Lilja's Library (69 page)

In episode eight (
Vanguard
), which actually follows some of the events in episode one, Johnny is reunited with a former student who is now a successful scientist. He has discovered something that Stillson is going to use in the future to cause Armageddon. Of course, Johnny can’t let that happen.  

In episode nine (
Babble On
) some big questions are asked. We get to see an event that happened in Johnny’s childhood in which his father was committed to an asylum. The main questions raised in this episode are 1) Did Johnny have the ability to see visions since birth? 2) If so, did he get it from his father? and 3) What really happened to his father?  

In episode ten (
Coming Home
) Sarah’s father returns home to live in the local retirement home. Sarah is worried about him, so Johnny accompanies her to the retirement home. Once there, Johnny sees many of the residents dead. As it turns out they are all outside in his visions, but in reality they all die inside… 

In episode eleven (
Saved
), the season finale, we get more Armageddon. Johnny finds out Stillson killed his father when he tried to help Stillson (yes, they are working together) to find the “love of his life,” who has disappeared in an accident on a boat…  

Lilja’s final words about
The Dead Zone – Season 4
 

So, season four isn’t as strong as the previous one, but then again, season three was among the best that has aired on TV and not easy to be compared with. Regardless of whether you saw season four on TV or not…go get it when the DVD is out! 

**** 

A Very Dead Zone Christmas
 

Posted: December 12, 2005  

So,
The Dead Zone
has done a Christmas episode. I saw it and here is what I think about it: 

First off, I don’t really like things that get too cute, and this episode,
A Very Dead Zone Christmas
, was a bit too cute for me. It tells the story of how Johnny and Alex, from an earlier episode of season four (
Double Vision
), find a Santa who has forgotten who he is. They, in the spirit of Christmas, invite him to spend Christmas with them, Bruce and the Bannermans.  

The same goes for three brothers Johnny and Alex catch when they try to rob the Santa. The brothers’ mother is dead and their father is missing. They are also invited to Christmas dinner. 

As suspected, though, it all ends happy. Santa remembers who he is, the three boys are reunited with their father and it starts to snow just before the end credits start rolling… 

Even though I feel very much in the Christmas spirit after watching this episode, it’s a bit too much. It’s too cute. And the most important thing, it doesn’t feel one hundred percent true to the characters. Not that they aren’t very good people, but in this episode it feels like they have been picked out of
The Dead Zone
series and put in some family show to try and survive the best they can. It feels wrong, especially since Bruce then runs around like a half-drunken chef. He is fun, but it’s not him, if you understand what I mean…  

Lilja’s final words about
A Very Dead Zone Christmas
 

So, this isn’t one of the better episodes, but if you get the chance you should still check it out and make up your own mind about it. Personally, I’m glad I got to see it, but now I’m waiting for season five to start. 

**** 

The Dead Zone - Season 5 Premier
 

Posted: June 15, 2006  

So, on Sunday it’s finally time for season five of
The Dead Zone
to premier. I have looked at the season premier and if the rest of the season is as good as this we’re in for a treat. 

This episode continues where the finale of season four left off. Greg Stillson is set to marry Miranda, who doesn’t really want to marry him. We all know she is just a means for him to advance in power. Johnny is trying to find a way to help her get out of the situation. 

We also get to see more of the new character introduced at the end of season four, Malcolm Janus. He is Stillson’s goon and is really doing all of Stillson’s dirty work.  

What’s different from this episode is that Sarah, Walt and J.J. aren’t present. The feeling you get when watching the episode is also a bit different than before. I can’t really explain it, but the episode has more of a cop-drama-series feeling than earlier, and I think the change has much to do with the new character, Malcolm Janus. So far though, I like it and I guess the remaining episodes in season five will tell if the series has taken a new turn or if it’s just for the premier… 

Even though the season premier deals a lot with Stillson it doesn’t have to mean that the season will as well, but I for one really hope so. Another great thing about season five is that I’ve been told we’ll get to see the character Dana again.  

Lilja’s final words about
The Dead Zone
- Season 5 Premier
 

OK,
The Dead Zone
is back in full force and whatever you do, please don’t miss the premier of season five this Sunday. The future of the series is also depending on how this season does, and I for one believe there will be a season six… 

**** 

The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episode 2
 

Posted: June 27, 2006  

The second episode of
The Dead Zone
(
Independence Day
) is a very strong episode. Like the season premier, neither Sheriff Bannerman nor Sarah are present in the episode. Of the regular cast only Johnny (it would be interesting to see how an episode would turn out if he wasn’t around) and Bruce are present this time. Don’t ask me what has happened to Sarah and Walt though…maybe they are on a second honeymoon? 

