TV Dreamscapes
Posted Fri, 07/14/06
Wednesday night Wilbert and I watched the new series of short stories Nightmares & Dreamscapes on TNT. Advertised as "from the mind of Stephen King," the summer series has all the touches of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Amazing Stories, et al.
The first episode, titled "Battleground," was excellent. William Hurt portrayed a hit man who kills a toy company executive (played by a character from one of the Mad Max movies, but I didn't catch his name in the credits).
Once back at his ultra-sleek and modern apartment after the hit, Hurt receives a package from the toy company containing Jungle Army figurines. To make a short story shorter, the figurines come to life and start attacking Hurt in his apartment. They are doll-sized, but they pack a wallop with machine guns, jeeps and helicopters.
Throughout the one-hour piece, none of the characters spoke. Hurt never talked, and the figurines never uttered a word. There was a lot of grunting once the fighting began, and there was a bit of talking when Hurt observed a newscast at the airport, but none of the primary (or non-primary) actors said anything.
I’m looking forward to Episode Seven "Autopsy Room Four," which stars Richard Thomas and airs on 08/02/06. I read the short story in Stephen King's book Nightmares & Dreamscapes as well. The main character is paralyzed by a snake bite, appearing lifeless, and he becomes "the key witness to his own autopsy."