The Mist - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Compare and Contrast in Here!

[Meredith Quill]

Anticipate Here!

[nodorothyparker]

From Spike TV:

Based on a story by Stephen King, Spike’s The Mist centers around a small town family that is torn apart by a brutal crime.  As they deal with the fallout an eerie mist rolls in, suddenly cutting them off from the rest of the world, and in some cases, each other. Family, friends and adversaries become strange bedfellows, battling the mysterious mist and its threats, fighting to maintain morality and sanity as the rules of society break down.  Premiers June 22 at 10/9 c.

 

[nodorothyparker]

Trailer for Stephen King's 'The Mist' Promises A Much Bigger Story

First Trailer for 'The Mist' is a Mind Fog

http://ew.com/tv/2017/04/11/stephen-king-the-mist-tv-series-first-trailer/

[Lady Iris]

Please dear jeebus let this be better than Under the Dome.

[amykay9377]

On 4/14/2017 at 10:56 AM, Lady Iris said:

Please dear jeebus let this be better than Under the Dome.

I am COMPLETELY with you on that prayer!

Although, I think it has promise to be better because it's not being sold as a mini-series venison OF THE BOOK. I think that was really UTD's downfall... if they kept it a multi-part series true to the book (like how they did The Stand), it would have been fine. But how do you make an actual television show out of a book that has a beginning, middle and end?  Marketing was their fail.

And I think here, it can work. They aren't rehashing the book. They are jumping off from the book and using it as a universe. That could be a win. 

I've got my fingers crossed that it will be half-way decent, and soon I'll have my DVR set.

[Arynm]

I loved this story! It is one of my favorites. The movie was such a let down. I am going into this with cautious optimism. I think it can be a good starting point. What does happen after the mist is here? I always wanted to know more after the story ended.

Spike Tv has had some serious stinkers in the show/miniseries arena so that is tempering my excitement, but I am willing to give just about any show an hour or so to win me over.

[ferretrick]

On ‎4‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 10:56 AM, Lady Iris said:

Please dear jeebus let this be better than Under the Dome.

That is setting the bar so low airing a color test pattern could clear it. 

[maystone]

I've never read the novella, but I'm a big fan of King's. I really liked the movie. This series I'm not that sure about. The mist is a singular entity that can affect human minds? It knows the people it touches? Please don't do that, show. I like the concept of showing various survivor groups and how they adapt to the menace; that's a great dramatic stew boiling already. Throwing in mind control sounds like either they don't trust the original premise or they don't trust that the viewers are smart enough to get the tension already inherent in the story.

[Arynm]

2 hours ago, maystone said:

I've never read the novella, but I'm a big fan of King's. I really liked the movie. This series I'm not that sure about. The mist is a singular entity that can affect human minds? It knows the people it touches? Please don't do that, show. I like the concept of showing various survivor groups and how they adapt to the menace; that's a great dramatic stew boiling already. Throwing in mind control sounds like either they don't trust the original premise or they don't trust that the viewers are smart enough to get the tension already inherent in the story.

In the story the mist, or something in it, was able to affect the minds of the people in it. It was a major part of the story. It has been a few years but I remember that the mist used their memories to torment/control the survivors by using people from their past.

[maystone]

On 2017-04-21 at 9:11 PM, Arynm said:

In the story the mist, or something in it, was able to affect the minds of the people in it. It was a major part of the story. It has been a few years but I remember that the mist used their memories to torment/control the survivors by using people from their past.

Thanks, Arynm. Huh, a mind controlling mist. All right, I'll just roll with it then.

[nodorothyparker]

New trailer up:
 

 

New Mist trailer is bloody terrifying

[nodorothyparker]

Another new trailer up.  So this is what Alyssa Sutherland has been up to since Vikings.

 

[nodorothyparker]

First reviews are mixed.

Spike's Timely, Complex Stephen King Adaptation is a Must Watch

Spike Delivers Murky Take on Stephen King's 'Mist'

[nodorothyparker]

When the residents of Bridgeville, Maine, find themselves engulfed by a foreboding mist containing a myriad of inexplicable and bizarre threats, their humanity is put to the test. 

[2727]

7 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

First reviews are mixed.

Spike's Timely, Complex Stephen King Adaptation is a Must Watch

Spike Delivers Murky Take on Stephen King's 'Mist'

Fun! Can't wait to watch and discuss.

[willco]

I was all set to watch this, then I remembered stupid Comcast dropped Spike from our lineup ! I rarely see anything interesting on that channel, so until now it hasn't made much of a difference. Still, I liked the movie of the same name that came out years ago, and I wondered how much of the original idea they would keep. Guess it doesn't matter now.

