History Series / TheDeadZone

** More blatantly was how the promise of an epic fate-of-the-world final duel in the Season 5 finale between [[spoiler:Johnny and Janus]] was unceremoniously thrown away in the first episode of Season 6, which has [[spoiler:Janus killed in a fire and Armageddon seemingly prevented, just like that.]] The worst part was [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks this is presumably part of what led to the]] [[SeasonalRot declining ratings of the season.]]

* AuthorExistenceFailure: The original showrunner, Michael Piller, became ill from cancer during Season 2. While still credited as Executive Producer, new writers took over his duties (Karl Schaefer for the last six episodes of Season 2 and then Season 3, Tommy Thompson in Seasons 4 - 5). It was Piller's approach to rewrite every script and without him, many distinctive aspects of the series and almost all ongoing arcs were lost. Piller would occasionally consult on individual episodes as health allowed during Seasons 3 - 5 (most notably "Symmetry" in Season 5), and he died shortly after Season 5 had been filmed (but before it aired).

* SeasonalRot: Due to the scaled back involvement of original showrunner Michael Piller, the show is noticeably different from Season 3 onward. Rather than Johnny Smith using his psychic powers to prevent terrible events, the show switched to Johnny solving crimes after the fact. Ongoing arcs like the Dana Bright romance, Armageddon, Johnny's celebrity, his security problems were scaled back and then forgotten. Worse, Johnny's powers changed: where he often experienced past and future events from another person's point of view and felt their emotions, Seasons 3 - 6 generally have him observing from a third-person perspective. These changes happened because Piller's approach was to personally rewrite all scripts to add these elements in Seasons 1 - 2. He was too sick to do this for Seasons 3 - 5 and had died by Season 6.

The show was originally commissioned for UPN, but the network later dropped the show and it was picked up instead by USA. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for its first five seasons. The sixth and last season was billed as "The season that changes everything" and production was moved to Montreal. ''The Dead Zone'' was expected to be renewed for a seventh season, however due to low ratings and high production cost the series was canceled in December 2007, without a proper series finale.

* {{Badass}}: Walt always keeps a cool head in a fight. A cute SeinfeldianConversation in "Descent" even brings up a comparison of him to Creator/JohnWayne, [[RatedMForManly and it's not hard to see why....]]

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Averted with Reverend Gene Purdy, who is a typical protestant minister and dresses in suits.

* BigBadDuumvirate: From the Season 4 premier to [[spoiler:the Season 6 premiere]], Greg Stilson and Malcolm Janus.

* RogueJuror: The episode "Unreasonable Doubt", a WholePlotReference to ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'', right down to the fact that Johnny votes initially not guilty ''not'' because of any doubts that his powers had given him about the evidence, but because he knows that the accused is facing a death sentence (in this case, he has a vision of him being shanked in prison) and wants to be sure they've done their job properly.

* RogueJuror: The episode "Unreasonable Doubt", a WholePlotReference to ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'', right down to the fact that Johnny votes initially not guilty ''not'' because of anything his powers tell him about the case, but because he knows that the accused is facing a death sentence (in this case, being shanked in prison) and wants to be sure they've done their job properly.

* BlondGuysAreEvil:
** Averted, as it's Anthony Michael Hall as the protagonist.
** Played straight in "The Mountain" with ''both'' the blond ranger and blond shopkeeper.

!!Tropes:

