The Dead Zone - Season 2 [DVD]

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.

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.

Season 1 intrigued. Now the series really gets into its stride. Since his car crash and six year coma, the dead zone of John Smith's brain has become ultra active. Visions abound whenever contact is made. In some ways this is a blessing - tragedies averted, villains apprehended. In other ways it is not - John's life no longer his own. He is hounded by the media, targeted by cranks, receives daily sacks of mail and his home needs state of the art security (which does not prevent his being abducted).

19 episodes, most of them strong (a couple of the more romantically inclined perhaps not in the same league). John knows it only takes one detail to be changed for tragedy to be averted. Can he thus prevent the launch of a cosmetic which will lead to deformed babies? Can he avert the catastrophe about to confront the plane he is on? Will the boxer die in round twelve? Can he warn in time of a calamitous storm? What of the plague originating at a school's science display?

Throughout, there is much that entertains and excites. A particularly good episode focuses on his physical therapist Bruce. How would John's life have changed without Bruce there to help? Elsewhere we see him helping the Government track down terrorists. Still around from Season 1 is corrupt politician Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery). Should he become President, the world faces nuclear devastation. A thread running though this new season is his continuing rise, John at present seemingly powerless....

Yes, immensely enjoyable. Anthony Michael Hall holds it all together - his John Smith charismatic with those intent eyes and silver topped cane (which he does not really seem to need except when on that rickety bridge).

Recommended! (Just one further mystery - where on those five discs are the bonuses mentioned on the cover?)

After I'd finished watching the entire first season DVD set and started reading people's opinions here of this 2nd-season set, I paid no attention to the negative reviews because I loved the first season so much, but for me the second season is definitely a mixed bag, more so than the first at least. The majority of the episodes are good and there are even a few really outstanding episodes (i.e. Precipitate/The Man Who Never Was/Deja Voodoo/The Hunt), but there are also some very average, if not really uninspired episodes too.

The first 3 episodes in particular do no justice to the over-all quality of the season- it's not that they don't follow on from the season 1 cliffhanger (armageddon), as that is satisfactorily drawn-out across the entire season- it's more that these episodes just feel direction-less and don't make enough of a statement about Jonny's gift or people's reaction to his now-renowned supernatural dead zone. Where this season really shines though is in the guest appearances, which are so brilliantly cast and also add a great deal to their respective episodes- Robert Culp and Reiko Aylesworth are my personal favorites of the many guest-actors and are in my favourite episodes of this season too. And both of these episodes again prove how well this show can do drama and science-fiction, personal stories and action, equally well.

The season finale episode 'Visions', although entertaining and an advance of the continuing armageddon story, is a bit of a dissappointment after it was alluded to for so long running up to the finale. It doesn't leave us knowing anything more than we knew already and also is cut ridiculously short, which made me mad, although I guess also wanting more, which is a good thing. In summary this is the dead zone we know and love, and while I loved having 19 episodes rather than 13, some episodes could easily have been cut from the season without disrupting the flow of Jonny's on-going story. But as the final credits rolled of the final episode, I admit I was feeling more than ever a great admiration for this high-quality show that continues to surprise...