TNT has produced a series of eight shows based on shorts from Stephen King, taken from his collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I read the collection about 10 years ago
So far 6 have aired, and I've viewed the first three (two more will air Wednesday at 9pm and 10pm).
The ones I've viewed so far are:
Battleground: As a kid, I always loved stories where toys came to life (see Indian and the Cupboard; Ralph and the motorcycle, etc). This story brought back the same memories, and the show does the story justice. 4.5/5 stars. Very well produced, directed and acted.
Crouch End: One of my least favorite stories of the book, and same with the series so far. 1/5 stars.
Umney's Last Case: I honestly can't remember the story from the book. The story is of a private detective who's life suddenly starts to change. Suddently, the author that created him shows up, and wants to switch lives. Well told story, with William H Macy giving a great performance. 4/5 stars.
5 more to go, hopefully good ones. I noticed on the TNT page a couple I didn't recognize (Autopsy Room Four and The Road Virus Heads North). I think these are from the more recent Everything's Eventual, but I can't quite remember.
Definitely worth checking out.
TV: Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Yeah, Crouch End may have been a bit of a Lovecraft-homage with the Cthulu references, etc. I was never big into Lovecraft. No doubt it's more meaningful to those who are/were.I always liked the story Crouch End... that's the Lovecraftian one, right? "Beware the goat with 1000 young?"
And I thought the one with the toy soldiers was an earlier short story collection, like Night Shift, or something.
Yep, you're right about Battleground, it's from Night Shift. I read a ton of his books between 94 and 96, and can never remember which story came from which book.
It's not me, it's someone else.