I'm surprised there isn't a thread on this given the horror mania on this forum. Starts tonight, on right now. An anthology of horror stories from Stephen King. TNT channel. The first one stars William Hurt.

More here:

http://www.tnt.tv/title/?oid=612966

Umney's Last Case
Starring William H. Macy, Jacqueline McKenzie
Teleplay by April Smith, based on the short story by Stephen King; directed by Rob Bowman
After the death of his son, writer Sam Landry (Macy) is so desperate to lead another life, he writes himself into his own book, forcing his long-time character (also played by Macy) to change places with him and live in the modern day. But things get deadly when Landry realizes Umney is trapped and cannot write himself out of his new reality.

The End of the Whole Mess
Starring Ron Livingston, Henry Thomas
Teleplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, based on the short story by Stephen King, directed by Mikael Salomon
The world had changed. Violence, war and hatred have been replaced with kindness, peace and love. But at what price? Renowned filmmaker Howie Fornoy (Livingston), with just one hour to live, recounts the details of his brother's (Thomas) worldwide experiment gone terribly wrong.

Crouch End
Starring Eion Bailey, Claire Forlani
Teleplay by Kim LeMasters, based on the Short Story by Stephen King, directed by Mark Haber
A newlywed American couple (Bailey and Forlani) honeymooning in London goes to Crouch End to have dinner with a friend. They soon learn the town is not what it appears to be, and the more they get lost, the more they become trapped in another dimension.

The Fifth Quarter
Starring Jeremy Sisto, Samantha Mathis
Teleplay by Alan Sharp, based on the short story by Stephen King, directed by Rob Bowman
Willie (Sisto), a just-released convict, learns from his dying friend of a map in four parts that reveals the location of several million dollars from a robbery. Seeking revenge for the death of his friend and the money, as well, Willie hunts down the others who hold the remaining three parts to the map, risking his family and his freedom.

Autopsy Room Four
Starring Richard Thomas, Greta Scacchi
Teleplay by April Smith, based on the short story by Stephen King, directed by Mikael Salomon
Businessman Howard Cottrell (Thomas) is on vacation playing one of his many games of golf. Chasing the ball into the undergrowth, he is bitten by a snake and completely paralyzed, showing no signs of life. At the hospital, unable to communicate, he is the key witness to his own autopsy.

You Know They Got a Hell of a Band
Starring Kim Delaney, Steven Weber
Teleplay by Mike Robe, based on the short story by Stephen King, directed by Mike Robe
A wrong turn on a lonely road turns frightening for Clark and Mary Willingham (Weber and Delaney) as they stumble upon a town not on any map - Rock and Roll Heaven, Oregon. There is a free concert every night, but the price of admission is high - once the audience enters, it can never leave.

Battleground
Starring William Hurt
Teleplay by Richard Christian Matheson, based on the short story by Stephen King, directed by Brian Henson
Jason Renshaw (Hurt), a professional hit man, successfully murders the CEO of a prestigious toy company, only to face the biggest fight of his life when a package from the toy company is delivered to his house with surprising, deadly contents.

The Road Virus Heads North
Starring Tom Berenger, Marsha Mason
Teleplay by Peter Filardi, based on the short story by Stephen King, directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Richard Kinnell (Berenger) is a famous writer who, at a doctor's visit, learns he may soon have to deal with his own mortality. On the drive back to his home, he buys a mysterious painting. Each time he looks at it, it changes to become more menacing and sinister. He pieces together that the painting is trying to kill him…but not if he can destroy it first.

Four of the adaptations that are being cast for NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES come from King's 1993 anthology of the same name. The Road Virus Heads North comes from King's 2002 anthology Everything's Eventual, while Battleground comes from 1978's Nightshift.

So far it's kind of fun. Nothing ground breaking but just the sort of thing for a summer series.

I really wanted to watch this, as I just finished the book, but it's not airing up here. Guess I'll have to wait for DVD.

They didn't even adapt the best stories, though. And only five of them are actually from the collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes: Umney's Last Case, Crouch End, The End of the Whole Mess, The Fifth Quarter, and You Know They Got a Hell of a Band. Two are from Everything's Eventual: Autopsy Room Four and The Road Virus Heads North. I don't know what Battleground's from, though, as I haven't read it.

