Tremors FAQ


Note about Tremors 5 and Tremors 6 questions:
Stampede did not work on Tremors 5 in any way so we have NO information about it or Universal’s plans for future Tremors movies.  All questions about those topics should be sent to Universal Studios.

Tremors The Series

Shawn Christian was not able to return to Perfection for the Tremors Series because he was already committed to star in another series shooting at the same time.

Why is Shawn Christian not in the Series? was last modified: by

Tremors The Series was filmed in Rosarito Mexico. The town of Perfection was built in a remote location outside of town and the soundstage we used in town was built for the film Titanic and actually had some of the old sets still in place. We had to tear them down to build our own sets.

Where was Tremors The Series shot? was last modified: by

Burt has all new, or rather different, guns for the series. Unfortunately for him, the destruction of his beloved bunker home (in Tremors 3) also destroyed most of his substantial stores of silver bars. He’s not been able to replace his entire gun collection; and is having to make do with some older semi-autos, one Mauser style bolt action, a Desert Eagle handgun, and one shotgun. Poor Burt! However, he was able to replace the destroyed Grizzly Big Boar single shot .50 cal with something even more impressive.

You destroyed all of Burt’s guns in Tremors 3, will he get more? was last modified: by

Our fans in the UK have been burning up our E-mail server with this question. Here’s what the SciFi reps have told us so far. The network is not yet international, but they are negotiating in various territories and hope to expand out of the USA soon. For the sake of our mail system we hope it’s sooner than later!

Will Tremors The Series be shown outside the US? was last modified: by

A number of fans have wondered why Burt, of all people, has always driven ordinary SUV type 4-wheel drives. Well, the real reason is born of low budget film making. When we work on these movies we have to do everything to save money, and one way is to “promo” the vehicles. That is, we make deals with car companies to loan us vehicles for free. It’s a logical trade because it essentially gives them free advertising. Bur for Burt, it means he ends up driving whatever late model SUV they’ll let us have. HOWEVER, when we started producing the series in Mexico, we found American car companies didn’t want to send promo cars there. We had to buy all our vehicles. So S.S. Wilson got to pick almost any truck he wanted for Burt. Check Burt’s “new” truck when the series premiers! BTW, we also got the Desert Jack Tour Jeeps back (sold after completion of Tremors 3). They were still painted the same color with the sign still on the doors.

Why does Burt’s truck keep changing? was last modified: by

I was not in Mexico when the trucks (two identical ones) were purchased and outfitted by the transportation team. I do not know the tire sizes, roll cage specs, engine type, etc. Unfortunately, with the series now canceled, the trucks have been sold. We don’t have any decent pictures of it at Stampede to our knowledge. But there is a partial shot of it on the SciFi Tremors site (for as long as the keep the site published)

Do you have any specs or pictures the 1979 Blazer Burt drives in the TV series? was last modified: by

Yes, of course Burt should have a snorkel. (For our non-off-road vehicle fans, that’s a device that, along with other adaptations, allows the truck to ford deep water.) But the truth is, we’re lucky Burt has a decent truck at all. Shooting in Mexico, we found out American car companies won’t make their normal movie/TV deals to provide vehicles, so we had to buy all vehicles for the show. I fought to get him a vintage Dodge Powerwagon (or military M-37 version of same). But these were just too old for our transportation department to try to keep in repair. So we ended up with a pretty gnarly Chevy K-5 Blazer, and gnarlied it up some more. But someday I’d still love to do a scene where Burt suddenly fords a stream that’s about six feet deep and pretends like he doesn’t even notice.

Shouldn’t Burt have a snorkel for his truck? was last modified: by

To our knowledge, there are no plans to release it. But this is something to bug SciFi network about. We have no control over what they do with the series.

Will the “Tremors TV” theme song ever be made available? was last modified: by

Honest answer:  Sorry to report it’s just because we couldn’t get our series directors to understand how subtle the shaking effect should be. And since we were rarely able to be on the set in Mexico, we couldn’t over-see shots like that. The result was the directors had the camera operators shake the cameras really violently, resulting in the comical, unrealistic effect seen in the series.

New answer provided by a helpful fan (thanks!):  The Graboids in T-1 were moving slowly because they were listening for prey in the store.  By the time of the series, the townsfolk have sensors which warn of El Blanco’s presence, so they remain still when he’s around.  Since El Blanco never senses prey as he passes near the store, he continues moving at top speed, hence causing a greater amount of shake.  We buy it!

In Tremors 1, why didn’t the store shake as hard as it does in the series [when El Blanco passes beneath]? was last modified: by

What I picked originally in pre-production was a Dan Wesson .44 mag (I’ve forgotten the model number). But there were many many problems getting guns, even fake guns, imported into Mexico, so I’m not sure what we ended up with and wasn’t there when the scene was shot.

In “Project 4-12,” What is the big revolver Burt uses when he faces the charging 4-12 creature? was last modified: by

Twitchell and his family live in Bixby, in a “ranchette” style home built by developer Melvin Plug. Twitchell works out of an office in Las Vegas. Yes, he is level GS 13 in the U.S. government, and would normally have a staff, but the position of monitoring Perfection valley, the world’s only designated Graboid habitat, is so unusual, and the people in the valley so few, the powers that be placed him in charge alone.

Where does Twitchell live? was last modified: by

It, like his fuel and water storage tanks, is underground adjacent to his basement abode. We do not believe it is placed in his former shooting range.

Where the heck is Burt’s generator? was last modified: by

No, Mixmaster does not alter an animal that ingests it; only the DNA of that animal’s progeny.

Does Mixmaster mutate only offspring, or can it mutate the animal that eats it as well? was last modified: by

We had plans for Larry to work in the store. Writing, shooting, and editing got so rushed late in the season that I don’t know if it’s clear that’s what was happening.

After Larry is introduced, does he end up working for Jodi in the store? was last modified: by

No, guys like Melvin always find a way to recover. Trust us, we know; there’s a lot of them in the film business.

What happened to Melvin after his golf course was shut down in “Water Hazard”? Did he go bankrupt? was last modified: by

Huh?! I think I need our other fans to chime in on this one. He IS the same actor! His screen name when we made Tremors 1 was Bobby Jacoby. As an adult he decided to change his name to Robert Jayne, but he’s the same actor. We were very lucky and happy that Robert/Bobby agreed to play Melvin in Tremors 1, Tremors 3, and in the series.

If the Melvin in the first movie and in the series is the same character then why wasn’t he played by same actor? was last modified: by

Believe it or not, TV production is so frenetic, you don’t remember what you did. You just write as fast as you can and respond to the daily emergencies. But the show’s script coordinator Suzanne Levine has reconstructed it for us. So, here are the scripts for the series in the order they were written. This was also the order in which we intended them to be aired, but as you all now know, SciFi channel thought you’d enjoy the show more if it made less sense, and aired them out of order.

Episode 1 – Feeding Frenzy
Episode 2 – Shriek and Destroy
Episode 3 – Blast from the Past
Episode 4 – Hit and Run
Episode 5 – Project 4-12
Episode 6 – Ghost Dance
Episode 7 – Night of the Shriekers
Episode 8 – A Little Paranoia Among Friends
Episode 9 – Flora or Fauna
Episode 10 – Graboid Rights
Episode 11 – Water Hazard
Episode 12 – The Sounds of Silence
Episode 13 – The Key

What was the intended play order of the episodes? was last modified: by

Of course this is the BIG question. Many many MANY of you have written to lament the cancellation of the series. We thank you and we understand your frustration. The answer of course is that the show didn’t quite get the ratings SciFi wanted (it was very close!) As always, we encourage you to fire off those same emails to SciFi network and Universal. They need to hear how much you loved the show. You’re the reason it was made in the first place!

How come Tremors The Series was cancelled? was last modified: by

Older answer.  It’s a mistake. We provided all the original sound effects to the sound department on the series, but the editors there didn’t know which sounds went with which creatures. Production was moving so fast, some of the early shows got the wrong sounds put in, like the sick Graboid sound from T-2 being applied to El Blnaco.

Newer answer.  This is a clever one we got from a fan who is trying to expand the rules of the Tremors universe:  El Blanco has lived MUCH longer than any previously known Graboid due to his inability to metamorphose into Shriekers.  Even so, as he ages, he might logically begin making some of the Graboid sounds that lead up to metamorphosis, even though the doesn’t actually change.  It’s like an old age sort of thing.

How come El Blanco sometimes sounds like a Shrieker? Or sounds like he’s turning into a Shrieker? was last modified: by

Highly unlikely.

I noticed that Tyler’s Dodge Charger in the first episode was a 1969 model year. That was the same year model for the “General Lee” in “Dukes of Hazard”. So I was wondering if Tyler’s Charger was a repainted “General Lee” leftover? was last modified: by

The editing for that sequence was pretty difficult. Most of the muskets did not really fire. There was not much time to get a lot of footage, etc. I haven’t analyzed it, but it’s entirely possible that Twitchell gets left out of the action. The intention was that he dropped back behind the group after firing his one ineffective shot.

