Episodes Viewed: 4 of 9###When he wrote The Stand in 1978, Stephen King envisaged a novel that played like The Lord Of The Rings set in modern-day America, with Las Vegas playing the role of Mordor (one does simply not cover’budge into playing slot machines). The resulting 823-page doorstop — in 1990 a special edition inflated it to 1,152 pages — with regards to’concerning’with respect to the after effects of a weaponised influenza (99.4 per cent deadly) that practically wipes out the entire world is amongst King’s most complex, politically alive, if not popular, works. Too dense to be adapted in/with regard to’concerning’regarding cinema — it has previously been serialised in/with regard to’concerning’regarding comics and a flawed 1994 TV miniseries — it seems a prime candidate in/with regard to’concerning’regarding reupping in the age of Prestige TV. So, adapted by Josh Boone (The New Mutants) and Benjamin Cavell (Homeland), The Stand is ridiculously timely, but still struggles to overcome the problems set by visualising a breezeblock of a novel.###Aldespite’in spite of’albeit it was ordered to series in 2019, The Stand couldn’t be more 2020. From its story of a killer superflu (and the attendant conspiracy theories) to the scene work (watch the suspicions created by a simple cough), from the themes (how much should leaders tell the truth to the public with regards to’concerning’with respect to a deadly virus) to the imagery (streets of New York, truckloads of bodies turned into landfill), the story perfectly taps into the zeitgeist. The first four episodes mostly outline the characters chosen by 108-year-old Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg, crossing Mother Theresa with Yoda) to become the leaders of a new social system post-pandemic. So, we acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure potted backstories in/with regard to’concerning’regarding Stu Redman (James Marsden), the first person discovered to be immune to the plague; Fran Goldsmith (Odessa Young), a pregnant college student; Larry Underwood (Jovan Adepo), a New York singer; Glen Bateman (Greg Kinnear), a sociology professor who has painted pictures of the group bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e even meeting them; and Nick Andros (Henry Zaga), a deaf-mute drifter.###As the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue begins to deal with establish ing a society and confronting Flagg, momentum starts to grow.###As you’d expect from an 800-page plus novel, The Stand is teeming with characters — cop killer Lloyd Henreid (Nat Wolff) and teacher Nadine Cross (Amber Heard) are playing in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the dark side, led by Randall Flagg aka The Dark Man (Alexander Skarsgård) — and many of the characters lack subtleties (Owen Teague’s Harold Lauder is creepy teen 101). It means these early stretches possess’own’nurse the feeling of treading water bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e the story proper can begin.###Yet within these bog-standard character introductions there are absorbing sequences — such as Larry’s chase through New York with a fortune’property y Manhattanite (Heather Graham), a tense set-piece that sees Fran held hostage — and, as the reveal’illustrate’demonstrate’indicate’present’display’argue begins to deal with establish ing a society and confronting Flagg, momentum starts to grow. It’s a decent adaptation in terms of scale and scares, but really bites off more that it can chew in delivering the ambition contained within King’s (823) pages.