Okay, so most people who follow this blog know that I am a big Stephen King fan. Probably my favorite of his works is The Stand, and I am far from the only one who feels this way. So I was looking forward to the new adaptation of it, and had high hopes. Recently I finally finished watching the series, and felt it would be best to write down my thoughts about it straight away, before even reading or watching anyone else's reactions to it.
Please allow me to indulge a bit in this review. It is long. The book is very long, and both television adaptations were also long, as well. So there is a lot of material to review, and a lot to say about it. Also, The Stand often ranks among the favorite books for Stephen King fans, and that is true for me as well. It may very well be my favorite, but certainly ranks as among my favorites. So this series came after much anticipation, and after watching nine installations, it is worth reviewing.
Before I start, however, I should warn everyone that there will be spoilers in this review. So if you have not yet seen it and intend to, or intend to read the book and/or see the first adaptation, then you might want to avoid reading anything beyond this point until later. Again, this is you last warning, because there are spoilers coming up.
Okay, you were warned. If you are still reading by now, then you likely either have seen this series and/or read the book, or simply do not mind spoilers (I know some people who do not mind spoilers). Don’t say you were not warned!
So here goes:
Good Versus Bad
There were some aspects of the series that I liked, and that felt like fitting updates to the story. After all, we are now well into the 21st century, and there are some obvious surface differences between this world and the one that existed in the late seventies and early eighties, when King originally wrote and released this work. Obviously, there were going to be some changes, and some of them worked. But some of them did not, and for me, the parts that did not work felt like they were so loud that they shouted over, if you will, the entire series.
Making some changes for the sake of modernizing the story is not itself a problem. In fact, it would kind of be necessary. But there were some issues that I had with some of the more substantive issues that they did deal with. Some of the alterations were entirely unnecessary and, in some cases, actually outright altered the story itself, and not necessarily for the better.
Here is what I mainly had a problem with: it felt ridiculously, cartoonishly oversimplified and dumbed down in terms of morality. To some extent, this is the case in the book, perhaps, and it was also a more obvious issue with the first adaptation. But they take it to a whole new level in this adaptation. Frankly, I felt after watching it that both the good guy characters and the bad guy characters might have been envisioned by some self-declared moral crusaders like Pat Robertson or Ted Cruz or Joel Olsteen. All of the bad guys seemed to be, in some way or other, overt sexual deviants. Not only were they not at all shocked, or frankly even mildly surprised by public displays of sexuality, but they were cheering it on loudly and with serious enthusiasm, embracing it fully. Also, not only did they like those live displays of pornography, but they also lusted after blood, as well. There were combats to the death, and there were public executions including crucifixions. The bloodier these events for viewing entertainment in the so-called "New Vegas" were, the better. Not surprisingly, they also enthusiastically cheered the monster in charge of everything, even though they were all also deathly and transparently afraid of him. Only at the very end do any of the characters express doubts about any of this, and even then, this resistance, if that is what it even is, seems passive and unconvincing.
New Vegas felt like it was almost exclusively shot in one hotel, which did not make sense. While the Las Vegas in the book and previous adaptation was actually a city, with satellite stations all ruled over and overseen down to the last detail by Flagg, we get the impression in this version that "New Vegas" does not really stretch beyond that one hotel, where almost all of the scenes were shot. If they had the entire city, and a presumably quickly growing population, would they not need much more of the city and/or the surrounding area? If it is that small, then how do they get the constant stream of people to engage in trial by combat, or for public executions? That part did not make much sense to me at all. What made this even more glaringly obvious was one thing that they added completely unnecessarily, since they suggested that Randall Flagg did not want anyone near the top levels, which effectively made the hotel that much more limited, and which made this even less believable, frankly.
