Customer Reviews

The Dead Zone - The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved the book and the movie. I never miss the series. Even reruns are tremendous. In this season, several episodes are standouts. "Deja Voodoo" and "The Hunt" were dynamite episodes worth watching over and over again. "The Hunt" shows remote viewing, which is the ability to "see" things from a distant location. I had read about government use of remote viewing some 15 years ago! What they showed in this episode was similar to what I had read.

Here is a brief episode guide, which I hope will be helpful.
1. Valley of the Shadow: The kidnapper of a CEO's son is obsessed with Johnny.
2. Descent(1): Several teenagers are lost in an abandoned mine owned by Johnny's grandfather.
3. Ascent (2): Johnny psychically enters Walt's coma.
4. The Outsider: Johnny has a vision that a skin cream is responsible for severe birth defects in the future.
5. Precipitate: After Johnny is given a blood transfusion from 6 donors, he has visions of their lives.
6. Scars: Stillson's political rival is a war veteran. Guest star (gs): Gerald McRaney
7. Misbegotten: Three women kidnap Johnny and take him to a house where a family was killed.
8. Cabin Pressure: Johnny has a vision that the jet he is on will crash.
9. The Man Who Never Was: After a delivery person leaves an item belonging to a shut-in, Johnny gets a vision that he is disappearing. gs: Robert Culp.
10. Dead Men Tell Tales: Johnny saves the life of a mob boss and ends up in the middle of a mafia dispute.
11. Playing God: Johnny has a vision that a friend will die in a car accident. Every vision shows a worse outcome, whenever Johnny tries to save her. gs: Ally Sheedy.
12. Zion: Bruce's father has died and Bruce comes face to face with an unresolved past. gs: Louis Gossett, Jr.
13. The Storm: While Bruce is trying to bring Johnny to an intervention, Johnny has visions of a massive storm.
14. Plague: Johnny "sees" a high school science fair during which a deadly illness spreads to the children.
15. Deja Voodoo: Johnny has a vision of a romantic encounter with a beautiful woman that ends in her death. (Especially good and unpredictable.)
16. The Hunt: Johnny participates in remote viewing sponsored by the CIA. Osama Bin Laden as a target is implied but never spoken. (Gripping episode.)
17. The Mountain: Johnny has a vision that a plane with valuable cargo had crashed in the mountains.
18. The Combination: Johnny's vision is that a boxer will die during a fight.
19. Visions: A man from the future asks for Johnny's help.

Up until very recently, I was extremely skeptical about this show for two different reasons. The first and most obvious reason was because Anthony Michael Hall played the lead character. Most people including myself have only seen Anthony play nerdy characters in John Hughes movies, and other roles in unknown "B" films. The second reason why I was always skeptical, was because I figured that there was no way that a weekly television show could be made dealing with the characters from Stephen King's book and the film, because it is a story that is pretty specific and hard to stretch out. However, after I finished watching the first season of The Dead Zone, I became instantly hooked. But, going into the second season, I never could have prepared myself for how much better the show could get.

Once again, the second season of The Dead Zone lets Anthony Michael Hall show that he is a very decent actor that deserves to be taken seriously. He does such a wonderful job as Johnny Smith. Anthony makes the character extremely believeable and easy to connect with. The show also features a great mix of romance, drama, and suspense with all of the visions that Johnny receives, as well as Johnny trying to deal with the fact that the woman he loves is married to someone else. It is also great to see Johnny try and connect with his son, who has no idea that Johnny is his father. In the first season, Johnny's son would not even talk to him. Season two has Johnny and his son starting to become friends and bond more. The second season also manages to be even better than the first season in terms of episode quality and overall storytelling. In the second season, there is 19 episodes and there was only one episode that I could not get into. Every other episode grabbed my attention from the beginning and did not let go until the end credits. The second season of the show establishes that The Dead Zone is the most addictive and well done science fiction show since The X-Files. The second season of The Dead Zone is so addictive in fact, that I went through all 19 episodes over the span of two days.

Overall, the second season of The Dead Zone offers a fantastic array of quality episodes and wonderful performances from all the actors involved. This set offers one of the best seasons I have ever seen from any television program. It also offers outstanding picture and sound quality as well as tons of great extras. My favorite feature was definately the interviews with all the guest stars. It was very interesting to hear their take on the show and their roles. You also get deleted scenes and more.

A solid 5 stars...

The one thing definitely established by the second season of "The Dead Zone" is exactly how great of a job Michael Piller and Shawn Piller did of turning Stephen King's novel into a television series. The climax of the novel was Johnny Smith's desperate act to derail the future of political candidate Greg Stillson, an act which succeeds but at the cost of Johnny's life (although Johnny had an inoperable brain tumor at that point). In the series Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) is still plagued by visions of the nuclear destruction of Washington, D.C., because of something Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery) does in the future, but the moment of crisis has yet to come and by the end of the second season Johnny has serious doubts about his own role in the disaster to come. This may well be the climax of the series, but the Pillers have made that a future encounter, adding key elements to the developing situation ("Scars").

