The Complete Stephen King Universe

by Stanley Wiater

  of the Tommyknocker man.

  —Traditional

  Rather than fantasy ogres or horrific ghosts, here the Tommyknockers are the alien inhabitants of the ship Bobbi Anderson finds buried in the earth. Judging by its depth, the enormous craft has been there for centuries. When Jim boards the vehicle, he notes that its occupants have sixfingered hands, taloned feet, and what looks like a dog’s head on top of a large frame. Described as “interstellar gypsies with no king,” this belligerent race (they were apparently fighting among themselves when their ship crashed) creates technology that they themselves don’t fully understand.

  Besides the aliens themselves, there are the citizens of Haven who are in the process of “becoming” Tommyknockers—toward the end of the novel, King begins to refer to both groups by that name. The fantastic process by which humans become Tommyknockers is never made clear, but has something to do with repeated exposure to the Tommyknocker ship, and to treatments given to Havenites within the confines of Bobbi Anderson’s shed. The process is long and slow, and requires a change in atmosphere—the newly minted Tommyknockers create a bubble over Haven, filling it with rarified “Tommyknocker” air. Outsiders entering Haven become ill; Haven residents who leave the town risk death.

  THE TOMMYKNOCKERS: ADAPTATIONS

  Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers: This four-hour ABC miniseries, adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen and directed by John Power, first aired in May 1993. Starring Jimmy Smits (L.A. Law) and Marg Helgenberger (CSI) as Jim Gardener and Bobbi Anderson, the miniseries also features Creepshow alumnus E. G. Marshall as Ev Hillman and former adult film star Traci Lords as Nancy Voss. The two-hundred-minute production was shot entirely in New Zealand—even though of course the story is set in Maine. The well-produced miniseries remains fairly faithful to the novel, but differs noticeably by providing a happier ending for Bobbi Anderson (here she survives and reverts back to human form, her body and movements conveying none of the trauma the “becoming” a Tommyknocker must have put her through).

  There are other changes to the story elements, but most add to, rather than detract from, the overall narrative. Examples include an eerie scene where Ruth McCausland (Joanna Cassidy) is attacked by her doll collection, and a scene where Rebecca Paulsen (Allyce Beasley) is informed of her husband’s extramarital escapades by a chatty television game show host. The special effects are uniformly excellent—the producers obviously took the effort to make the Tommyknockers look just right. Writer Lawrence D. Cohen, who had previously done the screenplay for Carrie (1976) and cowrote the adaptation for the miniseries It (1990), clearly has a strong affinity for the work of Stephen King.

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  STEPHEN KING’S GOLDEN YEARS

  (1991 )

  Without a doubt, Stephen King’s Golden Years is a singular oddity in the Stephen King canon. It aired in 1991 as a summer replacement series on CBS and lasted for seven one-hour episodes, ending in a cliffhanger. Of course, the hope at the time was that the network would pick up the series, which would then continue where the original segments left off. When that did not happen, the series’ producers released a videotape version of Golden Years that brought the story to a still-somewhat-mysterious conclusion. In order to do so, however, they also changed several scenes leading up to the ending.

  This book focuses on the televised version of Golden Years, with the exception of the changes made and new additions included in the videotape release.

  The series starred Keith Szarbajka as Harlan Williams, with Frances Sternhagen (Misery) as his wife, Gina. Others in the cast included Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives) as Terry Spann and Ed Lauter as General Louis Crewes. The seven episodes boasted a variety of directors, most notably Michael Gornick, who had directed the feature Creepshow 2 in 1987.

  The main character of the show is Harlan Williams, an elderly janitor working at a top-secret military installation, where supposedly agricultural testing takes place. Not that anyone actually believes that, especially given the high-voltage electric fence that surrounds the Falco Plains facility.

  In truth, the bizarre Dr. Richard Todhunter (Bill Raymond) is doing research on cellular regeneration. His negligence leads to an accidental explosion. Harlan is caught in the explosion, and exposed to an experimental energy form called K-R3 that causes him to grow younger.

