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Dead Zone - The Complete First Season, The
Lionsgate Home Entertainment // Unrated // June 17, 2003
List Price: $49.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE EPISODES
For those of you whose only recollection of Anthony Michael Hall is as Russ Griswold in the first Vacation movie or perhaps the various comedic roles he had in several 1980's John Hughes pictures, you're in for a big surprise as he plays Johnny Smith in TV's The Dead Zone, which is based on the Stephen King book and 1983 David Cronenberg film of the same name.
Perhaps it was because I have neither read the book or seen the 1983 film (so I had nothing to compare it with), but I enjoyed the television show quite a bit. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I was surprised that prior to reviewing this DVD set, I had virtually no knowledge that the series even existed and was running episodes on the USA Network. My guess is that there are just as many people reading this review who have little knowledge of this show – which is a shame, since I'm here to tell you it's one of the best series I've seen in a good while. Not just a good program in terms of entertainment, but deep, moving drama that ranks right up there with the best episodes of The Sopranos, 24 and C.S.I.
If you're not a fan of horror, don't be concerned…neither is this reviewer. The Dead Zone isn't a horror series…it's solid science fiction with a bit of the mystical thrown in. The story revolves around Johnny Smith (played by Hall) a young man who started to have psychic abilities at an early age when he was injured playing ice hockey. Years later, we find him living a normal life, teaching school and engaged to be married to his sweetheart, Sarah (Nicole deBoer). But a tragic car accident causes him to go into a coma for six years, and when he awakens, he finds his finance married to another man, finds he has a son he never knew about, finds that his mother has passed away, and finds that the part of his brain that is inactive in most people – "The Dead Zone" – is working and giving him visions of people's futures every time he comes in physical contact with them.
Here's a brief rundown of the stories you'll see in this Season One DVD box set:
Wheel of Fortune - The pilot episode in which Johnny awakens from his coma to find his new life – and his newfound powers.
What It Seems - Johnny must track down a serial killer before he kills again.
Quality of Life - Johnny begins assistant coaching the high school's hockey team only to discover that one of the players may have a death-threatening heart condition.
Enigma - Johnny helps an old man search for the missing love of his life, and finds himself transported back to World War II in his visions.
Netherworld - Johnny awakens to find himself married to Sarah and living his life as if his accident had never happened. But a recurring vision of a fiery explosion is haunting him.
The House - Seeing disturbing visions in his home, Johnny decides to get to the truth behind his mother's death – and helps his neighbors get through a tragedy of their own.
Unreasonable Doubt - Johnny is called for jury duty and is the odd man out during a trial of a young black man arrested for murder, being the only one that believes he is innocent.
The Siege - Johnny and Sarah find themselves in the middle of a bank robbery and hostage situation, and Johnny must keep trying to change the future to avoid a disastrous result.
Enemy Mind - Searching for a runaway teen, Johnny is exposed to drugs that alter his Dead Zone and leave him with confusing visions.
Here There Be Monsters - Visiting a small New England town, Johnny is suspected of an occult murder and put on trial by the townsfolk, who think he engages in witchcraft.
Dinner With Dana - Johnny spends a romantic evening with the town's reporter (cast regular Kristen Dalton), but soon discovers her ex-lover is back in town and looking for revenge.
Shaman - Johnny believes a meteor is about to strike a small town, but after he is injured looking for the impact point, he has visions of an ancient American Indian – and soon discovers that the two of them may have a lot in common.
Destiny - Sean Patrick Flanery guest stars as Greg Stillson, a congressional hopeful who has his own secret agenda – and about whom Johnny is having horrific visions of the future.
THE DVD
Video:
The Dead Zone is presented in 1:78:1 anamorphic widescreen and the overall transfer is fairly good for a television show, although not quite as sharp as many theatrical anamoprhic DVDs. However, there is little, if any, evidence of dirt or graininess to the picture.
Audio:
Presented in 5.1 Dolby, the audio here is nicely done, and although it is far from an aggressive track, there is a nice balance between soundtrack, sound effects and dialogue. I did notice that the sound of the episodes were a little lower than the sounds of the actual menu, so be sure to have your remote ready to crank it up a few notches once you start viewing the actual show.
