IMDb user comments for
"The Dead Zone" (2002) More at IMDbPro »

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Hide Spoilers:

Page 1 of 7:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Index

69 comments in total

---

49 out of 57 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the better shows on television - but handled poorly by USA network, 24 January 2005

Author: Dr_Hieronymus from Orlando, FL

In a word of cardboard characters and poor writing, The Dead Zone is a joy to watch. I have enjoyed every episode and some episodes have been excellent.

The only tragedy with this series is not with the series itself but with the way USA handles the scheduling and marketing. Most of the time I don't know when the season is going to begin or when the new episodes will air. Scheduling is erratic and promotion is often non existent. Someone in the USA main office must not want this show to succeed. Frankly, it's an amazing testament to the show's appeal that it still is in production despite this utter mismanagement.

USA, please recognize the gem you have in both Monk and The Dead Zone and, at the very least, air them on a regular schedule on which we can rely.

---

28 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting blend of drama and science- fiction, 13 May 2003
Author: Blade_Le_Flambeur

"The Dead Zone" stands out as one of the better shows on Television today. The acting, especially by Anthony Michael Hall is completely belieavable and dramatic, sucking you into his life and his pains as he see disturbing images of the future and past. This show sometimes gets gory with the images of blood, death, etc. However, it isn't too hard to watch and the amount of blood stays reasonable. The script doesn't stand out as much as the other features. It's still relatively solid, but has some flaws concerning the love between Sara and Johnny, making it a bit too cliche and corny. Sometimes, the script also loses sight of the episode and eventually just spins out to human drama. Other flaws include the occassional boring episode or Hall's performance as Johnny sometimes falls flat. The special effects though, are amazing. When Johnny touches someone and sees the past or future, the editing and the effects quickly change to show what happened or what's going to happen. It's amazing to see it work, everything builds together so well and the effects of murder, or the entire area being frozen with Johnny walking through is spectacular. I applaud the USA channell for restoring Television with the two arguablly greatest shows to watch: "The Dead Zone" and "Monk". 9.5/10

---

20 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
this show is fantastic, 8 July 2002
Author: jericho31 from trenton

I am an enormous Stephen King fan, and it is always with great anxiety that i watch a movie/tv series based on his work. The dead Zone was a great book - a great concept, but tough to translate to screen. The movie made in the 80s with christopher walken was half decent but nothing to write home about.

thankfully - the show is wonderful. Four episodes old and i am completely engrossed. This will be the first time I ever watch a show religiously in the summer. It is wonderfully put together, and though there are bad spots in the dialogue, its is translated well, and they have done a great job with showing the viewer the visions johnny smith finds himself having. they are wonderfully done.

I like how they arent sinking into just having johnny smith solve a murder each week, as evidenced by the latest episodes when he uses his powers to re-unite two long lost lovers (not to mention have an out of body sexual experience). the biggest worry i had was that the show would become very formulaic - and it still might, but hopefully they keep things going the way they are.

the real revelation in this series so far has been anthony michael hall. when i was young i loved this guy - and still love him when i watch "the breakfast club" or "weird science" - but since he has tried to revive his career I have had a tough time accepting him as an adult actor. I kept seeing the kid from the 80s movies. until now. I think he is doing a marvelous job with this part, playing it with a great combination of wide eyed wonder and fear of his new abilities. All of a sudden with this role he seems so believably adult, its kind of amazing. every now and the you can see the kid fro the 80s but for the most part its like watching a new actor. he plays the tortured role excellently - i can't say enough about how impressed I am

so far - this is fantastic and i hope they keep it up and release a dvd.

---

15 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
good characters make good stories, 4 June 2006

Author: figment111 from United States

This is one of those shows where the main characters are driven to put aside the problems they have with each other because they know that there are more important things. Those are the kind of characters I can enjoy watching. In this case they all know that Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) has real visions not crazy visions or psychic hotline visions, but real visions. And that they can help him thwart the events that would otherwise lead to deaths or disaster if they trust each other and work together. This leads to the compelling stories that aren't about his visions. Sarah (Nicole de Boer) and Johnny were engaged before his car accident turned 6 year coma. However, during that coma she married the local sheriff (Chris Bruno). So watching as Johnny and the sheriff become friends is very interesting. Rev. Gene Purdy (David Ogden Stiers) as the man in charge of Johnny's inheritance is also an interesting study in suspense because the viewer can't tell if he is an imperfect man trying to do good, or someone with malicious intent. Johnny's best friend Bruce (John L. Adams) is someone he can share all his secrets with and their conversation is also where some of the quality humor of the show comes through. This show is definitely one to watch.

---

14 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
Impressive, 6 August 2006

Author: fiksve from Norway

I was very skeptical when I sat down to watch this. I loved the book when I read it a long time ago, but had a hard time imagining how the concept could possibly be stretched over a series. Nor had I heard anything about the show, and its currently in its fifth season.