In “Shriek and Destroy” agent Twitchell seems to disappear during the final musket sequence. One minute he’s there, one he’s not. Did he run away? was last modified: by

As I may have explained elsewhere, the Tremors creators (Wilson, Maddock and Roberts) were barred from the editing rooms at the end of series production. SciFi and USA for some reason thought “Shriek and Destroy” was a terrible episode and almost unusable. That’s why they aired it last instead of second. We saw some later edited versions and sent in suggestions for changes, but these generally were not taken.

“Shriek and Destroy” was much shorter than most other episodes. Can you tell us fans what was cut out? was last modified: by

Burt’s biggest rifle is a Barrett 82A1 .50 cal BMG (which stands for “Browning Machine Gun”, the gun for which the cartridge was originally designed). It is way more powerful than the biggest elephant gun. The device on the end of the barrel is not a silencer; it’s a muzzle brake. When a shot is fired, it deflects the explosive gasses slightly to the rear, which helps soften the recoil (“kick”) of this monster gun.

What is that big rifle Burt carries? And is that a silencer on the end? was last modified: by

Politics. If Universal Home Video had been willing to delay the start of Tremors 4 two weeks, or if SciFi had been willing to wait until the end of T-4’s 25 day shoot to start the series production, Michael Gross could have been in all 13 episodes. Both sides absolutely refused to compromise, even though they’re both owned by the same parent company. After all that, Universal Home Video then delayed the release of the finished T-4 several months. Go figure.

What is the real reason for Burt not being in all of the episodes? was last modified: by

Great idea for an episode. Wish we were still on the air.

With Mixmaster on the loose in the valley, wouldn’t the government quarantine Rosalita’s cattle, probably bankrupting her? was last modified: by

Well, gang, not likely. We just didn’t quite hit those Star Trek numbers.

Okay, the series is canceled. We accept it (sort of). Will there ever be a movie starring the TV cast? was last modified: by

Well, we had a cool idea for an episode to explain that. We were going have Mindy’s ex-rocker dad show up, much to Nancy’s dismay. We’d find out Nancy was something of a groupie back in the day.

What happened to Mr. Sterngood (Nancy’s husband, Mindy’s father), whom we’ve never seen? was last modified: by

Not likely. SciFi does not consider the show a success. We doubt that they will promote it or support it in any way. You will note that they have now removed it from their web site.

Will the scripts for the show ever get posted in PDF format? was last modified: by

The idea was that he ran back into the house after firing his own musket into the ground. The sequence was shot and cut so roughly it may be hard to see what was supposed to happen.

In “Shriek and Destroy” agent Twitchell seems to just disappear during the final Shrieker assault. What happened? was last modified: by

No, Tyler was not in the Armed Services, nor was he a spy for the government. Our idea was that he had a strict military father. But we didn’t get a chance to flesh out that background.

In “A Little Paranoia Among Friends” Tyler is seen wearing dogtags in the motel room. How come? Was he in the service? Were you planning to reveal he was some kind of government plant secretly sent to monitor the valley. was last modified: by

One thing we wanted to do was reveal that Rosalita was in fact an imposter, that she wasn’t really related to the Tony Genaro character, Miguel, (Tremors 1 and Tremors 3). She got in trouble with gangsters in Vegas, heard about Miguel’s land, and impersonated a relative to get control of it, so she could hide out from the mob. That’s why we had all the jokes about her not liking her cows and not knowing how to run the ranch very well.

We were going to have Burt get into an online romance, only to find out it was with Nancy.

We were going to find undestroyed areas of the Proudfoot labs and reveal more of their experiment in altering DNA.

Ah, the future that never was.

Just so we can suffer more, what were some of the future ideas for the series? was last modified: by

Charlotte had done a big commercial in which she had an exclusive deal. That means she was not allowed to play other characters while the commercial was on the air. Unfortunately the deal covered the time when we had to shoot the series and we couldn’t get her out of the contract. Both she and we were disappointed. But we did get to meet and work with Marcia Strassman.

Why didn’t Charlotte Stewart, who played Nancy in T1 and T2, play the character in the series? was last modified: by

The later episode ideas hadn’t been worked out by the time we knew Michael Gross would not be in them, so there were no scripts done in which Burt had action which then had to be changed. There was no version in which he fought the chicada bugs, for example. The exception was “Water Hazard.” Burt was originally part of the end action of that show, but had to be written out so Michael could leave in time to get to pre-production on Tremors 4.

Since we now officially know that Burt was originally intended to be in the final three episodes (11, 12, and 13) can you tell us what changes had to be made to accomodate his not being available? was last modified: by

Actually, we had not come up with too much beyond the thirteen episodes. It was all we could do to get them written and into production. One idea which was floated, however, was mysterious MixMaster modified bugs which eat all the rubber (synthetic and otherwise) in town. All the faucets leaked, cars’ fanbelts broke, etc. SciFi thought it was too goofy.

Can we get more info on what might have been? How many episodes did we fans get screwed out of by Bonnie and her alien abductee network? was last modified: by

We did not build the whole creature full scale — only his head with its horn. However, S.S. Wilson estimates he was about six feet long and about three feet tall at the shoulder.

How big is the Project 412 creature? was last modified: by

It wouldn’t have been an actual head, but it might have been one of the piñatas Jodi was selling. I think some were ABs.

In “Feeding Frenzy” at the very end where Tyler’s giving the tour through Chang’s Market it looks like on the back wall for a split second we see an AB head. Is it? was last modified: by

Well, sadly the director and 2nd unit crew on that episode chose to shoot it that way. KNB Effects actually did build the whole creature and it looked really cool.  In editing the show we went through all the footage, looking for shots where you could see it more clearly. But there just weren’t any. By then the show was wrapped and there was no way to shoot any additional footage.

Water Hazard shrimp
Full scale giant shrimp from Water Hazard.
In “Water Hazard” how come we never see the whole creature? was last modified: by

It was supposed to be one of those that shoots a single column of water really high in the center of the pond.

In “Water Hazard” what was Melvin’s malfunctioning fountain really supposed to look like? was last modified: by

This is the result of having to write episodes so quickly. We liked the actor playing Larry and realized he had potential as a recurring character. So we were trying to flesh him out and make him a more realistic character. The result, of course, is some inconsistency from show to show.

Running character of Larry: Why does his behavior change so drastically from the episode “Flora or Fauna,” to the episodes “The Sounds or Silence” and “The Key,”? was last modified: by

The correct answer is c). It is a compound which allows intact, functioning DNA to move readily among plants and animals.

Is Mixmaster a) a virus, b) a disease, or a c) compound? was last modified: by

Yes. We had arguments internally about whether to use the invisibat idea or not. But with the pressures of production, we decided to go with it.

Was the “invisibat” supposed to be the result of Mixmaster? was last modified: by

Well, on this one we have no idea. Best guess is that props or art department threw something together from existing graphics they had on hand.

At the end of “Night of the Shriekers,” Nancy shows Burt an article to try and convince him to decorate his bunker. In the article there’s a picture of a man’s eyes which look familiar. Who was used for the photograph? was last modified: by

It is the military body style of the Jeep Gladiator from the late 1960s.

What model is Tyler’s tour jeep? was last modified: by

Yes. We touched on it briefly in “Night of the Shriekers” when we revealed he plays the guitar, etc. We hadn’t officially developed too much background for Twitchell by the time the series shut down, but we were definitely going to do more with the character. We wanted to see more sides of him, find out that he takes being a family man very seriously, and that he doesn’t always like being the “bad guy” of Perfection. We hoped to explain the tortuous government employee route that landed him in that obscure corner of the desert, but never had time to work it all out.

W.D. Twitchell. Was it ever envisioned that we would be given more details about his past and if so, what were they? was last modified: by

Well, we’re a little confused on this one. Though the series Graboids were built by KNB Effects, they were cast from the original molds made by Amalgamated Dynamics for Tremors 1. So everything should be the same. The writer/producers weren’t on the set much in Mexico, so differences might have crept in we never noticed. One possibility is that the spikes are easier to see on El Blanco than they are on the darker normal Graboids, so they just stand out more. Frankly we didn’t have time for spike spotting. You fans amaze us.

And now May 2010, it is “yes.”  Don’t we look foolish?  But Universal (despite emails we sent asking them about it) never told us of the plan to release it on DVD.  We found out about it from you fans.

Why do Graboids in Tremors the Series have spikes going around their whole body instead of just on their sides like in the movies? was last modified: by

[July, 2019 update. Obviously this did finally happen, but it took a long time.] Old answer is below.

It’s no (as of Oct.2009). We were relaying information as we got it from the studio. Before they canceled the series, they were telling us it would probably go the “normal” TV show route to DVD. Why they later chose not to do that is a mystery to us. We have asked several times, but they’ve never explained. We can only guess that they feel the market is not big enough to bother with.

One more time: Will the series EVER be put on DVD? Once in the FAQs you said, “Probably.” But another time you said, “No.” Which is it? was last modified: by

Jodi has a bedroom and full bath in the back of her store. Tyler uses one of those outdoor plastic bag solar showers behind his Quonset hut quarters. In colder weather he begs to use either Nancy’s or Jodi’s facilities.