The court case was obviously made to appear farcical, but it was a departure from the book and the previous adaptation, and not one that I particularly cared for. It felt overly trashy and lacking any gravitas whatsoever, just like the rest of the “New Vegas” scenes. All of it was just so exaggerated and trashy to the point of being cartoonish, truth be told. In both the book and the previous adaptation, the emphasis was often that both Boulder and Las Vegas attracted regular, everyday people. There were reserved people who would likely identify themselves as conservative and traditional who were living in the Dark Man’s Las Vegas, and who were convinced that they were rebuilding a society worth rebuilding. Frankly, it is hard to imagine anyone but the absolutely most decadent people possible feeling that this version of a new society would be something worth working and fighting for. Even if people are scared of the Dark Man and his capabilities, and want to be around other people, you would think that there would be a somewhat more normal feel to most of the city. Instead, it feels like one gigantic, constantly running strip club, with strange and frankly paradoxical aspirations to create a fascist or false utopia, on top of everything else. It just did not feel particularly convincing or realistic, even in a post-apocalyptic world where apparently a lot of people completely lose all inhibitions, yet somehow all of them only on one side of the Vegas/Boulder divide.
Truth be told, the good, Christian community being established in Boulder also feels a bit forced. Maybe a little more normal under admittedly abnormal circumstances, that is true. But it feels unrealistically "good" in very trying and difficult, unstable circumstances. Only at the very end, after "New Vegas" has already been destroyed and the bad people no longer have anywhere else to turn to, are there serious problems with violence and other ills in society that start popping up in the Boulder Free Zone, and that just seems forced and, again, not very realistic. All of this was just too black and white, with no shades of gray.
The good community of Boulder reflects the frankly naive vision of good being defined by a certain, unmistakably folk way of life, complete with good ol’ country music. It seems that there is largely an absence of city or suburban people, with maybe New Yorker Larry Underwood as the exception, as everyone reflects their country ways. Because all good people always just adore good old country music to the exclusion of pretty much everything else, right? There is no hip hop, even among young people, which seems surprising, given it's current nearly global cultural dominance. There is not much in the way of rock music, or heavy metal, or any pretty much any other genres, either, which millions and millions of people in the real world presumably enjoyed before, but apparently not after, the apocalypse. In fact, other than brief exposures to Larry Underwood's once emerging hit before the apocalypse brought an end to all of it, the only we ever hear other than country music would be in New Vegas, and this presumably gets destroyed when New Vegas itself gets blown up. What a boring world, musically, completely absent of any of the musical diversity that the world had developed to that point. Not that music should necessarily have played a central role in this series, but the dominance of the country music, and clear symbolism of this relating to some good, old-fashioned kind of living and values, is too obvious to ignore, which is what got me on the topic.
Another aspect that I felt not only the book but the original adaptation did better was in seeing the world falling apart. This surprised me a bit, because the 1994 series was kind of made for television. Yet they showed more of the shock value of an apocalyptic kind of plague wiping out the vast majority of people. There were scenes of people going crazy, especially in Manhattan. Frankly, it was one of the most impressive aspects of that original adaptation, which felt true to the book. In this version, it seemed that they somehow missed the shock value of such an all-encompassing, cataclysmic event. It almost felt like they just put in the mandatory amount of scenes, just so you get the picture, so that they can proceed to what’s next. In the original, it felt more central to the story, and you see scenes where the characters are truly shocked by all of what’s happening, perhaps particularly with Larry Underwood, who ducks shots while driving and sees New York City being taken over by crazies.
Changes in the Characters
Some characters were almost completely the opposite of the way they were portrayed in the book and the previous television movie adaptation. Lloyd Henreid, for example, was far more well put together in the book and first movie version. This version felt like a wanna be rock star, and again, he seemed like a naive idea of a sexual deviant. He was neither strictly straight or remotely business-like enough to have seriously done the Dark Man's bidding, as the number one man. This version of Lloyd hardly conducted himself in any way, shape, or form to have seriously done the Dark Man's bidding as his number one man, even though he plays a crucial role in the original. In the book, and again in the first adaptation, it was easy to see how the Dark Man, or Randall Flagg if you prefer, would trust this man in such an important role. In this one, Lloyd felt more like a clown, and it was hard to believe that anyone, let alone someone who could just see right through people like Flagg can, would not be able to see how this version of Lloyd would be a serious liability, rather than an asset. I liked the character in the book, and really appreciated Miguel Ferrer's version in the 1994 adaptation. This version, played by Nat Wolff, was almost excruciating to watch, and greatly detracted from the credibility of the serious threat that the Dark Man and the citizens of New Vegas were supposed to represent. However, I am not sure if that is a product of the acting, or the way that the writers depicted this character in this particular interpretation, or perhaps a mixture of both. One way or the other, though, this character really, really did not work for me.
