ABC MINISERIES, AN: STEPHEN KING'S "STORM OF THE CENTURY" {PART 2 OF 3} (TV)
Summary
The second of this three-part miniseries written by Stephen King about a small town in Maine dealing with both a terrible snowstorm and a mysterious supernatural visitor.
Hatch brings Mike to the back and shows him Peter’s body, still hanging by a noose. The body bears the note Peter wrote, bearing the phrase “give me what I want and I’ll go away” multiple times. They believe that Andre is somehow responsible, but Andre says nothing. Ferd Andrews runs into the town hall in a panic to tell everyone about Lloyd’s suicide, and Robbie attempts to calm him down. Ursula tries to radio Mike to tell him about Lloyd, but the signal is too weak for him to make out the message. Hatch radios her from Mike’s truck and learns about Lloyd’s suicide; Robbie and Henry Bright have gone to investigate Lloyd’s death. Hatch says Mike is indisposed but won’t tell them exactly what’s happening, promising to get back to them later. The storm topples trees throughout town, smashing cars as they fall. Mike reviews the photographs he took at Martha’s house and Hatch comes in to inform him of Lloyd’s death. Mike sends Hatch and Kirk Freeman to the fire station to confirm the news.
Hatch and Kirk run into Robbie and Henry coming the other way. They inform Robbie about Peter’s death and they realize that both of them were committed under mysterious yet similar circumstances. Hatch convinces them to accompany them back to see Mike, and gets in touch with Ursula again but doesn’t confirm that either Lloyd or Peter is dead, as he doesn’t have the heart to tell her. Mike questions Andre, asking where his cane is and about what his cryptic phrases mean, as well as how he knew secret information about the townsfolk. Andre reveals that he knows that Mike cheated on an examination in college in order to avoid being expelled. He also speaks to Jack Carver, the other man on guard duty, revealing that he and two other men attacked a homosexual man with pool cues the previous year, causing him to lose sight in one of his eyes. Jack becomes enraged and tries to shoot Andre, but hits Mike instead. The bullet only grazes Mike’s skin and he is largely unhurt.
Robbie and Henry arrive and confer with Mike as the storm causes further damage to the town. Molly puts Ralphie to bed in the town shelter and tries to calm Donny, Robbie’s son, who keeps insisting that he see his father. Sandra, Robbie’s wife and Donny’s mother, confesses to Molly that she intends to leave Robbie soon, taking Donny with her to live at her mother’s house. Kat speaks to Billy in private, revealing that Andre’s accusation is correct and she had an abortion. He no longer wants anything to do with her, but Kat asks him about his affair with Jenna Freeman, which Andre also revealed, although she already knew about it. They get into an argument and Kat claims that she got the abortion because she couldn’t fully trust Billy; she found out about his affair at roughly the same time she discovered she was pregnant with his child. They argue and Billy tells her to leave as Kat berates him for being a “coward” about their situation. Meanwhile, Mike and the others observe as Andre stands in his cell and makes odd gesticulations. Billy nearly smashes Kat in the head with a can of tomato soup, but stops himself as she walks away. Andre appears to be aware of this and is upset that Billy did not kill her; he yells at Mike and causes a light bulb to explode. Andre’s cane appears nearby and Kat picks it up, seemingly in response to Andre’s command. He somehow compels her to beat Billy to death with the cane.
Ursula grows concerned, believing that something has happened to Peter. She decides that she wants to head down to the constable office to find out for herself, asking Molly to manage to shelter while she’s gone. Joanna Stanhope, one of the ladies at the shelter discovers Kat in a shed in the back, huddled over Billy’s body. She admits to murdering him with the cane. Joanna runs off in a panic and informs Ursula and Lucien Founder of Billy’s death before they can leave to see Mike. Ursula offers to take Joanna to see Mike while Lucien goes to investigate Billy’s body. Mike ponders what to do and asks if Andre knew any secrets about Robbie; Robbie replies only that Andre said something about his mother, but does not elaborate. Some in the office suspect that Andre is not human. Kat continues to sit in corner singing to herself as townsfolk move her out of the shed. Mike again asks Andre where his cane is, but Andre does not answer. Hatch speculates that Andre wanted to be captured and Robbie says that they could kill Andre without anyone else knowing, but Mike rejects this plan. Ursula and Joanna arrive and ask to speak with Mike. She sees Peter’s body laid out in the snow and weeps over it as Mike tries to console her.
Kat is brought into the shelter; some try to tend to her while others believe that she should be punished for her crime. Molly tries to settle everyone down for the time being. Mike asks Joanna about how she found Kat; Kat mentioned that a wolf’s head cane somehow made her kill Billy, but Joanna found no cane at the scene. Andre once again makes odd hand gestures and somehow gains influence over Cora Stanhope, Joanna’s mother. Mike wants to leave Hatch in charge while he escorts Ursula and Joanna back to the shelter and visits Molly, who is extremely worried about him. He also wants to recruit more men from the shelter to help him out at the constable’s office. Hatch reluctantly agrees and wishes Mike luck. Andre’s cane appears near Cora while she washes her face in the town hall’s bathroom. Mike observes Andre’s strange behavior and sets up some men in the marketplace so as to keep their distance from him. Cora kills herself by drowning her face in the bathroom sink, and this is soon discovered by others in the shelter. Mike arrives and quickly finds out about this latest suicide. Cora used her lipstick to write “give me what I want and I’ll go away” on the bathroom mirrors before killing herself.
