Episode 266-The Ending of 11/22/63

In the Spring of '97, King once more partnered with director Mick Garris to fulfill his dream of bringing a more faithful adaptation of his novel The Shining to the screen. For years, King has never shied away from his criticism of Stanley Kubrick's take on his his material. Though 1980's Jack Nicholson starring movie is considered a horror classic, one of the best horror adaptations of all time, and one of the greatest works of cinema, it never measured up to King's own opinion of what the story should have been.  And in 1997, he had the opportunity to tell his story, except this time on his terms. Comparisons be damned! Who cares if the performance by Jack Nicholson will reverberate through the generations as a once-in-a-lifetime showcase? Who cares if the iconography that Kubrick brought to the property (elevators of blood, the teddy bear guest, the twins) has become synonymous with the story itself and wouldn't be present in the remake? Who cares if it, by the very nature of it airing on primetime television, couldn't compete with the visceral imagery of its horror counterpart?  King didn't care, and apparently, audiences didn't either. The movie was a ratings smash hit, but now that nearly 30 years have passed since it aired, how does it hold up?  As always, if you have any thoughts on anything related to Stephen King, write into [email protected] Follow on Bluesky, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram.  Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com

In 1997, Mick Garris stepped back behind the camera to launch what he'd hoped would be an ongoing anthology horror show on FOX. Capitalizing off the success of The X-Files, Quicksilver Highway would have been an ongoing series of standalone stories tethered together by a troupe of actors and narratively framed by the enigmatic Aaron Quicksilver, played by legendary Christopher Lloyd.  Though the show never took off, we were provided with a great What Could Have Been? In this episode, I review the movie, comprised of an adaptation of Stephen King's "Chattery Teeth" and Clive Barker's "The Body Politic." As always, if you have any thoughts on anything related to Stephen King, write into [email protected] Follow on Bluesky, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram.  Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com

This was a fun one to revisit. The movie is atrocious, but it's a fun romp!  As always, if you have any thoughts on anything related to Stephen King, write into [email protected] Follow on Bluesky, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram.  Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com

As always, if you have any thoughts on anything related to Stephen King, write into [email protected] Follow on Bluesky, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram.  Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com

In 1994, Mick Garris had the unenviable task of bringing one of King's most beloved novels to life on ABC.  People tuned in to watch it, and it certainly remained faithful to the text, but does that make for a good adaptation?  Find out this week in The Stephen Kingcast! During my original review of this mini-series, I didn't fully appreciate how faithful this adaptation was to the source material and how difficult a production like this must have been for the time period. I provide new thoughts to kick off this review to the classic television mini series.  As always, if you have any thoughts on anything related to Stephen King, write into [email protected] Follow on Bluesky, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram.  Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com    

Let's travel back to a simpler time, to 1993 when TV mini series were safe, the visuals were soft, floral printed and rustic locations where overlayed with peaceful, ambient soundtracks. Though having aired over 30 years ago, it is incredibly resonant in our modern era. For a discussion on the role of AI plays in harming creativity, Apple TV's Pluribus, and the concept of a hive mind, tune into today's episode.  As always, write in at [email protected] Follow me on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook and Bluesky. Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com Check out bonus material, early episodes and reviews of all things pop culture over at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

In this episode, I review the classic ABC TV mini series and begin by placing it within the context of the more recent interpretation of the material and character of Pennywise with the It: Chapter One and Chapter Two movies along with It: Welcome To Derry. At the original time of this recording, the movies had not yet been made and Bill Skarsgard had not put his stamp on the character. Now that we are nearly a decade out from that original Chapter One release, it's important to contextualize the legacy of the original ABC adaption its relationship to its successor. Enjoy! As always, write in at [email protected] Follow me on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook and Bluesky. Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com Check out bonus material, early episodes and reviews of all things pop culture over at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

In this episode, I talk about how Osgood Perkins' The Monkey was my favorite moviegoing experience of 2025 and how it successfully managed to become the best Stephen King content of the year, in a year that included The Long Walk, The Life of Chuck, Never Flinch, It: Welcome To Derry and The Running Man.  As always, write in at [email protected] Follow me on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook and Bluesky. Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com Check out bonus material, early episodes and reviews of all things pop culture over at patreon.com/stephenkingcast

Welcome back, everyone! I hope you enjoy this special bonus episode in which I analyze the relationship between the events of It with The Dark Tower! As always, write in at [email protected] Follow me on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook and Bluesky. Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com  

At long last, your greatly demanded requests for me to review Stephen King's The Golden Years has been granted! What? What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about? What do you mean you've never heard of The Golden Years? You mean you've never seen the the 1990 seven episode CBS television show about an elderly janitor bombarded by energy after a scientific experiment goes awry which causes him to begin to age backward? You don't remember cat and mouse espionage story of government officials trying to outsmart Shop operatives as the walls close in around the janitor, whose powers are stranger than we were led to believe? Well, don't worry. You're not alone. The Golden Years is not one of Stephen King's most recognized, fondly remembered--or remembered at all--work, but it is worth discussing for its place in television history. Coming off the heels of the success of Twin Peaks, TV stations were rabid for their own quirky, speculative, genre-story. Enter: Stephen King's The Golden Years. Tune into my thoughts on the Golden Years, how it ties into King's larger multiverse and whether or not Harlan, our main character, ever shows up in a little town called Derry. What am I talking about??? You'll just have to tune in! As always, if you have any thoughts on anything related to Stephen King, write into [email protected] Follow on Bluesky, Facebook, Tik Tok and Instagram.  Stay organized and up to date with all things Stephen King at stephenkingcast.com