[voiceover]

On 4/21/2017 at 6:11 PM, Arynm said:

In the story the mist, or something in it, was able to affect the minds of the people in it. It was a major part of the story. It has been a few years but I remember that the mist used their memories to torment/control the survivors by using people from their past.

Really?  This is not the novella I read, and it's not the Darabont movie version.

The original intimation was that nuclear waste had wrought the monsters in the Mist.  It was a King redo of a similar Twilight Zone theme: when facing danger, do people come together, or do they gang up on one another? Does the terrible unknown bring out the best or the worst?

This mind control revisit is a new sl.

eta: I agree with the 2nd linked review.

Edited June 23, 2017 by voiceover

[Chaos Theory]

Well its late so I'll be brief.  I really enjoyed this...alot.  I think this and Blood Drive look like my favorite new summer shows.   This had enough mystery to it to keep me entertained and I likeish the main family.  The dynamic is interesting enough.  A stringent mother.  A father so permissive that he outright tells his daughter to disobey her mother.  Something awful happens.   A town that has reason to hate them already.   Then a supernatural mist show up.....and all hell breaks loose.

Yeah I'm gonna like this show.  

Edited June 23, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[magpye29]

2 minutes ago, RogerDodger said:

I'm calling it now.  The jock didn't rape the girl.  The best friend did.

I agree.  I think he's jealous, or else he would have accused the guy that harassed him.  On another note, Morgan Spector is only listed on imdb with 2 episodes.  I like his character, so I'm disturbed by the implications.

[jcin617]

16 minutes ago, RogerDodger said:

I'm calling it now.  The jock didn't rape the girl.  The best friend did.

I'm not sure they could have telegraphed that harder.  

Edited June 23, 2017 by jcin617

[jcin617]

Well, aside from Arrowhead and the Mist itself, the show seems a completely different beast.  Although seems like the characters may be loosely based on the types of characters in the book.

[The Companion]

I was a little disappointed in this. I felt like the pacing was off, and I am having trouble rooting for any of the characters. I am hoping it will get better now that the action is starting.

[Latverian Diplomat]

2 hours ago, voiceover said:

The original intimation was that nuclear waste had wrought the monsters in the Mist.

Hmm. it's been a while, but I don't remember that intimation. Project Arrowhead was a scientific experiment that went wrong, I think the movie hints even more that it was about opening a connection to another dimension. One presumes the dimension they picked had the unfortunate properties of  being misty and full of monsters.

I don't see this working as a series, but I'll probably give it a go.

Trying to build a scifi series out of a story that seems to have been perfectly suited to movie length has been a bit of a mania lately.  Minority Report, Limitless, Frequency, Time After Time, has there been a successful one yet? (I think Limitless came closest to succeeding, I was sorry to see that one get the axe). ETA: I guess 12 Monkeys is going strong, I don't follow that one.

Edited June 23, 2017 by Latverian Diplomat

[voiceover]

6 minutes ago, Latverian Diplomat said:

Hmm. it's been a while, but I don't remember that intimation. Project Arrowhead was a scientific experiment that went wrong, I think the movie hints even more that it was about opening a connection to another dimension. One presumes the dimension they picked had the unfortunate properties of  being misty and full of monsters.

*smacks forehead*  Of course!  It's been so long since I read the story (if memory serves: when it first came out), that all I could remember was a vague science-connected thing, and I just went nuclear ?.

"Project Arrowhead" = yes.

There was none of this mind-control stuff, though.  That I'm sure of.

[zibnchy]

Well, I don't like any of the characters with the exception of Frances Conroy. And possibly the teenage girl.

Hate that they killed a dog in the first 5 minutes. Hate that the cops felt just fine beating up on the black guy. Hate the bad-ass angry girl with attitude. And the ever present football player rapist. So many tv tropes, so little time.. Extra hate that there had to be a rape subplot. Isn't monsters in the mist enough?

I might be back. There's not much on tv this summer and I need a distraction. More Frances Conroy please.

[voiceover]

I tuned out after ten minutes.  Felt like I was watching Freeform Channel on Halloween Week.   

[Anela]

It looks like they have the first three episodes on the website. I'm watching this on the app. 

The dog dying upset me, too. 

[2727]

20 hours ago, zibnchy said:

Hate that the cops felt just fine beating up on the black guy. Hate the bad-ass angry girl with attitude. And the ever present football player rapist. So many tv tropes, so little time.. Extra hate that there had to be a rape subplot. Isn't monsters in the mist enough?

I might be back. There's not much on tv this summer and I need a distraction. More Frances Conroy please.

I mostly agree but also disliked the Frances Conroy character, which may exceed my hate quota.

I counted to ten waiting for the chewed-up sex ed mom to be thrown back against the glass mall door, and it was right on time. Ugh.

I don't watch much horror so the show was a reach for me anyway.

