Millennium - Season 1 [DVD] [1996]

 

 

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Chris Carter, pressured by the Fox network to create a companion piece to his popular hit series The X-Files, pitched his pilot for Millennium early in 1996. Carter was eager to explore the other side of the horror genre. Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully had spent several years fighting extraterrestrials and monsters, exploring a world of supernatural horrors. Thus, Carter created Frank Black, a behavioral profiler who hunted more terrifying monsters, human monsters. Hyped to the extreme for months in advance, Millennium premiered on Fox with the highest ratings of any premiere the network had shown in its history. Now, in the early days of the twenty-first century, this engrossing series has seemingly been all but forgotten. Fortunately, the series has obtained the DVD release it so richly deserves.

Millennium, unquestionably the darkest television drama of the twentieth century, had no rivals when it came to dramatic storytelling. Both the consistently high production values of the show and its powerful subject matter made this series unique in the annals of television history. Frank Black's unending battle against darkness, week after week, stunned viewers on both intellectual and emotional levels. Never before have episodic stories been so imbued with honesty, emotion, exploration and experimentation. Millennium was, week after week, successful on nearly every level of production. The show's cast and crew were unequivocal. Vastly superior to predecessor, The X-Files, this series had no peers. The first season spent twenty-two episodes exploring the darkest depths of the human soul and the most sickening portions of the human mind. (It has been said that on more than one occasion Fox network employees were nightmare-ridden after viewing uncut episodes of the series.) Perhaps too unsettling, visceral and painfully honest at times, the public seemingly shunned the series following its premiere, leaving only a cult following to invest their hearts and minds in the characters and mythology.

Millennium grew over the course of its three year run to become one of television's most powerful and unique drama series. Frank Black's investigations were continually being shaped by a group of brilliant writers and producers. The show truly deserves a spot in the annals of television history and will always remain prominent in the hearts of its loyal fans.

--Brian A. Dixon
Revelation Magazine

Perhaps one of the major reasons why `Millennium' never achieved the massive success of its fellow Chris Carter creation `The X-Files' is that many of these stories are simply good old-fashioned who-done-it mysteries. While the viewer is often made aware of the identity of the killer long before leading character Frank Black has deciphered his most recent horrific vision and pieced together all the clues, most of the entertainment for the viewer comes from the eventual discovery and capture by Black and his team of the latest depraved murderer.

Another reason why this intelligent show only lasted a meagre three seasons could be because sex, death and horror are the themes that dominate almost every episode, a lot of which can be very unpalatable and disturbing to even the least squeamish viewer. Frequently, innocent victims are slaughtered for little or no reason, but with Frank Black interpreting the killer's every thought and impulse for the benefit of the audience, these deaths are made that little bit more understandable and the process of the villain's detection and apprehension is made ever gripping thanks to him.

Acting as profiler, detective, psychologist and psychic all rolled into one, Frank Black is one of the most convincing protagonists ever to appear on the small screen and Lance Henriksen's performance is consistently mesmerising- he effortlessly steals every scene he's in. But the rest of the cast also deserve recognition for their contributions to a show that manages to be believable and yet fantastic all at once- Frank's loyal and logical wife Catherine (brilliantly under-played by Megan Gallagher), his mysterious colleague Peter Watts (the ever-dependable Terry O'Quinn) and most convincing of all in my opinion- Bill Smitrovich as the stubborn and uncompromising police detective Bob Bletcher.

It's hard to know where to begin with my favourite episodes from this season and it's made doubly difficult by the fact that there isn't a single dull or mediocre story here- the standard is pretty much sky-high throughout. But I'd have to say that the ones which particularly stand-out for me are...

Episode (1) `Pilot' -Definitely one of the more gruesome and disturbing episodes in the first season and setting the bar very high indeed, this story brilliantly sets up the characters and format for the programme.

Episode (5) `5-2-2-6-6-6' - A serial bomber calling himself Kaboom is on the loose and wreaking havoc. Deftly written and preformed; mixing detection, action and insight.

Episode (13) - `Force Majeure' - The opening scene is breath-taking and the rest of the episode unravels with more biblical omens and philosophical complexities than the rest of the season put together. Probably my favourite episode.

