Millennium (1996 series) - Revision history

Ywhateley: Added wikilinks.

2018-07-10T05:13:15Z

Added wikilinks.

Ywhateley: Categorization

2017-06-27T06:22:28Z

Categorization

Ywhateley: Categorization

2017-06-21T05:45:10Z

Categorization

Ywhateley: Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

2017-03-10T20:00:29Z

Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

Ywhateley: Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

2017-03-10T19:38:56Z

Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

Ywhateley: Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

2017-03-10T19:31:12Z

Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

Ywhateley: Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

2017-03-10T19:22:51Z

Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

Ywhateley: Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

2017-03-10T19:18:37Z

Details, typo corrections, and clarifications.

Ywhateley: New details added.

2017-03-10T18:37:49Z

New details added.

Ywhateley: New details added.

2017-03-10T18:32:57Z

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@@ Line 125: / Line 125: @@
 * race: "[[Demon]]s/Devils" (appear in some episodes as one of the many faces of Lucy Butler, in others as more stereotypical winged tempters of sinners, and in others in the form of "walk-in" spirits that possess the bodies of humans and use them to commit monstrous or bizarre crimes)
 * race: "[[Angel]]s", appearing in a couple episodes in dark and somewhat threatening or dangerous roles
-* race: [[Human Cultist]]s, solitary killers, and occasionally "angelic" messengers and guardians; in the series, many of these characters seem to take the form of "walk-ins":  people who have reached the extremity of despair to the point of dying spiritually, to be replaced by "walk-in" spirits from the [[Other Side|Astral Plane]] who have ascended to levels of great mystical knowledge, power, and often inhuman corruption before entering human flesh
+* race: [[Human Cultist]]s, solitary killers, and occasionally "angelic" messengers and guardians; in the series, many of these characters seem to take the form of "walk-ins":  people who have reached the extremity of despair to the point of dying spiritually, to be replaced by "walk-in" spirits from the [[Astral Plane]] who have ascended to levels of great mystical knowledge, power, and often inhuman corruption before entering human flesh
 * race: [[Serpent People]] (episode 3x08 "Human Essence" - a tainted form of heroin causes its users to transform/devolve into an atavistic reptile form)
 * race: "bad dogs" (episode 2x02 "Beware of the Dog" - a group of apparently supernatural black dogs that maintain balance in certain sacred locations

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 [[Category:Film:CultsCultists]]
 [[Category:Film:MindTransferDoppelgangers]]
 [[Category:Film:One-Tentacle Media]]
 __NOTOC__

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 * Producer/Production Co:  [[Chris Carter]], [[Chip Johannessen]], [[Glen Morgan]], [[James Wong]], [[Darin Morgan]], [[John Peter Kousakis]], [[Frank Spotnitz]], 20th Century Fox Television, Ten Thirteen Productions
 * View Trailer: ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w8ukDA47zw link])
 ==Ratings==
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 [[Category:Film:General]]
 [[Category:Film:Series_or_Serial]]
-[[Category:Film:EldritchLocation]]
+[[Category:Film:SurrealHorror]]
 [[Category:Film:One-Tentacle Media]]
 __NOTOC__

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 * setting:  [[Pulp Cthulhu]] (see the optional rules on psychic abilities)
 * organization:  [[Millennium Group]], a secret society's front organization, which works as a think-tank or consulting group, lending expertise and advice to police departments, and recruiting members who have the potential for developing talents (such as "psychic" abilities) useful to the Group's cause
 ** faction:  [[Roosters]], who believe that Armageddon and the strange events of the series are caused by supernatural beings and forces; this faction consists notably of prophets and doomsayers who wish to warn the public (or at least their leaders) of the impending Armageddon, to "wake up" the people to the wonders, dangers, and difficult work of a new "day", when the world's Master at last returns
 ** faction:  [[Owls]] who believe that Armageddon and the strange events of the series are caused by scientific, natural forces; this faction believes that it is still "night", and that the light and noise of science, knowledge, information, and the Roosters' message are dangerous and risk attracting the attention of dangers lurking in the darkness
 ** "... Throughout history, the Millennium Group has had access to scientific breakthroughs that were banned, or withheld, by those in power at the time..... This enabled the Group to leap generations ahead of mainstream research. The Owls' claim is that six billion years ago, before the formation of the Earth, two neutron stars collided six billion light years away. This collision released cosmic rays, particles of such extreme energy, that the collision of these particles could transform the vacuum of space and cause a tear in the fabric of our universe. The Owls claims to have proof that this tear, this expanding cosmic bubble, will reach our solar system within the next sixty years, and a new universe, its properties calculated anywhere between apocalyptic and inconsequential, will be created...." - Lara Means, episode "Roosters"
-* character:  "Lucy Butler" (a demonic shape-shifter)
+* character:  "Lucy Butler" (an evil and demonic - or possibly alien - shape-shifter)
 * race: [[Human Cultist]]s, solitary killers, and occasionally "angelic" messengers and guardians; in the series, many of these characters seem to take the form of "walk-ins":  people who have reached the extremity of despair to the point of dying spiritually, to be replaced by "walk-in" spirits from the [[Other Side|Astral Plane]] who have ascended to levels of great mystical knowledge, power, and often inhuman corruption before entering human flesh
-* race: [[Serpent Men]] (episode 3x08 "Human Essence" - a tainted form of heroine causes its users to transform/devolve into an atavistic reptile form)
+* race: [[Serpent People]] (episode 3x08 "Human Essence" - a tainted form of heroin causes its users to transform/devolve into an atavistic reptile form)

