The world is in ruins following the release of man-made virus Project Blue, colloquially called ‘Captain Trips.’ Survivors come together in the wasteland, choosing the path of good or evil.

While on holiday this year I spotted a T-shirt with the text ‘2020: Written by Stephen King’ on it, which pretty much sums up how a lot of us feel about this year of a global pandemic that has heaped so much misery on us all – that it feels like it’s come from the pages of a horror novel. And that’s the environment that Josh (The New Mutants) Boone’s 9-part adaptation of King’s hefty 1978 novel is being released into – a world that is dealing with its own pandemic. Decide yourself if this is awful timing or couldn’t have come at a better time.

Real-world serendipity aside, it’s a great opening to the series, which sits in the shadow of a pretty solid 1994 mini-series which had six hours across four episodes to carry the expanded 1,000 plus pages. Boone’s version has nine hours to achieve the same feat, and while that will allow the prose to better breathe, changes still have to be made. On the basis of this first hour, the changes are sympathetic and necessary for this format and there’s high production values all the way including some surprising big-name guest stars.

James Marsden (X-Men) Stu Redman is our hero, stuck in a containment facility after he helped a sick man and his family. For some reason, he seems to be immune to a super-flu that strikes rapidly and leads to speedy death. We also meet survivors Harold (Owen Teague – It) and Frannie as they make their way to the CDC in Atlanta to search for help. But Harold is a troubled soul, and while Stu and Frannie have positive visions of a force for good – Mother Abagail (Whoopi Goldberg) – Harold is imaging an encounter with a wolf, the demonic Randall Flagg (a briefly glimpsed Alexander Sarsgard, bother of It’s Pennywise, Bill).

Verdict: A strong opener that focuses on the world-building rather than bringing in too many members of the large cast. Even in the time of a real pandemic, there’s plenty of apocalyptic escapism to enjoy in this very extreme take on the collapse of society. 8/10