Similarly, the Trashcan Man was ridiculous, and that is saying something. This was a character who was screwed up already in the book and previous movie adaptation, but he was utterly absurd in this version. This guy went around almost naked, masterbating whenever he blew anything up, and this while prowling around in the desert heat, looking for nuclear weapons. Apparently, sunburn was not an issue for him, but I wondered how that could be. In the book, and again the original series, he was completely taken by fire, to the point where it consumed his life, and got him into trouble. In his own way, he was timid, always scared of being picked on by his school day tormentors. We only catch a brief glimpse of what passes for his sexuality, and that was when he was in a compromising position, but it was not a central theme, necessarily, of who he was as a character. Again, fire was his main thing, perhaps the only thing, really, that excited him in any way.
Then, there was the Dark Man himself. He lacked the charm that the Dark Man had in the book or the previous adaptation, at least for me. Yet, he also was not terrifying, or even scary, as I hoped at least he might be. Mostly, he seemed flat, wooden, and one-dimensional. Even when things were starting to go badly, he seems barely to notice, and never seriously expressed much in the way of serious doubt even when things clearly begin to go wrong. He hardly seriously expressed the least bit of doubt when things clearly began to go wrong until the very end, by which time things are literally exploding all around him. Only then does he finally betray true emotion and worry, by which point it is far too late. Even when his promised bride throws herself off from his top floor luxury suite and plunges to her death, it seems more like a minor inconvenience, rather than a horrific shock.
Yet, he started off promisingly enough. The first glimpses that we have of him, particularly in the car as Campion was escaping, seemed promising. I was intrigued, and wanted to see more of him at the time, and had high hopes. However, by the time we actually got to see more of him and know him in this series, frankly, the less I wished that they had showed of him. Frankly, it might have been better had they taken the Aliens approach, and barely showed him at all. That might have felt more terrifying, or at least believable.
Meanwhile, the good guys were just as predictably disappointing and too closely resembled naive stereotypes. We see them adorning the colors of the American flag and celebrating the Fourth of July in a down home manner, with country music playing, and a whole lotta white folks dancing in their folk way. Additionally, the story of Nick Andros seemed almost irrelevant, and I found myself wondering why he was deemed so important in the book, if he was as pointless as he felt like in this series. In the book, we really get to know and appreciate him and his struggles, as well as how sharp he is, and we feel for how he has ultimately struggled yet persevered. This make it easy to understand and believe why Mother Abigail sees something substantive enough in him to make him the de facto leader of the newly established Boulder Free Zone. In this adaptation, I was left wondering why we ever really got to know him at all. He was introduced late and never seemed to learn to communicate with Tom Cullen much (a crucial aspect of the book and first adaptation), let alone how they could then become such close friends. Then, shortly after Mother Abigail chose him as the leader, he is killed, with hardly a noticeable contribution to the new Boulder Free Zone to show for it. This was to the detriment of the series.
The biggest hero was likely Stu Redman, and he embodied the good-hearted, lovable Texan in every way, even wearing a cowboy hat and boots. The actor playing him, James Marsden, was not bad, doing what he could with what, to me, was a corny and uninteresting character. In the book and the first adaptation, there was a real rivalry – I mean serious friction and obvious mutual distrust - between him and one of the most interesting characters, Harold Lauder, or “Hawk,” as he comes to be known as, and a nickname which, in the end, he adopts. In this version, it felt like Stu, who was actually quite sharp in both the book and original adaptation, was overly naïve and way too trusting to be an effective leader. Again, the acting was convincing on the part of Marsden, but the character himself was a letdown, and now what I had come to expect from such a central character.
Then, there is Nick Andros. In the book, we really get to know and appreciate him and his struggles, as well as how sharp he is, and we feel for how he has ultimately struggled yet persevered. This make it easy to understand and believe why Mother Abigail sees something substantive enough in him to make him the de facto leader of the newly established Boulder Free Zone. In this adaptation, I was left wondering why we ever really got to know him at all. He was introduced late and never seemed to learn to communicate with Tom Cullen much (a crucial aspect of the book and first adaptation), let alone how they could then become such close friends. Then, shortly after Mother Abigail chose him as the leader, he is killed, with hardly a noticeable contribution to the new Boulder Free Zone to show for it.