Do Jodi and Tyler have a bath/shower in their respective “homes,” or do they use Nancy’s? was last modified: by

Larry definitely would have become a more effective member of the Perfection team. But he never would outgrow his enthusiasm and excitement over facing the unknown. He’d always be a wild card in any tense situation. As Burt would complain: “You never know when Larry’s going to start staring when he should start shooting!”

What were the plans for Larry? Would he have evolved and been able to help Burt and Tyler fight off various Mixmaster creatures, or would he still be just a nuisance? was last modified: by

Well, I could try to come up with one of my quippy answers, but this is one of those things that happens in production. The sound people look at a scene and they add all sorts of sounds so that the director and producers have a lot of choices when they do the final “mix.” Series production is so rapid there was probably nobody paying close enough attention the day that show was mixed to ask the question this fan wisely asks. So now it’s a mystery dog. Or maybe a coyote with an unnaturally deep voice.

In the episode “Blast From The Past,” when Nancy is walking from her house to Jody’s market carrying her “Desert Icicles,” we hear a dog bark in the background. Whose dog is it? was last modified: by

I’m not sure about the video specifically. Most of the time images (like the seismometer readings on the store monitors) were added later. Sometimes we were able to shoot them on set at the same time.

Burt’s Monster Hunter video is often being shown in Chang’s store. Was it actually playing when you guys were filming or was it added in later? was last modified: by

They were supposed to see images similar to the seismograph images seen on the Chang store video monitors in some episodes. The idea was that the seismos provided an easy-to-read graphical representation of El Blanco’s location and direction of travel.

When cast members looked at their wrist seismometers, what were they actually supposed to be seeing? I know all they saw during filming was a blank screen. was last modified: by

TV moves so fast there’s a very narrow window of time to Scheduling actors. I don’t know the specific reason but most likely she just wasn’t available on the exact days we had to shoot that show.

Why didn’t Ariana Richards come back to play Mindy in “Graboid Rights”? was last modified: by

None of us at Stampede has an Avocet, and we didn’t get to play with them on the set.  My best guess is that the sound editors picked something from their vast audio libraries that they thought sounded right for the show, (and probably not the actual Avocet alarm sound).  That’d be the normal approach.

You used Avocet watches as the “wrist-seismos,” townsfolk wear in the series. Did you use the real sound of the watches’ alarms, or a different sound? was last modified: by

No, for reasons never clear to us, SciFi insisted that the show be shot in the old TV “square” aspect ratio (4:3).  We argued that this was crazy since everyone in Hollywood knew that in a few years all TV in the U.S. would go to the HD 16:9 aspect ratio.  But they wouldn’t budge.  As for it looked “crowded,” that was how the director of photography liked it.

Update: 2016, another fan has pointed out that when Hulu ran the series, it was presented it wide-screen and was NOT cropped top and bottom (as would normally happen if you pulled a 16.9 image out of a 4:3 shaped frame.  He even included screenshots proving his point.  We don’t have an answer for how this was done. We only know what we were told during production.

Was the show filmed in the 16:9 [widescreen and HiDef] aspect ratio and cropped for SciFi? It looked ‘crowded’ and ‘cropped’ on TV. was last modified: by

As far we know they are not legit.  Hard as it is for fans to believe, Universal will not answer our questions about plans for releasing the series on DVD.

Are the DVD box sets that I’ve seen on web sites such as tvboxset.com and others legitimate? was last modified: by

Partly this is because in Tremors 1 you’re not really seeing all of the Graboid.  Val and Earl have only uncovered the top portion of it.  But also, not all Graboids are exactly alike.  There are fat ones and thin ones, longer ones and shorter ones, just as with animals and people.

In T1 the Graboid Val and Earl dig up looks long and skinny. But in the series episode “The Key,” the Graboid on the truck looks a lot shorter and wider. was last modified: by

We had one idea for an octopus-like thing that lives in trees.  It snatches people up and cocoons them in pods hidden in the branches.  Our Perfection heroes are totally stumped for a while, since they assume the victims are being pulled into the ground.

If the Series had continued, what other monsters did you plan to come from Mix Master? was last modified: by

Sorry, we don’t know.  That was all handled at SciFi Network.

Who wrote the website content for the Sci-FI Channel’s Tremors: The Series site? was last modified: by

Given the extreme nature and wide variety of the adventures befalling beleaguered Perfection, we feel it’s at least a year.

What is the time span of the 13 episodes? was last modified: by

Like many of Perfection Valley’s biological anomalies, Twitchell made sure it was packed up and sent off to a government lab for study.  Unfortunately, since the government was being secretive about what was actually going on with mixmaster in the previous experiments, the remains of Artimia were later “lost.”  The government now claims it never existed.

What did they do with Jurassic Artimia at the end of Water Hazard? was last modified: by

That’s a reference to United States government employee salary scales.  It means he’s got a medium-high ranking.

What does it mean when Twitchell says he’s a GS 13? was last modified: by

Desert rat that he is, he often stays where they originally found him.  But there are hints that he spends time at Nancy’s place, too.

So now that 4-12 is dead, where is Cletus staying? was last modified: by

He was in a bad car crash and decided to get out of racing.

So what happened with Tyler when he was in NASCAR? was last modified: by

Umm, we never indicated an exact amount. It was “enough.”

How much was the check for that Melvin wrote for Rosalita in the series? was last modified: by

No, the Ghost Dance mine was a quick construction down in Mexico.  The Tremors 4 mine was Bronson Cave, within sight of the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles.  Bronson Cave has been used in many many movies over the years, including several of the great SciFi B movies that inspired Tremors (like It Conquered the World).  SS Wilson was excited to get to shoot there.  However, we needed a very low ceiling and narrow tunnels for our mine, so we ended up having to build a mine within a mine, since Bronson cave is huge inside.  We also dressed up its smaller entrance to look more mine-like instead of cave-like.

In Ghost Dance, is the mine seen in the first few moments of the show the same mine seen in tremors 4? was last modified: by

Shriekers are all about consuming food fast.  They don’t have time to be crunching bones for the marrow.

Why do Shriekers in the series seem to leave the bones intact on human prey? was last modified: by

Honestly, we never figured that out. Probably something like $12.00 a person.

How much does Tyler charge to go on the Graboid tour? was last modified: by

This may set the record as the most complex faq question to date, and in truth isn’t really frequently asked.  That said, wow, I’m really surprised to learn that the formula on the chemical is real.  I assumed it was a number made up by the production design team.  That said, many compounds produced by living things become toxic to those same living things when used in concentrations heavier than found in nature, or when “tweaked” chemically to behave differently than in the natural environment.  That’s what the government hoped to achieve with their compound, but the mutated bacteria were no longer susceptible.

In “Ghost Dance” (Episode 6), the hydrophilic bacteria is referred to as a bacteria aerophoba. Aerophoba are yellow tube sponges, which contain high levels of bacteria. When the men in black spray the bacteria cloud with a chemical, it bears the formula C9H9Br2NO3, which it turns out is the formula for Aeroplysinin-1, “an antibacterial bromo-compound from the sponge Verongia aerophoba” (which is apparently used in cancer research). Would it do any good to spray a creature derived from the sea sponge with a chemical also sprayed from the sea sponge? was last modified: by

There were a couple of things which drove the creation of the Ghost Dance “creature.”  One, due to time/budget limitations, we needed to come up with ideas which did not require the design, construction, and puppeteering of full-fledged monsters.  Two, we liked the idea of something that appears to be one thing (ghost) but actually has a scientific (or at least semi-scientific) explanation.  Working backward from those end-points, we came up with the glowing cloud idea.

Ghost Dance: what’s the story on this unique monster’s creation by the writer(s)? was last modified: by

Okay, first of all, how do you notice these things???  Anyway, while I can’t say for sure what happened on this particular episode, for legal reasons movies and TV shows nearly always use fake license plates, fake phone numbers, fake addresses, etc.  In this case, they are probably fake Nevada plates.

In “Ghost Dance,” every vehicle in the episode has a unique license plate, instead of having plates pixelated out or replaced with fake plates. Were these rental cars or fake plates? was last modified: by

No, it was not.  But it’s a really cool idea.  The SciFi network really liked “Ghost Dance” because it was a unique twist on the monster-of-the-week formula we were working with.  An idea like this would have been fun to run with had we made it to another season.

While mixmaster isn’t supposed to affect humans, wouldn’t it affect some of the many bacteria in our bodies? On our skin? Or the viruses which infect us? Was this considered for any future episode ideas? was last modified: by

A three day course is about $800.00, depending on specifics.  If firearms training is involved, there is an additional charge for ammunition, which varies with the caliber.

How much does Burt charge people to attend his survival school? was last modified: by

As noted elsewhere, the Chang’s market in the series is physically different from the one in the movies.  However, the reason Jodi maintains fold-down stairs in the store is that she never wants to be in the situation Val, Earl and Rhonda were in – with a Graboid coming through the floor and no easy way up.  She wouldn’t want to be trying to run to the outside stairs.

