Castle Rock

[elevenism]

So i'm pretty damn excited for this new Castle Rock series. Critics who have seen some of it are mostly gushing over it, saying it's really good. So i'm thinking it's at least going to be decent.

this thing isn't based on a particular Stephen King book or story, but it has characters and locations and references from a lot of them. One article said it was an SK fan's dream come true.
It's got Alan Pangborn (from Needful Things and The Dark Half) and Warden Norton (from RHATSR) and a character called Jackie Torrance (SURELY that name isn't a coincidence.)

And i read that it references It, the Green Mile, Needful Things, 'Salem's Lot, Dolores Claiborne, Dreamcatcher, Hearts in Atlantis, the Dark Half, Misery, The Shining, Cujo, The Dead Zone and stories from Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Night Shift, Four Past Midnight and Different Seasons (including Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption and The Body aka Stand by Me,) AMONG OTHERS, ha. It sounds like it's going to be a fucking easter egg hunt of epic proportions.

Also, some of the casting is pretty fucking meta. It's got Bill Skarsgard and Chosen Jacobs (from It,) Sissy Spacek (who was in the original Carrie,) Melanie Lynskey (from Rose Red,) Terry O'Quinn (who was in The Silver Bullet,) Frances Conroy (the Mist tv show) and Ann Cusack (Mr Mercedes tv show.)

i'm hoping to god this thing is good.
this is the first show to do the stephen king "multiverse" and damnit, i want more GOOD stephen king shows. what i REALLY want is a Game of Thrones level Dark Tower show.

this thing has potential for sure. it comes on two sundays from tomorrow.

[Louie_Cypher]

i tend to trust Kevin smith's judgement on comic book things ,Bernard forget his last name does the podcast with him is tied to this, should be good usually things king don't translate to well to any size screen, and try to keep expectations in check, so will see. was a big king fan in my younger years. i think i all his stories kind of draw along common themes. most of his longer stories have long character arch's which could be much better as a series there is a lot of content to draw from
-Louie

[elevenism]

i agree, Louie_Cypher , that King doesn't usually translate well.
But i would argue that (The Body)Stand by Me, (Rita Hayworth and the) Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile worked REALLY fucking well, Secret Window (Secret Garden) was pretty fucking good, and 11/22/63 and the new It were decent. Oh, and i did dig Miguel Ferrer in The Night Flier.

Plus, this thing isn't an adaptation you know? If it's a reasonably good show full of references for Constant Readers, i will be thrilled.

[Louie_Cypher]

long podcast but talk a little about castle rockhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ2lvIZlUVk
-Louie

[bobbie solo]

This is the ultimate realization of the fact that Stephen King never says no to anything.

[elevenism]

This is the ultimate realization of the fact that Stephen King never says no to anything.
I would normally agree but a lot of these reviews sound good

[bobbie solo]

I didn't mean that there's no way it can be good. I'm just saying that throwing every property into one show is the ultimate meta-culmination of him allowing practically everything he's ever written to be translated to a show or movie.

[elevenism]

I didn't mean that there's no way it can be good. I'm just saying that throwing every property into one show is the ultimate meta-culmination of him allowing practically everything he's ever written to be translated to a show or movie.Ah, no doubt.

I've always assumed he was just in it for the money. I've read literally all of his work and only really liked maybe 5% of the movie/tv versions.

I'm hoping to GOD this one is different.

[neorev]

Only 3 episodes? Seriously? I gotta wait for the rest to go up weekly? Man, going back to Netflix.

[neorev]

Watched first 3 episodes. Interesting. A bit slow. I ain't blown away just yet, but curious enough to continue on.

A tad annoyed I can't just watch the first season and have to wait for more episodes.

[elevenism]

I was actually impressed.
The show is pretty to look at, the cinematography is nice.

The SK references are fun, and the story that seems to be taking shape is pure Stephen King (even though he didn't write it.)

There's still plenty of time for this to go sideways, but this thing also has the potential to be really good. It's much better than I'd expected.

[neorev]

Definitely beautifully shot. The story is intriguing enough that I want to continue. I just hope they don't screw it up.

[hellospaceboy]

I really loved it, and can't wait for the next episode!!!

It's not perfect, but very good, with great characters and an interesting (and very King-esque) premise. They did a good job capturing it's feel.

One of the common complaints I see is that it has a bit of a slow start... I guess those people never read a Stephen King book?!?!

[neorev]

I gotta say though, I only just started Hulu, and it's frigging annoying that they don't just give you the full season all at once. They only put up the 4th episode this week. This must be their way of forcing people to stay longer until they finish putting up a series. Wish they were more like Netflix. Honestly, once Castle Rock is done, I'll probably cancel my subscription until the new season of The Handmaid's Tale. These two shows are the only good ones. The Handmaid's Tale is stellar, nothing like I expected it to be. They don't have much on movies either. Netflix definitely still leads in this.

[marodi]

Remember when I used to have crazy theories about tv shows? Well here's the one I'm nursing about Castle Rock: The Kid is actually the good guy and Henry is the evil one.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it until proven wrong.

[kaydraven]

So, like others have mentioned, I'm always apprehensive when a new King adaptation is announced, but because of reviews I decided to check it out. I'm only two episodes in and it's pretty good. It's interesting enough to keep me invested, but it doesn't have me raving about its greatness just yet. I'll definitely keep watching to see what happens though.

