The Stand: The Different Versions of Stephen King's Story Explained The Stand limited series debuts on the streaming platform on Thursday, December 24th and if the series premiere episode is any indicator, many Stephen King fans will notice some differences between the master of horror's novel and this latest, live-action telling of the dystopian tale which sees a showdown between good and evil among the survivors of a horrific global pandemic. But while any adaptation prompts comparison between the printed page and its big or small screen offspring, when it comes to The Stand there isn't a direct path or even just one set volume to compare to. King's novel is a unique and somewhat complicated entity itself, one that has seen more than one iteration since its initial publication in 1978 -- as well as a couple of other adaptations as well. So, ahead of Thursday night's episode, "Pocket Savior", here's a breakdown of the various versions of what is arguably King's greatest masterpiece.