The Return of Nurse Ratched

I was talking today on the phone with a great friend. He knew of my passion for all things Ken Kesey. He asked if I’d heard of a new streaming show slated for a September release. It’s called Ratched. It’s about Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the story begins in the state hospital some 20 years before she meets McMurphy and has him lobotomized. Apparently this Nurse Ratched likes to drink and fuck and torture the mental patients.

I thought my friend was joking. He was not. He sent me a link. I read. You can too.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7423538/reference

I am still in shock. I don’t know what to think. From what I can tell from the trailer and promo stills, they’ve gone for the movie look, not the novel. Most readers probably don’t recall that in the book, Nurse Ratched has flowing red hair, huge breasts and long red fingernails. I bet the creator of the new show has never read the novel, just seen the movie.

I read that Michael Douglas is one of the producers. He was one of the original producers of the 1975 movie. I surmise he retained the rights to the book and perhaps the characters or maybe negotiated a new deal with the Kesey family. Who knows, but I sure would like to know.

Will I watch the show? I don’t know. It will probably be another bloated streaming extravaganza with 200 back stories for phony depth. A blurb on the link says the creator envisions an episode where Ratched meets up with McMurphy in a replay of that epic literary and cinematic battle. Like I said, I don’t know what to think. Your thoughts? I welcome them.