MillenniuM: Reviews

Actress Klea Scott on her character's ending: “I was hurt when I learned that Emma Hollis had agreed to be part of the Millennium group. We had no say in what the writers did with our characters. We found out when we read the scripts. I was ashamed, I was overcome with a real sense of shame.”

Once again, I can't help but draw a similarity between Millennium and X-Files. The X-Files had its first possible ending, namely the final episode of season 5, “The End”, which was a satisfying ending, even if not of an exceptional standard.
But with ratings still buoyant, X-Files will be renewed for a sixth and seventh season, filmed in sunny Los Angeles, which will immediately cause the series to lose its British Columbian charm. The new X-Files ending will be the season 7 finale, “Requiem”. But here too, ratings are still good and the series is renewed once again. It was the ninth season that brought the series to its (first) real end, with the episode “The Truth”, a mediocre ending but one that had the merit of closing the chapter. Unfortunately, years later, Fox relaunched a 10th and then 11th season which ended the series with a most horrific ending, with Dana Scully still pregnant at far too advanced an age.

In short, Chris Carter's series have the merit of ending in the gutter, and the same thing will happen to MillenniuM, even if the characters won't be as distorted, due to the fact that the series will only have lived for three seasons.

A penultimate episode that simply doesn't measure up to what's at stake.

Another bad episode, fortunately the last in the series, which focuses on giving us a personal and, of course, uninteresting side of Agent Hollis. To be forgotten.

Another very bad episode, with this time again foreign customs and a very bad soundtrack by Mark Snow, who, as always, drowns us in exotic sounds, which only makes the episode more irrelevant and notably a little sound effect on two notes on the flute, which is looped in every episode of the genre. Horrifying.

Another boring episode. Nothing more to say. I'm glad it's almost over.

And another bad episode, again with paranormal phenomena in which Jordan throws tantrums at a character she thinks is evil.

We're back to a string of bad episodes. This one is particularly bad, with the story of a pregnant woman kidnapped to steal her baby. The ending is atrocious: a sinking helicopter, the secondary characters watching from below - a sequence worthy of the worst TV series.

An episode to forget. Boring flashbacks for a boring story.

After an extremely poor start to the season, MillenniuM is suddenly back in the spotlight with three excellent episodes in a row!
This episode sees the return of Lucy Butler, and it all works very well. I particularly liked the mansion and the story, which, though simplistic, works very well.

Just as in the previous episode, this episode's teaser is perfect. But here, it's even better. I simply adored this prequel, which shows off the beauty of the genre and makes us want to see the episode. A woman drives through a Canadian forest at night and finds herself in the middle of a snowstorm, which is really only happening in her head. The technical work is simply remarkable, with the road turning to ice and bursting open, before a truck speeds up to interrupt the reverie.
This episode is a total success. The script, the sounds, the story, though paranormal, is simply brilliant. Evil audio cassettes are sent. So brilliant and impossible in today's digital world.

An episode with some good ideas in its opening sequence. But the structure of the series is now so bad that the sauce no longer takes.

This episode is simply excellent. From the very first minutes, it's clear that this is going to be an interesting and focused episode.

Skip it.

This episode is a real pleasure. First of all, it opens with a sequence that takes its time. What a treat! We're so used to fast-moving series - we have to keep the audience on its toes for the commercial breaks - that having a simple sequence with no music and no dialogue is quite refreshing. Perhaps that's the other side of the coin, too, as composer Mark Snow composes so much music, sometimes it'd be better to have none at all.
But moving on, “The Curse of Frank Black” is a plunge into the night, a mise en abîme in which we, like Black, lose ourselves. Plunges into the dark are often complex, with moments of hope followed by flashbacks. This is what Frank is once again confronted with.
Without a doubt, one of the best episodes of the series.

Right from the teaser, I was surprised to see an episode dealing with incest and sexual abuse of minors. We enter a family home where everything seems happy at first glance. The family is watching a movie, but suddenly, as everyone goes to bed, horror spreads over the family. The subject matter here is excellently handled and I also appreciated, as in the previous episode, the fact that Frank Black's wife, Catherine, comes to the fore. I have to admit that after episodes 2, 3 and 4, I was dreading a dull series. Episodes 5 to 8 prove that this is not (always) the case.