In “Ghost Dance” it looks like there are stairs on what should be the north side of Chang’s market, leading to the roof. Why then, in Episode 3 (”Blast from the Past”), does Jodi have fold-down stairs inside the store? was last modified: by

Yes, we intended to increase the Tremors TV family by adding those characters.  Also, there was a plan to reveal that Rosalita had run a sort of scam  pretending to be a relative of Miquel’s, mentioned in another FAQ answer on this page.  But of course we didn’t have enough episodes to get to these ideas.

The website for the show mentioned a niece for Jodi (Natalie) and a brother for Rosalita (Roberto). What were the plans for those characters? I thought Rosalita was going to be revealed NOT to be related to Miguel? was last modified: by

It’s partly a function of the rush to get the special effects done (i.e., there isn’t always time to fine-tune the color of the FX shots).  It can also be exacerbated by colors displaying differently on different TVs.

Why is El Blanco sometimes red in the TV series. was last modified: by

I’m sorry to admit I don’t know.  If he had a first and middle name, it’s already escaped me.

What does the “W.D.” in W.D. Twitchell stand for? was last modified: by

As a rock, unfortunately.

Will you ever make a new tremors the series episode or is it as dead as a rock???? was last modified: by

Uh — no.  They are two separate things.  Tremors 5 is a finished screenplay for a stand-alone Tremors movie set in Australia.  Unfortunately, Universal has no plans to make it.

Is Tremors the Series the same as Tremors 5? Or: did Tremors 5 become Tremors the Series? was last modified: by

It’s been ten years!  OMG.  That said,  we don’t feel the town has changed a great deal.  It is so remote that mainstream tourism has never caught on.  Also, it’s a little scary going to Perfection, like going to see grizzly bears up close.  Not that many people really want to do it.  So, the locals make decent money, but a lot of times life is pretty quiet.  Of course, once in a while some strange critter appears created by MixMaster, but they’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with that.  Burt, Jodi, and Nancy would stay for sure.  Melvin probably got tired of trying to cash in and moved to more urban settings.  Tyler and Rosalita, we think, might eventually get tired of the limited setting and move on, too.  But then, there’s some mystery about Rosalita’s past, so she might not have the freedom she’d like.

It has been 10 years since Tremors The Series, Where do you see the town now in 2013? Have there been any big changes? Any new residents? Have any of them moved out? was last modified: by

It seems strange, I suppose, but we didn’t set out for it to be that way.  We wanted it to have the same tone as the movies.  But on a series you have input from the network (SYFY) and you have different directors doing every episode. As newcomers to TV we didn’t have a lot of control over how things were shot and edited.

Why was the TV series so much bloodier and gorier than the movies? I would think there would be more restrictions on a TV series than films. was last modified: by

There were thirteen episodes of Tremors: The Series.  They are currently available (Feb. 2013) for instant viewing online via Amazon Instant Video.  I don’t think there is a PAL format DVD version available, but I’ve been wrong before, as fans often point out.

I’m in the UK and don’t have the Sci-fi/SyFy channel. Are the series episodes available for download/purchase anywhere? How many TV episodes were made please? was last modified: by

It probably would have been 13, a typical season.  But if Sy-Fy had wanted to reduce their risk, they might have ordered fewer.  (Back in the day, by the way, a TV season was 26 episodes or more.)

How many episodes would have been in the second season had the show been renewed? was last modified: by

The idea of 22 episodes being a “full” season has kind of gone away.  The TV business has changed a lot with the advent of cable and the internet.  Back in the day, by the way, a full season could be 30 episodes or more!  When we did the series, a 13 episode order was considered a major commitment from the network, and we were happy to get a “full” 13.

Was there ever a plan to do a full season of Tremors with 22 episodes? was last modified: by

When you do television you are desperately looking for any idea.  So yes, we were hoping to come up with more stories featuring the original creature triumvirate, and we did do “Night of the Shriekers” and “A Little Paranoia Among Friends,” for example.  But we were open to other ideas.  One I like was the idea of being trapped with an AB in a cave in winter, in the snowy mountains above Perfection.  It’s freezing cold, so, without getting killed, you have to provoke the AB into firing its gasses to keep the place warm.  Ah the many untold stories.

We know that there were a lot of ideas in mind for continuing the Mixmaster storyline and some of the character storylines, but what about the main creatures themselves? Were there any plans to pit Burt and Co. against a new wave of recently hatched Graboids and Shriekers? What about more Ass-Blasters, which we’ve only seen twice? What new adventures involving the main monsters were being cooked up? was last modified: by

To be honest, we didn’t have much planned beyond the second season (and not all of that!)  These days, more producers think about plotting the whole life of a series ahead of time, but in most cases, you’re just happy to get on the air and praying you’ll get picked up one more time.

If Sci-Fi hadn’t cancelled Tremors, how many seasons did the producers hope to complete? Or how many seasons were there meant to be? was last modified: by

Well, I know you feel we should know something just because we created, wrote and produced the show.  But the fact is Universal, SyFy, G4 and whoever else never tell us what they’re doing or what they’re thinking.  Believe it or not, I usually hear about stuff from fans, like now!  My guess is somebody did some math and thought they’d make some extra advertising dollars doing a Tremors marathon.  As for Tremors 5, they probably don’t even know the script exists. But again, I don’t know nothin’.

[May 2013] Why has G4 been doing Tremors series marathons on weekends? They have aired all the episodes a couple of times over the last few months. Could they possibly be interested in resurrecting the show and buying the Tremors Series rights from SyFy (or whoever owns the rights to the series). Would it be possible to get them on board for a Tremors 5 also? was last modified: by

Absolutely!  Jodi is all over that stuff, as is Burt, in his own paranoid way.  I have no doubt he has put up his own repeater towers in the valley to boost weak cell signals and that Jodi is marketing an app that lets you search for El Blanco on your iPhone.

Over the last 10 years we have seen a huge change in technology, especially with things like social media, iPhones and iPads. Do you think Perfection finally decided to bring cell phones technology into the valley? Maybe even use things like apps to track El Blanco? I would assume Jodi uses social media to promote Chang’s Market and the Graboid tours. was last modified: by

We’d love to get the chance to explore that.  Our feeling is that while there are people who think they’d like to live there, once they realize how isolated, hot, and desolate it really is, they quickly move away again.  That said, I think the sheer notoriety of El Blanco and the increased tourist traffic would ensure that there are at least a few new residents

Since the series (in 2003) do you think Perfection has gained any new residents or has it been pretty much the same? was last modified: by

I am embarrassed to say I never noticed he did not have the plate in the series.  All I can say is a lot of things were happening very fast as we did the series and Tremors 4 back-to-back.  Maybe we just forgot?

What happened to Burt’s “UZI 4U” license plate? Why wasn’t he using it in the series? was last modified: by

Fans, I need your help on this one.  I didn’t with the editors and music-cutters on the series, so I have no idea. Does anyone recognize this song?

In the episode, “Water Hazard,” a song is playing on the radio while Rosalita is driving her car to Melvin’s development, The Oasis. The predominant lyrics seem to be “What have you got to lose”. Was this a real (full) song and, if so, what was the title and who was the artist? was last modified: by

Ah, but rocks are like icebergs.  You don’t know how far under the ground they go.  Is it not possible that the rock extends out and down underground, preventing the Graboid from reaching all the way up?

How come graboids dont just reach up onto rocks with their tentacles even on rocks where they could easily reach i understand some rocks are to tall but some in the series could easily been reached? was last modified: by

Good question!  Here’s a sort of partial answer.  It takes the government a long time to pass laws about anything.  Since Graboids were the first creatures discovered, they were the first to be protected.  Shriekers and ABs will probably be protected at some point, when public outcry becomes loud enough, but at the time we did the series, that hadn’t happened yet.

How come shriekers and ass blasters are treated as more dangerous then graboids, given that graboids are protected by the conservationists. Is it because graboids are less dangerous or shreikers and ass blasters aren’t needed for study? was last modified: by

Universal Studios has total control over what happens with Tremors, not us.  This sort of question should really go to them.

Any chance of a Tremors the series revival on say netflix or hulu. Particularly if Tremors 5 does well. was last modified: by

Well — I guess the honest answer is that she was a victim of us writer/producers.  But here’s a writer/producer after-the-fact answer:  Shriekers are easier to mass-produce than Ass Blasters, because they are hermaphroditic.  She needed a life form she could just feed to get additional bodies, rather than one that would require her to wait for it to transform into an AB.

In “Night of the Shriekers” why didn’t the chick from Night of the Living Dead 3 choose to use the Ass blasters instead of shriekers since Ass blasters have a more advanced heat detector? was last modified: by

No.  The company doing it as said they do not want to work with us.  They did not say why.   So we only know what appears in entertainment news.

Are you guys involved with the new TV series with Kevin Bacon? We’ve heard the script is being written. was last modified: by

We already tried that.  They refused to meet with us.

I am assuming that Stampede has no involvement in the new Tremors series,but do you think that by contacting Blumhouse Productions (one of the Tremors series producers), you can influence them in your favor? was last modified: by

Technically, yes.  But a couple of things work against the idea.  One, ABs are more aggressive, powerful and difficult to control.  Two, her funding was for for work with Shriekers; she’d have had to do a lot of writing and petitioning to get the government to okay such a significant change in her program.

