Dear Web Site Visitors,

Those of you who are familiar with the wonderful world of television may have noticed that Desperation — probably the best TV movie to be made from my work — has been scheduled by ABC to run, not just against American Idol, but against the American Idol finals! When I see this kind of scheduling, my heart is warmed by how well I have been treated by all my friends at ABC. One can truly say that with friends like this, one doesn’t need enemas. Little joke there. But am I bitter? HELL, YES, I AM BITTER! Oh, well, good work always finds a place in time, and ours may be in the DVD racks eventually. For now, please remember that Desperation airs on ABC May 23rd. Those of you who watch will get a gold star. Those of you who don’t, and watch American Idol instead…well, just remember: I have strange powers. I have been watching you all for some time through your computers. (This is actually a power conferred upon me by the Bush Administration.) I watch you when you eat, I watch you when you sleep, and I watch you when you undress. In regard to this last comment, some of you need more stylish underwear, but never mind; the point is, I will know if you watch American Idol and if something bad happens to you, it will be your own fault.

Cordially,
Steve

You probably noticed that SK called Desperation “probably the best TV movie to be made from my work” pretty hefty praise.  Having watched the show I have to agree with Stephen but only to a point.

Ron Pearlman is the reason to watch Desperation.  He is freakin AWESOME in this film (as he tends to be in anything he is in) and he ignites the screen in this one.  Problem is he vanishes about half way through.  His character remains throughout the film but physically he exits at almost exactly the half way point and the film suffers because of it.

While the story is strong and the rest of the cast is good Pearlman’s performance is so strong and so excellent that his sudden departure leaves such a huge hole that the remaining cast just kind of flops around in the void never fully recovering from the exit.

I liked the look that Garris gives this film.  Got a kind of Silent Hill vibe for it, very dark and menacing and very creepy. Any of you who have traveled through a small po-dunk town and gotten stopped by a Barney Fife sheriff can appreciate the apprehension and fear that comes from one of these yokels who stops you in their town where they are the judge, jury and in this case, the executioner.  I loved the subtle way the Pearlman plays the sheriff, one particularly effective moment for me was when while reading the Miranda rights to one of his arrests early in the film he adds the line “I am going to kill you” It was great, he did it without missing a beat and with no feeling and you find yourself as shocked and surprised as the characters on the screen as you process what you just heard.

To really do Desperation justice you almost have to break it down and treat it as if were two separate hour and a half films.  The first hour and a half might just be the best TV movie ever made of a Stephen King story, the second hour and half though is just more of the same old same old that some might say we have come to expect from TV adaptations of horror material.

Garris had the right idea and was most certainly heading down the right path but as a whole Desperation just falls a bit short.  Don’t let this keep you from checking it out though as Pearlman’s performance in the first act is more than worth your time.