An excellent episode, with strong scenes and always conducted with a kind of production ethics. MillenniuM is not CSI. The subject is respected and the scenes are written, acted and directed with the necessary time.

In this very good episode, Frank Black works as a duo with a policewoman. The result is interesting, as it allows Frank to talk and move the episode forward in a more constructed way than with a variety of characters. Of course, this takes away from the originality, but it shows that in police shows, male/female duos often work better than a single character.
In the end, the episode is fairly similar to the previous one, and that's very positive.

This episode uses classic TV codes: a serial killer detonates bombs. The hero must find him. It's suspenseful, and we're a little more interested in what we're watching.

An episode in every way similar to episodes 2 and 3. Everything is dark, slow and, yes, boring. I don't think many would dive back into rewatching these episodes with relish.

A dull episode of endless character chatter.

By the second episode, the series' problems are, unfortunately, already apparent. Frank Black isn't a practicing cop, so the emotional tension is lessened. Sure, he's acting to save his family. But the task seems truly futile, given the number of murders committed every day on American soil.
The other problem is that Lance Henriksen has to take sole responsibility for the series, while the other characters are merely second-rate. And what is the show's strength - its darkness and atony - makes the episodes, yes, I'll say it, sometimes soporific.
Gehenna is a relatively dull episode, which doesn't augur well for the rest of the series, especially as the order book is so intense that, 25 years later, it seems impossible, namely seasons of 22 to 23 episodes.
Lance Henriksen recounts the anecdote following the shooting of the pilot, which took a month to complete: “I said 'Chris, this is fantastic. Are we going to do this for every episode?' and he said 'No, we shoot every episode in eight days.'”

Back in time. The year is 1996. We're in the second half of the 90s, and American producer and screenwriter Chris Carter is on a roll. His series “The X-Files”, currently in its fourth season, is in full swing, not only on the Fox network, but also across the globe, including in France, where M6 is taking advantage of this success to air the series over and over again in prime time, despite episodes that are often violent or simply gory.With success opening all doors, Carter was offered the chance to produce a second series. This would be “MillenniuM”, a series that is still too little known today, but which definitely deserves a closer look.

THE MONSTERS AROUND US
For this new series, Chris Carter draws heavily on the films “Silence of the Lambs” and “Seven”, as well as the “X-Files” episode “Irresistible”, which featured a serial killer without the paranormal element expected in that series. Chris Carter explains the genesis of the series: “The original idea for MillenniuM developed slowly. Fox was looking for a new series, and I'd done an episode of X-Files that I really liked. It was about a serial killer, without the paranormal dimension. There was a supernatural element, but it wasn't paranormal. It made me think of the monsters that surround us, the people who queue up with us at the supermarket, who we meet at the post office. We don't know anything about them.

FRANK BLACK
Chris Carter continues: “I had the idea for the Frank Black character, and it took shape slowly, but I was under a lot of pressure. I was doing research in Seattle for this project. I knew the series would be set in Seattle, but I didn't know what it would be, even though I'd told the network and the studio otherwise,” he says with a smile. Carter wants to tell “the story of a former FBI agent and (use) the idea of prophecies, Nostradamus. I wanted to use apocalyptic millenarian poetry. We added that to the idea of this character, a man who wants to stop everything but can't. That was all part of the project. Those were all the elements of the project. It didn't require a lot of research. I wanted one murder story a week, but I wanted cohesion. Something that would be like a premonition of the end of the millennium, the idea that something would happen. I wanted to exploit these murder stories with a millenarian twist.”
Carter uses one of the hallmarks of the X-Files: a story line that goes beyond the simple weekly episode. In his favorite series, his main character, FBI agent Fox Mulder, investigated monsters of all kinds, but also had an interest that went beyond these stories: his sister had been kidnapped. As the episodes progressed, a whole mythology would be built up, making the series greater than the mere sum of its episodes.

