User:LancedSoul/sandbox/Stephen King series

= The Stand (2020)=

The Stand is an American post-apocalyptic fantasy television miniseries, based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Stephen King and a remake to the 1994 adaptation. In the novel's dedication to his wife, King describes it as a "dark tale of the ageless struggle between good and evil." The first episode was released on CBS All Access (now Paramount+) on December 17, 2020.

Plot
The Stand is described in CBS publicity as "King's apocalyptic vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied by a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the nefarious 'Dark Man.'"

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Weak faithful of the source material from Stephen King's novel of the same name.
 * 2) *One major complaint about the series' structure is beginning post-plague and then flashing back to how various characters handled it. This not only complicates the story, but some reviewers felt robbed it of the power of the plague's fast spread and collapse of society.
 * 3) *It becomes worse in later episodes bouncing around the timeline and events majorly out of order (i.e. characters told of "spies being sent to Vegas" without any explanation of why or who the Vegas characters are) which once more overcomplicates the tale.
 * 4) *Purists of the book complained about the series adding how Flagg was actually responsible for Campion fleeing the base to spread the virus. The book, at least the original edition, is fairly vague about Flagg's origins, and implies, perhaps even states, that he simply saw the plague as an opportunity. The revised version is more clear, though still not explicit, about Flagg not really being human, having been around for centuries, and adopting new identities and powers depending on the world and situation he's in. This is backed up by King's later reveal that he and the Man in Black from The Dark Tower are the same being. Despite that, the idea of him being the author of the Apocalypse rather than just an opportunist is an unforgivable change for some.
 * 5) *New Vegas is changed from an order-obsessed, dictatorial regime with zero tolerance for drugs into a chaotic hippie free-for-all, save for the public slaughter every so often, which defeats the point of Flagg's brand of evil.
 * 6) * Several characters are gender- and/or race-swapped, including Larry Underwood, Nick Andros, Ralph/Ray Brentner, Judge Harris, and Sheriff Baker.
 * 7) *In the novel, Teddy Weizak dies in the explosion Nadine and Harold cause. In the miniseries, he's shot by Nadine when he catches her and Harold taking explosives.
 * 8) The miniseries overused of Deus ex Machina. Here are the two examples:
 * 9) *One, the actual Hand of God appears from the sky and detonates Trashcan Man's nuke, destroying Las Vegas and Flagg.
 * 10) *And two, the mysterious black girl, implied to be either a somehow young Mother Abagail or God himself, who appears in Episode 9 to help Stu save Fran and heal her, then disappears.
 * 11) There's a scene where a wolf - being the avatar of Flagg - appears in front of Mother Abigail. Unfortunately it's very obvious it's a camera trick whereby the wolf is standing on a table in the extreme foreground and therefore some distance from Abigail. The wolf is even distractingly large, being noticeably nearer the camera.
 * 12) The characters are heavily dumbed down and felt very wasted.
 * 13) * Averting Show, Don't Tell, most of the character beats associated with General Starkey in the book (including his command during the initial onset of the outbreak and his desperation as the world succumbs to the virus) are instead related by a doctor to Stu in the control center in Vermont, while Starkey himself (played by J. K. Simmons) is limited to be a One-Scene Wonder who explains a handful of plot points to Stu before shooting himself, as in the original work.
 * 14) *Unlike the novel and the 1994 miniseries (where the character was played by Ossie Davis), the Race Lift version of Judge Farris, who has a fairly substantial role in the narrative, is heavily scaled down, with the actress who played the character not even properly introduced until her second-to-last scene, while the major incident Farris is involved in (encountering Bobby Teddy on the road to Vegas) is omitted completely, instead to after her corpse is brought to Flagg.
 * 15) *Bobby Terry, somehow, has even less to do than the version of the character (played by Sam Raimi) in the 1994 miniseries. While the latter set up Terry and his partner's pursuit of Judge Farris, failure to complete their mission and eventual treatment by Flagg, the 2020 version of the character is introduced after the mission in question, is played by a name actor (Clifton Collins Jr.) and has even less screentime, being killed off after he arrives in Vegas and has a single scene criticizing Flagg before the latter messily beats him to death in a hotel elevator.
 * 16) It has received criticism for having the only gay characters be Ray, whose partner died tragically, and flamboyant extras having orgies in New Vegas to show how decadent and therefore bad it is (which, as noted above, is a big shift from the book).

