Rating: 
Summary: Stephen King's novel is turned into a pretty good TV series
Review: Of all of Stephen King's novels "The Dead Zone" is probably the one has the strongest potential for being turned into a television series, mainly on the strength of the character of Johnny Smith. Many years after being adapted into a theatrical film, in which I thought Christopher Walken was miscast as Johnny, we have a television series based on King's novel, starring Anthony Michael Hall, that finally gives us something to replace "Quantum Leap" and "Morning Edition" among cult television fans. Created by the father and son team of Michael and Shawn Piller, there are several significant changes and additions to "The Dead Zone" premise: (1) The night of his accident Johnny and his fiancée Sara (Nicole de Boer) conceived a child, so when Johnny comes out of his coma this time, he learns more shocking news than Sara being married. (2) Sara is now married to Sheriff Walt Bannerman (Chris Buno), another character from the original novel, who is now given a more prominent role. (3) Johnny now has a sidekick in Bruce Lewis (John L. Adams), who starts off as his physical therapist and becomes a confidant, true-believer, and good friend. (4) In this version Johnny's father died when he was young and his mother (Anna Hagen), now a wealthy woman, died while he was in the coma. The bulk of her state has gone to the Reverend Gene Purdy (David Ogden Stiers), who has used it to fund his religious organization. This plays off of Vera Smith's fundamentalist beliefs in the novel, but gives the whole idea of the spiritual significance of Johnny's "gift" to the Reverend. (5) The other key supporting character is reporter Dana Bright (Kristen Dalton), who not only becomes a true believer but is interested in Johnny romantically as well. Consequently, Johnny has a much stronger support group in the television series. Once Sheriff Bannerman becomes a true believer that helps to eliminate the tired element of Johnny having to convince skeptics he is not a lunatic. (6) Finally, Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery), Johnny's ultimate antagonist in the novel, does not pop up until the 13th and final episode of the first season, setting up what will be the main conflict of season two. If there is a fundamental flaw to the series it is that it is pretty much impossible to come up with a "normal" episode for the series. "Quality of Life" would be one such episode, where Johnny takes a job as an assistant hockey coach, touches a kid, and knows that he is going to drop dead on the ice if he keeps playing. Of course, nobody wants to believe him. Fortunately "The Dead Zone" is one of those relatively new fangled series like "The Sopranos" and "Six Feet Under" where a full season is a dozen episodes, so that the series is not overwhelmed by more and more tales stretching the limits of Johnny's power (e.g., "Shaman"). The best episode of the first season is "The Siege," where Sara is caught in a bank robbery and Johnny joins the hostages in an effort to figure out the shifting jigsaw puzzle and come up with an ending where everybody gets out alive. This one does a nice job of exploring the consequences of various actions. "Here There Be Monsters," where Johnny ends up being charged with practicing witchcraft when he tries to help another sheriff's office solve a murder. The twist here is that Johnny is in danger because people DO believe he can do what he claims. "Unreasonable Doubt" is clearly inspired by "Twelve Angry Men," but also does a nice job of exploring how Johnny can convince people of the validity of his visions. Stylistically the television series takes the idea from the original film version of putting Johnny into his visions as a spectator and give it some "Matrix" like effects: often a scene freezes and Johnny is able to walk through it to see what needs to be seen. The show also shows a pretty good sense of humor at times, as in "Dinner with Dana," where physical contact brings into the bedroom their previous lovers. At the core of the series is Hall's performance, and while I think his characterization is significantly different from the novel in that Johnny is no longer a tortured Hamlet of doubt, I also think that such a main character would not work for a television series. Instead Hall's Johnny Smith is reserved but still willing to do what has to be done, no doubt helped by the strong support group he has in this series. The season finale, "Destiny," introduces candidate Stillson and returns the series to the last remaining element of the novel. This is a Stillson who is aware of Johnny's abilities, which will make quite a difference in the second season, and who is affiliated with the Reverend Purdy. It was nice to see the series go back to Cathy's episode from the novel, but there was one significant goof: Walt joins Johnny in trying to convince the owner of the restaurant to close down, and while they are unsuccessful, there is no way in the world that Walt does not somebody there watching the place (although given how quickly firetrucks seem to be there we might be missing something). This final episode also gets back to the heart of the novel, with Purdy explicitly talking about how Johnny is clearly destined to do something important, and that each of these episodes is just another link in the chain towards that greater glory. For a first season, often the most problematic in the history of a series, "The Dead Zone" is pretty good. More importantly, the show successfully builds on this solid foundation in the second season.
Rating:
Summary: A Wild Ride
Review: Since discovering Netflix I have been trying to catch up on a number of TV shows that I had previously missed for one reason or another. The Dead Zone is one of the first of these and, quite frankly, it blew me away.
I've been a fan of Stephen King for some time. I thought that the original novel and film were both excellent, so I was worried about what they would do to the concept with the new series. After the first couple episodes, my worries evaporated. They have treated the source material with respect, and I wonder whether King has seen the series (and how often he's slapped his forehead, wishing he'd written things this way from the beginning).
My biggest concern was the addition of three new characters. Bruce - Johnny's black, dreadlocked physical therapist and confidante; Dana - the standard feisty redhead reporter with a minor Johnny obsession; and Reverend Purdy - a televangelist who's foundation has control over Johnny's mother's estate. Any of these characters could have turned into stereotypes or caricatures. So far, however, they have mostly avoided this pitfall.
