THE DEAD ZONE - The Inside Man

A Matter of Faith

By Jason Davis     July 21, 2006

Every once in a while, THE DEAD ZONE hits a home run and "The Inside Man" is the second in as many weeks. Springing from the mind of former series showrunner Karl Schaefer, the episode concerns an exhibit of spiritual relics assembled by Reverend Purdy that draws the attention of thieves with multi-faceted designs on a particular artifact. While the story is a classic DEAD ZONE riff predictably structured, its thematic underpinnings draw from the very deepest wells of the series concept and connect to a very human need at the heart of a prominent character.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK popularized the notion of Nazis, particularly Hitler, being obsessed with the acquisition of religious artifacts. Besides the mystical properties ascribed to such pieces, there is, of course, the sense that in controlling symbols of a faith one can assert a similar power over its practitioners. In "The Inside Man," the centerpiece of Purdy's exhibit is a relic reputed to be the finger of John the Baptist. As he points it out to Johnny, there's no mistaking the look on Purdy's face or the intentions that lead to the climax of the story. Actor David Ogden Stiers conveys so much information with one look that there's scarcely any need for his dialogue at the story's close. The viewer instantly knows that he wants Johnny to touch the bone and tell him what it was like to baptize Jesus.

Of course, as Douglas Adams so sagely observed in THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, "proof denies faith." Ken Kramer, best known to fans of telefantasy as Dr. Ivanov in the Darin Morgan-penned X-FILES episode "War of the Coprophages" steps outside his usual scientific roles to play Gregarin, a monk who's sought the relic since it was stolen from his monastery by the Germans over half a century before. Providing counter point to Purdy's crisis of faith, Gregarin need not have Johnny's touch sanctify the nature of an object he wisely considers holy because of its subjective importance to him rather than any intrinsic value.

Sadly, the faith of TV writers is frequently as weak as that of morally dubious clergymen. The episode's quality is typically compromised by the intrusion of banal dramatic conventions into an otherwise elegant tale. The use of Sheriff Walt Bannerman and Johnny's son JJ is an ill advised attempt to raise the dramatic stakes of the story by placing the latter in danger and allowing the former an opportunity to unintentionally interfere with Johnny's plan. The fact that JJ hasn't the sense to evacuate a building with blaring fire alarms calls the Bannermans' parenting into question while the whole subplot illustrates a lack of faith in the power of the A-story's ability to hold the audience's attention without artificial jeopardy being introduced into the plot. Still, like last week's "Articles of Faith" which deftly mixed racial prejudice and homophobia to create an intriguing look at intolerance of all kinds, "The Inside Man" proves that THE DEAD ZONE is at its best when meaningful philosophy underlies the inventive stories for which the series is regarded.