Customer Reviews

Millennium - The Complete Second Season

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When Glen Morgan and James Wong jointly took over the Executive Producer role for Millennium's second season quite a few changes were planned and subsequently enforced. Morgan and Wong made efforts to deviate from the Serial Killer of the Week pattern, they complicated the yet unexplored history of the mysterious Millennium Group, they introduced a sense of humor to the series, and they brought religion and spirituality more prominently into the scripts.

Morgan and Wong's second season was immediately accused of subconsciously aping The X-Files, of deviating from Chris Carter's original vision for the series. Although these claims are not entirely unfounded, the show's new direction proved to be more of a blessing than a curse. As the second season continued fans found themselves growing more attached to the revitalized Millennium while, at the same time, the diverse episode themes attracted new audience members. The show, episode by episode, became dramatically more complex and bravely more artistic.

Millennium was a series that was continually reinventing itself. It's one of the keys to the strength of the show's drama and to the power of its continuing relevance. Glen Morgan and James Wong held nothing back as their scripts delved unabashedly into a world dominated by demons, angels, dreams, visions, mythology, science, and the triumphant if sometimes troubling human spirit. It is in the episodes of Millennium's second season that the series reached its peak and these discs contain some of Frank Black's most thrilling and unforgettable adventures. (Among them is "The Curse of Frank Black," arguably the most impressive episode the show ever produced.) Even in the twenty-first century this is as good as it gets and there's nothing else like it in the annals of television history.

...and Season Two of Millennium is, for me, what the series was all about. While Season One blew us away with intense CSI-like drama and plot lines, Season Two gave us more of the behind the scenes mythology that we knew was there is Season One, but never saw.

The relationship between Frank Black and Peter Watts (BTW: Terry O'Quinn deserves tons of credit for playing this role the way he did!) becomes very important to the plot, combine that with the addition of Kristen Kloke (playing Laura) and the revelations about the Millennium Group and this season, in my opinion, becomes one of the best seasons for a television series ever.

Episodes like "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense" and "Somehow Satan Got Behind Me" bring a bit of "tragic comedy" into play. The episode, "Mikado" shows us how truly awesome Frank's profiler abilities are, and eispdoes like, "Owls," "Roosters," "The Hand of Saint Sebastian," "The Fourth Horseman" and "The Time is Now" explore the Millennium Groups darker side, as well as send chills up the spine of viewers with intense visuals and storylines--some like "The Time is Now" haunt me to this day! The best thing is that all of these episdoes, different as they may be, contribute to the show, they allow it to grow and become something that will entertain us far into the future.

I truly believe this show was way ahead of it's time, and if it were just coming out now, and even though it was different in it's approach to crime-drama, it would rival CSI and all of the other top-rated crime-drama shows each network is developing today.

(Season III: Sept. 6, 2005!!)

I must say this series really hit its stride with Season II. Season One had its moments but the characters never seemed more than cardboard cut outs (with a few exceptions), here the characters become "people" and that is the defining moment for any series, providing they are lucky enough to get this far.

The Beginning of the End *** - Good episode but doesn't quite match the anticipation set up by the closing of Season One.

Beware of Dog * - One of my least fave episodes. Just improbable and a real mess. The Carpenters intro was interesting though. The people live there with those dogs? Silly. Not so much Sci-fi more like Low-fi.

Sense and Antisense *** - A good episode, not much else to say. A bit over the top.

Monster **** - A real great episode featuring Franks new "partner". She's great, plus the little kid is... a Monster (not to mention a great little actress).

Single Blade of Grass *** - Amy Steel is great, the Indians are overwrought.

The Curse of Frank Black ****.5 - The first ep that really defies the series. Unusual but a must see. Ahh, Jordan dressed as Marge is so cute.

19:19 **.5 - Kind of by the numbers, much like Sense and Antisense.

The Hand of Saint Sebastian ***** - The first fiver of Season Two. GREAT episode that reveals a lot of "the group." A MUST!!

Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense ***** - This may be a love or hate episode because it often borders on humor (and brilliance). This reminds me of Wes Andersons works, like the Life Aquatic, totally surreal, and totally NOT for the masses.

Midnight of the Century ***** - three fivers in a row!!? This is my fave, it is Christmas time and fuses so many different aspects of the show... and they ALL work. If more people had seen this one episode, this show would STILL be on TV.

Goodbye Charlie ** - Has some interesting ideas but seems to fall back on Season Ones need for random serial killers, just kind of `eh'.

Luminary ***** - Nice outdoors ep. Reveals a lot about Catherine and Frank, the ending is a bit odd though, well the near end when they leave Frank out in the woods? Great parallel story with Neptune and Pluto.

