Under the Dome (TV series) - Stephen King [Archive]

LouCipherr

09-May-2013, 02:06 PM

I was just going to come in here and say "I have no idea how they'll cram all of the book into a short mini-series" - but now that I read it's going to be 13 weeks?! Holy hell, that's a long mini-series!

Sounds like they'll have enough time to get it all in there, but I have my doubts as to how good this will be. To be honest, there's only been one director who is able to get SK books from page to screen properly: Frank Darabont.

Other than him, who else has got a SK book properly on screen? None that I know of. When King himself is involved in the productions, they usually turn out 'better', but Frank so far has hit a homerun on every adaptation he's done (sans the last 5 minutes of The Mist. Don't get me started!). So unless he's got his hands in this, I seriously have my doubts as to how good it will be.

I will remain cautiously optimistic, and will certainly check it out. ;)

***edited to add: checked the wiki, looks like King is an executive producer. That's a plus. I hope. lol

Neil

09-May-2013, 02:20 PM

"The Stand" (mini-series) was good!

Again though! 13 episodes? Assuming each is about 40mins, that's nearly 9hrs long! That's nearly as long as Ben Hur!!!!

LouCipherr

09-May-2013, 03:50 PM

"The Stand" (mini-series) was good!

Well, The Shining was good too, until you compare the movie to the book. :lol:

I did kinda like The Stand, but as far as adaptation, ya gotta admit, Darabont is the best at it. ;)

Again though! 13 episodes? Assuming each is about 40mins, that's nearly 9hrs long! That's nearly as long as Ben Hur!!!!

When I "read" Under the Dome, I actually kinda cheated - I listened to the audiobook. ALL 35 HOURS OF IT!!! So 9 hours is a walk in the park! :lol: :D

MinionZombie

09-May-2013, 05:14 PM

Now, I've not read The Mist, but I really dug the ending of the movie - indeed, didn't SK himself say that he preferred FD's ending?

I do agree though, FD knows how to bring SK to the screen, but there have been other good adaptations of his work (e.g Stand By Me), and a bunch of enjoyable adaptations too ... The Shining was really more Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, than Stephen King's, and in that regard it's perfect.

LouCipherr

09-May-2013, 05:57 PM

Now, I've not read The Mist, but I really dug the ending of the movie - indeed, didn't SK himself say that he preferred FD's ending?

You should, it's barely over 100 pages long and is a great read.

I don't know if SK "preferred" the movie ending of the mist, but Darabont did say SK gave him his blessing on the ending. MZ, trust me, if you read the book, that ending was EXTREMELY disappointing, not to mention one of the most unrealistic endings for a movie I've ever witnessed. I know there are some who have read the book and still like the ending of the movie, but I can't understand that at all.

They could have waited a simple 5 minutes and help would've arrived. MAKES. NO. SENSE. You wouldn't put a bullet in your own child's brain unless there was no other way out and you waited 'till the last minute. They did not do that in the movie. They ran out of gas and suddenly it's "fuck it, let's just kill ourselves" - no thought to wait for a few minutes to see what happens?! That's just flat-out lame.

I do agree though, FD knows how to bring SK to the screen, but there have been other good adaptations of his work (e.g Stand By Me), and a bunch of enjoyable adaptations too ... The Shining was really more Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, than Stephen King's, and in that regard it's perfect.

Not so hot on Stand By Me. It was ok, but I'm an odd man out on that one as it seems everyone else liked it more than I did.

What other adaptations do you feel were worthy based on book vs. movie? I can't think of one. The Stand was the closest without Darabont that I can think of, but even that I had issues with. Remember, I'm an avid King book reader, so proper translation of the story - to me - is necessary.

The Shining - oh, I like the movie. Love it, in fact. If it's just looked at as a Kubrick movie of weirdness with tons of hidden stuff in the flick wrapped around the core "idea" of the book, then it's great. However, if we're comparing book vs. movie? Fail. :lol: But that's not what Kubrick was going for, so I get it. And I like it.

BTW: I finally caught Room 237 two weeks ago. Talk about a MIND BLOWING documentary... :stunned:

MinionZombie

09-May-2013, 07:31 PM

Still to watch Room 237, will get to it sometime. :)

I suppose you can react to the ending to The Mist in different ways.

One man's "stupid! they should have waited a couple of minutes!" is another man's "oh my god that's so tragic, if only they'd waited a couple of minutes!" It's a very bleak ending, and I rather dug it. It's incredibly haunting (helped in no small measure by Dead Can Dance's "Host of the Seraphim".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmzTFVlES_I

I feel that the characters thought they'd be dead in seconds, or at any moment, and there was a sense of utter hopelessness - they can't see a damn thing through that mist, they could be anywhere, and anything could be right in front/behind/above them swooping down to chomp on their bones as an appetiser. As such, with such total hopelessness, and not wanting to be eaten alive in a slow and painful manner, they choose that way out ... plus the heart-breaking and oh-so-fucked-up idea of having six people but only five bullets. So the one who has to kill the others to spare them potential agony, will have to not only suffer the impending agony they believe is coming, but also murder five people - one of whom is their own son - now that's some messed up stuff right there ... ... and then the army rock up and the tragedy of the situation gets even worse.

