• Director(s): Josh Boone, Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy, Chris Fisher, Vincenzo Natali, Tucker Gates
• With: James Marsden, Greg Kinnear, Alexander Skarsgård, Whoopi Goldberg, Odessa Young, Owen Teague, Ezra Miller, Jovan Adepo, Am er Heard, Gordon Cormier, Brad William Henke, Nat Wolff, Irene Bedard, Henrique Zaga, Eion Bailey
• Music by: Mike Mogis, Nate Walcott
• Duration: 8h30 (9 episodes)
• Studio: Paramount (CBS Studios)
• Based upon the novel ‘The Stand’ by Stephen King
• Rating: 8,5/10

Synopsis:

After the mass destruction caused by a man-made virus called “Captain Trips,” a false messiah emerges, possessing incredible powers and hell-bent on ruling the remaining human society. It’s up to a group of people to traverse the post-apocalyptic wasteland to stop him and his army.

Review:

In 1994 Mick Garris already adapted the book ‘The Stand’ by Stephen King in a six episode miniseries which I loved! And I know a lot of people did and do! It introduced me to a song that until today is still one of my favourite songs ever: (Don’t fear) the Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult! (The song is used again when the end credits run in one of the episodes of the new show) Of course that wasn’t the only reason!

Now Josh Boone got a chance to make his own version of this great novel!

If we have to compare (if we really must), the way Boone tells the story is slightly different from Garris’s version… Boone works with flashbacks and doesn’t tell the story chronologically, especially for the first part of the story when the outbreak hits and people are starting to dream of Mother Abigail. By doing that he is omitting a lot of source material, that’s true and the best part in the novel wás the outbreak and the road to Boulder… but I think Boone actually managed to keep the best parts in the story, the essentials, to tell the story that needed telling and working towards the battle between Good and Evil!

And yes we got a lot less Trashcan Man than we did in the novel! The same mistake was made in the previous adaptation, in my opinion! But Boone added something to Trashcan Man that lacked in the other miniseries… there’s more crazy, more insanity!

Thé best thing about the entire miniseries is Alexander Skarsgård as The Dark Man, Randall Flagg (with double G!)! He ís the villain of this story! Owen Teague as Harold Lauder sure is second on that list, by the way!

9 episodes and apart from the last episode, which is a bit redundant and omits a lot from the source material and adds new material, this isn’t a tedious or boring show! (The ending is literally taken from the novel, btw!)

The Las… sorry… New Vegas parts are so good and cruel… for everyone that read the book, you know how bad it is up there… and ultimately there’s the last stand in Vegas and The Hand of God will fall upon them… Done do much better and more believable than Garris’s version!

So yes, I have to be honest: I do not get the negative comments for this show! This deserves far more credit than it was given!

And for those who can’t get enough: the soundtrack is available on Spotify!

Read the book, watch the 1994 version and watch this one and love all three! Best advice I can give you!