Many of us remember the rather disturbing interview Dr. Phil ran in 2016 of Shelly Duvall. Turns out, the story wasn’t over. I found this article interesting account of Duvall’s ongoing frustrations with Dr. Phil.
The article notes that the 2016 appearance was “slammed by critics for being exploitative of her mental health struggles.” Duvall noted that she later regretted having done the segment for Phil.
One of those who expressed disappointment in the interview was none other than Stanley Kubrick’s daughter Vivian. She tweeted, "You are putting Shelly Duvall ‘on show’ while she is suffering from a pitiable state of ill health. Unquestionably, this is purely a form of lurid and exploitive entertainment – it’s appallingly cruel."
However, that’s not all. Duvall claims that even after the show, “Phil McGraw tried repeatedly tried to get in touch with her mother even after the show.” It quotes her, “He started calling my mother. She told him, ‘Don’t call my daughter anymore.’ But he started calling my mother all the time trying to get her to let me talk to him again."
Watching the Langoliers on SyFy tonight. I read the novella at a breakneck speed in high school, and loved every bit of it. I mean, absolutely loved it!
For me, this mini-series falls flat -- very flat. It's not that it's bead, exactly, but it's empty -- hollow. a few reasons strike me as I watch this:
1. Length. The story worked as a novella. Might have worked as a 2 hour movie. But at four hours on Syfy, it's like a soap opera. Lots of talking, but a little thin on action. even the flashbacks become cumbersome. Unlike IT and The Stand and even Desperation, which lent themselves well tot he mini-series format, there's just not enough base material in the book. There are no supporting characters, since everyone on earth is gone. So it's just up to these few actors to carry the whole thing.
Each element of the story is introduced with the same energy as my daughter doing her math homework.
2. Special effects. I'm not going to say much about this because it's obvious, the special effects on this movie just aren't there. Or, more plainly, they suck.
Creepshows says: "With much of the budget being spent in other area's, Rubinstein decided against a star cast." I'm not seeing that budget anywhere!
Now, the power lines being crushed is pretty good. Once we get the pac-man's in the sky, the story loses all believability, as it now looks like a bad video game. My wife is cracking up as Craig is chased by the evil pac-man's!
The evil pac-man's remind me of the plant from Little Shop of Horrors, with its head detached.
3. Awkward! There are several scenes that are just absolutely awkward. Passengers introducing each other on the plane -- grown woman telling a kid about how she's going to visit a man she's never met -- and more. Even the kiss shared between Bethany and Albert
4. Dialogue. here's a great line, "The later it gets the later it gets." What?
Leaves me wondering: What happened here. Did anyone review this script? Did King sign off on this?
The story itself reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode. (Odyssey of flight 33)
Creepshows quotes King thusly from Fangoria, "I wasn't crazy about it. that was more of a TV thing. But given when it was, it was fine. The best thing about it was that it gave Tom Holland and Richard Rubinstein the bonafides they needed to get Spelling Productions to go ahead with Thinner." Right, because Thinner was such a . . . I'll stop now.
IMBD notes, "In the scene were Craig Toomey hallucinates that he is in a board meeting on the runway, the man at the head of the table asking him how much money he has made for the company is Stephen King." (www.imdb.com)
Lifetime's "Big Driver" leaves little to be discussed. Mostly because -- it's not THAT interesting. It's one of those things that you watch and think, "that was interesting. I wonder what's on HBO." It doesn't have a lot of sticking power. I did not find myself out running or doing daily tasks while I mentally rehearsing Big Driver. I was not left dwelling on elements of the story.
As with the novella, I am left totally confounded by decisions Tess makes after she is raped. Most of it just doesn't make much sense. The Lifetime version of the novella becomes little more than a toned down retelling of "I Spit On Your Grave." (And your mothers grave. And your brothers grave.)
Did I like it? Shhhh, I can't admit this very loudly. I did. I read lots of reviewers who hated it. I mean, all out hated it! But I think it's okay. Maybe it's not much more than a C, but it kept me watching. This is not cinema with lots of subplots; and it's not a mini-series where characters were able to be fleshed out. It is a single story driven by one terrible event and the aftershocks. The characters are pretty shallow, including Tess. That said, I declare my favorite character to be Tom.
I thought the rape scene was long and drawn out; especially for television.