I remember my Dad not liking the ending of the movie - because it's so unrepentent in its bleakness - but also probably because, being my Dad, he's a Dad, you know? It's like I keep telling him to read Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" (I thought it was a superb and deeply moving book), but he won't read it because it's too bleak.

Anyway ... other King adaptations? Erm, I enjoyed "Pet Sematery" - it's not a classic, but it is memorable, and one of the better second-tier, non-FD adaptations. I can enjoy a lot of the slightly iffy ones too - like Maximum Overdrive and Graveyard Shift (a fuck-off-big rat in a mine from what I recall) ... ... but then there was Dreamcatcher which was horseshit. It started off okay, and then just became a load of bullshit of the highest order.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Stephen_King

In my view, some good ones:

Carrie
Creepshow
Stand By Me
Misery
The Shawshank Redemption (perhaps the best one of them all)
The Green Mile
1408
The Mist

Good-but-not-amazing:

Cujo
Christine
Secret Window
Maximum Overdrive
Graveyard Shift (just hanging in there)
The Shining (1997 Mini Series)

And as I've said before, The Shining (1980) was really more "Stanley Kubrick's The Shining" (and ruddy excellent).

Looking at that Wiki entry - good lord no - there's a Creepshow 4 in the works! :confused::stunned::barf: As if Creepshow 3 (Creepshow-in-name-only, too) wasn't enough of a cinematic arse-battering, now there's a fourth! :rolleyes:

I've certainly not seen them all, and I certainly don't want to either.

Morto Vivente

09-May-2013, 07:54 PM

Nine times out of ten the books are better. IT has to be one of the worst adaptation of King's work to date in comparison with the book. IMO it didn't work at all, a challenging adaptation to be sure. I would love to see another attempt to try and do it justice, the book was so good.

For me Salem's Lot, Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me have been the best adaptations so far. I preferred the on screen Master to the novel version. I realize the original had much more depth of character, but for me that was the problem. The on screen version was completely alien and impossible to relate to; the one in the book was too human. A direct transfer to screen wouldn't have been as effective IMO. I like my vampires with a more monster less human approach. The visual element aided the storytelling with Salem's Lot, with IT; a complete disaster and Tim Curry's performance didn't help to say the least.

Had a quick check and it looks like a remake of IT may happen. Anyone heard anything about this?

http://www.inquisitr.com/250764/stephen-kings-it-remake-2012/

LouCipherr

10-May-2013, 02:01 PM

I feel that the characters thought they'd be dead in seconds, or at any moment, and there was a sense of utter hopelessness - they can't see a damn thing through that mist, they could be anywhere, and anything could be right in front/behind/above them swooping down to chomp on their bones as an appetiser. As such, with such total hopelessness, and not wanting to be eaten alive in a slow and painful manner, they choose that way out ...

My response:

I can't give this one a pass. What gave them the idea they'd be "dead in seconds"? There was nothing that was an immediate threat whatsoever when they ran out of gas - if there was, they wouldn't have spent all that time debating on what to do before killing each other. And, seeing as how they were protected in the car (no one else in the movie was killed inside a car), what would make them feel so 'threatened'? Even aside from all that, human beings have built into them the "will to survive". We will do whatever it takes to continue to live, even in the most extreme conditions and I feel the ending of The Mist was nothing more than a cheap way to "end" the movie (again, a lot of this has to do with diverting from the original book ending). I mean, to each his own, and this is just my personal opinion (although I do enjoy the debate! :D), but it felt nothing short of a coarse way to end a movie because... well, it 'needed an ending'. I don't think it takes away from anything at all from the reading experience or spoils the book, but in the book itself, the story is left "open ended" - so Frank and SK must have figured "well, we have to end it somehow - we can't leave a movie like this open-ended!" so they went for the quick, cheap way out. For me, that was unacceptable and so unrealistic it detracted from the massive amount of greatness that preceded that event.

Graveyard Shift? next you'll be telling me you liked The Mangler! :lol: Speaking of which, that wasn't on your list - that wiki needs an update! Can you believe they did a sequel to The Mangler? :rolleyes:

Three of the ones on your list are Darabont - The Mist, Green Mile, and Shawshank (which you are right, is THE best adaptation of any King story on screen hands-down) which I thoroughly enjoyed. The rest just disturb me because for the most part, while they may take the "idea" of the story into consideration, a ton of details were changed which bends the story a bit too far out of proportion for me.

