'Nightmares & Dreamscapes' Retro Recap: 'Battleground'

​Written by John Edward Betancourt

Long ago, fans of Stephen King would often settle in at the multiplex or on their living room couches to enjoy the latest adaptation of his work, with a sense of anxiety in their stomach. After all, in this dark era, the quality of said adaptation was straight up hit or miss. You either kept the lights on from how scary it was, or you laughed it off and went about your day.  

But as the years have progressed, respect has come into play and those adapting this iconic writer's work have made sure that it is about as top notch as it can get. But the recent rash of quality King adaptations had to have a starting point, a place where the bar was raised and didn't have Frank Darabont's name attached to it and that moment arrived in 2006, when TNT released a mini series adapting some of King's lesser known short stories that was loosely based on the anthology it shares its namesake with, Nightmares and Dreamscapes. This eight part series was a fascinating one to say the least because it covered such a vast sampling of King's work. From outright horror, to moments where the impossible became possible, as was the case with the series premiere; 'Battleground'.

Jason Renshaw is a man that seems to have it all. His beautiful penthouse apartment and lavish lifestyle are the stuff of dreams, but few know about him or his comfortable lifestyle for one good reason, he aims to keep it that way because Jason is a skilled assassin. He can seamlessly blend into the background and make it through any level of security to put an end to his target and his latest victim, Hans Morris of the Morris Toy Company, is no exception to this. But while Morris goes down easy and seems like another hit for the books, a surprise package of Army men delivered to Jason from Morris' mother leaves Jason stunned. After all, it's a miracle that anyone has found out where he lives, and more importantly, these toys are unlike any other...since they can come to life and they only have one thing on their mind...revenge for their master...

So, wow, what a way to kick off a mini series because this episode is absolutely spectacular. First and foremost, the special effects are absolutely top notch. Watching these soldiers come to life is the kind of stuff that you dreamed of as a kid, with a terrifying twist of course and credit needs to go to director Brian Henson (yes, the son of legendary Jim Henson) for making this whole episode work in incredible fashion. The army men simply look fantastic, like toys that have indeed come to life, but once you get past the awe and wonder of seeing them move, there's plenty more to enjoy this episode as well, specifically William Hurt's performance as Jason Renshaw.

Now Hurt is of course, a supremely talented actor and a joy to watch in anything he does but here...well he does something you rarely see. He never once speaks a line. No joke. I watched this episode carefully several times after my initial viewing just to be 100% sure of the fact that William is silent outside of screams and growls and well...he is and holy cow, it's a performance for the ages. William is so supremely in command of his character that you know exactly what Jason is thinking with a simple look and well, his silence adds to the majesty of this episode through and through because it makes this story raw and primal and about one thing...survival of the fittest. Either way, what a great way to kick off this miniseries and if the upcoming episodes are this thoughtful and powerful, I am in for one hell of a treat. Until next time. 

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