This seems VERY similar to Stephen King's Needful Things in which people come to a mysterious man for things they want and he makes them do seemingly malicious tasks in return. Is it supposed to be like that book/movie? Or do they think they're being original?
shareHello,
My name is C.K. Kubasik. I created and wrote "The Booth at the End."
Although I'm very fond of Stephen King's work ("'Salem's Lot" is one of my favorite books ever), I knew nothing about "Needful Things" when I began working out the premise of "The Booth" back in 2007. It wasn't until "The Booth" aired in Italy earlier this year and someone in Italy accused me of stealing the show from Stephen King's "Needful Things" that I went to Wikipedia to read about the book.
Are there similarities? Of course. But are there similarities in "Needful Things" to Richard Matheson's short story "Button, Button." Yes, of course. Are there similarities to "Needful Things" in the tale, "The Monkey's Paw," Nathaniel Hawthorne's story, "Young Goodman Brown," the story of Dr. Faustus and other deal with the devil stories? Absolutely. In fact, I would say that both "Button, Button" and "Young Goodman Brown" influenced me more than any other stories when working out the premise for "The Booth." That said, what I finally came up with is very different than those two stories in significant ways. At least in my view.
Having read the description of "Needful Things" on Wikipedia, I can tell you that though there are similarities, there are also differences. In my view, significant differences -- about how the deals are made, who the man making the deals is, how the characters end up interacting. And, of course, those differences are there because I knew nothing about the book, "Needful Things," but was drawing from my own concerns and interests.
While Stephen King is a very popular and good author, my reading is mostly old. On my coffee table right now, for example, you'll find a book of Icelandic Sagas, Chinese folk tales, and Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. (You'll also find books on Middle-Eastern history and Gene Wolfe's "The Shadow of the Torturer.")
There are a million books published every year -- and more that have been published in the past. It's simply impossible to keep track of them all.
I have no idea if you've had a chance to see the show on Hulu. But if you do take a look, I hope you like it. (I'd prefer to have a good time than a bad time!)
Clearly, however, you love stories and good storytelling (I'm assuming "Needful Things" was a good read!) and I hope that whatever you're watching or reading, you're enjoying it.
Sincerely,
C.K. Kubasik
Wow, that's exceptional of you to post a little about your intent and inspiration for this web series. I find it quite unique infact, and you don't give yourself enough credit.
I am watching this on Hulu at the moment and I would say there is one primary but very significant difference between this tale and the classical 'deal-with-the-devil' tale. It becomes quite clear about half-way through the first episode that there is in fact NOTHING supernatural going on. The Man, while definitely an enigma, is not supernatural. He maintains a ledger on his 'clients' which he is shown consulting when determining how to manipulate another client and what task to assign them with. These choices are obviously based on what he knows of other clients and the acute or oblique inter-relationships of the characters that he has observed.
Sorta like a twisted Pay-it-forward managed by The Man, and less like a deal-with-the-devil...
C.K.,
Thank you for honest discussion. I'm not that well-read and watch very little TV, but enjoy your show quite a lot. Also, I'm happy that someone even remotely associated with the show, let alone the creator, recognizes IMDB as legitimate, fan-based medium. I look forward to seeing some of the threads close and, if the show isn't picked up for future seasons, revelations about the ledger. I wish you great success.
~Robert
Hi Robert,
This first "season" of the show is essentially a five-part mini-series. So next Monday is the last episode, and the stories finish up.
The story of The Man, however, (and the The Book he holds) is a larger story that continues, along with other stories of different characters, in new script that has already been written.
Thanks so much for the kind words and I hope you continue to enjoy the show!
CK
will this also be a web series?
i take it that "the booth" only teases as to who he might be and doesn't offer definitive answers.
i like that it's a character study.
Wow, so there will be more? That is excellent news. I just watched the entire series on Hulu in one sitting, and I thought it was one of the best things I'd seen in a while (and I'm a serial/sci-fi drama junkie, so I watch a lot of it). I can't wait to see more!
I could easily see this becoming Xander Berkeley's signature role if it takes off. He was awesome!
Thanks so much for commenting here by the way!
I thought the Web series was very well written and engrossing --- a welcome change of pace from the usual dramatic fare.
I came away from the series not thinking the man in the booth was the devil, but rather was a man who himself had an assigned task for something he wanted and that assigned task was to listen to people at the booth and offer them different tasks. He has no more understanding of why and how things work than the people he meets. And I think meeting the waitress has something to do with fulfilling his wish.
That is a good theory. I don't believe there is anything paranormal going on. At the end of the day it's a guy in a booth with a journal. It would be an interesting twist for him to be fulfilling some other purpose for some other form of 'guy in a booth with a journal'. My primary problem is that sometimes he seems to enjoy his job and other times not. We know very little about him. Sometimes he appears to enjoy giving seemingly good people terrible tasks, and is ambivalent about granting terrible people easy tasks. I think they need to tighten up his characterization so that it doesn't feel so random and makes him more of a concrete identity. He is the crux of the series afterall.
shareI had the same impression too. The man himself was assigned the task of granting 100 people wishes without using any supernatural forces. His goal is to bring his family back or something similar.