This time Johnny and Bruce are stranded in a traffic jam that takes place on a hot summer day. The cops have stopped traffic in both directions and people are getting out of their cars, playing football, getting some sun or just hanging around, waiting for the traffic to start rolling again. As they walk through the lines of cars Johnny gets vision after vision of a big disaster about to happen… 

Naturally, Johnny tries to prevent it, but this time there are a lot of factors to take into consideration. There is a woman giving birth, an escaped convict (which it later turns out is the reason for the traffic jam in the first place) and a big disaster…that ends with Bruce’s death. It’s safe to say that Johnny has his plate full this time. 

The biggest difference with this episode compared to earlier ones is that this one is totally standalone. There are no loose ends, no connections to other characters and nothing that happens has any input to the rest of
The Dead Zone
universe. This is not a bad thing though. It’s nice to have an episode that is totally disconnected from the rest, but for the sake of the series there can’t be too many standalone episodes…  

Lilja’s final words about
The Dead Zone
- Season 5, Episode 2
 

Season five of
The Dead Zone
is continuing in the same good way that it started with the season premier a week ago. If they keep it up, I can’t see why we wouldn’t get a season six! 

**** 

The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episodes 3 - 5
 

Posted: July 18, 2006  

So, I have been looking at episodes three, four and five of the fifth season of
The Dead Zone
and so far the series stands its ground very well, and if it continues like this I can’t see why there won’t be a sixth season… 

With that said, let’s concentrate on these three episodes: 

Episode three
(Panic
) is about how Johnny and J.J. are trapped inside Johnny’s house together with his neighbor who is on the run from some really bad guys who want to kill him to prevent him from testifying against a murderer in an upcoming trial. 

To escape the trap his house has become, Johnny gets help from his father and grandfather through visions that show how they helped fugitives of the war to escape through secret tunnels in the house.  

This is a very intense episode and things are happening all the time. 

Episode four
(Articles of Faith
) is about a hate crime that takes place in Johnny’s hometown. As it turns out, everything isn’t as it first seems. The good guys aren’t always good and the bad guys are almost always bad in some ways. If not for what they are accused of doing, then for something else. 

This episode is quite current, and deals with the 9/11 events and the aftermath of that. We also get to see Dana Bright (who has been missing in the cast list since the first couple of seasons) again. It was very nice to see her, and even though I don’t think it will happen, I’d really love to see more of her in upcoming episodes. 

Episode five
(The Inside Man
) is about an exhibit taking place at Reverend Purdy’s church, and one of the items displayed is a bone fragment of John the Baptist’s hand. Purdy has taken every precaution to prevent anyone from stealing it, but he has forgotten one thing: the inside man… 

Of course, Johnny gets involved, and as if that wasn’t enough, J.J. is getting lost at the exhibit and has to find a way out.  

Speaking of J.J., I wish the writers would make his character become tougher. Let’s face it—the boy is a wuss, and it would do the character good to get some skin off his knees and nose and become tougher…if you ask me. 

Another interesting thing is that during the five episodes I have seen so far there has been almost nothing involving Sarah. I don’t know why, but maybe Nicole deBoer has been busy with other projects or maybe it’s just because the scripts haven’t involved her…which is a bit unusual since she is a regular cast member. Anyhow, I hope she will be back soon.  

Lilja’s final words about
The Dead Zone
-
Season 5, Episodes 3 - 5
 

As I said, the season is progressing very well and I hope it will continue in the same style…with more of Sarah…and Dana, of course. 

**** 

The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episode 6
 

Posted: July 30, 2006  

In episode 6 of
The Dead Zone
(
Lotto Fever
) Johnny gets kidnapped by a fellow who has won the lottery (thanks to Johnny). I know it sounds very strange, but here is what happened: 

Johnny writes a phone number on a piece of paper that Boyd (the lotto winner) finds and believes is the correct lotto numbers for the big winnings. As he wishes, Boyd wins a lot of money, which he spends as fast as he won it. Now, to be able to keep his new lifestyle he has to borrow money, and he does it from people who don’t take it lightly if he’s late with a payment… 

He has to get Johnny to help him win more money, this time in poker, so that he can pay back what he owes.  

As if this wasn’t enough, he has also hired a hit man to kill him
if
he hasn’t gotten the money he owes by the time he has to pay them. This is so his family will get money from the life insurance he has taken out on himself. It’s a complicated story line, but nonetheless a very good one. I enjoyed the episode quite a lot.  

Lilja’s final words about
The Dead Zone
- Season 5, Episode 6
 

Season five goes on in the same good style as previous episodes, so it’s time to just sit back and enjoy yourself. Oh, and in this episode, Sarah and Walt are back again… 

**** 

The Dead Zone - Season 4 (DVD) 

Posted: August 1, 2006  

So, season four of
The Dead Zone
is out on DVD. Well, I have already reviewed the episodes themselves elsewhere in this book, but now I have taken a deeper look at the extra material in the DVD box.