The Dead Zone: Season 5

When I rewatched the fifth season of "The Dead Zone" from start to finish on DVD (bonus points for this set coming out right before the start of the sixth season) I also happened to be working my way through "The X-Files," watching one episode a night right before bed (I am up to Season 7 at this point). While watching "The X-Files" I had discovered that I really did not care as much about the so-called "mythology" episodes as I did the various weird cases that Mulder and Scully had to deal with that never involved aliens, black oil, or whatever. As I watched "The Dead Zone: The Complete Fifth Season" I found myself having a similar reaction to Greg Stillson every time he showed up in an episode.Everybody who read Stephen King's novel " The Dead Zone " (loved it) or saw the  theatrical movie  (thought it was miscast) knows that the final confrontation with Greg Stillson is what costs Johnny Smith his life. Johnny knows from one of his magic touches that Stillson's fledgling political career will end up with him as President, at which point he will cause a nuclear war. The conflict in the novel was all about Johnny finding out that he could change the future for the better and then trying to come to terms with whether or not he had the moral authority to do so. Well, in the television series Johnny came to that decision a long time ago and while it was obvious that the television series had to be about a whole lot more than Stillson, I now have the feeling that this is all going to end just like the book/movie with both of them dead. Okay, maybe Johnny will get out this alive, but I am becoming more and more convinced that the situation will not be resolved until the final episode.This season begins with Stillson engaged to Miranda Ellis ("Forbidden Fruit"), which resolves the previous season's cliffhanger in unspectacular fashion, and he pops up again as part of a government committee investigating Johnny's actions at a Waco-like disaster involving a religious cult ("Vortex"), and then in the final episode as events take him closer to the White House ("The Hunting Party"). But five seasons down the road, it is hard to care anymore. There is a major development in this whole plotline in that it is not just a combination of Stillson's charisma and a reactionary political climate that will make him president but also the machinations of the Janus Group. I can do without the whole conspiracy bit, but they now become another element for Johnny to deal with from now on.It is also another reason that I like the episodes that have nothing to do with either Stillson or Janus. "Independence Day" shows what Johnny can do stuck in a traffic jam on the highway, ends up as the inside man on a robbery ("The Inside Man"), and infiltrates a cult compound ("Vortex"). Those last two are interesting because they touch on the religious implications of Johnny's gift much more than they usually do on the show. "Symmetry," in which Johnny experiences visions from multiple perspectives, shows that the writers can still come up with interesting twists on the basic premise of Johnny's powers. I was much less enamored with the idea that Gene Purdy has any secrets left when it comes to Johnny ("Revelations"), but having the Collector back for another go round worked out pretty well ("Into the Heart of Darkness"), except for what it says about convenient gaps in Johnny's knowledge that allow for such a sequel to take place.Another reason I wish the show would put Stillson in the rear view mirror is that it seems like some of the cast members are losing interest. There are a whole bunch of episodes missing one of the characters in this season and already in the current season one of them actually dies (albeit, a fate predicted for them in " Cujo ") and at least one more appears to have left the show. But then how many times can Bruce ask Johnny what he is going to do about Stillson? On balance, I still like the show, but the last couple of seasons the USA "Characters welcome" promos have been the best part of "The Dead Zone." Co-creators Michael and Shawn Piller, along with actor Anthony Michael Hall and the rest of the cast, have done an admirable job of turning King's novel into a solid television series, but even without psychic powers I have to believe the end is in sight.

Dead Zone is my all-time favorite series. Very exciting shows - season 5 met my expectations, no complaints out of the 11 shows. Well maybe they had too many traumatic plots for the little boy JJ to have to experience. After previously purchasing seasons 1-4 and watching them several times it was time to get season 5. I was disappointed to find this was a bare-bones empty box with no inserts, not a single word about episode descriptions. Had to print them off the internet. And at least one episode on each disk skipped in multiple spots and hung up the DVD player until each was polished 2-3 times with Maxell cream and polish. At least I was able to enjoy all the shows at a cheap price after a little work on my part, and will be able to continue enjoying them in the future. Now on to the final season 6! I sure wish they would come up with a 2017 reuntion show :=)

I've seen all the six seasons of this series, and they were all great except for the last season (mainly due to how it ended; don't worry it is not as bad as Mass Effect 3).Anthony Michael Hall is the star of this TV Series. The character he plays is Johnny Smith, a teacher, who after an accident opens up his "dead zone" which enables him to touch objects or people and "see" (quite vividly in the show) what happened to that person or object.Each episode usually involves something criminal or something towards the main plot. In the episodes that involve a crime Johnny Smith and his buddy Bruce Lewis (played by John L. Adams) gets entangled with the victim somehow. The stories are almost invariably interesting and have funny bits as well as some awesome science fiction. The episodes where the action centers around the main plot are a bit different. For a while Johnny has visions of the Apocalypse, and it is connected to the future election of congressional candidate Greg Stillson.I recommend the series to anyone who want to watch a good Sci-Fy series that proved hard to put down.

I'm a fan of Anthony Michael Hall and I love his work, especially in the Dead Zone series. For me, it's not all based on the story, which is great when it's a nail-biter and makes you hold your breath, but I also put great value to the quality of the acting and the actors. If they aren't performing up to my standards, then I won't watch the program. I've always felt that the actors performances in this series was outstanding. I've come to feel like they are real people and I get involved in their characters emotionally. When they hurt, I hurt, etc. If you love sci-fi, great acting and stories that keep you in your seat, then you'll love this series too!

In Australia we have only had the first three seasons aired on free to Air TV - hence not being able to wait about another two years to view the series I have been ordering the seasons of The Dead Zone through Amazon since 2005. This season like all others has had me hooked from the moment it is swicthed on. The only thing that is starting to get annoying though is that each season is only averaging 12 or 13 episodes per season. What ever happened to the great 19 episodes that were aired in Season 2? It's a quality series that unfortunately does not go long enough...

I liked this series from the beginning, and once I was hooked I had to see it through to its end. I didn't care for a couple of plot twists, but all in all it was a pretty good series.

This was an ok series. It could have been a lot better with better writing. It was not very memorable.

Happy to finally find time to see this season through. Looking forward to the 6th (and last).

My wife and me both like the series ,we now have a completed series to watch in the future without commercials,not much else to do to pass winter and isolation,thankyou for having dvds available to purchase

As described

I really enjoyed this series. The actors were believable and the plots were captivating and well written. Well worth the price

love Bruce!