The Dead Zone is an American science fiction/suspense series starring Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny Smith, who discovers he has developed psychic abilities after a coma. The show, inspired by Stephen King's 1979 novel The Dead Zone, first aired in 2002 and is produced by Lions Gate Television and Paramount Television for the USA Network.

Cast and Characters

• Anthony Michael Hall - Johnny Smith
• Nicole deBoer - Sarah Bannerman
• Chris Bruno - Sheriff Walter "Walt" Bannerman
• John L. Adams - Bruce Lewis
• David Ogden Stiers - the Rev. Gene Purdy

Staff

• Michael Piller - Creator, executive producer, writer
• Shawn Piller - Creator, producer, supervising producer, writer
• Lloyd Segan - Executive producer

Plot

Small-town teacher Johnny Smith is involved in a car accident that leaves him comatose for six years. After regaining consciousness, Johnny begins having visions of the past and future triggered by touching items or people; doctors attribute the visions to a previously unused "dead zone" of his brain that has taken over for the portions injured in the accident. Johnny also learns that his fianceé, Sarah, has married the local sheriff, and that he is the father of her son.

With the help of Sarah, her husband Walt and physical therapist Bruce, Johnny begins using his abilities to help solve crimes. However, his visions include glimpses of an apocalyptic event brought on by the election of congressional candidate Greg Stillson, as well as a man from the future who seeks Johnny's help in stopping it from happening.

Episodes

Season 1

1. Wheel of Fortune
2. What It Seems
3. Quality of Life
4. Enigma
5. Unreasonable Doubt
6. The House
7. Enemy Mind
8. Netherworld
9. The Siege
10. Here There Be Monsters
11. Dinner with Dana
12. Shaman
13. Destiny

Season 2

1. Valley of the Shadow
2. Descent
3. Ascent
4. The Outsider
5. Precipitate
6. Scars
7. Misbegotten
8. Cabin Pressure
9. The Man Who Never Was
10. Dead Men Tell Tales
11. Playing God
12. Zion
13. The Storm
14. Plague
15. Deja Voodoo
16. The Hunt
17. The Mountain
18. The Combination
19. Visions

Season 3

1. Finding Rachel (Part 1)
2. Finding Rachel (Part 2)
3. Collision
4. The Cold Hard Truth
5. Total Awareness
6. No Questions Asked
7. Looking Glass
8. Speak Now
9. Cycle of Violence
10. Instincts
11. Shadows
12. Tipping Point (Part 1)

Season 4

Currently in production; 22 episodes planned.

Notes and Trivia

• USA Network picked up the series after UPN passed on the original pilot, which never aired.
• The cane Johnny uses previously appeared (with a different head) in two other King adaptations; it was carried by Stu Redman in The Stand and by Andre Linoge in Storm of the Century.
• It is speculated by fans that Bruce's friendship with Johnny in the series is a key factor to many of the changes from the book, as the episode "Zion" shows Bruce in his own vision of an alternate reality more like the original book and movie, in which Johnny still tries to kill Greg Stillson and dies in the end.

Deviations from King's novel

• Johnny's coma is moved from the 1970s to the period 1996-2002, and is lengthened from five years to six.
• Walt Bannerman is an amalgamation of two characters: the sheriff and Sarah's husband.
• Sarah's son was fathered by Johnny and raised by Walt as his son; in the book, the child is Walt's.
• Johnny's mother dies from suicide, not a stroke, and his father died prior to the accident.
• New characters include physical therapist Bruce Lewis, Johnny's sidekick; and the Rev. Gene Purdy, Johnny's legal guardian. Sarah and Walt also take more prominent roles, instead of leaving Johnny alone for months or years at a time.
• Greg Stillson is not introduced until the last episode of the first season; as of the end of Season 3, Johnny has neither shot him nor planned to do so.
• Johnny is now receiving help, through visions, from a man in the post-apocalyptic future.

External links

• Official USA Network site
• Paramount Television site
• The Dead Zone TV fan site
• Commentary on the series, focusing on Nicole deBoer and her character