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 <!-- Optional; Objective, unbiased, detailed synopsis of film's plot and themes -->
 Former FBI agent Frank Black tries to stem the tide of violent crime through psychological means. Even though he blames the mysterious Millennium Group, an organization of former law-enforcement officers dedicated to battling crime as the millennium approaches, for the death of his wife, he joins the group in their fight against a conspiracy of seemingly supernatural forces of evil.
-* Season 1 Episodes (suggested here are "mythology" stories hinting at a secret conflict between otherworldly beings working through human agents/cultists, appearing in a season otherwise characterized by killers and cults):
+* Season 1 Episodes (suggested here are "mythology" stories hinting at a secret conflict between otherworldly beings working through human agents/cultists, appearing in a season otherwise characterized by killers and cults; the Millennium Group in this season is a think-tank consulting group that supports law enforcement; the primary antagonists at first appear to be evil people, with hints as the series progresses at the involvement of something inhuman):
 ** "Gehenna" - Gruesome cult slayings bring Frank Black to San Francisco, where he experiences a life-changing encounter with evil.
 ** "The Judge" - Gruesome remains and other evidence provide Frank Black with a lead to a murderous avenger who persuades ex-cons to do his dirty work.
@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 ** "Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions" - Still reeling from a tragic loss, Frank is swept into a bizarre case of ritualistic slayings that involves an enigmatic lawyer and unearthly occurrences.
 ** "Maranatha" - In a Russian community in Brooklyn, Frank joins forces with a Moscow cop to investigate gruesome slayings linked to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster - and to biblical prophecy.
-* Season 2 Episodes (suggested here are a mix of "mythology" episodes a range of subjects including the Millennium Group and an expansion of the supernatural elements introduced in the first season):
+* Season 2 Episodes (suggested here are a mix of "mythology" episodes a range of subjects including the Millennium Group and an expansion of the supernatural elements introduced in the first season; the Millennium Group in this season is re-invented as a secret society that knows more about the mysterious events surrounding the troubles leading to the new millennium than they let on; the primary antagonists of this season tend to be supernatural monsters and extremist factions of the Millennium Group):
 ** "Beware of the Dog" - As Frank's marriage begins to crumble, a pack of vicious dogs terrorizes a small town, and as Frank investigates he discovers several truths about the Millennium Group.
 ** "Monster" - In rural Arkansas, Frank investigates the owner of a daycare center accused of child abuse, only to be accused himself.
@@ Line 65: / Line 65: @@
 ** "The Fourth Horseman" - Frank Black takes a stand against the Millennium Group over its intensified secrecy and its involvement with a deadly contagion to which he has been exposed.
 ** "The Time is Now" - The spread of a virulent disease coupled with mysterious Millennium Group operations kindle crises that beset Frank Black's friend Lara Means and his own family.
-* Season 3 Episodes (suggested episodes include expansions on the supernatural elements explored previously, contradictory explorations of the Millennium Group, and a couple ''X-Files'' style episodes involving conspiracies and monsters):
+* Season 3 Episodes (suggested episodes include expansions on the supernatural elements explored previously, a couple ''X-Files'' style episodes involving conspiracies and monsters, and contradictory explorations of the Millennium Group, which is again reinvented, this time into the sinister, conspiratorial, primary antagonist of the series):
 ** "The Innocents" - Frank Black teams up with an intuitive FBI agent named Emma Hollis to probe a plane crash linked to the spread of a deadly plague.
 ** "Exegesis" - The probe of an aircraft disaster leads Frank and partner Emma Hollis to an extraordinarily gifted psychic who is on the run from the menacing Millennium Group.

