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Millennium:
For this show, it's already the end of the world.
It's almost
impossible to turn a show around after it begins a creative collapse.
It's not unheard of for shows to improve as their first season unwinds
and the writers find their feet. Even Seinfeld evolved in
the beginning, and the pilot didn't even include Elaine.
But when a series
moves the other way, the decline can be irreversible. Let's face
it, they don't dink around with a show that's dominating the ratings.
They only do it when the show is struggling, and that means there
isn't a lot of room for mistakes.
You have a small
fan base to begin with, and they obviously enjoy the show already.
So the worst case scenerio is that you change the show, the loyal
fans hate the direction and you don't attract any new viewers.
I think in the
industry, they're referring to that as "The Millennium Dillema."
Millennium
has always been a show in search of a premise. Even before it debuted,
the series was described as a variation of "Silence of The Lambs."
Frank Black would be a profiler, an FBI agent who had tunneled into
the minds of the sick and murderous, and who ultimately somehow
lost his soul. Creator Chris Carter described it as a show that
"examines the nature of good and evil. And one man's efforts to
find his way."
But by the time
it debuted, Millennium was already shifting into another
direction. NBC's Profiler
had debuted with a similiar premise, and Carter used the similarity
to move the show into a darker direction. Much of the first season
followed Frank and his struggles to hold his family together. Ultimately,
every episode resembled the same cookie-cutter approach: a cute
opening scene with Frank and his family; he's drawn into some sort
of serial killer/obsessive murderer case with the police; Frank
ultimately gets the guy and more often than not creeps out his wife
(Megan Gallagher).
By the end
of the season, the show was in ratings trouble and they brought
in two new producers, hot from The X-Files. The duo promised
changes, and they weren't kidding.
Megan Gallagher
was slowly weaned out of the show, only appearing in a handful of
episodes. They also beefed up the mysterious "Millenium Group,"
allowing the organization to develop an actual identity. While the
episodes careened wildly over the first couple of months, by early
spring the show had developed a clever backstory that for once made
sense. The Millenium Group was an organization that had a history
more than 2,000 years old. They believed in variations of biblical
prophecy, in an upcoming apocolyptic vision that the world was due
for a disaster of mind-numbing proportions. The only question was
whether or not any segment of society should be saved.
Each week brought
a new revelation, and wheel inside wheel was revealed. The fascinating
aspect was that it was all based on snippets of actual Jesus-era
writings and scripture. Shadow groups battled each other, and Frank
found himself being torn between various factions and his family.
He was slowly drawn into the abyss, unable to discern the true nature
of good and evil. And when the season ended, Frank had discovered
that the group was as evil in its own way as any other organization.
The
final story arc hinted that in fact the group had released
a lethal plague onto the world, in an effort to move the upcoming
disaster along. The season ended with a haunting scene in a remote
cabin. Catherine was presumably dead from the virus, and the radio
was crackling with voices begging for help. The Group had killed
several people working with him, and his cohort Laura was in captivity,
completely insane. Even his long time associate Peter Watts was
possibly in danger, stopped by guards when he attempted to save
Laura. All Hell had literally broken loose.
But despite
some creative triumphs, the show was in serious trouble. ratings
hadn't improved, and the show was close to cancellation. The series
lost another set of executive producers, and ultimately the only
way Fox would bring the show back was if Chris Carter would promise
to move the program into a more straight-forward mainstream direction.
When Carter signed his new deal with Fox, he made that promise,
as well as a pledge to take a larger role in the day-to-day producing.
The result is
a show that's likely to please no one, a pale imitation of Carter's
X-Files that strips out everything that was compelling about the
show.
While last season
ended with a biblical bang, the new year brings a sadly normal situation.
Frank and his daughter are living in Washington D.C., and while
he is grieving for his dead wife, the overall plague is now just
resigned to a horrible blip on the horizon. Despite what the season
finale depicted, the ultimate death toll was only around 70. Frank
is attempting to fit in again, while battling his demons.
The season debut
is a two-parter, recounting an airplane crash that turns into another
tangle with the group. But while Peter Watts spent all last season
struggling with his devotion to the organization, his brief appearances
this season turn him into an evil, brooding mystery man, a complete
tool of the group. Much of the past two years of his life have been
tossed away.
Even more troubling
is the overall direction of the story. Frank just drifts in and
out of scenes, moping in only long enough to point the FBI in a
new direction before moving on. He's thrown together with a new
partner, a Scully to his Mulder, a young agent who is idealistic
and driven to uncover the truth. They are being groomed to be fellow
travelers in a battle with the group, yet their scenes together
are devoid of chemistry or any interest whatsoever.
All of which
leads to a very bland and slickly mysterious drama. And one that
is frustratingly obvious. Characters seem to do things for no other
reason than to advance the story, without any apparent underlying
or logical motivation. The show ends up as some sort of hellspawn
combination of The X-Files and Nash Bridges. It's
all car chases and bullets and cardboard characters.
I'll probably
continue to watch the show, but only if I have the option of taping
it and fastforwarding through the inevitable annoying parts. Sometimes
to save a show, you have to just let it go.
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