The Dead Zone: Season 03 (2004)

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The third-season opener of The Dead Zone not only clarifies the presence of the mysterious futuristic stranger (Frank Whaley) who had been stalking psychic Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall) throughout the closing episodes of season two, but also helps Johnny fill in the memory gaps resulting from his six-year coma -- the same coma from which he had awakened at the beginning of the series, to discover that he had gained the ability to read people's thoughts and predict their futures simply by touching their hands. In a more disturbing development, Johnny is accused of murdering a pretty young campaign worker for ruthless politician Greg Stillson (Sean Patrick Flanery), whom our hero knows will destroy the world if he, Stillson, is ever elected president. Once Johnny is cleared of the murder charge, he dedicates himself to proving that Stillson was the killer, with the assistance of a new recurring character, Rebecca Caldwell (Sarah Wynter), the sister of the dead woman. Elsewhere, series star Anthony Michael Hall makes his directorial debut in the episode "Cold Hard Truth," in which young J.J. Bannerman (Spencer Achtymichuk) finally discovers that Johnny is his biological father, and not Walt Bannerman (Chris Bruno), the current husband of Johnny's former fiancée, Sarah (Nicole de Boer). The season ends with part one of a two-part cliffhanger, "Tipping Point," in which Johnny courts a nervous breakdown while trying to bring the elusive Greg Stillson to justice; also in the finale, flamboyant televangelist Gene Purdy (David Ogden Stiers), whom Johnny has long suspected to be the murderer of his mother, makes a shocking confession. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi