Review: “The Running Man” (Stephen King) and “The Running Man” (Paul Michael Glaser)

PODCAST:

Listen to the podcast here (click to play/right click and select “save target as” to download):

S1E3 – The Running Man (book & movie) *

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

Ryan: 3 Stars “I would definitely recommend this story for those who don’t know King outside horror…”

Wilk: 5 Stars “If you do not like this book you should start scrap booking or join a bowling league…”

Beam: 5 Stars “(no written review)”

Rick (guest): 4 Stars “Irony is thicker than his moussed hair as RD’s weasel character is a mirror to his real tv persona…”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

SUBJECT MATTER:

“The Running Man” By: Stephen King

Book: “The Running Man” by Stephen King

“In the year 2025, the best men don’t run for President, they run for their lives….

Ben Richards is out of work and out of luck. His eighteen-month-old daughter is sick, and neither Ben nor his wife can afford to take her to a doctor. For a man with no cash and no hope from the poor side of town, there’s only one thing to do: become a contestant on one of the Network’s Games, shows where you can win more money than you’ve ever dreamed of—or die trying. Now, Ben’s going prime-time on the Network’s highest-rated viewer participation show. And he’s about to become prey for the masses….

With an introduction by the author, “The Importance of Being Bachman”” (from Amazon.com)

*** * ***

“The Running Man” By: Paul Michael Glaser

Movie: “The Running Man” by Paul Michael Glaser (Arnold Schwarzenegger)

“A wrongly-convicted man must try to survive a public execution gauntlet staged as a TV game show.” (from Amazon.com)

WILK’S SHOW NOTES:

The third episode of NDIOS involved a discussion of Stephen King’s “The Running Man” as well as a series of inside jokes, derision, and shared contempt.

For no reason whatsoever there was a guest panelist, Richard (Rick) Mehl. He added an interesting dynamic to the show in that he was not Ryan, Wilk, or Beam, and he too had opinions as well as insulting comments to make.

Overall the show focused on the book by King. The book is completely different then the movie and the panelists went over the plot at length. Their discussions ultimately lead to post show discussions about how they need to better organize the podcast. To date nothing has changed and the podcast planning and editing seem to take an inordinate amount of time out of the lives of the hosts. It is presumed that the people listening and reading this do not care. Perhaps the idea that this is causing a large toll on both our personal and professional lives  will enhance our fans enjoyment of the show (This show literally ended with a bloody nose – click for photo). We can only hope.

Ryan made a point to stay focused by ignoring whatever Wilk said if he thought it was off topic. This only aggravated Wilk, who later wrote about the experience in a third person format. As a result, there were a lot of obscene words and tangents worked into the broadcast. At one point the discussion drifted to Stephen King’s book on writing (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft) and it was all Wilk could do to not punch Ryan in the mouth. There is nothing worse than hearing an aspiring writer talk about writing, except to listen to them talk about Stephen King’s book on writing. Sadly, that moment did happen in this podcast.

Overall, all the panelists liked the book. Wilk gave it five stars, saying that it was a “punk rock” literary masterpiece. On the other end of the spectrum Ryan said it was “very good” but it was easy to tell it was written in a rush. Jim and Rick seemed to agree with both of these points of view.

The movie “The Running Man” was met with poor reviews by everyone but Wilk. This was surprising to Wilk, who considers this a classic “Arnold” movie. But, according to guest host Rick, even “Arnold” was upset with the film. A broader discussion of what movies they all liked starring Arnold Schwarzenegger was entered into briefly.

Overall tempers flared at key moments and the podcast was cut mercifully short at 45 minutes so Wilk could go watch Game of Thrones. Until next time, spray some deodorant in your boxers because there is no deodorant in outer space!

 – Wilk

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that this episode of NDIOS contains a brief bio by Wilk of director Paul Michael Glaser, which was later confirmed to be complete fabrication (as Wilk is wont to do from time to time). Post show Wilk clarified that he was providing a “satire” of a biography, and after the credits Wilk does apologize to any listeners that may be confused. NDIOS wishes to express that the views and opinions of Wilk are completely his own and in no way reflect the views of the other cohosts and guests, nor did they express the views of NDIOS. Our sincerest apology for any confusion which Wilk’s absurdly false comments might have caused.