- Network: ABC
- Series Premiere Date: May 9, 1993
Critic Reviews
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ABC really has done a fabulous job in the special effects department, though, particularly as the story reaches its messy, apocalyptic climax, complete with decapitations, oozing blood, stranglings and exploding monsters. Oh. Did I mention that there's quite a bit of violence? But the whole project, photographed in New Zealand (apparently the real Maine doesn't look enough like Maine), is gorgeous to look at and offers some excellent performances, particularly by Marg Helgenberger as Bobbi, the writer who uncovers the strange force, and Jimmy Smits as Gard, a poet and her live-in companion. [9 May 1993]
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I like The Tommyknockers...Written by Lawrence Cohen, whose adapations produced the best TV ("It") and movie ("Carrie") Kings, The Tommyknockers" gets special-effects, sci-fi silly on the second night. But King's ability to give us relationships-between Gard and Bobbi, between E.G. Marshall's character and his grandson, even between Bobbi and Gard and their dog-on which to hang our emotions provides a familiar and solid foundation for his effective scare tactics.
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Director John Power establishes good pacing, as the mounting suspense alternates with scenes of banal normalcy and campy humor. The action is spread around on a solid supporting cast that includes Joanna Cassidy, E.G. Marshall, Allyce Beasley, John Ashton, Cliff DeYoung, Robert Carradine and Traci Lords...The thriller is like an attenuated, more pastoral version of the original 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But once it gets its hooks in you, you’ll be back for the conclusion the following night.
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When Cohen taps into King’s greatest theme — families in peril from forces beyond their understanding — The Tommyknockers can be moving. The rest of the time, it’s never less than an entertaining goof.
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We are in archetypal King territory. The formula is wearing thin, but this adaptation by Lawrence D. Cohen ("Carrie") manages to squeeze out a respectable quota of creepy chills. Heading a strong cast are Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger as a man and wife heading for an explosive separation. She gets the dog.