Stephen King Responds Dome TV Show Controversy, Awesome Box Set Announced

I never read Stephen King’s Under The Dome and since I do not have cable I also have not seen the show. It would seem however one thing has not changed it is still very difficult to translate one of Stephen King’s books to the big or small screen.

The Dome has deviated so much from the books that fans of the original novel are now up in arms.  Stephen King proving that he is a classy guy actually wrote an open letter to his fans not only defending the show but also the changes that were made. He says in part;

…If you loved the book when you first read it, it’s still there for your perusal. But that doesn’t mean the TV series is bad, because it’s not. In fact, it’s very good. And, if you look closely, you’ll see that most of my characters are still there, although some have been combined and others have changed jobs. That’s also true of the big stuff, like the supermarket riot, the reason for all that propane storage, and the book’s thematic concerns with diminishing resources.

Many of the changes wrought by Brian K. Vaughan and his team of writers have been of necessity, and I approved of them wholeheartedly. Some have been occasioned by their plan to keep the Dome in place over Chester’s Mill for months instead of little more than a week, as is the case in the book. Other story modifications are slotting into place because the writers have completely re-imagined the source of the Dome.    That such a re-imagining had to take place was my only serious concern when the series was still in the planning stages, and that concern was purely practical.

If the solution to the mystery were the same on TV as in the book, everyone would know it in short order, which would spoil a lot of the fun (besides, plenty of readers didn’t like my solution, anyway). By the same token, it would spoil things if you guys knew the arcs of the characters in advance. Some who die in the book—Angie, for instance—live in the TV version of Chester’s Mill…at least fora while. And some who live in the book may not be as lucky during the run of the show. Just sayin’.

Have you seen Under the Dome? What did you think of it?

In related news a new limited edition of Under The Dome has already been announced and is available to order on Amazon right now for $79.99. This is a 20% discount off its normal price. When it comes to TV box sets I have to admit this one is definitely one of the better designs I have seen. No doubt that Stephen King fans and fans of The Dome will want to pick this one up.