TV-GPS: DERRY, MAINE

ARTHUR DALES:

"Everything weird ends up in Florida."

'The X-Files'

That's not exactly true anymore, Mr. Dales.....

The setting for the movie "It" is Derry, Maine, not unfamiliar a town to those with only a passing acquaintance with Stephen King's work, and it is a multiversal location - found in books, movies, and Toobworld.

From Wikipedia:

Derry is a fictional town and a part of Stephen King's fictional Maine topography. Derry has served as the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. Derry first appeared in King's 1981 short story "The Bird and the Album" and has reappeared as late as his 2011 novel "11/22/63" (see list below). Derry is said to be near Bangor, but King has acknowledged that Derry is actually his portrayal of Bangor.  A map on King's official website, though, places Derry in the vicinity of the town of Etna.

The mini-series of 'It' exists in Earth Prime-Time, unlike some other TV adaptations of King's stories.  ('The Stand' is the O'Bvious exclusion.  It had to go to its own Toobworld.)  So there is the anchor for Derry's existence in Toobworld and theoretically it should be a location which can be referenced by other TV shows.

And guess what?  They have!

In "Mr. Scratch", the April 22, 2015 episode of Criminal Minds, Derry, Maine is mentioned as the scene of a previous crime.  ("Mr. Scratch" is the twenty-first episode of Season Ten of Criminal Minds.)  One of the unsub's murders by proxy occurred in Derry, Maine, a fictional town created by Stephen King.

"Larry Merrin's from Topeka; Christine McNeil is from Roswell, Georgia; Daniel Karras is from Derry, Maine."*

In "Love Boat", the 4th episode of season 14, that aired on October 11, 2016 of 'NCIS', Quinn asked David Kemmons (cousin of the murdered sailor) where he's from in Maine.  Kemmons answered "Derry." 

At least three of the novels which were adapted for television - "The Tommyknockers", "11/22/63". and "Storm of the Century" - at the very least mentioned Derry.  But I can't say whether or not it also happened in the televersions of those books.  

Maine in general seems to be the focal point for a lot of weird bleep that goes down in Toobworld, counterpoint to its Southern cousin, Florida.  And it's not just from Stephen King (although he also added Chester's Mill and its dome):

COLLINSPORT

'Dark Shadows'

'HAVEN'

LONDON FLATS

'The Twilight Zone' - "Midnight Call"

STORYBROOK

'Once Upon A Time'

CABOT COVE

'Murder, She Wrote'

CRABAPPLE COVE

'M*A*S*H'

And the coastal inn where Dr. Frankenstein's monster seen in 'Struck By Lightning'.

Perhaps at least with his locations, it could be that Stephen King might be compared to HP Lovecraft in how he shares his creations.

BCnU!