In “Night of the Shriekers,” why did Dr. Megan Flint have her people keep the shriekers from turning into ABs? Did they not know that ABs have more advanced heat seeking sensors than shriekers? Wouldn’t those sensors be more beneficial in finding those “earthquake victims?” was last modified: by

Fans, I need help on this one!  I didn’t write most of the episodes, and didn’t even see the last two because I left to work on Tremors 4.  I’m SURE there are fans out there who know this answer without even having to think about it.

How many people did El Blanco swallow over the series? was last modified: by

Before.  We were still shooting the last couple of episodes.

When Sci-Fi Network cancelled the Tremors TV show, was their decision made before or after production had wrapped on the first season? was last modified: by

Probably not.  They tend not to want to talk about these things publicly.  But we certainly did not see all the press or online stuff Sci-Fi (SyFy) was doing.

Was there any sort of press release from the network or studio regarding the decision to end the show? was last modified: by

Probably the show runner, David Israel.  He was most in direct contact with the studio.

Who was first to be notified by the network of the decision to cancel the show? was last modified: by

They were sad!  We were all sad.  We felt like we were just getting things running smoothly, and had a lot of ideas we wanted to put into new episodes.

What was the reaction from the cast upon finding out there would not be a second season? was last modified: by

We didn’t have the details worked out, but our feeling was that she’d find a way to redeem herself in the eyes of the other townsfolk.  It’s not likely we’d have killed off such a popular character!

Had the series continued you mentioned that Rosalita would been revealed to be an imposter. What would that have meant for her future in perfection? Would she remained in town or been sent away or maybe even killed off? was last modified: by

We had seven days to shoot a 1 hour episode.  A lot of 1 hour shows get nine days, but Sci-Fi held us to a really low budget.

How many days did it take to film one episode (not including pre or post production)? was last modified: by

I think we were in actual production for about 4 months, not counting building the town in Mexico, etc.  But I was gone for the last two episodes, so I could be off.  We took only one break, a week or so at Christmas.  Otherwise we went pretty much non-stop.  That’s TV.

How long did production take for the entire first season overall? Did the cast and crew take any sort of break halfway through the season? was last modified: by

It does not matter whether or not Universal owns Sci-Fi.  Studios sell (or really rent)  the rights to their material only for specific lengths of times or specific projects.  They almost ALWAYS retain all underlying rights forever.

If Universal owns the Tremors franchise, and Sci-Fi owned the series, when the series was canceled, did the rights go back to Universal because Universal owns Sci-Fi? was last modified: by

No.  We did not ever think of that.  Kind of wish we had, though.

Did you guys ever think of having Burt or the scientists reproduce the project 4-12 creature’s skunk-like substance; then sell it as a spray so that if a character were swallowed alive by El Blanco, he could spray it and cause El Blanco to spit him back up? was last modified: by

It was a difficult episode to shoot, using full-scale Shrieker puppet, etc.  I don’t remember all the details, but in part they felt the director didn’t get the action right and that it didn’t edit together well.  It was shot early in the season. Directors and crew were still struggling to learn the best ways to get the shows done on the extremely tight budgets and short shooting schedules.

Why didn’t sci-fi network like the “Shriek and Destroy” episode? was last modified: by

This is a very good question, since Max is the one who believes in and knows about Graboids.  One made-up answer is that he’s a gangster and just naturally goes for his gun when excited.  But another could be that the director forgot the “rules” of the show when directing the scene and just thought it would be cool to have Max do that.   We weren’t on location when the episodes were shot down in Mexico, so things sometimes got done in ways we didn’t agree with.

In the Tremors episode “Hit and Run,” why did Max draw his automatic as El Blanco approaches? Didn’t he know (or care) that El Blanco was endangered? was last modified: by

Yes!  Though we didn’t have it all worked out yet, we wanted to tell more about the history of the lab, have more fun with what Mixmaster might do, maybe find skeletons of failed Mixmaster experiments, maybe find vials of still-viable versions of it.  Lots of ideas.  Didn’t get to do them.

Near the end of the series, Burt was on the hunt for the secret government lab where Mixmaster was created. We were left with Burt finding the road to the lab that Cletus had mentioned. Were there any plans to show Burt finding the lab or to go into more detail about it? was last modified: by

Wait, what?!  Did El Blanco die??  No.  No, he didn’t die, at least not in the Tremors episodes we at Stampede have worked on.

Do you think the Perfectionists had a funeral for El Blanco? was last modified: by

Our memory is that when we got the go ahead to do the series, Shawn Christian was working on another show or movie and wasn’t available.   We don’t like to have different actors playing the same character, so we created the new character of Tyler.  That said, because Nancy and Jodie were such established parts from Tremors1 and Tremors 3 — and we couldn’t get Charlotte Stewart or Susan Chuang back to play them — we did have to go with new actors for those parts: Marcia Strassman and Lela Lee.

What made you guys create Tyler Reed? was last modified: by

Yes, we feel that Graboids probably have a very long lifespan and that El Blanco could easily be around for future installments of Tremors.

Will their be chance for El Blanco to be seen in the next film or series? He would be over 15yrs old, but perhaps the Graboid lifespan could reach over 30 or 40 years? was last modified: by

To be honest, since being barred by Universal from working on Tremors, we’ve moved on.  There’s nothing to be gained for us by thinking about it.  The Stampede team has separated and is off doing other things.  Of course we had lots of loose ideas for ways to go.  Yes, we think Tyler’s tour would keep running (tourists would still like taking it, even without fake Graboid scares).  And yes, El Blanco would definitely still be around!  Most likely, we’d have continued to explore the ideas in the TV series, like the secret lab and the Mixmaster DNA tool.  Beyond that, can’t say!  Don’t know!  Haven’t thought any more about it!

Considering that Tremors has been changed since 5. Do you think you could tell us what your version of the future of Perfection would have looked like? Would Tyler’s tour still be running? Would El Blanco still be around? was last modified: by

Sure!  We’d have been looking at all those possibilities and trying to come up with the most entertaining surprises.

Could Tyler and Rosalita have become a couple? Even gotten married? was last modified: by

This is a great idea.  I wish we’d have had time and opportunity to think of it!  But, yes, hopefully it would have occurred to us, if the series had continued, to have the townsfolk of Perfection meet baby Graboids!  It would have been a great surprise for Burt, especially.

Was there any chance that Burt and company in the modern day (either in future episodes of Tremors: The Series had it not been cancelled, or in your version of Tremors 5) would have ever encountered the baby Graboids that Hiram and company dealt with in 1889 in Tremors 4? was last modified: by

Uh, wow — I think you’re a little ahead of us on this one.  Certainly we did hint that the government was doing research on graboid life forms, but we hadn’t gotten to the point of giving them arms!  Honestly we probably wouldn’t have gone in that direction, since we loved getting together with the creature designers and trying to brainstorming the wildest stuff we all could.

Is their another graboid form you were going to create, perhaps as a super weapon made by the military? Would the next and final form have had arms with sharp claws, but still be able to fly and climb? was last modified: by

I’m embarrassed to say we did not think of that!  We were shooting and writing the TV series at the same time we were shooting Tremors 4, so things were pretty crazy.  Excuses aside, we now adopt this idea officially!  Yes!  The Ghost Dance mine is at least part of Hiram’s original silver mine!

More on that Ghost Dance mine: Even though they are not the same mine in reality, are they supposed to be the same mine in the Tremors universe, or at least part of the same mine network (i.e., both originally owned by Hiram)? was last modified: by

We think two was his limit.  He’s is extreme, but not that extreme.  However, AFTER the experience of actually needing his back-up-back-up, Burt might have decided a third one was a good idea!

In the episode “Night of the Shriekers,” the power goes out for everyone but Burt, who has a backup generator. When the attacking shriekers blow that generator, Burts “backup-backup generator” kicks in. Being the paranoid person that Burt is, do you think he would have had ANOTHER backup generator, or do you think 2 was his limit? was last modified: by

That’s a great potential connection.  But actually the episode was written and titled before it was cast, so Melinda’s other role was just a coincidence.  And no, we weren’t consciously referencing “Night of the Living Dead.”  There are a zillion “Night of” movies, after all.

Did you name “Night of the Shriekers” in reference to “The Night of the Living Dead” because Melinda Clarke (who was in “Return of the Living Dead III,”) guest stars in the episode? was last modified: by

We’re not sure what this means, but we’re making a guess that it may be a reference to the episode “Night of the Shriekers.”  There are several times in that episode where shriekers and other things are affecting the power in Burt’s bunker, so lights are flashing.  Also, for dramatic effect, the editor put in a negative close-up shot of the scientist Megan (Melinda Clarke), right before the shriekers get her.  It’s sort of an odd shot, but presumably the director okayed it.

