Lilja's Library

by Hans-Ake Lilja

  With that said, let’s concentrate on these three episodes:

  Episode three (Panic) is about how Johnny and J.J. are trapped inside Johnny’s house together with his neighbor who is on the run from some really bad guys who want to kill him to prevent him from testifying against a murderer in an upcoming trial.

  To escape the trap his house has become, Johnny gets help from his father and grandfather through visions that show how they helped fugitives of the war to escape through secret tunnels in the house.

  This is a very intense episode and things are happening all the time.

  Episode four (Articles of Faith) is about a hate crime that takes place in Johnny’s hometown. As it turns out, everything isn’t as it first seems. The good guys aren’t always good and the bad guys are almost always bad in some ways. If not for what they are accused of doing, then for something else.

  This episode is quite current, and deals with the 9/11 events and the aftermath of that. We also get to see Dana Bright (who has been missing in the cast list since the first couple of seasons) again. It was very nice to see her, and even though I don’t think it will happen, I’d really love to see more of her in upcoming episodes.

  Episode five (The Inside Man) is about an exhibit taking place at Reverend Purdy’s church, and one of the items displayed is a bone fragment of John the Baptist’s hand. Purdy has taken every precaution to prevent anyone from stealing it, but he has forgotten one thing: the inside man…

  Of course, Johnny gets involved, and as if that wasn’t enough, J.J. is getting lost at the exhibit and has to find a way out.

  Speaking of J.J., I wish the writers would make his character become tougher. Let’s face it—the boy is a wuss, and it would do the character good to get some skin off his knees and nose and become tougher…if you ask me.

  Another interesting thing is that during the five episodes I have seen so far there has been almost nothing involving Sarah. I don’t know why, but maybe Nicole deBoer has been busy with other projects or maybe it’s just because the scripts haven’t involved her…which is a bit unusual since she is a regular cast member. Anyhow, I hope she will be back soon.

  Lilja’s final words about The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episodes 3 - 5

  As I said, the season is progressing very well and I hope it will continue in the same style…with more of Sarah…and Dana, of course.

  ****

  The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episode 6

  Posted: July 30, 2006

  In episode 6 of The Dead Zone (Lotto Fever) Johnny gets kidnapped by a fellow who has won the lottery (thanks to Johnny). I know it sounds very strange, but here is what happened:

  Johnny writes a phone number on a piece of paper that Boyd (the lotto winner) finds and believes is the correct lotto numbers for the big winnings. As he wishes, Boyd wins a lot of money, which he spends as fast as he won it. Now, to be able to keep his new lifestyle he has to borrow money, and he does it from people who don’t take it lightly if he’s late with a payment…

  He has to get Johnny to help him win more money, this time in poker, so that he can pay back what he owes.

  As if this wasn’t enough, he has also hired a hit man to kill him if he hasn’t gotten the money he owes by the time he has to pay them. This is so his family will get money from the life insurance he has taken out on himself. It’s a complicated story line, but nonetheless a very good one. I enjoyed the episode quite a lot.

  Lilja’s final words about The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episode 6

  Season five goes on in the same good style as previous episodes, so it’s time to just sit back and enjoy yourself. Oh, and in this episode, Sarah and Walt are back again…

  ****

  The Dead Zone - Season 4 (DVD)

  Posted: August 1, 2006

  So, season four of The Dead Zone is out on DVD. Well, I have already reviewed the episodes themselves elsewhere in this book, but now I have taken a deeper look at the extra material in the DVD box.

  Season four has surprisingly little extra material. There are commentaries on two episodes and a tribute to the late Michael Piller. The tribute is very nice, but too short. It would have been interesting if they had made it a bit longer and told more of the story about Michael.

  The most interesting extra material is the collection of deleted scenes included for a lot of the episodes. It’s very interesting for the season premier episode. That one was originally supposed to be season three’s finale, but for different reasons it was pushed forward. That meant they redid it and quite a lot of scenes were cut. Very interesting to see…

  One thing that I miss in season four’s box, though, is the gag reels. For those of you who don’t know what that is (I didn’t either until I got my first Dead Zone box), I can tell you that gag reels are clips where the actors start laughing or when parts of the set are falling down or where one actor plays a prank on another actor…things like that. They are very entertaining to watch and I miss them here.

  There is also a nice featurette (The Production Design of The Dead Zone) that tells how the sets are built and how they find the right location and items. After seeing this I have to say that Lance King (the boss of these issues) is someone whom I admire a lot. The work he (with help from his crew) puts into making the sets you see on the screen is amazing. Very well done, Lance!

  Lilja’s final words about The Dead Zone - Season 4 (DVD)

  The overall look of the DVD is very nice. The menus are very well done and look very tempting. And even though season four is a bit weaker than the other seasons, I strongly urge you to add it to your DVD collection. You will regret it if you don’t.

  ****

  The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episodes 7 - 9

  Posted: August 8, 2006

  So, three new episodes of The Dead Zone are up for review. Two have already aired and one will air later this week.