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 <!-- Optional; Objective, unbiased, detailed synopsis of film's plot and themes -->
 Former FBI agent Frank Black tries to stem the tide of violent crime through psychological means. Even though he blames the mysterious Millennium Group, an organization of former law-enforcement officers dedicated to battling crime as the millennium approaches, for the death of his wife, he joins the group in their fight against a conspiracy of seemingly supernatural forces of evil.
-* "Gehenna" - Gruesome cult slayings bring Frank Black to San Francisco, where he experiences a life changing encounter with evil.
+* Season 1:
-* "The Judge" - Gruesome remains and other evidence provide Frank Black with a lead to a murderous avenger who persuades ex-cons to do his dirty work.
+** "Gehenna" - Gruesome cult slayings bring Frank Black to San Francisco, where he experiences a life-changing encounter with evil.
-* "The Well-Worn Lock" - A case of incest draws Catherine to the plight of a troubled woman who has kept a secret for 23 years: she was violated by her well-respected father.
+** "The Judge" - Gruesome remains and other evidence provide Frank Black with a lead to a murderous avenger who persuades ex-cons to do his dirty work.
-* "Force Majeure" - An enigmatic man obsessed with the Millennium Group haunts Frank on a strange case involving planetary alignments, genetic cloning and Judgment Day.
+** "The Well-Worn Lock" - A case of incest draws Catherine to the plight of a troubled woman who has kept a secret for 23 years: she was violated by her well-respected father.
-* "Walkabout" - An Internet connection with a disturbed doctor leads an amnesiac Frank Black into a murder case linked to experimental drugs that drastically heighten anxiety.
+** "Force Majeure" - An enigmatic man obsessed with the Millennium Group haunts Frank on a strange case involving planetary alignments, genetic cloning and Judgment Day.
-* "Lamentation" - Black investigates the disappearance of a former nemesis and learns that his family may be the target of a murdering nurse.
+** "Walkabout" - An Internet connection with a disturbed doctor leads an amnesiac Frank Black into a murder case linked to experimental drugs that drastically heighten anxiety.
-* "Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions" - Still reeling from a tragic loss, Frank is swept into a bizarre case of ritualistic slayings that involves an enigmatic lawyer and unearthly occurrences.
+** "Lamentation" - Black investigates the disappearance of a former nemesis and learns that his family may be the target of a murdering nurse.
-* "Maranatha" - In a Russian community in Brooklyn, Frank joins forces with a Moscow cop to investigate gruesome slayings linked to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster - and to biblical prophecy.
+** "Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions" - Still reeling from a tragic loss, Frank is swept into a bizarre case of ritualistic slayings that involves an enigmatic lawyer and unearthly occurrences.
-* "Beware of the Dog" - As Frank's marriage begins to crumble, a pack of vicious dogs terrorises a small town, and as Frank investigates he discovers several truths about the Millennium Group.
+** "Maranatha" - In a Russian community in Brooklyn, Frank joins forces with a Moscow cop to investigate gruesome slayings linked to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster - and to biblical prophecy.
-* "Monster" - In rural Arkansas, Frank investigates the owner of a daycare center accused of child abuse, only to be accused himself.
+* Season 2 Episodes:
-* "The Curse of Frank Black" - On Halloween, Frank experiences eerie visions and strange events that spark flashbacks to his youth - and a telling encounter with a troubled World War II veteran.
+** "Beware of the Dog" - As Frank's marriage begins to crumble, a pack of vicious dogs terrorizes a small town, and as Frank investigates he discovers several truths about the Millennium Group.
-* "The Hand of St. Sebastian" - In Germany, Frank Black and his driven companion Peter Watts seek the Millennium Group's secret origins, which are steeped in dark intrigue dating to the first millennium.
+** "Monster" - In rural Arkansas, Frank investigates the owner of a daycare center accused of child abuse, only to be accused himself.
-* "Midnight of the Century" - Eerie visions that haunt Black at Christmastime hark back to his troubled youth and lead to a fateful reunion with his estranged father.
+** "The Curse of Frank Black" - On Halloween, Frank experiences eerie visions and strange events that spark flashbacks to his youth - and a telling encounter with a troubled World War II veteran.
-* "Owls" - Mystery and murder surround a search for a piece of the Crucifixion cross that sparks infighting among the Millennium Group.
+** "The Hand of St. Sebastian" - In Germany, Frank Black and his driven companion Peter Watts seek the Millennium Group's secret origins, which are steeped in dark intrigue dating to the first millennium.
-* "Roosters" - A venerable Millennium Group member links the schism within the organization to the actions of an underground Nazi clique.
+** "Midnight of the Century" - Eerie visions that haunt Black at Christmastime hark back to his troubled youth and lead to a fateful reunion with his estranged father.
-* "Siren" - The seizure of a ship smuggling Chinese immigrants draws Frank Black into a mystery surrounding another passenger: an enigmatic seductress.
