The Tommyknockers (1993) (TV)

Director:

John Power

Writers (WGA):

Lawrence D. Cohen (teleplay)
Stephen King (novel)

Release Date:

9 May 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A chilling thriller from the master of horror.

Plot:

A buried UFO slowly turns local inhabitants into gizmo-building alien mutates.

Plot Keywords:

Invention | UFO | Alcoholic | Small Town | Alien

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Jimmy Smits	...	Jim 'Gard' Gardner
Marg Helgenberger	...	Roberta 'Bobbi' Anderson
John Ashton	...	Trooper Butch Duggan
Allyce Beasley	...	Deputy Becka Paulson
Robert Carradine	...	Bryant Brown
Joanna Cassidy	...	Sheriff Ruth Merrill
Annie Corley	...	Marie Brown
Cliff De Young	...	Joe Paulson (as Cliff DeYoung)
Traci Lords	...	Nancy Voss
E.G. Marshall	...	Ev Hillman
Chuck Henry	...	Chaz Stewart
Leon Woods	...	Hilly Brown
Paul McIver	...	Davey Brown
Yvonne Lawley	...	Mabel Noyes
Bill Johnson	...	Elt Barker

Also Known As:

Stephen King's The Tommyknockers

Runtime:

181 min | 120 min (cut version) | Japan:120 min (video version)

Country:

USA | New Zealand

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:Not Rated (uncut version) | Australia:PG | Germany:16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Company:

Konigsberg/Sanitsky Company

Trivia:

According to author Stephen King The Tommyknockers is an allegory for his own personal battles with substance abuse. The character of Jim Gardener is largely based upon King himself.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tracy goes to open the lipstick laser to use it on Gard, the lipstick appears instead of the green laser, as in all the other scenes when she went to use the laser, there was no lipstick in it.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Tomi Knockers (1994) (V)

Run of the mill miniseries

This is a pretty faithful adaptation of King's novel. Problem is, the novel was written during King's "Nothing at all works" period.

The simple fact of the matter is, King cannot write satisfactory Sci Fi. He has tried a few times now and it just isn't his strength. Therefore, the plot is pretty straightforward - evil aliens attempting to take over humans. There are the usual King reflex maneuvers - the writers, the small town, the haunted woods - but they just don't "Jell" at all.

The acting in the miniseries is uneven. Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger are very good in the main roles. But the rest of the cast puts in less than stellar performances.

The FX are not much more than glowing lights. However, when we get to see the aliens towards the end, they are very well done. Again - not an even mixture. But not bad.

The pacing of the show is another problem - the slowly mounting plot that we are treated to in the first half goes into overdrive to finish the story in the second. If it had been more even on pacing, the mini would have been much more fulfilling. As it is, it feels hurried towards the end. In other words, it needed another night to really finish the story well.

In short, this is not a bad miniseries. Not award worthy, but if you find it for $5 or less, I'd suggest buying it and watching. But don't expect something really special or you will be disappointed.