The small town of Haven becomes a hot-bed of inventions all run by a strange green power device. The whole town is digging something up in the woods, and only an alcoholic poet can discover ... Read allThe small town of Haven becomes a hot-bed of inventions all run by a strange green power device. The whole town is digging something up in the woods, and only an alcoholic poet can discover the secret of the Tommyknockers.The small town of Haven becomes a hot-bed of inventions all run by a strange green power device. The whole town is digging something up in the woods, and only an alcoholic poet can discover the secret of the Tommyknockers.
- Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
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Did you know
- TriviaThe character of Becka Paulson and her adulterous husband Joe were from an original short story by Stephen King called "The Revelations of Becka Paulson." King liked the story so much he wound up writing it into the novel The Tommyknockers. The short story itself would later be filmed for an episode of the 90's updating of The Outer Limits tv series with Catherine O'Hara in the role of Becka.
- GoofsThe Nutcracker doll's knife has blood on it before it stabs Ruth.
- Quotes
Roberta 'Bobbi' Anderson: [to Gard] It wasn't the plate that kept them out. It was you.
- Alternate versionsAfter the initial television broadcast, Vidmark released a cut version of the miniseries for home video. This version ran for 120 minutes, cutting out several characters and even a few sub-plots (including the romance between Ruth and Butch).
- ConnectionsFeatured in Biography: Stephen King: Fear, Fame and Fortune (2000)
- SoundtracksThe Star-Spangled Banner
(uncredited)
Music by John Stafford Smith
Lyrics by Francis Scott Key
Performed by Joanna Cassidy
Featured review
Initially promising, ultimately very disappointing
Aside from the odd exception, Stephen King has rarely transfered well to the big or small screen, and along comes this little mini-series which is a by-numbers example of what actually gets lost in translation. Firstly: when these novels are adapted for the screen, fundamental elements of the plot are excised or replaced, and this is true of even the better King-flicks ("The Shining" and "Carrie" are just as guilty as pulp trash like "Needful Things" and "Cujo"). "The Tommyknockers" begins as if it's going to buck the trend, establishing the majority of the usual King misfits early on, and actually adds a little suspense by not showing its hand too early - for example, this adaptation does not make clear what's buried out back in Bobbie's farm straight away. But as the town begins to be affected by said item, it's off into it's own world, and toss the novel out the window. Granted, some of the more imaginative gimmicks the township dreams up cannot be translated to screen with the appropriate panache, especially with the meagre budget allocated to this project - but does everything need to look so cheap? Much of the dialogue at best doesn't ring true, at worse stinks. Witness the actually quite good Marg Helgenberger delivering some awful lines ("Gard, let's experience it together!") but in an offhand way that suggests that she's really aware that she's not in a Mamet play, but, Hell, let's make the best of it anyway. Any good points? Well, Joanna Cassidy is always worth watching, but an actress of her class still can't make a thrown together middle-age romance look realistic. Helgenberger and Allyce Beasley come out of it with the least mud sticking. Worst crimes? Jimmy Smits completely miscast, terrible dialogue, cheap effects, complete massacre of the source material, Traci Lords all at sea outside of a John Waters movie or skinflick ... the list goes on.
- mikehellens
- Jul 20, 2000
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