# The Old 'The Stand' Mini-series casting and a couple of observations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 31, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717 "2020-03-31T04:04:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/61 "2020-04-06T01:00:37Z")
> [@crywalt](#): > > Eventually he folded almost everything into his Dark Tower universe. Which is how he justifies the geography fails discussed upthread…they’re accurate for the alternate universe that particular book takes place in. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/62 "2020-04-06T01:14:36Z")
I read the book in 1979 or whatever, so I had some definite ideas in mind about the characters. The casting mostly failed for me. Copying from wikipedia: Gary Sinise as Stu Redman:OK Molly Ringwald as Frannie Goldsmith: No Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg: Absolutely No Laura San Giacomo as Nadine Cross: Absolutely Yes Ruby Dee as Mother Abagail Freemantle OK Ossie Davis as Judge Richard Farris OK Miguel Ferrer as Lloyd Henreid Absolutely yes Corin Nemec as Harold Lauder: Absolutely no Matt Frewer as Trashcan Man: Yes, very good Adam Storke as Larry Underwood: OK Ray Walston as Glen Bateman: OK Rob Lowe as Nick Andros: Nah Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen: Yes ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/63 "2020-04-06T01:24:43Z")
Twenty-four years on, all I remember of the casting choices are the ones that really worked - Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen, Matt Frewer as Trashy, and Gary Sinise as Stu Redmond. That last surprised me; initially, I thought Sinese was too young for Stu, who I pictured as being in his mid-forties. But Sinise nailed the role. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/64 "2020-04-06T02:16:07Z")
> [@Made\_in\_Macau](#): > > I’ve looked at IMDB for info on this new production but all it says is 2020 release. I wonder if it is completed already and might be shelved due to a sensitivity to Covid 19. Or perhaps it’s not finished and shelved because of Covid 19. Any dopers have the straight dope? > > MiM I was wondering that myself. Even if it was in post production it may be seen to be in bad taste now. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/65 "2020-04-06T02:56:50Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I read the book in 1979 or whatever, so I had some definite ideas in mind about the characters. The casting mostly failed for me. Copying from wikipedia: > > Gary Sinise as Stu Redman:OK > Molly Ringwald as Frannie Goldsmith: No > Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg: Absolutely No > Laura San Giacomo as Nadine Cross: Absolutely Yes > Ruby Dee as Mother Abagail Freemantle OK > Ossie Davis as Judge Richard Farris OK > Miguel Ferrer as Lloyd Henreid Absolutely yes > Corin Nemec as Harold Lauder: Absolutely no > Matt Frewer as Trashcan Man: Yes, very good > Adam Storke as Larry Underwood: OK > Ray Walston as Glen Bateman: OK > Rob Lowe as Nick Andros: Nah > Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen: Yes Absolutely Yes: 2 Yes/Yes, very good: 2 Ok: 5 No/Nah: 2 Absolutely No: 2 9/13 rated okay or better is mostly failing for you? Heck, leaving out the "Ok"s, you’re 50/50 on the casting. 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/66 "2020-04-06T06:51:44Z")
[quote=“solost, post:12, topic:850717”] Yep, that opening scene still holds up: [/QUOTE] Most people that I've spoken with about the miniseries don't notice is that Charles Campion is played by future Oscar winner Ray McKinnon (he and his late wife Lisa Blount won for Best Short Film, or something similar). He was also Holly Hunter's suitor in \*O, Brother, Where Art Thou?\*, and had a role as a government agent in \*Sons of Anarchy \*. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/67 "2020-04-06T13:31:51Z")
Something I always felt was interesting (and unfortunately I don’t remember where I saw this interview with him) was for King The Stand wasn’t a novel about a disease. He wanted to write a Lord of the Rings kind of adventure and wiping out humanity was just his way of turning our world into a world where he could set his adventure. Captain Trips was just a means to an end. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/68 "2020-04-06T13:32:28Z")
> [@GoodOldKJ](#): > > He took the family to see the Grand Canyon. First real vacation they ever had. He is especially proud to prove his fellow detective wrong by actually enjoying travel with kids. > > Yeah I’m rereading it again My version, the unabridged one, has him going to Orlando. Cite: [https://twitter.com/JohnT15/status/1236740671341502472?s=20](https://twitter.com/JohnT15/status/1236740671341502472?s=20) ---