Things in Big Driver go from having what a real-estate agent might declare as "potential" -- to something more awkward. "This isn't really working," you start to realize. And here's the thing; when a story isn't really working, it better at least pull off its main objective. So this is a story of revenge. Parts of it don't work. But as a viewer, I'm a little forgiving of some of those things that don't work, so long as there is some payback given; and that there is. So on a very surface level, it works. In truth, it's not much more sophisticated than an Erector set.
Tess is a crime novelist, so the movie suggests she knows how not to get caught. I'm a crime expert -- because I watch television -- and I suspect Tess isn't as safe as she thinks she is. Her biggest safety net is that she lives in the pretend world called TV land, where the police will not look too hard to figure out what happened. She has a lot of unaccounted for time; she used her gun; she drove her car and she had her GPS on the whole time. None of this was resolved.
As the movie progressed, a little too much just worked out for Tess. She got all the luck; all the information; everything just worked for her. So, for a revenge story, it was this splendid happy ending. Which is kind of messed up. I agree with Brian Lowry, who writes, "the climax . . . is not as satisfying — or for that matter, morally challenging — as it should be." (variety.com) Thus the show leaves little to think over after it's been viewed. It was just another block of time eaten up by the glowing box. But I enjoyed it while the box ate my time.
My wife liked it much more than I did. She thinks the bloody dead guy who talks (the brother) is reminiscent of Pet Sematary. I think she's just trying to get me more excited about this film by lumping it with one of my favorite Stephen King works.
So there you have it. Big Driver has problems. I liked it. My wife liked it more. I'll probably forget I liked it -- or watched it -- and watch it again and possibly have totally new feelings toward it.
So here are a few of my favorites, and a few of the real stinkers!
Favorites:
1. Salem's Lot (Original) If you've seen it, then you know I don't have to make much of a case for this being the best. I love it! I love the 1970's era feel; the look of the vampires. Even when it's quirky, it works for me. And by the way, that house really is creepy lookin'!
2. The Stand. I love this miniseries -- minus Molly. Sorry, but she wasn't Franny! Yes, it's dated and feels very 90's. But so what. Every telling of The Stand gets stuck in the era it's released in. Try reading the original version of The Stand, it's got 1970's all over it. I'm hopeful the new movie (MOVIES!) might bring the Stand to life for a new generation. Ebola anyone?
3. IT. Okay, this wasn't genius stuff, but the story was good -- and Tim Curry was really good. What's more, the miniseries will live with me forever because of what it did to me as a teen. That story actually messed with my head! Especially the first half. The second half. . . yeah, that's best not discussed.
4. Storm of the Century.
5. Carrie. Don't judge me, I liked it. What I really liked was the end. I know it was supposed to be a series -- but it never took off. That's fine, because the story is great as a stand alone. Maybe what I like is that it so surprised me. I thought it would just follow the original Carrie plot, but this took some new turns that were very welcome.
6. Bag of Bones.
7. Tommyknockers. This has some pretty good moments, okay? I like it when the kid makes his brother disappear as a magic act and can't get him back.
Favorite Hatreds:
1. Langoliers.
2. Desperation.
3. Golden Years
Haven't seen:
The Dead Zone, Rose Red.
Books that should be miniseries:
1. The Dark Tower. I liked the movie, TV series, back to movie -- plan that was proposed by Ron Howard.
2. Needful Things. This book is perfect for a three night miniseries; with a bit of rewriting!
3. Under the Dome. No, you haven't seen Under The Dome. You've seen CBS playing Under The Dome. I mean the Under The Dome where Junior is a serial killer -- that one!
CBS This Morning
WHEN: approximately 8:30am ET/PT (live on the east coast) (“CBS This Morning” airs 7am-9am ET/PT)
ONLINE: http://www.cbsnews.com/cbs-this-morning/
The View
WHEN: approximately 11:25am ET/ 10:25am PT (”The View” airs 11:00am-noon ET/ 10:00am-11:00am PT)
ONLINE: http://abc.go.com/shows/the-view
Stephen will be appearing on Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. in
Season Two’s first episode, “In Search of Our Fathers,” premiering September
23rd at 8PM EST
Thanks to Professor Gates’ research, Stephen King learns an enlightening fact about his Southern ancestors’ 19th Century journey from Tennessee to Indiana.
NBC has announced that Tommyknockers is being developed as a "limited" series.
The Hollywood Reporter notes:
King's Tommyknockers is based on the author's 1987 novel about the residents of a small Maine town and how they deal with what they perceive to be an alien spacecraft that has landed nearby. Frank Konigsberg and Larry Sanitsky will executive produce, while Emmy winner Yves Simoneau (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee) will direct.
