Millennial Fair

CWs: horror, fictional violence, sexual assault

No, this is not a Chrono Trigger post. I just finished watching through the series Millennium. I remember coming across it as a kid when it came out (~1996), and enjoying the idea, since it was a nice companion piece to The X-Files and by the same creator, Chris Carter. But the show had a darker agenda, going to sometimes much stranger places than the latter show. I remember Lance Henriksen starred in it as the protagonist, Frank Black (what a name!), and I didn’t remember much else about it. I dimly remembered that Terry O’Quinn, later of Lost fame, was in it as well, but I didn’t remember what role he played or anything. I hadn’t thought about it for years.

Then in the last month or two, I remembered the show existed, and wondered if I would like it now. I have a dim memory of coming across a DVD box set of it at Fry’s just south of Portland back in the day, but of course didn’t buy it back then. I honestly think it’s one of those forgotten pop culture items that no one really thinks about much anymore. I stumbled upon someone’s upload of it on Internet Archive, of all places (thank the gods), and thought, hey, why not rewatch it? So I fired up the first episode (what a weird pilot!) and started the undertaking.

It was a lot weirder than I remember. I probably shouldn’t have watched it as a kid. It’s very violent, with a lot of sexual trauma, and horrific imagery in general. I don’t think I can handle that stuff as well as I could when I was younger, though. Henriksen is fantastic as Frank. Frank is a former FBI agent and skilled criminal profiler, but there’s a twist: he can “see” through the eyes of killers and other criminals, which helps him catch them. Initially it seemed like this was more metaphorical, but as the series goes on, they made the decision to make this more literal, giving him visions. In the background, and sometimes foreground, is the shadowy Millennium Group, for whom Frank is a consultant, and often works in that capacity on loan to the FBI. He lives with his wife Catherine and daughter Jordan, and they often have to deal with the fallout of his job, unfortunately.

I followed along with the AVClub reviews for the whole run. I honestly don’t think the reviewers really liked the show at all, and mostly had mediocre to outright negative things to say about most of the run, which was disappointing. I mean I get having criticisms, but reading the reviews was a real slog (just as watching the show occasionally could be), and I don’t think it enhanced the experience at all, which is unfortunate. I used to unequivocally recommend AVClub reviews to everyone as show companions, but these days I’d honestly rather listen to a podcast along with the show, as it’s usually more interesting. (Currently I’m watching Battlestar Galactica for the second time with my spouse, who has never seen it, and the Beers, Beats, Battlestar Galactica podcast has been very helpful; they’re now covering For All Mankind, but the earlier episodes are still there and great!)

The first season is full of serial-killer-of-the-week episodes, occult apocalyptic religious weirdness, and other grimdarkness. It’s gloomy as hell, which is not always a bad thing, but it’s fairly unrelentingly gloomy. I think they were trying to find their voice in general, which makes sense. Season 2 got wilder and weirder, more experimental, and more interesting, and got to a fever pitch of weirdness by the end of it. Chris Carter dropped out as main showrunner on that series, which I think left room for more experimentation. Unfortunately, we get to season 3, Chris Carter comes back, and everything kinda resets, back to grimdark gloom, with occasional occult oddity. I would’ve liked to see where they could have gone if they continued the trajectory of season 2, but oh well. And weirdly enough, not only does the show get its own finale (“Goodbye to All That”), but also gets a backdoor series finale in the X-Files episode “Millennium” (7x04), which gives Frank a more fitting end to his story.

Frank gets a partner of sorts, Special Agent Emma Hollis, in season 3. The AVClub reviewers really disliked her and didn’t think she ever really fit into the show. I disagree in general. I don’t think the creators knew what to do with her as a character, sure, but I found her really interesting and liked having her around. She was an interesting sounding board for Frank, and it was nice spending time with her. I think they just didn’t know how to make her feel like an organic part of the show, while still focusing on Frank. I think it didn’t help that Chris Carter was working on the X-Files mainly, and probably didn’t have as much time to be as directly involved with Millennium (see also David Lynch and the second season of Twin Peaks, which I love, but others are mostly meh about, largely due to Lynch not being as involved).

This isn’t spoiling anything, really, but I did really enjoy the last shot of the Season 3 finale, where Frank and his daughter Jordan are driving off into the sunset, under a mostly cloudy sky with sun peeking through the clouds. That was a lovely ending shot for the series proper. It was a convoluted path to get there, though, to be sure.

I’m not sure where I’m going with all this. It was a long, strange run, and I’m glad I rewatched it, but it’s something I won’t revisit for a long time, if ever. Too many other unwatched shows! But I highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance, if only to see our friend John Locke with a ridiculous mustache!