The Langoliers is a horror miniseries consisting of two parts of 1½ hours each. It was directed and written by Tom Holland and based on the novella by Stephen King from the four-part anthology book Four Past Midnight. The series was produced by Mitchell Galin and David R. Kappes, for Laurel Entertainment, Inc. The miniseries originally aired May 14–15, 1995 on the ABC network.
Plot
During a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Boston, a passenger plane flies through a strange light that causes most of the passengers and crew to disappear, leaving behind only their personal belongings. The remaining passengers, who were asleep at the time, include pilot Brian Engle, deadheading on the flight, along with a mysterious Englishman named Nick, schoolteacher Laurel Stevenson, tool and die worker Don Gaffney, violinist Albert Kaussner, troubled teen Bethany Sims, mystery author Bob Jenkins, blind girl Dinah Bellman, sleepy businessman Rudy Warwick, and mentally ill executive Craig Toomy.
After failing to establish communication with either air traffic control or other flights, Brian is able to land at Bangor International Airport, where the group finds the airport deserted and without power. They soon discover that everything around them is dull and lifeless, with matches failing to light, sounds lacking echo, and food having no taste. Dinah reports hearing a strange sound in the distance, while Bob postulates they may have passed through an aurora borealis and entered a time rip, sending them a few minutes into the past. Dinah, who has some telepathic ability, warns the others about Craig, who becomes increasingly unstable and violent after finding a gun in an airport locker. Nick and Albert subdue him after discovering that the strange environment has rendered the gun's bullets harmless.
Albert discovers that the "present time" is still on the plane, and objects brought from the airport regain normal behavior after a short time once on-board. As Brian prepares to refuel and take off in the hope of returning to normal time, others attempt to find Craig, who has escaped; upon discovery, he stabs Dinah and Don, killing the latter. As the group board the now nearly refuelled plane, they encounter strange creatures that consume everything, including time. Craig had previously referred to the creatures as Langoliers, which Bob deduces feed on time which has passed. Dinah psychically convinces Craig that his meeting has moved from Boston to here, which affords them valuable extra time to prepare the plane for take-off upon the arrival of the Langoliers, who chase Craig into the terminal building before devouring him.
As the plane takes off, they witness the Langoliers consuming the airport behind them. Dinah dies while recalling her connection with Craig, and as the plane approaches a time rip, Bob realizes that they survived their first trip through the rift while asleep and could disappear if they pass through it awake. Nick, now revealing that he was a government assassin on a mission, volunteers to stay awake while the others are knocked unconscious, to restore pressure just before entering the rip. After asking Laurel to travel to London to explain this to his estranged father, Nick disappears as the plane enters the rift, while Brian awakens shortly after to land the plane in Los Angeles.
Upon landing, the passengers realize that they may be a few minutes ahead of the present time, noting the return of sound and smell. With the present time stream catching up to them, they watch as other people blur into view before rejoining the present time stream.