The Stand
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The Stand is an apocalyptic horror novel by Stephen King. It was published in 1978.
The Stand re-works the scenario first seen in King's earlier short story, "Night Surf" (included in the short story collection Night Shift). The novel contains the first published reference to King's super-villain Randall Flagg. Flagg also appears in King's fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon and his epic Dark Tower series.
The novel was re-released as The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition in 1990. This edition restored some text originally edited for brevity, added some new sections, and revised others, and changed the setting of the novel from 1975 to 1990. However, the time change appears to have produced several anachronisms, which may have been due to careless editing, such as references to: a vehicle containing a "modified Studebaker engine"; one character being paid a dollar for a morning's babysitting; rental of a beachfront house in Malibu for US$1000 per month; one character being portrayed as having been "in the war" (presumably, Vietnam) despite being too young for such service, etc.
The novel is one of the few King books of its era not to have been made into a theatrical feature film. King had agreed to support a film version to have been directed by George Romero,and written by Excalibur scribe Rospo Pallenberg. This screenplay (still available on some internet sites [link]) cut down the novel's excess material into a 3-hour running time, and took many liberties with the material (most notably the absence of Ralph Brentner and Glen Bateman, two of the characters destined to take the titular "stand" against the book's villain, Randall Flagg). Unfortunately, the project proved unworkable, and was abandoned. A TV miniseries version of the novel was broadcast in 1994. Airing over four nights on the ABC Network, it starred Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Laura San Giacomo, Rob Lowe, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Jamey Sheridan, Ray Walston, Bill Fagerbakke, Miguel Ferrer, and Adam Storke. Special guest appearances included Ed Harris, Kathy Bates, and former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Stephen King himself scripted the miniseries, and also acted in it.
Plot outline
The novel is broken into three parts, or books. The story begins with the death of most of the human population of North America (and, presumably, the world) following the escape and spread of a human-made biological weapon (a superflu (influenza) virus) known formally as "Project Blue" and colloquially as "Captain Trips". 99.4 percent of people are susceptible to Trips, and the disease has a mortality rate of nearly 100 percent. This first section of the novel, entitled "Captain Trips", takes place over 19 days and charts the total breakdown and destruction of society in some very graphic scenes. The expanded edition opens with a prologue entitled "The Circle Opens" that explains just how the superflu escaped the compound where it was developed.
The novel continues, in book two, "On the Border", with the intertwining cross-country odysseys of the small number of survivors, including a pregnant college student (Frances Goldsmith), a laid-off factory worker from Texas (Stuart Redman), a dissatisfied pop musician (Larry Underwood), an overweight high school outcast (Harold Lauder), a strong deaf-mute wanderer (Nick Andros), a savage amnesiac telepathic boy (Joe/Leo Rockway), a quick-witted pessimistic sociology professor (Glen Bateman), a virginal school teacher with a dark secret (Nadine Cross), a jolly dandyish Oklahoman sodbuster (Ralph Brentner), and a kind-hearted mentally retarded man (Tom Cullen). They are drawn together by their shared dreams of a 108 year old black woman from Hemingford Home, Nebraska, whom they see as a refuge. This woman, Abagail Freemantle (known as 'Mother Abagail'), becomes the spiritual leader of this group of survivors, who begin to attempt to re-establish a democratic society in the Colorado city of Boulder. Boulder is found to be the only small city in America that is largely clear of plague victims, the city having emptied out due to a rumor spread during the plague that the disease started in the Boulder air testing center.
Meanwhile, another group of survivors including a not too bright common thief (Lloyd Henreid), an insane pyromaniacal arsonist (Donald Merwin Elbert, better known as The Trashcan Man), an ex army cook and butcher (Whitney Horgan), a mercurial, oversexed teenager (Julie Lawry), and the ex-chief of the Santa Monica PD (Barry Dorgan) are drawn to Las Vegas, Nevada by another entity: an evil being with supernatural powers known as Randall Flagg, the "dark man", "the hardcase", or the "Walkin' Dude." Flagg's rule is tyrannical and brutal yet effective, punishing those who do not follow his rules with crucifixion and other torments.
In book three, also titled "The Stand", the stage is set for the final confrontation as the two camps become aware of one another, and each recognizes the other as a threat to its survival, leading to 'the stand' of the good against the evil and involving a salvaged nuclear weapon.