I think this is very exciting. The mini-series and the book both failed to live up to the stories full potential. It seems like with a series, the room can be given to flesh out the story itself.
We love to rank Stephen King's works, don't we? Which is the "best" novel? (The Stand) Which is the worst? What's the top ten best short stories? And so on. Stephen Spignesi wrote an entire book ranking the work of Stephen King. In the end, it's all pretty subjective.
vulture.com posted an article, "All of Stephen King’s TV Work, Ranked." Gilbert Cruz explained,
Dome also presented Vulture with the perfect opportunity to follow up on last spring’s ranking of all 62 Stephen King books; to come up with this definitive second countdown, we spent countless hours watching and rewatching the many episodes, shows, movies, and miniseries produced from his novels and stories, as well as a few things he wrote directly for the small screen.
Again, my favorite comments comes from the stinkers! Get this from Trucks, " Starring Timothy Busfield and a musical score that at several points sounds like the work of an intermediate piano student who’d just bought his first keytar, this two-hour movie about trucks that come to life and attack humans should make us all apologize to Maximum Overdrive for having ever called it such terrible names (at least that cheesefest had the good humor to give one of its trucks a memorable Green Goblin face). The King-like lesson to be learned here? There is always something worse."
Receiving a respectably high rating on the list was the 2002 television version of Carrie, which made it to #10. Cruz notes, "Patricia Clarkson does a more frigid, less campy take on Carrie’s mother, and Angela Bettis comes closer to the homely-looking, beaten-down Carrie White of King’s original conception. Not as stylized as De Palma’s and not as expensive as this fall’s version is likely to be, Carrie nonetheless gets right to the core of the story."
Here is the top 10 from the list: 10. Carrie 9. The Twilight Zone: “Gramma” 8. Salem’s Lot — 1979 7. Nightmares and Dreamscapes 6. Kingdom Hospital 5. The Dead Zone 4. Salem’s Lot 3. Storm of the Century 2. The Stand 1. It What would make your top 5 for Stephen King TV ?
Mine:
5. The Tommyknockers
4. 2002 Carrie
3. 1979 Salem's Lot
2. IT
1. The Stand
I almost reluctantly went with my daughters to watch the Lone Ranger this fourth of July weekend. I loved what I'd seen of the previews, and I love the Lone Ranger, but the bad reviews had me doubtful. Reviews for this film have been pretty bad. The New Yorker has declared it a major flop, and it seems most reviewers pretty much hate the film.
This pretty much proves the point to me, critics don't like fun. They like serious movies, or movies with deep historical roots, or films with a message; but they are left dumbfounded when a movie is simply meant to be a lot of fun.
Here's what you should know at the get go: The Lone Ranger is a comedy. I didn't know that going in! I thought this was a serious western with maybe a few jokes. No sir! This is comedy. At points it is slap stick comedy. The action sequences are complex, brilliantly timed and come off as something that would have made the three stooges proud. Can the Lone Ranger and Tonto best the Three Stooges? Well, what I saw on screen was pretty brilliant. But people come to see the Lone Ranger give us a moral message or a serious western -- and that's just not what this film is. Give the thing room to breathe on its own without squeezing it into the box of the past.
I would be hard pressed to give a detailed plot synopsis, but the story telling was once again, just fun. I see reviewers complaining that it's supposed to be Texas, but looks like (fill in the state) and so it isn't very realistic. I think, "Really? That's what you're worried about? It looks more like Arizona than Texas?"
When the Green Lantern came out, a friend asked if I was going to go watch it. I said no, it looked pretty stupid. "Of course it's stupid!" My friend laughed. "It's a movie. Just go enjoy yourself."
Do we Americans take story telling so serious we've forgotten how to have a good time? Ultimately, the Lone Ranger is about a guy with a mask, his Indian friend and a horse as they fight bad guys. This isn't meant to be taken serious. It's meant to entertain. Life is serious enough right now. I wonder this with Stephen King books, movies and other media. I see folks getting awfully serious about Under the Dome instead of just enjoying it. When everything is picked apart, it doesn't make a critic look any smarter -- it just makes him look full of himself and a little judgmental.
One complaint has been that the Lone Ranger is boring. The thing is full of action, humor and -- well, that's it, action and humor! Was the movie everything I would want it to be? No. The Lone Ranger is a bit weak for me. And at times Tonto's bad-Indian personality is overkill. But that doesn't kill the movie for me.
