TP & David Lynch reference on EW
runningdog
#449 September 11, 1998
Pages 80 - 82
Black is Back
Get ready for another new ŚMillenniumą as Lance Henriksenąs FBI guy loses a
wife and gains a partner. ŚMillenniumą, FOX, 9-10 PM starts Oct. 2.
When we last left ŚMillenniumą - well, letąs see, hero Frank Black (Lance
Henriksen) had found out that his ŚMillenniumą Group, which was supposed to
save the world, was involved in some sort of internecine, apocalyptic
battle with a splinter faction called the Family; the human race was being
wiped out by a virulent plague carried in part by birds; his fellow
ŚMillenniumą operative Lara Means (Kirsten Cloke) had seemingly gone insane
after a season-ending hallucinogenic trip starring the Virgin Mary and set
to Patti Smithąs łHorses˛ (the entire song!); his wife, Catherine (Megan
Gallagher), had blown her brains out rather than fall victim to the plague;
and Frankąs dark hair had suddenly turned white. The whole thing was like a
nightmare David Lynch might have had after eating a bag of E. coli burgers.
So, new executive producers Chip Johannessen and Michael Duggan, how you
gonna dig the Fox series out of that mess?
łWell, Frankąs hair will be gray this season,˛ says Duggan, chuckling. łAnd
the world didnąt end, despite what that episode implied, so weąre going to
pick up the pieces and move on by sending Frank to D.C., and giving him a
new work partner and a new life.˛ The plague scenario will be contained and
tidied up, and creator Chris Carterąs acknowledgment that łwe took the
serial-killer-of-the-week criticism seriously˛ is being heeded. Sounds like
Fox should go with a new ad campaign: łEverything You Knew About
ŚMillenniumą Is Wrong.˛
For its first two seasons, this was the most uneven good show in prime time
- sometimes scary, sometimes silly; sometimes daringly experimental,
sometimes hollowly pretentious. Last year, under the guidance of former
X-Files brainiacs Glen Morgan and James Wong, you never knew whether Black
was going to be a dour killer-hunter or a deadpan conspiracy-nut buster. It
was an exhilarating run - Morgan and Wong have since moved on to feature
films - but a decidedly confusing one. And such creative dissonance,
combined with lackluster ratings (104th last season), nearly cost the show
a slot this fall. A source at Twentieth Century, which produces
ŚMillenniumą, admits that the networkąs decision to renew was down to the
wire. (No doubt the cachet of Chrisąs łX-Files˛ Carter helped.)
Now that Black is back, łwe want to root the series more firmly,˛ says
Duggan, who oversaw last seasonąs low and underrated ABC FBI show ŚC-16ą.
łMeganąs character is gone. Frank is now a single father who has decided to
go back to what he used to do - work with the FBI in D.C. on especially
tough cases. Heąll get a partner, which will give viewers a fresh set of
eyes to see the show through.˛
Those eyes are the big brown ones of Klea Scott, who stood out in the
crowded squad room of CBSą ballyhooed bomberoo ŚBrooklyn Southą. Scott, who
played a smart beat cop, will now join ŚMillenniumą as FBI agent Emma
Hollis. łSheąs not a rookie,˛ explains Duggan, łbut sheąs young enough to
be in awe of Frank Blackąs rep as a legendary crime solver.˛
More broadly, the series will take a turn toward realism and even optimism,
say the producers. łWhile the news is filled with stories about Clinton
with his pants around his ankles,˛ says Johannessen, łweąre writing stories
that show the government doing its job - getting at truth and some amount
of justice.˛ Getting at truth - now, thereąs an intriguing novelty for a
Chris Carter show.
łThereąll be a lot of personal stories to tell too. [Frankąs young
daughter] Jordan will be acting out over the death of her mother. But
mostly, itąll be about Frank and Kleaąs characters dealing with spectacular
crimes.˛ Does that mean supernatural stuff? łI think we prefer the terms
speculative and plausible,˛ says Duggan. łChris has given us no mandate
other than to get back to the first seasonąs tense, atmospheric crime
solving, without veering into X-File-ish, UFO areas.˛
For her part, Scott is in a situation similar to David Duchovonyąs:
Recently married (to director-actor John Langs) and based in L.A., sheąs
now forced to relocate to Vancouver, where ŚMillenniumą is shot. łI donąt
have the clout to ask Chris Carter to move the show,˛ says Scott. łAt this
point, Iąm grateful to have a job and the energy for weekend commuting.˛ -
Ken Tucker
--------
runningdog
Glastonberry Grove
http://www.public.asu.edu/~groucho/glstnbry
--
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that
brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass
over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye
to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will
remain.
- Litany Against Fear, Bene Gesserit rite, DUNE
jason ronbeck
first came out (the first three episodes or such), but became bored with
it and stopped watching. since then ive gotten into twin peaks and out
of the x-files, and i am wondering if maybe i should give millenium a
second chance... and if i do try watching the show, am i gonna be
totally lost considering the fact i missed out on two seasons already?
thanx in advance ;)
--
-=jason ronbeck=-
==------------------------------------------------------------------==
ja...@thecompany.net or jason....@thecompany.net
http://thecompany.net/jason/ (in progress)
icq #5181909
==------------------------------------------------------------------==
Proverbs for Paranoids ~
1: You may never get to touch the Master, but you can tickle
his creatures.
2: The innocence of the creatures is in inverse proportion to
the immorality of the Master.
3: If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't
have to worry about answers.
4: You hide, they seek.
5: Paranoids are not paranoids because they're paranoid, but
because they keep putting themselves, fucking idiots, deliberately
into paranoid situations.
From Thomas Pynchon's /Gravity's Rainbow/ (1973)
==------------------------------------------------------------------==
Shane
<ja...@thecompany.net> wrote:
>and i am wondering if maybe i should give millenium a
>second chance... and if i do try watching the show, am i gonna be
>totally lost considering the fact i missed out on two seasons already?
Hard to say.
Limited word has it that the emphasis of the show might go through a
change, again, in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience. I think we
all, fan and non-fan, will have to discover whether or not we like the
series come Oct. 4.
As for "falling behind", well, sadly this show seems to meander about
more then move forward; so your safe.
Shane
reply: i68...@thegrid.net icq:17584725
Spudbud48
<ja...@thecompany.net> writes:
<regarding Millennium>
>im just curious if anyone watches this show... i watched it when itfirst came
out >(the first three episodes or such), but became bored with it and stopped
watching. >since then ive gotten into twin peaks and out of the x-files, and i
am wondering if >maybe i should give millenium a second chance... and if i do
try watching the >show, am i gonna be totally lost considering the fact i
missed out on two seasons >already?
>
>thanx in advance ;)
>
I know MANY people just like you. They gave Millennium another chance at the
start of season 2 and are REALLY GLAD they did!!
Of course, you're bound to get nothing but biased opinions since this is a MM
newsgroup -- but, really:
Watch all of season 2 somehow
Then rewatch season 1 with "new eyes"
Er, while watching season 3. Then sort all the info out in your mind and voila!
-- the best show on TV suddenly makes sense.
If you like Twin Peaks you'll like some aspects of MM season 2, for sure.
-- Dan Owen
Milluminati Negotiator
Visit "Millennium 2000"
http://members.aol.com/spudbud48/main.htm
"The end of all things is at hand."
- Peter 4:7