Millennium (TV series)

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Millennium
File:Millennium logo.jpg
Millennium intertitle, featuring an ouroboros
Format Science fiction,
Horror, Drama, Crime
Created by Chris Carter
Starring Lance Henriksen
Megan Gallagher
Klea Scott
Brittany Tiplady
Country of origin  United States
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 67 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Chris Carter
Glen Morgan
James Wong
John Peter Kousakis
Running time Approx. 43 min.
Broadcast
Original channel FOX
Original run October 25, 1996 – May 21, 1999
Chronology
Related shows The X-Files
The Lone Gunmen

Millennium is an American science fiction horror drama television series and part of FOX's The X-Files franchise. The show was created by Chris Carter, as a spin-off series of The X-Files which debuted in late 1993. Millennium aired on the FOX Network in the United States from the fall of 1996 to the spring of 1999. Three full seasons of the series were produced, totaling 67 individual episodes. Each season of the series had its own distinct style and unique elements as a result of the regularly shifting executive producers who supervised its creative process. All the episodes were broadcasted and produced by the FOX network. The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, though most episodes were set in or around Seattle, Washington. The series theme music was composed by Mark Snow who also had created the series theme music for The X-Files.

The story arc is set during the years leading up to the year 2000. The plot line followed the investigations of an ex-FBI Special agent Frank Black, into serial murderers, which were often involved with both the supernatural and a sub-governmental authority known as the Millennium Group and their prophecies for an oncoming apocalypse. Many of the unsolved questions of the series were answered on The X-Files seventh season episode, "Millennium".

The series was not the expected ratings success for the FOX Network, the series started up with a strong viewership rating in the United States but shrunk throughout season one and kept doing so in the future two seasons. The series received much critical response, Millennium was honored with numerous awards and award nominations in its three-season run. Merchandise for Millennium includes games and toys, print media and an original audio series. Rumours is that Carter is going to make a motion picture sequel to the series.

Contents

[edit] Series overview

Main articles: List of Millennium episodes and Millennium Group

Millennium featured Frank Black, a freelance forensic profiler and former FBI agent with a unique ability to see the world through the eyes of serial killers and murderers, though he was not psychic. Black investigated the most horrific crimes and dealt with the mysterious Millennium Group, whose power and sinister intentions became more clear throughout the series.

The pilot episode served to introduce the Black family, consisting of Frank, wife Catherine and daughter Jordan. The family was depicted returning to Seattle, where Frank was born and raised, because Frank wanted to protect his family from the evil with which his job as a criminal profiler with the FBI brought him into daily contact. The end of the episode saw Frank receiving a series of Polaroid photographs of his wife and daughter in an envelope with no return address, setting up a stalking thread that would be resolved in the second season. Franks daughter, Jordan, later turned out to have inherited her father's "gift", suggesting that Frank's abilities are not entirely derived from the knowledge and experience he gained from his work as an FBI profiler. In the pilot, Frank has accurate flashes of a murder from simply viewing the victim's corpse zipped inside a body bag, visions which could not possibly be attributed to a typical profiler's talent.

The final season showed Frank returning to Washington and to profiling work at the FBI, following the death of his wife, Catherine Black, at the hands of the Millennium Group. Frank was joined by a young, female partner, Emma Hollis. The Millennium Group is shown at a distance as Frank is alienated from his closest connection to the Group, Peter Watts. The episode "Skull and Bones" depicted a mass grave in the path of a new freeway that contained the bodies of former members of the Group. Later in the season, in the episode "Seven and One", the demonic entity that fans have dubbed "Legion" assumes the form of one of the Group's security men. The implication is that the Group have become corrupted by the very evil it was intended to fight against. Despite Frank's warnings and the evidence of her own eyes, Emma makes a commitment at a moment of personal weakness that sees her isolated from all non-Group assistance and Frank is last seen escaping from Washington, having taken Jordan from school.