Mikado *** - Liked this one. Not loved though. No Catherine and Jordan so the story shifts back to "another criminal", the ending is interesting though. This is "the computer guys" big chance and he was flat.

The Pest House *** - Some good guest star performances do take up some of the slack behind a rather ho-hum (and unclear) story and script. Freddy meets Jason meets Michael Myers. Catherine and Jordan, again, MIA.

Owls **** - Good ep dealing with the `Group'. Flashes of Catherine and Jordan and another solid performance by Lara Means. Great cliffhanger episode. A bit confusing as far as who's who takes away a star. (I must note that at this point in the series it's really interesting to see the original focal point of the show (Franks "power") being an almost "side note" making the characters first and foremost and to me that speaks volumes.

Roosters **** - I'm starting to see why the show failed. Not because of the quality, but because of the pacing. The past 2 episodes have included enough material for at least 6. They seem to be pressing hard about the group, which doesn't bode well for a "typical" TV audience. Even watching these in a sort of rapid-fire format leaves me wondering huh-wha? From time to time. Great, but a bit fast.

Siren **** - Very good guest star performances. Great soundtrack. A great scene of discomfort between Frank, Catherine,... and Lara. A surreal sequence in this is one of the better moments of Millennium, I only took off one star for the rather predictable climax.

In Acadia Ego **** - 5 star performances hindered by a few problems I had with this. Franks lack of sympathy for the guard that was killed and the expression of complete sympathy for convicts on the run. Also, it was unclear to me why Frank let the convict walk into a "suicide by cop." Great message and ending though.

Anamnesis: ** - I like the subject matter, but the performances by the teens involved, and even surprisingly by Catherine and Lara seemed forced and emotionless. Sad too because it was a real great opportunity for Catherine and Lara to go toe to toe and it never really worked.

A Room With a View **** - Silence of the Lambs with a twist. Loved the subject matter and performances but mostly this will be a memorable show for me because of the counselors speech about "Passing through the Numbers". I've thought this same way for years and years. Watch this episode and learn what we have become; more accurately this is who we really are.

Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me ***.5 - I liked this one. One of the "humor-sodes." A bit different, but with a nice direction. The only thing I fault it for is the prime opportunity to interject Frank and many of the Millennium cast into the mix and yet they don't, and the ending didn't feel finished.

The Fourth Horsemen ***** - This is part one of the Season Two finale and while it may seem a bit of a stretch I love the direction of the show, totally cryptic and completely engaging. Cheers to Terry O' Quinn for helping create the series major tension. If this episode doesn't reach you, none of them will.

The Time is Now ***** - Or the beginning of the end, depending on how you look at it. So much to say that I shouldn't. Sadly, I heard about the major spoiler for the ending of this episode in advance, but was still surprised to see it. I kept thinking "No, they wouldn't... would they!?" They did.

Watching the small interview with the shows main components, I'm saddened that so many are on different pages with this second season, that is just about the only disappointing aspect for me... In fact, Glen Morgan and James Wong declined to appear, and that cuts me pretty deep. There must be some sort of major rift but at least I can my piece; Millennium: Season Two is one of the finest seasons in television... ever. I look forward to Season Three, despite what others say about it (I have seen none of it).

I've already written a rave review of season one, so now I'll add a few notes on season two. Season one of this show is a crime drama with a hint of conspiracy and spiritual darkness. Season, two, however, pulls back the covers and lets you begin to see the real world of Frank Black. Rumors abound that due to sagging ratings, Carter tried some new tricks to pull ratings to the show (a common and necessary evil of Hollywood mainstream television); this may be true, but either way, the changes in season two are wonderful.

In seasons two, Frank's visions begin to make more sense to an audience, and the supernatural plays a much larger part in the story lines. It's less about a retired profiler and more about stemming off the end of the world. We begin to see our first demons and our first hints at the sinister machinations of "The Group."

One Amazon review says that season two panders and plays to comedy. I'm not sure what show this reviewer was watching. I found season two to be at times so brutal it was difficult to watch (in a good way!). As for an occasional comic foray in the series, I think that's called variety, and it is needed in any show. The same feel and the same story arcs week after week are series suicide. By showing a funny glimpse of the Millennial world every now and then, and by making Frank more human, the show gains a broader appeal. It's not grim faced, tight lipped Frank Black the sketch from season one; it's Frank Black the person, now.

Any review that looks at the world of Millennium and X-Files, a world of alien abductions, face-less alien rebels, and demons walking among us to secure the end times and says that the world has become "increasingly fantastic and unbelievable" obviously missed the point of the entire genre. Bring it on. Show us the strange. That's the whole point. We wanted to laugh a bit even in this grim world; we wanted to be shocked and see the demons instead of theorizing about them, we wanted some change and fresh story lines and questions raised about the nature of The Group. And we got it in season two.