My main love of the series, though, is that they do an excellent job of showing what the life of someone with these abilities might actually be like. Episodes have dealt with the problems with intimacy, the Cassandra factor of getting anyone to believe dire warnings, the trouble of interpreting the visions, what happens when you see something too big for you to do anything about, or too big for your brain to deal with, etc.
Some of the episodes aren't quite as good as others, but they are all far better than most of what is shown on television, and the finale will knock your socks off. This set has skyrocketed to the top of my "must buy" list.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally! Something good on the T.V!
Review: The Dead Zone is definetly one of the best T.V shows around nowadays (what with the demise of 'X-Files')and has finally given me something to do on monday nights.
The basic plotline is the same as in the movie; Johnny Smith (played superbly by Anthony Michael Hall) is in a terrifying car crash which leaves him in a coma for six years. He awakens to find everything has changed and he now possesses the power of second sight, thus cueing a series of situations where he must use his psychic powers to help people. Everything about the series has a refreshing feel about it (especially some of the camera work and special effects) and all the lead carachters are perfectly cast (Anthony Michael Hall beats Christopher Walken hands down). Also, unlike most of the crap on nowadays, the stories actually rely upon and develop these carachters with emotion being the driving force rather than, say, kung-fu fighting (as in Dark Angel). As for the first season itself, it has some great storylines and plot ideas (the pilot and final episode are especially good). The only trouble is that some of these episoides are a little slow, especially the really early ones. Compared to what the series is doing now (season two was phenomenal!), this can be quite aggravating. Overall, i would say this is certainley a good buy, but leave some cash for the release of season two, as that season is just about perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Great Show - Pilot Disc Should Be Included in Set!
Review: The Dead Zone is one of the best shows on TV. The show alone gets five stars. But the reason my review is four stars is because of the somewhat deceiving nature of this DVD release. When you buy the DVD set, there is one open slot with no DVD. This is for the "pilot" episode. And in order to get this episode, you have to send in a card that comes with your DVD. It would have been much better if they had simply included the DVD and saved the consumer trouble of sending in a card to get the pilot. It's just like those "rebate" offers - companies know that few people will go through the process of sending it in and that's why they offer it.
Rating:
Summary: Am O the only one that actually watched the mail in Pilot?
Review: The show itself is AWESOME; but the unaired pilot really makes you wonder what could have been. To have Michael Morriarty as the reverend just added to the creepiness of the character. He just leereed in every seen. As mush as I enjoy the show, I still wait for BJ and Hawkeye to pop out.
Rating:
Summary: The "Unaired Pilot"
Review: There seems to be some confusion about the Pilot. While it IS the same story that eventually aired as the first two episodes there are some significant differences. Foremost is that the Reverend is played by Michael Morriarty. There are also some other differences in the cast. What you see here (along with some deleted scenes) is the original pilot. After it was filmed, they changed some of the cast and refilmed any scenes with the old cast. Also, some of the other scenes were refilmed by the new director since he did not like the staging of the old version of these scenes (as explained by the Voice-Over Commentary on the Show and the Deleted Scenes). Thus while the episode 1&2 and this Pilot is essentially the same story, you get alternate casting and interpretation. I hope this helps other to decide if they want to buy the DVD - You WILL get something you have not yet seen (even if it is not a DIFFERENT Story).
Rating:
Summary: A 14 YEAR OLD REVIEW
Review: This is a great show about a man named Johnny Smith who gets in a car wreck and is in a coma for 6 years. When he gets out of it he realizes that 1. his wife remarried and his son doesnt even know him and 2. he uses a special part of his brain called the "Dead Zone" which enables him to have pyschic powers when he touches things. This is a great show and i can't wait to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Dead Zone - A Real Winner!
Review: This series is inventive, engaging and highly entertaining. I'm sorry I missed it on television. I highly recommend this series to anyone who wants some quality programming. I can't wait for season two to be released. I hope those people keep up the good work.
Rating:
Summary: Psychic Superhero
Review: Watching television shows on DVD is quickly becoming better than watching movies on DVD. Not only do you get to watch an entire episode without commercial breaks, but you can also watch as few or as many episodes that you want in one sitting. Even better, many of the shows today are well worth the time.
One of these worthy shows is THE DEAD ZONE starring Anthony Michael Hall as John Smith. You may remember him as the perennial nerd in SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB and WEIRD SCIENCE. Hall has grown up now and has severed himself from a series of bad roles following those 3. With the Dead Zone, he has found a vehicle that allows him to be mysterious and likable.
The series is based on the Stephen King story of the same name but doesn't come across in any way like Stephen King's other Car Accident creep fest, KINGDOM HOSPITAL. The story has John Smith entering a six year coma after a serious car accident. But when he awakens, his life has changed... Not only has his fiancé' moved on (well, sort of), but his innate psychic abilities are extremely powerful.
Structured similarly to SMALLVILLE, we watch out hero adapt and grow through the entire season, even as each episode is its own individual story. Because of that, there is no need for concern if you miss an episode, you'll still be able to follow everything that happens.
The individual episodes examine Smith as he tackles personal conflicts, World War 2 romances, preventing murders and accidents, all the way through an Armageddon like cliff-hanger.
The cast is fine and the whole season is entertaining. But the stories could be a bit stronger if the stakes for Smith were a bit higher.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT NEW SHOW
Review: When I accidentally stumbled on this show when my dad rented the first season, I was hooked from the very first episode. It is a great show, and doesn't have a lot of moments when you would think, "this would never happen in real life." With a lot of TV shows getting cancelled like X Files, Buffy, and now Angel will be gone after this season I think this show should be supported because of it's orginal storylines.
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