I've been looking forward to this. The Stand is my favorite Stephen King book (unless The Talisman is) and one of my favorite books of all time. I don't want to judge the entire series based on the first episode, but I'm sorely disappointed.
The non-linear storytelling doesn't work here. The film opens halfway through the book, with the survivors already assembled in Boulder and Vegas, and the outbreak of the plague and their subsequent journeys are told in flashback style. It isn't working for me. That whole first part of the book, with the various survivors heading toward the mysterious figures of their calling is so essential and so much dark fun.
The benevolent relationship between Stu Redman and his government handlers is fucking lame.
So far, the 1994 mini-series towers above this version. The novel towers above them both, of course.
After watching the original 4 part mini-series, I decided to give the new version a go. I have now watched 4 episodes. A lot of it doesn't work for me, although I am admittedly biased. Having said that, I am enjoying some aspects of it. The music, and Greg Kinnear's portrayal of Glen Bateman is a highlight for me. Also, I loved the small role Heather Graham played. Including some characters left out of the original series is refreshing.
This version of Larry Underwood could have been played by Gary Clark Jr brilliantly.
I will say this though, if you haven't read the book, or have memories of the original series, you are probably not going to have a cooking clue what is going on.