Quality of Life (Dead Zone)

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"Quality of Life" is the third episode of the USA Network original series the Dead Zone, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King.

[edit] Plot Synposis

Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall) experiences a terrifying dream in which he encounters a homeless woman he believes is his mother, Vera (Anna Hagan), while walking through downtown Cleaves Mill. She tells him to "heed the still, small voice when it comes," and that "it came to Jeremiah and Daniel and Amos and Abraham." The commotion draws a crowd, all of whom want Johnny to touch them and tell their futures.

Reverend Eugene Purdy (David Ogden Stiers) meets with reporter Dana Bright (Kristen Dalton) to ask her to keep an eye on Johnny and report back to him, citing that they "go back such a long way." Bruce picks up Johnny from his house, and Johnny insists on driving; they head to Cleaves Mill High School, where Johnny has a vision of his janitor's-closet liaison with Sarah from 1995 before running across Sarah again.

After school, Johnny meets with Principal Pelson to discuss the possibility of Johnny returning to work, and Johnny has a vision of the principal arguing Johnny's case against the superintendant; Pelson hires Johnny back as a full-time phys-ed teacher, offering substitute classroom work as well. Johnny attends a hockey team practice supervised by Coach Foley, and meets star player Todd Foley, who has already signed a letter-of-intent to go to Princeton University. Johnny coaches Todd on his defensive moves, and has a strange vision of Todd's heart.

The next morning, Johnny tells Sarah about his vision, and confesses that he doesn't understand it because they "don't come with footnotes." Dana talks with Pelson, who chastises her for making Johnny into a public figure. During first period, Johnny substitutes for Miss Rosen's history class, where the students try to pull the usual substitute-teacher-stunts, but Johnny's visions are a step ahead. He knows that the half of the students are not in their assigned seats, he knows that they are currently reading chapter 13 in their text, and he knows the real reason that one student doesn't have his homework completed.

After class, Johnny urges Todd to see the school physician for his hip pointer, then runs into Dana and Sarah in the hallway; Dana appeals to Johnny that "a good reporter and her subject can be a team," but Johnny shows no interest in the proposition. Outside, Johnny catches up with Doctor Cooper and implores him to give Todd a thorough once-over before letting him play that night. At home, Sarah and Walt (Chris Bruno) discuss Dana Bright over dinner. That night, Coach Foley and Dr. Cooper present Johnny with Todd's clean bill-of-health before the Cleaves Mills/Westbrook hockey game; the Cleaves Mills Huskies win, and Todd has no adverse health reactions, but when he touches Johnny after the game, Johnny sees a vision of the hockey player collapsed on the ice.

The next day, a group of mothers accost Pelson for his choice to hire Johnny, citing Dana's article "Teacher by Day, Psychic Deputy by Night." Johnny interrupts to discuss Todd with Pelson, insisting that the teenager needs to see a specialist; Pelson is understandably wary. Johnny visits the hockey arena, sees J.J. practicing, and remembers his mother's warning from his dream. Johnny visits the Paley's and tells them what he suspects about Todd, and Todd's father kicks Johnny out, calling him "a dangerous man." Returning to his own house, Johnny gets a visit from Todd that evening; the teenager wants to know what Johnny saw, and when Johnny tells him, Todd agrees to see a cardiologist.

Johnny calls in a favor to Purdy to set up an appointment, and Todd visits a cardiologist to find that every medically measurable aspect of his heart is perfectly normal and healthy. That night, Walt, Sarah, J.J., Dana, Bruce, and Pelson attend the Huskies/Eagles hockey game; as the game proceeds, the Eagles take a 2-1 lead, and Coach Foley gets himself ejected from the game, requiring Johnny to take over the team. With 1:22 left in the third period, Johnny benches Todd, replacing him with Calhoun. The Huskies lose 3-2, and Johnny earns the wrath of the entire arena; after the game, Johnny informs Pelson that he's quitting before running into the Paleys, who accuse Johnny of betting on the Eagles and throwing the game.

As the Paleys get in their car to leave, however, Todd collapses in the back seat. At the hospital, a doctor informs the Paleys that Todd has survived a paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, a mild cardiac arrhythmia that would have killed him had it struck while Todd was at the peak of an athletic performance. As Johnny leaves the hospital with Bruce and Walt, a horde of reporters swarms around him, fulfilling the scene from his dream, and he is struck with a rapid-fire series of senseless visions. Dana grabs Johnny to help him through the mob, and Johnny is struck with a vision of he and Dana having sex before finally making it to Bruce's car and escaping.

[edit] Trivia

• This is the first episode to depart from King's sourcework.
• Christopher Masterson plays Todd Paley in this episode; his elder brother, Danny Masterson, would play the unrelated Dr. Alex Connors in the fourth season episode "Vanguard."

[edit] See also

• the Dead Zone