THE MILLENNIUM GROUP
Here, Carter uses the fear of the end of the millennium. True, purists will say that the end of the millennium will arrive on December 31, 2000 and not December 31, 1999, but apart from this anecdote, it's undeniable that at the dawn of a new millennium, a certain fear takes hold, propagated in particular by the fear of the famous “Y2K bug”, with certain computer experts explaining that many computers are not programmed to handle four-digit years and that, consequently, computers will stop working as of January 1, 2000.
Chris Carter decided to set up a group of former police officers. Entitled the Millennium Group, this group will regularly collaborate with police departments to apply their knowledge and resources.
The group will be led by Terry O'Quinn, the actor most famous for his role as John Locke in the Lost series. Still sporting his fine moustache at the time, he will star opposite Lance Henriksen in the title role. Lance is best known for his role as the cyborg in Ridley Scott's Alien, and his face bears his character's tortured features. He will play the role of the profiler to perfection.

NOT A PSYCHIC
But don't make the mistake of thinking that “MillenniuM” is a paranormal series. Frank Black is an atypical profiler, but he's not a soothsayer, and certainly not a psychic. The flashes he perceives are the fruit of his experience and exacting sensitivity. As series co-producer Frank Spotnitz confirms: “At least for me, and I think for Chris, we never wanted to get into the supernatural. It was more about showing the extreme sensitivity of some people and the monstrosity of others.”
In the early days, the series played with the viewer by constantly walking a fine line. However, as the years went by, some of the writers took the easy way out and wallowed in an abusive use of the paranormal and the character's gift, even though the pilot was very clear.

S01E01 - THE PILOT
Written by Chris Carter, directed by David Nutter
Broadcast with great fanfare on October 25, 1996, the pilot episode was preceded by a major advertising campaign by Fox, eager to build on the success of its flagship series, X-Files.
So, from the very first episode, the die is cast. Chris Carter plunges us into the darkness and confirms what is now becoming his trademark. He had already accustomed us to murders of all kinds in the “X-Files”, and here he plunges even further into horror.
Indeed, the series' darkness is apparent right from the opening: the images are black, the subjects macabre. In this first episode, a serial killer cuts off his victims' heads, immolates them and, most horrifying of all, sews their eyes and mouths shut before burying them alive. Yes, there's no laughing in MillenniuM, and that's the appeal - unhealthy? that's another debate for another day.

Of course, one can't help but draw comparisons with “X-Files”. Mulder and Scully formed a duo that could be described as “pop”, for want of a better expression. Here - and this is the strength, but also the problem, of the series - there's nothing pop, nothing catchy. It's hard to get excited about Frank Black. Played with an absolute, ferocious calm, the main character is tortured and, unlike Fox Mulder, doesn't have a youngster's look. Youngsters won't be putting up posters of Frank Black in their pre-teen bedrooms. Carter explains, through his new character, that horror is in all of us. In this respect, the series is groundbreaking, coming as it does before the cable series that would push the boundaries, usually out of sheer commercial appeal. Indeed, at the time, “MillenniuM” was broadcast on one of the main channels in the United States, and it seemed unacceptable for the broadcaster to allow scenes of people being buried alive. But at the time, Fox was enjoying phenomenal success with “X-Files”, which gave the leading producer of the moment some leeway. When you're successful, you can limit concessions.

With its substantial budget, the pilot is simply excellent. Directed by the brilliant David Nutter (“Frontiers of Reality”, “Game of Thrones”), the episode has a cinematic dimension that makes me think the pilot could easily have been made into an excellent film. Mark Snow's soundtrack brings an excellent, atmospheric quality to the whole episode - the composer usually offers a lot of music for a single episode, compared to other series of the moment. One of the reasons why the music of the first season of X-files was so masterful was that Mark Snow's music, set against images of monsters and UFOs, was highly nostalgic, with its repetitive use of slow, high-pitched piano notes. Here, Mark Snow pulls off another tour de force, with a quirky soundtrack too. This is evidenced by the most striking sequence of the episode - and of the series - when Frank Black and his friend Bletch discover the living body of a person buried alive. Instead of a naturally somber soundtrack, Snow offers a score that is both sad and defeatist, in the image of Frank Black as a mature, tortured character, and this time uses the violin.
The use of a synthesizer instead of a real violin is regrettable, but by this time, the orchestras of the 70s series had been replaced by the synthesizer, for obvious reasons of cost.Finally, less important, but the series, through these elements as well as a strong musical theme, definitely finds a form with the beginnings of sequences starting with a still image.