Good Qualities

 * 1) The acting is good, especially James Marsden and Whoopi Goldberg.
 * 2) Some characters were rewritten to become likable and get the important roles.
 * 3) * The US military is portrayed much nicer than in the book or previous miniseries, as they're legitimately just trying to contain the outbreak rather than focusing on a coverup. General Starkey, who is willing to let Stu leave the Vermont facility once there's no one left to tell him not to, even states that the soldiers all stayed focused on doing their jobs long after the predictive models said they would have in this situation. In the novel, Starkey has journalists who try to cover the superflu murdered and deliberately spreads the virus to America's enemies and rivals so the world wouldn't find out that it originated from the U.S. It is not known or shown in the miniseries whether he ever did or didn't do any of these things, only implied that he didn't.
 * 4) * In the novel the Rat Man was a very minor character, an eccentric, creepy follower of Flagg who dressed like an "Ethiopian pirate." In the 1994 series he was slightly more prominent but still minor. In this series the character now remagined as the Rat Woman has much more screentime and more importance in-universe - she is the judge at Glen, Larry and Ray' s show trial, stage produces public executions and generally she seems to be third in command of New Vegas beneath only Flagg himself and Lloyd.
 * 5) **Julie Lawry is a minor character in the novel and 1994 adaptation. She mainly exists to meet Tom and Nick in Kansas, then tell Lloyd that Tom is in Vegas. In the 2020 adaptation, she is Lloyd's girlfriend and has a bigger role.
 * 6) Well performed soundtrack by Nathaniel Walcott and Mike Mogis. In particular, Marilyn Manson's cover of "The End" by The Doors is Darker and Edgier than the original, and was written for this series.
 * 7) The final episode, "The Circle Closes", written by Stephen King, was praised for expanding the ending of the original work — namely, Frannie is seriously injured by Flagg while Stu is scavenging at a nearby drugstore, and is tempted by Flagg before being rescued by a combination of Stu and the spirit of Abigail, who aids her during her dream and appears in the form of a young girl who heals her wounds.

Reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 55%, based on 50 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Despite an A-list cast and a smattering of poignant moments, The Stand's extended runtime doesn't make for better storytelling, leaving its expansive cast stranded in a cluttered apocalypse.". Metacritic gives it a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 24 critic reviews, indicating "mixed to average reviews".

Trivia

 * It was planning to have feature-length film for two or four film parts adaptation by Warner Bros. Pictures and CBS Films.

Videos


= Lisey's Story=

Lisey's Story is an American horror drama miniseries based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The series is written by King, directed by Pablo Larraín, and produced by J. J. Abrams. It stars Julianne Moore in the title role. Lisey's Story premiered on Apple TV+ on June 4, 2021.

Plot
Lisa "Lisey" Landon is the widow of famous fiction author Scott Landon, who died two years prior to the start of the series. Lisey is still mourning Scott, and fending off parties who are interested in obtaining Scott's unpublished manuscripts. While sorting through Scott's possessions, Lisey discovers that Scott has left her a treasure hunt, which has her revisiting memories of their marriage, especially suppressed memories of unusual abilities that Scott had. While Lisey pursues this treasure hunt, she gains a dangerous stalker who believes that she is selfishly keeping Scott's genius from the world.

Reception
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Lisey's Story holds an approval rating of 54% based on 69 reviews, with an average rating of 5.92/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Despite an admirable performance from Julianne Moore, Lisey's Story is weighed down by an overreliance on its source material and a sluggish pace.". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the miniseries has a score of 48 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Videos
