Product Details

• Actors: Anthony Michael Hall, Nicole de Boer, Chris Bruno, Sarah Wynter, David Ogden Stiers
• Directors: Anthony Michael Hall, Ellie Kanner, James Head, Jefery Levy, Kevin Speckmaier
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: Unrated
• Studio: Lions Gate
• DVD Release Date: June 7, 2005
• Run Time: 508 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009A407A
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,419 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #5 in	Movies & TV > Horror > Series & Sequels > The Dead Zone
  #47 in	Movies & TV > Television > Horror

• For more information about "The Dead Zone - The Complete Third Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 3 in The Dead Zone Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Three seasons into it, The Dead Zone has cemented its stature as one of television's most ambitious and compelling series, combining action, psychological drama, and elements of sci-fi and the supernatural in twelve episodes contained on three discs in this handsome, bonus-filled package. Based on Stephen King's 1979 novel (later a feature film starring Christopher Walken), The Dead Zone was adapted for TV by Michael and Shawn Piller, with actor Anthony Michael Hall (previously best known for his roles in the mid-'80s hits The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles) as star, co-producer, and occasional director. Hall ably plays Johnny Smith, who has recovered from a six-year coma to discover that he now has some rather remarkable powers; merely by touching other people, or objects touched by others, Smith has visions that illuminate events that have happened, will happen, or that are taking place elsewhere. He has put this ability to use as a psychic, working with the police in the Maine town in which the stories take place.

Understanding all of this may take a while for the uninitiated; not only does Smith jump both forward and back in time, but he often sees himself in his visions, and sometimes we're watching the Johnny of the present with the one from the past onscreen at the same time. The Dead Zone has a lot on its hands in each episode, with a stand-alone storyline (a Rep. Gary Condit-Chandra Levy takeoff in "Finding Rachel," a Columbine-esque school shooting in "Cycle of Violence") balancing the ongoing matter of Smith's visions--how they came to be ("Collision" details the car accident that led to his coma and, eventually, his powers), how to interpret them, and whether they're a blessing or a curse. All of that is mixed together with his strange new personal life (his pregnant fiancé, played by Nicole De Boer, married the local sheriff while Johnny was out of commission). And then there's the overriding series theme, which is heavily featured in the first two episodes of this season but mentioned only occasionally thereafter: Armageddon is coming, Johnny alone lives through it, he might even cause it… and maybe he's the only one who can prevent it.

It's a tough act to pull off week after week, but while the show occasionally seems about to collapse under its own weight, it mostly succeeds, albeit without a shred of humor and an ultra-serious, portentous vibe that gets a little tedious. At the very least, The Dead Zone makes for consistently intriguing viewing. The generous bonus features include commentary (by Hall and many others) for every episode, three featurettes, and more. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Based on the characters and story from the best-selling book by Stephen King, the Dead Zone is a unique psychological thriller that combines a rich mix of action, the paranormal and a continuing quest for justice. Contains the complete third season (episodes 1 - 12).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Season Three: 12 (More) Steps Toward Armageddon, April 30, 2005

By	Mark Shields "Super Genius" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Building upon the strengths of seasons one and two, the third season of The Dead Zone takes Johnny's visions of a future apocalypse to a new level as he has now been joined by another mysterious visitor with powers similar to his own. A new love in his life and a new change in the relationship with his son occurs. The creators of the show continue to have great fun turning the sci-fi fantasy genre on its ear with these amazing, wonderful stories. If you loved King's original book The Dead Zone, you will not be disappointed! There's a lot of great things waiting for you to see and I highly recommend picking up a copy.

Here's a summary of the episodes for this season:

Finding Rachel, Part 1: Johnny becomes a suspect in a case he's trying to resolve regarding Rachel Caldwell, a missing woman who also happens to be on Greg Stillson's election team.

Finding Rachel, Part 2: Johnny is arrested for Rachel Caldwell's murder. He must then convince the victim's sister that she must help him solve her murder, despite the fact that she is convinced Johnny is guilty of the crime.

Collision: A young girl's mysterious disappearance prompts Johnny to have visions about the night of his car accident. Somehow the two visions are connected and it is up to Johnny to resolve one vision before he can resolve the other.

Cold Hard Truth: A confrontational radio station jock draws Johnny to him. Unexpectedly, Johnny foresees the jock's death and, despite the animosity, decides to help him.

Total Awareness: Johnny teams up with a strange young woman with the ability to predict numbers. Together they seek to expose a 'total information awareness system' which threatens to put everyone's right to privacy in jeopardy.

No Questions Asked: Johnny offers to help Walt Bannerman with a crime from his past that has unexpectedly resurfaced. The catch? Don't ask any questions.

Looking Glass: Identical twin law students create a video depicting a murder in order to trick Johnny into having a vision about it. Things get more complicated when the ruse turns out to be a cover for something far more sinister.

Speak Now: While attending a wedding, Johnny has visions about the couple's pending future and must decide whether or not he should tell them about what he's seen.

Cycle of Violence: Johnny experiences visions of a Columbine-like school shooting while attending a school play. He cannot confirm the killer's identity. The principal of the school takes the opportunity to restrict the freedom of the students and starts making his own guesses about who the culprit is.

Instinct: Johnny and Walt investigate the unexplained, unnatural violent behavior of the wild animals that live around the city.