Edited June 24, 2017 by 2727

[RedMal]

Wow, wasn't Adrian annoying and pretentious as fuck or what? And yeah, it was clear from the start that he's the rapist.

Effects were kinda cheap and the writing wasn't that impressive, but I liked it. It didn't surprise me with quality, but didn't really disappoint either.

[Chaos Theory]

Never did understand people's obsession with dogs/animals.  They are cute and all that but to judge a show on them always seemed silly to me.  

Adrian seems like an overly pretenious character.  I don't think he is the rapist.  Story wise it makes more sense that the son jock son of the small town cop is the rapist. A kid who can literally get away with anything because of who he is.

The pilot has its issues but for the most part I enjoyed it and I have put the entire season on my DVR.  It on late and there isn't much else on Thursdays so I might not watch it live but this is definitely my second favorite new show of the summer.....so far. 

Edited June 23, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[nodorothyparker]

The Mist settles over town as Eve, Alex and other mall goers try to manage the rising panic; Kevin, Adrian, Mia and Jonah venture out into the mist to get to Kevin's family.

[nodorothyparker]

Because this episode will not air on TV until next week but is currently available on the Spike TV website, proceed at your risk.  There be spoilers below.

[nodorothyparker]

At the church, Connor locks up Mia, Jonah and Kevin in the basement; at the mall, Jay confronts Alex to try and convince her he didn't rape her.

[nodorothyparker]

Same warning as the second episode.  Because this episode has not aired on TV yet but the first three are currently available on the Spike TV website, proceed at your risk.  There be spoilers below.

[nodorothyparker]

Gizmodo take on the first episode:

If 'The Mist' Can Pull Off What it Sets Up, It Will Be Amazing

Good review from Cnet:

Stephen is still King in new series

[Ed McCauley]

The power of banner ads: I had no idea that this show was about to come on (or even existed) until I saw a promo for it on the imdb main page yesterday. As a fan of the story, I was excited to catch it, and I wasn’t disappointed. My main skepticism coming in was how do you make a series out of what was initially a short story? Since I don’t know if this show has a pre-determined length, that may still prove to be a legitimate question.

Main thoughts include: I like the change to the original premise of the main people being trapped in the grocery store. With the mall, we have a more definite Dawn of the Dead feel and that’s ok by me, and it’s clear that there are other places where people will be trapped (like the church) which will be focused on. I concur with everyone who believes that the “boyfriend” of the girl who was raped is more likely the perpetrator, but there almost has to be a twist: like Jay (the football player) did drug the girl and was about to rape her but stopped, maybe because the boyfriend caught him, but he is the one who actually did it and really only to isolate her from everyone else and to draw her closer to him (not for a sexual dominance type of thing).

Weird observation: Due to interference from young children, I missed about 15 minutes of the last half hour, so I watched the replay that came on immediately afterwards. And strangely the replay cut some scenes short that had been in the initial airing. So that’s something to keep in mind in case you miss it and try to hit a 2nd showing.

I plan to keep watching, so I hope they can keep everything interesting in the coming episodes.

[voiceover]

7 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

  Story wise it makes more sense that the son jock son of the small town cop is the rapist. A kid who can literally get away with anything because of who he is.

 

Ouch.  How many small-town cops' sons are in that survey?

Sometimes it's more a case of, "Can't get away with shit because of who he is."

[SimoneS]

I didn't like that there is only one main black character or the dog getting killed. The show can use a whole lot more diversity. I didn't get the hint that the best friend was the rapist, but I was changing the channel quite a bit. It seems an odd twist, but I suppose they could go there. However, I liked the movie and there isn't anything else on so I keep watching. 

[DiabLOL]

I'm in BUT:

Hated HATED the dog dying. Put me off my feed from the get go. I don't "trust" the show right away.

Hated the cops "casually" beating up the black guy.

Hate all the subplots especially the drug woman one: I don't care, you're exhausting me for nothing . 

Love Frances Conroy in general but HATE that they're making her the batty quasi mystic weirdo. 

Just in it for The Mist. I'll probably re-watch the movie for the umpteenth time tonight. I love it. 

 

ETA Really annoyed with the bleeping out of "swear words" it's just ridiculous. It always makes me feel so condescended to. Wasn't this made for this channel? Also it airs after 10 if that matters. Just don't have a character say it if you're gonna censor it. 

Edited June 23, 2017 by DiabLOL

[Evagirl]

I was upset when the guy killed the elderly man and THEN killed himself.  Kill yourself FIRST idiot.

It also bothered me that the bully chick made all that racket breaking into the shed.  She kicked the door open instead of trying to find a quieter way.  Or better yet, wait around until dude leaves the house at some point. She didn't have anything better to do.  I hate dumb shit like this.