The only question that remains, when watching the episode, is this: are we faced with a television concept that allows for the repetition of scenarios within the same framework? Certainly, there are three elements: the main character's visions - an ethereal aspect that reminds us of many “X-Files” episodes - as well as the secret group Frank Black seems to be working for and, finally, the threats Frank Black receives through polaroids sent to his home. The contrasts between the darkness of the outside world and Frank's sunny home environment are striking.
The time has come to launch the series for a full season of 22 episodes.

After two very different seasons, and a second-season ending that could easily have been definitive, Fox, against all odds, decided to renew Millennium for a third season. Gone are Glen Morgan and James Wong, Chris Carter returns as producer and decides to return to the series' roots, i.e. less focused on mythology and more on weekly murder stories. However, there's a big problem. It's not possible to erase what happened in the previous season. The Millennium Group altercations, Catherine's death - what's left?

A NEW PARTNER
The writers decided to add a new character to the series, a female agent. She will be FBI agent Emma Hollis, played by Klea Scott. In terms of casting, we can applaud the producers' desire not to choose a luscious blonde. No, Klea is a young black woman who doesn't fit into the codes of the genre, and we can only appreciate the decision.
Unfortunately, I think that casting Klea Scott was a profound mistake. She'll never be able to break through with her character, who's mired in a wobbly position that almost becomes the show's trademark. There's no choice on MillenniuM. The Millennium group is poorly defined, we play with consultants, and roles and situations are easily interchangeable, resulting in a feeling of flatness. As Martine Aubry would say, when there's a blur, there's a wolf... (Sorry for the probably misplaced political quote).
By pairing a female FBI agent with the profiler hero, the producers are trying to get closer to the X-Files. Can we blame them? Yes and no. On the one hand, we can understand the desire to reuse the strings that work. It's important to remember that a series has, in financial terms, only one goal: to generate advertising revenue.

But on the other hand, MillenniuM loses its substance and basic interest by trying too hard to resemble the X-Files. And it's easy to imagine viewers losing patience and stopping following a series that has no backbone.

1999
In all, I count only three excellent episodes. Out of twenty-two, the tally is more than meagre and will not allow the series to continue, having lost its way along the way. Which is ironic, because this is 1999. MillenniuM was a detective series whose main theme was the fear of the end of the millennium. Ironically, the series did not see the new millennium and was cancelled in 1999, at the end of its third and final season.
Until the early 2000s, most series filmed around 24 episodes per season. Clearly far too many, with the cast and crew often on the verge of burnout.
Ironically, then, MillenniuM, a three-season series, has more episodes than Breaking Bad, a five-season series, which has only 62 episodes.
From this point of view, the fact that MillenniuM stopped after the third season is nothing to deplore.

2x01
Five months have passed since the end of the second season, and we find Frank Black consulting for the FBI. Catherine is no more, and we can easily imagine that Frank's only reason for continuing in this world is quite simply his world: Jordan, his daughter and only child.
After a first season that created its trademark dark, unadorned murder story, the second season, helmed by brothers Glen Morgan and Jim Wong, established a mythology and an ethereal atmosphere. Here, we're trying to turn back the clock, but it's too late. There's no going back, the elements no longer allow it.

At the same time, Catherine's absence is not used in any way. This formidable springboard could have taken us even further into the depths, with Frank Black unable to take his own life because he's still Jordan's father. Unfortunately, the first episode takes a big leap forward and starts with a new, dull investigation. We only experience the story through what the characters tell us, a fine beginner's mistake.
As for Britanny Tiplady, the little actress playing Jordan, she's growing up before our very eyes - or cameras - and as she loses her innocence, her performance becomes more thoughtful and, unfortunately, less spontaneous.
Season 3 thus opens with an episode that returns to the codes of the usual series. Suddenly, the flavor of MillenniuM seems to have disappeared. Agent Hollis tries to fill a kind of void. But everything has changed and nothing is possible anymore. The yellow house, Catherine and Bletch are gone.
To be continued...

