‘The Stand’ Retro Recap – ‘Part I: The Plague’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

The end of the world is a notion that has captivated writers and audiences for generations because the possibilities of how mankind meets its untimely end are utterly limitless when it comes to our imagination. However, of the many, many apocalypse stories out there, only a handful truly pop out above the rest because of their quality and scope and one such tale of the end times that always comes to mind for me, is Stephen King's The Stand.

Because not only did King find a way to make the end of the world believable and terrifying, he also found a way to integrate and modernize perhaps the greatest apocalypse story of all time, Revelations from the Bible. But for many years, his novelized vision of our end lamented in development hell in Hollywood, until 1994 that is, when ABC decided to give this terrifying novel life on primetime television and over the course of four nights this powerhouse story was given the proper treatment it deserved and well, considering that Stephen King is suddenly big again when it comes to seeing adaptations of his work, I thought it would be fun to look back at this epic miniseries in detail from the moment the terror begins in 'Part I: The Plague'.

Now before we get too deep into the breakdown, it's important we take a moment and discuss the plot because there's a fair chance some of you are uninitiated when it comes to the details of this tale, which revolves around the accidental release of a man made flu. This 'Superflu' as it quickly comes to be known, happens to be highly contagious and vicious to the point where it features a 99.4% mortality rate and  thanks to a panicked security guard who flees halfway across the nation when the virus escapes the lab, it doesn't take long for the world to succumb to the power of this flu and those that do manage to survive it, will be faced with a greater task, a final battle between good and evil that will determine the future of mankind. 

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However, in order for that grandiose, good vs. evil plot line to work...the end of the world has to draw us in and that's where the opening part of this miniseries is extremely successful, because we are privy to the darkest parts the apocalypse has to offer and holy cow...for a television based series, it's obvious that this one pushed the envelope back in 1994 and by giving us a little bit more when it comes to gore and dangerous situations, in a roundabout sort of way the plot almost plays out like live television and that sucks you right in. 

Because in essence, you watch the end of the world unfold before your very eyes, something that is extremely rare for this kind of story. Often times these tales work fast to take us right to the important plot points involving key characters and while this first entry in The Stand does a fine job introducing us to our cast of characters and our villain for that matter as well, all of it is overshadowed by terrifying imagery. There's military trucks rolling through American towns in the middle of Texas. There's people dying in the streets from the flu or from violence and well...it's simply chilling to watch and it robs the viewer of any sense of safety or comfort. It's truly the end, and there's nothing that can stop it, and you can only hope that something good is waiting for you as a reward for being put through such a powerful experience.

It's a wonderful way to set the tone for the series and more importantly, the subtle setup of future events are equally as fascinating and engrossing because they serve as a wonderful break from the horrors on the screen and credit also needs to go to the cast for helping sell this story as well, especially since heavy hitters like Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe and Ed Harris are featured in this miniseries as well and while we didn't talk much about the characters or their roles today, there's a reason for that. They're along for the ride in this episode just like we are,  and now that the dust has settled and the world we know has said goodbye, these folks, and the audience for that matter, can catch their breath for a moment before getting back down to business...the battle to decide the fate of the future of mankind. Until next time. 

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