Great series, so unique compared to the rest of the field.
Very nice of you to stop here and offer insight into the motivations and inspirations to your series. I just watched it for the first time tonight and it takes a shift in attention from us as the viewer thanks to the total lack of action. I love that side of your creation. It's a thinker, a thing lacking in many works today. The mind is the best tool for filling in those blanks. Thanks for that treat! ;)
Next, I read Shadow of the Torturer waaaay back around 1982ish when my college roommate bought the paperback. Loved it in a twisted fashion. It was one of those novels where the author asked me to think from a POV where I was not in a comfort zone. I actually took away a lot from it beyond the entertainment of it all. Then again we were also actively reading the John Norman "Gor" series in that same period, well the first 10 or so books anyway...same deal, you had to accept a way of life that was far different.
Now what your stories bring to mind for me is a very humble movie from a few years ago now. The movie is "The Man from Earth" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756683/). John Billingsley who played Dr. Phlox in the series Star Trek: Enterprise (and many other wonderful works but the first place I noticed him really) It is also a one-room mystery thinker sort of work and I enjoyed it immensely. I sense if you like your stories and haven't watched it, you'll like the concepts as well as the very simple production. I put your stories and that movie on my watch many times list for sure. Thanks for it and keep more coming. ;)
I don't think an explanation was even necessary. As you pointed out, there were plenty of literary sources mining the same idea but your spin was unique. I saw the movie "Needful Things and was rather bored with it. I thought "The Booth at the End" was one of the few enthralling television series out there. I certainly hope more episodes are being planned.
Live Full & Die Empty. Tap Your Potential and Realise Your Dreams!
C.K. Kubasik
Thank you, I enjoyed "The booth at the end" very much.
I would like to say that "Needful Things" was one of my favorite Stephen King books, and I did not think that the stories were similar enough to consider it a copycat. "Needful Things" was a good book but the ideas were difficult to convey to the screen because of the personal nature each person's 'thing' meant to them.
Leland Gaunt was also a bit of a con artist, as the items he gave people were really garbage that he 'sold' them on, while "the man" is pretty up front in his dealings with people. Leland was an evil character in the book, but "the man" IMHO is good; or at least an objectively neutral character.
I would perhaps compare him to Jigsaw from "saw" as he made people face the worst of themselves, testing their spiritual resolve.
Like you said, ideas are recycled and put forth in new ways by new authors. If someone says your story is a lot like another, I would say that is a compliment to you. You reached the viewer, and conveyed your message to them in a context they could relate to.
Hello C.K.
I just wanted to comment and say I loved show and watched all 5 episodes back to back on Hulu (I couldn't stop!) and will recommend it to all my friends. You left us with quite a nugget at the end so I look forward to seeing the continuation of this character and what the true nature of his "power" is.
What I believe makes this unique is several things
1) His interest in the details and his reactions to some of the actions these people take on their "quests"
2) The fact that there is no strings attached, the devil would normally grant you your wish which will cause other horrible things to happen. This is much more simple do your task your desire comes true, you already know the consequences it's just up to you if you want to go through with it.
3) *Kinda Spoiler* The connectivity. This is what drew me in, watching the first episode I was like ok this is interesting, when I realized one task was connected to another task I was like i'm hooked!
4) Lastly was the fact and I liked this part was that, while preforming the task guaranteed the result they wanted, not preforming the task could have the same outcome just with no certainty.
Does anyone know when we can expect more episodes? I can't wait!
I just watched the entire season in one sitting on Hulu. Captivating to say the least! There MUST be another season, can't leave on a cliff hanger about the guy getting his daughter back to life.
Although for a moment I also thought this was a Stephen King series, I'm glad to know the truth about who created it and that it was originally thought of by CK Kubasik.
Christopher is right. The concept is not new or unique and the ideas of free-will, cause-and-effect, desire, and morality have all been explored for millennia; The Booth at the end simply combines them all in an amusing way.
I definitely noticed the influence from Button, Button, because in the scene where Jenny introduces Richard to The Man, I half expected Richard to say he doesn’t look like Frank Langella.
[deleted]
C.K. Kubasik, I hate you for killing Willem.
shareI'm watching this now, just started the second season. It is so wonderful. Clients telling The Man what happened are so vivid. I can see it as though we're seeing those scenes play out in places other than the diner. Thank you.
shareI just watched the first two episodes on Hulu. I was also reminded of Needful Things, but I'm a big King fan and almost everything reminds of something else. I also thought of The Monkey's Paw, several Twilight Zone episodes and some awful made-for-tv movie where Ralph Machio goes to some famous crossroads to sell his soul to the devil in exchange for a career in music. The 'deal-with-the-devil' motif is one that is often seen in the fantasy genre.
The show was oddly compelling. Who is this guy? How does he have all this power, yet seem so completely uninvested? Do all the stories intermingle somehow? There seems to be some suggestion of that, with one guy tasked to kill a child and another, to protect him. And there's the story of the nun that longs to hear god's voice again who must become pregnant and another man who needs to become a father to make his deal.