This opening, pilot episode is the most dark I've ever seen.
Chris Cart offers us here a true visual tour de force and creepy scenario.

The characters are so well studied, elaborated. Of course we fall in love with Lance Henricksen's charism.

The photography remind us the X files, but much more in dramatic intensity. This show, and maybe this episode in particular, is really not for kids, even teenager. Or if it has been, it is sure than the teenager we were would understand it completly in different way in nowadays.

The final scene is just horrible and put this show very far beyond many x files epiode in the darkness. But it is nevertheless a pleasur to watch. The progression, the investigation... all is well done!

10/10

This episode is a must see. The amviance of end of the world, of wild forest, the suspense with the dogs. For someone who, like me, would be afraid of dogs, this episode takes you off. I love the fear that this episode gives me. The story begins very well, but unfortunately the end ends up in little fish, which is so bad when you see the quality of this episode.
It's really one of the jewels of this series. Very black, in the continuity of the first season, with in addition a spiritual renewal. Henricksen is perfect!However I don't understans the end, this episode is really in my top ten.
I give him an 9/10!

The pilot of MillenniuM was a revolution, but too ahead of its time. The prime time television was not ready for this.

20 years later, this episode is still a masterpiece. That means that it is a timeless classic. So a 10.

No doubt.

Two women escape from prison, in a sometimes interesting but too often pointless episode. This season has definitely lost its way.

Another soporific episode. The lighting is constantly bright, the substance of the series evaporates. And Mark Snow plays his exotic score again...

A very bad conclusion to this pseudo-mythology. The Nazis were the bad guys. Literally. What a lack of imagination.

This episode takes us further into the mythology of MillenniuM. The problem is that this mythology isn't interesting. I can't get interested in Jesus' cross, and I don't find the dialogue with Peter Watts exciting.
Note that this is the first time the episode has ended on a cliffhanger (without it being a season finale).

The opening sequence is uninspired: a couple in a car (stopped in the middle of a bridge...) are attacked by a serial killer. The X-Files did much better in the first season.
The episode is no more interesting and, once again, tries to find its way. Of the consultants investigating, we feel no tension, because we know they can stop as soon as they like and go make a sandwich. Compare this with the investigations of Fox Mulder, who was not only a dedicated FBI agent, but was also passionate about his investigations and had a personal interest, in the search for his missing sister.

Technologically, the series is at the forefront. Frank uses his computer in ways that are not yet possible, but which, in 2021, seem totally logical. He talks into his computer, does advanced research and so on.
Always at the cutting edge of technology, MillenniuM offers us here, during the infancy of the Internet, a murder broadcast live on the web. I don't know if this was the first series to deal with this subject, but it's certainly avant-garde.
The episode is easy to watch, even if once again it's a far cry from the darkness of the first season, which was the show's strength.

The episode shows us Frank Black in Alaska, and we can't help feeling that this season is a drastic departure from the first. Time goes by and we get further and further away from the pilot. The problem is that there's no framework. Frank being a consultant, he has few if any rules to follow, and this makes the series too fluid. Everything is permitted and, in fact, there are no limits to be crossed.
Fox Mulder was regularly belittled and threatened by his superiors, Walter White had a very specific goal, Lost's lost had a purpose, and so on. Here, Frank Black flits from one investigation to another, with or without his wife, with or without the group's approval. It just doesn't work and the series is doomed to fail.

An episode that could have been interesting because of its subject: deciding one's own end. The subject is treated in an original way, nevertheless, the episode works moderately, as often in MillenniuM. The episode isn't very interesting and the open conclusion even less so.