Again, just my opinion, and I do totally respect yours and everyone else's. This is just coming from the viewpoint of an avid reader of his books. I just have never cared for any King adaptations to screen unless it was done by Darabont with only a few minor exceptions that I could count on one hand. ;)

So, swinging this back to Under the Dome (sorry for the excursion from the topic at hand), I am hoping they do this pretty much by-the-book. Seeing that King is an executive producer does give me a little bit of hope, but then again, he's been involved directly with some stuff that were total stinkers.. 'Kingdom Hospital' anyone? :shifty:

Morto - Hmmm, a remake of "IT"? Done properly I wouldn't mind, as I didn't really care for the original shot at it with Curry as Pennywise. I wonder who they'll cast for the part this time? Whoever it is needs to play up the 'evil' of Pennywise, not be a jokester for most of the movie.

MinionZombie

10-May-2013, 06:58 PM

@Lou:
Just because we saw nobody die inside a car, doesn't mean it's impossible. There were people inside the market and loads of people died. :D

Part of the reason though is that they have nowhere to go - as you say, out of gas - and there's just this thick mist out there. Nothing could be out there, or a hideous and painful death could be 20ft away - another human instinct is to avoid pain and suffering, and again I circle back to the sense of "hopelessness". Rather than, in their view, wait for an agonising blood-soaked end (The Sherminator has a horrible exit via that tentacle thing in the loading dock), they choose to end it themselves.

They could have waited for a monster to arrive before they did so, and it could have been a little one, but it could have been a huge one (like the one that walks nearby as they leave IIRC - the legs rising way up high to a vast alien beasty) and you might kill off a couple of the group, but the others would die horribly - or - the gun-holder might get capped first and then everyone dies awfully.

Graveyard Shift - yeah, only an okay movie - but I enjoyed it when I saw it a couple of times. Perhaps me today would find it awful, who knows.

I have seen The Mangler though - stylish in some regards, but the movie was pretty dull most of the times ... plus it's a fucking mangler. :lol: There never really seemed to be enough happening in the movie to keep it going, and a massive mangler is a bit naff ... just don't go near the mangler, ha!

I will state that I'm not a Stephen King book reader ... I kind of dabble here and there and hop and skip about ... recently I've been making my way through James Ellroy's 'L.A. Quartet' (four books in a series, which are The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz) - I've just finished L.A. Confidential this afternoon, so I've got one more in that series of four left to do ... but yeah, I do tend to hop around a bit. I do like to read books that have become films and see how they compare (e.g. High Fidelity - practically identical except for the location and certain UK/US cultural idiosyncracies ... or on the other hand L.A. Confidential - which cuts a vast amount of side plots, characters, and back stories out to make a very successful 'boiled down version' which is not only an excellent movie, but puts the essence of the book on-screen ... but then you also have the inverse in The Black Dahlia where the book is far superior to the utterly confusing movie.

I'm getting off-track here ... so I'll shut up. :lol:

Yeah ... not really a SK reader, but that doesn't mean I won't become one in-time. So for now anyway I'm just going on the movies themselves - I'm sure in many of the 'lesser' adaptations that the books are, naturally, superior. :)

Morto Vivente

12-May-2013, 10:12 PM

Another trailer with a bit more footage.

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Neil

13-May-2013, 09:09 AM

Looks interesting... Fingers crossed!

At least it'll be something to watch when Game Of Thrones finishes :)

EvilNed

13-May-2013, 10:20 AM

I'd have preferred a Stephen King mini-series, ala the 90's, but this does look interesting. I will check it out.

Morto Vivente

19-May-2013, 02:45 PM

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Tricky

22-May-2013, 05:53 AM

I'll give it a go, the book was great barring the ending which seemed a bit ridiculous! Looking forward to seeing how the psycho deputy Junior plays out on screen...

Neil

22-May-2013, 09:23 AM

I'll give it a go, the book was great barring the ending which seemed a bit ridiculous! Looking forward to seeing how the psycho deputy Junior plays out on screen...

If I recall he had a thing for dead girls?

Tricky

22-May-2013, 12:57 PM

If I recall he had a thing for dead girls?

Yeah that whole story arc was massively creepy!

Neil

31-May-2013, 03:41 PM

WTF! I thought it would have trouble filling 13 episodes.... but it looks like this could be more than one series? Huh?!

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/62635

Vaughan told reporters Thursday morning he hopes to keep “Dome” going well beyond the 13 episodes CBS will air this summer -- which seems to imply the mystery of the dome covering the small Maine town of Chester’s Mill may not be solved this summer.

Neil

24-Jun-2013, 02:39 PM

Reviews seem very +ve!

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/63007

MinionZombie

25-Jun-2013, 01:14 PM

Well, I've seen the first episode - and I dig it.

I've not read the source text, so I'm just going on what was presented to me in the first episode, but I'm liking what I'm seeing. :)

Anyone else checked out the first episode yet?

LouCipherr

25-Jun-2013, 01:25 PM

I watched it last night - interesting, and I will keep watching 'till they screw it up. :shifty:

Having read the book, it has started off well so far - however, I would've never picked Dean Norris as Big Jim, but that's just me. He just doesn't fit the character of Big Jim in the book. I was, however, surprised to see Jeff Fahey make an appearance.

Speaking of Fahey, am I the only one who sees him and instantly thinks "LAWNMOWER MAN!" ?? :lol:

So, one episode down, and I dig it.

Morto Vivente

25-Jun-2013, 04:33 PM

I haven't seen it yet...I plan on watching it tonight, sounds like I'm going to enjoy it!

MinionZombie

25-Jun-2013, 07:30 PM

@Lou - when I see Fahey, I either think of him in "Body Parts" (IIRC) where he has a murderer's arm transplanted onto him (IIRC) ... or as the plane captain in Lost ... or in Planet Terror obsessing over his special BBQ sauce. :D

It's certainly got my interest, so hopefully it continues strongly. :)

ProfessorChaos

25-Jun-2013, 10:23 PM

DVR'ed this last night. haven't got around to watching it yet, but a friend from work had good things to say about it today.

i've not read the book, so i'm totally in the dark about what to expect. however, with dean norris as one of the (main?) characters, i'm mildly excited. that dude rocks the house as hank schrader on breaking bad, major acting chops.

will try to chime in with my impressions once i get around to viewing it.

LouCipherr

26-Jun-2013, 01:15 PM

@Lou - when I see Fahey, I either think of him in "Body Parts" (IIRC) where he has a murderer's arm transplanted onto him (IIRC)

OMG, I completely forgot he was in that flick. The car accident at the beginning (when he loses his arm) really creeped me out when I first saw it.. *shudders*

No idea why Lawnmower Man always comes to mind when I see him. Same thing happens when I see Eric Roberts - out of all the movies the guy has been in, the one I remember the instant I see him is the horrible flick, "The Ambulance" :lol:

ProfessorChaos

27-Jun-2013, 12:38 AM

watched the first episode last night, was pleasantly surprised. a bit better than i was expecting, although, as some have mentioned, a bit of the acting was a bit sub-par. lots of stuff going on with the numerous characters and their antics that interest me, so i'll definitely be tuning in for the remainder of the series.

shootemindehead

27-Jun-2013, 01:20 AM

LouCipherr

27-Jun-2013, 04:47 PM

Actually, I think 'Psycho III' :(

OMG, that's depressing, shootem... lol

MinionZombie

29-Jul-2013, 06:08 PM

Renewed for a second season:
http://dailydead.com/cbs-announces-under-the-dome-season-2/

And King himself will write the first episode.

Apparently it's doing very well in the ratings all-round, both live-on-telly, as well as DVR and VOD services. :)

I'm enjoying the show. It's not the best show I've seen (I've been utterly spoiled by TWD, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, among others such as Deadwood :D), but it's far from the worst - while I don't have a "ooh, I must see the next episode now" feeling when one ends, I always look forward to getting the new episode underway and watching it. So generally I'm quite happy with it.

How are folks here finding the show? Dig it, hate it, don't really care?

shootemindehead

29-Jul-2013, 08:53 PM

Seen 5 episodes. Can't decide whether I give a crap about it or not. Don't know whether it'll hold my attention for much longer TBH.

ProfessorChaos

29-Jul-2013, 10:26 PM

so far, i'm still tuning in, but i can't help but poke fun at how many of the cast are wearing those hideous "skinny jeans" almost every episode.

and a 2nd season? i thought this was a one-shot series based on a book with a finite ending? guess i'll have to follow the link and see wtf is up with this....

LouCipherr

30-Jul-2013, 02:06 PM

Seen 5 episodes. Can't decide whether I give a crap about it or not. Don't know whether it'll hold my attention for much longer TBH.

I'm kinda in this camp myself. Its ok, but it's not a "must watch as soon as it comes on" kind of show for me. I end up recording it on my Tivo and watching it later.

The show isn't bad but it certainly isn't stellar either. Some of the casting choices are poor (as I said before, casting Dean Norris as Big Jim was not a good idea, and I don't care for Alexander Koch as Junior, either), so it's just barely holding my attention at this point.

We'll see where it goes from here. I'm hoping it gets better.

...and I guess they paid a LOT of money for the CGI scene of the cow getting cut in half when the dome first comes down because they show the damn scene in every single preview for the show. How many times do we really need to see that sequence? :rolleyes:

MinionZombie

30-Jul-2013, 05:31 PM

Watched the latest episode - still holding my attention, although I do get frustrated with King's mobs of people - it was a similar thing in The Mist, where you have a rabble of idiots just going mad ... although that does provide the conflict ... so it's kind of a two-way street.

