We're introduced to a whole new batch of characters we're supposed to care about for 60 minutes before moving on to next week, I suppose, and being introduced to another batch. I never liked murder mystery shows like Murder She Wrote or Magnum P.I. because I find them a waste of time because you invest yourself into a bunch of people's lives, pretend you care about them, and then never hear from them again. I enjoy shows that continue weekly, so we can see characters' lives progress.. The Dead Zone started off like the latter but for some reason continues seasonly now. I still love the show and want it to go on forever, though, so if fans do enjoy these types of episodes then I'm all for it. But here's the difference between a regular murder mystery show that forces us to care for new people each show and TDZ: Johnny gets mail from thousands of people per day wanting him to solve their problems. Some of the issues may even be life threatening. He chooses not to sift through them and forward all his mail to Gene Purdey's foundation. But one day something lands on his doorstep and he is suddenly enthused and interested in this particular case. He cares about paintings, people running into him, or friends of friends who are going through problems, more than any other random person who seeks his assistance, so much so that he spends days at a time obsessing over the dilemmas, like he did this week. And until I find out why, it will just make me disinterested and feel that the whole plot is just an excuse for the writers to make a painter murder mystery, and then to have a twin murder mystery, and then to have a mafia murder mystery, etc. If you want to make a show like that, fine, but it still needs to follow Johnny Smith's lifestyle, where we have found that his attention is requested by millions but he is often too shy to use his talents for them. So, please, tell me why these particular stories have caught his eye so strongly. This story was too rushed, forced, and convoluted. But in the end all I wanted was a reason why he cared. Until he gives me one, I can't really care either.
