Stephen King’s 1978 post-apocalyptic novel “The Stand”, about an epic battle of good versus evil, has been adapted twice for television. First in 1994 for ABC, and then again in 2020 for Paramount+. Both series follow the same general premise and characters.

A deadly virus has escaped from a government test facility, and has rapidly spread across the United States, killing over 99% of the population. Those who have managed to survive have been having dreams of waking up in a corn field where a 106-year-old black woman named Abagail Freemantle, aka Mother Abigail (Ruby Dee/Whoopi Goldberg), tells them to find her at Hemingford Home in Nebraska, or in Colorado, where she is headed to establish a Boulder Free Zone. God has spoken to her, telling her that she needs to prepare these others to stand against the dark man, who will arrive soon. However, some of the survivors have also had visions of the devilish Randall Flagg (Jamie Sheridan/Alexander Skarsgård), who tries to tempt and/or threaten them to join him. He has fittingly set up his own base of operations in sin city, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Stu Redman (Gary Sinese/James Marsden) is a former solider who is taken for testing by the CDC after his town of Arnette, Texas becomes the epicenter of the pandemic. He eventually joins up with college professor Glen Bateman (Ray Walston/Greg Kinnear) and his dog Kojak for the trek to Colorado. In Ogunquit, Maine, the only two survivors are Frannie Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald/Odessa Young), and awkward, nerdy teenager/aspiring writer Harold Lauder (Corin Nemec/Owen Teague), who’s been infatuated with Frannie since he was 9. In New York City, Larry Underwood (Adam Storke/Jovan Adepo), a singer with a hit album but lots of money problems, crosses paths with the wild Nadine Cross (Laura San Giacomo/Amber Heard), who seems to be hiding a secret. In Arkansas, deaf/mute Nick Andros (Rob Lowe/Henry Zaga) gets beat up by some delinquents and then finds himself partnering up with developmentally disabled Tom Cullen (Bill Fagerbakke/Brad William Henke) who can’t read or write and has issues understanding things. Along they way, they also cross paths with the not-so-nice Julie Lawry (Shawnee Smith/Katherine McNamara). Meanwhile, after a convenience store robbery goes wrong, Lloyd Henreid (Miguel Ferrer/Nat Wolff) finds himself left to rot in a prison cell with no escape, until the dark man offers him a deal. And Flagg also tries to tempt pyromaniac Trashcan Man (Matt Frewer/Ezra Miller) to his side, to help him with his nefarious plan.

The story follows these survivors as they experience the onset of the pandemic, find each other, make their journeys to Colorado, start to rebuild society, and formulate and execute their plan to take down the devil. However, Flagg is smart, can see everything, and has his own plans and embedded agents in play. He has a way of appealing to people’s jealousy and dark desires to recruit others to his team, and swiftly stomps down any dissention. He will do everything he can to stop Mother Abigail and her team before they can try to stand up to him.

I enjoyed both of these miniseries for different reasons. Each takes a very different approach to telling the same story. The 1994 version is an 6-hour miniseries broken into 4 90-minute episodes, while the 2020 series is broken into 9 1-hour episodes. The 1994 series is much more linear, while the 2020 version makes frequent use of flashbacks. In the original miniseries most of the main characters are introduced in those first 90 minutes, where the 2020 version spreads the introductions across the first three episodes. Each episode starts in the present, and then jumps back several weeks to see how several of the characters got to where they are. While I generally preferred the more linear approach of the first miniseries, the second is able to provide a lot more detail about each of these characters and their motivations, where the 1994 version leaves a lot of this backstory out and feels a bit rushed and like the Cliffs Notes version in comparison. The 1994 series hardly even shows much of the devilish Randall Flagg until the end, where the 2020 version explores this character in greater detail throughout, showing how he is able to use his Vegas showman style charisma to win people over to his side. The 2020 miniseries also gives a lot more backstory to Nadine, which was non-existent in the first miniseries, and in this version Harold comes off more like a creepy stalker. One exception where the 1994 series gives more backstory is with the Trashcan Man character. In the 2020 version he just comes off as this ridiculous, bizarre, over-the-top character that just runs through scenes screaming and shrieking, where the original miniseries gives him a little more humanity under that craziness.

The 2020 miniseries has a bit more diverse cast, changing the ethnicity of characters like Larry, Nick, and Charlie Campion from being white guys, and making some of the male characters female—Flagg’s henchman Rat Man (Rick Aviles) becomes Rat Woman (Fiona Dourif), and Ralph Brentner (Peter Van Norden) becomes Native American woman Ray Brentner (Irene Bedard). The 2020 version also takes advantage of the fact that it’s not on broadcast, making extensive use of adult language, more graphic gore, and some nudity (they don’t call it Sin City for nothing). While the 1994 miniseries probably looked great for the time, the production value of the 2020 version is a major step up. In the 1994 version, the visual effects during the final stand-off look dated, and a lot of the scenes feel more like sets, especially during the dream sequences. Flagg’s Las Vegas headquarters look far more impressive and elaborate in the 2020 series. Both miniseries have amazing star-studded casts. Plus the original has uncredited cameos from Ed Harris & Kathy Bates as well as appearances by Stephen King & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, while the 2020 version also had some smaller appearances by J.K. Simmons, Heather Graham, Bryan Cranston, Hamish Linklater & Daniel Sunjata.

This is a massive story to tackle, and I think both miniseries did it quite successfully. In general, I found the story and characters to be interesting, but the culmination in both versions to be a bit to fast and underwhelming. The 2020 miniseries also has a completely unnecessary coda tacked on as episode 9. The series should have just ended with episode 8, however, according to the bonus material, Stephen King had requested to write a coda, and you don’t say no to Stephen King (though in this case they should have).

This box set bundles the two separate releases for Stephen King’s The Stand (1994) and The Stand (2020) together inside a single slipcase. Each series is contained in its own standard-sized HD keepcase. The first miniseries resides on a single disc, and for the second miniseries, one disc is placed on the left and the other 2 discs are stacked on the right side. The individual releases include their own slipcovers, but for the bundle, it is just one outer slipcover for both.

The video quality of both series is quite good. The 1994 has a generally solid picture, with a nice level of detail, though some of the second unit/ establishing shots are a bit noisy and grainy at times. The 2020 series looks pristine and fantastic throughout. Both miniseries have clear dialogue, and excellent music soundtracks throughout. However, the 2020 series provides a 5.1 soundtrack versus the stereo soundtrack of the original, giving it a fuller, more immersive sound. Both miniseries offer bonus materials. For the 1994 version it is an excellent commentary track plus a short, somewhat disappointing 5-minute making-of featurette. And for the 2020 series there is a really fun gag reel plus a 20-minute behind-the-scenes featurette.

What’s Included:

Stephen King’s The Stand (1994): (5:59:02)

• All 4 episodes of the miniseries on a single disc:
  “The Plague”, “The Dreams”, “The Betrayal”, “The Stand”
• 1080p / 1.33:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0, German Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Danish, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish

The Stand (2020): (9:27:06)

• All 9 episodes of the miniseries:
  Disc 1: “The End”, “Pocket Savior”, “Blank Page”
  Disc 2: “The House of the Dead”, “Fear and Loathing in New Vegas”, “The Vigil”
  Disc 3: “The Walk”, “The Stand”, “The Circle Closes”
• 1080p / 2.39:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Danish, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish

Extras:

• Stephen King’s The Stand (1994):
  • Audio Commentary (5:59:02)
    Author Stephen King and director Mick Garris provide commentary throughout the miniseries. It feels like their two commentaries were recorded separately, and the track alternates between them. King starts off by talking about how the film was inspired by the Patty Hearst case, a bible radio station talking about the plague, the film Rage, and the song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult—which ended up being used in the miniseries. Mick Garris starts off his commentary talking about he he got involved with the film and working with King previously. Both men discuss the amazing cast for the series, including getting Ed Harris to do TV, casting Joe Bob Briggs to play “Joe Bob”, etc. They also discuss the the filming locations, share lots of production stories, talk about differences from the novel, etc. There are some blank gaps, but it’s still quite enjoyable. Garris is also joined by editor Patrick McMahon and actors Rob Lowe (“Nick Andros”), Ruby Dee (“Mother Abigail”), Miguel Ferrer (“Lloyd Henreid”) & Jamie Sheridan (“Randall Flagg”) over the course of the commentary.
  • Making Of (5:29)
    In this short making-of featurette, the cast and filmmakers discuss the premise of the film, and give a glimpse at the special effects and makeup. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with author Stephen King, special effects Steve Johnson, executive producer Richard P. Rubinstein, director Mick Garris, and stars Molly Ringwald (“Frannie Goldsmith”), Ruby Dee (“Mother Abigail”), Gary Sinese (“Stu Redman”), Rob Lowe (“Nick Andros”) & Laura San Giacomo (“Nadine Cross”).
• The Stand (2020):
  • An Apocalyptic Epic: Adapting “The Stand” (19:40)
    The cast and EP discuss the premise of the story, recreating the tube neck from the book, the character of Flagg and his look and attitude, what Mother Abagail stands for and having Whoopi Goldberg play the role, the make-up and costumes, the sets, the coda written by Stephen King, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, production sketches & photos, and interviews with executive producer Benjamin Cavell and stars Whoopi Goldberg (“Mother Abagail”), James Marsden (“Stu Redman”), Greg Kinnear (“Glen Bateman”), Alexander Skarsgård (“Randall Flagg”), Henry Zaga (“Nick Andros”), Katherine McNamara (“Julie Lawry”), Owen Teague (“Harold Lauder”), Amber Heard (“Nadine Cross”), Odessa Young (“Frannie Goldsmith”), Nat Wolff (“Lloyd Henreid”), Brad William Henke (“Tom Cullen”), Irene Bedard (“Ray Brentner”) & Jovan Adepo (“Larry Underwood”).
  • Gag Reel (3:40)
    Fun with the cast as they pull faces, flub, forget and improv their lines, deal with misbehaving props and birds, and just have fun on set.

Final Thoughts:

Bringing Stephen King’s “The Stand” to the small screen is a massive undertaking, and yet somehow they have managed to do this twice. Both the 1994 and 2020 adaptations of King’s novel are thoroughly entertaining and feature a star-studded cast. CBS Home Entertainment has bundled the Blu-ray versions of both series into one convenient release, and they can also be purchased separately. Both miniseries feature excellent picture and sound, plus some entertaining bonus material. These miniseries are definitely worth checking out for any King fan.