+** "Owls" - Mystery and murder surround a search for a piece of the Crucifixion cross that sparks infighting among the Millennium Group.
-* "A Room with No View" - Clues in the disappearance of a bright, outgoing teenage boy point to Frank Black's nemesis: the unearthly, seductive woman who killed Bob Bletcher.
+** "Roosters" - A venerable Millennium Group member links the schism within the organization to the actions of an underground Nazi clique.
-* "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" - Four demons assemble overnight at a doughnut shop and reflect on the havoc they have wreaked on humanity.
+** "Siren" - The seizure of a ship smuggling Chinese immigrants draws Frank Black into a mystery surrounding another passenger: an enigmatic seductress.
-* "The Fourth Horseman" - Frank Black takes a stand against the Millennium Group over its intensified secrecy and its involvement with a deadly contagion to which he has been exposed.
+** "A Room with No View" - Clues in the disappearance of a bright, outgoing teenage boy point to Frank Black's nemesis: the unearthly, seductive woman who killed Bob Bletcher.
-* "The Time is Now" - The spread of a virulent disease coupled with mysterious Millennium Group operations kindle crises that beset Frank Black's friend Lara Means and his own family.
+** "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" - Four demons assemble overnight at a doughnut shop and reflect on the havoc they have wreaked on humanity.
-* "The Innocents" - Frank Black teams up with an intuitive FBI agent named Emma Hollis to probe a plane crash linked to the spread of a deadly plague.
+** "The Fourth Horseman" - Frank Black takes a stand against the Millennium Group over its intensified secrecy and its involvement with a deadly contagion to which he has been exposed.
-* "Exegesis" - The probe of an aircraft disaster leads Frank and partner Emma Hollis to an extraordinarily gifted psychic who is on the run from the menacing Millennium Group.
+** "The Time is Now" - The spread of a virulent disease coupled with mysterious Millennium Group operations kindle crises that beset Frank Black's friend Lara Means and his own family.
-* "Skull and Bones" - The discovery of secretly buried bodies at a construction site in Atoka, Oklahoma reveals an odious connection to the Millennium Group.
+* Season 3 Episodes:
-* "Human Essence" - In Vancouver, Emma takes on a drug case involving her half-sister, an addict who claims that new heroin on the street is turning users into monsters.
+** "The Innocents" - Frank Black teams up with an intuitive FBI agent named Emma Hollis to probe a plane crash linked to the spread of a deadly plague.
-* "Borrowed Time" - Strange fevers endanger Frank's young daughter, whom he believes is being stalked by a sinister man fascinated with near-death experiences.
+** "Exegesis" - The probe of an aircraft disaster leads Frank and partner Emma Hollis to an extraordinarily gifted psychic who is on the run from the menacing Millennium Group.
-* "The Sound of Snow" - Mysterious audio tapes trigger deadly hallucinations in the Seattle area, where Frank's investigation induces visions of his deceased wife, Catherine.
+** "Skull and Bones" - The discovery of secretly buried bodies at a construction site in Atoka, Oklahoma reveals an odious connection to the Millennium Group.
-* "Antipas" - Frank Black's arch-nemesis Lucy Butler resurfaces as the prime suspect in a murder case that involves the supernatural and the demonic possession of a young girl.
+** "Human Essence" - In Vancouver, Emma takes on a drug case involving her half-sister, an addict who claims that new heroin on the street is turning users into monsters.
-* "Matryoshka" - The suicide of an elderly ex-FBI agent leads Frank into a case that uncovers dark secrets and Bureau intrigue at the dawn of the atomic age.
+** "Borrowed Time" - Strange fevers endanger Frank's young daughter, whom he believes is being stalked by a sinister man fascinated with near-death experiences.
-* "Forcing the End" - Leads in the abduction of a young pregnant woman from Brooklyn steer Frank and Emma to a mysterious plot hatched by a fanatical cult that is driven by Biblical prophecy.
+** "The Sound of Snow" - Mysterious audio tapes trigger deadly hallucinations in the Seattle area, where Frank's investigation induces visions of his deceased wife, Catherine.
-* "Saturn Dreaming of Mercury" - Mystery surrounds Frank's new neighbors, a couple and their preteen son whose arrival coincides with erratic, often violent behavior by Frank's daughter Jordan.
+** "Antipas" - Frank Black's arch-nemesis Lucy Butler resurfaces as the prime suspect in a murder case that involves the supernatural and the demonic possession of a young girl.
-* "Bardo Thodol" - Eerie discoveries haunt Frank and Emma on a case involving Asian mysticism, Millennium Group machinations and incredible biotechnological advances.
+** "Matryoshka" - The suicide of an elderly ex-FBI agent leads Frank into a case that uncovers dark secrets and Bureau intrigue at the dawn of the atomic age.
-* "Millennium" - ''X-Files'' agents Mulder and Scully work with Frank Black to stop an associate of the Millennium Group from resurrecting the dead for use in actively bringing about of a zombie apocalypse as a precursor to the End of Times.
+** "Forcing the End" - Leads in the abduction of a young pregnant woman from Brooklyn steer Frank and Emma to a mysterious plot hatched by a fanatical cult that is driven by Biblical prophecy.

