Dead Zone 4.4: "Still Life"

Written by Juan Carlos Coto
Directed by Mike Rohl

In which Johnny receives a painting from a celebrated artist, and has a vision that the artist’s recently missing daughter is about to die, leading to revelations about the artist’s methods…


The format of this series is such that no matter how often I guess the outcome, the process of watching Johnny get to the conclusion is usually compelling enough to keep it from becoming predictable. This is the second episode in a row where I felt like it was a little too easy to see where the story was going. The difference between “Double Vision” and this episode was the supporting cast. Johnny’s distaff twin was incredibly hot and full of personality. Even the beautiful people in this episode were somewhat boring.

There were moments when the writers were trying too hard to make us care about the whole “art” motif. Bruce goes on and on about this artist as though he’s the cream of the crop, which is never the best of ideas when the prop department can only come up with mediocre paintings that aren’t all that impressive. Then again, I openly admit that paintings are not my favorite form of art, so an episode devoted to the world of a famous artist is probably not going to rock my world.

Patrick Bauchau does a nice enough job as Andrew Lyne, but I didn’t really feel much in the way of chemistry between the supporting cast members. The only one that seemed to communicate much, beyond the simple demands of the story, was Nora. As a result, it took less than half the episode to figure out that she was the killer, and once it was clear that Lyne’s subjects were not his real daughters, Nora’s motivations were equally clear.

Chloe is meant to be sympathetic, but it’s hard to get a grasp on her character. Her first introduction is a bit unsettling; was I the only one thinking that she was playing at seduction with that playful smile? Sure, it makes sense with the story in retrospect, and it probably set me thinking in the right direction, but it also suggested some creepy father/daughter interaction.

Speaking of, what was the point of having Lyne and his agent living a decadent lifestyle with those “Eyes Wide Shut”-lite parties? Some attempt at making it look like Lyne wasn’t the relatively benign man that he seemed to be? This is another area where I had some issues with Bruce and his characterization. He made the parties sound a lot more extensive and disturbing. Are a couple of lesbian kisses and sexually charged looks supposed to indicate a lot more behind closed doors? That’s the assumption, but like the art aspect, Bruce’s descriptions are more impressive than the reality. (Yeah, it’s basic cable, but those first season scenes with Dana were a lot more provocative than this!)

I did enjoy some aspects of the story, but the writing felt more like someone’s first shot at telling a “Dead Zone” story. Looking at the writer’s credits, I’m wondering if he’s a new addition or if this is a spec script. Maybe it was just the subject. Whatever the case, this didn’t grab my attention like the typical “Dead Zone” episode usually does.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10