Extras
For a television show that isn't all that well-known, this box set has a ton of bonus features that really leave other TV box sets lacking by comparison. For starters, each and every episode has a Audio Commentary track featuring at least two (sometimes more) participants from the cast and crew. All of the main actors (except, sadly, David Ogden Stiers) participate in at least one of the tracks, and star Anthony Michael Hall lends his comments to six of the thirteen tracks.
There are a number of Featurettes on the set, one or more on each of the four DVDs. Disc one presents Behind The Scenes: Genesis, while disc two brings viewers Behind The Scenes: Writing, disc three features both Behind The Scenes: Music and Behind The Scenes: Special Effects, and the final disc has Behind The Scenes: Guest Stars. All of these featurettes are quite informative and fun to watch, although my copy of disc four (my discs were check discs, so they may or may not have corrected this on the release version) had a synch problem with the video/audio for Behind The Scenes: Guest Stars.
The first three discs also contain Storyboards for selected episodes, with storyboards for Quality of Life on disc one, storyboards for Netherworld and The House on disc two, and storyboards for The Siege on disc three. In addition to all these bonuses, viewers will also find a First/Second Season Promo on disc two – which is essentially two promotional commercials for the start of season two (which started in January 2003), as well as a Second Season Preview with comments from co-creator Michael Piller on the extras section of disc three.
Careful disc searchers will be able to find some hidden Trailers on the first three DVDs by highlighting the Lion's Gate Logo in the main menu. Disc one has a trailer for the series, plus some trailers for additional Steven King made-for-TV movies. Disc two has a single trailer for Rose Red, while the third disc has a single trailer for Storm of the Century.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I went into The Dead Zone thinking it would be a nice diversion and came away a huge fan of the series. The DVD set is reasonably priced, and with so much bonus material on these DVDs, those who enjoyed the shows as much as I did will have plenty of supplemental material to watch and listen to long after they have viewed the thirteen shows.
The Dead Zone is a wonderful TV series that deserves far more attention than it has been getting. Perhaps this box set will help the program gain a wider audience. At the very least, it has produced at least one more regular viewer. Be sure to take a look…Johnny tells me picking up this box set will make your future a much happier place!
For those of you whose only recollection of Anthony Michael Hall is as Russ Griswold in the first Vacation movie or perhaps the various comedic roles he had in several 1980's John Hughes pictures, you're in for a big surprise as he plays Johnny Smith in TV's The Dead Zone, which is based on the Stephen King book and 1983 David Cronenberg film of the same name.
Perhaps it was because I have neither read the book or seen the 1983 film (so I had nothing to compare it with), but I enjoyed the television show quite a bit. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I was surprised that prior to reviewing this DVD set, I had virtually no knowledge that the series even existed and was running episodes on the USA Network. My guess is that there are just as many people reading this review who have little knowledge of this show – which is a shame, since I'm here to tell you it's one of the best series I've seen in a good while. Not just a good program in terms of entertainment, but deep, moving drama that ranks right up there with the best episodes of The Sopranos, 24 and C.S.I.
If you're not a fan of horror, don't be concerned…neither is this reviewer. The Dead Zone isn't a horror series…it's solid science fiction with a bit of the mystical thrown in. The story revolves around Johnny Smith (played by Hall) a young man who started to have psychic abilities at an early age when he was injured playing ice hockey. Years later, we find him living a normal life, teaching school and engaged to be married to his sweetheart, Sarah (Nicole deBoer). But a tragic car accident causes him to go into a coma for six years, and when he awakens, he finds his finance married to another man, finds he has a son he never knew about, finds that his mother has passed away, and finds that the part of his brain that is inactive in most people – "The Dead Zone" – is working and giving him visions of people's futures every time he comes in physical contact with them.
Here's a brief rundown of the stories you'll see in this Season One DVD box set:
Wheel of Fortune - The pilot episode in which Johnny awakens from his coma to find his new life – and his newfound powers.
What It Seems - Johnny must track down a serial killer before he kills again.
Quality of Life - Johnny begins assistant coaching the high school's hockey team only to discover that one of the players may have a death-threatening heart condition.
Enigma - Johnny helps an old man search for the missing love of his life, and finds himself transported back to World War II in his visions.
