bushytailed said:

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Blatant Disregard said:

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Zombie Jon Snow said:

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How many that have read and love The Stand have also read Robert R. McCammons "Swan Song"?

It's a nuclear post-apocalyptic epic story similar to The Stand in some ways but different too. A bit of a Grapes of Wrath vibe to it in a horror sense. He intentionally modeled it after The Stand but of course the characters and plot are different. It's also very very long and he has different writing style and some different strengths as a writer but also some glaring weaknesses (romance, and dialogue at times) but the storytelling is great. Lots of horror elements, and it's hauntingly descriptive at times, imagery from this book has stayed with me all these years. I read it first shortly after release in 1987. It tied with King's Misery for the Bram Stoker award that year - that's some excellent company.

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I'm about 40% through it right now. Oh boy that movie theater scene.

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I'm a third of the way through and have had to flip through a couple of the gory parts.

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Swans Song was awesome. I would love to see that miniseries.

SJEAg said:

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No, it was him referencing his brother.

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ACKSHUALLY it was Eddie Warfield, the local football hero.

Hah... right. His brother is why he had to stick around Arnette or something.

keeeeerrect

This thread motivated me to start The Stand on audible. It's been a few years since I last read the book

West Point Aggie said:

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It wasn't west Texas but it was all screwed up in the movie...just like their mountainous depiction of Indiana!

That's how low budget and crappy this was...

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Reminds me of the first X Files movie that opened in Dallas and in the background was a huge mountain range.

YouBet said:

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West Point Aggie said:

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It wasn't west Texas but it was all screwed up in the movie...just like their mountainous depiction of Indiana!

That's how low budget and crappy this was...

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Reminds me of the first X Files movie that opened in Dallas and in the background was a huge mountain range.

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Oh come on that's Mt. McKinney

Sorry about the goof in geography in my early post. What probably threw me off was that at the gas station there were maps of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. But later there's a reference to the Highway Patrolman's territory being East Texas. By the way, I'm going back and reading SWAN SONG a second time. If you're a Kindle Unlimited member you can get it for free.

ro828 said:

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Sorry about the goof in geography in my early post. I'm going back and reading SWAN SONG a second time. If you're a Kindle Unlimited member you can get it for free.

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Thanks for heads up.

M O O N that spells trailer.

The trailer looks good. Larry Underwood being black is an interesting choice. Always thought people assuming Larry was black in the book was one of the better recurring gags.

So this debuted last week to little fanfare due to it being on CBS All Access. I reluctantly checked it out and through episode 1 I'm pleasantly surprised. Somewhat spoilers, though I assume most have either read the novel or watched the 90's miniseries.

Hate how overused and disjointed the style of jumping back and forth through time (especially when it's James Marsden and I keep trying to think which time "Teddy" is in), but that's become so in vogue with TV directors over the last decade that I've just come to accept it.

It's been a while since I read the book, but it seems like they are at least making an effort to give Harold some human characteristics as opposed to the miniseries that just made him full-blown creep from jump street. I like how they dangled this possibility in his mind that he could be a normal, giving person but his mind just wouldn't allow it.

Obviously have seen very little of Flagg thus far, but I like the casting choice and I like how they showed/implied a bit more that he exists in these times to allow people to make the wrong choice (eg. it was his foot that was keeping the elevator open in the research facility, but the guy still had to make the choice to run).

Hard to have much feeling for Fran at this point, doesn't seem like a very likeable actress. Dare I say Molly Ringwald actually pulled it off well back in the 90s.

Not a fan of the bloated neck... Doesn't seem like it's really necessary and in some cases makes the infected look almost cartoonish.

All in all, I'll tune in for the next episode and see how it goes. (Who am I kidding, I saw Sleepwalkers in in theaters, there was never a chance I wouldn't watch this).

I hated the actress that played Fran. She spent most of the episode staring off into space like a newborn calf. In the book she is decisive and strong, albeit grief stricken.

I also didn't care for the tube neck effect. I know its in the book but it didn't look real.

When the episode started where and when it did, I legit returned to the main menu because I thought I was on the wrong episode. Not a fan of the timeline. I'll keep watching but so far unimpressed, which sucks because the Stand is one of my favorite books and I've read it multiple times.

How much is cbs access? I have a fire stick and Hulu tv account

Ashamed to say as many SK books I read from 5th grade through early 30s I never read this one. I used to be an avid reader but have rarely read for pleasure the last ten years.

Maybe I can use the stand as a carrot to read more educational stuff when I wake early. 50/50 page count splits or something like that. Audible is a good idea too, stream it when working out.

So how is this better than the prior series?

You can watch on Amazon Prime, if you have it.

I also read the book ages ago. Watched the miniseries, too. This thread. Got me motivated to listen to the book on Audible... good suggestion.

Wasn't feeling EP2 as much.

I started the thread and I am hesitant to watch it given the mediocre reviews. Is it at least faithful to the book somewhat? The original miniseries I consider reasonably close so I don't expect perfection. I realize heavy editing and probably some character elimination is needed. But I don't want to watch if it something like that 11/22/63 abomination from a few years back.

I watched episodes 1 and 2 immediately after listening to the 1st 8 chapters in Audible. There are some changes, but it seems reasonably faithful so far.

IMO, neither the 1990s nor the current versions cast Frannie well.

Thanks.

Yeah, old series had some misses like Fran, but otherwise casting was its strongest quality IMO. Near perfect Stu, Tom, Nick, Lloyd, Ralph, Glen, Abigail. Too bad the production quality was so bad.

They are jumping around in the timeline so there are things that I am not able to compare to the book. And it's probably been at least 2 decades since I read the book last... I have forgotten a lot.

I'm trying to watch this on Amazon prime. But it says I need CBS all access? Am I doing it wrong?

No. Same thing for us. I bit the bullet and signed up. The stand is in my top two favorite novels , worth the month or two to watch this.

In watched the first episode on Prime. Second two on CBS All Access.

How bad is W Goldberg in this?

Not good.

Honestly, I'm currently of the belief the casting of the original miniseries is better then this set.

I'm liking it thus far. It's doing a better job of following the hook than the last one.

So it's about halfway through, right? I'm saving it to watch all in one bender weekend. Updated thoughts?

Yea, 4/9 done.

I really am enjoying it this far. They are sticking mostly to the book, but with an updated twist. Harold is a really well fleshed out character in this one. And I don't hate Stu's Texas accent.

A few thoughts on the fourth episode, "The House of the Dead".-

was really sad to see Teddy (Webster from BoB for those that are having a hard time placing where you know the actor from) get shot. I know he does in the book, but I really enjoyed his character. Maybe more than the main ones.

I dislike Amber Heard so much that it really is helping me with the revulsion towards the Nadine character.

I didn't initially like the way they were portraying the Tom Cullen character, but it has grown on me quite a lot. That farewell scene between him and Nick, in their matching jackets, felt real to me.

Did you catch the Stephen King cameo?

I missed the cameo.

Why did they have to change where Mother Abigail lives? Not necessary, IMO.

He was in the ad that Tom and Nick saw at the bus stop.

I only focused on the name on the sign.