  One of the federal agents sent to investigate the accident, Jude Andrews (R. D. Call), turns out to be working for the insidious covert government agency called The Shop. The installation’s security director, Terry Spann, had once been employed by The Shop as well. Appalled by Jude’s depravity, she quit, and eventually ended up at Falco Plains.

  With Jude searching for Harlan, Terry realizes that the “old” man will suffer a horrible fate if she cannot save him. Eventually, she receives help from the facility’s director, General Crewes.

  Old Durham town hall DAVID LOWELL

  The Shop, of course, first appears in the Stephen King Universe as the antagonists of Firestarter. Not only do they perform assassinations and any other nasty little jobs that no other government agency could be called upon for, but they have been involved in just the kind of experimentation that Todhunter was conducting. It seems only natural, then, for The Shop to take an interest in Harlan Williams.

  Jude Andrews has his orders—bring Williams in as a test subject, no matter what. If that means he has to murder Harlan’s wife, Gina, it isn’t something he’s going to lose any sleep over. In fact, Jude Andrews is such a cold-blooded SOB that he is considered to be the “best” assassin The Shop has ever had, better, even, than the legendary John Rainbird (who is, of course, one of the major characters of Firestarter, 1980).

  The Shop also plays a role in both Tommyknockers (1987) and The Langoliers, a novella from Four Past Midnight (1990).

  Golden Years is yet another work where King delves into the concept of a government experiment gone horribly wrong. The theme is repeated in Firestarter, The Stand (1978), The Mist (collected in Skeleton Crew, 1985), and various King short stories.

  The theme of aging—in this case, the defiance of age—is also, quite obviously, a major part of this television excursion. Earlier in his career, King had touched on this subject primarily in short stories such as “The Reach,” but subsequently it became a major theme in both The Green Mile (1996) and—more prominently—Insomnia (1994).

  Golden Years is also quite notable for the inconclusive nature of its ending. It had been previously implied that Harlan’s power was growing exponentially, in a fashion greatly similar to The Shop’s predictions about Charlie McGee’s eventual power level in Firestarter. Harlan could cause earthquakes, speed up time, and cause mechanical things to go haywire. In the end, he created a force field of energy that protected himself and his still-elderly wife, Gina, from attack by Jude Andrews. Then, in a burst of similar energy, they both disappeared.

  To where?

  It is possible that Harlan is able to actually teleport them elsewhere. It is also conceivable (and somewhat implied by an earlier scene) that he regresses them both backward in age to before their births, effectively erasing their existence, but that hardly seems in character for Harlan.

  So what happened to Harlan and Gina Williams?

  Time will tell.

  GOLDEN YEARS: PRIMARY SUBJECTS

  HARLAN WILLIAMS: A janitor at the Falco Plains military research installation, Harlan is caught in an accidental explosion and exposed to an experimental form of energy that causes him to begin an age regression. As a result, he is pursued both by the military and by the insidious government agency known as The Shop. During the final confrontation with Jude Andrews, a Shop agent, Harlan disappears in a flash of green energy. His fate and/or whereabouts are unknown.

  TERRY SPANN: A former Shop agent, Terry becomes head of security at Falco Plains and enters into a relationship with the commanding officer of the facility, General Louis Crewes. The relationship suffers when she chooses to protect Harlan Williams from Jude Andrews,
her former partner from The Shop. To save Harlan, Terry kills Andrews, but by then Crewes has come around to her way of thinking, and the two depart together. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

  GINA WILLIAMS: The wife of Harlan Williams, Gina is the first to notice that he is growing younger. Her life is put in jeopardy when Jude Andrews threatens to kill her if Harlan doesn’t turn himself in. In the end, she disappears with her husband in a flash of green energy. Her fate and/or whereabouts are unknown.

  FRANCESCA WILLIAMS: The blind daughter of Harlan and Gina Williams, Francesca does her best to keep her parents out of danger. First she takes them to a kind of “hippie” commune where she once lived, hoping they will be safe there. Later she visits a friend who creates false identities for her parents, hoping to aid them in starting a new life. However, while she is gone, her parents have their final confrontation with Jude Andrews, and then disappear. It is presumed that she still resides in Chicago.

