Episode Description:

A vision of trouble on a private space mission forces Johnny to work with Stillson to fix the ship in order to bring the astronauts home safely and avert a national disaster. - TV Guide

Episode Review:

Greg: "If there was anything wrong, I'd be the first to know about it."
Johnny: "No, I think that would be me."

Has Greg Stillson done a 180?  Really?  Hard to tell, isn't it?

Greg is still all about the ambiguity.  Even though he came to Johnny for help with the space shuttle crisis, his motives were as clear as mud.  Sarah apparently believed that Greg had truly changed and she could be right, but saving the shuttle was crucial to his approval rating, after all.  And he did indeed console Emily Wilcox in one room, while planning to shoot her husband down in the other.

Although much of this episode was Johnny and Greg (and I've always enjoyed Johnny/Greg scenes), the rest was good, too.  I really liked the way Megan Wilcox, after her initial freak-out, became so accepting of Johnny's talents that she kept putting the dog tags in his hands.  I also liked the parallel consolation scenes between J.J. and Emily, and Sarah and Megan.  Loved Sarah eating everything in the kitchen. And Johnny standing on top of the space shuttle with the Earth above his head may have been the coolest vision they've ever done on this show, and that's saying a lot.

When Sarah unexpectedly went into labor, I was certain we were going to get an overdose of heartwarming.  But no.  It was quite poignant.  Walt was there for Sarah when she had Johnny's son, and Johnny was there for Sarah when she had Walt's daughter.  Sort of a full circle.  Or a triangle.  Whatever.  Add it to the Wilcox family reuniting, and it was downright moving.

Bits and pieces:

-- Sarah named her daughter Hope.

-- The one thing that really didn't work for me was the vice president so heavily involved in the flight of a *private* space vehicle.  The producers probably didn't get permission to mention NASA, but really. "Go Space"?

-- The thing with the satellite reminded me of the satellite we saw in one of Johnny's Armageddon visions, but it didn't appear to be related.

-- My question in last week's review was answered.  They're still using the exterior of Johnny's house in Vancouver.  Or an incredible facsimile.

-- They froze Walt's pension?  They froze the pension of a dead cop's pregnant widow?

-- Just like in the first episode of the season, I'm getting the distinct impression that Greg is still warm for Sarah.  He gave her his private number, too.

-- J.J. misses Walt, but he's certain that Johnny can fix anything.  That was nice. I also thought it was nice that Johnny didn't feel the need to freak little Emily out with his visions.

Quotes:

Wilcox: "Unfortunately, we still haven't figured out how to get a decent caramel latte up here."

Sarah: "I'm guessing being vice president is about as hard as it looks?"

Johnny: "There's still time."
Johnny has probably said this in more episodes than any other phrase.  It's the Dead Zone mantra.

This one really got to me. Four out of four stars

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:

Episode Notes:

Episode Rating: 2.108 million viewers.

Cast & Crew:

Written by: Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn
Directed by: Tim Southam
Guest Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery (Greg Stillson), Alex Carter (Captain Steve Wilcox) & Amy Price Francis (Megan Wilcox).