[edit] Cast and characters

See also: List of Millennium characters
  • Lance Henriksen as Frank Black (seasons 1–3 main) – Born on July 12, 1947 to Henry and Linda Black, Frank Black has a unique and disturbing ability which can take him inside the mind of a killer. As a former FBI special agent specializing in hunting down serial killers, Black was one of the Bureau's most effective detectives. Yet his immersion into the vilest recesses of the human soul took him too close to the edge. Frank could no longer allow the shadow of evil come between him and his family. He left the FBI and settled in Seattle with his wife and young daughter.
  • Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black (seasons 1–2 main) – Catherine was also a clinical social worker who counseled crime victims. This profession compelled her to confront many of the same dark forces as Frank. Yet Catherine knew she must never show any fear, no matter how appalling the evil. Catherine was willing to sacrifice herself. She was infected with a deadly virus that was mysteriously connected to the Millennium Group. Offered a vaccine for the virus she refused, insisting it be used to protect her daughter instead.
  • Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black (seasons 1–3 main) – Jordan, daughter of Frank and Catherine, represents the light in the dark world that Frank works. Jordan as her father has a mysterious gift, which offers her visions.
  • Klea Scott as Emma Hollis (season 3 main) – Emma is a young FBI special agent who becomes Frank's protege when he begins working in Virginia. She struggles to understand the criminal mind, as her sister was murdered by a man with no motive. Emma also has to deal with her father's bout with an Alzheimer's-like disease (possibly induced by the Millennium group) the cure for which Peter Watts (portrayed by Terry O'Quinn) uses as leverage to coerce her into cooperating with the Millennium Group.

[edit] Production

[edit] Development

After Chris Carter's success with The X-Files, FOX asked him if he would produce another series for them. He already had an idea for creating a show based around the coming millennium of the year 2000, and it was this idea that he followed up.[1] The FOX executives gave Carter a budget of nearly $1.5 million per episode,[2] and allowed him to create his own "look" for the show.[3] As influences, Carter has quoted the Bible, Dostoyevsky and Mary Shelley as among the most important.[4]

Carter pitched Millennium to Fox as "Seven in Seattle." The setting of a dark, rain-soaked city and a world-weary detective's hunt for a religiously-inspired serial killer have clear parallels with the pilot episode. One of the shows working titles was 2000, though Millennium was chosen over it.[5]

For the second season, the handling of the show was given to Glen Morgan and James Wong while Carter focused on the fifth season of The X-Files and The X-Files motion picture. Morgan and Wong had only been consulting producers for the first season, but took over production, implementing several changes that FOX wanted in an attempt to boost ratings which had declined during the first season.[6] Morgan said that:[7]

“ There was too much gore in the first season, and it was for shock's sake. There was no humor. Everybody wanted to know more about the Millennium Group. What was Frank's role with them? We needed to develop Frank. We had a good actress, Megan Gallagher, playing his wife, and what could we do with their relationship? Where can this go? ”

For season three, which aired in 1998, Carter took back control of the series, with Morgan and Wong leaving to follow their own cinematic careers. Carter admitted that he took it in a different direction from that of Morgan and Wong and, as a part of this, he attempted to take the show back to its "roots" from the first season. Reacting to criticism that the series had become confusing, and out of touch with audiences, the show's production team hoped to make "the stories a little more accessible", moving the action from Seattle to Washington DC.[8]

[edit] Casting

The FOX executives were not initially convinced that Lance Henriksen was right for the main role, and they suggested using William Hurt, until they discovered that he had no interest in acting for television. Chris Carter then sent the script for the "Pilot episode". Henriksen read the script and though it was "great". When his manager told him that it was a television script, he backed out for a while until he talked to Carter himself.[9] Regarding his casting of Henriksen for the lead, Carter stated that:[10]

“ I had tried to cast Lance Henriksen on The X-Files several times, he had always been either unavailable or uninterested. Anyway I remained a fan of his, I was in bed working in Vancouver and I realized he was working there too. So I found out where he was staying, wrote a note and had a fan note slipped under his door and told him that I'd tried to get him on the show and hoped to work with him in the future. Little did he know when I was then writing Millennium I was writing with only him in mind, with no idea whether or not he'd actually do the project. So I wrote the project, approached him, he was very excited about it, we made a deal and the rest is now history. ”

Glen Morgan and James Wong made several significant changes to the series, taking the emphasis off serial killers and on to government conspiracies and the machinations of the Millennium Group. They also tried to provide more of a "narrative drive" for Frank Black by breaking up his relationship with his wife. Morgan and Wong introduced new characters such as Lara Means and computer hacker Brian Roedecker, who was introduced for comic effect, toward which fans reacted generally negatively.[6]

