The Dead Zone

(S05E11) Well, after nine episodes of nary a mention of Greg Stillson's name, he's baaaaaack. Of course, this is to prepare us for what is coming in Season Six. I keep telling myself that all of these other episodes that are seemingly disconnected are somehow designed to show us things about John's character-- what he believes in, what he will and won't do, with what he finds important. We know from five seasons that John Smith is ultimately not corruptable. It would almost be more interesting if there was some chance that he were, you know?

(S05E10) Okay. In the interest of full disclosure here, I will admit that I was an English major. And so maybe I am trying to find a narrative arc that just doesn't exist. I have struggled all season to find some kind of continuity in these episodes-- and I have so admit that maybe there just isn't any.

(S05E09) This week's episode provided some revelations, just like the title promises. There are answers to questions about Gene Purdy's past that the show has only hinted at prior to now.

Believe it or not, it's already been one year since Peter Jennings died of lung cancer. His impact on ABC was greater than anyone on the outside ever realized, judging by how the news division has been reeling lately. Since last August, a number of unforseen circumstances have caused an anchor merry-go-round that has stopped with Charles Gibson... for now.

To mark the anniversary of Jennings' death, World News will pay tribute to Jennings tonight by reporting on lung cancer prevention and programs that help people stop smoking. The coverage is part of the network's "Quit to Live" series, which was initiated two months after the anchor's passing.

(S05E07) Finally, an episode worthy of the quality of The Dead Zone I have grown accustomed to! And okay, okay, it was a stand alone episode, and it didn't do anything to further the "theme" of the series (Stop Greg Stillson!), but you know what? It was the kind of episode that took full advantage of the wacky weirdness of the dead zone and its potential for really messing with Johnny's mind.

(S05E06) This episode of The Dead Zone was pretty fun -- it was still stand alone, but I can see that I am in the minority about that, so I tried to roll with it and enjoy it. One of the best things about this episode was its homage to Midnight Cowboy. Johnny pairs up with a shorter actor (Benjamin Ratner), and the way the actors are dressed and the way they interact is very reminiscent to Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy. Am I the only one who saw that? They reversed the colors the actors were wearing (Johnny wore black, and Boyd Lumely wore tan), but I'm pretty sure they were doing a tribute.

(S05E05) The Dead Zone is losing its cohesiveness. At least during the early seasons of the show, there was a coherent subplot to all of the shows. The current season's shows seem to be stand alone, but they also seem to be marginally relevant. They are, instead, rather heavy-handed and preachy. Looking back through the episodes from earlier in the season, the most compelling one seems to be the season premiere, in which Greg Stillson's fiancee is (apparently) killed by snake venom right before her own wedding. But instead of continuing with anything about Stillson, none of the other episodes are the least bit inter-related. I know I am going on and on about this, but I do like for my television shows to at least acknowledge that there have been other episodes before that one, and that there will be another episode next week. I am not all about stand alone television.

(S05E04) Now that The Dead Zone is in its fifth season, the writers are lurching about a bit for compelling things for John Smith (formerly Johnny) to do. In last night's episode the" Articles of Faith," the writers pre-packaged a storyline that is vehemently anti-race/hate crime in the form of John Smith using his psychic powers to solve one such crime.