Some of the characters make silly decisions, or act slightly silly at times, but there's enough going on with enough characters that I'm interested in to keep my watching.

Yeah - not a fan of Junior, really ... the actor makes him a bit too annoying for me to watch at times ... like play-acting sinister, rathing than being sinister, if that makes sense? Dean Norris as Big Jim is working for me - although I've not read the book, but just purely as a watcher of the show, he's working for me.

The scripts could use a bit of a polish at times - particularly in the dialogue - some heavy-handed exposition, oftentimes with people stating the bleedin' obvious, or finishing each other's "well, duh" sentences. If they stripped out some of that dialogue and just played it with expressions it'd work better in those moments, and it would feel a bit less 'telly' and a bit more 'drama' - if that makes sense?

I know the radio lady is going to fuck up the kids' day by letting it slip that they're linked to the dome somehow - it's writ-large - and that kinda annoys me a bit about some of the antagonists in some of these King adaptations. They almost make bad or selfish choices to just be an annoying villain, rather than out of desperation, or mistake, or weakness. Not a hard and fast rule by any means, but it does happen, and it does annoy me.

Some side characters I don't give a shit about - like the lesbian couple - I don't give a shit about them. My main investment is in Barbie, the reporter chick, Big Jim, and the cop lady. There are other interesting characters here and there, and other main characters I go from being interested in, to being annoyed by them, so it's a mix with some of them.

Like I've said before, shows like Breaking Bad have really spoiled me for excellent writing ... but I do feel that they could be a little more daring with this show if they weren't on Network TV.

That all said - I'm still enjoying it in general, and will happily continue watching it ... not like The Following, which was fucking bullshit (packed it in after eight episodes ... can't believe I stuck with that show that long!).

LouCipherr

31-Jul-2013, 02:02 PM

Maaan, if you think there's too many characters in the TV show, you should try reading the book! It wasn't an easy task keeping an entire town of people straight in your head while you're reading.. :lol:

My main beef with Norris as Big Jim is, he doesn't fit the description of the character in the book. Not even close, and the 'size' of the guy plays an important part in the story as far as his "intimidation factor" if that makes sense.. Jim Rennie, in the book, was a massive dude in size, which kinda made everyone fear the guy. Norris, in the show, is shorter than everyone and there's nothing 'massive' about him... aside from his ego. :D

Still watching, but my interest is very slowly fading. I hope it picks up soon. *fingers crossed*

shootemindehead

02-Aug-2013, 12:58 AM

Just finished 6.

This better get stellar in the next episode, or I'm out.

LouCipherr

07-Aug-2013, 05:57 PM

Ok, I'm pissed. I just watched the latest episode, and I'm more annoyed now than ever. Why, considering the source material, are they making Big Jim a complete pussy in this show? This is not how he was portrayed in the book. Not even friggin' close. Rennie was an evil, overpowering bastard in the book that basically tried to take over everything - and here he's done nothing but bow down to the douchebag who has the well (can't remember his name) and farm. Then there's previews for the next episode of him on his knees begging for Junior's forgiveness?! This is not just a slight deviation, it's a 180 degree turn from the source. Stupid, annoying, and another nail in the coffin of this show for me.

I had hopes, since King was the executive producer, but I think he's gone off his rocker... Between Kingdom Hospital, his 'approved' ending of The Mist, and now this? Is he back on coke or something?! :lol:

And we're still subjected to the stupid 'cow' CGI scene that they must've paid a boatload for because they keep showing it over and over and over again. :rolleyes: It's been done before, guys. *yawn*

They have one more episode to keep me interested - if they fail to bring anything good or interesting to the party, I'm with shootem, I'm out. Which is sad, too, because this show had nothing but potential, which has been squandered completely.

Oh, and how the kids found what they think is the 'source' of the dome? What the....???? Did the people who created this show (King aside) ever read this thing? What are they thinking?!

Neil

07-Aug-2013, 07:33 PM

Should I bother or not then?

LouCipherr

07-Aug-2013, 08:49 PM

Should I bother or not then?

It depends on what you're looking for.

If you want to see a story that is not that reminiscent of the book (aside from the obvious 'dome' and some character names) and is fairly slow-moving, then yes.

If you want a true representation of the book, or at least something close to it, then absolutely not. This is not the show for you and you should read the book instead.

That's the best way I can put it Neil. Not sure if that helps you decide or not. MZ seems to be enjoying it quite a bit, while me and shootem are pretty fed up with it. It really depends on how you feel about the screen adaptations of his stories. If you like most of them, you'll like this. If you're like me and dislike 80% of the screen adaptations of his books, it's a no-go.

