Under the Dome

[ForeverAutumn]

Did anyone else catch the series premiere of this show last night?

It's always hard to judge a show by just the first episode but I thought it was gripping. Great premise, characters, and storylines. I don't want to give too much away but this could be the next Fast Forward IMO. Which all means, of course, that I'm going to get sucked in and then it's going to be cancelled. :mad:

[Hyfi]

I would like to see this one but since it starts at 10 and I get up at 5, I won't stay up for it. Maybe I will catch them online after they air on tv.

It's also very hard to judge any new sci-fi after Lost.

[markw]

Dunno if it's the hour it was on, my age, the heat all day, or the show itself, but I fell asleep in the first ten minutes. I DID DVR it, though, and will give it another shot.

I mainly posted for FA's benefit to tell her it's a pre-determined story with a length of 13 episodes, kinda like Babylon 5 was written to have a defined 5 year life span, with each season being one book of five, and each episode a chapter within that book.

...and we all know what happened when they tried to extend it beyond that, don't we?

[ForeverAutumn]

Thanks Mark. I didn't realize that it was only 13 episodes. So it's more like a summer mini-series than a TV series. That actually makes it more appealing because I was having trouble imaging how the premise could continue successfully for multiple seasons. Knowing that there is a defined story with a defined conclusion is good. It means it's unlikely to get cancelled just as I get emotionally invested.

Although I don't imagine that there will be happy endings for all involved. :ihih:

I'm looking forward to next week's episode already.

[markw]

OK, we watced the first two episodes.

Here's my take: It's a fairly grippng Steven King soap opera. It's got a fairly varied cast of characters (some good, some not so good) so a few minutes of each episode can be devoted to each of them. Mrs W is hooked. She loves this kinda stuff.

So far, it seems that some know what happened and it looks like the series will be devorted to following those who are intent on sniffing out the truth and those who would conceal it, not to mention the occasional burnout who pops up along the way. The main question is why they did it.

I can say that I'll never look at a propane truck again without wondering...

[Hyfi]

OK so I am getting caught up and have watched 4 episodes. Pretty neat story that has me guessing and wondering. Good cast of players, Big John = Locke, Barbie + Sawyer and Jack....you see where this is going.

Junior is one freaky dude and scares me from the TV. The first scene where the cow gets sliced in half was cool and gross at the same time.

I will keep watching but later than each episode night. Are we sure this actually ends after this season?

[ForeverAutumn]

I saw the book at Costco. For some reason I thought it was based on a short story or novella, but it's a pretty thick book. I haven't read a Stephen King book in about 20 years, but I might have to read this one after the show ends. No doubt there is a lot in the book that won't get covered in the show...not to mention the more in-depth description and thoughts from each character.

I can see this book being a lot more like his earlier works like The Stand (which I loved) and a lot less like Christine or Cujo (which I hated).

[ForeverAutumn]

Wow. I just finished watching episode 5. It was a good one and I see things going in a whole new direction from here. I can't wait to see the next episode!

[markw]

I see where they are "modifying" the original Steven King story line, throwing out his original ending and have renewed it for (at least) another season. So much for that mini-series I first heard about.

Ahdunnow. That seems to dilute the quality of a good story and turn it into a soap opera..

[ForeverAutumn]

I see where they are "modifying" the original Steven King story line, throwing out his original ending and have renewed it for (at least) another season. So much for that mini-series I first heard about.

Ahdunnow. That seems to dilute the quality of a good story and turn it into a soap opera..

I agree with you Mark. One of the things that attracted me to this show was the finite storyline. But if they are going to carry it on then it will dilute the original story.

I've spoken with some folks who have read the book and are watching the show. They all say that the TV version is very far removed from the book already. It sounds like it was based on the premise of the book rather than the book itself. I may try to read the book over the next few weeks, before school starts up again in September and my free time disappears. I have two other books that I want to read first, but they are short and won't take me long to read. In the meantime, I'm still enjoying the TV show.

[Hyfi]

Getting crazier each week and now straying so far from the book that it's barely the same. It's been keeping my attention but I really don't want it to turn into a 7 season redo of Lost. We already have a character to mirror those from Lost already.

Anyone still watching?

[ForeverAutumn]

I'm still watching. And I started the book this week. I'm about 100 pages in and it's so vasty different that I'm not at all concerned about one ruining the other. Seems to me like the show took the basic premise and some character names and that's it. The similarities appear to end there (so far, at least).

[Hyfi]

OK, so where is this show going now that it has strayed so far from the book?

I did not catch any coming attractions for next season but watched the season finale last night. I do hope Big Jim gets whacked soon along with JR. They both give me the willies :)

[ForeverAutumn]

I was pretty disappointed in last night's finale. I've never seen so many stupid people in one town. They deserve to be in a dome. Not to protect them from whatever secrets the egg holds, but to protect the rest of the world from their stupidity.

I mean not ONE person is willing to stand up and ask for justice in Barbie's defence? He pleaded not guilty. At the very least, somebody should be questioning the means of execution. Nobody in a civilized country gets hanged anymore. And why go to the trouble of building a gallows when you can execute him by firing squad? Why is nobody questioning this?!