Shadows: Johnny has a vision of the death of a close friend and is nearly pushed to kill in order to protect them.

Tipping Point: Johnny's visions start causing physical problems and eventually threatening his life. He must decide if brain surgery is the right answer. Doing so would remove his Dead Zone causing him to lose the ability to possibly prevent Armageddon.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I'm not here for the love, I'm here for the donuts", June 13, 2005

By	Wayne Klein "If at first the idea is not absu... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

"Medium" may be getting all of the press but "The Dead Zone" was doing it before and, quite honestly, better. Sure, "Medium" has a great cast and some great storytelling but it has nothing on the story arc presented here--the potential destruction of the world.

Although the 3rd season of "The Dead Zone" ran only 12 episodes(unlike the first which ran 13 episodes and the 19 of the second season), it had as much action packed into it as previous seasons and made outstanding use of visual effects to continue to heighten the story. The 3rd season opens with the stunning two-part episode "Finding Rachel". John (Hall) is the suspect in the murder of Senate candidate Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery). Meanwhile Stillson and his advisors are helping to rig the election so that he will have a better chance of winning. Reverend Purdy finds out that all is not well with John's trust fund that he has been administering. In the first part of this season opener we also get resolution to the cliffhanger from season two. We discover more about the mysterious visitor who shares a link with John from the future.

The extras as usual are top notch with a commentary for every single episode (some better than others but hey, I'd rather have too many extras that are extraenous than none at all). We also get deleted scenes, "Five Minutes 'Til Milch" written and directed by actor John L. Adams, the gag reel and three featurettes one of which discusses the challenges of changing from film to High Definition Video for the production (which fattened up their thinning budget). Another one takes us behind-the-scenes looking at food. Yes, food. The clever "Cooking Verite" shows us what the crew really gets to eat on location. Yum. The final featurette focuses on actor Chris Bruno (who plays Walt Bannerman) and how he stays in shape. Personally, I'd love to see a featurette devoted to the lovely Nicole DeBoer's career pre-"Deep Space Nine" (which when I became aware ofher) and Sarah Wynter ("24").

Buyers may want to be aware of a flaw in the first run of the series;there's a white line that appears at the top of the letterbox frame that can be distracting. It's not a big issue but Lion's Gate is in the process of fixing the problem and reissuing these discs. I'd suggest going to TVONDVD.com to see which players are affected. Lion's Gate has only found 15 or so that have been but neither one of mine is on the list and I saw the white line.

If you need a replacement Lion's Gate can be reached at [e-mail]. I'm not sure what the time frame is for the remastered/re-released episodes. It's more than one or two episodes that are affected by the problem. If you don't have a DVD player on the list, then it's possible it might be noticeable on your player.

While the pricing for 12 episodes might be a bit high compared to some shows, it's actually quite reasonable overall. The first season of "Deadwood" and "Carnivale" listed for more than twice as much with less in the way of extras (although the packaging was superior for both those series). I'm also happy to see that Lion's Gate isn't releasing this series as dual sided discs with no extras and is continuing the slip jacket for the accordian style DVD holder. Great season! I'm not here for the donuts, I'm here for the storytelling.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Season 3 - Seeing is Believing, April 21, 2005

By	Ned "java_ned" (Eldersburg, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

Johnny Smith was a high school teacher with a lovely fiancée. That all changed after a tragic auto accident. Johnny wakes up from a coma six years later. His mother has since died, leaving his stepfather, the Reverend Gene Purdy as executor of her estate and Johnny's legal guardian. Even after extensive physical therapy, Johnny will need a cane in order to walk. And Sarah, believing he would never awaken, has married Walt, the local sheriff, who has adopted the child Sarah conceived with Johnny on their last night together.

All this would be hard enough on a normal person, but Johnny is no normal person. He discovers he has the ability to see things. Simply by touching other people, or objects touched by others, he can sense things that have happened, things that will happen, or things that are happening elsewhere.

The set for season 3 will include all 12 episodes. Extras include audio commentary on all 12 by the cast, the crew. There are deleted scenes and three exclusive behind-the-scenes featurettes.

1 & 2 Finding Rachel (Parts 1 & 2) - Johnny pieces together his visions to figure out what happened to a Stillson's campaign volunteers who mysteriously disappeared while she was with him.

3 - Collision - Johnny's vision of Katie Mercer (an 11 years old missing girl) clashes with visions of his accident.

4 - Cold Hard Truth - Johnny helps a disc jockey that is beaten by a group of bikers.

5 - Total Awareness - Johnny is stalked by a woman who has already killed 3 other psychics.

6 - No Questions Asked - Johnny helps Walt with a problem from his past but Johnny can't ask any questions.

7 - Looking Glass - A couple of lawyer twins use Johnny but Johnny his visions of murder are real.

8) Speak Now - Johnny has visions of him interrupting a wedding and needs to determine if the wedding should or shouldn't take place.

9) Cycle of Violence - Johnny gets a vision of a student going on a shooting spree and must find out how the student is.

10) Instinct - Johnny why there are animal attacks in this one town.

11) Shadows - Johnny must figure out his visions of himself killing a man.

12) Tipping Point - Johnny's headaches and blackouts are getting worse and he is considering brain surgery to remove his dead zone.