King of the Dark Episode 4: Different Seasons
Welcome to Episode 4 of King of the Dark, our ongoing weekly series of excursions into the parallel universe that is the world of author Stephen King. Every week Bill Tipper, Liz Braswell and Louis Peitzman tour some of Stephen King's most astounding creations, moving in a not-quite-straight line from his early bestsellers like Carrie and The Shining, through the 1980s and 1990s and right up to the present day. For today's episode, we're talking about King's 1982 collection of four novellas, Different Seasons. If that title doesn't ring a bell, consider that three out of the four were adapted as feature films: "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" became the Academy Award-nominated 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption. "The Body" became Rob Reiner's 1986 film Stand By Me, starring a young River Pheonix and Will Wheaton. And "Apt Pupil" was adapted into a dark suspense film of the same name featuring Sir Ian MacKellan. Different Seasons might be one of King's less well known titles — but its stories have proved as enduring as any of his books. Discussed in today’s episode: Men who have to lie to their wives, what makes a good yarn, the word “gooshy,” and a pizza-related apology.