The Tommyknockers

The Tommyknockers is a 1993 television miniseries, based on the novel The Tommyknockers by Stephen King. It was directed by John Power, and starred Marg Helgenberger and Jimmy Smits in the two lead roles.

Plot

The plot of the miniseries follows fairly closely to the spirit of King's original novel. Due to length, certain elements obviously needed to be condensed or left out entirely. The miniseries is set in the fictional town of Haven, Maine. The events of the story begin when Bobbi Anderson (Helgenberger) stumbles in the woods behind her house, and begins excavating the object that she tripped over. This turns out to be an alien spacecraft, which causes the townspeople to undergo a series of changes as it is unearthed. Their appearance changes, as they lose their teeth and their skin takes on a deathly pallor. They are also struck with wondrous ideas, creating many strange and sometimes deadly devices.

Bobbi's best friend, Jim 'Gard' Gardner (Smits) is relatively impervious to the changes taking place in the town, as a result of a large steel plate in his head, a souvenir of a skiing accident. As the townspeople's transformation continues, Gard sees what is going on, and vows to find a way to stop it. After the ship has been excavated and the Tommyknockers themselves have been revealed, Gardner finds his way on to the ship. Powered by his mind, Gardner reactivates the ship and flies it away, killing himself in the process. In major departures from the novel, Gard isn't forced to kill an insane Bobbi, and the townspeople begin to revert back to their original selves after the link to the ship has been severed.

Cast

External links

• The Tommyknockers at the Internet Movie Database