The Dead Zone has been one of the most consistently intelligently written fantasy/science fiction series on television during its run. The story of John Smith [Anthony Michael Hall], who came out of a six-year coma with heightened psychic abilities, has mixed mythology eps dealing with Smith’s efforts to prevent Armageddon with standalone eps that dealt with his using his ability to save lives, reunite loved ones and other smaller arcs that were treated as no less important.
The final season of the series was moved to Montreal, bringing in a wealth of new guest-stars [like ReGenesis’ Maxim Roy and Brothers’ & Sisters’ Tom Skerritt – along with returnees like Jennifer Finnegan, as Smith’s equally psychic friend, Alex Sinclair. Two deaths in the premiere set in motion arcs that find Smith and Sarah Bannerman [Nicole De Boer] and now Vice-President Greg Stilson [Sean Patrick Flanery] in oddly affecting relationships, while J.J. [now portrayed by Connor Price] deals with tragedy, discovers girls and learns that the VP cheats at cards. Finally, everything comes to a truly unexpected head in the finale, Denouement.
Overall, the final season of The Dead Zone is a delight. It echoes the show’s first season in many ways – including a second coma for Smith! The writing is consistently above average and there are yet new ways shown for Smith to have visions – some quite staggering in their intensity and length. I didn’t find any of the eps to be below average, which is unusual, and many were excellent – especially the premiere, Heritage, and the finale, Denouement. While the entire cast is excellent, Connor Price deserves kudos for coming into the series for its last season and seeming like he’d always been there.
Features: Audio Commentaries for Heritage – by Executive Producers Lloyd Segan and Scott Shepherd, Connor Price [J.J.] and John L. Adams [Bruce]; Re-Entry – by Executive Producer/Series Co-Creator Shawn Piller and Writers Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn; Numb – by Executive Producer/Series co-Creator Shawn Piller and Writer Dana Greenblatt, and Denouement – by Executive Producers Lloyd Segan, Scott Shepherd and Shawn Piller, and Connor Price [J.J.]; A New Home For The Dead Zone – a Featurette detailing how the series was moved to Montreal, and All Aboard: Filming The Dead Zone on a Train – behind the scenes on the episode Switch.
Grade: The Dead Zone: The Final Season – A-
Grade: Features: A
Final Grade: A-