The novel ends on a somewhat grim note as two of the surviving protagonists question whether the human race can learn from its mistakes. The answer given in the novel proper's last line is ambiguous: "I don't know."
In the expanded edition, there is also a brief epilogue titled "The Circle Closes". This coda reveals what happened to Randall Flagg after the final showdown in Las Vegas, and meshes with King's ongoing "wheel of Ka" theme, evident in the Dark Tower and related books.
Cast of Characters
Stuart Redman (played by Gary Sinise in the TV adaptation) - A quiet man from Arnette, Texas, Stu was at his friend Bill Hapscomb's gas station the night Charles Campion, the original plague carrier, crashed into the station's pumps. Subsequently, he is also the first man discovered to be immune to the superflu. Stu and many of his neighbors are rounded up and taken to be studied to attempt to produce a cure, but the virus spreads far too fast and the end result is the decimation of the planet Earth's population. He is nearly killed by a government agent named Elder, but due to Elder's declining health from the flu, Stu is able to overpower him and escape. He wanders New England for a few days before meeting Glen Bateman, then Fran Goldsmith and Harold Lauder. The four trek out west, picking up a few survivors along the way until they reach Boulder. Stu becomes romantically involved with Fran along the way, even accepting the unborn child she carries as his own, but creates ill will with Harold Lauder, who is in love with her. Stu rises to authority in the Free Zone, becoming the spokesperson for the Free Zone Committee and its first marshal. However, after an assassinaton attempt by Harold, Stu is told by Mother Abagail that he is to head out west to make a stand against Randall Flagg. Stu agrees and leads Larry, Glen, and Ralph across the west to Las Vegas. However, Stu breaks his leg in Utah and is forced to remain behind. He becomes ill due to exposure, but witnesses the final destruction of Las Vegas from a distance and is subsequently saved by Tom Cullen, who nurses him back to health. Stu and Tom then trek back to Boulder, where he is reunited with Frannie, who has given birth to the first surviving child on Earth. Stu and Frannie later leave Boulder to raise their family in Maine.Nick Andros (Rob Lowe) - A deaf mute drifter, Nick is beaten outside of Shoyo, Arkansas shortly before the start of the epidemic. He befriends the local sheriff and his wife and is forced to watch them die as the epidemic rolls along. He is very nearly killed by an infection from a bullet graze, but recovers and begins his journey to Hemmingford Home, Nebraska. He meets Tom Cullen, and later Ralph Brentner, along the way and they become a surrogate family to him. Nick leads the growing band of surviors to Nebraska and meets Mother Abagail, who guides them to Boulder. Nick serves on the Free Zone Committee, of which he is the leading thinker, and eventually recruits Tom Cullen to spy out west. Nick is killed by Harold Lauder in his assassination attempt on the Committee and it is later revealed that it was Nick who was to lead the stand against Randall Flagg. However, Nick's spirit appears to Tom Cullen after his death and both guides him during his way home and shows him how to save the life of Stu Redman during his bout with illness.
Fran Goldsmith (Molly Ringwald) - A college student at the University of New Hampshire, Fran is pregnant at the start of the book, a topic which results in a painful standoff with her mother and the destruction of her relationship with the father, Jesse Rider. The Superflu decimates her community, resulting in her and Harold Lauder being the only survivors. The two join forces and make their way to the Stovington, VT, facility of the Centers for Disease Control in hopes of finding someone in authority, but are later told by Stuart Redman that the facility is dead. They continue on, with Stu and Glen Bateman in tow, and find the facility just as Stu reported. They then make their way west to Mother Abagail, during which Fran falls deeply in love with Stu, a fact she records in her diary. Fran serves on the original Free Zone Committee and acts as its moral compass. Upon her union with Stu, Harold becomes jealous, but later appears to let bygones be bygones. However, Fran remains suspicious of him, which later turns out to be valid when she finds his diary and plot to kill Stu. She saves the majority of the committee when she receives an intuition of doom in form of the planted bomb. She is moderately injured in the blast, but her child remains safe. Fran is opposed to Stu travelling to the west, but comes to terms with it when she realizes it is what he has to do. Fran later moves in with Lucy Swan and delivers a baby boy. Though there is initial joy at the birth, when her child falls ill with the superflu, Fran is crushed. However, she is rewarded by news of both Stu's return to the Free Zone and her baby's recovery. Throughout the novel, Fran becomes more and more homesick for her native Maine, and at the end of the book she, Stu, and her family make their way back east.
Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan) - A recurring villain who appears in many of King's works, Flagg is an antichrist-like being who is trying to stop civilization in the United States from rebuilding after the Superflu. Flagg is the personification of evil set against Mother Abagail, the personification of good, and attracts many drawn to technology, law and order and dictatorship-style culture around him in Las Vegas, NV. His appearance shifts between human to demon and various animals. Flagg is described by Tom Cullen with "He looks like anybody you see on the street. But when he grins, birds fall dead off telephone lines. When he looks at you a certain way, your prostate goes bad and your urine burns. The grass yellows up and dies where he spits. He's always outside. He came out of time. He doesn't know himself." Though Flagg has the ability of forecasting the future, along with several other demonic powers, as the events of the Stand unfold, Flagg begins to lose power little by little as his plans go awry. Flagg is thought to be killed at the end of the novel when the hand of God is turned upon him and causes a nuclear bomb to detonate, destroying Las Vegas and his followers. However, upon the revision of the novel, it is revealed that his "quick fade", executed before the nuke's explosion in Las Vegas, transported his body to an unknown tropical location, where he awakens to find the local natives worshipping him. He then begins to rebuild a base of power, and the wheel of life comes full circle, once again.
Abagail Freemantle (Ruby Dee) - The opposite to Randall Flagg, Mother Abagail (as she is called) is the personification of good. She initially appears to the survivors as dreams, though her appearances are less frequent than those of Flagg. She receives visions from God, though when she sins in pride, she loses her foresight and goes into exile in the wilderness. She regains her ability, and returns to the Zone in time to save many from Harold Lauder's assassination attempt. She gives one final vision: four men from the committee are to travel to the west to make a stand against Randall Flagg. Though she does not guarantee that the four will return, she does predict that one of them would not finish the journey, which later turns out to be Stuart Redman.
Larry Underwood (Adam Storke)- His actual first name Lawson, Larry is a cocky, young singer who at the beginning of the novel is starting to reach real success with his debut single, "Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?". He falls in debt to a local drug dealer while living in Los Angeles, and travels to New York to visit his mother for help. As New York City starts falling to pieces, Larry comes to his mother's aid, only to have her die from the superflu. Not long after, Larry finds himself to be one of the few people left in New York City. He meets an older woman (in her 50's) named Rita Blakemore and the two decide to leave New York together. However, she eventually dies from a drug overdose, leaving Larry alone. Haunted by her death and by the dreams of Randall Flagg, Larry is in a semi-catatonic state for several days until he finally collapses from exhaustion in New Hampshire. Recovering after a nights sleep, Larry travels to Maine, where he plans to spend the summer, until he meets Nadine Cross and Leo Rockway. The three travel together to Ogunquit, Maine, where they find Harold Lauder's sign and it's directions. Deciding to follow the directions, Larry leads them to Stovington, VT, meeting Lucy Swann along the way, where they find Harold's directions to Nebraska. Larry leads the ever growing party to Nebraska and eventually to Colorado, following Harold's directions across the country. Though Larry is initially interested in Nadine, she spurns his advances, leading him to begin a relationship with Lucy. Arriving in Boulder, Larry settles down with Lucy and Leo, becoming a member of the Free Zone Committee. Nadine attempts to reconcile with him, but Larry refuses her, choosing to remain with Lucy. Larry later breaks into Harold Lauder's home with Fran Goldsmith after Leo instructs him to investigate before something horrible happens. They find his Harold's ledger, which states he intends to kill Stuart Redman. However, Harold's plan is already in motion and Stu narrowly escapes the assassination attempt the next day. Larry leaves Boulder with Stu, Ralph, and Glen when Mother Abagail instructs them to go to Las Vegas. Larry leads the party after Stu breaks his leg en route to Las Vegas, where he and Ralph eventually die from the nuclear explosion caused by Trashcan Man.