Why do lights flash before the shriekers get someone? was last modified: by

No!  We love them both!  We were sad that Susan did not want to come back to play Jodi in the series, and it was tough finding someone to replace her.  We knew Lela would put a different “spin” on the character, but we loved the more business-like Jodi she did.  BTW, Lela went on to create and run the comic series Angry Little Girls, complete with a clothing and accessories line:

https://angrylittlegirls.com/

Do you guys agree with me that Susan Chuang [who played Jodi in Tremors 3] was a better Jodi than Lela Lee? was last modified: by

Uh — we don’t think so.  Jack (Shawn Christian) was a restless entrepreneurial type and he probably just moved on.  But it is a fun idea to consider.  If we’d been able to continue the series, maybe we’d have written a “Jack Returns” episode and learned what happened.  And he and Tyler Reed (Victor Browne) could have argued about how to run the Graboid Tours.

Did Jodi run Desert Jack off with her craziness? was last modified: by

Well, we had internal arguments at Stampede about how far to go with exploiting Gladise’s exotic beauty.  Most of us felt the infamous water trough escape scene went too far, so yes, we did dial it back in later episodes.  Maybe we were wrong.  And hopefully Gladise will appreciate the opinion that she could have single-handedly saved the show!

Rosalita being braless was a huge success for the series (Gladise Jimenez – in “Blast from the Past”). They just didn’t use her physical attributes as much as they could have to help the ratings! If they would have allowed her to continue to reveal more I am convinced the series numbers would have spiked and then there would have been no reason to cancel it. was last modified: by

Just the fences.  Burt’s place is way too well defended for a loser like Ray to break in.  Alarms would go off.  Burt would get auto-radio alerts, etc. Burt was probably angry that he didn’t have such anti-intruder hardware defending his fences, though.  And probably added some.

In the episode “Graboid Rights” we find out that Ray had trashed Burt’s fences. Did he actually get inside Burt’s bunker and trash the inside too or was it just the fences? was last modified: by

Agent W.D. Twitchell is a government employee, so has pretty good job security.  Even though being the official protector of El Blanco was stressful, we think he’d have stuck with the job as long as possible.  And if he moved on, or up in the system, we kind of hope he did well, since he was basically a nice guy underneath his bluster.

What do you guys think ole Twitch is up to? was last modified: by

If by “you guys” you mean the people of Perfection, our logic is that such retrofitting of buildings is very expensive, Jodi has a limited budged, and not everyone is as paranoid as Burt.  Also, El Blanco hadn’t been causing much trouble up to that point, so they didn’t expect the attack.

Why didn’t you guys put reinforced steel or something to prevent El Blanco from busting through the floor like he did in Feeding Frenzy? was last modified: by
This is one of those times where what we wrote and what was shot and edited is a bit conflicted.  Our intention was that Tyler manages to lead the shriekers away before anyone is actually attacked.  And technically, you don't see anyone actually attacked in the sequence.  But we have to admit there are a lot of shots that make it look like shriekers could pretty easily have gotten somebody.  Admission aside, the "official" answer is: No, they didn't.
Did the shriekers in Shriek and Destroy manage to eat anyone once they got to the carnival through the pipe? was last modified: by

Well, we don’t feel we have an obligation to always show everyone’s eaten bones.  We felt it was very clear what happened to her.  Also, of course, there are budget issues.  Sometimes we don’t want to pay the extra money to have the FX folks make eaten bones.

In Night of the Shriekers, why didn’t you guys show Dr. Megan Flint’s bones after the shriekers ate her up? was last modified: by

You see Tyler using a winch that is pulling a cable; that’s what’s pulling El Blanco up the ramp into the truck. We just didn’t show how the cable was attached to El Blanco’s tail.  Tyler would have used tow straps. He knows all about that of stuff.

In “The Key” how did they get El Blanco’s fat ass on that truck? was last modified: by

Yes.

I know you no longer have control of the films, but do you believe that El Blanco is still alive? was last modified: by

It was totally awesome getting Christopher Lloyd!  We were fans, too, and blown away when he agreed to come aboard.  Sorry we can’t answer the last part of your question. We actually didn’t get to see him much in person, since we were writing the episodes in LA while the crew was shooting the shows down in Mexico.

I’ve gotta ask: how awesome was it to have a legend like Christopher Lloyd on the series? Knowing him from such movies like Back to the Future, the Addams Family and the like, I’m sure some of you guys had to be star struck at the time. And what did he think about the graboids? (Assuming someone knows the answer to that last part). was last modified: by

To our knowledge, no one has documented a graboid climbing a wall like Burt’s.  The consensus is they are more like whales than worms, and would have great difficulty lifting their whole mass high enough to get over.

About the Episode: Feeding Frenzy. There was a scene in which Burt says El Blanco tried to get over his wall but couldn’t. Given his/her already strange behavior, is it possible Graboids could actually climb over his wall, crawl above ground like an inch worm (hence their nickname: Worms) and still cause him problems? Or is there something to Graboids that actually prevents that from happening? was last modified: by

Great question.  I like to think we’d have thought of this if we’d been able to continue with the series and expand on Twitchell’s background.  For now we’ll say it’s likely since they were all covering the Nevada area.

Considering both have worked for the government, did Twitchell ever work with Agent Frank and the rest of the agents from T3? was last modified: by

In Tremors 1 Rhonda points out that Graboids move by pushing with the dozens of spikes on their sides.  Though a Graboid is somewhat flexible, the more spikes that get above ground, the less able it is to move well.  We don’t feel they can “inch worm” along.  If they could, Burt would’ve have built is wall differently!

In Feeding Frenzy, Burt says El Blanco tried to get over his wall but couldn’t. Given his/her already strange behavior, is it possible Graboids could actually climb over his wall, crawl above ground like an inch worm (hence their nickname: Worms) and still cause him problems? Or is there something about Graboids that actually prevents that from happening? was last modified: by

We begged Susan to keep playing Jodi for us!  But with other things going on in her life, she didn’t want to relocate to Mexico (where we shot the series) for who-knows-how-long.  So we had to re-cast the part — and felt really lucky to find Lela Lee.

I miss the old Jodi (Susan Chuang). She was so sexy! Did you guys think about bringing her back in the series? was last modified: by

I like to THINK that we’d have thought of that if we’d been able to continue the series.  But we didn’t.  And it’s a great idea.

Did you ever think about using Mixmaster to blend the DNA of Shriekers and Graboids, effectively giving them the ability to both “see” and hear? was last modified: by

Absolutely.  We’d have loved to do an episode where that was explored. Secret rooms that the demolition contractors weren’t told about or didn’t discover!  Or that they did discover but were too afraid to enter to destroy them!

About the so called ‘Proudfoot’ Labs, mentioned in ‘Project 4-12’: Although it is said that the government came and basically took everything down, do you suppose today’s ground penetrating radar technology could show us if anything was left behind? was last modified: by

More than one fan has postulated unique uses of Mixmaster if the series had continued.  We like to think that we’d have gotten around to inventive ideas like this, but can’t say that we did.  As we were planning possible episodes for the next season, we were actually more concerned about where we would go with each of our characters.  For example, as we’ve said elsewhere, we were going to reveal that Rosalita wasn’t who she said she was.  New monster ideas were kind of on the back burner.

Had the series continued past the thirteen episodes we got, did you have plans to merge the mixmaster concept with the Graboid lifecycle? Perhaps having mixmaster impact a newly-hatched Graboid, or newly-born Shriekers, for example, and merge their DNA with some other animal’s? was last modified: by

As always, we appreciate the support and desire to learn more of what we might have done.  But you hit on a key stumbling block: Unversal owns all rights to Tremors.  While it’s one thing for fans to do unofficial fan fiction, it’s a bit more dicey for us Hollywood types to write something based on rights held by the studio.  Plus, having been kicked off the Tremors franchise, we’ve moved on and are working on many new ideas.

Would you or the other show writers be interested in writing a book about the “Further Adventures Of Perfection?” Basically, a Season 2 in book form? I don’t know how rights would be, but maybe it could be called “unofficial” even though we all know being from you guys it is official as it gets. Or maybe produce an audio drama version? We all want YOUR version of the story! was last modified: by

Shriek and Destroy was a troubled episode.  Many things went wrong during its production, which is why it ended up short and being shown late in the season. Unfortunately, we no longer have any of the scripts for the TV series; so we can’t tell you what was written vs what was ultimately shot and edited.   Sorry!  We just don’t remember everything!

Can you tell us what scenes were pulled from Shriek & Destroy? was last modified: by

Brent Maddock and I wrote that episode, but I have to be honest and say I don’t remember discussing what coordinates.  The shows were written under intense time pressure and I can only say what MIGHT have happened.  We might have asked someone on our staff to give us coordinates for central Nevada and then just wrote them in.  As to part 2 of the question, no, we didn’t model our location on a specific area, as we knew there probably wasn’t any place that actually fit all our needed parameters (Burt: ” We got the cliffs to the north! Mountains to the East and West!”

In Ghost Dance, Burt lists a set of coordinates where he believes the lab is. Out of curiosity I looked them up and found they were smack dab in the middle of real life Moapa Valley, Nevada! It seems to match all the in-series descriptions of the valley. Was Perfection modeled after Moapa from the beginning? was last modified: by

We love that, after all these years, fans are still expanding on and adding to our ideas.  We hadn’t thought of El Blanco in that way, but it is quite logical.  Animals living around humans adapt in surprising ways.  It could have led to a fun moment in the series, wherein El Blanco makes an unexpected choice to help someone like Nancy or Tyler!

