Title: The Dead Zone: The
Series Pilot: “Wheel Of Fortune”
Region: One
Genre: Paranormal
Thriller Drama
Stars: Anthony Michael
Hall, Nicole de Boer, David Ogden Stiers, John L. Adams, and Chris Bruno
Writers:
Michael Piller and Shawn Piller
Based On Characters
Created By: Stephen King
Director: Robert
Lieberman
Executive Producers:
Michael Piller, Lloyd Segan, and Robert Lieberman
Running Time: 83 minutes
Extras: Commentary With
Executive Producer, Writer, And Series Creator Michael Piller, Stars Anthony
Michael Hall, Nicole de Boer, Chris Bruno, Executive Producer and Director
Robert Lieberman, Alternate Ending With Introduction By Shawn Piller, Interview
With Michael Piller About Season 2, Trailers, TV Spots, Promo Featurette
Languages: English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and Stereo Sound
Subtitles: English
Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Sound and Stereo Sound
Chapter Stops: 24
Packaging: Keep Case
MPAA Rating: R
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Johnny
Smith (Anthony Michael Hall) has been leading an idyllic small-town life.
Employed as a science teacher, Johnny takes great pleasure in showing his young
students the wonders of the natural world. He is also newly-engaged to a loving
fiancée named Sarah (Nicole de Boer), a fellow teacher he's known since
childhood, and is a good son to his widowed mother, who lives nearby. Johnny's
life is nearly perfect… until the day his life is interrupted by a near-fatal
car crash that leaves him in a deep coma.
Six years
later, Johnny finally regains consciousness and discovers that life as he once
knew it has completely changed. His mother has passed away, and Sarah has gone
on to marry someone else - and now has a son. But Johnny himself is also not the
same person he once was: he now finds himself in possession of amazing psychic
powers, which allow him to see into the lives of anyone he touches. Before he
even leaves the hospital, he helps save the life of a nurse's daughter after
having a miraculous vision, in which he sees the young girl trapped in the
middle of a raging house fire.
Now, as
Johnny attempts to reacquaint himself with a life he has been away from for six
long years, he must also begin a quest to come to terms with his new abilities -
abilities that may turn out to be both a blessing and a curse. Helping Johnny
make a fresh start are his physical trainer Bruce (John L. Adams), who also
becomes a close friend; his mother's Reverend, Gene Purdy (David Ogden Stiers),
who sets up a trust fund for Johnny but may not be looking out for Johnny's best
interests; and Sarah, who must find a way to make Johnny a part of her life
again without risking her relationship with her husband (Chris Bruno) and son.
From
Michael Piller, co-creator and executive producer of more than 500 hours of
programming from the “Star Trek” franchise, “The Dead Zone” is a
twenty-first century update based on characters created by Stephen King from his
novel of the same name. The book was previously adapted in to a feature film by
Canadian Genre Filmmaker and Auteur David Cronenberg and is arguably one of the
best theatrical dramatizations from the 1980s. Anthony Michael Hall delivers a
credible performance as Johnny Smith, who we learn right from the beginning has
had some light ESP like ability since an earlier childhood injury, which sets up
the greatly enhanced abilities Johnny develops after waking up from his six year
coma. While Christopher Walken’s performance in the feature film was somewhat
melancholy if not brooding, Hall brings a lighter sensibility to his portrayal
of Johnny Smith.
The
premiere episode has an overcast look similar to the feature film, but again
there is a more lively sense bought to the series, which is also enhanced by
Nicole de Boer, who wants Johnny to be a part of her life and is more upfront
about it than the previous adaptation and David Ogden Stiers lends his
considerable acting talent and television presence as Reverend Gene Purdy. One
can sense a dichotomy in his character almost immediately with Stiers subtle
acting style that communicates a character that one senses is not a bad guy, but
is he really as sincere as he appears.
Other
elements of interest that update this TV series are the inclusion of a
Vietnamese doctor, who Johnny informs that his mother is still alive instead of
the holocaust survivor scenario from the previous dramatization. The effects are
more refined than the film, but not overtly so. Now we can actually see Johnny
witness events in frozen time and actually pass through the memories of others
like a tourist in a museum. Subplots from the book such as the serial killer and
election candidate “Greg Stilson” are either explored or mentioned in
passing too. So viewers can expect some familiar elements in future episodes of
the series, but at the same time the pilot opens up Johnny’s world for other
interesting possibilities. The basic setup is closer to a drama with paranormal
overtones than a paranormal series with dramatic elements, which I think is
refreshing. A human-interest series that just happens to involve the paranormal
but is not a typical paranormal show. Overall “The Dead Zone” showed great
potential this past summer and fall and along with another USA Cable Network
original series “Monk,” went on to become one of the most acclaimed and
popular prime time television series on basic cable.
Now Lions
Gate Home Entertainment has released the two-part pilot episode to DVD-Video and
there are plans for the rest of the first season to arrive on DVD sometime next
year. The DVD features a 16 by 9 widescreen aspect ratio presentation. The image
quality is quite good though uneven. Some scenes show a fair amount of grain
while others show very little if any at all. Not a bad transfer in any way, but
not as clear as one might hope considering this is a new show. There is a
somewhat loud, but quite full English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack mix
that is accompanied by an English Stereo Soundtrack and English Captions and
Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles as
options.
Executive
Producer, Series Creator, and Writer Michael Piller participates in two combined
episode length commentaries, which are edited together as one TV movie instead
of being presented separately as they were broadcast on USA. Mr. Piller is a
very articulate individual and as a result appears to be a natural storyteller
in his own right, without necessarily having to place his words on paper. He
goes into great detail regarding his respect for King’s work and the reasoning
behind some of the changes that were made to translate “The Dead Zone” into
a TV series as well as laying out the story points for a payoff by the end of
the feature length pilot. Star Anthony Michael Hall, and Director Robert
Lieberman are present for the entire commentary with Nicole de Boer
participating in the first part and Chris Bruno participating in the second
half. Among other topics discussed are the special effects and how they are
perfected with a mix of surprisingly simple real time tricks on the set, the
relationship between de Boer and Hall in doing the romantic scenes, keeping in
mind that they both have significant others in their own personal lives, and the
various times things were re-shot or manipulated to match up as best as possible
one scene to the next given the rather abrupt changes in weather that occur in
Vancouver, where the series is produced. In addition they even point out various
inconstancies with a good sense of humor as well. Overall this is an informative
commentary track that enhances the pilot presentation on this DVD. Strangely the
combined pilot has an MPAA rating of “R” while on TV the pilot presentation
earned a TV rating of “PG.” It seems strange to me because as far as I can
tell there is not anything different in the presentation of the pilot on DVD
from the television broadcast other than having the two parts edited together,
but does that mean the home video presentation collectively deserves an “R”
rating?
Extra
features include an alternate ending with an introduction by Shawn Piller (3:02)
presented in a full framed aspect ratio, a videotaped interview with Michael
Pillar (2:23) discussing what viewers can expect in season 2, a videotaped
behind-the-scenes promo (1:37), and a 60-second and 30-second TV spot, as well
as (1.33:1) trailers for “The Dead Zone TV Series Pilot” (1:21), “Stephen
King’s Storm Of The Century” (1:55), and “Stephen King’s Rose Red”
(2:10). The menus feature animated transitions and full motion scene selection
menus and all of the interactive menus are easy to navigate and as a whole well
rendered.
“The
Dead Zone: The Series Pilot: Wheel Of Fortune” is available on DVD-Video now
and season 2 of “The Dead Zone” will premiere on the USA cable network in
January of 2003.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.