[edit] Broadcast and release

[edit] Syndication and cancellation

The Millenniums first season premiere, "Pilot episode" gathered a total viewership of 17.72 million in the United States and in demographics it got a 9.0/27 in adults 18-49,[11] which was at that time a record holder for being the most watched FOX program.[12] Millenniums second season premiere, "The Beginning and the End" gathered a total viewership of 7.75 million in the United States and in demographics it got a 3.6/12 in adults 18-49.[11] FOX network decided to rebuild their primetime schedules in 1997 during the second season, the decision was that Millennium was going to air 9pm on Friday's.[13] The desicion to renew Millennium for a third season was made in May, 1998 by FOX network.[14]

During the shows third season, it had problems with a declining viewership rating and most industry insiders said the show "was history".[15] FOX benched Millennium during its summer run with re-runs of late night comedy, Mad TV without giving any offical word on what was going to happen with Millennium.[16] While Carter said that it was still hope and that it could make "a comeback".[15] The series itself had been considered a rating failure since its inception in 1996 by critics and industry insiders alike.[17] The FX cable network picked up the "off-network rights" for Millennium after its cancellation for $20-$25 million dollars.[18] The third season ended on a cliffhanger. Some of the story arc's were resolved with The X-Files season seven episode, "Millennium". NBC Universal's horror channel, Chiller, began airing Millennium weeknights at 7PM Eastern (and again at 3AM Eastern the following morning) on Monday, February 4, 2008.[19][20]

Lance Henriksen answered that based on what he had heard from Carter, his next project after the release of The X-Files: I Want to Believe in 2008 would be a Millennium motion picture. In an interview he stated that he wanted to act in a feature film as a sequel, and further stated if enough people wrote to FOX it "could happen."[21]

[edit] Home video release

Main article: Series overview and home release

Millennium season 1 was released in the United States (Region 1) on July 20, 2004, season 2 was released on January 4, 2005. the last season was released on DVD September 6, 2005 and The Complete Series was released on October 28, 2008.[22] On October 4, 2006 the first, second and third season was released in Region 4.[23][24][25] The Complete Series was released on October 24, 2006 in Region 4.[26]

The Complete Series Millennium release got Lance Henriksen thinking that the numbers behind those box sets sales might be the key to reviving the series. "I wonder if the sales of these will tell us how many people loved the show and whether or not the movie ought to be made," Henriksen commented. "I mean, [Frank Black] still is alive. Maybe it's a good thing there was no closure for Millennium because now, if we did a movie, it would be good closure for me."

[edit] Impact

[edit] Critical reception and Merchandise

Keith Uhlich from Slant Magazine was positive to both season one and three of Millennium,[27] giving them both four out of five stars and calling season one: "We are racing toward an apocalypse of our own creation. This is who we are."[28] Mike Drucker from IGN called the second season a combination of the "X-Files and the violent paranoia of Se7en."[29] Variety Magazine reviewer Jeremy Gerard compared the show to Twin Peaks and was overall positive to the series, but said "I just wish it were a little more fun, that I didn't have this nagging feeling that it wants to hurt me the next time I come around."[30] Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly gave the show a B and said it had "great visuals and a commanding performance by Henriksen."[31] Justine Elias from The New York Times was mostly positive to the series and said "If The X-Files, with its offbeat humor and conspiracy theories, wonders about those things that go bump in the night, Millennium explores the darkness -- and embraces it."[4] Daily Nebraskan said in their review that the show had "a lot of potential: a good lead actor, a solid premise and a feel that will keep audiences glued to their televisions."[32]

In total, five novels have been based on Millennium, the first being a novelization of the "Pilot episode". Some novels were also released as audiobooks read by actor Bill Smitrovitch. As of 2009, two soundtrack albums by Mark Snow have been released. The first was, The Best of Millennium was released in 2003 on iTunes only. It comprised of 22 tracks from all three seasons. The second was released in 2008 as a limited edition two CD set of 2000 copies by La-La-Land Records. It comprised of 51 tracks. Some of the tracks on the two releases are the same. A 12 inch Frank Black figurine was issued by Sideshow in the same mold as The X-Files Special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully earlier.

