The Langoliers: Season 1

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Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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Season Details & Credits

ABC | Season Premiere Date: January 1, 1995

Summary: In this TV mini-series based on the novella by Stephen King, a small group of passengers on an airliner wake up to discover that everyone else--passengers and crew--have vanished. When they manage to land the airliner, they discover that seemingly everyone in the world has vanished... and something is coming for them.

Genre(s): Drama, Horror, Suspense

Season 1 Episodes

No episode information is currently available for this season

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Critic Reviews

Tony Scott

Apr 19, 2021

Writer-director Tom Holland has pulled off the viewer-friendliest Stephen King vid adaptation since the Tobe Hooper-Paul Monash "Salem's Lot," at least for the first three hours. Pulling flesh-and-blood characters out of King's stick figures aboard an airplane zooming into a twilight zone, Holland has turned The Langoliers into a TV grabber. Read full review

Ray Loynd

Apr 19, 2021

Well worth the wait is the 10-or-so-minute action payoff. It's nightmarish despite the obviously superimposed langoliers (created via digital visual effects) that recharge the final minutes of this miniseries, which isn't over when you think it is. [13 May 1995, p.15]

Manuel Mendoza

Apr 19, 2021

This self-referential approach works only because the premise is so convincing and the characters are so real. When the mumbo-jumbo kicks in, we're willing to overlook holes in the plot as frighteningly big as the langoliers themselves because we can walk in the characters' shoes. [14 May 1995, p.1C]

Scott D. Pierce

Apr 19, 2021

The cast, on the whole, creates believable characters in an unbelievable situation. (Pinchot is the exception - too much of his comic persona leaks through and undermines the maniac he's trying to create.) Read full review

Frederic M. Biddle

Apr 19, 2021

The Langoliers is a rather bumpy flight for Stephen King, so keep the sick bags ready along with the popcorn. But this new miniseries puts an intriguing spin on that most timeworn of sci-fi plots, time travel - as long as you can stomach character cliches that approach parody, not to mention a grand finale of flying creepies who look like hybrids between Pac-Man and the scrubbing bubbles of Dow Bathroom Cleaner. [13 May 1995, p.21]

David Bianculli

Apr 19, 2021

What really destroys "The Langoliers," though, is when the langoliers finally appear, looking and acting like a pack of crazed, oversize Pac-Men. Their evil intention is to literally chew the scenery, but Pinchot has already beaten them to it and the special effects are more laughable than terrifying, as if the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park," after all that buildup, had looked like big Barneys. Until that point, "The Langoliers" is fun but that's not quite enough. If you're curious, though, catch it now, because it's a safe bet this miniseries won't ever be an in-flight movie. [12 May 1995]

John Carman

Apr 19, 2021

So here's your "Langoliers" viewing experience -- you spend hours in the company of cardboard characters, under the doughy direction of Tom Holland, waiting for something scary to happen, and at long last your payoff is a couple of minutes of cheesy special effects. Anyone's idea of a good time? Read full review

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Kai82

Jun 19, 2021

It is enjoyable but has weaknesses in the script and the poor special effects destroy the immersion which is rare for me to criticize. It is based on a story from Stephen Kings novella collection “Four past Midnight” which I did not read so you will not get the unavoidable “The books areIt is enjoyable but has weaknesses in the script and the poor special effects destroy the immersion which is rare for me to criticize. It is based on a story from Stephen Kings novella collection “Four past Midnight” which I did not read so you will not get the unavoidable “The books are better” statement (Which is by the way mostly a valid statement even if I hate to make it). By the way Stephen King never had much luck with movie adaptations of his works. For each good adaptation or movie there are at least 3 bad ones. Story: It is a story of a diverse group of people that attend a flight from Los Angeles to Boston. During the flight a strange event happen when they fly through an aurora borealis and this left them in a strange situation they could not have imagined. Now they are up to figure a way out and deal with the increasing struggles of the group. It had to be vague to avoid spoilers. The story is interesting, enjoyable and the cast is really good on one hand. On the other hand some scenes are poorly executed and destroy the immersion. For example there is a scene that should be the most tragic moment in the movie with a likable character suffering but despite being sad all I could (mostly) think of was that it was a suicidal idea to do what she did and so foreseeable. Even Star Trek red-shirts will facepalm. Another immersion breaker are the effects. The titular Langoliers do neither look convincing or scary (Mayor critique by many viewers by the way). Because these are carefully set up by the movie it is even more of a let down. I will repeat that I rarely criticize special effects in movies. Maybe not in the double digit numbers in over 250 movie reviews (including a lot of B movies). However here it is a valid point. Actors: I truly liked the cast and they deliver a really good performance. My favorites are Kate Maberly as Dinah Catherine Bellman who does an amazing job as child actor, Bronson Pinchot as Craig Toomy who is such a slimeball and love to hate character and of cause Dean Stockwell as Bob Jekins. This is for me a case of a great cast of actors in a weaker script. Sidenote: I recently discovered that there is even a small cameo by Stephen King himself. Overall this had potential and I see the sparks of a better movie underneath. It is enjoyable but is dragged down by the script and effects. Maybe a remake with a better director and ironed out script would be a good idea. Cant recommend to watch it but say it has redeeming qualities. It is also not garbage enough to give a lower rating. For Stephen King adaptations I will recommend however “The Shawshank Redemption” movie as it is an excellent movie and a book adaptation I consider better than its already great source from Stephen King (Warning it has no supernatural, horror or fantasy elements).… Expand

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Seasons & Episodes

59

Series Overview
Season 1

59
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: January 1, 1995
- No episode information is currently available for this season