If you liked season one, you'll love season two. Actually, if you didn't like season one, you'll like season two also. Trust me.

Well we know Frank Black succeeded because the world didn't end in 2001 (or 2000 for that matter either). "Millennium" was the Rodney Dangerfield of Fox--the show just couldn't get any respect when it stood in the shadow of the much more popular "The X-Files". After season one, the series found its footing with Black finally realizing that the mysterious Millennium Group wasn't the benevolent guys that they appeared to be on the surface. Once the series began to develop its own "mythology" it hit its stride.

Lance Henriksen gives a much richer performance here in season two as he faces his own demons and those that threaten the white picket fence life he wants to lead. There are many stand out episodes here but "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense", "Somehow Satan Got Behind Me", "The Hand of St. Sebastian", "Monster", "Midnight of the Century" (with the marvelous Darren McGavin), "Roosters", "Owls", "The Curse of Frank Black" and "The Fourth Horsemen" all rank up there with the best of "The X-Files" and "Twin Peaks". Each moves Black forward in some way making the character even more appealing and sympathetic.

We get a featurette on the making of the second season. It's curious that writers/producers Morgan and Wong chose not to participate in the commentaries or the featurettes and that's too bad; the duo brought focus to the series and prevented it from turning into serial-killer-of-the week broadening the themes established by Carter and others during the first season. The strong season cliff hanger also is noteworthy as well but, again, we don't get much insight from the two people who contributed the most during season two. The "Academy Group: Victimology" featurette provided an inside view into the chilling world that surrounds people who do profiling for a living.

The packaging and picture quality is, as usual, top notch. Fox has done a great job of putting this series out and at a much more reasonable price than "The X-Files". The third season would have its high points as well. I'm hoping that Fox will put the final episode of the series which was incorporated into "The X-Files" onto the set as well. I have it already but it certainly deserves a place in this boxed set.

The great thing about Millennium is how much it changes each season. The first year gave us a new serial killer every episode. It was called "The darkest show on television", with good reason-definitely not for the faint of heart. It introduced the Group as former FBI agents who acted as private investigators for cases having to do with "Millennium Fever". We rarely got to see any more of the Group than Peter Watts, who did an impeccable job-my favorite character in the show. Season two continued the cliffhanger from season one, with the kidnapping of Frank's wife. It was in this second year that we got to look inside the Group. Their history paralleled that of the Freemasons, an ancient secret society with religious cult-like overtones. We found out that the Group was putting Frank through special cases in order to teach him, to fully induct him into their membership. These were people who were ostensibly trying to prevent the apocalypse, but in fact were orchestrating it. Everyone has their favorite season. But this second year was what appealed to me the most. And when it comes to a season finale, none can compare with "The Time Is Now". Originally it was to be the final episode. For so long we have waited, and worried. But we can now relax; the Millennium is here!

I really liked the second season, but I found it to be much more uneven than the first one. Granted, season one was not much more than "serial killer of the week" but that was initially what attracted me to the show. I wasn't totally sold on turning Frank's gift into something supernatural - I liked the idea that it was just a gift for getting into the mind of a killer, "becoming" them mentally in order to figure out what they were thinking and doing.

The second season lives up the name of the show, though - it's all about the group, and Frank's suspicions about their motives and methods. The episodes range from great, to confusing, to a little boring...but it still had me interested in seeing the final season. I'd have liked to have seen the unedited interview footage with Chris Carter, the series' creator...I get a real sense in the "making of" soundbytes he gives, that he didn't particularly like the direction the show took, after he turned over the reigns to Morgan & Wong. The fact that those two don't appear in the featurette, as a previous reviewer pointed out, probably speaks toward a rift that developed between they and Carter. It's easy to see parallels to a show like Alias, which underwent tonal and thematic changes when the creator let someone else drive, for a while.

I still recommend this series (and season) for fans of paranormal mystery and of course, Lance Henricksen fans.

I did not see Millenium when it ran on TV. I bought the 1st season because I enjoyed the X-Files, and because I enjoy watching Lance Henricksen -- there just isn't another actor quite like him. That face, that voice!

Anyway, I thought Season 1 was very entertaining, in a dark and depressing sort of way. The inventiveness of the "serial killer of the week" premise was fascinating (if sometimes almost unbearably "icky"). The exploration of the evil human beings are capable made for the most engrossing television I've ever watched. And the whisper of the supernatural -- the suggestion that true evil may be more than just a chemical imbalance in the brain -- was welcome to those of us who are intrigued by the occult.

But for me, the heart of the series was the character of Frank Black. How does a man who sees such horrors keep his sanity? By being able to return to that yellow house. He has an ability he can't escape, and he does want to do good -- but he also wants to be able to go home at the end of the day to his wife and daughter, and know that love is as real as evil. Henricksen did an amazing job. His Frank Black was intelligent, intuitive, pragmatic - but also tender, a man grounded by the fact that he loves his family so much.