Netherworld - Johnny awakens to find himself married to Sarah and living his life as if his accident had never happened. But a recurring vision of a fiery explosion is haunting him.
The House - Seeing disturbing visions in his home, Johnny decides to get to the truth behind his mother's death – and helps his neighbors get through a tragedy of their own.
Unreasonable Doubt - Johnny is called for jury duty and is the odd man out during a trial of a young black man arrested for murder, being the only one that believes he is innocent.
The Siege - Johnny and Sarah find themselves in the middle of a bank robbery and hostage situation, and Johnny must keep trying to change the future to avoid a disastrous result.
Enemy Mind - Searching for a runaway teen, Johnny is exposed to drugs that alter his Dead Zone and leave him with confusing visions.
Here There Be Monsters - Visiting a small New England town, Johnny is suspected of an occult murder and put on trial by the townsfolk, who think he engages in witchcraft.
Dinner With Dana - Johnny spends a romantic evening with the town's reporter (cast regular Kristen Dalton), but soon discovers her ex-lover is back in town and looking for revenge.
Shaman - Johnny believes a meteor is about to strike a small town, but after he is injured looking for the impact point, he has visions of an ancient American Indian – and soon discovers that the two of them may have a lot in common.
Destiny - Sean Patrick Flanery guest stars as Greg Stillson, a congressional hopeful who has his own secret agenda – and about whom Johnny is having horrific visions of the future.
THE DVD
Video:
The Dead Zone is presented in 1:78:1 anamorphic widescreen and the overall transfer is fairly good for a television show, although not quite as sharp as many theatrical anamoprhic DVDs. However, there is little, if any, evidence of dirt or graininess to the picture.
Audio:
Presented in 5.1 Dolby, the audio here is nicely done, and although it is far from an aggressive track, there is a nice balance between soundtrack, sound effects and dialogue. I did notice that the sound of the episodes were a little lower than the sounds of the actual menu, so be sure to have your remote ready to crank it up a few notches once you start viewing the actual show.
Extras
For a television show that isn't all that well-known, this box set has a ton of bonus features that really leave other TV box sets lacking by comparison. For starters, each and every episode has a Audio Commentary track featuring at least two (sometimes more) participants from the cast and crew. All of the main actors (except, sadly, David Ogden Stiers) participate in at least one of the tracks, and star Anthony Michael Hall lends his comments to six of the thirteen tracks.
There are a number of Featurettes on the set, one or more on each of the four DVDs. Disc one presents Behind The Scenes: Genesis, while disc two brings viewers Behind The Scenes: Writing, disc three features both Behind The Scenes: Music and Behind The Scenes: Special Effects, and the final disc has Behind The Scenes: Guest Stars. All of these featurettes are quite informative and fun to watch, although my copy of disc four (my discs were check discs, so they may or may not have corrected this on the release version) had a synch problem with the video/audio for Behind The Scenes: Guest Stars.
The first three discs also contain Storyboards for selected episodes, with storyboards for Quality of Life on disc one, storyboards for Netherworld and The House on disc two, and storyboards for The Siege on disc three. In addition to all these bonuses, viewers will also find a First/Second Season Promo on disc two – which is essentially two promotional commercials for the start of season two (which started in January 2003), as well as a Second Season Preview with comments from co-creator Michael Piller on the extras section of disc three.
Careful disc searchers will be able to find some hidden Trailers on the first three DVDs by highlighting the Lion's Gate Logo in the main menu. Disc one has a trailer for the series, plus some trailers for additional Steven King made-for-TV movies. Disc two has a single trailer for Rose Red, while the third disc has a single trailer for Storm of the Century.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I went into The Dead Zone thinking it would be a nice diversion and came away a huge fan of the series. The DVD set is reasonably priced, and with so much bonus material on these DVDs, those who enjoyed the shows as much as I did will have plenty of supplemental material to watch and listen to long after they have viewed the thirteen shows.
The Dead Zone is a wonderful TV series that deserves far more attention than it has been getting. Perhaps this box set will help the program gain a wider audience. At the very least, it has produced at least one more regular viewer. Be sure to take a look…Johnny tells me picking up this box set will make your future a much happier place!
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