* AbsenteeActor: For a show with only four main cast members it's surprisingly rare to find episodes featuring all three, Nicole de Boer (Sarah), Chris Bruno (Walt), and John L. Adams (Bruce)! Usually just one or two of them - there are even episodes where none of the three are featured! The only cast member to appear in every single episode is Anthony Michael Hall.
** Sarah in particular is noticeably absent for most of Season 5--seemingly due to Nicole De Boer starring in a MadeForTVMovie at the time. In Season 6, Bruce is PutOnABus, seemingly out of a desire to cut production costs.
* AbortedArc: The Christopher Wey arc of Seasons 2 and 3 seems to be building up to some major revelations about what leads to Armageddon. Ultimately, however, [[spoiler: the mental and physical strain of these "super-visions" causes Johnny to throw away his cane at the beginning of Season 4, thus severing contact with Wey and his own future self.]]
** More blatantly was how the promise of an epic fate-of-the-world final duel in the Season 5 finale between [[spoiler: Johnny and Janus]] was unceremoniously thrown away in the first episode of Season 6, which has [[spoiler: Janus killed in a fire and Armageddon seemingly prevented, just like that.]] The worst part was [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks this is presumably part of what led to the]] [[SeasonalRot declining ratings of the season.]]

* BigBadDuumvirate: From the Season 4 premier to [[spoiler: the Season 6 premiere]], Greg Stilson and Malcolm Janus.

** Johnny's mother is revealed to have died during Johnny's coma--[[spoiler: by suicide, out of grief over losing her son]]. In the book, she's the voice of "faith" for Johnny...which Rev. Purdy supplies in the series.

* DownerEnding / GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:They manage to break up Stillson and Sarah, but by doing that TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is put back on track; it had previously been averted.]] Thanks both to a WGA strike and declining ratings, this cliffhanger is not resolved.
** Potentially a BittersweetEnding, as [[spoiler: Johnny's father notes that if Johnny doesn't marry Sarah the world will end. Just before he dies, he tells Johnny that Sarah still loves him, despite the rift.]] Further, an arc over the course of the season has culminated in [[spoiler: JJ discovering his own "dead zone" abilities--which may be even more powerful than Johnny's.]] As such, the fact that [[spoiler: Sarah and Johnny are on the path to reconciliation in the final scene]] implies that things might be on the right track, after all.

* GrandfatherParadox: Played with in "Visions". Johnny meets a man from the future who tells Johnny that he needs to figure out how he ended up in a coma (and activated his own Dead Zone). The dilemma is if Johnny does, the man never goes into a coma to have a vision to tell Johnny about it. [[spoiler: Ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] as the man ultimately changes priorities to saving his family--which Johnny does.]]

* HopeSpot: At one point, it seems like a broken and tearful Stilson has been defeated, though a potential scandal involving double-homicide. And then [[spoiler: Janus shows up, and takes charge as his new mentor.]]
** Season 6 has one with [[spoiler: the death of Janus, and Johnny shaking Stilson's hand and seeing a perfectly fine Washington, D.C.]] Turns out [[spoiler: Stilson--and presumably Janus--have been using Johnny's father as a drugged advisor to help them anticipate future events--and when he dies, Johnny sees the Armageddon vision again.]]
*** For the characters, the season also builds up to Sarah and Johnny [[spoiler: falling in love again.]] But then [[spoiler: Sarah learns that Johnny lied to her about the circumstances of Walt's death, and a rift occurs which doesn't heal until the last moments of the season finale.]]

* TheIlluminati: Malcolm Janus sports a ring with the all-seeing eye, implying that the Illuminati is what's behind Stilson. [[RetCon Ret-conned in Season 5]] where Janus's group is implied to be [[spoiler: a relatively small group of former soldiers]].

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Walt and Malcolm Janus]] in the beginning of Season 6. In the finale, [[spoiler: Stilson's former [[TheDragon dragon]] Sonny.]]

'''Johnny:''' (''fighting tears and kneeling down to hug JJ'') "Johnny". Just "Johnny".

* NebulousEvilOrganization: Malcolm Janus's "Coalition for a Better America", which may or may not be a branch of TheIlluminati. (We learn the name in Season 5, [[spoiler: as part of the RetCon that implies that it may not be, after all.]])

