Episode Description:
Johnny tries to use his powers to help himself, J.J.
and an enigmatic teen elude a trio of murderers who
have descended upon the Smith home.
Episode Review:
Johnny: "Next time the kid wants to go
bowling, just go bowling."
"Panic Room" with a touch of "Die Hard."
Last season, they were moving toward making Johnny into super action
guy. So far this season, they haven't repeated that mistake.
Johnny's appeal (for me, anyway) has always been as the ordinary guy
with an extraordinary gift, and that's what he was here. Well, okay,
he was channeling Bruce Willis just a little. But it didn't go over
the top.
While trying to elude the bad guy with the Willy Nelson braids and
his stupider and less scary partner in crime, Johnny had a second
set of visions set in 1941 that conveniently showed him several
secret aspects of his own house. Johnny's father Herb, who was a
major character in the original Stephen King book but only a
recurring character in the series (what with him being dead and all)
showed that even as a child, he was a good guy. Hey, not everyone
could talk a heartless mine owner into sheltering a Japanese family
right after Pearl Harbor. (Johnny's grandfather Smith originally
owned the mine in which Johnny and Walt were trapped in the season
two episode "Descent.")
I particularly liked J.J. in this episode. He didn't do the cliched
kid thing; i.e., he didn't panic or start crying. He actually saved
all their lives by kicking the bad guy in the first place. Then he
did what Johnny told him to do, like helping the injured Randy, and
correctly timing the banging on the pipes to cover Johnny rescuing
Walt. Unfortunately, J.J. now appears to be showing a tendency
toward pyromania. This can't be good.
Bits and pieces:
-- Walt and J.J. were finally back. We still haven't seen Sarah,
though.
-- When he was crawling through the vents, Johnny did a take-off of
the Bruce Willis crawling through the vents in "Die Hard."
-- The scene where Walt was captured and beaten was immediate enough
that I was mildly worried (again) they were planning to kill him
off.
-- The moral of the story? Don't leave your cell phone in the car.
Another good one. Three out of four stars,
Billie
Bille Doux reviews episodes of 'The
Dead Zone' for her website.
She reviews individual
episodes of science fiction & cult TV shows
for her website, located at
http://www.billiedoux.com/
Behind The Scenes:
- This episode is
kind of a claustrophobic, home invasion episode
where Johnny gets to really see
a little bit more about the character that is
the Smith house.
We've always been
fascinated with not only this wonderful set, but
-- as in one of the earliest episodes that
Michael and I wrote together
called "The House" -- we were
always fascinated by the idea of all the people
that walked on those floors. I mean, how many
times did Johnny walk in the steps of his father
and those of the people that came before him in
this house? - Shawn Piller's Blog (07/02)
- "Panic" is an
example of an episode that I think has some
really cool visual stuff in it. I think the
episode was cast very well. The two actors that
play the creepy thugs who come into the house
really did a nice thing with their roles, really
made them their own and added some real
dimension to the characters. - Writer Adam
Targum (07/02)
Cast & Crew:
Written by:
Adam
Targum
Directed by:
Kevin Speckmaier
Guest Starring:
Kevin
Durand (Cabot),
Christopher Heyerdahl (Zed),
Bill
Mondy (Deputy Roscoe),
Dustin
Milligan (Randy Jensen)