I like this bit from Mr. Cosby,
Read a review that talked as if this new movie had stolen something from their childhood. As King would point out, the old stuff is still there. You can go buy the old TV shows at Walmart, or watch them on Youtube. You'll discover they weren't really very good. But they were fun. We have fond memories of it because as kids, we were just looking for a ride to a good time, and the Lone Ranger was the the friend that got us there.
My kids liked the movie a lot. It wasn't like some movies where we spent all day after the film talking about it. It was just a joy while we watched it. My ten year old leaned in at one point, as the Lone ranger jumped from one railroad car to another, and said, "Dad, this is a lot like that game subway surfer."
Sometimes a movie that is just looking to entertain is well worth the alternative of something like The Piano or The English Patient. Give me Cowboys and Aliens any day over Tron. And that, my friends, is why I will never get a job reviewing movies. I enjoy them too much. Well, some of them.
There are movies that stir our minds or deeply move our hearts, like Maximum Overdrive; movies with depth and passion, like Children of the Corn; and there are movies that call us to true new intellectual heights, like Needful Things. And then there are some movies that are meant to do little more than make you laugh and give yous some deep, "YES!" moments. No politics. No religion. Not even a lot of attempts at being politically correct. The movie just aimed at fun. I think it hit the target just fine.
Allison Keene at Collider wrote that there was a "there was a lack of urgency to develop characters past what we already knew..." Truth is, we learned a lot. More than that, the story moved forward, fleshing out several subplots introduced in the pilot. We get a fuller taste of what was hinted at.
Keene also said that Barbie's need to retrieve his dog tags and his accidental killing of Julia's husband was "not all that interesting yet to really care." I didn't know I didn't care until Keene told me -- because I found it pretty engrossing. Seems no matter what the storyline, some people are going to roll their eyes and dislike it. Murder, big domes, affairs, serial killers, a thickening plot. . . and it can't hold some peoples interest.
Then again, my mother in laws review, "It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be." Hummm.
I like the opening line, "Now that we're trapped under the Dome, none of our secrets are safe."
Some quick notes:
Under The Dome With The Kids:
Teen perspective: Students happy that they will not have to endure a math test.
Guys disheartened, they may have met every girl they're ever going to meet!
Students figuring out the radius of the dome using math.
I like seeing things through Joe's phone video.
CHARACTERS:
Angie might be a nice girl -- but I'm starting to question her IQ. Is it smart to argue with Junior while she's chained up? Shouting, "I will never love you" does not seem like a good idea while in his clutches. That's the kind of thing you say before slamming the phone down or riving away at full speed -- not what you say when chained up.
Blood on Linda's uniform is a nice touch.
Rev. Coggins has showed up. Not at all as I imagined him from the novel.
The story works to paint Barbie as a good-bad guy. Difficult to feel too close to a lead character who had been little more than a thug. What the show does well is make Big Jim a bit likable. Which is great character development for the bad guy!
Big Jim is Santa.
MYSTERY:
Big Jim, "If you're gonna be stuck somewhere, this is the place to be." The mystery is back!
I'm really happy CBS said they changed the cause of the dome, because it heightens the suspense. Even if it turns out to be aliens, CBS had a great idea in telling us they changed it.
"Your only source of news from. . . Under The Dome." What's that mean? "It means we're all gonna die in here."
Realization that the military doesn't know what it is.
MSN Entertainment reports that Under The Dome came out swinging, coming out as the second-highest rated drama debut this year (per Nielsen).
The article, by Barbara Card Atkinson, goes on to discuss the good and the bad of Stephen King TV.
I found this note on The Dead Zone series interesting:
They did this one right, too -- at least for a while. The series starred Anthony
Michael Hall as a psychic loner, and the series premiere broke records
for the USA Network at the time, attracting 6.4 million viewers. The series ran
six seasons, but viewer numbers had dropped enough that a seventh season was
abandoned with no series finale.
Reading the lists of Good and Worst -- I found out I like a lot of Stephen King TV that no one else does. I thought both the Tommyknockers and The Shining were great. The Tommyknockers felt a bit soap operish at times and too closed in -- things Under The Dome has avoided thus far -- but I still like the story. Oh, and the spaceship in Tommyknockers was a disappointment. But that moment when the kid does a magic trick and makes his brother disappear. . . and then can't bring him back! -- that was great television.
I also liked the 2002 Carrie a lot. I thought it managed to bring new ideas to the story while remaining pretty faithful to the book.
