THE DEAD ZONE: "Independence Day"

The Long and Winding Road

By Jason Davis     June 30, 2006

"Independence Day," aired a week early by any sensible estimation, but the episode's production number reveals it was shot just prior to last December's "A Very Dead Zone Christmas" as the fourteenth episode of a 22-episode season. Of course, if things had been on track, we would have had Christmas in July. Whatever the case, it's worth pointing out, from a contextual standpoint, that the current run of DEAD ZONE episodes were, in fact, produced alongside last summer's installments and the so-called "fifth season" is essentially unaired leftovers from season four. Luckily, this has little effect on the enjoyment of the ongoing arc and might have been USA's plan all along. Still, one wonders if there will be any consequences to a lengthy hiatus between actual seasons.

THE DEAD ZONE continues to find ingenious ways to exploit its central conceit in new and entertaining ways. "Independence Day" finds Johnny and Bruce en route to the titular celebration only to be stuck in stagnant traffic on a four-lane highway. In searching the dusty reaches of my memory, I was unable to recall a similar setting amidst decades of shows and must therefore congratulate the writing staff on a novel locale for the unfolding of their tale. Though the central mystery of the story was a bit obvious, writer Adam Targum's script ably wove the disparate denizens of the I-95 standstill into a cohesive ensemble. The clichéd biker gang that lends a helping hand and the sunbathing blonde were notable standouts though the drunken rednecks might have been one stereotype too many for this stretch of black top.

Actor Chris Bruno makes his directing debut with this episode and does a fine job of navigating the geography of the road, not an enviable task given the large number of vehicles with speaking characters in them. The pacing of the story remains vigorous as Johnny races from car to car trying to unravel the clues that will lead to Bruce's untimely vehicular demise. Bruno's younger brother, Dylan takes on the role of a police officer trapped in the traffic, but fails to make much of an underwritten role. For all the show's genius at creating scenarios to showcase its concepts, it's a shame that the writers so often rely on stock characterizations and by-the-numbers plotting. An extra layer of complexity would not go amiss in the scripting and would certainly gel with the rich themes and subtexts that too often receive barely a cursory glance on the show.

Though incapable of approaching the brilliance that was last year's cat advertisement, THE DEAD ZONE has once again found itself amusingly featured in a splendid series of USA promotional spots utilizing the casts of the network's original series. Johnny Smith's guest turns in these crossover sketches are worth skipping a bathroom break to see.