As a huge fan of Stephen King's written works, I was very excited to see this great story being adapted for television. Upon conclusion of this first season, I am left with mostly praise for the show (although also harboring a few "regrets" in the process).
For a basic plot summary, "Under The Dome" Season One sees the small town of Chester's Mill suddenly contained (sealed off from the outside world) by a dome that seems to appear out of nowhere. When the town's police chief Duke Perkins (Jeff Fahey) gets too close to the dome and his pacemaker explodes, the town is thrown into a state of chaos. "Big Jim" Rennie (Dean Norris), a town elderman, quickly steps up to fill the void, yet his intentions may not be entirely noble. Other subplots that weave their way through this first season include the mysterious drifter Dale "Barbie" Barbara (Mike Vogel), the relationship he forms with Julia Shumway (Rachelle Lefevre), and a group of four youngsters who believe that they somehow have a connection to the source of the dome's "power".
After the first 5-6 episodes of this season, I was immediately hooked into the story again (having read the book three or so years previous). The production value is incredible, the dome plotline is typical King mystery fare, and the characters are also quite strong. This was easily my "summer show of 2013", with me rarely missing a live episode (a rarity for me). Basically, the show is strong in many areas and is infinitely better than most network fare these days.
I would loved to have been able/willing to give this the full five stars, but two nitpicks drop it down a notch:
First, it just isn't quite as good as the book. This is a personal bias, of course, as those who haven't read the book won't "get it", but the book tells a much more dark tale than this show (probably a bit too dark in some spots for "free TV", hence the changes). Yet, that being said, I was disappointed that so much was changed from book-to-screenplay.
Second, and perhaps a more fair criticism, is that I did not like the decision for this to become a serialized show. To me, this is EXACTLY the type of show that needed a definitive starting and ending date, and it really showed towards the latter portion of this season. The first half of the season or so was incredible, but the second half/third was just "good" because plot points were drawn out too long and not as much "meaty stuff" was being covered in each episode.
Thus, despite those criticisms, "Under The Dome" is still a fine show that I very much enjoyed watching over the summer months. I hope that when the show returns it will commit to a finale date and let the drama continue to build (instead of start-and-stop).
For a basic plot summary, "Under The Dome" Season One sees the small town of Chester's Mill suddenly contained (sealed off from the outside world) by a dome that seems to appear out of nowhere. When the town's police chief Duke Perkins (Jeff Fahey) gets too close to the dome and his pacemaker explodes, the town is thrown into a state of chaos. "Big Jim" Rennie (Dean Norris), a town elderman, quickly steps up to fill the void, yet his intentions may not be entirely noble. Other subplots that weave their way through this first season include the mysterious drifter Dale "Barbie" Barbara (Mike Vogel), the relationship he forms with Julia Shumway (Rachelle Lefevre), and a group of four youngsters who believe that they somehow have a connection to the source of the dome's "power".
After the first 5-6 episodes of this season, I was immediately hooked into the story again (having read the book three or so years previous). The production value is incredible, the dome plotline is typical King mystery fare, and the characters are also quite strong. This was easily my "summer show of 2013", with me rarely missing a live episode (a rarity for me). Basically, the show is strong in many areas and is infinitely better than most network fare these days.
I would loved to have been able/willing to give this the full five stars, but two nitpicks drop it down a notch:
First, it just isn't quite as good as the book. This is a personal bias, of course, as those who haven't read the book won't "get it", but the book tells a much more dark tale than this show (probably a bit too dark in some spots for "free TV", hence the changes). Yet, that being said, I was disappointed that so much was changed from book-to-screenplay.
Second, and perhaps a more fair criticism, is that I did not like the decision for this to become a serialized show. To me, this is EXACTLY the type of show that needed a definitive starting and ending date, and it really showed towards the latter portion of this season. The first half of the season or so was incredible, but the second half/third was just "good" because plot points were drawn out too long and not as much "meaty stuff" was being covered in each episode.
Thus, despite those criticisms, "Under The Dome" is still a fine show that I very much enjoyed watching over the summer months. I hope that when the show returns it will commit to a finale date and let the drama continue to build (instead of start-and-stop).
