We made it through the third installment of the jumbled, erratic new iteration of The Stand.

I wondered why they chose to go with the nonlinear plot and jump around in the story's timeline. My theory is that with all the choices for home viewers today, the producers worried that if there was not a new storyline every few minutes, they would lose viewers. Attention spans are at all time lows.

They are upping the ante at nearly every turn. How about Nick getting beaten a lot more gruesomely by the rural thugs? Let's throw in some possession scenes! After all, there are not enough thrills and horrors in Stephen King's dark chest of wonders.

We see more of Whoopi as Mother Abigail. She isn't quite as bad as I initially feared. We were also introduced to the talented Greg Kinnear as Glen Bateman. Here's the difference: I've seen Kinnear in many features. I never felt that I was watching GREG KINNEAR in The Stand. I was seeing Glen Bateman. Not so with Whoopi Goldberg. She has never been able to cast off her own personality in any role I've seen her in. She is certainly no Ruby Dee, regardless of how many awards she has won.

We see more of the pivotal role of Nick Andros. The glimpses of him in the previous episode was distinctly unpromising. He isn't abominable, but he shows little of the warmth and strength Rob Lowe brought to the part.

I continue to be less than impressed with Odessa Young as Frannie. She seems to have one expression: blank emotion. Same with Amber Heard as Nadine. Laura San Giacomo was perfect and Heard suffers badly in comparison.

Oh yeah. Tom Cullen. Everybody loves him. M-O-O-N, that spells Tom Cullen. It's going to take me a while to warm up to Brad William Henke. If I ever do.

Owen Teague is, however, excellent as Harold Lauder. Better in the complicated role than Corin Nemec.

I know I shouldn't compare this Stand to the 1994 Mick Garris version, but I find it impossible not to. The performers in that production have left indelible impressions upon me. I've seen it at least a half-a-dozen times and they are who I picture when I think of the characters of King's book.

To be continued...

Written by Mark Sieber

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