Rating: 
Summary: GET IN THE ZONE WITH DEAD ZONE (Great DVD, O.K. Season)
Review: Previously I reported on this site that Season 2 was sub-par. Well it starts out that way, but it gets better. And thanks to Amazon.com's neat new "Edit/Delete Review" function, I can right my wrong. So anyway, the price was right so I bought the DVD set, and now I can sing a different tune and say that it's an "O.K." season. However there are definitely some bad episodes, many more than in the stellar, nearly flawless first season which I highly recommend picking up.
THE DVD:
Widescreen is awesome. The picture is great, and so is the sound. The extras are phenomenal, just like the first season. Commentaries on every episode, 5.1 sound, widescreen, movie-like transfers, what more can you ask for? And affordably priced, too. :)
THE SHOW:
Season 2 is a mixed bag. Unlike Season 1, which was consistently good, the only thing consistent about this season is its inconsistency. But there are 19 episodes this time around, beating out Season 1's mere 13. In this regard, bad episodes in Season 2 can be forgiven. So without further adieu, on to the episodes.
SEASON 2 EPISODE MINI-REVIEWS AND RATINGS:
2.01 Valley of the Shadow
- The "Millenium/Seven" episode of Dead Zone. Very boring. A lousy way to start the season. Talk about turning away new viewers, I mean, I loved the first season, but this was just plain bad.
GRADE: 3/10
2.02 Descent (1)
- The first of a two-parter, another bad episode. Johnny and Walt have a boring adventure in a mine looking for trapped kids. I mean "Little House On The Prairie" did this better. Wow, the first two eps of the season and they're barely watchable.
GRADE: 4/10
2.03 Ascent (2)
- We're getting better, folks. This episode is OK, however it is a clear rip-off of a "Star Trek: Voyager" episode. Fans know what I'm talking about.
GRADE: 5.5/10
2.04 The Outsider
- This is the "Earth: Final Conflict" episode of Dead Zone. Not bad.
GRADE: 5/10
2.05 Precipitate
- Terrible, just terrible. Johnny gets blood and has visions of the donors, and he takes Bruce along for the pointless ride. This episode is so lame you will swear Dead Zone off your TV diet forever.
GRADE: 2/10
2.06 Scars
- A very good episode. It's about time, too. This season was a total write-off up to this point. In this episode Johnny helps one of the Simon&Simon brothers come to terms with his murderous past in Vietnam.
GRADE: 8/10
2.07 Misbegotten
- This is the "Blair Witch" episode of Dead Zone. It's decent.
GRADE: 6/10
2.08 Cabin Pressure
- Excellent. Airplane disaster episodes are always great, just like the one on FOX's "John Doe" (a spectacular but cancelled show by the way). One of the best episodes of the series.
GRADE: 9.5/10
2.09 The Man Who Never Was
- Awful, simply awful. A lonely old man turns out to be a retired James Bond.
GRADE: 1.5/10
2.10 Dead Men Tell Tales
- The "Godfather" episode of Dead Zone. Not great, not bad either. Fa-get about it.
GRADE: 5/10
2.11 Playing God
- This is the "Breakfast Club Reunion Special" episode of Dead Zone. Mostly boring.
GRADE: 4.5/10
2.12 Zion
- This is the Bruce episode. Bruce finally gets his own episode and it's lousy beyond words. Oh well.
GRADE: 1/10
2.13 The Storm
- After waking up from your Zion nap, you're in for a treat with this mostly entertaining episode about a tornado or wind storm or whatever sent by God apparently to follow around and eventually kill Johnny -- or teach him an important lesson or something. Or both, I forget which.
GRADE: 7.5/10
2.14 Plague
- The "SARS" episode of Dead Zone. Alternatively it is the "Outbreak" episode of Dead Zone. A good episode.
GRADE: 8/10
2.15 Deja Voodoo
- This is the "Groundhog Day" episode of Dead Zone, in which we learn that Johnny, with his powers, can never lose or be beaten and can cheat his way out of anything. This episode also taught us that Johnny is never in any real danger because his powers are far too god-like. A great episode!
GRADE: 9/10
2.16 The Hunt
This is the Osama episode of Dead Zone. It is also the single worst episode I have ever seen ever on any show ever. EVER. Additionally this episode is a ripoff of a ST: Deep Space Nine episode, at least in its idea of pairing Johnny (Dr. Bashir) with three freaks like himself.
GRADE: 0/10 (that's right, ZERO -- it's THAT bad)
2.17 The Mountain
- This is the "Cliffhanger" (Stallone movie) episode of Dead Zone. It's pretty good.
GRADE: 7.5/10
2.18 The Combination
- This is the "Rocky" episode of Dead Zone, in which the Apollo Creed of this episode is facing sure defeat, likely death, at the hands of the Drago of this episode. A mediocre episode.
GRADE: 4.5/10
2.19 Visions
- A nice season finale (nothing spectacular). Still, it has its moments. In it we finally find out who the mysterious hooded man is that kept appearing in Johnny's visions throughout the season. It turns out it's that guy from "Career Opportunities" (with Jennifer Connelly) back for revenge. Haha. ;)
GRADE: 8/10
OVERALL:
Even though the second season was far from perfect, it is still light years better than most of the crap on television. Plus it's widescreen, loaded with extras, and cheap. So BUY IT. :)
Rating: 
Summary: loved it
Review: The first season was good and well worth the money the second season is even better. The stories are fresh and you quickly come to know and like the characters involved. I highly recommend it. I loaned the first season to two friends. they both ended up buying season 1 & 2 because they liked it so much. 822 minutes of solid entertainment at a price so good you wish all boxed sets were this price.
Rating:
Summary: "The Dead Zone" gets even better in the Second Season
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Change one small thing and all of life changes...
Review: There's a definite theme to the second season that was only hinted at in the first -- if even the smallest fact changes, it can make all the difference.
My favorite episodes are Precipitate, which reminded me to start donating blood again; Cabin Pressure, which encourages even the non-believers to keep an open mind; and The Mountain, where the phrase "there's still time" becomes an important new theme for the series.
If my husband and I are any judge, this is a series that will resonate with the fans of the multiple Joss Whedon's series (Buffy, Angel, Firefly) in that there are always interesting plot lines & devices, and the witty repartee keeps things fun and moving. Terrific series!
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS THE BEST EVER
Review: THIS WONDERFUL TO WATCH! I LOVE THIS SHOW I BOUGHT THE FIRST SEASON AND I JUST BOUGHT THE SECOND SEASON. I COULD WATCH THIS EVERY NIGHT ITS SUCH A GREAT SHOW.
I LOVE IT.
LORRIE
Rating:
Summary: THIS IS THE BEST EVER
Review: THIS WONDERFUL TO WATCH! I LOVE THIS SHOW I BOUGHT THE FIRST SEASON AND I JUST BOUGHT THE SECOND SEASON. I COULD WATCH THIS EVERY NIGHT ITS SUCH A GREAT SHOW. I LOVE IT. LORRIE
Rating:
Summary: Flat out amazing!!
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: The Amazing Second Season.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Second Season = Perfection...
Review: With the first season already out and, well...it was a pretty good start for the series, with the few last episodes of the season building up to the second season, the cast & crew devliver a perfect preformance in the second season. The episodes were great, the cast was great, well everything was great about the season and here's hoping for a better third season....
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