dangling while they're on a beach in Maui, laughing at you. It's tyranny. So that was it for me. Maybe one day I'll finish it off on Netflix, but only when I can see all of it and get my happy ending... or any ending, really. I loved the book. :)
 

César Hernández-Meraz

Wants to be Nick, ends up as Larry
May 19, 2015
605
4,416
44
Aguascalientes, Mexico
I have just watched the first season (bought it on DVD, and plan to buy the second season, as well).

I really liked it. It is easier for me to see it as something different from the book because I had not read it when I watched it.

I have yet to find out if the second season will still hold my interests.
 
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amaunder

Abby
Feb 19, 2016
156
591
I started watching UTD because it was free for Amazon prime members, and although some parts were absurd I thought the acting wasn't bad...especially Dean Norris ( BB fame) and was totally pissed when it was cancelled. I hate, hate, HATE when they don't wrap up a series...like Stargate Universe, which IMO was much better than the silly Stargate Atlantis.

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