The pilot is taken from the book, an excellent dramatization of Stephen Kings thriller, and a perfect appetizer for those of us who has read it. Then the series continues on its own, and although it occasionally suffers from the absence of the original author, most episodes are excellent -- Sporting engaging plots and good acting.

I consider 'Dead zone' among the best cinematic productions based upon the works of Stephen King, right up there with 'Storm of the century'

---

11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
All the right elements., 15 July 2002
Author: SILENCEikillyou from The Florida Keys

This pilot and show have all the right ingredients to make a strong mainstream television show. Adapted from a great book and well-known writer. A good lead role and actor, Anthony Michael Hall. For all the adults out there who enjoyed his movies in our youth. And a great premise for an eerie and intriguing adventure. Plenty of room left for progression in the plot and characters. I have to give this pilot and the next three episodes thumbs up. If they don't screw it up, this show could last for a long time.

A. M. Hall still has it. With his producing skills and acting, its really nice to seem him doing something big again. Sometimes I can even see him in braces still, but he's changed so much. I didn't know how to take him in a dramatic role, but like Jim Carrey, he seems to be doing just fine. He's just got several spine tingling, eerie expressions that fit well for this character.

I know his therapist is supposed to be his sidekick and comic relief, but he could end up being just as key as Hall if he continues to improve with each show like he has. At first I didn't know if he was going to work out well. Now, though, he's becoming a great supporting icon to John Smith.

9/10 pts. - that could very well go down as much as up as the show continues. thank you.

---

7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
The Dead Zone is continuing as a great show through the current season, 22 September 2006

Author: TraciCarroll from United States

The Dead Zone is an excellent show. Cutting-edge graphics and subject matter, interesting twists on each show, plus compelling continuing story lines threaded throughout the individual episodes, make this a great watch. Kudos to the creators (Michael Piller and his son Shawn, who is carrying on his legacy) and actor/producer Anthony Michael Hall (he's come a long way since "Sixteen Candles") plus the rest of the excellent cast. The show has improved with every season, as the cast chemistry increases, rather than fades, and the story lines become even more creative instead of growing stale. Great TV in an era of yawn-same-old-same-old detective/mystery/police shows. Set it on your DVR like me and NEVER MISS ONE EPISODE!!!

---

9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Writer's Using Their "Dead Zone" For A Change..., 6 January 2003
Author: hassenpheffer from New York City

What a pleasant surprise it is to see a cable TV show that actually has good writing. It joins Stargate SG1, Farscape and the X-Files in the well deserved and well received sci-fi/horror genre of "goodies". It's not really sci-fi and it's not really horror so let's stick it in the X-Files type. Who cares where it belongs as long as the great stories, good acting and terrific photography stay true for it's running. Michael Piller (co-creator/producer) has been in the business for years writing teleplays for all the Star Treks and the X-Files (among others) and he's done a great job updating the Stephen King story to the small screen. Kudos to all involved. Keep it up! :D

---

9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Johnny BE GOOD!!!!, 13 August 2002
Author: Victoria from USA

Bless you who(M?)ever had the idea for this program and an extra special thanks to Stephen King for writing the original book and giving them the idea....what took them so long!? I sure hope this program is going to stick around for awhile and I am sick thinking about the fact that it's first season will be over so soon! This is terrible....what are we supposed to do with ourselves now? (smile) I will be waiting for that email coming to tell me when the new season will be starting and if anyone from USA is reading these, can't you do something about all those commercials? They make it a bit hard to concentrate on the program....of course, I'd **** at my own beer party. Seems I should just be grateful the program is on at all! Oh by the way, I do realize there are unrequited feelings between Johnny and Sarah, especially with the child but....that's getting a bit old. She seems like a lost puppy following him around everywhere.

---

3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Losing its focus, 12 April 2008

Author: pninson from Seattle, Washington

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The Dead Zone was one of my favorite Stephen King books, and I liked David Cronenberg's film. So I was delighted to find that the characters and ideas had been re-worked into a TV series with high production values, good scripts and acting.

The first two seasons held me spellbound. I watched them on DVD, so I was able to see them in widescreen with the best picture and sound. By the time I got into the third season, though, my interest was starting to fade. I was glad that the love triangle had been resolved so we could move on to something else. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much of an ongoing plot line to replace it.

I've watched the first couple of episodes of Season 4, and I have to say, the last one was downright boring. No show can hit on all thrusters all the time, but Dead Zone just isn't holding my interest. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because the characters haven't changed very much. Johnny is still the same guy he was at the beginning. The supporting cast, ditto. What the show needs to revitalize it is an arc that expands on some of the "future" plot at the end of Season 3, or some major changes in the characters.

Perhaps I'm missing something by not continuing with it, but with limited time and hundreds of films and shows I want to see, this one is on the back burner for now. It's a shame --- for a while it was one of the best shows on TV.

---

---

Page 1 of 7:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Add another comment

---

Related Links

Plot summary	Ratings	Awards
External reviews	Official site	Plot keywords
Main details	Your user comments	Your vote history