Broadcast on ABC, it was directed by John Power, adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen and starred Marg Helgenberger and Jimmy Smits.
Bobbi Anderson (Helgenberger), a Western fiction writer, and her boyfriend, Jim "Gard" Gardner (Smits), a poet, live with their dog, Peter, on the outskirts of Haven, Maine.
Hilly's grandfather Ev researches the town's history, uncovering newspaper articles going back more than two centuries documenting inexplicable mass murders, deadly hunting accidents, and even a Native American tribal chief claiming that the area is cursed.
Duggan is shocked by the townspeople's apathy and apparent illness — hair falling out, baggy eyes, pale skin, exhaustion, etc.
The two other troopers get sucked in with Nancy Voss (Lord)'s disintegrator ray (contained in a lipstick) which emits a green light and destroys anything.
Gard, noticing the bizarre circumstances Haven is facing, finds Bobbi standing alongside other townspeople in front of a local town hall, suggesting everyone is possessed by some evil force and is planning to complete their "becoming".
Much of the alien technology on the surface explodes, killing several of the townspeople and forcing Bobbi and Davey to flee the garage before they can save Sheriff Merrill.
Lawrence D. Cohen made several "solutions" to the mostly-mixed-reviewed novel in the miniseries screenplay that satisfied King; this included changing the book's original ending where all of the characters died.
[5] Then came in the complications of shooting so far from the United States; the producers had to deal with inexperienced New Zealand workers in its 200-member crew, and sending equipment and support people through long distances and customs officials ate up a chunk of the budget.
Penikas and Hartwell had to spend additional money resending the chemicals with tree sap and bark holding them to make the officials feel reassured.
[2] With the help of togetherness of the cast and crew and extra shooting days on weekends, however, The Tommyknockers was successfully shot under the 60-day deadline for post-production to be completed back in the United States.
[2] Some of the exterior shots of The Tommyknockers were filmed in the small, quiet country town of Puhoi,[5] while warehouses in Auckland were also used as interiors, such as that of the inside of the spaceship.
[4] The location footage of Puhoi was originally planned to be mixed with matte paintings; however, a 15-square-foot miniature model of Haven built by the crew for five weeks was used due to greater flexibility in angles and lighting.
[4] Australian production designer Bernard Hides was responsible for the extraterrestrial aspects of The Tommyknockers's visuals, such as the props and the spaceship; he wanted them to look "organic" and non-technological, particularly the starship to look like a growing "wasp's nest or a huge plant.
[4] Alterian, Inc. designed the aliens for The Tommyknockers in Los Angeles; the process was supervised by Tony Gardner and involved Penikas, Hartwell, Loren Gitthens, Chet Zar, and Bill Surgeon.
The site's critical consensus reads, "Unlikeable characters, a bloated narrative, and drab scripting make The Tommyknockers a hard watch for even the most die-hard of Stephen King fans.