**Author:** ![crywalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crywalt/32/3224_2.png) [@crywalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crywalt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/69 "2020-04-06T15:17:44Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Something I always felt was interesting (and unfortunately I don’t remember where I saw this interview with him) was for King The Stand wasn’t a novel about a disease. He wanted to write a Lord of the Rings kind of adventure and wiping out humanity was just his way of turning our world into a world where he could set his adventure. Captain Trips was just a means to an end. And, lest we forget [SPOILER ALERT ON VERY OLD BOOK], the plague is literally the Will of God and people who are immune are saved according to that will, so anything anyone might argue is unrealistic about it is moot. I get the thinking that, even in a fictional world, things should be consistent and to some degree realistic. Well, in the world of the Stand, God is a literal presence in a very Old Testament “hands reaching down from Heaven” kind of way, so the superflu behaving in “unscientific” ways is in-universe consistent, same as parting the Red Sea. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/70 "2020-04-06T15:30:24Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Absolutely Yes: 2 > Yes/Yes, very good: 2 > Ok: 5 > No/Nah: 2 > Absolutely No: 2 > > 9/13 rated okay or better is mostly failing for you? > > Heck, leaving out the "Ok"s, you’re 50/50 on the casting. > > 🙂 > 🙂 They really dropped the ball with Flagg and Harold. They’re pivotal characters, sorry…the loveliness of Laura San Giacomo couldn’t even begin to make up for it. OK is just average, not inspired…maybe not their fault if the script didn’t allow them to shine. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/71 "2020-04-06T15:40:24Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > My version, the unabridged one, has him going to Orlando. > > Cite: [https://twitter.com/JohnT15/status/1236740671341502472?s=20](https://twitter.com/JohnT15/status/1236740671341502472?s=20) Came across this rereading The Stand yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/72 "2020-04-06T15:47:15Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > In the 1990 edition, the detective goes (for unexplained reasons) from Orlando to Texas on the way back to New York. > > The kids had been in seventh heaven at Disney World in Orlando, and not knowing the > > The only other destinations mentioned for the family are in Oklahoma and Kansas as they drove north out of Texas, eventually looking for a doctor. The Grand Canyon is never mentioned in the 1990 text. **JohnT** ’s critique still stands; this is a damned goofy itinerary for someone mentioned as going from New York to Orlando and then back. > > edit: I’m wondering if there are more discrepancies between the versions than just simple date and cultural references. My 1990 text also does not mention the make and model of the station wagon as so specifically called out up thread. Oh, I made up the car. Just seemed to me that 1978-era Ed Norris would be tooling around in the most fashionable of station wagons. Ain’t no way Carella’s friend is driving a Corolla! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2020, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/73 "2020-10-11T16:24:26Z")
> **[Everything We Know About THE STAND Miniseries Reboot](https://nerdist.com/article/the-stand-stephen-king-everything-we-know/)** > > Here's a rundown of everything we know about the upcoming remake of Stephen King's The Stand, coming to CBS All Acess next year. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/74 "2020-10-12T01:07:13Z")
Christopher Walken as the Walk’n dude. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. But, hey, it would work anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/75 "2020-11-01T00:03:13Z")
May have to get a free trial of CBS all access ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717/76 "2020-12-17T19:01:45Z")
I’ve started a thread on the new miniseries: [The Stand - 2020 miniseries (possible spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-stand-2020-miniseries/928275) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-the-stand-mini-series-casting-and-a-couple-of-observations/850717.md?page=3)