In the 1990s, one name dominated TV miniseries: Stephen King. At the time, King had become the wealthiest writer in history, author of such popular novels as Misery, Carrie, It, The Stand and dozens more. While some of his titles -- Carrie, The Shining -- found homes on the big screen, many more became celebrated TV miniseries, attracting millions of viewers. In 1993, King and ABC partnered to add one more to the miniseries roster: The Tommyknockers.

Based on King’s 1987 novel of the same name -- one of King’s least-favorite of his own works -- The Tommyknockers attracted a wide audience, but earned mixed to negative reviews. Today, it has a reputation as one of the weakest of all King’s adaptations. Viewed more than 30 years later, however, The Tommyknockers stands out as an unusual King story. Despite the content restrictions of 1990s television the financial constraints the show's production,...