Equally important is that Stillson is no longer a thug turned populist demagogue but more of a traditional corrupt politician. This represents the attention paid to developing the key supporting characters. In this version Sarah (Nicole de Boer) is still married with a child, but the child is Johnny's and she is married to Sherrif Walt Bannerman (Chris Bruno), now spared from a fatal encounter of his own with a rabid St. Bernard named Cujo. What would have been a mandatory soap opera love triangle has been avoided, and indeed the two-part "Ascent"/"Descent" near the start of this second season resolves a lot of the inherent tensions in these relationships by bringing them into the open. In this season episodes start focusing on the relationship between Johnny and his son ("Plague," "The Mountain").

The series also takes advantage of three created characters. As Bruce Lewis (John L. Adams), Johnny's physical therapist turned friend, our hero has not only a sidekick ("Precipitate") but a willing ear for exposition and explanation. Then there is Dana Bright (Kristen Dalton), a reporter who becomes interested and then enamored with Johnny, providing another convert in the inner circle who can provide help. Finally, from Johnny's evangelical mother in the novel the series transmutes the Reverend Gene Purdy, who served as a villain at the beginning of the series before Stillson arrived, but now becomes both an ally ("Cabin Pressure," "Plague") and a voice of conscience ("Playing God").

The other key thing about this series is that it deals with a world in which Johnny Smith has a reputation in what can be considered a rather realistic manner. This means dealing with people who are out to get him in various ways ("Valley of the Shadow," "Misbegotten") as well as those who consider him to be a curiosity ("The Storm"). It also provides an interesting episode in which Johnny works with the government to try and "find" Osama Bin Laden ("The Hunt"). We also find "The Dead Zone" playing creatively with Johnny's powers when he has a blood transfusion ("Precipitate") and an interesting encounter with a woman in a bar ("Deja Voodoo"), and shares his visions with not only Bruce ("Zion") but a figure that has been haunting his life ("Visions"). These are probably the episodes that best indicate that this is a show that is both creative and intelligent. I thought the first season was pretty good, but the second is even better.

There are two things to know about the production schedule for the second season. First, the episode "The Hunt" was originally scheduled to be the 12th episode of the season and air on March 30, 2003 but was delayed until July 27 because of the outbreak of the war with Iraq. Second, "Zion" was supposed to be the final episode of the second season but the USA network asked for another six episodes starting with "The Storm." Called by fans "Season 2.5" this includes my favorite episode of the season, "Deja Voodoo," and a pivotal story arc involving the "Burned Man" (Frank Whaley). Good thing the Third Season is on right now because who wants to wait for the next DVD set for anything more than the great extras (even though they are undoing a couple of the points I praised above big time in the first half-dozen episodes).

Indeed, this set has some great extras because one additional thing that makes this DVD a class act is the high involvement of Anthony Michael Hall and others in the commentary track. Every episode has such a track and Hall is on most of them, as are most of the major guest stars, such as Hall's fellow alumni from "The Breakfast Club" Ally Sheedy ("Playing God"), Academy Award winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. ("Zion"), and Reiko Aylesworth ("Deja Voodoo") from "24." There are several examples of storyboard comparisons with the finished episode and interviews with notable guest stars. In terms of fan friendly DVD extras "The Dead Zone" sets the standard for others to follow.

When season one first debuted, I loved it. When the season ended, I loved it more. Not only did it satisfy viewers with plots from the book and original movie, it gave us a killer cliff-hanger.

When season two debuted I was somewhat dissapointed. The premier wasn't that great of an episode, and I heard ratings were low. But by the time the first 6-7 episodes had aired, I knew this season was going to be the best. Some of the episodes hit you hard, like "Playing God", where no matter what Johnny does, he must choose the life of one of two friends. There is no winner. The "Sexy Summer Seven", including the originally deleted episode, "The Hunt", were also some of my favorites. The season finale of season two not only surpassed season one's, it set up the plot for season three. You can't deny Johnny is going to be different next season.

If Lion's Gate gives the same effort into this set as they did with season one's, it is a must own.

Due to a manufacturing glitch, many of The Dead Zone: Season Two Disc's 2 and/or 3 are defective. I bought mine from Best Buy and had to excange it 3x. The first time it had a defective disc 2. The second time it had a defective disc 2 and 3, and the third time had defective disc 2. Finally I just asked for my money back. I tried buying it at a different store in a different state, but this one also has a defective disc 2. I searched the internet and there are some Lion's Gate Film Forum's (http://forums.lgf.com/forumdisplay.php?f=12) that explain that if you call a toll free number they will send you a replacement disc, but many people are also reporting the people on the other end of the phone line are giving them a very hard time about it. Lions gate films (www.lionsgatefilms.com) have no information whatsoever. So I highly recommend NOT buying this DVD set until it gets fixed. Amazon - maybe you could inspect all of your season 2 sets, discs 2 and 3 before shipping. It will save you lots of grief.

