All my favorite parts have already been mentioned.
How do you like that happy crappy?
Larry Mudd, the short story is Night Surf.
My favorite scene is in the beginning, when a group of reporters barricade themselves in a TV station, and actually broadcast what’s going on with Tripps. Although the effectiveness of the government cover-up dated the book for me. I remember thinking, “If there was some kind of nationwide plague, I’d hear about it on the Straight Dope if nowhere else.” Even if the government could disable the Internet, that alone would cause a massive panic.
Although to nitpick it’s not based on “Night Surf”; the story is merely a prologue to The Stand. Both were published in 1978.
Btw, the best-done movie scene-
the military base cafeteria full of the dead & dying… and the jukebox comes on…
MORE COWBELL!!!
Actually, the only “part” he had in the original version was Larry, Stu, Ralph and Glen finding his body (and the wolves he killed) outside the Eisenhower Tunnel.
“Fuck you! You’re shut down! Do you believe that happy crappy?”
I just like the whole book. I can’t think of one scene that I didn’t like, although there are plenty of them that make me cringe.
If I had to pick favorites they’d be ones that have already been mentioned:
Fran buries her dad, the trail of PayDay candybars, walking through the tunnel, and the little vignettes at the beginning that explained how other people died in ways indirectly related to Mr. Tripps.
And after watching the miniseries countless times, “Don’t Fear the Reaper” is forever seared into my brain along with an image of Flagg.
…damn you all for making me go out and order the miniseries…and then notice that It wasn’t all that expensive either…
Seriously, I just finished the book for the first time this weekend. Loved it. I’d seen most of the miniseries when it first aired and it always left an impression on me. Now I want to go back and reread Wizard and Glass so I can catch the Stand references.
In the extended version of the book, Nick loses an eye in the fight with Ray Booth, in addition to being shot. He wears a patch after that.
Also, how they meet Dana is explained…and that was very scary, because I could see that happening in a post-'flu world.
There’s also more detail of Nadine and Harold’s non-sex life, and Mother Abagail’s condition after she comes back from her “getting right with God.”
There’s also a scene where Fran tells her mother she’s pregnant, that explains why she’s in a hotel room and not at home.
The ending and the beginning are different too.
I like the extended version…it may not be more substance, but it fleshes out some of the storyline.
Huh? You must have a different copy than I do, I don’t remember that at all. 'Course, I’ve only read it about 2 dozen times, but still…Do you have a passage backing this up?
I don’t have the book handy, but remember the fight in the jail? In the extended version, Ray grinds his thumb back and forth in Nick’s eye socket. Later, Nick forces himself to look in the mirror, and curses Ray for making him half-blind as well as deaf and mute.
I have this phobia about eye injuries, so that scene stuck with me.
Sure, but he recovered from that. I don’t remember a single mention of an eye patch after he leaves that town. I got the impression it was eye trauma that got better rather than poking out the eye entirely.
You could be right, but then again, it could be a continuity error on King’s part, like when Frannie had a broken ankle among her injuries after Harold’s bomb, yet miraculously was able to stand on it and touch her toes after Mother Abagail cured her back.
Just finished reading it–he regains most of the vision in that eye. No eyepatch after a few chapters.
One of my favorite parts that was added into the longer version is the section on Nadine’s experience with the ouija board in college. Great, creepy scene.
This is great because I just finished reading the book (extended version) for the first time and I searched for past threads on it but couldn’t find any.
This was the first King book I have ever read and I have never seen the movie, or miniseries, or whatever it is. I started it last summer and it actually took me a while to get through the first part because there were so many characters and so much description of everything that I kind of lost interest in some spots and put it down for a while. Now that I’ve read it once I think the descriptions would be more interesting, as I would know how everything fits together better, but the first time through there were so many side stories that I wasn’t sure what was side filler and who would become a main character.
Later I picked it up again and as soon as everyone got to the Old Woman’s house it really picked up for me and I read the rest in a few days. My favorite part is the 4 men’s journey through the desert. I was really upset when Kojak went with them, because I was so happy when he came back to them in Boulder and I was sure he was going to die in the desert, probably saving one of them. I said to my husband “Well, this dog is a goner.” The only scene where I actually cried is when he came back to bring Larry food and water (I was sure Larry was done for too when the prophecy said one would not come back and then the other 3 left him behind). Then I was so happy when Tom Cullen met up with him and they made their way back. I wasn’t too fond of Tom when he was first introduced but by the end of the book I was cheering for him, laws, yes!
I also identified with Fran, especially since I am pregnant and so I was cheering for her baby while I read.
Should I go out and get the miniseries now or will I be disappointed?
I’m a very big fan of the book and I think there’s a lot to like about the miniseries. I picked up the DVD on the cheap and like it a lot. It’s not perfect, but I’m glad I have it. The commentary is fun to listen to, especially the parts with Miguel Ferrer and Jamey Sheridan (Lloyd Henreid and Randall Flagg). They sound like they’re having a good time.
Maybe you could find a place that rents the DVD?
I’m not a big fan of the film–the casting’s either quite good (Stu, the Judge) or quite bad (Harold & Nadine)–but I’ve gotta agree: unquestionably the best part of the film is the killer opening, even using Blue Oyster Cult’s Don’t Fear the Reaper (like in the book) over the montage of what Tripps has done. Phenomenal–too bad the rest of the series couldn’t match those first fantastic minutes.
Oh, and some other parts of the book not yet mentioned that I remember (it’s been over a decade since I read it): Tom has a vision of Nick, the trampy girl that joins up with Nick briefly before heading to Vegas, the Judge in the car, the kid who was trying to learn how to fly planes, and Larry in the hospital corridor with him Mom.
I agree that some parts are better than others. The opening montage is great, the Lincoln Tunnel scene is really scary, and several of the performances are fantastic (I’ll see your Stu and Judge and raise you a Lloyd Henreid and a Trashcan Man). There are a few cameos by Famous Movie Actors that are nicely used, as well as a tiny part in the first installment played by John Bloom (aka Joe Bob Briggs). A lot of the special effects, especially the morphing demonic makeup, represent the very best terrible technology 1994 had to offer. I’m not a huge fan of the cheesy way the very end was handled, but there’s enough good stuff in there that I enjoy watching it now and then.