Posted:
08:12:08 on June 14 2002
By: Steve Krutzler
Dept: TrekWeb Features
Written by Steve Krutzler
THE DEAD ZONE pilot episode “Wheel of Fortune” reveals the beginning of what can be a very satisfying genre piece. Straying slightly from the spiritualism of the original David Cronenberg film adaptation of King’s novel, Michael Piller (who wrote the teleplay for this premiere episode) introduces a series all his own, capitalizing on the intellectuality STAR TREK fans came to expect by the third season of THE NEXT GENERATION. Science takes front seat to the martyr metaphor that dominates the film you may remember and in the process a distinctly enjoyable science fiction experience emerges.
In the book and film, Johnny Smith – played in the film by Christopher Walken and emblazoned here with a similar on-screen persona in Anthony Michael Hall (check out TrekWeb's interview here) – eventually assassinates a psychotic political candidate whom he has foreseen will launch a nuclear war once ascended to the presidency. In fact, recent comments by Piller revealed that early discussions for the series had the show beginning after Smith commits the crime and is on the run. Thankfully for everyone, THE DEAD ZONE lies off the beaten path.
Explaining Smith’s newfound psychic abilities through scientific verbiage akin to something one might have found in a solid TNG episode (or Chris Carter’s THE X-FILES), Piller’s new series turns the metaphorical dead zone into a portion of the brain uniquely affected by a childhood hockey accident and subsequent car crash. The major premise of the prior material remains the same (although this reviewer can only speak to the 1983 film): Johnny awakes from six years in a coma to find his would-be fiancée married and mother to the child the two conceived on the night of Johnny’s car accident. Some changes were injected especially by Piller – Sarah and Johnny’s child (aptly named after the show’s hero, who tells the boy toward the end of the pilot when they first meet, “We have the same name” in a deadpan beautifully teetering between muted enthusiasm and keen awareness of the cliché) provides a causal link for their muted relationship to continue throughout the series.
The dialogue is refreshingly adult, with sexual chemistry between Hall and DEEP SPACE NINER Nicole de Boer (‘Sarah Bracknell’) oozing forth more freely than anything you saw in THE NEXT GENERATION or its spin-offs, yet with more maturity and sensuality than a few nipple shots could emote through an entire season in ENTERPRISE’s decon chamber. The only flat line in the entire hour comes when John L. Adams’ ('Bruce Lewis', Johnny's physical therapist) comic riffing to bring Johnny up to speed on events of the last six years includes reference to Regis Philbin as the biggest thing on television. But you can’t blame Piller for something that was true over a year ago when the pilot was written and filmed – he’s not a psychic.
What starts to set this show apart is the way it blends characterization, intellectualism, and science fiction. The pilot was shot by X-FILES veteran Rob Lieberman and there’s no missing the similarities in eerie, overcast, Vancouver-shot cinematography that naturally fits the mood of Stephen King’s material. Breathing new life into the concept from a sci-fi standpoint is the visualization of Johnny’s psychic experiences, which manifest themselves in the premiere episode most notably in an impressive freeze-frame sequence during the fall of Saigon. The original story helps establish Johnny’s credibility when he helps his doctor locate the mother he thought was lost to the Nazis during World War II; Piller expertly updates the character to a Vietnamese child desperately given to fleeing American soldiers and who eventually locates his mother alive and well in Vietnam thanks to Johnny’s advice.
These scenes involve a mystery and when Johnny experiences the vision (by making physical contact with his doctor’s uncle, who insists he witnessed his sister die that day in Saigon) he is able to slow down time ala THE MATRIX and navigate through the floating debris and chaotic crowd to investigate the feeling his intuition has provided. Fast-paced and shot in a rough yellow tint, these sequences add suspense and excitement to the drama that sci-fi fans are sure to identify with.
The intrigue doesn’t end here, as Piller has crafted the property into his own with an innovative strategy to unfold the story of politician Greg Stillson over the course of the first few episodes before returning in the thirteenth episode, or cycle finale. Enter venerable actor David Ogden Stiers as Reverend Gene Purdy, a conservative yet wholly innocent preacher who while Johnny is in a coma finagles funding for his evangelism out of Johnny’s mother (who is deceased by the time the coma subsides) and eventually takes up the financial burden of Johnny’s recovery. This plot line will recur sporadically in X-FILES fashion as Purdy’s right-wing political action organization eventually provides the impetus for the introduction of the Stillson character.
In just under forty-five minutes, Michael Piller has squeezed the essential plot points of the original material into a vehicle more contemporary than the Cronenberg film and with far more potential for longevity. With the first thirteen episodes expected to encompass as many varying premises as Johnny serving on a jury, falling in love in the 40s, or exploring a new relationship in a single room, THE DEAD ZONE seems intent upon reviving episodic television with new ideas every week and writing that is a rare find away from more conventional dramas. THE DEAD ZONE blends smart science fiction with the ghoulish wit of Stephen King and the kind of interpersonal interaction seen more frequently in THE WEST WING than STAR TREK to make it one of the most exciting new series to grace television screens in years and provide the elusive freshness that discriminating sci-fi and genre viewers hunger for in today’s crowded television schedule.
THE DEAD ZONE premieres this Sunday night on USA Network at 10 PM EDT.
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