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The Dead Zone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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uring his first hit mini-season, Johnny Smith (Hall) began to explore his powerful psychic visions after waking up from a six-year coma. In the first-season cliffhanger, Johnny and his ex-fiancee, Sarah (deBoer), became lovers again, and Johnny had a vision of Armageddon, courtesy of congressional candidate Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery).
As season two begins, several weeks have passed, and Johnny has become obsessed with Stillson to such a degree that he's begun his own investigation of the man. However, another mystery draws him away, when Rev. Purdy asks him to look into the kidnapping of a young boy. Unfortunately, when Johnny goes to the boy's house to investigate, he doesn't get a vision. In fact, he hasn't had a vision in weeks—not since the vision regarding Stillson.
Even though Johnny views his visions as more of a curse than a gift, he realizes he can't save the child without them. When the boy's kidnapper calls Johnny, he discovers that the boy was taken as a test of Johnny's powers. His visions finally do return, but instead of locating the boy, Johnny finds himself in a game of cat and mouse with the kidnapper.
As Johnny begins to delve into the kidnapper's life with the help of his psychic powers, he discovers that the kidnapper is as obsessed with him as he is with Stillson. Through cryptic clues, Johnny begins to piece together the mystery of where the boy is, but he knows he doesn't have much time. The boy is trapped in a location where he's running out of air, and Johnny is the only one who can save him.
King's characters continue their reign
In June, The Dead Zone's first season premiered to the highest ratings of any dramatic series in the history of basic cable. The compelling show used King's book as a framework, but quickly evolved to come into its own. Each episode explored Johnny's condition and used creative visual effects so the audience could get a peek at what was going on in Johnny's mind. While the first season was well written and produced, the reason this series has soared so far is because of Anthony Michael Hall's stirring portrayal of Johnny.
As season two begins, Hall once again takes us into Johnny's world as both he and we begin to question what the Armageddon vision meant. Because of the King novel, the audience may have more knowledge than Johnny does; however, the stakes are entirely different for this Johnny than they were for King's Johnny.
While "Valley of the Shadow" does touch on last season's cliffhangers involving the Armageddon vision and Johnny and Sarah's affair, that's not what the episode is about. Instead, it launches questions about Johnny's destiny that have the potential to play on long after Greg Stillson's story is done. In fact, this episode has the beginnings of a true mythology for The Dead Zone.
Whether or not a series mythology develops, The Dead Zone's well-realized world and rich characters with their complex relationships have given the series a substance that not many television shows can manage after 13 episodes. While there is still room for improvement, particularly when it comes to developing the characters of Bruce Lewis (John L. Adams) and Rev. Purdy (David Ogden Stiers), the series should have plenty of time to do anything it wants—especially if it can manage two seasons every year.
"Valley of the Shadow" kicks off the second season in fine fashion. Hall is just great as Johnny, and The Dead Zone looks in gear to have another great season. Still, you have to wonder—when this second 13-episode season is finished airing, when will a third season start? — Kathie
Also in this issue: Pinocchio and Star Trek: The Next Generation—Season Five DVD
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