After the Halloween special, here's the Christmas special. Here too, as in the previous “special”, the concept works, focusing on Frank's childhood. It's very interesting to see how his daughter has inherited his extra-sensitivity. But is this a good idea? It confers more on the gift than the work, and is reminiscent of “The Phantom Menace”, when Qui-Gon Jinn explains that strength is transmitted in the blood...
Note Darren McGavin as Frank Black's father, who was supposed to play Fox Mulder's father in X-Files - and who ended up being the character who created the X-Files in the '50s.
Darren McGavin played the lead in Night Kolchak, the series that inspired Chris Carter to create the X-Files.

This episode is written and directed by Darin Morgan, the notoriously rare but always brilliant X-Files writer (and sometimes producer and director). Darin Morgan was the one who first dared to write an episode with a humorous tone.
Of course, Morgan did exactly the same for his first episode on MillenniuM. Not only did he reuse his codes, he even reused a character, writer Jose Chung.
Unfortunately, the result isn't up to the man's standards and goes off in multiple directions, without really finding itself.
One of the problems, in my opinion, is that the episode takes place entirely indoors. It's suffocating. The episode eats itself up and delivers a half-failure, or half-success, depending on the mood of the day. But I'll have to come back to it one day.

Frank Black and Peter Watts head off to Germany in search of the origins of the MillenniuM group. One thing's for sure, the Morgan/Wong duo are not afraid to try something new. It doesn't always work, but at least they're not just lining up autopilot episodes. They create a mythology and go all out. A case in point is the plot twist, when the character played by CCH Pounder points his gun at Frank.
Nevertheless, as much as I applaud the courage of the writers, I didn't particularly enjoy the episode.

I didn't like this episode, which shows us a psychic Frank Black, who sees an Indian mask at a construction site and directly deduces that the crime was committed in a hotel cellar. Really bad.
The clichés about Indians don't help the episode, which has a lot in common with the “Shapes” episode from the first season of the X-Files, which also failed to deal with Native Americans in any way other than cliché. Fortunately for the X-Files, the masterful “Anasazi” changed all that. But enough about the X-Files.

An interesting episode with children. The relationship between Catherine and Frank is very mature and far from the usual clichés.

Not a memorable episode.

The comet from the previous episode resurfaces. Clearly, this is a detective series with substance, not just a weekly killer.
Nevertheless, the episode itself is very bad and similar to its title (translated as “Watch out for the dog”). The episode tells the story of two nasty dogs...
Nevertheless, the teaser is very strong, as is the part where Frank Black is filmed with Vancouver's famous mining museum in the background.

After a dark first season, Millennium returns for a second season in which everything changes, for better or worse. John Peter Kousakis (co-executive producer): “The seasons have changed dramatically over the three years of the series. In the first season, Chris Carter was very involved in the project, and the series followed his ideas. The emphasis was on crime and solving it through the eyes of Frank Black, through his investigations and profiling methods. We also talked about his life with his family and at home because he was getting back into crime investigation after trying to quit.” Series creator Chris Carter is currently producing Millennium, season 5 of X-Files, as well as the big-budget movie based on the series (dubbed “Fight the Future”). He can therefore no longer decently continue to produce Millennium, leaving the reins to the duo of Glen Morgan and James Wong, the two writing partners who already have a good number of X-Files episodes to their credit.

TABULA RASA
The friendly duo with the diabolical ideas are going to wipe the slate clean and change the lines. In doing so, they'll depart from the spirit of the pilot and give the series a whole new dimension.
Ken Horton (co-executive producer): “For season 2, Jim and Glen wanted to... They felt that the serial killers had monopolized season 1. They wanted to dig deeper into the idea of the Millennium group. So they created a mythology and it became a kind of knightly sect with a past.”
From the very first episode, it's clear that Morgan & Wong have grasped what Millennium could be, giving it a stronger scope, and aren't afraid to change things up. In the same episode, Frank Black and his wife Catherine will separate, an element that both does justice to the story - Frank has killed in a very violent way, which his wife can't accept - but plunges our hero into even more tortured turmoil. As a viewer, I found myself missing the yellow house, which is pretty crazy, considering we're only in the second season. Most series often follow the same structure in the second season. But let's remember that, a few years earlier, X-Files also saw a major shake-up in its second season: Mulder's informant, the notorious Deep Throat, was murdered, the Office of Cold Case was shut down, Agent Dana Scully was kidnapped.
The difference was that X-Files was able to return to its original structure fairly quickly, while Millennium continued to search for itself without ever finding itself. We won't find the little family in the yellow house again, which I think is a mistake, even if history undoubtedly vindicates the duo. Because Millennium is about the end.