That brings us to Tom Cullen. His role is actually pretty big in the book and original adaptation. Not so much in this version. He is more of an annoyance than anything, and we hardly see the absolutely crucial role he had in saving Stu's life, which is simply glossed over. The early friendship that he has with Nick kind of sets the tone for this character in the book and original adaptation, but there is hardly grounds to believe that there is a friendship in this version. He was supposed to be chosen - reluctantly and with considerable deliberation by the members of the committee - to be a spy and gather information about New Vegas. In this version, we wonder why he was chosen at all, and frankly, I almost wonder why they did not eliminate this character at all, since they did not seem to deem him nearly as important as he was in those earlier adaptations of this story. They missed the boat with this version of the character, which was disappointing.
Also, frankly, I wished that they had picked someone else but Whoopi Goldberg to play Mother Abigail. Every time I saw her, it was impossible to forget that I was watching a famous actress, rather than the old woman who is so central to the story. She has been good in some previous roles in movies. But in this one, it was hard to forget that we were watching a very famous, professional actress, and not, indeed, Mother Abigail. Also, it felt like she was not the magnet to draw people the way that she was in the book and previous adaptation. It almost seemed like they merely paid lip service to the idea, and tried to respect it, but somehow failed to convey it as this series went on.
The Glen Bateman character was another important, albeit often overlooked, character form the book. In the book, he offered some insight and sociological and historical perspectives that were enjoyable to read, and often illuminating, as well as believable in the sense that an intellectual who survived something like Captain Trip’s would indeed think about such things. In the book, he was one of the most enjoyable background characters, if you will. And to the extent possible, the first adaptation stayed true to the spirit of this character.
In this version? Well, Greg Kinnear was not convincing, to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those haters of this particular actor, and they definitely exist. Every now and then, I run into someone who seems to absolutely detest him, and it always seemed a mystery as to why this would be. That said, however, Kinnear never struck me as particularly intellectual, and he just is not very convincing, frankly, as an intellectual sort here. Like with Whoopi Goldberg, every time that I saw Greg Kinnear here, it was hard to not see a famous actor, and one who was not especially convincing in the role that he was playing here. Sure, he looks older than he once did. But he still does not seem to be able to portray the deep thinker who can see people’s ulterior motives that the Glen Bateman was in the book and even the previous adaptation. Maybe Kinnear is a smart guy in real life, but that is not apparently a strong suit in his acting. Rather than being able to enjoy the character, I found Kinnear to be distracting and, frankly, unconvincing in this role, and that was to the detriment of the series, truth be told. He could have been a real asset for this series, helped to give it a bit more substance, as this character did in the book and previous adaptation. Unfortunately, Kinnear largely fails to deliver in that capacity.
That said, I did like that they did not combine the characters of Rita Blakemoor and Nadine Cross. So he feels responsible for Rita’s overdose, which never happened in the first adaptation. However, they barely got past the city at all in this version, while in the book, they were in rural New England, which meant that they had more time together, and more chances to be close. So again, Rita feels like a character that was just glossed over in this one, although at least they attempted to make Larry feel guilty about her overdose. Also, there was the sexual tension and mutual frustration between Larry and Nadine, which comes across very clearly in both the book and the original movie, but which feels forced and unconvincing in this series.
Frannie is decent in this role, and more or less stays true to how she is depicted in the book, even with the changes, or modernizations, if you will, in this version. Odessa Young, the actress who plays her, is pretty solid, even if some of the things that the character goes through or does (like breaking into Harold's house and then being briefly imprisoned in it once he discovers her there) are different. We do see her going through some very interesting circumstances in episode nine, in what was a new addition to this story entirely unique to this series. She falls down a well and breaks a number of bones, to the point where her very life is at stake. She is even tempted by the devil, or the Dark Man, who we learn, finally, is doing just fine, having survived the nuclear explosion and destruction of New Vegas (which is in keeping with the book).
We feel Frannie's struggles and uncertainties with the baby, and her contemplations of the world her new child is entering are believable. Overall, no real problems with this character. While I liked Molly Ringwald in the original adaptation, Young is solid here in this one, too, even while bringing new dimensions to the character, while remaining largely true to how she is in the book.
