Books2Movies Club discussion

One of the most ambitious novels by Stephen King, The Stand, is the post-apocalyptic novel that is a combination of many genres in itself, not surprising considering the sheer size of it. There is even an uncut version of it, published first in 1990, twelve years after the original. It doesn't change the story, just expands it with paragraphs deleted from the first publication.

There are now two adaptations of the book. Both are mini-series. The first came in 1994 with four episodes, and starring Gary Sinise in the main role. The second is still on our small screens at the moment, and will have nine episodes overall.

I'd like to watch both shows, but I certainly should read the book first! I bought that uncut edition just in case - I hate missing out on any parts of the story even if they are inconsequential to the whole.

Freely share your thoughts and impressions of the book! Tell us what you liked and disliked in it, from the storylines to the characters - it is a huge book after all, even if it become your favorite, there will surely be some things you won't like, and opposite.

Same goes with adaptations - if you didn't read the book, tell us your honest opinions of them, did you like them and did they entice you to read the book after all? If you did read it, and watched the shows afterwards (or before), were you disappointed by them or they were even better than the book (not likely though)? How do those shows, knowing how they were made with mindsets of their respective times and with different technologies available, compare with each other? Which do you like more and why?

I really really hope we'll all enjoy this discussion! Especially considering how dreadful is today's situation all over the world!

Hi there!
I just started watching the new series. The first chapter so far seems really great. I found the characters very well acted and cringe worthy in some cases (on purpose, because said character I figure will become evil or something in the near future). The representation of evil and good is very well done and the backgrounds for each character are very well explained. Something about the lines of "show don't tell", which I always find works great. Is it I or the devil is Eric from True Blood? I think I saw him for like a second in the end but I can't be sure and I totally forgot to double-check on IMDB. Oh! and I already got the book too, so starting any day now!

Lorena wrote: "Hi there!
I just started watching the new series. The first chapter so far seems really great. I found the characters very well acted and cringe worth in some cases..."

I am so excited about the book and the shows too. I just finished this moment the preface to mine, and felt so giddy because of so high expectations! It made me wonder though would it be better to watch the show before? What if I find the book so good that no show would be on par with it? Argh!

It’s like you read my mind. I’m in the middle of reading it now. 300 pages (out of 1200) in already. There’s some Lord of the Rings connections that (based on my memory reading this book before) seem very on purpose, not one to one comparisons but nice little connections.

Zeljka wrote: It made me wonder though would it be better to watch the show before? What if I find the book so good that no show would be on par with it? Argh!."

Definitely an issue! I usually tend to find the book more complete and with much more background info, which generally makes it better. So, I really don't think that a movie or series can ever ruin a good book.

However, if you read the book first and then see a poorly explained movie or series, it might definitely dampen your enjoyment. Since you just KNOW that things were done differently or that things are missing. This happened to me with the recent The Passage. The series was so-so but knowing the book was so good made it worse! lol

I've just finished the chapter in which I've finally met that ominous character Randall Flagg I'd heard a lot about.

That whole epidemics thread sounds so eerily familiar... Luckily what we have here for real is NOT so inexorably deadly!

I am curious to discover all those LotR connections myself :) There was a literal mention of Hobbiton in the book, but so far I didn't get any other vibes.

Be on the lookout for trash can man and his relation to Gollum ;)

C.B. wrote: "Be on the lookout for trash can man and his relation to Gollum ;)"

OMG yes...

Finished the first half of the book with Trashcan Man finally meeting Randall Flagg. And I have to take a break from reading! The book is so exhausting! I am constantly on toes and feeling fearful dread at what is going to happen next. The only thing I do not like are occasional racial slurs and sexism, but it is difficult to say if these are the part of the character enrichment or what. It just puts me off. Even if the book itself is impossible to put down, because the story is so good.

I am not yet sure which character I like the most - I think that would be Nick Andros for me. Who is your favorite character?

With the slurs I’m in the camp that King wrote this in 78, he updated the dates to 90 but didn’t update his characters. I knew people who talked like this in the 90s but not this casually.

I don’t think king is maliciously racist otherwise there wouldn’t be a mother Abigail. But I think how King tackles race especially in his early stuff is really cringey and awkward. I think there’s quite a bit of young King in Harold at least in how he interacts with people and not realize how off putting he is.

I like Larry, I like his character I like how he’s generally nice but super selfish at times and knows it. A character with flaws knowing he has flaws is a big plus for me.

C.B. wrote: "With the slurs I’m in the camp that King wrote this in 78, he updated the dates to 90 but didn’t update his characters. I knew people who talked like this in the 90s but not this casually..."