One thing I've been thinking about is this: I don't think it would be possible to emulate the ending of this book on-screen. I just don't know how it could be done. Since that's the case, I knew they would alter the story somewhat, but from what I've seen, they've taken tons of liberties with the show and I just don't care for it.

MinionZombie

08-Aug-2013, 11:21 AM

Having not read the book, I'm just purely going on the show. As I've said - certainly not the best TV drama I've seen, but not the worst either. I do enjoy it, but there are characters in there that I don't give a single shit about, so I only stick around for the characters I like.

It is a bit slow moving, and sometimes people made daft decisions, or like the brother character - his sister is missing for days, but rather than search the town for her, he goes off on a jolly with his new girlfriend to go dome-trouching and shit ... hmmm.

It does feel 'a bit network', I think - like, somewhat 'by committee', and somewhat neutered, and not as daring as - for example - the shows that AMC puts out there (particularly Breaking Bad). The equivalent in the UK would probably be something like 'traditional BBC drama' (Under the Dome) versus 'new-wave Channel 4 drama' (Breaking Bad) ... although here in the UK you can have swearing and nudity without any 'soccor moms' getting their control panties in a bunch. :lol:

So yeah, I am enjoying it, but I do feel that it could be a lot better as well. Not bad enough for me to stop watching (again, I glare at "The Following", which was utter bullshit), but it needs to be more daring with less exposition ... it feels a bit too safe and 'too network'.

Neil

08-Aug-2013, 11:36 AM

Doesn't sound as dark as the book... I think I'll give it a miss then :(

LouCipherr

08-Aug-2013, 01:15 PM

Doesn't sound as dark as the book...

Not even close. Maybe it will turn that way in the future, but I feel if that's the case, they waited way to long to get to the "good stuff" in the story.

EvilNed

08-Aug-2013, 02:28 PM

I have been watching since the first episode. Here's my thoughts:

I agree on the general consensus that it's not great. Because it clearly isn't. I doubt very few people think it is. The drama is very light, the characters are at times really stupid and the relationships aren't that interesting to begin with. Only characters I really like are the Sheriff, Barbie and the Big Jim and Junior plotlines. The lesbian couple are kinda dull, and that Ollie character is just stupid and aiming for a hurting. There are no characters here that you love to follow the way that I feel about Breaking Bad. That kind of writing is also way beyond what these writers can pull off, of course. The drama, as I said, is just way too lightweight.

But there's a certain charm about it as well. I, like many others I'd wager, was grown up on a healthy diet of Stephen King-films and lore. Apart from The Mist, which was awesome, it's been awhile since we had anything to add to the Stephen King "cozy horror" category. I think this might be it. We've got the same run-of-the-mill Stephen King characters, hometown and world. It feels like revisiting parts of your childhood. That's what gets me going.

I'd probably have preferred a mini series, tho. And one aimed at a more mature audience. Something more like The Mist, that is.

Neil

08-Aug-2013, 03:58 PM

From what I can see, it's been very successful viewing figures wise. Second series given the green light!

MinionZombie

08-Aug-2013, 05:50 PM

But there's a certain charm about it as well. I, like many others I'd wager, was grown up on a healthy diet of Stephen King-films and lore. Apart from The Mist, which was awesome, it's been awhile since we had anything to add to the Stephen King "cozy horror" category. I think this might be it. We've got the same run-of-the-mill Stephen King characters, hometown and world. It feels like revisiting parts of your childhood. That's what gets me going.

I'd probably have preferred a mini series, tho. And one aimed at a more mature audience. Something more like The Mist, that is.

That's a good way of putting it, Ned. I get the same feeling - it's not the best adaptation, but yeah ... "cozy horror" with typical King tropes. It does feel 'very King' with the town and the people within that town ... although I would like a little less 'idiot mob mentality' ... by which I mean, an entire mob goes nuts and only a couple of main characters have a cool head. It's like all the townsfolk who don't have speaking parts are just total idiots who'll snap at any second and listen intently to any crazy idiot, but will then whip back the other way whenever Barbie gets in on the act to calm things down. A bit too 'all one way, then all the way back'.

From what I can see, it's been very successful viewing figures wise. Second series given the green light!

Yeah I've heard it's been going great guns for the summer period. That's another thing - this 'seasonal' approach to TV in America is moronic. If they weren't such slaves to that form, you could have shows with less gaps in their viewing schedules (e.g. 6 months worth of The Big Bang Theory spread out over 9 months) ... these gaps also affect British scheduling ... so, in the case of TBBT, or 2 Broke Girls (as mainstream seasonal scheduling), we have a late start, then a single mid-season break so there's enough episodes to air in an uninterrupted block when it comes back.

Just broadcast the show and move on to the next one and keep the schedule solid, save for a very few instances (e.g. apparently everyone watches the Superbowl, so there's no point airing an episode during that time).

Anyway - yes, UTD is doing well in the ratings ... but perhaps there isn't the competition for it either?

