TV Flix: Stephen King's The Tommyknockers (Part 1)

 A Mini-Series is always two parts, so why not this?  This is The Tommyknockers, a 1993 TV Mini-Series Based on the Book by Mr. King.  Anyone remember this?  We remember It.  We remember The Langoliers (especially the Ending!)  We remember The Stand...and so did someone who had the power to get it Remade this Year.  In honor of that, let's look at the far-less remembered Adaptation.  The Plot is an odd one, even for the famously-quirky Author.  It involves a small Town in Maine (take a shot!) who all turn kind of strange over a short period of time.  Can a Writer with a substance abuse issue (take a shot!) solve the case and save everyone?  Its Director was John Power, an Australian Director without much of a notable Resume...if you don't watch Australian TV.  For all I know, he was huge there.  Its Writer was Lawrence (not Larry) Cohen, who also was a Writer on It and Carrie.  Apparently he also tried to turn Carrie into a Broadway Musical- no joke!  Since we're dealing with Part 1 here, enjoy the Miniseries Slog (TM).  To find out how it all starts, read on...

Jimmy Smits is a Writer (who's definitely not a King Proxy here) who has a drinking problem.

I mean, this is less than a Decade after King did so much cocaine that he can't remember Directing Maximum Overdrive (his words), so...

His lady- Marg Helgenberger- has plenty of time while he's away, finding a strange thing in the Woods near her house.

It makes their dog get its eyesight back...but also go a little crazy.

The first 1/3 of this is just setting up all of the Characters.  

Let me sum it up...

- Two Cops who know that they both love each other, but won't act

- A family with two kids trying to stay afloat.

- The Grandpa who just wants his Grandkids to believe in magic.

- A lady Cop who loves her Husband...but he loves his new Boss instead.

I saved you at least 25 minutes there.

Everyone who is around the strange objects buried in the Woods begins to act more manic and can suddenly make strange inventions.

Can you imagine if they all submitted to Shark Tank at the same time?!?

The strange behavior from everyone- save Smits- escalates to the point where the scorned Wife finally listens to the voices...from her Television that tell her to kill her Husband.

Okay, you win- TV is bad for you!

It all comes to a head when the older Son does a magic trick to make things disappear and reappear.

When he does it to his Brother, he can't make him return (with the device he was told how to build by 'the voices.')

Will they find him?  Will we learn what's up with the green light?
Will the silly title make sense in a meaningful way?

To find out, watch and read Part 2...

Alot of Film to get through before much happens.  The Tommyknockers is definitely an odd little Story.  Most of King's works have a fairly obvious hook.  You have the rising tension of how things are going in Carrie.  You have the creeps and scares of It.  You have the crazy cataclysm of The Stand.  Here...you get people acting weird, making inventions and green lights.  In Part 2, they start losing teeth like they're on Meth- fun!  In case it isn't clear yet, this whole thing is some sort of 'subtle' metaphor for substance abuse.  I mean, it would be if it wasn't ALSO about that.  It's like telling me that Moby Dick is a Metaphor about how the White Whale is yadda yadda...when there's also a White Whale in the Story.  As you can see, I'm an English Major and not a Literary Major.  The big problem here is just how long you have to wait for any payoff.  In It, you got weird moments and scares throughout.  In Carrie, you get the actions of the bullies and hints at their reprisal.  Hell, the TV Movie/Pilot Version even had Carrie somehow pull debris from out of orbit in the first part.  No, I'm not joking- it's in the Book.  It's not terrible- it just isn't terribly-interesting either.  It thankfully gets somewhere kind of interesting at the end, so see how that is next.  In the meantime, here's a look at how 2020 has made us all feel at times...

Next time, I cover Part 2 before all of my Holiday stuff begins.  It's a King Story, so prepare for a silly and likely disappointing Third Act.  Stay tuned...