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 "Wait.  Worry.  Who cares?  The time is near.  This is who we are.  He sees what the killer sees; his curse is your salvation."  A former FBI profiler with the ability to look inside the mind of a killer begins working for the mysterious Millennium Group.
 ==Details==
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 This series never makes any explicit connections to Lovecraft's fiction, though the apocalyptic themes (compare series slogan "the time is near" to "the stars are right"), the various doomsday cultists and killers, the secret society of supernatural investigators, and supernatural elements seem to be a natural fit for a modern take on Lovecraft (e.g., [[Delta Green]]).
 ''Note:  This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.''
@@ Line 32: / Line 37: @@
 <!--A list of reviews for the work, along with the review's rating (for example, "4/5 Stars") * Author_andor_Location, ([URL link]) - RATING -->
 Review Links:
-* (review needed)
+* [[Ywhateley|Y.Whateley]] - "Regular viewers at the time seemed divided between groups who favored the more down-to-earth detective/procedural/crime elements that characterized many of the first season episodes, the science-fiction/fantasy/horror/weird elements introduced in the first season and given more screen time in later seasons, the Millennium Group conspiracy/mythology stories introduced and explored in the second season, or the ''X-Files'' style monster-of-the-week elements involving lizard people and such found most often in the third season, and the series' attempts to find its identity between these different stories at a time when the series was struggling against ratings and executive pressure and writers' strikes helped contribute to the aimless and uneven feel of ''Millennium'' as the series progressed. The program had a promising if slow and moody start, built on that into the second season by adding elements of science and crime/procedural fiction, flavored with ambiguous religious and supernatural horror imagery, before executive meddling doomed the series to a wildly inconsistent second and third season, which saw far less subtle uses of fantasy/horror/science-fiction elements and constant "retconning" of established show mythology concerning the Millennium Group, which was moved increasingly into the role of an ominous conspiracy and then lost in its own convoluted and inconsistent "kudzu plot" mythos that tended to bog down any episode that tried to explore it.  Still, all three seasons had something to offer to patient viewers, including some real gems hidden among the clunkers."
 ==Synopses of Suggested Episodes==
 <!-- Optional; Objective, unbiased, detailed synopsis of film's plot and themes -->
 Former FBI agent Frank Black tries to stem the tide of violent crime through psychological means. Even though he blames the mysterious Millennium Group, an organization of former law-enforcement officers dedicated to battling crime as the millennium approaches, for the death of his wife, he joins the group in their fight against a conspiracy of seemingly supernatural forces of evil.
 * "Gehenna" - Gruesome cult slayings bring Frank Black to San Francisco, where he experiences a life changing encounter with evil.
 * "The Judge" - Gruesome remains and other evidence provide Frank Black with a lead to a murderous avenger who persuades ex-cons to do his dirty work.