Cheap The Dead Zone - The Complete Third Season (DVD) (Anthony Michael Hall) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Dead Zone - The Complete Third Season

See it to beleive it...
This show is so much like coming home because very little changes in the world of Jonny Smith- the love triangle between himself, Sheriff Bannerman and Sarah persists, Bruce remains his ever-present side-kick and moral compass and of course those pesky visions continue to cause him as much personal strife as public reverence. <
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>My anticipation of this `Dead Zone' Third Season was pretty much off the scale! I didn't know when this season would be released on DVD, or even if a third season had in fact been made (I wouldn't have been surprised if the show had been cancelled, which seems to be a common occurrence in American Television nowadays). So when it finally appeared on Amazon I was both relieved and elated that yet another `Dead Zone' DVD Box-set would soon be in my possession and I'd be able to enjoy and treasure another (*fingers crossed)...stylish, unpredictable and engrossing year of this unique television experience charting the on-going adventures of Jonny Smith and the latest aberrations of his by-now legendary supernatural ability... <
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>My reaction was mixed when I saw that 12 episodes comprised this third season, because although I felt the 19 episodes in the second season resulted in a mixed-bag, like every other fan of this action-packed and touching series (adapted from a Stephen King novel) I was delighted to have my devotion rewarded with an additional 7 episodes for virtually the same price. With this third season it's back to the 12-episode format, so of course I was disappointed to get fewer stories, but my real disappointment came when I realised that by reducing the number of episodes the producers hadn't increased the quality of the season ... <
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>My criticism of the second season was that the Armageddon plotline was unsatisfactorily concluded and my criticism of the double-episode that begins this third season is concerning that same plotline. We're offered yet more visions of the destructive wave sweeping across Washington destroying everything in its path, but the events in the present that will lead to this calamity continue to move at a snails pace, so to some extent it's hard work maintaining an interest in this potentially awesome, but by now too-drawn-out storyline. But very quickly the Armageddon plotline (i.e. Senator Stillson and Jonny's future dead-zone counterpart and the impending catastrophe) is once again placed on the backburner and the small (but perfectly-formed) self-contained stories are brought back to entertain us in quick, visceral bursts. Unfortunately the mundane and uninspired episodes out-weigh those that pack-the-punch we're used to. But despite this disappointing fact the episodes that do thrill and inspire are really great examples of the continued quality of this series that has no rivals when it comes to action and emotion all rolled into 40 minutes of helplessly-compelling television... <
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>"Finding Rachael" (Part 1)= Jonny `psychic' Smith assists the police on another missing persons case, but this time finds himself in the frame for the disappearance of a Senator Stillson campaign worker- 7/10. <
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>"Finding Rachael" (Part 2)= A guest appearance from Sarah Wynter (`24') as the sister of the missing girl livens up the conclusion to this less than riveting story- 7/10. <
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>"Collision"= When a young girl runs away from home Jonny discovers his visions are leading him not only to her, but to the truth behind his own miraculous survival of the car crash that left him permanently transformed as a result 9 years ago. Again- pretty run of the mill stuff- 7/10. <
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>"The Cold Hard Truth"= Whilst attempting to save the life of an abusive radio talk show host Jonny is forced to reconsider his relationship with JJ. This is well cast and had a twist in the tale I wasn't expecting, but unfortunately doesn't pack enough of an emotional punch- 7/10. <
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>"Total Awareness"= Now this is more like it- perfect casting this time in the form of Lauren Lee Smith (`Mutant-X') elevates this story above the average. Remember the governmental psychic group Jonny was invited to join towards the end of the last season? Well you'll need to in order to get the most from this episode that tackles the idea of `big brother' and a potential assassin on Jonnys tail- 8/10. <
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>"No Questions Asked"= This story examines the troubled past of our less than squeaky-clean Sheriff. Greg Grunberg (`Alias') does a good job guesting as a boy-hood friend of Walt who's released from prison and begins a desperate search for his stolen loot, but the sentimentality is spread too thick- 6/10. <
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>"Looking Glass"= Borrowing much from the `Scream' trilogy of films with buckets of gore, some suspense but mostly a generous dose of over-acting...this doesn't scare or intrigue quite enough- 6/10 <
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>"Speak Now"= A very plodding, but enjoyable and often hilarious (thanks to Bruce) story that explores the relationship between Jonny, Sarah and Walt, as Smith must decide whether to speak now, or forever hold his peace in regards to a wedding that could end in disaster for all concerned- 7/10. <
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>"Cycle of Violence"= Much better form...Jonny predicts a school shooting and the prime suspect is the troubled teen and suitably suspicious Robert Iler (`The Sopranos'), but it's never that simple and the episodes final revelations succeed in shocking and surprising- 8/10. <
