As for the post-apocalyptic footage of a virus epidemic that will end the world, CBS All-Access ” The Stand ” falls somewhere between Amazon’s “Utopia” and AMC’s still-kicking “The Walking Dead” franchise. , But somehow at a glacial pace than the latter, “The Stand” arrives at the coincidental moment of giving us how we live now.But this adaptation of one of Stephen King’s most dense, expansive works never achieved the epic purpose clearly explained in the 1978 novel.
Instead, creators Josh Boone and Ben Cavell used a strangely refined sheen to the central threat of fundamental evil, resulting in a mini-series that feels simultaneously more elaborate and undeveloped. That contradictory quality eagerly suppresses the danger that society faces as the last resort of humanity, and “The Stand” struggles to distinguish itself outside of its exceptional casting choices.
Almost all of King’s novels have been adapted in some way, and the “The Stand” series has its predecessor: the 1994 edition aired on ABC, with deep cast of TV and movie stars at the time, including Gary Chinese, Rob Lowe, Jamie Sheridan, Ruby Dee, and Laura. San Giacomo and Molly Ringwald. Boone and Kewell put together a similarly stacked list for their edition, reaching out to actors already familiar to King adaptations (in the latest movie versions of Owen Deek, “This” and “Chapter Two”), the legendary right (including the hobby Goldberg, Welcome Beast), and many more. Hey! That person! “Guys (James Marston, Greg Kinnear, Ian Bailey), and the deliciously intimidating Alexander Scorskard combine his Eric Northman’s erotic” from real blood “with his thriller Vernon Sloane’s Impossible Fire.
The main feature of this whole effort was Goldberg and Scorskard, the flag of Abagail Fremond and Randall respectively: one side was light, the other was dark. But in the six chapters of The Stand presented for review, these two characters — like the polar echoes that compete for the soul of humanity — have grown. The miniseries (which will be nine episodes in total, airing weekly on CBS All Access from December 17) work in perfect detail: the dull tadpole of the flag boots as he approaches, the way he captures the basic instincts of the people, both his immensely glamorous men and women. It helps to have chemistry with everyone who shares a scene with Scartscart, from the right-handed man Lloyd Henreid to the tense Nadine Cross of Amber Heard. But to a large extent, the inability of the “stand” to uphold the enormous aspirations of both Mother Abagail and Kodi proves its story flaws. Readers of King’s novels, especially those familiar with Flock’s continued role in the author’s mythology, can add perspective that the miniseries itself does not provide. Without that knowledge the audience can go to the “stand” and, however, understand how the miniseries presents these options on the way forward for the community and how that tonality spreads across the uselessness.
The “stand” begins five months after a bioengineering superflu, nicknamed “Captain Trips”, killed more than 99 percent of the world’s population. In Boulder, Colo, a couple of hundred people drawn together by the dreams and visions of Mother Abagail are trying to escape. Mother Abagail, who believes she speaks the voice of God, chose five people to lead the community, and “The Stand” jumps backwards to fill their stories. The unfortunate sequel to this series is that the most developed characters all occur as men. Stu Redman (Marston), an East Texan oil worker, was captured by the U.S. military on suspicion of being the only survivor of direct contact with the original spread of “Captain Trips”. Aspiring singer-songwriter Larry Underwood (Joan Adebo), the drug blocked his life and caused a rift between him and his family before it exploded. Professor Glenn Batman (Kinnear) draws his dreams in Abagay and offers well-reasoned advice whenever asked. Nick Andros (Henry Jaga), who can neither hear nor speak, but has a close bond with Tom Cullen (Brad William Henke), who serves as the voice of Thai Abagail for the rest of the congregation. All of these men are given flashback sections that fill out who they are before they explode and move their motivations forward, while the series’ main female character, Frankie Goldsmith (Odessa Young) never gets a part of her own.
Instead, Frankie’s exclusive mission is to serve as an object of male sexual interest: first Beeping Tom, an avid writer, and Harold Lauder (Deek), a man who has been obsessed with Frankie since he used babysitting with Frankie for no apparent reason, and later becomes a romantic partner with Stu when they settle in Boulder. Frankie is a main character, whose choices often shape the reactions of others, and he was one of the first to be shown dreaming of Thai Abagail. But how much she deviates from the main story and the ambiguity of her overall identity both make “The Stand” a slander, highlighting how the show mismanages its attention. For the first two hours of the series, the premiere “The End” and the second episode “Pocket Savior” create an elegant tension: the transition locations capture the penetration of the explosion; Every cough and sneeze signifies impending doom; The cosmetics department of the series should be commended for creating the most gross physical effect of “Captain Trips”. But after the episodes that built up that early world, “The Stand” never felt dirty, considering the physical and emotional impact of this disease, loss and death on its presentation or the allure of the dictatorship of the flag. In his new Vegas Bachchanalia -Hedonism rule. The worst thing that can happen in New Vegas is that gladiator-style warfare and orchids involve both desirable participants, and after the “Game of Thrones” era, viewers may wonder: What then?
Despite those temporary quality and random storytelling cast, “Stand” is the most important reason to watch. The message of the series about good and evil may be minimal, but almost every actor does a good job. Marston and Deek highlight the difference between a good man and a good hand, the latter especially making the creepy Tom Cruise look. Jaga’s flexible expression helps his character well, and satisfies Goldberg’s silly energy. Irene Petard is a delight every time she appears as Ray Brentner (a change from King’s original character Ralph), the fierce defender of Mother Abagail. (One of the worst choices in this series is not about changing King’s subject: the schizophrenic from King’s novel is played with dangerous clichs by Trojan Man Ezra Miller.)
But Scorskard stands alone here. In the first six episodes of the series, Flock beats a man silently in a glass elevator at his Inferno Casino, shocking a crowd of spectators who thought he was accustomed to everything offered at the Festival of the Flags. With Scarscart’s quiet, almost sad, “My sincere apology to the maid” he presents as he steps out of the elevator signifies a scene of horrific violence. His Randall flag deserves a series that wants to meet his threat rather than the “stand”.