Before Pennywise the Dancing Clown was terrorizing preteens on HBO’s It: Welcome to Derry, The Stand gave viewers the creeps as an ABC miniseries. Based on Stephen King’s 1978 novel of the same name, The Stand brought apocalyptic horror to the small screen in a four-episode adaptation. While the master of horror’s work has remained consistently relevant with fans of the genre, the high quality of recent King adaptations in both film and television has reignited interest in the 1994 miniseries.
What Is Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’ About?
When a man-made virus escapes the containment of its government lab, a fleeing security guard spreads the fatal effects across the country. Within weeks, the virus, known as the superflu, decimates the world’s population, causing society to collapse worldwide. As the few humans immune to the virus salvage supplies and look for fellow survivors, a final conflict between good and evil will require them to pick sides. On the side of the pure and just is Mother Abagail Freemantle (Ruby Dee), beckoning people to Nebraska, and on the side of darkness was the charismatic and evil Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan), luring the corruptible to Las Vegas.
‘The Stand’ Is Stephen King’s Magnum Opus
The beginning of The Stand is the end of the world, and so within minutes, the viewer is aware they’re not watching a watered-down horror story. As Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper” plays in the background, cameras weave between a trail of dead bodies that seemingly died instantly from exposure to the virus in its strongest form. Eyes open, mouths agape, the effects of the virus are explicitly shown before the first of many main characters are introduced. The dead bodies aren’t a result of a supernatural menace or an evil curse; the death on display is the result of humanity’s pursuit of the next great weapon, making the horror more plausible and, therefore, more frightening.
After the catalyst for the endtimes is introduced, viewers are introduced to a wide variety of characters spread across the country, none of which are identified as heroes or villains of the story. Stu Redman (Gary Sinise) is one of the first to make direct contact with the infected, and the only one who will manage to walk away as a survivor from his small Texas town. From there, we meet musician Larry Underwood (Adam Storke) in New York, neighbors Frannie Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald) and Harold Lauder (Corin Nemec) in Maine, and Nick Andros (Rob Lowe), a deaf mute who is attacked by a group of thugs along a stretch of road in Arkansas. This is only the start of a long line of characters who play a role in the story, each playing a vital role in the showdown between Abagail and Flagg.
The Stand takes its time with introductions and the destruction of society, allowing the audience to understand each character and their home environment before throwing them all together. This pacing also replicates the same sense of discovery one would have while reading the novel, where building a proper foundation is required for an emotional attachment to be built. The Stand asks the audience to be patient and attentive while all the pieces are put into place, yet the miniseries never lulls — especially in the opening hours, because there’s an impending sense of dread about what’s to come. The other shoe has already dropped, but only the audience is aware of the virus that will soon impact each individual, and ultimately, drive them all to fight one another or work together.
‘The Stand’ Wasn’t ABC’s First Stephen King Adaptation
By the time The Stand premiered on ABC, the network had become experienced at hosting television events featuring adaptations of King’s most famous novels. Most famously, the network traumatized a generation of children with the 1990 version of It starring Tim Curry as Pennywise. ABC would return to Maine in 1993 when they adapted The Tommyknockers, another ensemble horror adaptation that followed the residents of Haven, Maine, after an uncovered spaceship granted them supernatural levels of intelligence. It and Tommyknockers were both large novels featuring a massive cast of characters, but they paled in comparison to the scope of The Stand.
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This all feels sadly familiar.
Mick Garris was brought in to direct The Stand, having previous experience working on a King project when he directed the 1992 film Sleepwalkers. Even with an expanded format of a miniseries to work in, properly trimming down the massive story while appeasing network censors would be a balancing act. Living by the motto of “If you want to do something right, do it yourself,” King wrote the teleplay for The Stand, ensuring that the intent of the story would survive in its transition to a broader audience. Even with a strong script in hand, Garris was attempting a behemoth of a production by television standards, which, by his estimate, involved shooting in six different states for 100 days with 126 speaking parts.
‘The Stand’ Is a Fun Throwback to a Bygone Era of Horror
In comparison to the updated, 9-part version of The Stand that premiered in 2020, aspects like the special effects can’t compare, but for its time, the 1994 version was an impressive-looking series. There is a charm to be had in viewing a graphically disturbing story within the parameters of network television, and the series perfectly captures the look and feel of ’90s horror. Without having the luxury of expensive visual effects, the focus of the beloved horror miniseries becomes the characters, which only serves to keep the story closer to the novel instead of slipping into a gore-fest. The 1994 version, for whatever age it shows, remains a faithful adaptation that fans of King’s work can appreciate.
To successfully put on screen what appeared to be an unadaptable novel — and on broadcast television no less — is an impressive feat. The passion that was put into its creation and the reverence for the material show in the final product of The Stand. It’s easy to see why, in a time when King’s stories are experiencing a renaissance, fans are eager to experience the apocalypse as imagined by the master storyteller. Whether it’s finding a copy of the Blu-Ray re-release of the miniseries or streaming it on Prime Video, viewers new and old are able to enjoy a definitive version of King’s epic story.
The Stand
- Release Date
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1994 – 1993
- Directors
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Mick Garris
