Ohhhh I’ve been dreading this one.
And not for bad reasons but overwhelmed reasons? Look, we’re talking about Stephen King and his works and those can be a manifesto type of situation but we don’t have time for that! I’ll say up front, last read, picked up a few new thrifted books and one was The Stand. This is not the uncut one which I didn’t know was the other option to pick up BUT within 817 pages, I was immersed into the world where the end had happened and there are survivors for a big purpose.
And with that being said, I also had the miniseries from 1994 on a set that also has Silver Bullet, The Dead Zone, The Golden Years, The Langoliers, Graveyard Shift and Pet Sematary, I had a goal of “if I read this book, I will check out the original miniseries” and I accomplished both goals. And both were very different experiences.
And so today, I’m gonna talk about what those were, the differences and similarities but the biggest of them all, how The Stand (1994 miniseries) is a pretty good faithful adaptation.
Spoilers bewaaaaare in this one!
I started this book last August, specifically August 27th and finished it on October 15, a day after my birthday and this book was a journey. Up to this point, I haven’t read a book that went beyond 500-600 pages (oh IT took that cherry from me) and Stephen King books are quite intimidating. The previous two books I’ve read of his were in high school and they were Carrie and Salem’s Lot. Yes, I read Salem’s Lot in high school, haha. And high school for me was the 2000s (I graduated in 2006) so it has been a LONG time since I’ve picked up any of his work and of all things to start off with, it was 1978’s The Stand. 
Right off the bat, this got a 5 out of 5 stars from me and a lot of that comes from the character writing and being in their headspace and worrying for them or fearing them (hello Randall Flagg) and their interactions with each other. I also enjoyed the dreams and how at the end of it all, it came down to two people: Abigail and Flagg. Which side would you choose? Or has it been chosen FOR you like we see with certain characters. And a shout out to the world being in complete despair and how each side is living in a post apocalypse world. If you’re with Flagg, it’s very opulent and in Vegas and shiny and bright and very fast paced but there’s a fear there because of legit punishment. You will be crucified. And with Abigail, it’s like humble beginnings, there’s family, friendship, warmth, even safety and you don’t feel ANY of that with Flagg. These are the strengths in this book.
Where I think things got lost for me, book wise, was more towards the end and I think that’s a valid response. You get close to the climax (or it happened) and then it feels kinda empty in a way? Specifically, so many things had happened to lead to the big confrontation with Flagg in Vegas and honestly, I got confused about what happened. Visually, reading it, I didn’t understand what was truly going on and with the help of the miniseries, I was able to understand because it was shown. The ending felt optimistic but again, felt empty. 
I was invested, immersed in these characters and I was curious how the miniseries would approach this for 1994. And honestly, it’s a pretty good faithful adaptation. It was directed by Mick Garris who would also do Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers, The Shining (miniseries), wrote Hocus Pocus, created Masters of Horror and the list goes on and on. And I think he understands how to adapt King’s works for television really well, he gets it. And I believe I gave this a 3.5 out of 5 on letterboxd. However, there are some pretty significant differences and I’m looking at my notes so I don’t forget.
A big change off the bat is the missing of the character Rita from the book. She to me had a big impact on the character Larry. Larry, who was a musician, literally had a hit song that elevated him into stardom and during the apocalypse, a lot of characters sing his song or reference his song without knowing it was him. “Baby can you dig your man” is repeated a lot from different characters, even Flagg and he encounters a woman named Rita. Rita is in a different position in life, feels a little fancy, opulent, juxtaposition to Larry. And I won’t give much away about her but Larry feels guilt and responsibility after her death and it haunts him. He thinks about it, dreams about it, wonders if they never met, she could still be alive. Rita has that effect on him and it makes him into a complex character in what he decides later on in the book. The absence of her threw me off, especially when the character Nadine shows up in her place in the miniseries. I found that odd because Nadine has her own insane character arc and it didn’t make full sense.
Another change was the character Stu with the dog Kojak and his survival after being severely hurt. Again, these are crucial moments to these characters that changes them and challenges them and the miniseries touches on his but it doesn’t give the full effect of this man is out here in pain, he has zero comfort, he’s basically prey to many different animals out (some might be Flagg) but it’s his determination and happy moments with Kojak and meeting a helping hand that makes Stu a well rounded character. And I say these to say that I’m sure because of time and adapting that they couldn’t put everything in and maybe in the other miniseries they do but it hurts cos these characters are very complex in the book.
The cast was also surprising. Molly Ringwald as Fran… with her dark hair, I was living. Gary Sinese as Stu was surprising as well as Rob Lowe as Nick, who was one of my favorite characters in the book. I pictured them so differently that seeing who was cast threw me off. The biggest was Adam Storke, playing Larry Underwood and for some reason, I pictured someone older, balding, very shaky and wearing a suit. But Adam is so handsome and has these bright blue eyes and dark hair and much younger looking that I thought, oh, we’re doing this? Good casting with Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg and he brings that villain to life. He’s one of the ultimate villains in King’s works, I know he shows up in other books but Flagg is genuinely terrifying in the book and the miniseries he is a mix of threatening and charismatic. Sheridan brings a charismatic energy to Flagg which makes him borderline likable.
In conclusion, I enjoyed the miniseries a lot. I liked the cameos and recognizing a few faces like King himself, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Kathy Bates, John Landis, and a lot of faces that you’d recognize from other films and tv but maybe you don’t know the name. I cannot speak for the remake, I know it has a mixed bag of reactions but for me, the book is great and the miniseries adaptation is pretty faithful. I’ve been wanting to talk about past book reviews and especially when there’s a film or tv series based on the source material. I’d love to do more if this does pretty well, even if it doesn’t, I’m still going to do it. I can see myself talking about the first three books in The Vampire Chronicles series and the fact there’s the film, the not so good sequel and the great tv adaptation on AMC, Bram Stoker’s Dracula and its 1931 film, Coppola’s film, etc. I have done past reviews for Rosemary’s Baby but maybe I’ll throw in Rebecca, Fahrenheit 451 as well if I get around to watching their own adaptations and compare.
Have you guys seen The Stand? Have you read the book? What Stephen King novel needs an adaptation? Leave a comment below, I might check them out eventually. I’ll see you guys next week!
Bye!
Shots of Horror 