  The first one is episode seven, which has the title Symmetry. This episode is probably the most confusing one that has ever been done in the entire history of The Dead Zone. For the first twenty minutes I had a really hard time understanding what was going on. After that, though, things became more and more clear, and in the end you see that it’s actually done in a very clever way.

  As it turns out, Johnny has visions of three different people who are experiencing the same events. For instance, he’s experiencing hitting someone as well as receiving the punch…I know, it’s complicated, but hang in there. It will all get sorted out.

  This is also the first time we get to see three Johnnys in the same frame. Very well done.

  Of the three episodes reviewed here, episode eight, Vortex, is the best. It’s a Waco-like episode about a cult that is about to be under attack from the police. In an attempt to save a little girl’s life, Johnny infiltrates the group. Pretty quickly he realizes a lot more than just a little girl’s life is at stake…

  This is a very interesting episode. It’s told in flashbacks during a hearing about Johnny’s part in what happened. Here, as one of the accusers, we get to see Stillson again. I have surely missed him and was very happy to see him.

  The chemistry between Johnny and Stillson is perfect. I’m actually a bit surprised that they haven’t used it a lot more.

  The last one (episode nine), called Revelations, airs later this week and in it we get to know a whole lot more about Reverend Purdy’s past when a woman shows up claiming to be his long lost daughter…

  As expected, Johnny checks her out and that’s when we get to see Purdy’s past. It’s an interesting twist, and Purdy sure is a character that we didn’t know much about before this. His past is, to say the least, shady and questionable.

  Without saying too much, it’s safe to say that there’s more from his past hunting him than just his daughter.

  Lilja’s final words about The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episodes 7 - 9

  My opinion that season five is a very strong season still stands. These three episodes are very good. The only thing I miss is Sar
ah. Sure, she has been popping up from time to time, but she hasn’t really had any effect on the plot, and that I don’t like.

  ****

  The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episodes 10 - 11

  Posted: September 14, 2006

  It’s time to review what might be the last two episodes of The Dead Zone…ever. Let’s hope that isn’t the case and that the series will get a sixth season so that the filmmakers can give it a good ending we can all be happy with. As far as I know, no decision has been made yet, so all we can do is wait and hope.

  The second-to-last episode, Into the Heart of Darkness, is very interesting. Here we get to see an old friend from an earlier episode. The Collector, from the episode The Collector in season four, is back, and this time he has kidnapped Sarah and J.J. Personally, I really like it when they connect a new episode to an earlier one. Good job.

  During the chase, Johnny and Walt discover that The Collector is dead and that it’s his earlier kidnap victim who is now seeking revenge. It turns out she is as insane as he was and fell in love with him. Now that he is dead she wants revenge…

  Another thing we find out here is that Sarah is pregnant with her second child. When it was revealed, I found myself wanting to see what would happen if Johnny was the father of this child as well…that would definitely stir up things. No such indications were given though.

  It’s also good to see more of Sarah in this episode. She has been missing in most episodes this season, but here she is back in full force!

  The season (and maybe series) finale, The Hunting Party, is taking the series in a totally new direction. I’m not sure if it’s the filmmakers’ way of getting to the end, but it seems they are looking for a way to make the show reach its finale.

  The episode feels very much like an episode of The X-Files and I’m not sure I want The Dead Zone to go that way. There are a lot of conspiracy theories in this episode and I’m not sure if it’s just for this episode or if it’s a setup for things to come (if there is a season six), but it gets me a bit worried.

  I’m not sure how I would like to have the show end, but I don’t want it to be too close to The X-Files—we’ve had that already. Personally, I feel that the show has steered toward more of an X-Files type of show since the character Malcolm Janus entered the scene…

  Lilja’s final words about The Dead Zone - Season 5, Episodes 10 - 11

  These two episodes are a good ending for the season, but not the ending of a show. I really hope the network gives the OK for a sixth season, or at least a few episodes to wrap it all up and give the show a decent ending…if they don’t want to keep it on for a seventh season, that is. Personally, I wouldn’t mind.

  ****

  The Dead Zone - Season 6

  Posted: February 6, 2008

  The sixth and last season of The Dead Zone starts off strong and intense, but as the season progresses it gets stranger and stranger, and less and less logical and true to the rules of the series. The season starts off with Walt dying and Bruce and Rev. Purdy leaving. Purdy is back in the end and both Walt and Bruce make guest appearances but I still miss them.

  To replace Walt, we are introduced to a female sheriff by the name of Anna Turner. Unfortunately, the Turner character is quite boring and I never really care about her even though she is more in danger during this season than Walt was in the first five.