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>"Instinct"= Finally Reverend Purdy (the superb David Ogden Stiers) gets more than 5 minutes of screen time, as along with the rest of Cleaves Mills he's also the victim of the latest strange goings on in the town. A simple story, but told well, effortlessly enjoyable- 8/10. <
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>"Shadows"= As the apocalypse approaches Jonny has a vision that causes him to doubt whether he's the man to stop Stillman or just another Stillman himself? Another unexpected ending, but it doesn't hold your attention sufficiently throughout- 6/10. <
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>"Tipping Point"= In the commentary on this episode the Executive Producer explains that this story was intended to be the penultimate episode. He tries to sell this as a benefit to the season, but it really isn't. This episode is far too low on action to be the season finale, although once again it did leave me wanting to see how all the loose threads would be brought together for next year- 7/10. <
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>The quality of the DVD packaging of the first two seasons was way beyond that of most sets- both snazzy and durable, but the packaging that contains the three discs of the third season is of considerably inferior quality and looks as though it was put together rather hastily. Thankfully though a great deal of care and inventiveness has once more gone into the design for the DVD menus, which again reflect the ingenuity of this show. The extras are also consistent with the tradition of `Dead Zone' DVD's- mini-documentaries that shed light on everything that goes into an episode, deleted scenes, a gag reel and best of all a commentary for every episode! Newcomers to `The Dead Zone' (considering the inferior packaging and the fact that you only get 12 forty-minute episodes) might be deterred with so many other television sets with 20+ episodes currently on the market, but all I can say is that `The Dead Zone' is a television event in a league all of its own and to realise its worth...you really need to see it for yourself to believe it... <
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"I'm not here for the love, I'm here for the donuts"
"Medium" may be getting all of the press but "The Dead Zone" was doing it before and, quite honestly, better. Sure, "Medium" has a great cast and some great storytelling but it has nothing on the story arc presented here--the potential destruction of the world. <
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>Although the 3rd season of "The Dead Zone" ran only 12 episodes(unlike the first which ran 13 episodes and the 19 of the second season), it had as much action packed into it as previous seasons and made outstanding use of visual effects to continue to heighten the story. The 3rd season opens with the stunning two-part episode "Finding Rachel". John (Hall) is the suspect in the murder of Senate candidate Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery). Meanwhile Stillson and his advisors are helping to rig the election so that he will have a better chance of winning. Reverend Purdy finds out that all is not well with John's trust fund that he has been administering. In the first part of this season opener we also get resolution to the cliffhanger from season two. We discover more about the mysterious visitor who shares a link with John from the future. <
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>The extras as usual are top notch with a commentary for every single episode (some better than others but hey, I'd rather have too many extras that are extraenous than none at all). We also get deleted scenes, "Five Minutes 'Til Milch" written and directed by actor John L. Adams, the gag reel and three featurettes one of which discusses the challenges of changing from film to High Definition Video for the production (which fattened up their thinning budget). Another one takes us behind-the-scenes looking at food. Yes, food. The clever "Cooking Verite" shows us what the crew really gets to eat on location. Yum. The final featurette focuses on actor Chris Bruno (who plays Walt Bannerman) and how he stays in shape. Personally, I'd love to see a featurette devoted to the lovely Nicole DeBoer's career pre-"Deep Space Nine" (which when I became aware ofher) and Sarah Wynter ("24"). <
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>Buyers may want to be aware of a flaw in the first run of the series;there's a white line that appears at the top of the letterbox frame that can be distracting. It's not a big issue but Lion's Gate is in the process of fixing the problem and reissuing these discs. I'd suggest going to TVONDVD.com to see which players are affected. Lion's Gate has only found 15 or so that have been but neither one of mine is on the list and I saw the white line. <
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>If you need a replacement Lion's Gate can be reached at deadzone@lgf.com. I'm not sure what the time frame is for the remastered/re-released episodes. It's more than one or two episodes that are affected by the problem. If you don't have a DVD player on the list, then it's possible it might be noticeable on your player. <
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>While the pricing for 12 episodes might be a bit high compared to some shows, it's actually quite reasonable overall. The first season of "Deadwood" and "Carnivale" listed for more than twice as much with less in the way of extras (although the packaging was superior for both those series). I'm also happy to see that Lion's Gate isn't releasing this series as dual sided discs with no extras and is continuing the slip jacket for the accordian style DVD holder. Great season! I'm not here for the donuts, I'm here for the storytelling.