  DR. TODHUNTER: A scientist working at Falco Plains, the mentally imbalanced Todhunter is doing research into cellular regeneration for the U.S. government. During an experiment, a malfunction occurs, but Todhunter ignores the warnings of his staff, and an explosion follows. He lies his way out of trouble, and it is presumed that he is still conducting research at Falco Plains.

  GENERAL CREWES: Louis Crewes is the commanding officer in charge of the military research installation at Falco Plains at the time of the incident that changes Harlan Williams. At first he obeys orders to put Williams under surveillance, but when he discovers that The Shop is involved, he joins with Terry Spann, with whom he is romantically involved, to protect Harlan. After Terry murders Jude Andrews, Crewes goes off with her. His current whereabouts are unknown.

  JUDE ANDREWS: Andrews is an agent for The Shop, a covert government agency. He is also reputed to be the best assassin they have ever employed. He is assigned to bring Harlan Williams in for study, but is eventually killed by his former partner, Terry Spann.

  CAPTAIN TRIPS: A resident at the commune where Francesca Williams takes her parents, the man called Captain Trips is actually a Shop infiltrator. He tells The Shop where to find the Williamses, and is later killed by Shop agent Jude Andrews.

  GOLDEN YEARS: TRIVIA

  • In the original televised version of Golden Years, the Gina Williams character dies. However, in the videotape version, she is left alive through the miracle of editing.

  • “Captain Trips” is not merely the name of The Shop informant in this television drama, but the nickname of the horrible plague in The Stand.

  • Of the seven episode scripts that were completed, King wrote the first five; the last two were penned by Josef Anderson based on King’s outlines.

  • Stephen King has a cameo role in the fourth episode as a bus driver.

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  RELATED TALES

  The Langoliers (from 1990’s Four Past Midnight)

  “Submitted for your approval: Captain Brian Engle, a pilot with American Pride Airlines. Captain Engle is a sturdy soul, but he’s just been shaken to the core by an in-flight pressurization problem that almost caused the explosive decompression of the aircraft he was piloting. He managed to land that craft safely in Los Angeles, and is now walking toward the terminal, where he’ll receive tragic news about his ex-wife. Forgoing rest, Engle will board American Pride Flight 29, a flight that is heading toward a date with destiny. Although scheduled to land in Boston, Flight 29 will be forced to make a detour, a change in flight plan that will take it directly into the heart of … the Twilight Zone.”

  While The Langoliers never appeared on The Twilight Zone, it certainly feels like a lost episode of that classic show. Dedicated to “Joe, another white knuckle flier,” this story had its origins in a bizarre image that flashed through King’s mind of a woman pressing her hand over a crack in the wall of a commercial jetliner. The plot is simple—ten passengers taking a flight from Los Angeles to Boston wake up in midflight to find the crew and the majority of their cabinmates gone (one additional passenger is present, but asleep). Luckily, one of their number can pilot the craft, and takes command. Unable to contact anyone on the ground (no one responds to his calls, and major cities below are blacked out), Captain Brian Engle makes an executive decision to land the plane at Bangor International Airport. There they discover they are the only living things in the immediate vicinity. Nothing feels right to them; even the air smells different. Then they hear sounds in the distance, crunching sounds, as if someone is literally chewing up the landscape. Before the day is through, these unlucky souls discover where all our yesterdays go.

  This unique tale of time travel contains several links to the Stephen King Universe. Debating what has occurred, one passenger mentions similar events in history, mainly the disappearance of the entire crew of the Mary Celeste, and of the colonists at Roanoke Island, Virginia, two historical events that have fascinated the author for years. The same passenger wonders if he and his fellow travelers may be guinea pigs of an experiment conducted by a top-secret outfit like The Shop (a ruthless “black ops” government agency, first introduced in Firestarter). Finally, most of the action of the story takes place at the Bangor International Airport, located in King’s hometown in Maine.

