"Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King" (2006) TV mini-series

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

12 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A television mini-series adaptation of Nightmares and Dreamscapes, Stephen King's collection of short horror stories.

Plot Keywords:

Stephen King | Elvis Presley | Anthology | Elvis | TV Mini-Series

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 5 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Robert Mammone	...	Dr. Peter Jennings / ... (2 episodes, 2006)
Kodi Smit-McPhee	...	Brandon / ... (2 episodes, 2006)

Runtime:

480 min (8 episodes)

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Central City Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Coote Hayes Productions

Trivia:

In the short story "Umney's Last Case", Sam Landry's son falls off a swing and hits his head. In the TV adaptation, his son drowns in the pool.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: In the "Crouch End" segment the Freemans are in a Cab in London heading off to "Crouch End". An Australia Post van can be seen passing them on the street.

Quotes:

Willie Evans: Where's the gun you shot him with?
Keenan: It was self defense.
Willie Evans: Alright, where's the self defense weapon you shot him with?

Movie Connections:

Features "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Breakdown (#1.7)" (1955)

Decent enough adaptations of King's short stories

I can't believe I watched the whole thing...but of course, I didn't do it in one setting. First is one of the best stories of the lot, which is "Battleground", with William Hurt as the main character, in which he's a hit-man besieged by toy soldiers after he's whacked a toy magnate. I was surprised how well this one works, and it's without dialog which makes it even better. Also a standout for me was "Umney's Last Case" in which William H. Macy plays a 30's detective who notices odd changes taking place around him only to find out he's merely a character in a story and that his writer is considering changing places with him. I did like "Autopsy Room Four" although the suspense works much better on paper than it does listening to irritating characters go on endlessly. "You Know They've Got a Hell Of A Band" is a fairly decent adaptation two but the couple is so annoying that they get on your nerves quite quickly. At any rate, there's a few goodies here, and a few middling episodes, but no real clunkers, although I felt like a couple went on far too long. This is apparently an Australian/US collaboration, so it does have a bit of a different slant to it, but still comes off fairly well. 7 out of 10.