And then there's Season 2...

I did like so much of it. The writing is clever, the acting is subtle and muted (something really hard to find in mainstream TV -- people do sometimes emote without shouting). I enjoy the occasional humorous episode. But what for me was the soul of the series was missing. Frank and Katherine split up -- understandable, after what they've gone through. But the reasoning for their enstrangement seemed contrived to me. If Katherine had said she wanted out before one of the nuts Frank dealt with killed her or Jordan, that I could believe. But what happened to her support and understanding of the burden he bore? And when he used it to save her, she held it against him. If it had been my husband, I would have told him to cut me down so I could help finish off Polaride Guy! It just felt like a device to me.

And the artfully placed dabs of the supernatural of the first season were replaced by a roller with way too much paint on it. The growing sense of conspiracy felt like a cop-out ("Hey! This worked great for the X-Files!"). And they tried making Frank into more of an action hero -- lots of punching and gun brandishing. Again, it just felt (to me) like an attempt to attract viewers by compromising the show's heart.

All that said, Season 2 was still some the best television I've seen. Thank god for DVDs -- I'd have nothing but "Lost" to watch without them! And I will be buying Season 3.

Ok, so Morgan and Wong supposedly made a real mess of Chris Carter's vision and Lance Henriksen's character Frank Black. I don't care what they say. This was one of the most riveting seasons in the history of television. Henriksen and Terry O'Quinn (you know him as the enigmatic character Locke on the blockbuster series Lost) were brilliant. The chemistry between these two was perfection in casting. You never really knew just what Peter Watts' (O'Quinn) motives were. I can't think of any turkey episodes in this season . It was full of spooky, mind-numbing paranoia. The season's final episode "The Time is Now" has an absolutely jaw-dropping sequence of hallucinations based on the book of Revelations accompanied by the music of Patty Smith while Kristin Cloak's character Laura Means has her mental meltdown . Very intense stuff! The season is full of conspiracy possibilities involving everyone from the Knights of the Templar to Nazi war criminals hiding in South America, all trying to get their hands on relics such as the Spear of Destiny, the hand of Saint Sebastian, and a piece of the cross upon which Christ was executed. There is even a tell-tale Morley cigarette butt playing homage to The Cigarette Smoking Man from the X-Files. Every sinister character you can imagine, including Lucy Butler a.k.a the devil appears in the second season.

The episode with Charles Nelson Riley reprising his role of Jose Chung alone is worth the cost of the series. It's a knee-slapping, hilarious poke at Scientology (Selfosophy). So come on in, take your shoes off and have a visit with Frank Black in the yellow house at 1919 Ezekial Street. It's sooooo Millenniumistic!

Season 1 of "Millennium" featured fantastic performances from its cast and a dark atmosphere that made "The X-Files" look sunny by comparison. Unfortunately much of that year ended up as little more than a "murder mystery of the week" fare. Thankfully the second season, supervised by former "X-Files" producers Glen Morgan and James Wong, changed all that. The second season began with the suspenseful 'Beginning and the End', where Frank Black pursues the mysterious Polaroid Man who kidnapped his wife. This episode also introduces the comic relief for Season Two, computer hacker Brian Roedecker.

Even though 'The Beginnning And the End' would fit perfectly in Season 1, the subsequent episodes follow a different path that greatly improved the series. Starting with the second episode, 'Beware of the Dog', and continuing with episodes such as 'The Hand of St. Sebastian', 'Owls', 'Roosters', and the haunting two-part season finale 'The Fourth Horseman/The Time Is Now', we find out that the Millennium Group has existed since the beginnings of Christianity and isn't nearly as altruistic as Frank Black (and the viewers) originally suspected.

In addition to the Millennium Group storyline, we also learn more about Frank's childhood via two holiday episodes: 'The Curse of Frank Black', a Halloween-themed tale where Frank encounters the ghost of a neighbor who committed suicide, and 'Midnight of the Century', an emotional story of Frank trying to mend the relationship between him and his father. In the latter we find out that Frank was not the only one with a strange gift, as his mother was blessed/cursed with the ability to see angels. Lastly the second season even showcased two comedy episodes: 'Jose Chung's DOOMSDAY DEFENSE' and 'Somehow Satan Got Behind Me'. These hours of television are completely different from the average "Millennium" episode (to say the least) but they're still worth a look nonetheless.
I could continue rambling on and on about the greatness of Season Two, but you'll really have to buy the DVD set and form your own opinions. The DVD set does come with some bonus features, but the only one of worth is the Season Two documentary "Turning of the Tide". The rest of the bonus materials are second-rate at best.