Other than that, TDZ is a great show.

I really liked the first season of The Dead Zone. The writers were able to win me over despite my fears of what they would do to the story.

I *loved* the second season.

The show really comes into its own in these episodes. In particular, fans of the book and/or the movie should take note. This season marks the departure from the original storyline, and it is done in a brilliant and very respectful way about half-way into this collection.

The writers have again done a masterful job of giving us a glimpse into what the life of a psychic must be like. These characters feel very real to me, and the emotional impact of many of the episodes was all the more immediate because of that. Every episode takes Johnny into new and interesting dimensions of his power and his life and I, for one, was thrilled to go along for the ride.

I have been a fan of The Dead Zone since the show started and it has always been great. Being a fan of The X-Files I was really glad to see another show that was up to that same standerd. The Dead Zone season 2 is awsome, even better then the first which was amazing. If you are a fan of Stephen King or Sci-Fi this is for you.

"The Dead Zone" pulled in viewers and critics with its rich storytelling, great performances and direction. Unfortunately, the audience is small by network standards which means that the rest of the world is focusing on a fine series called "Medium" (but which can't hold a candle to "The Dead Zone") or they will be focusing on the remake of the inspiration for "The X-Files" "Kolchak: The Night Stalker" (with Stuart Townshend). That's too bad because, however fine "Kolchak" turns out to be (and I have no doubt it'll be exceptionally good with "Files" writer/producer Frank Spotnitz at the helm), "The Dead Zone" deserves a lot more attention than its getting.

Johnny Smith went into a 6 year coma after a car accident. His girl married another man, his son doesn't know him and he has the ability to see both what could happen and what has happened because of his time in the zone. He's helping the police solve crimes and learning quite a lot about the darkness of the human soul (even his own).

Every frame of the second season, like the first, has the quality of a feature film (much like "The X-Files")but the storytelling arc (established in King's original novel)focusing on politican Greg Stillson and the potential disaster he may bring to the world is what sets this series apart from other shows of its type. Stillson shows up during the second season as Johnny's opposite--a perfect foil to Johnny Smith. The second season consists of 19 episodes with a commentary for every single episode. The picture quality is exceptional (and the packaging meager to begin with has improved with a sleeve for the boxed set).

I'd suggest digging in with the first season to see if it interests you. If it doesn't grab you within the first three episodes, you're truly in "The Dead Zone" yourself. Sure the second season had some episodes that weren't quite up to the high standard of the best produced during season two--that doesn't matter as every episode has its filler episodes. I'd argue there's very little filler here. Producer/writer/creator Michael Piller (and his son Shaun)worked on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the early years of "Deep Space Nine" making those series exceptional dramas. They've done the same here. Enter "The Dead Zone" but before you do be warned life will never be quite the same again.

Another excellent series based on the characters from the Stephen King novel (see review from series one). Johnny is again trying to save the world and find justice through his hyperactive `dead zone', this time with a little help from other friends.

A new threat looms overhead from the evil Stillson who's running for senator (also in 'Simply Irresistable'), and his link to Armageddon. Johnny `visions' also become public knowledge. You may find this series slightly `darker' than the first.

By the way, you get to see a guest appearance of an old friend of Anthony Hall's friend from The Breakfast Club - Ally Sheedy.

I haven't seen much of Anthony Michael Hall's work, besides this of course. I first got interested in the show in the third season. I didn't know much about the show, but enough about that.
I think that this DVD is grade "A" quality. The episodes are each different and unique in their own way. I think that Dr. Gibson is sort of a funny charachter. For those of you that are not yet familiar with this show, Dr. Gibson is Johnny Smith (AMH) Neurologist. In the beginning, she is really serious, then she kind of lightens up ("She's kinda known around the hospital for her sick sense of humor." Bruce Lewis, one of Johnny's best friends and his Physical Therapist).
For those of you that are new to "The Dead Zone," Johnny Smith is a psychic. He has many different forms of these "powers." He got them after being in a car crash and in a coma for 6 years. Just to name a few of them are Clairvoyance, Retrospection, proretrospection, psychometry (you'll learn, eventually, what all of these are. Everything comes with time).
I do think that their is kind of a catch to this series, you kind of have to really stay on top of it. If you miss on finding out who just one charachter is, it can really throw your whole point of view. For some of you major scifi fans, this is really a show for you. A lot of you will catch on rather quick (that is compared to the "regular" t.v. goers.)
Sorry for the major critics out there if they don't like this review. This is solely my point of view on just the portion of this collection of DVD's as for the fact of the matter that I have only had them for 4 days now. I'm not even through watching all of the ep's yet.
I think that everyone can get into this show in some way or another. Some people harder than others (I know, it took me about a year to finally get my dad to watch a full episode of "The Dead Zone.")
Thats all for now. Thanks for reading my review!