To call this series, after the first two episodes, a rip-off of Needful Things is ridiculous. This isn't a small, New England town where everyone knows each other. They don't find some treasure in a store then bargain for it. We don't even know who this guy is. And if he is to be believed (which he seems to be), he is merely some kind of facilitator, a middleman.
I'm enjoying the show and eagerly await each new piece of the puzzle. I will continue watching.
Roger F. Becker
Makes?
I "make" my daughter brush her teeth, the man offers "deals" that people are free to accept or reject. Also, I see no tricks, lies or malicious intent; the man presents choices then observes without judgment, preference or guidance (at least not yet). The fascination is in the observation. The action (murder, sex..etc) is typical and mundane, the reasoning and the emotion behind those action is what makes the story interesting and yes, original.
At it's heart is human nature. Accusing Kubasik of ripping off King is ridiculous. I can see why you haven't replied, after being called out by the shows creator.
We all have wants and we all wish our problems could be solved. Stories have for centuries (edit: thousands of years, just thinking of Oedipus is a perfect example) explored this concept, One Thousand and One Nights (and not just the story of the genie), the monkey's paw already mentioned, every wish come true story, every story of magic. This series takes this basic concept and creates this intense complex web that is craftily revealed in short conversations. It is poetic in its fluctuations, intentional connections, actions, moral revelations, and resolutions. None of this has anything to do with Needful Things. Needful Things also offers wish fulfillment like the genie in a bottle, and it offers unintended consequences or intentional mischief like so many stories. What I found most fascinating about this series is that it doesn't play tricks on the audience. We get to see the process yet we still don't know the why or how it works. There is a clue in how the people who come to him are weaved together like self fulfilling prophecies.
Even as we see these stories wrapped up we are still in doubt of his own ability, like each of his clients we are left wondering if his limits are in the ordinary. The girl wanted something seemingly impossible, and she ended up not getting it. We see no definitive miracle except maybe the "hearing God" and that's immeasurable. It isn't until that last moment of the end of the season that there's a hint that something really crazy might happen, and it's over. Brilliant.
The tale of making deals with the devil is *much*much* older than Stephen King. And the booth at the end is much better than Kings atrocity.
share...is much better than Kings atrocity.
But that's just your opinion. Stealing material isn't an opinion, it's simply wrong.
shareIf that's what you think, then you clearly haven't watched the show very closely. Whether you enjoy the show or not, there's a lot more going on in it than what you've described.
shareSeriously, it's impossible this day and age to ever be original. The mere fact that someone dies isn't original because people die in movies all the time. There are many times stories will be similar to others and with all the media out there, I doubt you can be too original on anything anymore. To take any known story and spin it in other directions is a wonderful idea and this story is a perfect example. I loved it and I hope it continues.
share This is a great series and I really hate it when people can't recognize something great by shouting rip off. It reminds me of that hack writer who sued the makers of Avatar because his book also included blue aliens with a Pocahontas story in it.
Just because somebody was able to come up with an interesting idea doesn't mean that is the only person in the world who can think of it.
This is a great show because it makes you think and ask questions. Too many shows now are just completely mindless or includes a cliff hanger that doesn't require much thinking. I just hope this doesn't become a series like Lost and does a terrible job of wrapping things up.
The concept of a 'devil' figure offering poisoned deals did not start with Stephen King :)
shareSeemed pretty original to me. At this point in time, everything "truly" original has been exhausted, and the best we can hope for is different combinations of original ideas from the past. Parts of it though bring to mind the episode "Threads" S8e18 of Stargate SG-1, where one of the characters has ascended to a plane of higher existence. He is in a supernatural coffee shop occupied by others who have also ascended. These beings have incredible power to control events, but also place upon themselves a restriction to not interfere in the affairs of humans, which unfortunatly doesn't apply to one of them who has meddled before and made a mistake, which she is forever trying to correct. What jogged my memory is that the interfering ascended waitress in Stargate is always at odds with the others, which is similar to Doris's threat to "tell the others." Just speculating that "the others" are angels/fallen angels/ascended beings of some sort.
shareRip off, no rip off, it's the execution that matters. So who cares. It's great!
shareMost people seem to think that Stephen King, is a god, made the first book about deals with the devil and all other content, which is even very different, is a stolen idea...GUESS WHAT? You are wrong.
As far as the series goes we (the viewer) can not know what the man in the booth is.
He could be from the "Q" collective and looking for the human drive & compassion.
He could be (a minion of) the devil....
He could be a person which made a deal to never feel anything and took over the job from the man/woman before at The Booth at the End.
He could be an angel on earth for own reasons...
What i want to tell you all. We don't know anything.
What do we do?
-He doesnt understand human compassion
-He can see how events unfold by slight manipulation of people.
Sooooo people, before you hold your Stephen King torch up...think about writer before him. Who wrote stories like this and accept that this story is unique in its own way.
First comment. After ~5y i felt like to post a comment and verify my imdb account because the writer of these stories made it very good.