CS Weekly Archive > DVD > 06/15/07

Visionary

by jason davis

The Dead Zone: The Complete Fifth Season

Paul Robert Coyle, Christina Lynch, James Morris, Loren Segan, Karl Shaefer, Shintaro Shimosawa, Adam Targum, Michael Taylor, and Daniel Truly

Developed for television by Michael Piller & Shawn Piller

Based on the novel by Stephen King

The late Michael Piller's (Star Trek: The Next Generation) dedication to advancing understanding of the craft of screenwriting continues in the DVD release of the fifth season of his penultimate project, The Dead Zone.  Alongside detailed commentaries where showrunner Tommy Thompson and writer Adam Targum (Thompon's son-in-law) discuss the ins and outs of crafting a teleplay, the show itself continues to offer a master class in adaptation.  Based upon Stephen King's 402-page novel of the same name, the TV incarnation has extrapolated the story of reluctant psychic Johnny Smith's (Anthony Michael Hall) well beyond the fatalistic confines of King's book, with the protagonist's powers becoming a seemingly inexhaustible story engine for the writing staff.  The episode "Symmetry" compounds Johnny's supernatural visions to create a puzzle for both character and audience as visions are experienced on top of visions while "Into the Heart of Darkness" finds the hero victimized by a vengeful serial killer bent on using Johnny's powers to exact revenge.  The novel's central conspiracy, wherein Congressman Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flannery) claws his way to the Presidency to initiate the apocalypse, is similarly elaborated, with this season revealing that Stillson is merely the pawn of a more sinister power.

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

Not rated; 492 min.

$39.99

Buy it now

Jason Davis is the DVD Manager for CS Weekly , a contributing editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, and has written for Cinescape.com, MSN.com, and created the TV series Studio 13, which ran on Lorne Michaels' Burly TV network. He lives in the small space left over by his ever-expanding library of books, movies, and music.

The Dead Zone: The Complete Fifth Season courtesy Lionsgate Home Entertainment

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