Dead Again

It's summer, and that means only one thing. Actually, it means a whole bunch of things, but the one I'm looking for is cable channels trying to break the network hegemony by introducing new series while the big guns are showing reruns and reality series. To that end, the USA Network has introduced an adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Dead Zone, airing first on USA, and then a week and a half or so later on sister station The Sci-Fi Channel as part of their "Sci-Fi Fridays" series. While I'm generally skeptical of huge media conglomerates, the ownership of multiple channels has definitely allowed me to watch some shows that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Anyway, the show features former 80s übergeek Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny Smith, a young teacher who recovers from a car accident and subsequent six-year coma with some unexpected powers. He is able to see things about people just by touching them, or things they've come in contact with. As a result, he is compelled to act on these visions when they are particularly bad, or at least worth 42 minutes of drama, although it could be less if they need to fill in some of the tension between Smith and his former girlfriend Sarah Bannerman, played by Nicole deBoer, who has since remarried, or between Smith and reporter Dana Bright, played by Kristen Dalton. The guy who couldn't get a date in Sixteen Candles gets TWO love interests in this one. This is encouraging for, um, a friend of mine who didn't date much in high school. Yeah, that's it.

The show not bad, and if that sounds like damning it with faint praise, then so be it. It's still early in the run, and I'm not positive that the show has found it's voice yet. For example, a recent episode copped a bit too much of a blatant "Quantum Leap" feel, but it certainly shows potential, particularly if it can live up to it's Stephen King pedigree and get a bit creepier. Hall is solid, if perhaps a bit too grizzled, a bit too in the mold of Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer on 24. Particularly while simultaneously being the tweedy New England professor. Given the sweet spot before Stargate SG-1 in Friday's strong Sci-Fi lineup, it's certainly worth setting the VCR an extra hour early.