Larry Underwood, played by Jovan Adepo, was not bad. I liked Adam Storke in the original adaptation as well, but this Underwood felt a bit more serious and weighed down by his demons, which added to his complexity. He was a refreshing aspect of this series, when many other characters were a disappointment. I felt his struggles, and his striving to reinvent himself in this new, post-apocalyptic world for the better. He was one of the highlights in this series, and like Frannie and Harold Lauder (who I will get to in a moment), he was among the relative saving graces that gave this series intrigue, at least until episode 8, when he is killed with the destruction of New Vegas.
As for Ray Brentner, played by Irene Bedard, she felt a bit uninteresting. This was the most radically altered character from either the original or the first adaptation, as the character went from a big, burly but good-natured man, to a petite Native American woman who is not nearly as naive or, frankly, charming. She seemed almost to have no real personality at all in this one, and almost felt like a background character thrust into the limelight at certain times. Again, this felt like a missed opportunity, as they could have added some depth to the sacrifices being made in making "the stand." But Ray did little to contribute to this sense of sacrifice, truth be told.
One aspect which they largely got right was the character Harold Lauder, which is actually a huge accomplishment. Owen Teague plays this very complex character, and he does so quite capably. While like in the 1994 adaptation, you never get the sense that Harold, as a teenager before Captain Trip’s arrives, struggles with weight issues, because he seems to have no issues with obesity at all here. In fact, he seems incredibly skinny from beginning to end in both television adaptations. In the book, he clearly struggles with it, and the lack of the ability to eat as regularly as he once had, combined with the obvious need for more physical exertion as he treks across the nation, leads to serious weight loss as well as the clearing up of his acne. Still, you definitely nonetheless get the sense that he is struggling with being an outcast and constantly the target of the derision of others.
In the book, Harold undergoes many changes, and the weight issue is one of them. The physical transformation looks good on Harold, and seems to symbolize a real opportunity to give himself a new life and identity in Boulder. With no weight issues to speak of, there is then no weight loss to symbolize this new Harold, so to speak. Still, we get a clear sense that he has a real chance to reinvent himself in this new, post Captain Trips world, and for the better, at that. He feels tempted, yet ultimately, the demons of his past get the better of him. He continues to be obsessed with Fran, and his initial love turns quickly to, at best, love-hatred. Nadine’s approach with sexual temptations comes across as real in the book and both television adaptations, and it goes a long way towards explaining why Harold goes ahead and literally blows up his life in Boulder with the bomb to destroy the committee. Obviously when he does, he has to flee and head west. But in this series, it was not convincing that the Dark Man was behind Harold’s motorcycle accident. You get the sense that if Harold was doing what he should have been doing, which is to say paying attention to a dangerous drive on winding mountain roads, then he would have survived, in contrast to the book and first adaptation, where you really got the sense that Harold was doomed no matter what he did.
Ultimately, once Harold has crashed, it is gruesome in all three versions. But this series stays a bit truer to the book’s version of his final struggles and ultimate suicide. No, he does not climb up the cliff, as he manages to do in the book. You could really feel his struggle when he does, yet neither of the television adaptations has him doing it, which is a shame. But he has his journal in this one, and he recalls the game where he felt so scared as a child in this suicide scene, which is truer to the spirit of the powerful final Harold Lauder suicide scene in the book. The suicide scene in the book was frankly a brilliant piece of writing, to the point that it was one of the singular pieces of writing from Stephen King that I most appreciated in the early days of when I became a fan of his. This version is not quite as powerful as the book’s version, but it makes it resonate a bit more than the previous television adaptation, and that was one aspect that I, personally, enjoyed. Harold Lauder was, again, a complicated character, with quite a bit more nuance than some of the other characters, who fell more clearly into either the “good guy” or “bad guy” sides, if you will. Yes, Harold does an awful and entirely unjustifiable, horrific thing with the bomb, which he bears the responsibility of along with Nadine.
Still, one of the reasons that I liked Harold as a character is that he shows a human side, no matter what he does. This was true in the book, where I felt he was a brilliant character, and possibly my favorite one from this book. And this is true in both adaptations, although it felt more true in this one. You can feel his teenage angst, his bitterness towards the more popular kids. You can feel his obsession with Fran, and his bitter disappointment when he is ultimately rejected. And in this adaptation, more than the previous one, you can feel his attraction to his life in Boulder, which is truer to the book, and maintains his human qualities, both good and bad. Harold was a big success in this series, where many things were a mixed bag.
