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1.1 Wheel of Fortune Bruce: "Nice family." Johnny: "Yeah. Somebody else's." Very, very good. Anthony Michael Hall is a surprisingly good choice for John Smith. He is a strong, talented actor; he looked so different than he did as a teen movie star that I didn't realize at first that it was the same person. Hall is so good that we can immediately identify with Johnny, who has lost absolutely everything. This sort of connection is vital, especially in a television pilot. Nicole de Boer was equally wonderful as Sarah. She had several strong scenes; I particularly liked the one in the car where she was trying to compose herself and put on makeup before seeing Johnny again. The scene with the two of them on the hospital grounds was particularly powerful. Johnny already knew the answer when he asked her if she had a family; having him see her in her own kitchen with her husband and son as she replied was just marvelous writing. The subtle way she told Johnny that he had a son was poignant. It made us feel such empathy for him and sympathy for Sarah, as well. Michael Hall was particularly impressive in this scene, especially at the end. Another scene that just blew me away was Dr. Tran reuniting with his mother. There were no words in the scene (only moving piano music) because words were not needed; the emotion on their faces said it all. It made chills go down my spine and brought me to tears. Although it wasn't stated, it was clear to me that Johnny finally woke up because of Elaine's daughter. If not, it would simply be too big a coincidence, him having his first vision of a major, catastrophic event at the moment he awoke. Although the accident brought his "gift" to the surface, there were three signs that Johnny was already mildly psychic before the coma: (1) the hockey scene in 1976 when Johnny knew the ice would break; (2) Johnny's mother saying he could always find things; and (3) his run of luck on the wheel of fortune, the night of the accident. Johnny's visions were dramatic and effective, and had an eerie emotional impact. They beautifully complemented the story instead of overpowering it, which is just what a special effect should do. I particularly liked the dead stops, with Johnny walking around observing details of the vision. This first episode was faithful to the original book by Stephen King as well as wonderful on its own. I was impressed with how series creators Michael and Shawn Piller retained the best parts of King's book, while making sound decisions about what to change in order to make a series work better. They of course retained the major plot points: Johnny's coma and his awakening, his visions, and Sarah's marriage to another man during Johnny's coma. But the series differs from the book in several ways. In the book, Sarah had a child with her husband. Here, Sarah's child is Johnny's; they conceived him right before Johnny's accident. This was a good dramatic choice because it keeps Sarah and Johnny connected and ties Johnny more strongly to the real world (in the book, he was too alienated). Plus, here Sarah is married to Sheriff Walt Bannerman, instead of to a minor character; this was also a good dramatic choice, since a genuine psychic would logically end up working with the police -- as Johnny indeed does with Walt in future episodes. The other major changes include: in the book, Johnny's father is alive, and his mother is a poor religious loony who dies after Johnny wakes up. Here, Johnny's father is dead and his mother is a rich religious philanthropist who dies during his coma. Johnny was poor in the book but well off here, a good choice because it makes his character more autonomous. He's free to recover from his injuries with excellent health care, and to explore his gift without worrying about supporting himself. He gets to wear nice clothes, too. Lots of bits and pieces: -- The intro is different from what it becomes later; it's very movie-like, with credits shown over the childhood hockey game. (Probably because they didn't know at first if the series would be picked up, and if it hadn't, it would have been sold as a movie.) -- The Reverend Purdy, head of the "Faith Heritage Alliance," isn't in the book at all. Here, Purdy is an enigma; we don't really know what sort of person he is, what his motivations are, how he truly feels about Johnny. Pre-coma, Johnny thought Purdy was "soaking" Johnny's mother Vera for money, and post-coma, we saw that Purdy certainly did get control of Vera's money after Johnny's accident and Vera's death. -- According to the DVD commentary and extras, Michael Moriarity originally played Reverend Purdy. Scenes with Purdy were later re-shot with David Ogden Stiers in the role. After seeing the unaired pilot with Moriarity, I think Stiers is better suited for the part. -- Johnny is disabled, possibly permanently, from the effects of the coma, but not as severely as he was in the book. -- The understated piano music as Dr. Tran walked through the streets looking for his mother was very moving. As was the montage of changes that Johnny's gift had already made. Wow. -- In the book, one of Johnny's few friends was his doctor; here, it becomes Bruce, his physical therapist. -- The kids in Sarah's class in 1996 sang "Mr. Sandman." And Bruce called Johnny "Rip Van Winkle." -- The "taste of the day" love scene in the closet was very sweet. -- There was a wheel of fortune in the cartoon in Johnny's hospital room as he woke. -- Reverend Purdy briefly mentioned political candidate Greg Stillson, who is a pivotal, major character in the book. Stillson was running for Congress in Maine's second district. -- Bringing their son to meet Johnny was a wonderful thing for Sarah to do. (Notice the tree parallel?) I'm glad they didn't try for a "secret baby" plot, something that would be impossible to do with a psychic, anyway. -- Speaking of the tree scenes, the first one had Johnny telling his students that nothing in nature is random. It implied that his accident wasn't random, either. Quotes: Johnny: "As you can see, I put on my tux." I thought that line was wonderful for the character. Johnny: "I'm not going to Atlantic City, all right?" Bruce: "Okay, that Indian casino in Connecticut is closer." Definitely four out of four stars, even with the cliffhanger ending, Billie View all comments or post a comment. |
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