I do think this note on Bag of Bones was insightful on Atkinson's part:
"This miniseries ran three hours, which might have been an hour too long, or
several hours too short. More time would have allowed for better character
development; less time might have forced a much-needed pace tightening."
And also Atkinson gives this interesting explanation to the mediocre response to The Shining miniseries, "it was another case where the novel was so dense with backstory and internal experiences (and audiences missing those creepy twins and bloody elevators) that it couldn't be roundly brought to the screen."
When it comes to The Shining, I've hoped for a directors cut that would restore some scenes that Garris cut out.
Even with a love for bad Stephen King television -- I cannot offer and defense for The Langoliers.
THE GOOD:
IT
THE STAND
SALEM'S LOT
THE DEAD ZONE
THE WORST:
THE SHINING.
THE TOMMYKNOCKERS
STORM OF THE CENTURY
CARRIE
SOMETIMES THEY COME BACK
ROSE RED
THE LANGOLIERS
NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES
BAG OF BONES
I liked the first episode of Under The Dome a lot. It may be that with the book itself I enjoyed themes and big picture more than the details -- so it doesn't bother me a bit when new subplots arise.
The story moves quickly while delivering characters that are believable. Often mini-series feel closed in, like soap operas. But things happen quickly, moving scene to scene -- so we don't get the feeling they're purposely dragging this out. Also, the special effects don't seem cheap; I believed a Dome came from the sky! And that is the direction it came from -- sky down.
Those of you who didn't like it or were disappointed, I don't know what you were expecting. Did you read the book? The first episode did much more than just set things up for more to come -- A GIANT DOME CAME DOWN OUT OF THE SKY! That was great TV! Just because you knew it was going to happen didn't mean it wasn't cool when it did. We were introduced to a killer, a used car dealer who wants to run the world, a compromised sheriff and our main character seeming to bury a body. Did I mention a cow got cut in half? (yes, easily entertained)
I don't even have commercial TV -- because I think it's pretty lame. But this was good stuff.
My notes:
1. I like this bit of dialogue:
"What is this thing? Do you think the government built it?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because it works."
2. The cow cut in half. . . not quite ground beef.
3. The kids think the name Barbie is funny. Explaining doesn't help.
4. The story has enough characters and scenes to keep things moving. My biggest fear was that this would be like the Tommyknockers -- big story which ends up feeling a little closed in.
5. Junior is once again a character the audience an both empathize with and hate. I think we feel for him and his strained relationship with his dad -- but cringe at his very naughty deeds. His desire for his dads affection is communicated well but not blatant.
6. NICE COMMERCIAL FOR DOCTOR SLEEP!
7. The night shot on the town is great! The dome lit up is pretty awesome.
8. Body count: So, that's not really possible. But, here's a half a try:
Woman in plane. Buried guy. Family in mini van. Cow. Birds. Woman with forearm cut off. Driver of grovery truck. . . . stopped keeping track.
CBS has posted the live chat with Stephen King at www.cbs.com
NEWS:
King said he asked to write an episode next season.
He is currently writing a book called REVIVAL.
MY NOTES:
INSPIRATION: Naturally King is asked what inspired Under The Dome. He doesn't know where the idea came from, but offers some of his first images of what the story would be. He says, "It was a lot of fun to create that situation." (King does like to destroy the world, doesn't he?) He notes he tried it in 72 and the story was just too big for him at the time. He put it aside and wrote Carrie instead.
CHARACTERS:Asked what the best part is of seeing his story come to screen, King said it was the opportunity to see characters he created in his mind come to life. "Sometimes it's fun to see what set designers do with places you made up."
He says that Barbie is his favorite character; however, he also says that he likes whatever character he's working on at the moment -- even the bad ones. This explains why his character development is so strong. He notes the tougher part is being the women, since he can only do that by observation. That's interesting, since both my wife and mother have mentioned how amazing it is that he can get inside a woman's head. "It's kind of interesting and challenging to be a woman for a while," King says. He calls it, "Creative cross-dressing." (Check out my article, Seven Reasons We Read Stephen King, #4 He's A Woman Talk Stephen King seven-reasons-we-read-stephen-king)
He said he does get to have a part in the casting of actors to play his characters. He also notes that he keeps character lists to help him remember who's who. This is funny -- King says that after writing Gerald's Game, which is just about one character, his wife Tabitha said his next book would be called "Living Room" and would have no characters at all.