Lloyd Henreid (Miguel Ferrer) - In the beginning of the novel Lloyd is awaiting trial in prison in Phoenix for his part in a crime spree, along with Andrew "Poke" Freeman, that went across Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico resulting in six murders and Freeman's death. Once the plague hits, people at his prison start dying, including the guards. Lloyd is forgotten in his cell and eventually becomes the sole survivor. Lloyd is able to save himself by eating food he has saved, along with rats, roaches, and the leg of a dead cell mate. He is found by Randall Flagg, who makes him his second in command of his operations in Las Vegas. Lloyd, oddly enough, finds himself feeling more intelligent and able than he thought he was, running several of the day to day items in Vegas and even overseeing operations at a military base. Lloyd is fiercely loyal to Flagg and though his faith in him is at times tested and knowing of his boss' real identity, he never betrays or leave him. However, Lloyd does understand others' desires to leave Flagg's kingdom. Lloyd is eventually killed by the nuclear explosion caused by the Trashcan Man's atomic warhead.
Harold Lauder (Corin Nemec) - Harold is a 16 year old kid who lives in Ogunquit, Maine. He is the brother of Fran Goldsmith's best friend Amy Lauder and is an outcast in his local high school. Harold doesn't help matters for himself by being rather obnoxious and uppity. A talented writer, he writes on a manual typewriter. After the superflu hits the world, it wipes out the entire population of Ogunquit except for Fran and Harold. The two decide to head to the Stovington Plague Center in Vermont, leaving their directions on the roof of a barn. Harold falls in love with Fran and sees himself as her protector of sorts. When they meet Stuart Redman, Harold refuses to allow him to join, even going so far as to attempt to shoot Stu, but after a conversation in which Stu tells him he just wants to come along, Harold relents. After the facility proves to be a disappointment, the survivors head to Nebraska to join Mother Abagail, picking up more survivors along the way. Harold attempts to profess his love for Frannie, only to be shot down. Fran later becomes involved with Stu, and Harold, jealous, begins to plan for his revenge. He has a brief moment of sanity when he realizes he could create a new life for himself in this world, but rejects it due to his humiliations in the past. Harold quickly becomes a respected and well thought of member of the Boulder Community. Often, his ideas are used to better the community. However, Harold is secretly planning his revenge on Stu and nearly kills him on a scouting trip. When Nadine Cross makes his acquaintance, Harold gives into Flagg's wishes and creates a bomb to destroy the Free Zone Committee. After detonation, Harold and Nadine make their way to Las Vegas. However, Flagg, distrusting Harold because of his betrayal, attempts to kill Harold in an accident. He nearly succeeds, but Harold remains alive and would have killed Nadine had it not been for the Dark Man's intervention. Harold realizes the error of his ways and apologizes in his goodbye letter, stating that he was misled. Knowing he is dying, Harold commits suicide by shooting himself in the head. His body is later found by Stu, Larry, Glen, and Ralph. He isn't buried, but the pistol is removed from his mouth. Stu later states that Harold's actions, in the end, were a waste not only of Nick and Susan, but of himself as well.
Glen Bateman (Ray Walston) - A college professor who went into retirement when the superflu hit, Glen met Stu at Glen's home in Attleboro, Massachusetts. A senior citizen whose handicap is arthritis, the wise Bateman is often on hand to dispense advice to his young friend. A loyal friend, Bateman much like Stu also experiences dreams of Mother Abigal, and joins Stu, Frannie and Harold on their journey to meet her. Bateman becomes part of the reform committee in Boulder, Colorado. He also becomes one of the four men who must meet Randall Flagg in Las Vegas. But as Stu falls by the wayside, Glen along with Larry and Ralph go to Las Vegas and are detained by Flagg's forces. Glen dies at the hand of Henreid, but not before maintaining his loyalty to Mother Abigal and the committee, as Flagg offers him his freedom.
