Under the Dome “Manhunt”

Watching “Under the Dome” has been somewhat frustrating.  I was willing to go along with the character and plot changes as long as the story held the same excitement and tension as the book, but the last two episodes have moved along at a snail’s pace without any consequences on the actual story.  This telling of the story so far holds none of that drama and danger other than vague hints at the danger of the propane deliveries. 

This episode sees a rogue police officer on the run for some reason that isn’t explained and Junior trying to find a way out through the underground tunnels.   One of the biggest disappointments so far in this show is the lack of “crazy Junior.”  Sure, this incarnation of Junior is fairly crazy, but compared to the nut in the book this Junior is a Sunday School choir boy.  The book’s Junior was in the process of killing a girl when the dome came down and went on to kill a couple more and slowly devolved into total craziness which ramped up tension considering Big Jim deputizes him during the course of the book.  The show’s Junior is a confused boy who has trapped his “girlfriend” in a cellar when she tried to dump him.  He isn’t even close to being as scary as the book’s Junior, which is unfortunate considering Junior created a lot of the tension in the book.

Probably the most disappointing part of this episode was the teenager’s subplot.  I liked the idea that this one kid had a generator and that made him popular, it makes sense in the world we live in, but all of the kids are so annoying.  I kind of want them all to be killed in an accident.  “Under the Dome” was originally written as a social commentary so I’m sure that’s what the writers are striving to depict, that today’s kids are dependent on cell phones and are horrible people, but I think their handling of these characters was sloppy.  The commentary about today’s teenagers should be a little outrageous and funny, since it is a darkly comedic social commentary, but I feel like the characters should still be a little believable and maybe even likable.  Instead they are caricatures of modern teenagers who speak as if their lines were written by a sixty year old man who hasn’t talked to a teenager since the seventies.

The worst part about “Under the Dome” up to this point is I really don’t care about many people that are under the dome.  I think I like Linda, her strength and determination to do what’s right makes her a lovable character, but nobody else has done anything.  One cop goes rogue after accidentally killing his partner by ricocheting a bullet off the dome.  Big Jim’s schemes have caused problems, but he isn’t as powerful as he is in the book.  Junior isn’t nearly as dangerous, instead he’s soft and confused who has done something crazy because of love.  Dale isn’t a likable guy in the wrong place at the wrong time, he is a possible killer, which is interesting but ultimately it muddies the aspect of his character that I liked the most.

Stephen King was right when he said changing a story from book to screen doesn’t ruin the original story, but instead gives a new take on the premise.  But I would argue that one must understand what made the book work so they don’t change what is at the heart of story, but instead takes that heart and creates something new that expresses similar emotions and themes.  So far “Under the Dome” is not successfully recreating the power of the original story that kept me burning through pages and chapters.  Instead they seem to be watering down the powerful characters and giving the righteous characters more dangerous back stories, which makes for more complex characters in theory, but does it create a more powerful story?

2.5/5