[edit] Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Millennium

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2] - "nearly $1.5 million an episode"
  3. ^ [3] - "he got the look he wanted (hiring Seven art director Gary Wissner as production designer for the Millennium pilot"
  4. ^ a b Elias, Justine (October 20, 1996). "Staring Into the Heart of Darkness". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/20/tv/staring-into-the-heart-of-darkness.html. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  5. ^ Carter, Chris, Tiplady, Brittany, O'Quinn, Terry, Henriksen, Lance and Gallagher, Megan. (2004). Order in Chaos, Making Millennium Season One. [DVD]. FOX Home Entertainment. 
  6. ^ a b Morgan, Glen, Wong, James, Henriksen, Lance and Gallagher, Megan. (2004). The Turn of the Tide: The Making of Season 2. [DVD]. FOX Home Entertainment. 
  7. ^ "TV'S BEST KEPT SECRET IMPROVES IN ITS SOPHOMORE SEASON". Millennium This Is Who We Are. http://millennium-thisiswhoweare.net/cmeacg/crew_interview.php?name=Glen%20Morgan&id=17. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  8. ^ Carter, Chris, Scott, Klea, Tiplady, Brittany and Henriksen, Lance. (2004). End Game: Making Millennium Season 3. [DVD]. FOX Home Entertainment. 
  9. ^ Rogers, Troy and Seeton, Reg. "LANCE HENRIKSEN TALKS MILLENNIUM". UGO.com. http://www.ugo.com/channels/dvd/features/millennium_season3/lancehenriksen.asp. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  10. ^ "CHRIS CARTER INTRODUCES US TO MILLENNIUM". Millennium This Is Who We Are. http://millennium-thisiswhoweare.net/cmeacg/millennium_episode_article.php?article=10&mlm_code=100. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  11. ^ a b Adalian, Josef (October 11, 1998). "High-profile dramas skid on Fox, ABC". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117756490.html?. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  12. ^ "Millennium". Television Heaven. http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/millennium.htm. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  13. ^ Hontz, Jenny (May 20, 1997). "Fox lineup reshaping Thursdays". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1116678216.html?. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  14. ^ Hontz, Jenny (May 20, 1998). "Fox reups 20th pair, mulls shifting 'Hill'". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117471043.html?. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  15. ^ a b "Chris Carter's Millennium a flop". BBC News. May 7, 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/337699.stm. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  16. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (May 5, 1999). "Fox's Millennium on hold". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117500045.html?. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  17. ^ "Harsh flop for X-Files creator Carter". BBC News. October 27, 1999. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/487486.stm. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  18. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (June 14, 1999). "FX clocks in Millennium". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117503048.html?. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  19. ^ "Chiller First Quarter 2008 Lineup" (PDF). NBC Universal. https://www.nbcunetworks.com/Assets/HTMLFiles/chiller/schedules/Quarterly/Grid2008_1Q.pdf. Retrieved on January 19, 2009. 
  20. ^ "Chiller website". http://www.chillertv.com/. Retrieved on January 19, 2009. 
  21. ^ "Lance Henriksen Interview". Millennium This Is Who We Are. April 24, 2004. http://millennium-thisiswhoweare.net/cmeacg/cast_interview.php?name=Lance%20Henriksen&id=3. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  22. ^ "Millennium (1996)". TV Shows On DVD. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/shows/Millennium/2798. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  23. ^ "Millennium - Complete Season 1 Collection (6 Disc Set) (790013)". Ezy DVD. http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/790013. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  24. ^ "Millennium - Complete Season 2 Collection (6 Disc Set) (790014)". Ezy DVD. http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/790014. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  25. ^ "Millennium - Complete Season 3 Collection (6 Disc Set) (790015)". Ezy DVD. http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/790015. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  26. ^ "Millennium - The Complete DVD Collection: Seasons 1-3 (18 Disc Box Set) (785869)". Ezy DVD. http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item.zml/790013. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 
  27. ^ Uhlich, Keith (September 9, 2005). "Millennium: The Complete Third Season". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=753. Retrieved on July 13, 2009. 
  28. ^ Uhlich, Keith (July 20, 2004). "Millennium: The Complete First Season". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=408. Retrieved on July 13, 2009. 
  29. ^ Drucker, Mike (February 3, 2005). "Millennium: The Complete Second Season". IGN. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/585/585120p1.html. Retrieved on July 13, 2009. 
  30. ^ Gerard, Jeremy (October 21, 1996). "Millennium". Variety Magazine. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117911386.html?. Retrieved on July 13, 2009. 
  31. ^ Tucker, Ken. "SCARE GIVER". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,294919,00.html. Retrieved on July 13, 2009. 
  32. ^ Holtmeier, Liza (June 16, 2006). "Grim scenes give 'Millennium' hope". Daily Nebraskan. http://www.dailynebraskan.com/2.3976/grim-scenes-give-millennium-hope-1.301760. Retrieved on July 12, 2009. 

[edit] External links

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