Dead Zone 5.4: "Articles of Faith"

Written by Michael Taylor
Directed by Michael Robison


I’ve been less than thrilled with the first few episodes of the season, so I went into this latest installment with a bit of trepidation. With the lackluster quality of the fourth season continuing into the fifth (not surprisingly, given the production details), there’s little sense of consistency from episode to episode. As a simple example, note the fact that Johnny and Purdy interact quite a bit in this episode, but don’t say a word about Janus or any change in their relationship.

I was thankful, then, that this episode was a tad better than the season thus far. It still had a number of issues, but overall, it dealt with some interesting dynamics of hate and prejudice. There will no doubt be a backlash from those looking for any hint of anti-homosexual bias, given how the story itself played out, but I thought that it dealt with a wide range of racial and prejudicial issues with equal judgment.

Of course, I also felt like that exploration was sometimes heavy-handed. The opening and closing montages were horribly done, especially the mismatched and poorly-casted voiceovers. Like the previous episode, the writers sometimes oversell the message of an episode. Some scenes were practically destroyed by the heavy-handedness. For instance, the Muslims sitting around tossing out exposition, which came across as forced and unnatural.

The music score certainly doesn’t help. In some places, the tone of the music is so preachy that it kills whatever subtlety might have otherwise been attempted by the writers and director. I’ve tried to keep an open mind with the scoring changes, since it sometimes works very well. I actually like the opening theme. But in certain scenes, the music is completely over the top, and that happens in this episode as well.

I’m still on the fence regarding the return of Dana Bright. It seemed like odd timing, especially since there was nothing about her part in the story that required her to be in the episode. The writers touched on their past relationship here and there, but if I didn’t already know their history, I don’t know that I would have gotten as much impact out of this episode. On the other hand, without that context, it might have been easier to accept their relationship as presented in this episode.

This episode actually brings to mind what I feel is the defining difference between the early seasons and the more recent productions. The first few seasons told good stories and told them well. The recent seasons have told good stories, but they’ve been told poorly. I personally feel that the overall package hasn’t been as strong of late.

This was a good story, and it kept me engaged, despite the nagging problems with the storytelling. I just wish that more attention would be spent on the fundamentals. If there is a sixth season down the line, I hope they take the time to see where things didn’t work out and make the necessary adjustments. Unfortunately, if their online blogs are any indication, the production team believes this to be solid material, so I’m not particularly hopeful.

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”. Recent episodes have highlighted “The Dead Zone”, so it might be something of interest . Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

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

Final Rating: 6/10