Neil

19-Aug-2013, 05:49 PM

Starting tonight in the UK. 10pm Ch5 - http://www.channel5.com/shows/under-the-dome/articles/about-the-show

MinionZombie

19-Aug-2013, 06:51 PM

Just having a squiz at the show's Wiki page:

Critical reception

On June 10, 2013, Under the Dome was one of the six series chosen for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series.[16]

As of June 25, 2013, the series has a rating of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic – indicating "generally favorable reviews", based on the pilot episode.[17]

But by August 13, 2013, eight episodes into the season, reviews of the show had declined sharply, with TV.com's Tim Surette calling it "mediocre TV"[18] and ''Geek Speak Magazine'''s Rachel Hyland calling it "a silly, silly show" of "abiding awfulness."[19]

On June 27, 2013, Stephen King acknowledged that "the TV version of Under the Dome varies considerably from the book version", and called the series "very good" while commenting on some of those differences:[2]

[If] you look closely, you’ll see that most of my characters are still there, although some have been combined and others have changed jobs. That’s also true of the big stuff, like the supermarket riot, the reason for all that propane storage, and the book’s thematic concerns with diminishing resources. Many of the changes wrought by Brian K. Vaughan and his team of writers have been of necessity, and I approved of them wholeheartedly. Some have been occasioned by their plan to keep the Dome in place over Chester’s Mill for months instead of little more than a week, as is the case in the book. Other story modifications are slotting into place because the writers have completely re-imagined the source of the Dome.

Ratings

The June 24 "Pilot" established records for the highest rated CBS summer premiere since Big Brother's 2000 season, the highest drama summer premiere on any network since 1992 and the second highest rated premiere of the 2012–13 United States network television schedule after The Following.[20] With DVR figures added, the series premiere was viewed by a total of 17.76 million viewers.

Started off at 13-odd million viewers, and it's been weaving in and around 11 or 10 since then ... still doing very well in the figures, but there's not much competition out there at this time of year, and it's interesting that the critical response has been shifting apparently. Started fairly strong and interesting, but it's softened over the last two months - I've certainly found my initial interest and excitement for the show taking a considerable hit. I'll at least see out the season, but unless they really buck up their ideas - and get rid of that "network" feel (dumbed down scenarios, some catastrophically bad moments of dialogue, a general sense of 'safe for TV' about it etc) - I'm not sure if I'll be around for season two if it continues to slide.

MinionZombie

27-Aug-2013, 12:57 PM

Three episodes left in the season and they've finally rediscovered a bit more of a sense of pace - a little more actually happened in this episode.

Still though, there's some appalling dialogue throughout that crops up, filled with blunt-as-a-rock-to-the-face exposition ... like characters speaking to each other in a way as if they've never talked about this piece of information before - doing so for the 'benefit of the viewer' ... when, if course, such blunt writing isn't necessary. We can follow along without it, and it can even help add a further layer of mystery as we keep watching to dig up little slivers of extra information (see "The Returned" as a great example of that kind of well crafted mystery writing).

The quality has really dropped a lot since the first episode though ... as I've said before, it feels awfully "network" in its presentation. A real shame. I'm hanging in there till the end of the season - if it manages to pull itself up then I might stick around for season 2, but yeah, they've really gone out of their way to sap the intrigue and quality drama prospects out of this concept.

Morto Vivente

09-Sep-2013, 01:13 PM

Maybe my expectations were to high, but since the 2nd episode or so the ability of the show to engage has declined dramatically IMO. The pace of each episode really drags and most of the characters are rather bland. I haven't read the novel but I'll hazard a guess that the characterization isn't so pedestrian. For me the most interesting character was the reverend who was murdered around the 4th episode :( . Anyway I'll hang in for the rest of the season, nothing ventured etc.....

MinionZombie

09-Sep-2013, 01:29 PM

Yeah, I'm hanging in for the end of the season ... but I really don't know if I'll watch the second at this rate. The Reverend annoyed me - a typical King 'psycho preacher' that felt done-to-death, so I was glad when they snuffed him out ... yeah, the show feels like a big old let down. I was interested to begin with, but then that interest waned gradually over the season, and now I'm just sticking it out for the last couple of episodes to round-out the season ... but beyond that? Hmmm...

A wasted opportunity ... big style.

Neil

09-Sep-2013, 01:41 PM

I've got all these recorded, but from your comments I really should just delete them and save the time!

Morto Vivente

09-Sep-2013, 03:23 PM

@ MZ: I found it difficult to find any of the characters remotely interesting, but failed clergymen amuse me somehow. Did any of the characters stand out for you?

- - - Updated - - -

I've got all these recorded, but from your comments I really should just delete them and save the time!

I'm sure you have a "gazillion" other things to give your attention to. IMO deleting wouldn't be a rash choice based on season 1.