The Trashcan Man (Matt Frewer) - Better known as the Trashcan Man, Donald Merwin Elbert is a pyromaniac and often found himself in trouble as a youth due to his fixation on fire. He was treated with shock treaments at an institution in Terre Haute, IN, before being incarcerated for arson as a teenager. Trash leaves prison during a work detail (carrying plague victims' bodies from prison cells) and returns home. Trash indulges his ambition of setting cities afire, destroying the city of Gary, IN, and very nearly killing himself in the process, but abandons it to join Randall Flagg. Trash briefly hooks up with a street hood named The Kid, but when The Kid threatens not only to kill Trash, but to overthrow the Dark Man, Flagg sends wolves to save him. Trash reaches Las Vegas and is put in command of searching for weapons in the desert and assisting in arming the fighter jets at Indian Springs Air Force Base. Trash does well until, when being teased by fellow workers, a comment causes him to flash back to his troubled youth. Trash destroys several trucks and kills the most experienced pilots and flees into the desert. Overcome with anguish over his actions, Trash makes an attempt at redemption by transporting a nuclear warhead across the desert, coming down with a lethal case of radiation sickness in the process. Trash is killed when the hand of God descends and activates the warhead, destroying Las Vegas and everyone living in it.
Susan Stern (Cynthia Garris) - Part of a harem, Susan is one of the women Stu rescues. Sue becomes a member of the original Boulder Free Zone Committee and recruits fellow captive Dayna Jurgens to spy out west. She is killed by Harold Lauder's bomb in Ralph Brentner's home.
Nadine Cross (Laura San Giacomo) - A teacher at a private school, Nadine for years has remained a virgin until she can one day unite with the Dark Man, Randall Flagg. Upon the outbreak of the superflu, Nadine finds a young boy bitten by a rat. He has regressed to almost a savage state of mind, but when Nadine heals him, he trusts her and listens to her. She does not know his name, so calls him Joe. Nadine later meets Larry Underwood when Joe finds him sleeping. Joe is working up the courage to kill Larry, but Nadine stops him. The pair follows Larry to Maine, where Joe finally tries to kill Larry, only to be easily overpowered. After conversing with Larry, they agree to join forces and find other survivors. Nadine follows Larry across the country, but rejects his advances. She is attracted to Larry, but still committed to Flagg. Upon arriving in Boulder, Nadine begins not only to lose her sanity, but also Joe, who's real name is Leo Rockway. Nadine attempts to reconcile with Larry, but he rejects her, as he is now firmly committed to Lucy Swann. Now realizing that she has no choice but to accept her destiny, Nadine receives instructions from Flagg via a Ouijia Board. She seduces Harold Lauder and uses him to attempt to assassinate the committee, a plot that almost succeeded if not for the return of Mother Abagail. Nadine travels west with Harold and chooses to have Harold die in a motorcycle accident rather than have Flagg drive him insane. Nadine is nearly killed when Harold survives the accident and Flagg himself begins to wonder if she secretly wants to die. Nadine finally makes her way to Flagg, where she discovers that she is actually disgusted with the Dark Man. Upon meeting Flagg in the desert she is raped, going insane in the process. Now pregnant with Flagg's son, she enters a catatonic state. Nadine recovers her sanity nearly a week later, and goads Flagg into throwing her off the balcony of the MGM Grand, dying from the impact of the fall, shortly before reminding Flagg of his inevitable downfall.
Dayna Jergens (Kellie Overbey) - One of the women who Stu's party rescues from the harem. While she originally seems to display some romantic interest in Stu Redman, this interest never comes to fruition. In Boulder for a short period of time, she is recruited by fellow former captive Sue Stern to spy out west. She works with a light crew in Las Vegas and sleeps with Lloyd Henreid as part of her ploy to obtain information. She is exposed by Randall Flagg and commits suicide during the interrogation to protect the identity of the third Free Zone spy. Her body is desecrated by Flagg and later burned outside of Las Vegas.
Lucy Swann (Bridgit Ryan) - The first survivor encountered by Larry Underwood's party, Lucy has survived the mania watching her husband and daughter die. Lucy joins the party on their route to the Stovington Plague Center. She becomes romatically involved with Larry, a feeling that she feels is not shared because of Larry's attraction to Nadine Cross. However, when forced to make a decision, Larry chooses to remain with Lucy, much to her surprise. Lucy stands by Larry through his tenure as a member of the Free Zone Committee and serves as a devoted wife and mother to Leo Rockway. Unlike Fran Goldsmith, Lucy supports Larry's decision to go west to confront Randall Flagg. Lucy takes care of Frannie during Stu's absence and at the end of the book, she gives birth to twins.
