Stephen King stories make great novels but silly TV

This was the first time EVER that I read a book before seeing a movie or TV adaptation, and I was very much looking forward to that experience. To see if I would be disappointed with the min-series as most - it seems - usually are.

I for one was not. I was happy with the mini-series and was wanting changes, no matter how drastic. I know sure as hell I was bored with some of the book in regards to all the years in Jodi and some of the Derry, and was aware in advance of some of the changes as I paid close attention to social media from those involved with the production of the series. The change to have Bill be a "sidekick" to Jake was "brilliant" according to King himself. It saved the need for Jake to "narrate" as he did in the book/audio-book.

Anyway, again I was happy with the mini-series and not upset at all with changes. (though I found the Yellow Card man changes very dramatic and puzzling.)

That said, I likely will not be buying the DVD as is is almost barren of extras. No excuse for that.

you said they make silly tv but at the same time you want longer format mini series instead of Kubrick's Shining?

Cujo, Pet Sematary, Salems Lot, The Stand (had its moments), etc etc

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Steven King is the WORST at creating a backstory and give his characters believable arcs that actually work on screen.

Look at Tolkiens works and the rich backstories and even constructed languages for the characters races. Or the all the time that goes in to inventing a universe and backstory for Star Trek. Admittedly it always sounds like:
- "The transfocabualtors are offline, we need to reroute power from the modulator core!"

Often you can get i little fed up with techno babble or other backstory mumbojumbo but you always appreciate the effort.
When the backstory is good and believable, and somebody actually respects the viewer/reader, the feeling is that the creator actually cared.

The Steven King trademark of utter contempt for readers who need to know origin or have a close to plausible explanation for what occurs, is tangible and frankly, despicable.

Worst example being "Sometimes they come back" where Steven King skillfully had one character ask another why dead people showed up in their little town and the second character replied:
- "Well.. ..sometimes they come back!"

That was it for backstory and explanation and THAT is why, my friends, Steven King ultimately sucks huge donkey balls!

I'm a huge fan of Stephen King's (& Bachman) novels but it's so frustrating to admit that I invariably find the movies & mini-series made out of his stories so trite, silly and disappointing. Perhaps it's that King's stories rely on working on the reader's imagination. TV takes away the need for imagination: it's all there on the screen. Perhaps its that the novels have more time and space to develop the story and characters. Stanley Kubrick came closest with his "Shining" but it fell short. A longer format (mini-series?) might have helped.

The list of sub-standard treatments of King stories is a very long and depressing one. Cujo, Pet Sematary, Salems Lot, The Stand (had its moments), etc etc

And no, I don't think it's a case of "having read the book first, watching the show must disappoint". I hadn't read the novel 11.22.63 before seeing the mini-series. Reading the book *after* was a massive improvement in this case. King was heavily involved in getting the mini-series made (he was exec producer) so he can't claim he was short-changed by screenwriters. Surely.

Anyone agree?

The Stand is a fantastic adaptation. Aside from a dated look, the mini holds up remarkably well. Same with the 1979 mini of Salem's Lot. And let us not forget Carrie (de Palma), The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Misery, Stand by Me, and Hearts in Atlantis.

Discounting The Stand, the other films all had top notch directors AND screenwriters. Essentially, it is not the source material so much as it is a lack of understanding of what made the book work. Stripped to its most basic elements, 11/22/63 is a man out of time and a love story. Stopping the assassination was secondary.

Where this mini failed is by being too long. If the people behind this had cut it by a quarter, I feel it would work much better. Instead, the writing team and directors seemed to lack focus. The changes could be better understood if they at least had better execution. Instead, the series devolved into a devolved into the very worst kind of Soap Opera.

--
Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!

Loved the book. I was thrilled for this series. What a let down. Complete *beep* :(