Mike tries to keep Cora’s death under wraps so as not to panic the entire shelter. He orders that her body be covered up and placed alongside Billy’s in the shed. Robbie, while guarding Andre, has a vision of his mother calling out for him. Robbie attempts to shoot Andre as Mike leaves the town hall with several volunteers. Molly says goodbye to him and surprises him by suggesting that he kill Andre before he can cause more suffering. The other men at the constable’s office are prevented from reaching Robbie; the gun he is brandishing somehow turns into a live snake. Robbie sees his mother claiming that she is waiting for him in hell, and that she intends to eat him for all eternity, as “hell is repetition.” Andre telekinetically hurls Robbie across the room and causes the bars on his cell to collapse, freeing him. His cane appears in his hand and emits a terrifying unearthly light. Objects fly all over the room, and a gun levitates and starts shooting about. Hatch enters the room and Andre, now appearing as an emaciated old man in a hood and robe, approaches him, once again repeating the phrase: “give me what I want and I’ll go away.” Mike arrives too late to stop Andre from leaving as Hatch stands in the middle of the room, seemingly in a daze.
The townsfolk experience a number of strange and disturbing dreams that night. Some dream of a news report claiming that the residents of Little Tall Island all went missing after the storm, comparing the incident to the mysterious disappearance of the Roanoke Colony in Virginia in the late 16th Century. Others experience a dream of the townsfolk all marching single-file into the sea, killing themselves and apologizing to Andre for not giving him what he wanted. The few who awaken realize that these dreams are being mutually experienced by everyone in the shelter. Mike believes that if Andre isn’t given what he wants, he will compel everyone to commit mass suicide, just as he saw in his dream. Andre stands atop the town’s lighthouse before coming down and walking off. The townspeople gather outside to watch as the lighthouse succumbs to the pounding waves, crumbling into the sea. Several people go missing from the crowd outside and Mike panics, ordering everyone back inside the shelter. He organizes men to help him gather more supplies. Back at the shelter, Kat inexplicably bursts into tears and Ralphie follows a mysterious voice calling out to him.
Mike and Kirk fetch some children’s toys for the kids in the shelter and catches sight of a scattering of building blocks with letters on them. He rearranges Andre’s surname, Linoge, to form the word “Legion,” and quotes a Biblical passage, recalling that “Legion” was the name given to a man possessed by a multitude of demons. He recalls that Jesus cast the demons into a herd of pigs and put them into the sea. The voice compels Ralphie to enter a lightless room in the town hall, and the door closes behind him as he enters. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: February 15, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:30:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:56651
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Stephen King … Executive Producer, Writer
- Mark Carliner … Executive Producer
- Thomas H. Brodek … Producer
- Bruce Dunn … Associate Producer
- Robert F. Phillips … Line Producer
- Craig R. Baxley … Director
- Gary Chang … Music by
- Tim Daly … Cast, Mike Anderson
- Colm Feore … Cast, Andre Linoge
- Debrah Farentino … Cast, Molly Anderson
- Casey Siemaszko … Cast, Alton "Hatch" Hatcher
- Jeffrey DeMunn … Cast, Robbie Beals
- Julianne Nicholson … Cast, Katrina "Kat" Withers
- Dyllan Christopher … Cast, Ralph Emerick "Ralphie" Anderson
- Becky Ann Baker … Cast, Ursula Godsoe
- Spencer Breslin … Cast, Donny Beals
- Myra Carter … Cast, Cora Stanhope
- Nada Despotovich … Cast, Sandra Beals
- Kathleen Chalfant … Cast, Joanna Stanhope
- Jeremy Jordan … Cast, Billy Soames
- Ron Perkins … Cast, Peter Godsoe
- Steve Rankin … Cast, Jack Carver
- Adam Zolotin … Cast, Davey Hopewell
- Torri Higginson … Cast, Angela Carver
- Adam LeFevre … Cast, Ferd Andrews
- Denis Forest … Cast, Kirk Freeman
- Peter MacNeill … Cast, Sonny Brautigan
- Beth Dixon … Cast, Tess Marchant
- Soo Garay … Cast, Melinda Hatcher
- Christopher Marren … Cast, Henry Bright
- Leif Anderson … Cast, Johnny Harriman
- Marcia Laskowski … Cast, Linda St. Pierre
- John Innes … Cast, Reverend Riggins
- Jack Jessop … Cast, George Kirby
- Nancy Beatty … Cast, Octavia Godsoe
- Richard Blackburn … Cast, Andy Robichaux
- Gaylyn Britton … Cast, Mary Hopewell
- Tyler Bannerman … Cast, Frank Bright
- Skye McCole Bartusiak … Cast, Pippa Hatcher
- Harley English-Dixon … Cast, Heidi St. Pierre
- Stephen Joffe … Cast, Buster Carver
- Sam Morton … Cast, Harry Robichaux
- Cayda Rubin … Cast, Sally Godsoe
- Kristin Baxley … Cast, Annie Huston
- Michael Copeman … Cast, Upton Bell
- Shawn Doyle … Cast, Lucien Founder
- Norma Edwards … Cast, Betty Soames
- Victor Ertmanis … Cast, Alex Haber
- Richard Fitzpatrick … Cast, Jonas Stanhope
- Joan Gregson … Cast, Della Bissonette
- Jennifer Griffin … Cast, Carla Bright
- Lynne Griffin … Cast, Mrs. Kingsbury
- Nicky Guadagni … Cast, Jenna Freeman
- David Hughes … Cast, Burt Soames
- Helen Hughes … Cast, Roberta Coign
- Hardee T. Lineham … Cast, Bill Toomey
- Joel Keller … Cast, Cal Freese
- Arlene Mazerolle … Cast, Jill Robichaux
- Gerard Parkes … Cast, Orville Boucher
- Michael Rhoades … Cast, Stan Hopewell
- Kay Tremblay … Cast, False Mother