MinionZombie

09-Sep-2013, 06:45 PM

Yeah, I don't think you'd be missing much, Neil ... aside from a chance to say "OH DEAR!" ;) If I knew it was going to get this shoddy I'd not have bothered in the first place, but with two episodes left in the season, it's only the completist in me that is forcing me to finish out the season.

Morto - I like Barbie, but even he gets little to do that really thrills, and he's written in a bit of a linear fashion without much depth or range of character. Other than that, my interest in the characters I do/did like is fast waning/practically non-existent at this stage.

First episode = I thought 'hey, this is kinda cool, not perfect, but pretty decent'

Two episodes left in the season = Consistently groaning out loud at the awful dialogue, bored rigid by the wafer-thin, surface-deep writing, constantly annoyed by the lack of daring and the general sense of 'safe Network TV' vibe about the whole endeavour ... etc etc. A total missed opportunity.

And good lord - the music is a joke - for one, it's constant through the entire damn show, and it's so unsubtle - such as that stupid 'squealy string build up' thing you get before ad breaks. Ugh. Piss off.

/rant :rant:

:D

Neil

09-Sep-2013, 06:46 PM

Such a shame :(

Oh well, I'll go and watch the rest of the last season of Spartacus instead then...

clanglee

11-Sep-2013, 02:04 AM

MinionZombie

11-Sep-2013, 09:31 AM

I've been rather upset with the show. Progressively so. It's just missing the mark over and over. I almost quit when they introduce a whole new character that was not in the first half of the season. Stupid unnecessary padding. . . . .sigh

You mean the one who was only in it for like 3 episodes? Yeah, it felt like a late-in-the-game inclusion that had little bearing on the plot beyond an eventual reason for a double-cross, and the stuff of like 'yeah, I've just been hanging out for a couple of weeks and only just decided to pop my head in' was bullshit. The penultimate episode had a bit more going on in it, but any good will has long since been used up ... all the big problems with the show remain.

I'm glad Dodi snuffed it because she annoyed the crap out of me.

Yep ... it does feel padded, Clang, it really does. I'll join you in a *sigh*, if I may.

clanglee

12-Sep-2013, 06:31 PM

Padded indeed. It would have turned out much better if they stuck to it being a miniseries rather than a full blown series. Alas

EvilNed

10-Dec-2013, 11:41 PM

Yeah, just to sum it up, this show was actually pretty crap.

Neil

01-Jul-2014, 01:08 PM

Season 2 is approaching... I gave up with the first episode of season 1. Did I make the right move?

mKFEhjEi604

EvilNed

01-Jul-2014, 04:39 PM

Season 1 was pretty bad. It's not worth watching. The most consistent thing about it is that all characters have one character-trait that they embody. In addition, all characters will make stupid decisions in order to serve the advancement of the plot. I've never been quite so frustrated by how stupid characters act just to cause a little bit of shallow drama. It's way, way worse than TWD in this regard.

All the episodes are of the variety "Oh shit, now we're facing this problem" (i.e. food shortage, gas shortage, water shortage, wildfire spreading) and they're struggling to solve it with the resources they have at hand and then they always do. Despite all the talk about rationing, there's never anyone who questions if they should A) start rationing their gasoline for their cars (seriously, they all drive around in cars, all the time. If they keep this up in Season 2, it's beyond stupid) or B) stop shooting at each other. You wouldn't believe how many people die because of ignorance and short-sighted anger in season 1. The society completely collapses in like... 9 days or something like that. There's literally an underground Gladiator/Thunderdomish arena set up like 10 episodes in. What the actual fuck? It's like you just sit there and think that this Dome was set up to protect the outer world from all these assholes that got stuck inside.

I hear Stephen King is more involved in season 2. I might actually give it a shot just to see if it's improved, but I'm willing to drop it quickly if it hasn't.

shootemindehead

01-Jul-2014, 04:48 PM

You're missing nothing. It's rubbish.

MinionZombie

01-Jul-2014, 05:44 PM

I limped to the end of season one and it just got worse and worse. Like others have said it was jam-packed with stupidity coming from all angles.

I watched a clip from season 2 online earlier and it was 'oh no, the dome's magnetic now!' so everyone was panicking in a kitchen as frying pans and knives flew about ... but, geez, the nails in the wood came out (but only some of the nails from some of the wood, rather inconsistently) ... ... anyway, one pierced the teen boy's hand (the boy with the sister who was imprisoned for a spell in season one) and the reaction was laughably bad. If that really happened you'd be screaming your tits off, but not him. :rolleyes:

I won't be watching season two. The first season started off with some promise, but started to crumble very fast and just kept getting worse and worse and worse. It's like the poster boy for just how awful, dunderheaded and compromised US network television can be.

*searches*

Here's the clip I was talking about:

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