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Under the Dome Season 1 (1 Viewer)

mattCR

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Premieres tonight, 10E/9C on CBS.

Stephen Kings science fiction show, with apparently good reviews from the media so far.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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I've been surprised by the reviews, I guess because I still associate summer programming with burning off the dreck that couldn't cut it during the regular television season. Either way, I'm kind of looking forward to it. While there are apparently major changes from the book, Stephen King's been more hands on than he was in most of the adaptations of his work.
 

Johnny Angell

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Adam Lenhardt said:
I've been surprised by the reviews, I guess because I still associate summer programming with burning off the dreck that couldn't cut it during the regular television season. Either way, I'm kind of looking forward to it. While there are apparently major changes from the book, Stephen King's been more hands on than he was in most of the adaptations of his work.
The cable channels are forcing the networks to be more competitive in the summer. That being said, I can't get interested in this.
 

Stan

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Haven't read this book, but I do like his writing. Very prolific, I haven't even started 1963 that I bought last summer.

Looking forward to this. Film adaptations of his work are usually great or terrible. Never seems to be a gray area, they either bomb completely or turn out really well.

The "teasers" look wonderful, but it's the emotion from good actors and good writing that move his written words onto the screen that really make the show succeed or not.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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I enjoyed it. The dialog was Syfy original bad at times, but the direction was good and I liked the cast of characters that were developed. Interesting that it takes the "Life Unexpected" girl's boyfriend roughly five minutes to completely lose his shift after the dome goes down. I'm sure he won't be the last.
 

Lou Sytsma

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Pilot gets series off to a solid start. Great cast, solid SFX. Hopeful this series will turn out to be a winner.

I've read the book and enjoyed it quite a bit. I knew Fahey was a guest role - still hated to see him go. The changes to the book so far have felt unobstrusive. Very interested to see how the series handles the only weak aspect of the book for me - the origin of the dome.
 

mattCR

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Solid start. They definitely paid for the FX with the sliced cow and the plane/semi accident; the semi-accident was pretty impressive. The cast is decent, not spectacular, but they all seem to play the pieces well. Could be good summer fare.
 

Nelson Au

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I had no background on this series but I watched the pilot and thought it was pretty good too. After it was over, a King interview was shown on the local news. He said its on for 13 weeks. That makes sense as I couldn't see this as a 5 year series. More like a mini series with a conclusion to this conspiracy going on.
 

Lou Sytsma

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Nelson it has a 13 episode commitment for this year. If it catches on, the plan is to have more seasons.
 

Malcolm R

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Lou Sytsma said:
I've read the book and enjoyed it quite a bit. I knew Fahey was a guest role - still hated to see him go. The changes to the book so far have felt unobstrusive. Very interested to see how the series handles the only weak aspect of the book for me - the origin of the dome.
I just finished the book last weekend and thought just the opposite. Every single change (and there are many) really grated with me. I'm rather amazed that Stephen King seems agreeable with all the changes.

"Barbie" is a completely different character. In the book, he's a resident of the town and well-known as a cook at Sweetbriar Rose cafe. In the series, he's just a drifter who has apparently murdered the (formerly non-existent) husband of Julia Shumway.

There are lots of other changes, but the ones that are seemingly "change for the sake of change" really bother me. Like changing character names: Joe McClatchey is now Joe McAllister for reasons unknown; Linda Everett seems to now be Linda Esquivel; Rusty Everett is now Rusty Denton. The town newspaper was the "Democrat" in the book, now it's the "Independent." The radio station is now a rock station, instead of a Christian station.
Interesting that it takes the "Life Unexpected" girl's boyfriend roughly five minutes to completely lose his shift after the dome goes down.
In the book, he actually loses it in even more spectacular fashion before he's even aware the dome has appeared.

I don't know if I can continue watching, as every little change repeatedly pulls me out of the story. Even the dome itself is different.

This seems to be another case of where a producer has paid to adapt an existing work, then largely writes a completely new story until only the title remains the same.
 

Lou Sytsma

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And the show score impressive viewing numbers:

'CBS’ Under the Dome was clearly a hit with its Monday night premiere, drawing 13.1 million total people to troubled li’l Chester’s Mill, Home of Rachelle Lefevre’s Hair.

In the coveted 18-49 demo, the Stephen Kingsian drama series scored a 3.2, likely placing second only to NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup finals (which per preliminary numbers is starting off with a sure-to-grow 3.2, plus 8.3 million total viewers).'
 

TravisR

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^ That's all I could I think of. :) That being said, it was a cool pilot. I'm not into many of the adaptations of King's work but I am a big fan of Brian K. Vaughan's comic books (Ex Machina was amazing & should have had a bigger audience and Saga is arguably the best book made today) so Vaughan is what got me to watch this and I'm happy to continue on.

I had no idea that Jeff Fahey wasn't a regular so I was really surprised and bummed when he bought it.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Lou Sytsma said:
And the show score impressive viewing numbers:'CBS’ Under the Dome was clearly a hit with its Monday night premiere, drawing 13.1 million total people to troubled li’l Chester’s Mill, Home of Rachelle Lefevre’s Hair.In the coveted 18-49 demo, the Stephen Kingsian drama series scored a 3.2, likely placing second only to NBC’s coverage of the Stanley Cup finals (which per preliminary numbers is starting off with a sure-to-grow 3.2, plus 8.3 million total viewers).'
Absolutely huge numbers for a summer show. To put it into perspective: If this had aired during the regular season, it would have been the second highest premiere of any new show (after Revolution. Just a phenomenal performance.
 

Jeff Brooks

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I wish they had stuck with the storyline in the book, and made this a limited run or mini-series. I already do not like the differences. I am surprised King has approved them. My significant other likes the show and has not read the book, so we will probably stick with it. I just hope they don't stretch it out too far. I also think the show might have been better served running on Showtime, as was originaly intended.
 

ScottH

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I'm surprised no one has tried to start digging under the wall...I mean, how deep can it be? :D

I had sworn off the major networks, but decided to give this one a try, mostly due to Dean Norris. It sparked my interest enough to at least stick around for a second episode. Don't care for that psycho kid though (the actor or the character). Hopefully he won't turn out to be a major player, but I have a feeling he will be.
 

Lou Sytsma

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Scott Hanson said:
I'm surprised no one has tried to start digging under the wall...I mean, how deep can it be? :D
Stay tuned. Avenues of escape will be explored.
 

todd s

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One thing I was afraid of it getting good ratings...Extra seasons. Some stories just don't need to be multiple seasons. One season arc telling the story would be good enough.
 

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