Recently, I was lucky enough to take a look at the season one box set of The Dead Zone from Lions Gate (after having previously checked out the pilot episode). Let me tell you guys, it was certainly well worth the wait. This series was created from the Stephen King novel and a good many of the characters in the series were taken directly from the book. If you caught my pilot review of The Dead Zone (review here), you already know that the series doesn't follow the book page by page, it just covers the primary set up of the story. Through creative story writing and a few really great characters to base from, you end up with a series that is far more than just entertaining.

When we last left John (Anthony Michael Hall) he had been through a car accident that left him in a six-year coma. He awakens to find his fiancee Sara, (Nicole DeBoer, who you all may remember as Levin in the movie Cube), married to Detective Walt Bennerman (Chris Bruno). They are both raising John's son who was conceived before his car accident. Little John thinks that Walt is his dad and has no idea who John Sr. really is. With the help of his physical therapist, Bruce (John L. Adams), John regains the use of his legs, but John woke from his coma changed. He now has visions that show him the past as well as the future. With this gift he helps Detective Bennerman to find a serial killer that is stalking young women in and around the area.

There's one other important character that should not be omitted here, the honorable (not so much) Reverend Purdy (David Ogden Steirs) has been in John's life since he was a child and became his guardian when his mother passed away. He takes care of all of John's financial affairs while he is in the coma and after he wakes up, he gets John back on track with his finances. Although Purdy has interests other than John's welfare. John's mother left a little more than a fortune to the Reverend's religious foundation and Purdy is afraid that John's new talent may shed a bad light on him and the church, therefore he's having John watched very carefully.

Through the series, John and Bruce's friendship builds, as does his friendship with Sara. John strives to get back to a "normal" life but as the knowledge of his gift grows, the chance that John will have a normal life seems to diminish. The people in the town he grew up with now fear him because they don't understand the gift that he possesses. He fights the prejudices daily and though he has never harmed anyone, he spends a good deal of time proving that he's not the monster that fear makes people think he is.

Bryce constantly tells him to never be ashamed of who and what he is. As John learns more about his visions he begins to realize that he can't ignore them. He starts to help the people in his life and is constantly met by disbelief and sometimes cruelty. People have a hard time believing what John tells them and often it's not until the last minute that they become believers and allow themselves to yield to a little help.

There's also John's lost love to consider. For her, it's been six years without John but for him it's only been a blink of an eye. He awakens with the same feelings he had for her before the accident. It creates a bit of a triangle between Sara, John and Walt. Sara obviously loves her husband but she seems to be having a hard time letting John go, she has moments of jealousy when new women come into John's life as well.

John spends his time trying to get back to the life he once knew, he tries to go back to teaching but people's fear makes it very difficult. He spends most of his time chasing his visions and trying to help the people that he comes in contact with. Most of the time he's just trying to get back to the "normal" life he once knew.

I have to admit that I've really enjoyed Season 1 of The Dead Zone. I had my doubts when the pilot was first handed to me, but what a surprise! I enjoyed the pilot even though it was taken from one of my favorite books and I was braced for the worst. My main fear was that the series would take one of my favorite characters and lose him in the shuffle of made for cable TV entertainment. My worry was that there was no way to make a series based on the novel or the original movie without losing the essence of one of Steven King's more "human" and more detailed classic characters.

Luckily, my fears proved to be unfounded. Not only did the creators of The Dead Zone keep this character as real and as detailed as written, but also they built a life around that character despite his untimely end in both originals. I have to say that I'm very impressed. If you've seen some of my less favorable reviews (ahem), you can say that it's not a bad compliment.

The storylines for each episode are well executed and really held my attention, which is also no small compliment. I nearly watched all thirteen episodes straight through with only a few breaks in between, I really looked forward to each new episode and found myself caught up in the stories and characters.

The visual effects are also handled quite well and actually looks like they took the time to use higher budget computer effects to enhance the visions John has, which makes the series a lot more eye catching in the long run. The visions are vivid, though not always pleasant while there still remains a small element of violence in some of the visions. Presented in an anamorphic widescreen transfer picture quality is extremely sharp. Audio remains quite clear throughout as well with a solid 5.1 audio track which compliments the image quality quite nicely. The solid surround track adds that extra sensory element that I always love in some of my favorite movies.

Special features are divided between the four disks: Disk one-Behind the scenes: Genesis, Disk two-Behind the scenes: Writing and first/second season promos, disk three- Behind the scenes: Music & Special effects, Disk four- Behind the scenes: Guest Stars. There is also an option to play a running commentary through all of the 13-episodes.

Again, I was more than pleased with The Dead Zone Season 1 box set. I enjoyed the extras as well as the series itself. You might be interested to know that along with starring in the series, Anthony Michael Hall also co-produces The Dead Zone. By the way, don't worry if you missed the pilot, it's included in the box set, it makes up the first two episodes on disk one. You can also send in a card to receive the original, unaired pilot and there's even a spot for the bonus DVD for you within the packaging. It's well worth taking a look at but save yourself a backache and watch them over a longer period of time than I did!