  THE LANGOLIERS: PRIMARY SUBJECTS

  THE LANGOLIERS: According to Craig Toomey’s father, the Langoliers are horrid monsters who prey on lazy, time-wasting children. The passengers of Flight 29 adopt Toomey’s name for the creatures he’s convinced are coming to destroy them. They are described as black balls that contract and then expand again. According to the narrative, “They shimmered and twitched and wavered like faces made of glowing swamp gas. The eyes were only rudimentary indentations, but the mouths were huge: semicircular caves lined with gnashing, whirring teeth.” The Langoliers use those teeth to literally chew up the scenery of the world—they are reality’s scavengers, complete consumers of yesterday.

  CAPTAIN BRIAN ENGLE: Brian Engle is proof that bad luck does come in threes. As the tale begins, Engle has just safely landed a plane that almost suffered an explosive decompression. Arriving at the airport, he is informed that his ex-wife has been killed in a fire. Last, and most important to the story, he boards American Pride Flight 29 for the trip back to Boston to deal with his wife’s remains. Exhausted, Engle falls asleep the minute he sits in his seat on the plane. Awakened by Dinah Bellman’s screams, he realizes that the crew and most of his fellow passengers are no longer aboard. After breaking down the door to the cockpit with the help of Nick Hopewell, he assumes control of the plane and, indirectly, of the group. Engle survives the incredible events of the Langoliers—he’s among those who wink back into existence before the eyes of a startled little girl at the end of the journey.

  DINAH BELLMAN: A blind girl with telepathic powers (she can see through others’ eyes, and speak to them via telepathy across great distances), Dinah is on Flight 29 with her Aunt Vicky, traveling to Boston to have an operation that might restore her sight. The first to stir after the plane literally crosses over into yesterday, she awakens the remaining passengers with her frightened screams. Dinah demonstrates her powers when she views the other passengers through Craig Toomey’s eyes (he sees them as monsters). Frightened by this vision, she clings to Laurel Stevenson during the rest of the ordeal. Despite being stabbed by the paranoid Toomey, the little girl plays an important part in the group’s eventual escape, mentally luring the near-dead Toomey to reveal himself to the ravenous Langoliers. The creatures then veer toward him, giving those on the plane valuable time to take off. Mortally injured, Dinah passes away before the aircraft safely crosses back across the border between yesterday and today.

  ALBERT KLAUSNER: An exceedingly bright young man who, along with Robert Jenkins, represents the brains of the beleaguered group. It is Albert who realizes that, coming from the future, they and their craft are far more real than their present surroundings at Bangor Airport. Applying his theory, the group refuels their plane with the
flat (other-dimensional) mixture contained in the fuel tanks at the airport. Once inside Flight 29’s fuel tanks, the fuel becomes more real, allowing them to take off at the approach of the Langoliers. Albert also survives the Langoliers. He is presumed alive and well, perhaps pursuing a romantic relationship with Bethany Sims.

  LAUREL STEVENSON: A schoolteacher, Laurel is taking the flight to Massachusetts to meet with a man she only knows through letters. During her adventures in the world of the Langoliers, she and Nick Hopewell fall in love. Before Nick sacrifices himself to save the rest of the group, he asks Laurel to pass a message on to his estranged father. She agrees.

  NICK HOPEWELL: An operative of the British government, Nick describes himself as Her Majesty’s Mechanic. On his way to Boston to assassinate the paramour of an outspoken supporter of the IRA, Nick instead becomes involved in the adventure of a lifetime. He becomes the de facto leader of the group once Captain Engle lands the plane. His sure manner and quick thinking make him a good leader; his no-nonsense attitude keeps human time bomb Craig Toomey in line long enough for Engle to safely touch down. Attempting to return home the way they came, the group realizes that they need to be asleep to cross the barrier safely. Nick, knowing it could mean his death, offers to remain awake and see the craft through the temporary portal safely. Nick is gone when his fellow passengers emerge from their brief sleep and is presumed dead.