I would have really liked to see them adapt The Ten O'Clock People, Home Delivery, Rainy Season, and The Night Flier. Those are my faves. Oh, and The Moving Finger would have been awesome to see also.

Anyone else read the book?

There may or may not be a site called the pirate bay dot org.

I may or may not access that site. I may or may not find what I'm looking for. I may or may not acquire such files.

Thanks.

I loved the first episode. It's amazing how one episode did more for me than all 13 episodes of "Masters of Horror". And the episode didn't even have any dialogue!! William Hurt did well acting opposite CG plastic army men.

The second episode was creepy and well-paced. By the end, however, it seemed to get a bit ridiculous and complicated. Again, though, better than anything that "Masters of Horror" has done so far.

Is there any chance whatsoever that more seasons will be made using other Stephen King short stories? I wouldn't mind eight episodes every summer. But, it seems to be only an eight-episode series. The DVD is being released on October 24th, containing all eight episodes, and it doesn't say that it's "Season One" or anything like that. A shame if it only lasts for eight episodes (four weeks).

I dont know, lets hope that it does well in the ratings. If you run across any ratings news for it please post it.

Battleground - 5.2 million viewers
Crouch End - 4.8 million

I guess that's good for TNT? I really don't know. It sounds great to me.

I have the two episodes sitting on my computer. Hopefully I'll get to them sometime this weekend.

It's better than Masters of Horror though, Mr. X?

Heck no. Mr X has no taste. I found the episode with Claire Florina to be boring. It reminded me the Langoliers mixed in with Silent Hill in the beginning minus all the cool critters
More like a C-. I was reminded of the MOH Chocalate episode

It sounds very high for basic cable to me.

I said that I think it was better than most of what Masters of Horror has done. I didn't say my answer was the definitive answer. It'll likely vary for different people, I suppose.

Well, I came home early and just finished Battleground...

It was okay, I guess. The no dialogue gimmick was kinda cute for a little bit, but it got fairly annoying after awhile. Hurt was as good as someone can be limited to grunts and groans I suppose, and the direction and DP work were fairly solid. It had a much sharper look to it than almost anything else you'll see on TV, that's for sure. It looked like a film. There were some mildly interesting moments (the introduction of the hellicopters was cool), but all in all I felt very disinterested by the story. You knew where it was going almost straight away, so there's very little suspense to be found. You're kind of just sitting there waiting for it to unfold the only way it can.

So... high production values, but boring story and lame gimmick. C+

Battleground - C+
Crouch End - D

WTF was that?!? Whoever said Silent Hill minus the good stuff was right on. Some of the worst CGI I've ever seen, too.

I havent seen Battleground yet, the other episode with Claire Florini but not the other one. But judging by your opinion on the same episode and the 3 of the best Masters of Horror episodes that I agreed with you on, Battleground may disappoint me. You are probably better off watching the Blade tv series which seems surprisingly good when I saw it with low expecations

When did Crouch End air? I missed it. Does anyone know if like usual, TNT will be reairing it before the next installment of new episodes on Wednesday?

Thanks

The Night Flyer has already been made as a full legnth feature with Miguel Ferrer.

How'd you get them, makeshift? I can't seem to find them on the site that Archie mentioned.

bit torrent probably

I would put Nightmares and Dreamscapes in the Outer Limits and New Twilight Zone category of C grade stuff when you try and compare it to other anthrology type advenure/sci-fi/horror shows like Tales from the Crypts, Masters of Horror, Tales from the Darkside, Monsters, and Amazing Tales.

I would put Tales from the Crypts in the A category

eDonkey.

I REALLY recommend you to refrain from using that one. One of the unsafest of its kind nowadays.

How so? I've used it for... two years now and have had zero problems.

I dunno. I'd say thus far, it's worse than that. And I hate The Outer Limits and New Twilight Zone.

It used to be very safe, but over the last 3-4 months or so, the number of people busted with EMule and eDonkey increased quite a bit. I uninstalled it a while ago. Like it was with Kazaa one time, eDonkey/eMule seem to be the next on the list.