First off, sincere thanks for the years of fun entertainment and joy the franchise brought! Secondly I was curious about El Blanco’s intelligence. Graboids are smart and get smarter with time, and the big white would be the oldest by far. Any stock in the notion Tyler said where El Blanco seems to have a soft spot for the townsfolk? Not saying it’s friendly, but progressing to not seeing them as active prey. was last modified: by

Simple question. Simple answer.  We were close, but by the end of the first season we didn’t have the viewership ratings  Sci Fi network wanted for the show.  Not enough viewers: no show.

Why did the series end? was last modified: by

There are no stupid questions!   Couple of things we hope explain our logic. One: the early TV directors on the series made the store shake WAY too much (shaking the camera violently) in the scenes where El Blanco is passing by.  We couldn’t afford to re-shoot anything so had to live with these early mistakes.  Two: when a graboid moves through the ground, it doesn’t leave a tunnel. It kind of “swims,” and the dirt fills back in behind it.  So El Blanco isn’t leaving a network of tunnels ready to collapse under the store.  He’s just shaking it a bit!

This may be a stupid question, but given that in Tremors – The Series, El Blanco is seen to repeatedly burrow under Chang’s Market, how come the building hasn’t collapsed yet? was last modified: by

You are correct, of course.   On the low budget sequels and series, we couldn’t afford to go back to the original desert location near Lone Pine, California, so it was always a struggle to make “cheaper” locations look similar.  The series was shot in Mexico, actually not far from the coast town of Rosarito, so there wasn’t much hope of making it look like the Mojave.

Why is the Perfection town surrounded by so much greenery in the series? It looked pretty arid in the original films. was last modified: by

As with many perplexing things about Tremors, the answer is: Universal Studios.  They wanted to start Tremors 4 on a particular date and they absolutely refused to let us wait the few weeks we needed to finish the series.  They did not care that it meant Michael would be unable to be in the last episodes.  The decision also meant that director SS Wilson had to abandon work on the series to start work on T4.

Why did Michael Gross was not in all 13 episodes of the Tremors tv series? was last modified: by
This question relates to story ideas that, when the series was canceled, we were not able to get to with the character of Rosalita.  But we never worked out all the details. the postmortem writer-answer is: Harlowe knew Miguel, but didn't work on the ranch til later, starting sometime in the period of Tremors 3.  Where does he live? Well... some remote RV or cabin pretty far from Perfection. Eventually we'd hoped to do a show where it's revealed Rosalita isn't exactly who she says she is, and maybe Miguel didn't really leave her the ranch! Harlowe would have figured into that episode in some way.
In “Feeding Frenzy” Harlowe [Branscombe Richmond] says that Miguel didn’t leave the ranch to him. Did he always work on the ranch? Where was he during the movies and where does he live? was last modified: by

We originally went to Charlotte Stewart for the TV series, but she had a prior contract she could not get out of, so that’s why Marcia got the role. That being the case, while we were very saddened by Marcia’s passing we would assume the character would live on and, yes, if Charlotte were available she’d be our choice for the part (but we remind all readers we have no control over what is done with Tremors).

Do you guys think the character of Nancy died since Marcia Strassman passed away in reality? Or would Charlotte Stewart reprise her if they did another film? was last modified: by

We were working on ideas like that.  We had one where El Blanco starts coming by the store regularly, and reaching a white tentacle in through the window for snacks from Jodi Chang.

Do you think the Perfectionists play fetch with their pet El Blanco? was last modified: by

Interesting question.  However, it is likely that graboids sense vibration by some organ other than actual ears, as sound doesn’t travel well through dirt.   They may have nerve endings all over their skin, for example.  That said, it is also likely that some would lobby for Burt to discontinue the practice on the assumption it’d be bad for El Blanco long term.

Do all the concussion grenades Burt throws @ El Blanco damage his ears, inhibiting his hunting ability? was last modified: by

Burt would definitely view destroying a man’s fences as the greater sin. A much more invasive act than damaging a vehicle.

What do you guys think angered Burt more: In the episode “Graboids Rights” – Ray destroying Burt’s fences. Or In the episode “A Little Paranoia Among Friends” – The townsfolk slashing the tires on Burt’s truck. was last modified: by

Good heavens, the things fans worry about.  If such a demented thing did happen, clearly the townsfolk, even Burt, would rally round and figure out a way to feed him.

Would El Blanco be screwed if some troll decided to cut his tentacles off? was last modified: by

It’s an interesting question.  Our vote is that El Blanco would recognize shriekers as kin and/or offspring (of a sort)  and not eat them.

Did El Blanco manage to eat any of Megan’s rogue shriekers? was last modified: by

Ummm, pretty sure than couldn’t happen.  El Blanco lives underground!

Do you guys ever think about what if El Blanco gets trampled in a stampede? was last modified: by

I’m going to have to take a guess here.  We were not on location in Mexico most of the time, so many decisions were made without our input.  And we are no longer in touch with most of the production team.  The car was probably rented in Mexico.  And, given our very low budget, I doubt that anyone took the extra time or money to install special seat belts.

Note: if any fans recognize the car and know more about it, let us know here at the FAQ!

We got a fan reply!  We are posting it below.  Thanks!

Responding to question about Larry's red car. It was a Toyota Camry. I had the same car, same color. Mine was a 1991, not sure what year Larry's was. The shoulder seatbelts being automatic was indeed a Toyota function and was very annoying.   Lap belts were manual and separate from the shoulder belts. Great little car for its time. 
Oh, yeah, I was driving my 91 the same time Larry was driving his on the show. In an even weirder coincidence, my wife had an 89 Mustang like Rosalita's, only hers was white.
In some of the TV series episodes with “Larry,” he’s drives a red car with automatic seatbelts. I’m not sure what make and model of car he has so I can’t look it up. Were the seat belts fitted as standard or were they added by Larry to try and show how “geeky” he was? was last modified: by

It’s possible he’d accept it; like a semi-tame tiger or something. It’s one of those things we wish we’d been able to explore had the series gone on longer.  It would have been great fun if say Jodi or Rosalita developed as special bond with the graboid.  Burt would have been very annoyed by that!

Do you guys think El Blanco would get hostile if one of the Perfectionists tried to pet him by now? was last modified: by

One of the difficulties of getting to do only one season of a series is that loose-ends like that happen.  We had hoped to do more with the character.

What happened to Harlowe? He just disappeared from the series. was last modified: by

Walter of course would not have had that option.  Had we been able to continue the series, it might have been a fun moment for Jodi.

What did Jodi/Walter do about knuckleheads trying to rob the store? Sic El Blanco on em? was last modified: by

Seems like it would be safe — until you ran out of air.

Would Megan’s Shriekers find you if you hid in a ice freezer? was last modified: by

Graboids naturally avoid solid obstacles like underground rocks.  In only rare instances are they so frenzied that they plow into concrete walls.  It is possible that concrete doesn’t reflect vibration on the same way as natural rocks.  That said, El Blanco leads a pretty sedate life and rarely would be chasing something so aggressively that he’d collide with a wall. Also, the only below-ground concrete in the whole valley big enough to pose a danger are Burt’s perimeter barrier and the concrete ditch of the first movie. Both of these El Blanco would have long-ago gotten used to and learned to avoid.

Do the perfectionists ever worry about El Blanco running into concrete walls? was last modified: by

To be honest, we didn’t have any more details than that worked out.  The vague basic idea was that Roberto would show up and, accidentally or on purpose, threaten to expose Rosalita’s somewhat shady background.  So he could have been older or younger. But we didn’t get the chance to take it any further.

You’ve confirmed that if the 2003 TV series hadn’t been cancelled, Rosalita’s brother would be introduced. Was Roberto going to be an older brother, or a younger brother? was last modified: by

Didn’t remember this, so had to re-watch the episode.  Sadly, I think the light is a “cheat.”  As far as I can see, nothing in the rest of that show ever explains it.  So, my assumption is the director decided to imply that people were being abducted by aliens (since that’s what the locals believe), adding the UFO-mystery light coming from above just for the fun of it.

In ‘A Little Paranoia Among Friends’ what is the light in the sky at the very beginning just before the first person gets eaten? was last modified: by

While we love that fans are out there looking to duplicate the movies’ props and vehicles, sadly we don’t know the answer.  On a movie, a lot of decisions are made by various department heads (in the case of the truck, the transportation team) and other than us probably saying something like, “It should have gnarly tires,” as producer/directors we don’t ever learn the names of components like that. Years later there’s no way to track the info down.

The Blazer used in the series. I am looking to identify the tires on it. Can you tell me who built the truck? was last modified: by

Good question! That’s not something we thought about. But it would have been fun to get Shawn Christian back to work with Victor Browne! Maybe we could have had them in competition for Jody, or Jack annoying Tyler with tips on how to run the Graboid tour!

