Not perfect, and Pinchot's performance is way over the top and he looks like Star Trek's Data...But, it's still really compelling. The characters are largely exaggerated, and the pacing is leisurely, but I think the pacing actually works to give you the feeling that you are really right there with them and some crazy thing is going on. This would have worked even without some of that stuff.

For some reason I was surprised to learn The Langoliers has almost 200 user reviews, which is quite a lot for a TV mini-series. There are those who hate this with a passion, but I really liked it. The novella by Stephen King was ideal, but the cast and crew put on a decent effort to make it their own.I still wonder what happened to the passengers who went missing, and the passengers who made it out alive in the airport. I didn't realize that Kate Maberly, who played the blind Dinah Bellman, is British. Mark Lindsay Chapman was supposed to play John Lennon in a biopic but because of his similar name with Mark Chapman, he was turned down.

Adaptations of Stephen King's work rarely translate well to the screen. They're usually fun to watch but hardly any of them can be called classics, although CARRIE and SALEM'S LOT are exceptions to the rule. But along with the highs are the lows, remember CHRISTINE or GRAVEYARD SHIFT anybody? I didn't think so. And television adaptations of his novels work even less well, remember THE TOMMYKNOCKERS? I enjoyed it but it was very average. However THE LANGOLIERS is one of the most enjoyable King adaptations we've had in a long time. There are a couple of major flaws with it but the central story of time travel is very clever indeed and it will keep your brain working, trying to figure out what's happened, for long afterwards. Genuine moments of suspense and even - shock! - fear (of the unknown) are created during the course of THE LANGOLIERS, and for a '90s horror production that's no mean feat.The story is based on a novella (of the same name) from King's Four Past Midnight, an anthology book of tales. And it's a great science fiction tale, dealing with time travel and the like, which always makes for intriguing (if sometimes befuddling) viewing. The director is Tom Holland, of FRIGHT NIGHT fame, and he doesn't disappoint here either. The ensemble cast is also fun to watch, although the acting ranges from good to atrocious, with some of the worst mock acting I've ever seen in my life. Every actor has his or her tongue in cheek at some point in the film though.The group is a clichéd one, with a supposedly British heroic hit-man (but with an Australian accent), a pilot who just happens to be on board (played by David Morse, making himself known as an interesting character actor in recent years), a teenage girl with a drug problem, a teenage nerd with glasses, a love interest, a young psychic blind girl, a middle aged businessman who only cares about eating and sleeping, the obligatory black guy who gets killed, the Columbo-like writer who solves the mystery and the entertainingly over-the-top neurotic psychopath. As you can see it's a varied bunch, although the actors are all typical people raised in television land, apart from Bronson Pinchot, the resident madman, and Dean Stockwell, the child actor turned star who is great as the intelligent writer who works things out quickly and logically (for a change in these type of things). His raised eyebrow and quizzical expression is total magic. And, of course, Stephen King puts in a cameo appearance, as to be expected.The special effects are all computerised, and unfortunately therefore not very good, with it being 1995, the computer technology not state of the art like it is these days and the budget just not being high enough to do it any justice. Saying that, the actual hole in time is rather good, and kind of psychedelic. Some real suspense is built up with the slow arrival of the Langoliers, as the crunching sound gets louder and louder and electricity pylons begin to fall in the distance, and it's on par with the arrival of the T-Rex in JURASSIC PARKhere. However the scenes are a little overlong and therefore lose some of their impact. The Langoliers themselves have nice designs but are a little too obviously computer generated, not looking real for a moment, but I remember them looking much more impressive when I first saw this miniseries back in 1996. I guess I've just been spoiled a lot since then by the high-budget blockbusters with super effects. The film works best when concentrating on the little special effects, like the matches not lighting and the beer being flat.There are two serious flaws with this miniseries. The first is the sickly, overwhelming sentimentality which unfortunately creeps into the final scenes and mars the ending quite a bit. I can do without those, thank you very much. The second flaw is the length of this series. It's three hours long, but two hours would have been better paced and more exciting, and you can tell a lot of scenes have been padded out here. Lots of people talk and stand around not doing much for ages, and things really start to drag around the two hour mark. I did watch this all in one go (on video) however, so perhaps the original episode formula may have eliminated this problem.I give THE LANGOLIERS four stars out of five because while not technically too competent (there are a couple of continuity errors, like a disappearing jacket), it has a brilliant idea and the scenes at the end where the monsters are actually eating the world and the past itself are sheer genius and only help to reaffirm my trust in King as an excellent writer.

This is based on a science fiction novel by the acclaimed author Stephen King. It is said to follow the book closely, and as science fiction goes it is very original and rather good. This is a film with no villains unless you count the berserk bond broker who stabbed two people killing both of them, but the poor guy was haunted by the ghost of his malevolent father, considering that and all the circumstances, few courts would not entertain an insanity plea.This is also a film – in reality a TV mini-series - that was made on a relatively modest budget, taking place mostly aboard an aircraft and at a deserted airport. Ten people aboard a night plane close their eyes, and when they wake up they are the only ones there. Conveniently their number includes a pilot, a British agent, an author who would give Stephen King a run for his money, and a blind girl who has ESP or something akin.They break into the empty cockpit – something that in the post-9/11 world would be no easy matter - and the pilot manages to land at Bangor, Maine. But are they in Bangor, Maine, or a parallel dimension, or is something else going on? And what are the Langoliers?If you find out for yourself, you won't be disappointed.