Never believed “steamy” would describe a Stephen King miniseries, did you?
Today’s ginormous (compared to yesterday) block of commercials comes from WABC 7 (ABC owned-and-operated station in New York City), recorded on February 14, 1999 during part one of the Stephen King miniseries Storm of the Century.
The miniseries aired over the course of three nights – February 14th, 15th, and 18th. It was the second Stephen King miniseries to air on ABC in two years (the first was a remake of The Shining).
The common bond both miniseries have are the two actors that headlined them – Steven Weber played Jack Torrance in The Shining, and Tim Daly played Mike Anderson in Storm of the Century. At the time of The Shining’s production, Daly was approached for the role, but was unable to commit, and recommended his friend and TV brother (at the time, Daly and Weber were playing Joe and Brian Hackett on the sitcom Wings) for the role. When Storm of the Century came up, Daly was immediately considered for the role.
Unlike other King adaptations, this miniseries did not start out as a novel, but rather, was a created by King as a “novel for television.” It belongs to the same universe of other King stories taking place in small-town Maine, this time on the fictional Little Tall Island, where Delores Claiborne lived. A publication of the screenplay was released just prior to the miniseries airing (gee, hope the ending wasn’t spoiled for anyone!).
I saw the miniseries in its original airing. My brother was recording it – this was his video, and like the commercials from yesterday, came from another video I pulled from his collection a few years after he moved out. I’ve also seen it since then, and read the screenplay. It’s quite a read, once you’ve seen the miniseries. We also saw The Shining a few years earlier, and that is quite good – much more faithful to the novel than the Kubrick version. Which I still like, but I read the novel, so I’m aware of the differences.
Anyway, commercials included in the first night of the miniseries…
James Earl Jones trusts the book, the Wendy’s Chicken Sandwich that came before the “Big Bang” of chicken sandwiches, Intel’s Pentium III processor’s launch, websites of the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, Universal Studios before Islands of Adventure, your first cell phone, online stocks, McDonalds before you were lovin’ it, and CHICKEN!
We’ve also got chips with unpleasant side effects (but the kids like ’em!)…
…and “Necessary Items in 2020” for $100, Alex!
We’ve also got promos for programs and special news segments, trailers for movies, as well as products, services, and that warm and fuzzy late 1990s feel we all know and love!
See, already at an advantage!
Part two aired the following night, and I still haven’t gone through those commercials. Perhaps that will come in a future Throwback/Flashback?
Most definitely!
Have a fantastic Flashback Friday, and a great weekend!