I doubt that Big Jim will get whacked anytime soon. The show relies on the conflict that his character creates too much. But I'd love to see that moron police woman bite it. What a useless piece of crap she is! She's the worst cop EVER. No regard for justice whatsoever. She's just going to stand around while Jim plays judge, jury, and executioner? She's going to ignore the fact that Jim was present when Max, her Goon, and Dodee were killed? She's going to blindly believe that Barbie shot Julia just because Jim said so? What a dope! The egg should have fried her to death.

The best part of the last episode were the pretty pink stars rising.

This show started off pretty strong, but now it's just gotten stupid and I'm losing interest. The only reason that I'll tune into S2 is that Stephen King is supposed to be getting involved. He's writing the 1st episode, so maybe that will get things back on track. Otherwise, I really don't see this show making it to S3.

I'm about 225 pages into the book and so far it's just meh. Not much has happened except a dome has appeared. I hope it gets better soon or I might have to abandon that too.

:(

[bfalls]

I want to know just how stupid can Julia be? She's the only one with the information Barbie didn't shoot her. She missed so many opportunities to let someone else know. They had a police radio they could use to to let anyone listening know. It should be enough to make the town at least question Big Jim. I guess she likes having her life at risk. Overall a good series. I look forward to next season.

[markw]

Jeez, how long can they drag this thing on for? One of the main reasons I signed on initially was because I believed that, being based on a book, it had a begining, middle and an end. (see linky (http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/06/under-the-dome-review/66579/)) It's building but it doesn't seem to be getting any closer to any closure. As for the finale, wotta tease.

I'm dissapointed in Steven King. He's done mini-series before and they tended to get a bit drawn out but they always did offer closure, even if, in one case, it was just a giant spider.

[ForeverAutumn]

Jeez, how long can they drag this thing on for? One of the main reasons I signed on initially was because I believed that, being based on a book, it had a begining, middle and an end.

Same here. As for Stephen King...apparently, he had nothing to do with the TV series, but he endorses it.


For those of you out there in Constant Reader Land who are feeling miffed because the TV version of Under the Dome varies considerably from the book version, here’s a little story.

Near the end of his life, and long after his greatest novels were written, James M. Cain agreed to be interviewed by a student reporter who covered culture and the arts for his college newspaper. This young man began his time with Cain by bemoaning how Hollywood had changed books such as The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. Before he could properly get into his rant, the old man interrupted him by pointing to a shelf of books behind his desk. “The movies didn’t change them a bit, son,” he said. “They’re all right up there. Every word is the same as when I wrote them.”

I feel the same way about Under the Dome. If you loved the book when you first read it, it’s still there for your perusal. But that doesn’t mean the TV series is bad, because it’s not. In fact, it’s very good. And, 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.

That such a re-imagining had to take place was my only serious concern when the series was still in the planning stages, and that concern was purely practical. If the solution to the mystery were the same on TV as in the book, everyone would know it in short order, which would spoil a lot of the fun (besides, plenty of readers didn’t like my solution, anyway). By the same token, it would spoil things if you guys knew the arcs of the characters in advance. Some who die in the book—Angie, for instance—live in the TV version of Chester’s Mill…at least for a while. And some who live in the book may not be as lucky during the run of the show. Just sayin’.

Listen, I’ve always been a situational writer. My idea of what to do with a plot is to shoot it before it can breed. It’s true that when I start a story, I usually have a general idea of where it’s going to finish up, but in many cases I end up in a different place entirely (for instance, I fully expected Ben Mears to die at the end of ’Salem’s Lot, and Susannah Dean was supposed to pop off at the end of Song of Susannah). “The book is the boss,” Alfred Bester used to say, and what that means to me is the situation is the boss. If you play fair with the characters—and let them play their parts according to their strengths and weaknesses—you can never go wrong. It’s impossible.

There’s only one element of my novel that absolutely had to be the same in the novel and the show, and that’s the Dome itself. It’s best to think of that novel and what you’re seeing week-to-week on CBS as a case of fraternal twins. Both started in the same creative womb, but you will be able to tell them apart. Or, if you’re of a sci-fi bent, think of them as alternate versions of the same reality.

As for me, I’m enjoying the chance to watch that alternate reality play out; I still think there’s no place like Dome.

As for you, Constant Reader, feel free to take the original down from your bookshelf anytime you want. Nothing between the covers has changed a bit.

Stephen King
June 27th, 2013

Here's the link Under the Dome - A Letter From Stephen (http://www.stephenking.com/promo/utd_on_tv/letter.html)

[markw]

Well, using that logic, I am in possession of Atilla the Huns original hammer. It's had the head replaced eight times, and the handle twelve times but, aside from those minor issues, it's exactly the same as it was in 450 AD.

yeah, right... :frown2:

[JoeE SP9]

Does anyone really expect Mr. King to do much complaining considering what Hollywood paid him for the rights to the book. When they buy a book it usually means they're going to f**k it up anyway.

[ForeverAutumn]

As I read the book and see how slow moving it is, I'm beginning to understand why the TV producers chose not to stick to the book's story. I've read almost 300 pages and NOTHING has happened. Seriously. Paint dries and grass grows faster than this story moves along.