123 of 131 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why TV was invented., July 28, 2004
I'm a professor of English, focusing on mass media and popular culture, so I watch a lot of TV. Having said that, this is the best show I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. The directing, acting, music, tone, writing, and quality of the show is astounding.
I used to watch the show religiously when it was on, and I'd slowly watch my friends and family get turned off by it. The first season was too slow for some, the second too gory, the third, well, you'll have to wait and see. But people couldn't keep up with the harsh reality of Chris Carter's world. They all regret abandoning the show now that it's on DVD, and they've begun watching it again.
Yes, they quit watching because the show was hard. And yes, the show is hard. It makes you think. It makes you feel. It sets up characters, often to kill them off, and make you miss them. Why watch, then, you may ask? Well, when's the last time a show made you feel? Made you sad or angry or worried or made you simply get up and lock your door?
If you want more sappy crappy TV to slide down your throat like everything else in our fast food world, walk away and hit some sitcoms on the big three networks. If you can take a rather hardcore look at crime, demonogoly, and the end of the world, and if you can take actually feeling--emoting in our flood of apathetic televised garbage--then buy this DVD set right away.
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42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I waited a Millennium for this!, August 1, 2004
Highs:
It's about as cryptic as I remember from my `96 encounter with it and it still has a lot going for it in terms of being something cutting edge for television. Some of the content is difficult to stomach let alone realize it was on TV*. (*See the Pilot)
Lance Hendrickson has that `instant credibility' that is missing from exactly 99.99% of current television. He is a great lead and simply has the exact chemistry the show demands.
The imagery of the show is so unique it is in and of itself a work of art. How many shows could you turn the sound down on and simply `experience`?? Few. Current shows? None.
Megan Gallagher is also a plus, she is beautiful and simply seems at home in the confines of the set. `Jordan`, the daughter is also pretty good at times, but seems to be a bit young for the show. Terry O' Quinn, ahh, the Stepfather return-eth! Great. I love this guy a lot too. The villains are also almost always up to par, which is crucial to a show of this nature. Love the Judge!
Fair extra's, wonderful packaging (much better than the awkward-flimsy-cardboard X-files-junk), the price is spot on, and it has great picture and sound. Wow, I still can't believe I own this!
That there weren't 15 or 20 seasons of the X-files to be made for DVD or this may never have come out... (did all 9 seasons @ $1?0 a pop, really need to come out before this superior show...?)
Special kudos to the young actress who played the young mother in the episode which should have been titled simply... `Angel.' I didn't take the time to find the name in the credits but she really is gifted.
I OWN SEASON ONE OF MILLENNIUM!
Lows:
Few. But here goes...
Ok, the casting seems a bit stiff in terms of the people Lance (Frank Black) works with. They seem fairly `typical TV show' cardboard cut outs. Stiff cop types that seem more like human road blocks/speed bumps than actors, the X-files seems to suffer from this same problem. "I don't know Frank...." You'll hear a lot of... even though he's always right!
Most of the shows are fairly `anti-climatic'.
As much as I love Frank and Katherine separately I must say the chemistry between them is generally lacking. It is serviceable, but often flat. More like a cool professionalism than a marriage. I can understand the character Frank being dark, but there just should be more moments of levity, probably more the writers fault than the actors. The show needs to be somber but that approach is often taken to an extreme.
Waiting another Millennium for season II!
In Conclusion:
If you are even on the fence about this show, don't be. I often have `romantic' notions of old shows I used to watch that sometimes don't pan out (I won't even go into the Land of the Lost DVD fiasco), but on the strength of Lance Hendrickson alone, this is a worthy buy on all counts.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, August 1, 2004
I can honestly say that I have waited a long time for Fox to finally have the good sense to bring the cult hit show Millennium to DVD, and now finally it's here. Created by X-Files creator Chris Carter, Millennium stars Lance Henriksen (you've seen him before in Pumpkinhead, Aliens, Terminator, Near Dark, and he's in the upcoming Alien VS Predator) as former FBI profiler Frank Black who has since moved his family to Seatle. There, he joins the mysterious Millennium group: a seemingly group of crime busters who investigate some mysterious and brutal crimes. However, just like on Carter's X-Files, nothing is as it seems, and Carter weaves a web of conspiracy that it soon becomes clear that Frank doesn't know who he can trust. Henriksen is perfect in his Emmy nominated role, giving what very well could be his best performance ever, and he managed to keep doing it every week until the series' end. At the time the show premiered, Fox was turning out new shows every season to be a double header with the X-Files (remember Space: Above and Beyond? or Strange Luck?), most of which lasted shortly, but Millennium lasted for a good few seasons until it's ultimate end. All in all, die hard fans of the show can now rejoice that Millennium is finally on DVD.
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