[RedMal]

I think this was the best episode out of the three. It had decent suspense and I like where the storyline is going. Adrian was much more tolerable now.

[RedMal]

They sure went fast in building their own community at the mall, trying to make up their own laws and shit. The episode was maybe too much focused on Jay and Alex drama, but it didn't bother me too much, since we're just in the beginning stage. How many episodes there will be? I can't really see it exceeding 10, but who knows what they're going to make up.

[WordsWordsWords]

I loved the novella "The Mist" is based on. I loved the film they made of it. The jury is still out about this version.

Disclaimer: I'm a horror writer in my "real life," so I can be a trifle picky.

The pacing on the pilot episode seemed a little slow. I can be okay with slow -- as long as the payoff is worth the wait. Because I don't know about the payoff yet, I'm still neutral.

I was less bothered by the lack of diversity in the cast because of the location. I suspect that small town New England isn't the most ethnically diverse sort of place in the country. I could, of course, be wrong.

One thing that did concern me is that most of the actors' line readings sounded as if they had all studied the same "how to act" guide. Everyone sounded the same, and almost no one sounded as if they lived in New England. So far, I can't tell one character from another.

I'll certainly watch next week and see how it goes. There's not nearly enough horror of any kind on TV and most of the horror that's on isn't very good.

Oh, and as a writer who's killed a few fictional dogs -- often to howls of outrage -- I was sorry to see poor Rufus die, but knew he was toast as soon as he ran off into the mist.

[Cthulhudrew]

19 hours ago, magpye29 said:

On another note, Morgan Spector is only listed on imdb with 2 episodes.  I like his character, so I'm disturbed by the implications.

I'm actually surprised he lasted the entire episode; they were telegraphing his imminent demise pretty hard.

What I am surprised about is that this one hour of tv somehow managed to incorporate every cliche about small towns within its timespan.

[Arynm]

22 hours ago, voiceover said:

Really?  This is not the novella I read, and it's not the Darabont movie version.

The original intimation was that nuclear waste had wrought the monsters in the Mist.  It was a King redo of a similar Twilight Zone theme: when facing danger, do people come together, or do they gang up on one another? Does the terrible unknown bring out the best or the worst?

This mind control revisit is a new sl.

eta: I agree with the 2nd linked review.

You know what? The more I think about it, the more I think I was thinking of another book. Anyone ever read Phantoms by Dean Koontz? I'm pretty sure that's where my brain was at when I said the mind reading thing. Sorry for the confusion. Now I need to find a minute to watch this show and see if it's any good.

[zibnchy]

5 hours ago, DiabLOL said:

Hated HATED the dog dying. Put me off my feed from the get go. I don't "trust" the show right away.

Hated the cops "casually" beating up the black guy.

Hate all the subplots especially the drug woman one: I don't care, you're exhausting me for nothing . 

Love Frances Conroy in general but HATE that they're making her the batty quasi mystic weirdo. 

Just in it for The Mist. I'll probably re-watch the movie for the umpteenth time tonight. I love it. 

 

I know! I was sitting watching and I said something like "Ooooh, nice doggy. Such a good boy." Then they killed him. Arrgh!

But I think Frances Conroy IS the hollywood go-to for "batty quasi mystic weirdo" these days. It's her niche.

[2727]

5 hours ago, Evagirl said:

It also bothered me that the bully chick made all that racket breaking into the shed. She kicked the door open instead of trying to find a quieter way. Or better yet, wait around until dude leaves the house at some point. She didn't have anything better to do.  I hate dumb shit like this.

She then ran away without taking the satchel o' dough!

I have the say, the owner of the house was much calmer about finding a stranger in his kitchen than I would have been. "Who are you? Shoo, now."

Give me a quick monster disemboweling over smothering by cockroaches any day.

None of the deaths upset me, including the dog's.

Edited June 24, 2017 by 2727

[RustbeltWriter]

21 hours ago, zibnchy said:

And the ever present football player rapist. 

You put some Pepper on that comment. ;)

I enjoyed it but Mrs. Rustbeltwriter caught something. The doctor told Alex's dad that there were signs of sex but no violence so they couldn't be sure she was raped. Just being drugged and unable to give consent means she was raped. Hard to believe that was written that way.

I'll be tuning in next week.

[zibnchy]

I've watched about half of episode 2 and it just dawned on me. The Mist is the Under the Dome of 2017.

This show needs Dean Norris right now, chewing up scenery, bigger than life. Get him on the phone! He would not have let the monster kill Rufus.

Also why oh why does someone always still have to fall down when a group are running for an escape? It's like when someone runs for their car and,to no one's surprise, drops their keys. This show is chock full of stupid but Dean Norris can save it.

One more thing - they left the guns in the car? They left the f'ing guns in the car!? These people are too stupid to live.