One year after ABC’s juggernaut adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, the network hoped to reap similar success from a lesser-known King property: The Langoliers. In May of 1995, horror titan Tom Holland unleashed his take on the sci-fi oddity across two nights. The television event was a ratings success, but critics savaged it as “dull” with “ludicrous” special effects. (It’s hard to imagine anyone being scared by CGI meatballs with teeth.)
Enter The Timekeepers of Eternity, an experimental reworking of the miniseries from filmmaker Aristotelis Maragkos that chops the three-hour series down to 60 minutes while centering the story around its most compelling character, Bronson Pinchot’s Craig Toomey. More importantly, Maragkos animates the movie into a “paper nightmare” (his words), with the picture ripping, crunching, and wrapping in on itself. It’s as cool as it sounds.
In this episode of The Losers’ Club Podcast, the Losers share some thoughts on the original miniseries before discussing how The Timekeepers of Eternity reshapes King’s original story and actually brings some scares to the adaptation. You’ll want to watch it before listening to the episode, though — thankfully, it’s streaming for free. (You can also purchase a nifty VHS copy.)
Stream the episode below and return later this week when the Losers dive into The Timekeepers of Eternity. For further adventures, join the Club over long days and pleasant nights via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. You can also unlock hundreds of hours of content in The Barrens (Patreon).