THE END IS NEAR
We no longer fear the end of the millennium, but we can all get closer to the end of the end. Our own, that of our loved ones, our children, our parents, grandparents and friends. That of our bodies, each day drawing closer to a miserable end in an immutable and continuous decrepitude.
Frank Black knows he has no right to happiness, yet he tries to hold on to it, helped by the unconditional love of his wife and daughter, his only refuge in the yellow house that contains happiness.
But here, too, the yellow house's paint is peeling, revealing the stains of weathered, crumbling wood.
First, Frank sees the disappearance of Bob Fletcher, his old friend and colleague, who will die in the basement of this yellow house, which will never be the same after this tragedy.

S02E01 - THE BEGINNING AND THE END
In the very first episode, Frank Black comes face to face with the person who has been sending him and his family polaroids. Unlike the previous episode, the cast is better chosen here, with Doug Hutchinson in the role of the token villain, previously seen in “X-Files” (“Squeeze” and “Tooms”) as well as “The Green Mile”, Frank Darabont's adaptation of Stephen King's short story.
Frank leaves home, and nothing will ever be the same again - or so we're told.

Unfortunately, the final episode of the first season is a monumental failure. The script itself isn't bad, but the casting of the episode's main character is an abject failure. Coupled with highly unintuitive direction, the result is a missed opportunity, as this episode reveals who the character is behind the polaroids Frank Black has been receiving since the pilot episode (or not...). Once again, televisual anticipation leads to disappointment.

SUMMARY OF SEASON 1
In the end, this first season is a real punch, a real pleasure, but also, at times, a profound bore. Today, many series can be watched season by season. Here, watching the entire first season of MillenniuM in just a few days dragged me down, and I have to say I was particularly depressed. So I suggest that anyone wanting to discover MillenniuM should not watch the series all at once, but space out the viewings, which will only make the journey more interesting, even if longer.

Without doubt the worst teaser of the first season, with the explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in a special effects sequence that would have worked much better if it had simply been removed. Sometimes, you just have to accept failure and not dig your own hole.

Once again, an excellent episode that's both simple and interesting.

An episode as complex as its title, which I didn't find very interesting.

Written by Chris Carter, this episode marks the return of the boss! With Chris Carter back at the helm, he cuts to the quick, literally and figuratively. This episode shakes things up by sending a serial killer into Frank Black's house, then killing off Bletch, arguably the best secondary character in the series so far. As is often the case, drastic choices in series are leaps into the void. On the one hand, they bring a necessary and often interesting focus to the story, but, on the other, things can never be the same again. The question is always the same: are the changes made at the expense of the series' future?

An excellent episode that gets off to an extremely strong start, with Frank Black apparently imprisoned in a psychiatric asylum.
This episode shows that MillenniuM can be more than just a weekly crime series.
Mark Snow's soundtrack is the best of the season so far.

An episode that made no impression on me, despite John Finn's fine performance as the family man he claims to have killed.

A very good episode in which Frank Black sees his sister-in-law kidnapped. The fact that his immediate family is affected makes the episode very interesting.

A flashback of Frank Black as an FBI agent. Very interesting, even if it's so dark that you get lost in the gloom.

An interesting episode, notably for Brad Dourif's participation, even if it lacks punch.

An episode about sexuality that unfortunately only works halfway through, notably due to the countless reflections of the cops in this episode. Inappropriate, despite good acting.

As in the previous episode, the show is neither original nor exciting. It's worth noting, however, the excellent choice of having CCH Pounder in a semi-regular cast.

A really bad episode where everything sounds wrong, starting with the fake accents used by the actors. A dud.

This first season is definitely very interesting. This episode is again very similar to the previous one, with a criminal who takes an interest in little girls and sneaks into houses during visits, and stays there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the night. This makes the episode very striking.

