'11/22/63' Review

I have caved. I gave in. I waved the white flag. I surrendered. I’m a Frenchman.

I have tried it before and I didn’t care for it.

But since they added the new series ‘11/22/63’, I signed back up with Hulu.

So let’s get to that… A quick review of ‘11/22/63’

Based on the 2011 novel by Stephen King, ‘11/22/63’ is a new limited series on Hulu.

Jake Epping (James Franco) is a much happier teacher than portrayed on most television programs. He finds out that Al Templeton (Chris Cooper), owner of a local diner, has a fantastical secret. A secret that requires Epping to venture into a closet located in the diner.

Epping finds himself dropped into the same place back in 1960. And when he transports back to present day, he’s only been gone a few seconds.

A sick with cancer Templeton spills his entire can of beans to Epping. He made it his mission to save John F. Kennedy from being assassinated in Dallas. He presented Epping all he needed to get the job done. The facts, the theories, and money-making know how in sports betting. Templeton had to give up on his plan since cancer will take him before getting the job done.

Epping, of course, finds the whole idea insane and doesn’t take up Al’s plan to thwart the assassination. That is until he finds Templeton the next morning dead.

So off Epping goes on the trail to find Lee Harvey Oswald.

Hulu is different than other streamers. They will release this series over 8 weeks.

The first installment clicked in at less than one hour and twenty minutes. But it certainly didn’t feel that long.

The pilot moved quickly with moments of the usual brand of King humor. And be sure to look for the Easter Eggs. Here's a pic that I snapped from my television.

‘11/22/63’ is beautifully shot and works on many different “butterfly effect” theories.

“If you f*#k with time, time will f*#k with you”

“You don’t belong here”

Not to giveaway too much, but time is a very real antagonist for Epping. Time is the unseen monster that doesn’t like change. And that will definitely add some intriguing scenarios during the course of this limited series I’m sure.

I found it to be riveting and a pleasure to watch. The first episode left me wanting more. And I’m being threatened by a friend to stop watching now and begin reading the book.

I’ll try it on Amazon Audible, while I’m at work. Or something like that.

Now back to Hulu…

I signed up for a free week of Hulu back when I got my Roku device. I felt like the commercials were too much. And I couldn’t watch ‘Green Acres’ (amazed that they actually had it) on my devices. It was only allowed to be viewed online. I cancelled before the week was up.

On this past Sunday, I resigned with them for the series ‘11/22/63’. I had a pleasurable experience even with the commercials. For one thing, I found that I can now watch seasons 4 – 6 of ‘Green Acres’ on my streaming devices!

Those haven’t been released on DVD and as far as I know, there are no plans to release them on DVD. So that was WONDERFUL to see!

I also found ‘WKRP In Cincinnati’ (the syndicated versions, but I’ll take them), ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’, ‘Taxi’, and a slew of other older television shows worth revisiting.

I’m also toying with the idea of “cutting the cord”, so we’ll see if it fits my needs for that.