ABC MINI-SERIES: PETER BENCHLEY'S CREATURE {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)

Summary

Part one of two. One in this special two-part, made-for-television movie based on Peter Benchley's novel "White Shark," in which a Caribbean community is terrorized by a genetically created shark-man creature awakened from a twenty-five-year hibernation by a treasure hunter. The story begins in 1972 at a secret naval research base on Shark's Tooth Island, where Dr. Bishop has been conducting experiments to create a dolphin/shark hybrid. One of his more violent specimens, a genetic shark/human hybrid, breaks out of an enclosure and kills Bishop, and attempts to reach open waters. One of Bishop's assistants, Thomas Peniston, saves the world from becoming prey to the creature by locking it in a cage and sinking the cage out at sea. Twenty-five years later, Shark's Tooth Island is privately owned by Dr. Simon Chase, who is using the facility to study sharks in an attempt to find a cure for cancer. Chase and his first mate, Tall Man, have been monitoring a pregnant great white shark and must stage a rescue when she is hooked by a group of tourists fishing from a charter boat. Meanwhile, local poacher Adam Puckett is searching for sunken treasure when he disturbs the cage of the shark/human creature and inadvertantly awakens the beast from its slumber. The creature escapes, and the killings begin when charter pilot Ben Madeira is pulled off of his boat and devoured as his passengers watch in horror. Chase meets his estranged wife, Amanda, and their teenage son, Max, at the airport after a ten-month separation. When word reaches them about Madeira's death, they rush down to the pier. The island authorities are convinced that the slaughter was the work of a great white, but after examining Madeira's body, Chase isn't so sure. While cliff diving, Max narrowly escapes becoming the creature's next victim, but one of his fellow divers is not so lucky. The island is in an uproar over this second death, and after finding a shark's tooth embedded in the diver's body, a number of islanders set out to catch the great white. While Chase is at sea trying to save his shark from the bloodthirsty islanders, his boat is attacked by a creature with a giant webbed hand. The next morning, Amanda does some research on the history of Shark's Tooth Island and Chase contacts the navy looking for answers, but all he gets is a warning from Admiral Richland to mind his own business. That night, Chase discovers that a local wildman named "Werewolf" knows something about the creature and the secret experiments of Shark's Tooth Island. When Chase, Amanda, Werewolf, and Max go to the research facility, Werewolf leads them to Dr. Bishop's secret underground laboratory. While Chase and Amanda are searching the lab, they are attacked by the creature -- who is beginning to breathe air and start walking on two legs -- but they manage to escape up a ladder and lock the hatch of the facility behind them. Includes commercials, promos, and public service announcements. This program is closed-captioned. Continues with T:53491.

Details

• NETWORK: ABC
• DATE: May 17, 1998 Sunday 9:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:53:47
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:53490
• GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
• SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Sharks - Drama
• SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1998
• COMMERCIALS:
  • TV - Commercials - "Bulworth" (feature film)
  • TV - Commercials - "Godzilla" (feature film)
  • TV - Commercials - Aleve pain reliever
  • TV - Commercials - Arrid deodorant
  • TV - Commercials - Aussie hair products
  • TV - Commercials - Ball Park frankfurters
  • TV - Commercials - Breath Savers mints
  • TV - Commercials - British Airways
  • TV - Commercials - Bud Light beer
  • TV - Commercials - Burger King fast-food
  • TV - Commercials - Chrysler automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Excedrin pain reliever
  • TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Gillette razors
  • TV - Commercials - KFC fast-food
  • TV - Commercials - K Swiss footwear
  • TV - Commercials - Lay's Wow! potato chips
  • TV - Commercials - Little Caesar's restaurants
  • TV - Commercials - M&M's candies
  • TV - Commercials - Macintosh computers
  • TV - Commercials - McDonald's fast-food
  • TV - Commercials - Michelob beer
  • TV - Commercials - Revlon cosmetics
  • TV - Commercials - Rogaine hair restorer
  • TV - Commercials - Salon Selectives shampoos
  • TV - Commercials - Saturn automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Shout detergent
  • TV - Commercials - The Peace Corps
  • TV - Commercials - Tylenol pain reliever
  • TV - Commercials - UPS deliveries
  • TV - Commercials - VISA credit cards
  • TV - Commercials - Volkswagen automobiles
  • TV - Commercials - Zyrtec allergy medication
  • TV - PSA - Partnership for a Drug-Free America
  • TV - Promos - "ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings"
  • TV - Promos - "A Dangerous Affair"
  • TV - Promos - "Barbara Walters Presents Six to Watch"
  • TV - Promos - "Dharma and Greg"
  • TV - Promos - "Drew Carey"
  • TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
  • TV - Promos - "NYPD Blue"
  • TV - Promos - "Spin City"
  • TV - Promos - "The World's Deadliest Sea Creatures"
  • TV - Promos - "Where It's at: The Rolling Stone State of the Union"

CREDITS

• Pen Densham … Executive Producer
• Robert Halmi … Executive Producer
• Richard Barton Lewis … Executive Producer
• Mark Stern … Executive Producer
• John Watson … Executive Producer
• Brent Karl Clackson … Producer
• Rockne S. O'Bannon … Co-Producer, Writer
• Mary Eilts … Associate Producer
• Mary Morgan … Associate Producer
• Stan Winston … Production (Misc.), Creature Effects by
• Stuart Gillard … Director
• Van Tongeren, John … Music by
• Aaron Martin … Music (Misc. Credits), Music Editor
• Craig T. Nelson … Cast, Dr. Simon Chase
• Kim Cattrall … Cast, Dr. Amanda Mayson
• Colm Feore … Cast, Admiral Aaron Richland
• Cress Williams … Cast, Tall Man
• Michael Reilly Burke … Cast, Adam Puckett
• Michael Michele … Cast, Tauna
• Matthew Carey … Cast, Max
• Megalyn Echikunwoke … Cast, Elizabeth
• Blu Mankuma … Cast, Rollie Gibson
• John Aylward … Cast, Ben Madeira
• Giancarlo Esposito … Cast, Thomas Peniston/"Werewolf"
• Michael Aubertin … Cast, Kima
• Peter Benchley … Cast, the Exec's Buddy
• Antoni Carnacchione … Cast, the Exec
• James Coleman … Cast, Bobby Tobin
• Rob Dobprocida … Cast, Seal Ochaa
• Colin Lawrence … Cast, the Communications Officer
• Steve Makaj … Cast, Seal Leader Taylor
• Juliana Prospere … Cast, Rabbi
• Rick Ravanello … Cast, Seal Nash
• Elvira Regis … Cast, the Old Woman
• Gary Reineke … Cast, Dr. Ernest Bishop
• St. Clair, Gandolph … Cast, Dr. Bastien
• Kennedy Samuel … Cast, Nathan
• Brian Steele … Cast, the Creature
• Toi Svane … Cast, Kyrstyn
• Warren Takeuchi … Cast, Seal York
• Jill Teed … Cast, Seal Gray