What would have happened if Tyler met up with Jack? was last modified: by

As we’ve often said, we appreciate the positive ways in which the Tremors fans think.  We are notoriously bad at prediction what the studios will or will not do.

Will Kevin Bacon ever return to Tremors in a movie? Also, I know of the his failed pilot but do you think that maybe with the success of Chucky, SYFY might be more open to a Tremors TV show? was last modified: by

We enjoyed bringing characters back and expanding their story lines.  I think we actually did talk about Cletus and Nancy connecting in some way.  Not sure we’d have had Dr. Matthews betray Burt.  We tend not to think that way, but maybe our resistance to such extreme “twists” is part of why the series didn’t make it to a second season!

You have mentioned plans for many characters in the series if it had continued, but not Cletus and Dr. Casey Matthews. What would have happened to them? Maybe Cletus would date Nancy? Maybe Casey would have gone to the dark side once she gained Burt’s trust? was last modified: by

From the beginning we thought of Nancy as a hippie, or ex-hippie.  I guess maybe Marcia just projected that more than our original Nancy, Charlotte Stewart.

In the series the Nancy character seems more of a hippie than in T1 or T3? Was she always meant to have that hippie vibe, or something Marcia Strassman brought to the table? was last modified: by

Exactly the sort of thing we would have loved to explore.  I imagine we’d have had them start off as adversaries, maybe Jack trying to tell Tyler how to run the Graboid tours, or both of them competing for Jodie Chang?  Then some Tremors Mixmaster stuff would happen and everybody would have to pull together to survive, right?

What would have happened if Tyler met up with Jack? was last modified: by

As of Feb 2023, this link still seemed to work at Amazon.  Good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/Tremors-Complete-Michael-Gross/dp/B002ZHKZGA

It’s fairly simple to find a copy of the movies but is there any way to purchase the TV series? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. was last modified: by

We assume you mean the character, not the puppet (which would have returned to the effects company where it was made).  We like to think El Blanco still lives semi-peacefully in Perfection Valley, enjoying his status as a protected endangered species.

What happened to El Blanco after Tremors the series? was last modified: by

Once we started the series, we may have discussed going to the neighboring town so often mentioned in Tremors 1, but we also kind of felt it was fun to have this place everyone talks about but that we never actually see.

Did you ever have plans to go to Bixby. was last modified: by

Sorry to say, this one has gotten away from us. Production on the series moved VERY fast and we were mostly up in LA frantically writing. At most we probably saw a photo early on from someone in transportation asking, “Is this truck okay?” And we said “YES!” and moved on.

What company built Burt’s truck used in the series? was last modified: by

I liked the invention of mixmaster and the opportunity to come up with more monsters. But for ANY TV series, character interaction is nearly always the most important aspect and the thing the writers discuss most. You want the audience to get to know them and like them, so you can also slip in surprises as the show evolves. I’ve said in other places, for example, we were planning to reveal in season 2 that Rosalita wasn’t really related to Miguel.

What is your favorite aspect of the show? Personally I would say its the character interaction. I recently just caught up with the show and it’s great! Such a shame it was canceled. was last modified: by

Sorry to say that in the chaos toward the end of the season, if we had an idea where we were going with that, it has faded away.

What was your next idea involving “The Key” from the end of season 1? was last modified: by

By the end of the season, a lot of things were up in the air. We don’t remember having worked out where we might go further with that idea.

What was your next idea involving “The Key” from the end of season 1? was last modified: by

He changes his name and gets shot by Walter White.

[A fan posted both the question and the answer. No need for me to step in.]

Answer to “What has ole Twitch been up to?” was last modified: by

ABs’ primary role is carrying eggs. They are not as strong or as fierce as shriekers. It’s actually part of the “reality” we like to apply to our fantasy creatures. We think its good that they have real world limitations.

Why are assblasters so clumsy and awkward when attacking humans compared to shriekers? Jack and Rosalita were able to fight one off without any weapons. was last modified: by

We hadn’t gotten that far in our thinking. But — maybe!

If you had continued the series would there have been an episode where mixmaster affected the original creatures? Heat-detecting graboids? Shriekers that can hear? was last modified: by

Probably a lot. Or, alternatively, if the shriekers went into the pre-AB cocoon state and our heroes realized it, they’d be easy to take out!

How much chaos would it’ll have been if the shriekers had of turned into assblasters at Pioneer Days? was last modified: by

No. The decision to screw up the order was entirely the fault of the Sci-Fi execs.

Do you guys think the first shrieker episode ruined the series since it ultimately caused chronological chaos and confused the audience? was last modified: by

When we wrote the originals, we didn’t think so. It’s fun, we think, to say there’s this ONE fantastical set of creatures in an otherwise normal world. The series forced us to open things up, so now we do have occasional thoughts like: could graboids live in a swamp? But then would they be interesting, or would they just be like ugly alligators? In any case we wouldn’t go so far as to start including any and all mythological things. To comic book for us.

Are there other monsters that exist in the Tremors universe? (Outside the ones in the TV series which are all traceable to Perfection) Like, is Nessie real? Bigfoot? Mothman? was last modified: by

Made up. Generally in writing TV and movie fiction we avoid real names, places, addresses, etc. Sometimes there are rights issues. Sometimes you’re portraying them negatively, so no point in potentially offending people by using their town name.

Was Toluca, NM or Juniper, AZ based on real towns or where they just made up? was last modified: by

Our goal was to keep the tone the same. That was actually our job as creators. But it wouldn’t come from the cast in any case. They perform what we write. Maybe our staff of writers, all pitching and writing their own ideas, caused it to lean a bit darker.

Is it just me or did the TV series feel like it had a darker edgier tone than the movies? If so do you think that it was because of the new cast? was last modified: by

Highly unlikely. Graboid eggs are laid by ABs, and those were eliminated in Perfection (except for the one that went to Vegas) in Tremors 3. So, too much of a stretch to say Proudfoot somehow stumbled onto some new ones.

Could Mixmaster be derived from graboid DNA? Perhaps Proudfoot found some graboid eggs and used their uniquely metamorphic genes? Maybe it’s even why Proudfoot is based in Perfection? was last modified: by

Can’t remember now if 412 had a hidden meaning or if we just picked a number at random. And the idea for Proudfoot came late in our frantic writing of episodes for season 1, so we hadn’t had much time to think about its history. Once we were canceled for a second season — all thoughts stopped.

I was curious what the name Four Twelve meant (anything to do with the mix of animals in the lab)? And your thoughts on the Proudfoot Corporation (how long they were in business, did they survive the government shutdown, etc) Thanks! was last modified: by

We shot 16mm. On top of that, SyFy/Universal insisted we use the old TV 3:4 aspect ratio, even though 16:9 was already common. That does not seem to have overtly harmed the DVD version of the show I’ve seen, but it was annoying. We have no control over what the studio does as far as remastering.

I notice that you guys used film cameras to shoot the series. Can you tell if you used 16mm or 35mm film? I’m thinking due to the grain structure, it’s 16mm. If so, is there any chance Universal can do an HD remaster since 16mm can be scanned at HD resolutions and even 4k resolutions? was last modified: by

The cast and crew were great to work with. But the strain of getting the episodes written and re-written plus shooting in far-off Mexico, plus having the studio enforce many odd non-creative decisions like airing the episodes out of order meant that overall it wasn’t a great experience.

How fun was it to make tremors the series (2003) was last modified: by

It understandable that Tremors fans would send us questions about the TV pilot. But please understand that the company that made it refused to meet with us about it or discuss it in any way. They wanted no input from us whatsoever. We know nothing about the pilot and have never seen it.

What about Kevin Bacon’s Tremors TV pilot. was last modified: by

One: she would have to be able to see the future and know how and where they were going to try to cut up El BLanco, and also know that Larry was going to be there to screw things up. Two: wasn’t her choice. Tyler was the one with the expertise in how to winch El Blanco aboard.

In “The Key” why didn’t Delores have El Blanco loaded facing the inside of the truck as opposed to having him facing out the back so he could grab her? Might have saved her life. Eh? was last modified: by

Yes, El Blanco is following one wall of the underground lab. It’s one of Burt’s early clues once he learns about its existence. And yes, if we’d had another season of episodes, it would have been fun to finally enter the lab and possibly make discoveries like those you propose.

In the episode where El Blanco made a ninety degree turn and followed a straight line. Was that the location of the underground lab? Also would Burt have found the underground lab? If the lab would of been discovered would there be several mixmaster creatures in it or maybe one big one that ate all the others and using the lab as a lair? was last modified: by

In “Project 4-12,” it was our intention that Cletus shows Burt a tiny piece of roadway that is mostly destroyed and that only goes a few feet (so can’t be followed). But with a different director on every episode, things didn’t always get shot the way we hoped, so it does look like the road keeps going if you keep uncovering it. In “Ghost Dance,” Twitchel explains the government plans to seal the mine, so Burt can’t access it.

When Burt was looking for the lab at the end of “Project 4-12” why didn’t he just use a leaf blower blowing the sand off the buried road — or use an RC with a built in camera in the vents in the mines possibly leading to the lab? was last modified: by

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