  We also get to see more of Stillson, my favorite character, but unfortunately the Armageddon is avoided when Malcolm Janus is killed in the same fire that kills Walt. Johnny’s visions of it just disappear. Personally, I think this is the worst conclusion I have seen in a long time. Here the filmmaker had a chance to end this thread that has gone through all five of the previous seasons in a good way, maybe in the same way as the original, in which Johnny tries to kill Stillson. Instead they just waste it. Then, in the end, Armageddon is back because Stillson can’t marry Sarah. What is that? I don’t buy it. Also, during most of the season Stillson appears to be a nice guy and is also transformed from the series’ most interesting character to the most boring.

  In addition to this, we also get a new actor playing J.J. The sad thing is that I really don’t have an opinion about him; he doesn’t make the role better or worse, he just plays it. And even though the character of J.J. is taking up more space in this season, he really doesn’t make an impression on me.

  So, do we get a conclusion to the series in this last season, then? According to me, no! Instead, we get to know that Johnny’s father and also J.J. have visions, just like Johnny. What is that? Johnny got his from first falling on the ice while young and then the coma. How can that be inherited in the family? Just not logical at all.

  Unfortunately, the sixth season of The Dead Zone isn’t just the last, but also the worst of all the seasons, and I can certainly understand why the USA Network cancelled the series after it. Maybe it was for the best. I think so.

  Lilja’s final words about The Dead Zone - Season 6

  What really bothers me is that the filmmakers didn’t take the chance they were given to give the series a proper ending. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the series was hanging by a thread when it took forever to get the green light on the sixth season.

  Then, when they got the “go,” they tried to reinvent the series instead of giving it a worthy ending. Not very fair to the fans, if you ask me!

  Section 3—The Movies/DVDs

  Rose Red (DVD)

  Posted: April 11, 2002

  Today I got an advance glance at the DVD edition of Rose Red and for that I am really happy! You can find what I think of the TV series itself in my review. Here I want to concentrate on the extra things that you will find on the DVD.

  One thing that I hoped to find on the DVD was the fake documentary about Rose Red that aired on ABC before the series. I wasn’t disappointed; the documentary is on the DVD. The title of it is Unlocking Rose Red: The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer and it’s a thirty-minute long fake documentary in the same style as was done for Blair Witch some years ago. Here we get interviews with all of the key characters in King’s story. They are all actors and actresses, of course, and sometimes that shows, but I don’t mind it that much. It’s a fun thing to do and it gives the series itself a nice twist.

  There is also a “making of” on the DVD. Here we get to know how Rose Red was done, and for me this was the highlight of the entire DVD. In the “making of” we get to hear King himself talk about the series and how it was made. We get interviews with most of the actors and actresses and there are also loads of behind-the-scenes clips.

  The filmmakers show how they used miniatures of the house in different scales to be able to film all of the scenes they wanted. One that looked really fun is where there are stones raining from the sky. This was actually filmed while using a miniature that the crew then threw stones onto. You never would have guessed that was how they did it when you watch the finished scene. I know I didn’t.

  They also show how they did many of the special effects. This was an interesting part in the “making of.” One challenge the filmmakers had was to make two of the characters dance a few inches in the air, which wasn’t the easiest thing to do. There were also a lot of puppets used for different scenes. It’s amazing to see how they were done!

  Another thing that is covered in the “making of” is how King was influenced by the story of Winchester House when he wrote Rose Red. Apparently, King got the idea to let Ellen Rimbauer keep building on Rose Red from that story. The “making of” also deals with the music in the series and the sad death of David Duke.

  Besides these two documentaries there are also some storyboards, which I found really cool. Here you can see what the drawings of a specific scene looked like and at the same time see how the scene looked when it was finished. Really interesting stuff! There are also production commentaries you can listen to as you watch the series. There are, for example, comments about King’s cameo as he does it. There are also fourteen images from what see
ms to be the time when Ellen and John Rimbauer walked the Earth.

  Lilja’s final words about Rose Red (DVD)

  This is a DVD that you shouldn’t miss. I think the extra material you’ll find on it is really fun to watch and makes this DVD one that is worth buying, even if you don’t count the series itself.

  Do yourself a favor and go out and get this DVD on May 14th.

  ****

  The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (DVD)

  Posted: October 15, 2003

  The DVD edition of The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer leaves a bit to wish for. The movie itself is the same as the one shown on ABC earlier this year, so there all is well, but what I miss is the extra material. The only extra is a commentary track by Ridley Pearson, who wrote the script for the movie as well as the actual book.

  Even though it’s really interesting to hear what Ridley has to say about the movie, I was hoping for some behind-the-scenes documentaries or other information about how the movie was done.

  In the commentary, Ridley explains a bit about how the book The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, as well as the movie, came about. This is interesting since this topic was one of the biggest from last year. No one knew who had written the diary, and the suggestions were as numerous as the people guessing.

  Ridley also tells us that some of the scenes in The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer are actually from Rose Red, and just inserted into this one. He also points out where he made his cameos—one time it’s just his arm…so it’s not certain that you saw it earlier.

  If you want to know what I thought of the story itself you can read my earlier review from when The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer was shown on ABC.