The BBC Omnibus programme reported on the prolific American writer Stephen King in 1999, just a few months before his life-threatening encounter with a van which left him hospitalised. King is a reluctant interviewee by his own admission, but opens up nicely to director David Stewart and comes across as being a genuinely nice fellow. This of course totally goes against the horrific images he creates in the minds of his readers.
Contributions from family friends in his home state of Maine confirm him a great family man, but it is in the show's reflections of his early life which begin to shed light on his rich and strange imagination. King's father left he and his mother when he was young, and his former dependance on drink and drugs means that he can't remember writing his early novels such as The Tommyknockers at all.
King's recollections on his childhood throw light on his macabre tales; the time a friend jumped into a leach-infested river (The Body, filmed as Stand By Me), or the schoolmate with an overbearingly religious mother (Carrie).
The programme does not reflect on King's writing process a great deal, but instead provides great insight into this landmark American writer.
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TV is a series of articles reflecting on TV programmes old and new on the subject of writing and writers. Let us know in the comments about your favourites.
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