King was asked which character best embodies him. King quickly responded Gordon Lachance from The Body. "If I've written anything autobiographical in my life, it's that." He then insists there is not a lot of autobiographical stuff in most of his book. "Folks," he seems to say to the world, "I'm making this stuff up."
FAVORITE BOOK: King said asking a writer what their favorite book is that's like asking someone who their favorite kid is. "I like them all," he insists. He said he really loves the book he is currently working on. Presently he is writing a book called "Revival." King said he is abut halfway through with it and totally in love with the book. He also noted a special place in his heart for Lisey's story, because he associates it with a good time in his own life. He says the most difficult was Pet Sematary. He also says the character he would most like to meet is Dolores Claiborne.
The Language: When asked about all the short cuts in the language (like in facebook, twitter and when texting) the linguistic prude in King comes out! He doesn't like using "2" for two, and so on.
MUSIC: King says when he wrote Lisey's story, he switched to listening almost completely to old country music. "A lot of times what I do these days, when I'm composing, I'm just composing and the room is completely quiet. When I edit I let it rip. I have a real weakness for metal, disco." He likes AC/DC, Gloria Gainer, Donna Summer, Metallica, Judas Priest.
The Message Of Under The Dome:King said the message of Under The Dome is that we all live under the dome. "We're all on planet earth, and we're not going anywhere, not in the next hundred years. We have diminishing resources." There is so much gas, food, medicine and good air -- that's the situation we're all in.
Eric Deggans at tampabay.com had this to say about the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's Under The Dome:
Whenever it comes to television, I've grown used to Stephen King breaking my heart. Time and again, he's brought adaptations of interesting and compelling novels to TV, only to wind up with stuff that is too uninspired (Steven Weber trying to outdo Nicholson in a remake of The Shining?) too boring (Pierce Brosnan moping through a limp redintion of Bag of Bones) or too dumb (The Langoliers. 'Nuff said.)
Still, I have high hopes for the latest attempt to turn King's quality pages into quality television, CBS' Under the Dome.
Deggans offers the following things to bolster his high hopes for Under The Dome:
1. Dean Norris.
2. It's a Summer mini-series like The Stand.
. . . and that's about it!
I would offer this: I think Under The Dome was written to translate to screen. It's a visual story. It is also character driven, and sometimes television does nicely with good characters and big pictures -- when given a descent budget and good actors. I think Under The Dome promises both.
A think a successful Under The Dome will add interest in making The Dark Tower as a movie and TV series.
That said, what are your favorite Stephen King television adaptations? (And your least favorite!)
Favorites:
1. The Stand.
2. IT.
3. The Tommyknockers
4. The Shining (I liked it)
Least Favorites:
1. The Langoliers. It would have done better on the big screen, with more budget and less screen time.
2. Sleepwalkers. You all will tell me it was not made for TV, it was a real movie. But it should have gone straight to cable.
Jason Hughes at HuffPost has a recap of episode 12 of NBC's "REVOLUTION." He is spotting a lot of Stephen King nods. Hughes notes:
In a post-apocalyptic world everything centers around ... a tower? Is this show a part of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series? "Revolution" started revealing some of its secrets this week, including the man who gave the order that triggered the blackout. That man is one Randall Flagg --er, sorry, Randall Flynn. Got Stephen King on the brain, but that's the show's fault, too. They had a blatant reference to "The Stand" -- also the name of last week's episode -- in a library scene in the episode. The horror master is clearly an influence on the series.
What's Revolution? Here's the wikipedia short answer: Revolution takes place in a post-apocalyptic dystopian future. Fifteen years earlier, an unknown phenomenon disabled electricity on Earth and effectively all devices powered by it, ranging from computers and electronics to car and jet engines. People were forced to adapt to a world without electricity. Due to the collapse of government and public order, many areas are ruled by warlords and militias. The series focuses on the Matheson family, who possess a special device (a USB flash drive contained in a pendant) that is the key to not only finding out what happened fifteen years ago, but also a possible way to reverse its effects. However, they must elude Sebastian Monroe, the General of the Monroe Militia and President of the Monroe Republic who wants to possess that power for himself for conquest of the former United States of America. (wiki/Revolution)
In short, readers both familiar and unfamiliar with Stephen King's novels will find a motherlode of interesting information inside the pages of Brighton David Gardner's insightful and illuminating treatise.
I can't recommend it enough, so be sure to get it either for your Kindle or e-Reader of choice, or buy the print version because it's easily worth twice the cover price.
