Under the Dome series talkback

[FaxModem1]

So, Under the Dome is now a series on CBS, and the pilot aired on the 24th. This will be the official thread for it. If someone wants to move this to a more appropriate forum, feel free.

The premise of the series, and the Stephen King book it is based on, is that a small town in, you guessed it, Maine, gets covered by a huge dome, cutting off anyone from getting out or in. This first episode already veers from the novel in a few ways, but I'll see where it goes.

Thoughts?

[Broomstick]

Having read the book, and seen the first episode, I'm not bothered by the changes from the book. I don't expect an exact replication of a written novel when a movie or TV show is created from it.

I am content so far, but whether or not they can keep things interesting and entertaining through all intended episodes is another matter.

[FaxModem1]

My problem is they changed Barbie from a guy who is just drifting out of town trying to settle down somewhere into a hitman. That seems like an unnecessary and complete change of the character.

[StarSword]

Haven't read the book (Stephen King's not my thing) but Show!Barbie didn't strike me as a hitman. I was thinking drugrunner or something to that effect; I got the impression from that phone call he hadn't come to town meaning to kill.

[Broomstick]

Same here - the vibe I got from that phone call was that something had gone horribly wrong with the meeting and Barbie had killed in self-defense of some sort.

[StarSword]

^Confirmed as of today's episode. I'm thinking loan shark right now.

EDIT: Also, did anyone else think that it looked like Duke's whole office had been doused with accelerant?

[Broomstick]

Yep, seems weird it went up that fast. But maybe Big Jim was right and there was some sort of gas leak? Naw...

[InsaneTD]

Probably the amount of plastic/polymer products. Most of that stuff only takes seconds to fully ignite and acts like an accelerant. Wallpaper burns pretty well from memory too.

[AniThyng]

So why does tunneling not work?

[The Grim Squeaker]

So why does tunneling not work?

The second episode shows people trying to tunnel, to no avail (It runs underground apparently).

(Not confirmed whether the static electricity-pacemaker-heart explodey effect would fuck up digging machines though).

[Tandrax218]

I watched the 2 episodes and so far its good.

But i got a different feeling for dukes pacemaker exploding in his chest.
We know (from the book) that aliens erected the dome. And as we saw in ep. 1 any one who starts thinking too much about the dome (the kid barbie saved) gets a seizure and falls on the ground. So i think its a defensive thing the aliens do so the dome stays longer up. Otherwise someone will find their machine and shut it down.
Now duke was going to tell the girl what he and jim were doing with the gas, and i think its close to the machine so aliens just removed him from the picture. bang ...

[Alyeska]

OK, hows about we put spoiler tags and warnings on material from the books. Some of us are watching the show without having read the books.

I didn't need Tandrax's spoilers, thank you very much.

[StarSword]

So why does tunneling not work?

The second episode shows people trying to tunnel, to no avail (It runs underground apparently).

It penetrates the ground for certain. Third episode has Junior try to get out through the old concrete plant tunnels. The dome just bisected them.

(Not confirmed whether the static electricity-pacemaker-heart explodey effect would fuck up digging machines though).

It made Junior's flashlight explode, too.

[Alyeska]

So now the question. Does Big Jim let her go, or keep her down there because he doesn't want his son in trouble?

[StarSword]

Even odds on either one. On the one hand he's been a pretty consistent good guy trying to keep the town from disintegrating, which I would hope points to the former; on the other hand Junior just made him really proud with the way he handled the quarantine.

Meanwhile...

^Confirmed as of today's episode. I'm thinking loan shark right now.

I called it!*

* Was going to stick a Stephen Colbert pic in there but I thought better of it.

[Meest]

It's pretty good for network tv, but still some cheesiness, especially the teenage stuff, otherwise without any knowledge of the book I'm compelled to see where it goes.

[StarSword]

As I predicted to myself, a direct hit from a MOAB did absolutely jack shit to the dome (granted, that would've ended the series).

Still, the fact that you could hear a muffled blast from inside might say something about what the dome can actually withstand. The Wikipedia page I linked gives a theoretical yield for the weapon equivalent to eleven tons of TNT. Possibly a low-kiloton-range nuke could bring it down.

[Broomstick]

It's pretty good for network tv, but still some cheesiness, especially the teenage stuff, otherwise without any knowledge of the book I'm compelled to see where it goes.

Having read the book, I can say with confidence that it has already diverged significantly. Rather like The Walking Dead has some significant story line differences between the comic and the TV show, or Dexter the TV show diverges from the series of novels. Which is neither good nor bad, it just is, but it does mean that those who have read the novel don't necessarily know where the TV show is going.

Some differences:

1) Junior has not killed Angie and had sex with her corpse (which I'm OK with NOT seeing on TV)
2) Barbie wasn't an enforcer in the book, he was a short-order cook who had been working awhile in the town
3) In the novel a large, commercial jet collided with the outside of the dome with unpleasant results,
4) In the book the government never bombed the dome

[Darth Nostril]

4) In the book the government never bombed the dome

Yes they did, a B-52 fired two Firehawk cruise missiles at the Dome. You'll find it in the chapter entitled Missile Strike Imminent.
They even intended to use a pencil nuke towards the end, but there was an accident at the airfield and it melted down.

[Broomstick]

OK, they never used a MOAB against the dome... details!

[Thanas]

So how are they getting air?

[Broomstick]

There is a slow diffusion of air (and water, as we saw in an earlier episode) through the dome. In the book, the slowness of this diffusion, as well as the pollution caused by generators, cars, and wood fires leads to problems and I wouldn't be surprised if this is visited later on.

[Alyeska]

Interesting series so far. They seem to be progressing about a day at a time. That works. Watching as society slowly crumbles and rebuilds itself. They have covered some pretty fundamental aspects early on. Medecine. People with chronic conditions. Food and supplies. Water. People are going to start dying much faster very soon. They lost their last doctor.

What they need to do is setup good communication with the outside. Light isn't blocked. And with a little work they could easily build a laser communication system allowing communication. Then they could get expert advice.

Interesting to see how Big Jim ultimately went about with his son. He is embarrassed. Angry. But he loves his son dearly. Which is why he spends just as much effort to protect Junior. Barby is continuing to show he can work under pressure. He doesn't even try to take charge. Is happy to work with others.