* NoirEpisode: Season Six's "Switch", which involves Johnny trying to protect a FemmeFatale from being thrown off a train. Bonus points for most of the action taking place at night--with the train stations seeming lit specifically for noir.
* OddlySmallOrganization: Initially, it can be pretty hard to believe that Janus's "Coalition for a Better America" [[spoiler: consists of the small group of former soldiers in the photo Johnny and Walt discover late in Season 5]]--until we realize that 1) [[spoiler: aside from Janus himself, we've barely seen ''anyone'' from his group]], and 2) [[spoiler: those in the photo could easily be explained as the ''leadership'' who formed the Coalition out of an elaborate con game]].

--> "I had the perfect life--until I was in a coma for six years. When I woke up...I found my fiancée, married to another man. My ''son''...doesn't know who I am.[[note]](After "The Cold Hard Truth", changed simply to "And they're raising my son".)[[/note]] Everything has changed.... ({{Beat}}) Including me: One touch...and I can see things. Things that happened. Things that ''will'' happen. You should see what I see."

** "Babble On" has a memorable one where Johnny discovers that [[spoiler: his father didn't die when he thought, but at some point gained the same abilities Johnny did, only ''stronger''...which seemingly drove him insane.]] This leads to another one in the Season 6 finale, where he discovers that [[spoiler: his father's alive, and being held by Stilson as an unwitting advisor.]]
** The Season 5 finale reveals that not only dos Janus ''know'' about [[spoiler: Johnny's visions of Armageddon...he and his crew actually ''want'' it to happen, so as to rid the world of the old order and bring in the new.]]
** The RetCon concerning Janus's organization can count as this: [[spoiler: They may not have been the Illuminati after all -- but a band of crooked former soldiers ''posing'' as a grand, evil cabal so they can intimidate people into giving them what they want.]]

** A loose story arc beginning in Season 2's "The Storm" and continuing on to the premier of Season 4 has Johnny regularly contacted by [[spoiler: future counterpart Christopher Wey, who survived Armageddon and is just as desperate to find out how it happened as Johnny is.]] Ultimately, [[spoiler: Johnny breaks contact because of the harm it's been risking to his brain.]]
** Also "Collision" Johnny finds out [[spoiler: his future self appeared to him in a vision right after the car crash and saved his life]] otherwise Johnny wouldn't be alive.

* TookALevelInBadass: The Season 6 finale indicated this has happened with [[spoiler: Stilson. Janus may be dead but Stilson seems to be running the organization in his place--and doing a disturbingly good job of it.]]
* TheWatson: Poor Bruce, who must be spending every spare moment away from his physical therapist job helping Johnny on his various adventures. Sarah also fills this role on occasion throughout the series--most blatantly in Season 6, following Bruce leaving town.

* WhamEpisode: Most of the season finales, naturally--but also "Babble On", where Johnny investigates what ''really'' happened to [[spoiler: his father]], culminating in a WhamLine as he confronts Rev. Purdy: [[spoiler: "WAS MY FATHER ''LIKE ME''?!"]]

* WorthyOpponent: Both Stilson and Janus view Johnny as this.
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Okay! So [[spoiler: Janus is dead, Stilson tells Johnny he's going to change his ways, and Johnny sees Washington D.C. perfectly fine.]] Happy ending--wait...[[spoiler: there's a whole season left?!?]] More apparent when you watch it on DVD, or otherwise know that [[spoiler: Season Six is the last, and thus there isn't going to be a new big arc to replace Armageddon.]]

* CameBackStrong: Johnny is critically injured in a car accident and is in a coma for five years. When he wakes up, he has PsychicPowers, including [[{{Seers}} precognition]] and psychometry. Averted with his physical state, though. It takes few operations, implants and months of rehabilitation for him to be able to even move on his own. He's well-aware and informed many times that he will be never as strong as before the accident.

* YouCantFightFate: In an episode guest starring [[Series/{{Charmed}} Lochlyn Munro]] and [[Film/TheBreakfastClub Ally Sheedy]] as old friends of Johnny's who are brother and sister, he kept getting visions that ended up in the same way; [[spoiler:the sister committing suicide in order to give her heart to her brother, who is in desperate need of it]]. He tries desperately to change the events, but is forced to let it happen at the end.

* UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents: Maine has a pretty distinct accent, which is absent (or tend to be CanadianAccents due to the actors probably being [[StargateCity on the other side of the continent]]). In "Descent," in a flashback showing miners (or [[FunetikAksent "minahs"]]), they all try. It's very obviously not their native accents.

* AmericanAccents: Maine has a pretty distinct accent, which is absent (or tend to be CanadianAccents due to the actors probably being [[StargateCity on the other side of the continent]]). In "Descent," in a flashback showing miners (or [[FunetikAksent "minahs"]]), they all try. It's very obviously not their native accents.

* ModestyBedsheet: Dana, Sarah, and pretty much any love interest for Johnny or Stilson or whoever that has a bed scene.

* TookALevelInBadass: The Season 6 finale basically indicated this has happened with [[spoiler: Stilson. Janus may be dead but Stilson seems to be running the organization in his place--and doing a disturbingly good job of it.]]
* TheWatson: Poor Bruce, who must basically be spending every spare moment away from his physical therapist job helping Johnny on his various adventures. Sarah also fills this role on occasion throughout the series--most blatantly in Season 6, following Bruce leaving town.

** The RetCon concerning Janus's organization can count as this: [[spoiler: They weren't the Illuminati -- they were a band of crooked former soldiers ''posing'' as a grand, evil cabal so they can intimidate people into giving them what they want.]]

* RetCon: A few, ranging from Sarah's son being "renamed" (sort of) from "Little Johnny" to "JJ", to the ''exact'' events involving the car crash, to the reason for the absence of Johnny's father from his life, to the nature of Janus's organization. Many of these overlap with TheReveal, below--a few are matters of detail and are just shrugged off.
** Perhaps the weirdest retcon involves locations in Season 6, which look different for the simple reason that the series moved filming to another city.
* TheReveal: The pilot suggests that Johnny woke up when the nurse whose house was burning down brushed his arm because he had a vision of her daughter. The Season 1 finale reveals that in fact [[spoiler:he woke up the moment Greg Stillson was sworn in as a state representative, kicking off the main story arc of the next few seasons.]]

** The RetCon concerning Janus's organization can count as this: [[spoiler: They weren't the Illuminati--they were a band of crooked former soldiers ''posing'' as a grand, evil cabal so they can intimidate people into giving them what they want.]]

* SpecialPersonNormalName: Johnny Smith

* TheWatson: Poor Bruce, who must basically be spending every spare moment away from his physical therapist job helping Johnny on his various adventures.

* WhamEpisode: Most of the season finales, naturally--but also the one where Johnny investigates [[spoiler: his father]], culminating in a WhamLine as he confronts Rev. Purdy: [[spoiler: "Was my father like me?!"]]

* {{Badass}}: Walt always keeps a cool head in a fight. A cute SeinfeldianConversation in "Descent" even brings up a comparison of him to JohnWayne, [[RatedMForManly and it's not hard to see why....]]

** [[spoiler:Walt]] could count as well since it seemed calculated to give [[spoiler:Johnny and Sarah a [[DieForOurShip chance to hook up]]]], but the ramifications of his death were handled much more realistically.

* RatedMForManly: Walt, resulting in in-universe comparisons to JohnWayne.

* {{Badass}}: Walt always keeps a cool head in a fight. A cute SeinfeldianDiscussion in "Descent" even brings up a comparison of him to JohnWayne, [[RatedMForManly and it's not hard to see why....]]

* {{Badass}}: Walt always keeps a cool head in a fight. A cute SeinfeldianDiscussion in "Descent" even brings up a comparison of him to JohnWayne, and it's not hard to see why....

** Sarah could be dealing with her own inverted version: The sensitive NiceGuy Johnny as Betty, and the macho {{Badass}} Walt as Veronica.

** Sarah could be dealing with her own inverted version: Walt as Betty, and Johnny as Veronica.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Walt]]