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From SCIFIPEDIA
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The Tremors movie series began with Tremors in 1990, a surprisingly appealing pastiche of traditional monster movies, casting Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward as a pair of handymen living in the small, remote town of Perfection, Nevada, who discover that several giant, wormlike creatures have risen from the depths of the Earth and are preying on the local people and their livestock.
Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.
Once the townspeople have been alerted to the danger, efforts are made to evacuate, but the creatures—now known as "Graboids"—are both intelligent and capable of learning, and they block the escape route. Several factors contributed to the movie's popularity including the good humor and wittiness of the script, the chemistry between the two principle characters, surprisingly good special effects, and strong performances by some of the supporting cast including Reba McEntire and Michael Gross.
Only Ward and Gross returned for the first sequel, Tremors II: Aftershocks (1996), reprising their roles as Earl Bassett, now turned professional graboid hunter, and Burt Gummer, survivalist and weapons enthusiast, and it was Gross who stole the limelight much of the time as the inhabitants of another isolated community discover that the graboids aren't nearly as dangerous as the parasites that live in their bodies. These are the Shriekers, which resemble a truncated ostrich, sense their prey by their heat signature, and let out a high pitched screech just before attacking.
Two more sequels followed, both featuring Gross as star. In Tremors III: Back to Perfection (2001), but it was clear that they both suffered from reduced budgets. The Shriekers mutate into flying creatures with built in flame throwers, so they are promptly christened "Assblasters". Ariana Richards reprises her role as Mindy Sterngood from the original movie. There are a few good moments, mostly from Gross, but in general it was a disappointing entry. The fourth in the series, Tremors IV: The Legend Begins (2004), is a prequel, set during the days of gunfighters and lawmen. Gross returns as his own ancestor and does a creditable job, but Billy Drago's performance as Black Jack Kelly, a professional gunfighter, is delightful.
TV Series
For Tremors, The SCI FI Channel paired Gross with an all new cast for a short lived television series in 2003, once again set in Perfection. Gross is a disgruntled man, determined to have nothing further to do with the graboids, but circumstances and a new partner pull him into the fray once more. The graboids are now a protected species so he is prohibited from hunting them, but the creatures aren't prohibited from hunting him. The series occasionally caught the tone of the original but was inconsistent and never gained a strong audience.
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