Finally, a Y2K episode. Makes sense. And the introduction is very good. But it's now an FBI agent series, and by moving closer to the X-Files, we lose the originality that made MillenniuM.

Agent Hollis has a tragic past. His sister was murdered as a child. This becomes truly distressing when you consider that Fox Mulder's character, an FBI agent, saw his sister abducted as a child. Need I even mention that Emme's sister was named Melissa? Like Dana Scully's murdered sister? MillenniuM's solution is clearly not X-Files.

Another dull episode. Kristen Cloke's character was definitely a bitter failure.

An episode a little less bad than the previous ones, with only one interesting sequence, namely Agent Hollis being buried alive. Unfortunately, she is rescued...

The episode is perfect right from its teaser, which shows us a more-than-expected originality. A woman tries to escape her attackers, each of whom is wearing protective gear. I'd never seen anything like it. Shortly afterwards, the kidnapped person is held, but on her stomach. Again, this makes the scene original and therefore interesting.
The episode is dark and close to the substance of the pilot.
Of particular note is the excellent performance by the actress playing Peter Watts' daughter.

Another failure. A sequence of a train plunging into a river, a total failure. Another paranormal phenomenon. Nothing interests me anymore.
Jordan is on the verge of death and drowns even though she's not underwater, a gimmick already used in the excellent third-season X-Files episode “Oubliette”.
It was an ambitious episode, but once again the magic is lost.

This episode is undoubtedly one of the worst in the series. The third season takes us even lower.
The episode kicks off with a paranormal phenomenon that could easily have been an X-Files prequel. A group of gangsters shoot a mobster in the forest. Suddenly, a mysterious creature gives him back his life. It was clear that Millennium would be a series without paranormal phenomena. So be it.
A total failure that ends with a most distressing PowerPoint sequence. Zero points.

Unfortunately, this episode focuses on Agent Hollis and tries to make us believe that this smooth character could be a drug addict. Of course, everything comes back to normal at the end of the episode. What a disappointment. This season is a profound bore.

A serious episode, both in subject and treatment. But again, the Black-Hollis pairing doesn't work and makes for an unmemorable episode.

Klea Scott is hanging on to Frank's every word, and it's not interesting. End of a double episode. The series is a shadow of its former self. Goodbye to all that.

We're starting to hit rock bottom, with an episode that's meant to be funny, but in a pooh-pooh kind of way. It's like a very bad version of a very bad Agatha Christie novel. Once again, the world of television production is shown in a distressingly clichéd light. I can't see any point to this third season. Note the totally bizarre appearance of the rock band Kiss, notably in the concert sequence, but also throughout the episode, in which each musician plays a small role.

The Morgan & Wong duo offer us their latest episode, which could easily have been (should have been?) the last in the series.
The episode is a real success, ending the chapter in a truly original and satisfying way.
This is evidenced by the ten-minute musical sequence, which shows us the end of Kristen Cloke's character. Her character, whom I've never liked, at least had an exceptional ending here. Bravo. We can breathe!

BEST OF THE SEASON
The Curse of Frank Black
The Mikado
A Room With No View
Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me
The Fourth Horseman
The Time Is Now'

For his second episode of the season, Darin Morgan delivers an episode that works much better. From the very first second, the episode hits the nail on the head and keeps on stringing beads. The episode is very similar to “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster”, in that they each evoke the meaning of life. A great success.

Written by Ken Horton, Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Here, at last, is an excellent episode, long overdue since “The Curse of Frank Black” (16 episodes ago!). A teenager is kidnapped by Bletch's killer, killed in the first season.
Everything about this episode is interesting. The form is excellent, the ideas are good and hit the nail on the head. A case in point is the music playing on a loop in the place of imprisonment. A brilliant idea, perfectly executed.
Personally, I've always had a soft spot for stories of abduction and imprisonment, not least for the narrative dynamics that are de facto set up.
Secondly, the fact that the kidnapping is carried out by a woman is highly original.
The conclusion had me on the edge of my seat, and I hesitate to describe it as botched. At least it leaves the door open to Bletch's killer.