Episode (17) - `Lamentation' - Delving into the realms of the supernatural and mythical, this is one episode you won't easily forget.

Episode - (18) - `Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions' - Asking more questions than it answers, but superbly (and more than a little abstractly) exploring the concepts of good and evil and the powers-that-be. Reveals just enough to captivate its audience, but leaves a lot to the imagination too.

Episode (19) - `Broken World' - Heavy on slaughter and perversion- chilling and thrilling.

The first series of Millennium is certainly the best of the three, although the other two are certainly good, they betray -ever so slightly - the darkness of the first. This is a brilliantly written, thoroughly compelling exploration of 'evil' in both its human and supernatural incarnations; ultimately these two elements are cleverly and inextricably linked. In this respect the first series stays true to its principles both artistically and thematically - the more 'other-worldly' origins of pain, suffering and death are still grounded in human action and discussed in a manner that is both mesmerising and unnerving. Throughout Millennium there is always a sense of standing on the edge and being too well aware of how easy it would be to stop fighting and topple into the darkness. I'm well aware that I sound pretentious saying these things, but this is my favourite television series and it is very exiting and satisying to finally have it on DVD. For me it proves, like the best episodes of the X Files, that TV has the potential to convey interesting ideas through drama. Any given episode of Millennium kicks the proverbial out of most multi-million dollar thrillers released on the big screen.

Anyway, I'll stop my reverential babbling and cover a few technical points. The image and sound are superb. The extras are very informative and, although I usually don't care for them as they often seem a convenient excuse to boost the price of the item, they are very welcome relative to this great series and its superb value.

This leads to my final comment in the review. I am still at a loss to understand why Millennium, with 22 episodes and extras to boot, retails for under £30 while a series of the x-files with 22-24 episodes often retails at twice that price. Another great mystery . . . well not really.

WAIT . . . WORRY . . . WHO CARES . . ?

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2.0 out of 5 stars SCOOBY SCOOBY DOO.....
Once again i read the gushing reviews and bought Millenium.The box set is now gathering dust in my damp shed along side my broken lawn mower,a conked out dyson and a bench... Read more

Published 3 months ago by mister joe

4.0 out of 5 stars very dark
we all know the x files ,but this series is dark straight from the word go. the pilot is a shocker and you can see why the box has an 18 certificate on it. Read more

Published 21 months ago by B. J. Morris

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Breathtaking
It had been almost a decade since I had seen this series and my goodness it was fantastic, I was totally hooked and watched the entire DVD in a weekend. Read more

Published on 13 Jan 2010 by N. Ramesh

5.0 out of 5 stars millennium review
I have been looking for this series for quite sometime and was pleased to finf it here on Amazon. Starring Lance Hennriksen the series follows Frank Black, an ex FBI agent with a... Read more

Published on 22 April 2009 by A. Book Fan

2.0 out of 5 stars Did I miss something?
Having watched the whole series I was not overly impressed and will not be buying the next one (Is there another one?). Read more

Published on 5 April 2008 by Craggle

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant but developed in the second season
I know this will irk most fans of 'Millennium' but, for me, Season 1 just doesn't compare to the outstanding Season 2, which was one of the most daring, inventive and captivating... Read more

Published on 19 Feb 2008 by Mr. D. Woods

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful
Bad acting, dull plots, awful writing. The reviews on Amazon and the trailer were excellent, which is why I bought it. Lance Henriksen is usually very good as well. Read more

Published on 10 Oct 2007 by Mr. D. Murray

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Season
Millennium serves up the darkness that The X Files always promised and is refreshingly cliche-free. Frank Black, our only lead character, is a retired detective with a lovely... Read more

Published on 26 May 2007 by Martin I. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Chris Carter just keeps on rocking
Everyone has heard of the X-files, whether you like it or not Chris Carter has become a household name because of the X-files success. Read more

Published on 18 July 2006 by M. Undre

5.0 out of 5 stars Original and best of 3 series...
An absolute cracker of a show in its original and best incarnation. Well thought out and very adult stories building a growing and palpable sense of evil from show one to the... Read more

Published on 24 April 2006 by Top Tec

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