Nadine Cross, meanwhile, never felt like she translated well in this movie. She is played by Amber Heard, who is a very attractive woman, which is in keeping with the book. Yet, it is somehow difficult to believe that she is a virgin in this one, saving herself for the Dark Man. This is crucial, and is convincing in the book and first adaptation. In this version, however, it is somehow more difficult to believe. And while we see both the good and the bad in the previous versions, there feels something different about this version of Nadine. She reflects a bit of both good and bad, true. But mostly, she feels somehow lost, or rather, not altogether with it. Like she is always dreaming of something or somewhere else that she wants to be, and never present in the here and now, something that Yoda would surely have scolded her for in Star Wars. Her mind always seems to be on other things, and at least until her pregnancy begins to go horribly wrong, I never got the impression that her character was even particularly interested or engaged with the drama unfolding all around her own life, always instead fixating on something else that she cannot quite see or reach, somehow. Not sure why this is, but again, it felt like they could have done something more with this character. She, like Harold, should have been crucial. Instead, she was more of a distraction, and only in this version because she had to be, and not because she was actively doing things that were fundamental to the arc of the story. It was a bit of a disappointment.
How It Ended
The ending of “New Vegas” was a big disappointment. All of the people are still in that same hotel, and it is never really explained what the attraction is about that one hotel in particular. In any case, they are about to torture Larry Underwood and Ray Brentner. But it appears that what they are about to do is drown them. No death is going to be especially pleasant, especially when you are being put to death publicly. However, it is clear in the book, as well as the previous adaptation, that Underwood and Brentner are not merely going to die, but be made to suffer. They will be dismembered, and you can sense how scared they truly are, and just how much they may have sacrificed by coming west to Last Vegas to make their literal stand. By way of comparison, drowning does not seem nearly as bad, even publicly.
Yet, even this is interrupted when the Trashcan Man brings the promised nuclear weapon that Flagg has demanded of him. But everyone flees when they see and recognize what he has brought in their midst. Then, the Hand of God comes down, although in this version, it is a series of bolts of electricity that, ultimately, trigger the nuclear bomb, and destroy Las Vegas forever, saving Boulder.
Towards the end, Flagg is with a native tribe, and demanding to be worshipped. One of the natives attacks him with a bow and arrow attack, and Flagg catches the arrow, then destroying the man's head, which gets the rest of the tribe to bow down. This felt forced, just a way of adding a bit of frankly unnecessary (and not particularly convincing or impressive) special effects. Not only was this part entirely unnecessary, but it felt almost insulting towards native beliefs. After all, natives are part of humanity too, and they are not the ones who would be responsible for a real outbreak of a virus as destructive as Captain Trips. Yet, you would almost get the sense that the ones who created this series felt that the very primitiveness of the beliefs of the native tribes are evil, and will be responsible for the next disaster or apocalypse to come. You also get the idea that this part could have been written by the most stereotypical, fanatical fire and brimstone Evangelical Christian preacher or evangelist. Again, disappointing, and much too black and white (perhaps literally, in this case).
There were certain aspects that I did like in this series. After all, it was a nine part series, which means that they had more room to work than the original adaptation, and that was a good thing for certain characters, like Harold and Frannie. Also, the original adaptation was made for television, and thus, much more censored and watered down than this version was.
Still, this version just did not do much for me. It felt overly preachy and tired, and somehow disinterested in some aspects of the story that, frankly, I had believed to be crucial in the book and previous adaptation. The fact that some of these things were glossed over, and new things added without any particular rhyme of rhythm to it, felt forced. It felt like they made changes at times for the sake of making changes, which was disappointing. There were points where I felt engaged with the characters, even if some of them (like Lloyd and the Trashcan Man in particular) were almost excruciating to watch. But I lost a lot of interest particularly during and after episode 8, when they frankly botched the destruction of New Vegas. They largely lost me after that.
Unfortunately, this version of The Stand just did not do much for me. Thumbs down, at least for a loyal fan of Stephen King, who feels that while this version has certain qualities, and maybe even be enjoyable entertainment for the uninitiated, there is a bad taste left after watching this, and knowing that the story could have been so much more if they stuck more closely to the original plans. Too many substantive alterations have not added but rather detracted from one of Stephen King's very best works in this particular television adaptation.
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