Chad Norris (Leo Geter) - Once a undertaker's assistant, Norris becomes head of the Burial Committee in the Boulder Free Zone. He is killed by Harold Lauder's bomb in Ralph Bretner's home.
Charles D. Campion (Ray McKinnon) - A soldier stationed out in the Nevada desert, Campion is the original carrier of the superflu. On duty the night the virus escapes the complex, he manages to flee before the lockdown of the base. He takes his family and runs, but the flu finally kills him outside of Arnette, TX, unleashing the events of the story.
The Kid - The Kid is a thug from Louisiana who meets the Trashcan Man en route to Las Vegas. He drives a souped up hot rod and has a fanatical love of Coors beer. However, Trash quickly discovers that The Kid is also ambitious and easily angered, as he is nearly killed when he spills a can of beer on the carpet. After becoming monumentally drunk, The Kid forces Trash into giving him a handjob while sodomizing him with a pistol. The Kid drives Trash onward until reaching the Eisenhower Tunnel, where he is trapped in an Austin and surrounded by wolves sent by Flagg. The Kid survives for several days until, facing starvation, he jumps out of the car and fights the wolves, strangling one as he dies. His body is later found by Stu, Larry, Glen, and Ralph. Larry, upon seeing the scene, thereafter refers to him the Wolfman. The Kid appears only in the expanded edition of the Stand.
Elder - A fanatical government agent, Elder attempts to murder Stu Redman in the final government coverup to hide their own involvement in the dispersal of the superflu. Elder is overpowered by Stu and is killed with his own handgun. His body is later somewhat desecrated by Glen Bateman. Elder does not appear in the TV miniseries, the function of the character instead being carried out by one of the Stovington Center doctors, the loathsome Dr. Dietz (Sherman Howard), who eventually becomes insane by the illness.
Peter Goldsmith-Redman - Fran's baby is delivered in January and his birth causes celebration in the Free Zone. However, he soon falls ill with the superflu and is regarded as good as dead. However, because of his partial immunity passed on from his mother, Peter becomes the first living being to successfully beat the virus and recover.
Jesse Rider - The father of Fran Goldsmith's baby, Jess is portrayed as a man with little responsibility and more concerned over his own appearance. Though it is not mentioned in the book, it is assumed that he is killed by the superflu. It is said, however, that the baby considerably resembles him.
References
The song by The Alarm of the same name is based on this book. The book is also the basis for the song "Among the Living" by the thrash metal band Anthrax. It is also the basis for the song "Beg for the Plague" by the alternative rock music band Political Statement.Trivia
- The Stand bears a striking resemblance to the 1975-1977 BBC series Survivors, and some fans of the latter believe it influenced King's story.
- The Stand is closely related to another of Stephen King's works, The Dark Tower series. Flagg and other elements of The Stand appear in the Dark Tower books. Flagg also appears as an evil wizard in the fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon, which also takes place in the world of the Dark Tower series.
- King has said that he nearly abandoned The Stand due to an epic case of writer's block. Eventually, he reached the conclusion that the heroes were becoming too complacent, and that they were beginning to repeat all the same mistakes of their old society. As an attempt to solve this, he constructed the part of the storyline where Harold and Nadine create a bomb which explodes in a Free Zone committee meeting, killing Nick Andros, Chad Norris, and Susan Stern. Later, Mother Abigail explains on her deathbed that God permitted the bomb to take place, because He was dissatisfied with the heroes' focus on petty politics, and not on the ultimate quest of destroying Flagg. When telling this story, King sardonically observed that the bomb saved the book, and that he only had to kill half of the core cast in order to do this.
- King makes reference to George Orwell's apocalyptic future of 1984 by referring to almost all past dates as happening in the year 1984. (for example always spreads rumors about how it got cold early in the year in Boulder in 1984).
- Rod Glenn's debut novel, The King of America, was in part influenced by The Stand and the Dark Tower series.
- Stephen King's short story Children of the Corn is referenced in the novel as Stu and Nick's dreams.
- Early in the book, there is a reference to Cujo on a bulletin board in Project Blue's headquarters, stating that one of the employees was selling "a big, friendly Saint Bernard."
- The producers of the ABC Television Series Lost have stated that The Stand has greatly influenced the TV series."
External links
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