Well, that sucks. Do you need me to make you a copy of my VHS tape taped from television way back when (assuming that it will still play)? 
Oh, if you really want it and have lots of money, you can get a digital copy at HMV for about $45 that comes bundled with “The Langoliers” and “Golden Years.”
Since it’s on Netflix, I’m in! I had no recollection of it being from 1994. I haven’t seen it since then when it aired on TV, but have re-read the book a couple times. This will be fun!
OMG, that WAS him, I would have never guessed, I just watched it (The Stand) again the other nite and thought what the hell happened to that guy!
I watched it in 1994 and have little memory of it. Have not read the book.
What is the general reputation of this miniseries? Is it any good?
King wrote the script himself and was involved in production (he played the bit role of Teddy). The casting was truly inspired, with the notable exception of Molly Ringwald. I thought the use of popular music was well done.
This is, I believe, King’s longest and most popular book. No film adaptation is ever going to quite capture it all. But this mini-series is about as good as such things get. It’s worth watching.
In case anyone is interested, they have been releasing a comic adaptation of the Stand. It is pretty good. The first four parts are out now which takes us about 2/3 the way through the story. And it’s edited by The Karate Kid! (yes that Karate Kid!)
I’m in! Thanks for alerting us that it is available on Netflix streaming now. I have it in my DVD queue, but streaming is so much more convenient for me!
I need to join and test Netflix first; but if it works OK (I have slow DSL) I am in! I enjoyed the book and the miniseries.
I need an excuse to fix my Netflix streaming so I probably will re-watch the first part this afternoon. I thought it was generally well-received except for the obvious mis-casting of Fran and Nadine. I thought Corin Nemic did okay with Harold. Would have been hard to start with someone as heavy as Harold was supposed to be because the character loses a ton of weight and becomes somewhat good looking later in the book.
It seems like it’s always on the Sci-Fi (or SyFy or whatever) channel all the time.
It’s not bad. Perhaps a bit cheesy in spots, but it’s a 90s made for TV miniseries after all.
Kathy Bates and Ed Harris have small roles as well.
I wasn’t crazy about the Flagg character. IMHO I never really pictured him as some sort of zany country western Fabio.
Jaden Smith?
That’s right - Kathy was the DJ who barricaded herself in the control room and talked about what was really going on. That was another major characteristic shift that worked just fine (The Judge being another one).
It’s never on tv here - if it was, I’d probably watch it every time.
::Kicks Hades out of the thread.::
Is it more popular than the Shining or his Dark Tower series? Those are the books(along with the Stand) that I first think of when I think of King.
I haven’t read the Shining, but I have read the Dark Tower series. Obviously, I know who Flagg is and it will be cool to see him.
It’s stream only anyway.
In King’s Danse Macabre, he says that The Stand is his most popular book. But that was written in 1981, so things may have changed since. But I kind of doubt it. People loved The Stand back then because it was apocalyptic, and I don’t think our taste for end-of-the-world stories has decreased since 1981; if anything, I think it has increased. But that’s just MHO; I don’t have any data to support it.
I think so too, Oy!, but I also don’t have any data to support it. It seems like there are more movies and books and tv series whose theme is the end of the world as we know it (with zombies!).
Can it be remade with Pee-Wee Herman as Trashcan Man?
Can’t you just see him in his tight gray suit and white shoes, riding his bike, giggling away as he hauls that nuke into Vegas for the climactic scene? Cibola!
I agree with all the comments about casting–the few duds are easily forgiven in comparison with the brilliance of Stu, Glen, Nick, Tom, Mother Abigail, Lloyd, etc.
My favorite bit of casting, however, is **Don’t Fear the Reaper **as the opening song. If I didn’t know better (having that BOC album on vinyl in the late 70s), I’d think it was written specifically for The Stand.
I’ll check the library. But probably won’t follow along. Maybe I’ll read the thread after the fact. And thank you for the offer. I do have a VHS machine or two but prob won’t hook one of them up.
Definitely a good choice. Just started it up on Netflix,although this is the same part I watched last weekend ;). Been a while since I read the book… one thing that was a bit weird was all the military folks dying there on the job. Didn’t the virus take longer than that or was it just because they were at “ground zero” for the strongest form of the virus?