The Langoliers (miniseries)

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The Langoliers
Title card from the first episode
Genre
Based on"The Langoliers"
by Stephen King
Written byTom Holland (teleplay)
Directed byTom Holland
Starring
Music byVladimir Horunzhy
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes2
Production
Running time180 minutes
Production companyLaurel Entertainment
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseMay 14 (1995-05-14) –
May 15, 1995 (1995-05-15)

The Langoliers is a

novella by Stephen King from the four-part anthology book Four Past Midnight. The series was produced by Mitchell Galin and David R. Kappes, for Laurel Entertainment, Inc. The miniseries originally aired May 14–15, 1995 on the ABC
network.

Plot

During a

tool and die
worker Don Gaffney, violinist Albert Kaussner, troubled teen Bethany Sims, mystery author Bob Jenkins, blind girl Dinah Bellman, sleepy businessman Rudy Warwick, and mentally ill executive Craig Toomy.

After failing to establish communication with either

telepathic
ability, warns the others about Craig, who becomes increasingly unstable and violent after finding a gun in an airport locker. Nick and Albert subdue him after discovering that the strange environment has rendered the gun's bullets harmless.

Albert discovers that the "present time" is still on the plane, and objects brought from the airport regain normal behavior after a short time once on-board. As Brian prepares to refuel and take off in the hope of returning to normal time, others attempt to find Craig, who has escaped; upon discovery, he stabs Dinah and Don, killing the latter. As the group board the now nearly refuelled plane, they encounter strange creatures that consume everything, including time. Craig had previously referred to the creatures as Langoliers, which Bob deduces feed on time which has passed. Dinah psychically convinces Craig that his meeting has moved from Boston to here, which affords them valuable extra time to prepare the plane for take-off upon the arrival of the Langoliers, who chase Craig into the terminal building before devouring him.

As the plane takes off, they witness the Langoliers consuming the airport behind them. Dinah dies while recalling her connection with Craig, and as the plane approaches a time rip, Bob realizes that they survived their first trip through the rift while asleep and could disappear if they pass through it awake. Nick, now revealing that he was a government assassin on a mission, volunteers to stay awake while the others are knocked unconscious, to restore pressure just before entering the rip. After asking Laurel to travel to London to explain this to his estranged father, Nick disappears as the plane enters the rift, while Brian awakens shortly after to land the plane in Los Angeles.

Upon landing, the passengers realize that they may be a few minutes ahead of the present time, noting the return of sound and smell. With the present time stream catching up to them, they watch as other people blur into view before rejoining the present time stream.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

For scenes on the plane, the production team acquired a retired

hydraulic apparatus which could be maneuvered in a manner to simulate wind turbulence.[1]

Filming

The miniseries was filmed almost entirely in and around the

cold war-era bomber hangar, although final scenes were shot in a functional waiting area within the airport.[3]

Real passengers were able to observe rehearsals although numerous close encounters between actors and tourists were reported. Due to jet noise from aircraft, a considerable budget was provided to re-record voices and over-loop in post-production.[3]

Post-production

Filming wrapped in September 1994, around two months after production began. The cost to produce the miniseries according to Charles Miller, production manager, was estimated in the region of $3 million to $5 million, although costs were kept lower due to the compact location of the airport and set. The cast and crew stayed in the Bangor Airport Marriot Hotel, filling 40 rooms.[3] The numbers of cast and crew exceeded 130, as well as roughly 175 extras who all lived locally.[1]

Reception

On the

weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[5]

Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B" rating, calling it an episode of The Twilight Zone stretched out to four hours, [but] nonetheless does have its moments.[6] TV Guide gave it one out of five stars, calling it tedious and boring, criticizing its "dull" script, "cardboard characters", "ludicrous special effects", and its "dishwatery cast, [with the sole exception of] Pinchot, who rolls his eyes like an alien thespian from the Planet Ham".[7] Variety found the first three hours of the series work well, but that it falls apart when the monster is revealed.[8] The book Stephen King Films FAQ asserted that Bronson Pinchot "chews more scenery than all of the Langoliers put together".[9]

The series did very well for ABC, finishing among the top 5 in the weekly ratings.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Production of The Langoliers". Portland Press Herald. September 4, 1994. p. 53.
  2. ^ "Clip from Entertainment Tonight". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "The Making of a Miniseries". Portland Press Herald. September 4, 1994. p. 49.
  4. ^ "Stephen King's 'The Langoliers' (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  5. ^ "The Langoliers". Metacritic.
  6. ^ Tucker, Ken (May 12, 1995). "TV Movie Review: 'The Langoliers'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  7. ^ "The Langoliers". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019.
  8. ^ Scott, Tony (May 12, 1995). "Stephen King's the Langoliers". Variety.
  9. ISBN 9781480386181
    .
  10. ^ Margulies, Lee (May 17, 1995). "TV Ratings : ABC's 'Langoliers' Gobbles Up Sunday but Not NBC". Los Angeles Times.

External links

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