Also, I'm glad someone else actually enjoyed Secret Window! I used to be a huge J Depp fan and when I saw the movie I actually liked it, so it surprised me that so many people consider it to be awful.

[neorev]

Castle Rock renewed for season 2 at Hulu

"Each season is going to be its own self-contained story: beginning, middle and end,” co-showrunner Dustin Thomason

http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/966631-castle-rock-renewed-for-season-2-at-hulu

[Louie_Cypher]

binge watching silicon valley probably way late to the party, very relevant wonder if mike judge every worked in tech? between office space and this i wold assume so
-Louie

[allegate]

Ah, no doubt.

I've always assumed he was just in it for the money. I've read literally all of his work and only really liked maybe 5% of the movie/tv versions.

I'm hoping to GOD this one is different.

Not just for the money: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_Baby

[neorev]

binge watching silicon valley probably way late to the party, very relevant wonder if mike judge every worked in tech? between office space and this i wold assume so
-Louie

????
I think you're in the wrong thread lol

[elevenism]

Not just for the money: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_BabyAh, no doubt. And I DID know about that.

But that doesn't apply to established directors and studios.

Dude I can't see ANY way SK could have possibly appreciated some of the films that are based on his work.

But who knows?

[hellospaceboy]

So... Episode 7 was absoluely stunning, it's been several days since we watched it and I still think about. This series really came to its own!

[elevenism]

So... Episode 7 was absoluely stunning, it's been several days since we watched it and I still think about. This series really came to its own!
Hell yes it was.
It's the best episode of TV I've seen in a long, long time.

[hellospaceboy]

Episode 9 started to answer some questions, I really enjoyed it!

[elevenism]

Episode 9 started to answer some questions, I really enjoyed it!
No doubt.
And I've LOVED the ride and the atmosphere of this show.

I just don't know how in the HELL they're gonna tie it all up in the final episode.

[richardp]

I'm not sure if I fully understand how it ended. If anyone who has a good grip on it could elaborate please do.

However, it was a really great show, and if the post credit stinger is true, I'm incredibly excited for the next season.

[bobbie solo]

I'm up to episode six. Apparently #7 is a big one. Really enjoying the show. Went in blind expecting a far, far lower production value and have clearly been blown away by the people behind it (Bad Robot), the powerhouse actors hired, and so far, the surprisingly subtlety they've employed with the references.

[hellospaceboy]

We caught up on Season 2 last night (5 episodes so far) and it's excellent! Anyone else watching it?

[eversonpoe]

We caught up on Season 2 last night (5 episodes so far) and it's excellent! Anyone else watching it?

3 episodes in. my wife read misery right before the season and then we watched the movie together (which was way more upsetting for me than i expected, mostly because of having been in an abusive relationship). really enjoying the show this season. i loved last season...until the last 5 minutes when henry's character suddenly turned into an asshole. hope they don't do the same thing at the end of this season.

[hellospaceboy]

i loved last season...until the last 5 minutes when henry's character suddenly turned into an asshole. hope they don't do the same thing at the end of this season.

I loved the last season too (episode 7 might be the greatest episode of any television show ever, it's stunning), but yeah, the ending was rather underwhelming. It felt like they didn't know how to finish the story.

Season 2 seems to be in much sharper focus, it feels like a story unfolding, it doesn't wander as much as the first one... so I have high hopes!

[marodi]

Am I the only one watching season two? Because, damn it's good. And there was a huge twist in tonight's episode and I don't know how it didn't leak.

And Tim Robbins went back to Shawshank too!

So much nerding to be done...

[eversonpoe]

Am I the only one watching season two? Because, damn it's good. And there was a huge twist in tonight's episode and I don't know how it didn't leak.

And Tim Robbins went back to Shawshank too!

So much nerding to be done...

i have a bunch of friends who are king fanatics (they do the losers club podcast (https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/consequence-of-sound/the-losers-club-a-stephen-king-podcast)) and a lot of them feel like this season is more fanfic and less its own story that just happens to be set in the world king created. my wife sarah has read a bunch of the books and doesn't feel that way, though, and i haven't read a single one of the books. we're both loving the season.

some people have also complained that lizzie caplan is just doing a sub-par kathy bates as annie impression, but i disagree. sarah and i watched misery right before we started the season and i feel like lizzie is simply embodying the character and very much doing her own thing with annie.

oh, and about the twist: when they showed the recap and there was a section that showed that woman inside the thinny from last season, i had a feeling henry was going to come into play. and then as soon as i saw the statue, i knew it was alternate timeline henry and even said so out loud, so the reveal was less surprising but still very impactful. and the sense of dread during that scene at the parade was intense.

[hellospaceboy]

This season is going very song, another great episode this week! I love how it slowly tying to the main plot of Season 1 (and hopefully adds an extra dimension to it, and makes it less underwhelming).

[marodi]

^^

Agreed. They are expanding King's universe quite cleverly. By the way, I don't believe that The Kid is an existing character in King's lore, like Randall Flagg; I think he's an original character to the series and that his purpose and the extent of his powers are yet to be revealed.

[neorev]

​CANCELED

https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1153883-castle-rock-cancelled-at-hulu

[marodi]

^^
Yeah and I'm pissed about it. Now, we'll never know who/what The Kid really was.

[bobbie solo]

Wow, i'm really bummed. I have 3 episodes of season 2 left, and Lizzie Caplan is doing some absolutely incredible acting here. Just knocking every scene out of the park. Love the craziness of all these disparate King properties being mashed together really successfully too.