I agree, like I said I watched it with someone with no knowledge of the story and I had to keep explaining what was going on. It didn't throw me off but I thought it felt very disjointed and gives away basically what happens.
For those that have seen more than the first episode, does this trend continue? I'm still baffled as to why they chose to present it this way.
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
I've watched all 3 episodes so far and I am so disappointed. I much prefer the original TV series. This series is instantly forgettable.
[QUOTE=Heather19;1227039][QUOTE=Merlin1958;1227007] See Josh Boone's explanation beginning at 8:38 and more specifically at 13:18.
https://youtu.be/lJGMCVbhsbg
I've watched the first 3 episodes so far and while I don't think that it's any better than the original, which is a real shame, it's not as bad as The Mist or what Under The Dome became. The acting is all pretty good. The production is top notch. The SFX don't look cheap.
Negatives for me have been the music (too high school trendy for my taste) and the slow moving story. Since each episode is a now and then, the story hasn't moved forward much. The book is this long journey where you meet everyone at the beginning and watch all their stories unfolding at the same time. The Miniseries followed this because Mick Garris "got it". I feel like the limited series wanted to do this version the "standard" way to do shows, The Lost way. I loved Lost, but this story shouldn't be set up the Lost way.
"That which you think, becomes your world" Matheson
Haven’t watched it yet (still sick) but disappointed to hear the mixed reactions. Wonder how it would have been if it was on HBO.
Fwiw I think the whole flashbacks bit is a carry over from when it was going to be one film. Boone’s solution was to mix things up chronologically. Maybe he just liked the approach enough.
On the bright side I doubt we would have gotten the Blu-ray of the original miniseries if not for the new one.
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HBO wouldn't help it because the problem isn't with it being too watered down. My issue 100% lies with the time jumps. It's an interesting way to tackle it but down't work at all. Especially when they refuse to tell you when a time jump happens and to what time. For book readers it's jarring so I have to imagine a non-book reader could easily get lost.
The "Lost" comparison is a great one as I also think that's what they were trying to unsuccessfully pull off. At least Lost gave you a auditory and visual affect when the time jumps happened.
I've read Boone's movie script for part 1 when it was going to be 4 movies, and that was structured in a linear fashion like the book (though it starts with Mother Abigail slaughtering a chicken and Flagg walking on the highway before the title screen and then goes to the military base). Maybe his 1 movie script had more of a flashbacks structure, but I've heard it was Owen King's pitch to use it in this series.
I was never a fan of the original miniseries. Some of the casting was so off, that it actually hindered my ability to read the book since I had seen that first. So I was excited to see a newer version of the story. I only saw one episode, but the casting was excellent and the production was excellent, it was just that really awkward nonlinear storytelling that threw me off. Based on the video it sounded like he was so in love with the story and miniseries that he wanted to do something fresh for the diehard fans. I'm not sure that was the right way to go though, especially since you're going to turn away people with no knowledge of the book. I'm not sure they would even know whats going on. Maybe it gets clearer as the episodes progress but I had to do a lot of explaining to my boyfriend because he had no clue what was going on or that the times had even changed, or where they actually were.
What is Owen's involvement in the series? It seems like an odd thing for him to suggest going with a nonlinear storyline unless its like Boone mentioned, they're too familiar with the story and want something different?
Only the gentle are ever really strong.
It's funny how people look at things differently. I loved the original miniseries and have watched it several times (something I do with very few shows). People bitched and moaned about Molly Ringwald but I hadn't seen her in anything and had no preconceived opinion of her and thought she was just fine. My only problem going in was with Rob Lowe and he turned out to be quite good in his role. Different strokes.....
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"the shooting script for the never-before-published coda written for the new series by King himself."
Sounds like he changed his epilogue. Hope it's nothing topical.
"That which you think, becomes your world" Matheson
You have to change the ending in my opinion. The hand of God may work in a book (and it barely works in a book) but it doesn't translate to screen. That was legit the worst part of the original mini-series and I was always shocked they didn't update the ending at that time.
I haven't seen the ending of the new series, but I believe King's new "coda" is after the end of the story as we currently know it... and he has talked about the general concept of what it entails previously, although that was a long time ago.
Brian
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^ That's correct, it's a new add-on that takes place after the events of the book, not a rewrite of the ending (though the show's producers might still have changed that on their own). I have read rumors what the final episode written by King entails by people who claim to have worked on the series, and if true, it sounds rather unnecessary
Episode 4. Poor Mother Abigail, having to put up with this old fart in the Care Home...
Having Hemingford Home be a nursing home was weak. I think it sells the Mother Abagail character short.
Just saw the first episode. I enjoyed it for the most part. The shifting timelines didn’t bother me that much; the exception being the ending with Harold which made things a bit rushed in my opinion.
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