Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Y
July 12, 2006
9-11 p.m.
Wednesday, July 12
TNT
The TV anthology series is all but forgotten, the victim of high production costs and a belief that audiences crave week-to-week familiarity with characters. "Nightmares & Dreamscapes" might not single-handedly save anthologies from extinction, but it likely will produce the kind of ratings that programrs can't ignore.
Drama on basic cable has been thriving this summer. TNT's "The Closer" and "Saved" are audience pleasers and AMC's "Broken Trail" was a phenomenon. There is every reason to believe that "Nightmares & Dreamscapes," with its well-plotted tales of weirdness and irony from ever-popular Stephen King, also will register strong ratings.
First up is "Battleground," an eerily enjoyable tale that plays out with virtually no dialogue. William Hurt stars as a professional thief who, in the opening minutes, kills the owner of a toy factory and makes off with a prized limited edition ballerina. Before long, though, the toys extract their own revenge, turning the robber's plush high-rise penthouse into an arena of surprisingly intense conflict.
Hurt excels as the supremely confident bad guy who gets his comeuppance from the Lilliputian fighters. Director Brian Henson seamlessly integrates scene after scene of special effects to create a sweet-and-sour mood with elements of fantasy and comedy mixed with more somber tastes of retribution and violence. The episode will be shown without commercial interruptions, which should help sustain the unique environment created by Henson.
"Battleground" is adapted from King's 1978 anthology, "Nightshift." Five of the remaining seven episodes, including "Crouch End," which follows "Battleground," came from the 1993 collection of short stories, "Nightmares & Dreamscapes." The other two, "The Road Virus Heads North" (July 26) and "Autopsy Room Four" (Aug. 2) are from 2002's "Everything's Eventual."
"Crouch End," adapted by Kim LeMasters, has more of the horror typically associated with King. The story stars Eion Bailey and Claire Forlani as American newlyweds who disregard the advice of two cab drivers. They venture into a part of London rumored to be a passageway between the worlds of the living and the dead. Mark Haber's direction provides several spooky moments but a few plot points are telegraphed well in advance.
TNT will run the episodes in pairs for four consecutive Sundays instead of the original plan, which was to show a single episode each week. Perhaps doubling up will make this more of an event and, at the same time, protect the series from competition with early bird fall season programs launched in late August.
NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING ("Battleground")
TNT
A Coote/Hayes production in association with Ostar Prods.
Credits:
Executive producer: Bill Haber
Supervising producer: Mike Robe
Line producer: Bill Popplewell
Producer: John McMahon
Produced by: Jeffrey Hayes
Co-producer: Ron Binkowski
Director: Brian Henson
Teleplay: Richard Christian Matheson
Director of photography: John Stokes
Production designer: Tel Stolfo
Editor: Benjamin Weissman
Music: Jeff Beal
Set designer: Jill Eden
Casting: Lisa Freiberger
Cast:
Jason Renshaw: William Hurt
Hans Morris: Bruce Spence
Wednesday, July 12
TNT
The TV anthology series is all but forgotten, the victim of high production costs and a belief that audiences crave week-to-week familiarity with characters. "Nightmares & Dreamscapes" might not single-handedly save anthologies from extinction, but it likely will produce the kind of ratings that programrs can't ignore.
Drama on basic cable has been thriving this summer. TNT's "The Closer" and "Saved" are audience pleasers and AMC's "Broken Trail" was a phenomenon. There is every reason to believe that "Nightmares & Dreamscapes," with its well-plotted tales of weirdness and irony from ever-popular Stephen King, also will register strong ratings.
First up is "Battleground," an eerily enjoyable tale that plays out with virtually no dialogue. William Hurt stars as a professional thief who, in the opening minutes, kills the owner of a toy factory and makes off with a prized limited edition ballerina. Before long, though, the toys extract their own revenge, turning the robber's plush high-rise penthouse into an arena of surprisingly intense conflict.
Hurt excels as the supremely confident bad guy who gets his comeuppance from the Lilliputian fighters. Director Brian Henson seamlessly integrates scene after scene of special effects to create a sweet-and-sour mood with elements of fantasy and comedy mixed with more somber tastes of retribution and violence. The episode will be shown without commercial interruptions, which should help sustain the unique environment created by Henson.
"Battleground" is adapted from King's 1978 anthology, "Nightshift." Five of the remaining seven episodes, including "Crouch End," which follows "Battleground," came from the 1993 collection of short stories, "Nightmares & Dreamscapes." The other two, "The Road Virus Heads North" (July 26) and "Autopsy Room Four" (Aug. 2) are from 2002's "Everything's Eventual."
"Crouch End," adapted by Kim LeMasters, has more of the horror typically associated with King. The story stars Eion Bailey and Claire Forlani as American newlyweds who disregard the advice of two cab drivers. They venture into a part of London rumored to be a passageway between the worlds of the living and the dead. Mark Haber's direction provides several spooky moments but a few plot points are telegraphed well in advance.
TNT will run the episodes in pairs for four consecutive Sundays instead of the original plan, which was to show a single episode each week. Perhaps doubling up will make this more of an event and, at the same time, protect the series from competition with early bird fall season programs launched in late August.
NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES: FROM THE STORIES OF STEPHEN KING ("Battleground")
TNT
A Coote/Hayes production in association with Ostar Prods.
Credits:
Executive producer: Bill Haber
Supervising producer: Mike Robe
Line producer: Bill Popplewell
Producer: John McMahon
Produced by: Jeffrey Hayes
Co-producer: Ron Binkowski
Director: Brian Henson
Teleplay: Richard Christian Matheson
Director of photography: John Stokes
Production designer: Tel Stolfo
Editor: Benjamin Weissman
Music: Jeff Beal
Set designer: Jill Eden
Casting: Lisa Freiberger
Cast:
Jason Renshaw: William Hurt
Hans Morris: Bruce Spence
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