Stephen King published “The Stand” in 1978, although a complete version – with over 400 pages restored – would not be published until 1990. The longer version renewed interest, and a miniseries was put into production. It was intended to be a miniseries as “The Stand” is notoriously long, spanning 1,153 pages (King’s longest book to date).
“The Stand” is about a deadly plague that sweeps the Earth, killing most of its population. The apparently immune survivors find themselves mysteriously under the psychic influence of one of the two newly resurrected deities. The “good” survivors receive visions from the angelic Mother Abigail (Ruby Dee in the miniseries), while the “evil” survivors enter the cult of Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan), a demonic figure.
The miniseries starred Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe and many others. It was directed by Mick Garris (“Creatures 2,” “Psycho IV”, “Sleepwalkers”) and was a huge undertaking broadcast in four separate TV movies of two hours each. It was a major event for those who were teenagers in 1994, including Flanagan. When asked about his favorite adaptations, he responded:
“There are so many great ones. Daniel’s [Thomsen] What I wanted to delve into was Mick Garris’ ’94 adaptation of “The Stand.” Which I saw when it first aired and I was blown away. That was the first time I thought ‘this is a book for television’. and I was in high school. But that really set me on the path.”
For Flanagan, the rest was history.
“The Stand” won two Emmys and was ubiquitous on VHS format for many years thereafter. A heavily edited version of “The Stand” was also made. a nine-episode miniseries in 2020although that version isn’t as celebrated.
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