Lemonade Stand: a review of The Stand 2020

Based on The Stand by Stephen King

Developed by Josh Boone & Benjamin Cavell

Executive producers Benjamin Cavell, Taylor Elmore, Josh Boone, Will Weiske, Jimmy Miller, Roy Lee, Richard P. Rubinstein

Producers Stephen Welke, Jill Killington, Knate Lee, Owen King

Production locations British Columbia, Canada

James Marsden as Stu Redman

Odessa Young as Frannie Goldsmith

Owen Teague as Harold Lauder

Alexander Skarsgård as Randall Flagg / “The Dark Man”

Whoopi Goldberg as Mother Abagail

Amber Heard as Nadine Cross

Jovan Adepo as Larry Underwood

Henry Zaga as Nick Andros

Nat Wolff as Lloyd Henreid

Irene Bedard as Ray Brentner

Brad William Henke as Tom Cullen

Greg Kinnear as Glen Bateman

Recurring

Eion Bailey as Teddy Weizak

Gabrielle Rose as Judge Farris

Gordon Cormier as Joe

Katherine McNamara as Julie Lawry

Ezra Miller as Trashcan Man

Fiona Dourif as the Rat Woman

It’s pretty much impossible to describe the 2020 version of The Stand without comparing it to the 1994 miniseries. For that reason, I’ve put the cast of the 1994 version at the bottom of this review.

The 2020 version had two strikes against it starting out—one happenstance, and the other self-inflicted. That the story about a plague that effectively wipes out 99.9% of humanity comes out during the most significant pandemic in over a century was just bad luck; granted, next time some idiot politician tries to say “Nobody could have seen this coming” you can use Stephen King’s 1976 novel to tell them, “Yes, nearly EVERYONE saw this coming. And COVID is just a love tap compared to some of the viruses out there just waiting for the right vector.”

The second was the decision to tell the first few episodes in a non-sequential order. The first third of the story is arguably the most powerful, and confusing and alienating viewers defused it badly. Even those of us familiar with the novel and the previous tellings got confused by the end of chapter three.

King’s greatest weakness as a writer, at least during his first 30 years, was to have somewhat lame endings. The Stand was no different, with the Odyssey of Stu and Tom being comparatively mundane. The new series tried to punch that up a bit, with a rather silly Timmy-fell-down-the-well yarn and the return of Mother Abigail. I understand that King wrote the patch, but I can’t say it worked very well.

The religious aspect of the story made for a good yarn for those who believe in gods and devils and all of that (in some distant future I expect The Stand to be a part of somebody’s Bible), but it undermined the original story. They played it up further in the new series, to the detriment of the tone of the story. Exterminating nearly all of humanity, giving half the remainder to the devil while tormenting the rest is certainly biblical, but it detracts from any particular need for tactics or strategy on the part of the survivors.

The new series does have some strong points. Vegas is far more terrifying a place, with the gaudy evil of a CPAC convention. New York wasn’t. It really needed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the Monster Shouter and the terrifying trek through the Lincoln Tunnel.

There were standout performances: this Frannie was far more suited than Molly Ringwald was. The new Flagg was both more charming and more ominous than the 1994 version. This Harold was far creepier and more human as he dissolved than the original. Tom Cullen was more convincing, and I liked the new edgier version of Larry Underwood.

Whoopi Goldberg was the grievous miscast that Molly Ringwald was, and Laura San Giacomo gave a lifetime performance as Nadine Cross in the first series. Obviously, a lot of characters haven’t been mentioned, and it’s safe to assume that it meant the performances were about equal in the two series. In the case of Stu and Lloyd, that’s a compliment.

If you’re a fan of the King novel (and I am, despite its flaws) then The Stand 2020 is worth watching. But it swings and misses at the most dramatic elements of the novel, with storytelling and casting flaws that it can’t quite overcome.

1994 version cast:

Cast

Main article: List of The Stand characters

Gary Sinise as Stu Redman

Molly Ringwald as Frannie Goldsmith

Jamey Sheridan as Randall Flagg

Laura San Giacomo as Nadine Cross

Ruby Dee as Mother Abagail Freemantle

Ossie Davis as Judge Richard Farris

Miguel Ferrer as Lloyd Henreid

Corin Nemec as Harold Lauder

Matt Frewer as Trashcan Man

Adam Storke as Larry Underwood

Ray Walston as Glen Bateman

Rob Lowe as Nick Andros

Bill Fagerbakke as Tom Cullen

Peter Van Norden as Ralph Brentner

Bridgit Ryan as Lucy Swann

Rick Aviles as Rat Man

Max Wright as Dr. Herbert Denninger

Shawnee Smith as Julie Lawry

Cynthia Garris as Susan Stern

Richard Jewkes as Dick Ellis

Sarah Schaub as Gina McKone

William Newman as Dr. Soames

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as The Monster Shouter

Warren Frost as Dr. George Richardson

John Bloom (aka Joe Bob Briggs) as Deputy Joe-Bob

Troy Evans as Sheriff Johnny Baker

Stephen King as Teddy Weizak

John Landis as Russ Dorr

Dan Martin as Rich Moffat

John Dunbar as Dave Roberts

Sam Raimi as Bobby Terry

Chuck Adamson as Barry Dorgan

Kellie Overbey as Dayna Jurgens

Ray McKinnon as Charlie D. Campion

Tom Holland as Carl Hough

David Kirk Chambers as Brad Kitchner

Kathy Bates as Rae Flowers (uncredited)

Ed Harris as Gen. Bill Starkey (uncredited)

Sherman Howard as Dr. Dietz

Ken Jenkins as Peter Goldsmith

Richard Lineback as Poke Freeman

Sam Anderson as Whitney Horgan

Leo Geter as Chad Norris

Patrick Kilpatrick as Ray Booth

Jordan Lund as Bill Hapscomb

Jesse Bennett as Vic Palfrey

Jim Haynie as Deputy Kingsolving

Billy L. Sullivan as Joe

Hope Marie Carlton as Sally Campion

Mary Ethel Gregory as Alice Underwood

Britney Lewis as Arlene

Bill Corso as the voice of corpses