LOVED the book. I watched Season 1 of the series and I liked it, but not enough to watch the next seasons yet. I'm sure I will but have been very busy is all. I think we set high standards for Mr. King sometimes and not every single thing he authorizes his name to be attached to (or that he creates for that matter...don't hate me for saying that!!!) is going to be the new standard for all to measure against.
That being said, I think they forced some things into an attempt to stay close to the book plotlines, but not match exactly which shortens the ability to develop the characters and other important "vested" emotions as you need to spend time doing story development. If they were going to follow the book exactly then they could have spent more time on development by way of the visual medium of video/tv (does anything really measure up to the vision in your head from the book though ever?) which is different than character/story development in literature.
It's a tough standard to hit and I think one of the reasons that the more critically acclaimed movies that Stephen King has put out over the years do deserve to be the standard to compare against. These movies are often more simple in their...I guess you'd call it..."otherworldliness" than ones that like Under the Dome and similar ilk.
Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Stand By Me, Misery, The Shining and even Christine in its simplicity of otherworldliness and how it affects those around the protagonists. There are many more examples of good ones. Apt Pupil, Salem's Lot (original..sorry Rob Lowe but tough shoes to fill), etc...come to mind.
With less successful movies/shows, where they tried to push that envelop and the "movie" story adapted to keep up with the plots/critters within his books, then the standards set by the visions in our own minds would seem to me to necessitate following the book as closely as possible for greater development of the characters and emotional investment.
In the case of the movies named above, most followed the story or at least theme of the story, very closely and any variance (or transgression might be a better word with the constant readers reading this right now..haha!) was minimal or easy to adapt to b/c the otherworldliness was easy to grasp and therefore enabled better story/character development in the medium of a movie/TV show.
Graveyard Shift, Riding the Bullet, Lawnmower Man, Night Flyer and Under the Dome seemed like they struggled a bit and I don't think they followed the books that were their respective catalysts as closely as the more successful movie adaptations above.
Tarantino offers a great example of the types of movies that seem to hit for Stephen King. Tarantino will take you on a journey for 3 hours in one sitting and much of it will be conversation that gets you inside the characters and, though the plots can be twisted and crazy, you follow along every step learning more through the dialogue and the sheer minutia of character interactions. I think the best Stephen King movies all developed the characters/plotlines as close to his vision outlined in his book and these same movies used conversation and more of the details of King himself and that is what Tarantino pushed out of his mind and onto his film. Stephen King is so thorough and detailed and the picture he paints and that I paint when reading are never going to be hit by a movie, but the people and characters if developed can outshine the otherworldliness and THAT is what makes a great movie/show. Each of the great movies mentioned above has a clear "hero" and you KNOW them. You KNOW the struggle within Jack in The Shining or Arnie in Christine. You live it while watching the movie.
Maybe I'm off base, but there is so much going on with the "why's" of the Dome, that trying to incorporate mini plots from show to show or season to season that don't mirror the book blow by blow is just asking for trouble. The characters are so diluted that it's hard to identify with them or maybe empathize is a better word for it.
I know I will definitely watch the entire run of shows for Under the Dome by way of reruns or buying the series online, but not in real time as they have come out after Season 1. Still a good show!
Crap, I type fast. Sorry about all of the blabbering. haha!