Yes, I think so - it is at times obvious the book was written decades ago, not only technology wise but in the way of thinking. If King wrote this book today I am certain he would've added more POC characters, and women wouldn't be defined only in sexual relation with men (if we exclude dear Abby).
Interesting that about Harold! I am to be honest horrified with Harold, not only he as character was abused, King goes to extremes to make him so heinous to us too. Interesting that it was quite opposite with Ben, the similar character in IT, so we can't say King was prejudiced in that way. If that's true that he put much of himself in young Harold, that was pretty mean to do to oneself!
Larry is intriguing character, so many shades of him. As a woman, I have to say he did some things that made me dislike him, but it's impossible not to see exactly that what you say, that he's aware of his flaws and tries to change for a better person. I am definitely curious to see how he will develop in the end!

I also had to take a break after “book 1” I’m back at it again. There were a lot of scenes of characters losing loved ones that got to me.

I have just found out I am reading the extended version of The Stand. It started with a very nice prologue by Stephen himself explaining why previous versions lacked some of the scenes and why after he hit the jackpot he decided to go with the extended version because some of the scenes simply made the book richer. How cool is that?

Lorena wrote: "I have just found out I am reading the extended version of The Stand. It started with a very nice prologue by Stephen himself explaining why previous versions lacked some of the scenes and why afte..."

I liked that too! After finishing the book, I'll be very curious to find out which parts were extended.

I am really behind compared to you guys, I just met Sally and she just found out she is pregnant. But I am really enjoying it, I do agree that it is a tiring book Zeljka!

I really liked Caspion's wife, and her introduction and every character's introduction thereafter fills me with dread. King gives us just enough to like them, or dislike them, but enough so that we feel we know them when they drop dead like flies!

I did come upon an example of the racial slurring that C.B. mentioned when the guys at the gas station start to get sick. You really get this feeling that they are white trash though, and I think that in culturally lower portions of society, there is still a very pervasive racial attitude that permeates all things. Particularly so when the book was written, but for me, it feels it is still valid during the 90s.

I got about 300 pages left. I’m loving how we went from biological thriller to character piece. Kings writing is at his best when we have an interaction between characters, (no chapter long back story, no character profiling another, etc) just two people confronting each other and acting in their own best interests, after 800+ pages we should know them by now so now we get some awesome set pieces.

C.B. wrote: "I got about 300 pages left. I’m loving how we went from biological thriller to character piece. Kings writing is at his best when we have an interaction between characters, (no chapter long back st..."

Totally agree! I am now on the chapter 57, I think that would be the last third of the book. Now it gets very intense! Even though the characters seem pretty certain in their motivations, with King there are always surprises. I like that in him, that no character is really clear-cut.

Almost there... The end is in the sight!

I wonder one thing... Does King have something against cats? Just curious ;)

Finished it, really loved it. I don’t know about cats but he’s definitely like Dean Koontz, more of a dog person

Finally done. I liked it very much. The characters were impressive. OK, the women weren't so much, but hey, this was written in the 70s, and besides, King wouldn't be the first (male) writer having trouble with writing a convincing female character.

And that open antagonism toward cats and wolves, poor things :)

I loved the final chapters. There was something satisfying in wrapping the story slowly, allowing us to savor it a little longer.

I got the 1994 mini-series! Although my brother is impatient for us to finally watch that new TV show, popcorn and all, I really want to watch this one first. I fear I'll be disappointed if I do not do this one first, because it is older, because special effects wouldn't be so good etc., despite the stellar cast.

This weekend I finally watched the 1994 The Stand mini-series. The cast was stunning, and I honestly can't complain for any. They all were very very good. I wish only Nick Andros's disabilities were more accurately represented. Oftentimes he wasn't really looking at people and reading their lips. Afterwards I read Rob Lowe also is deaf on one ear, so he should've known better!

I liked how the series combined some characters - Rita was morphed with Nadine, and Joe was tied with Lucy. I felt fine with these changes. It worked well in both cases. Stephen King did very good job with this adaptation. As for his own acting, well, it was fun to see him on the screen :)

One thing was glaring though, just like in the book. His leftover America was pretty white and bland. It is not just that I like diversity, (honestly, it is so much more interesting to watch and listen to people from all backgrounds!), but that it simply was not realistic. This might have been the case with my country (Croatia, Slavic Eastern Europe), where there aren't many people of non-Slavic descent, but America at least is a melting pot of every race and ancestry. Maybe they changed this bit in the new adaptation?

Two very good reviews of both the book and the 1994 mini-series, the first one is especially spot-on!

Ben Goldstein: Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ Is Bloated, Racist, And (Somehow) Still A Masterpiece

Christopher Shultz: Books vs. Miniseries: 'The Stand'

I watched The Stand (2020) last week. It was watchable, but not really that good as a 1994 one. Non-linear narrative made it all worse, because it was difficult to relate to the characters.

I really liked gender swaps and diverse profiles of actors here though. Some were still a bit miscast, especially Nick and Tom. Fran was a bit annoying. Flagg was not also quite menacing and otherwordly, although honestly, the 1994 series didn't pull that role well either. I wish Weizak was more present in the series, the actor was really so scene stealing I wished he was cast instead in the any of the other main roles. The last episode was totally superfluous, they should have put the main points of that episode in the previous one.

In short, it was just meh.