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Maranatha - Millennium Episode Profile

A profile of Millennium episode Maranatha, synopsis, images, credits, related trivia and facts plus the original promotional trailer where available. The episodes follow the original US TV Air Date/DVD box set order which is most familiar to the majority of fans.

Please note that our episode, cast, character and crew profiles may contain potential spoilers if you have yet to enjoy the entire series of Millennium.

 

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Millennium Episode Trailer


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Episode Locations List

Our database lists the following locations for this episode:

Chernobyl, U.S.S.R. (Pripyat, Ukraine)

Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York

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Millennium Episode Profile Stats

This profile of Maranatha has been viewed 14601 times and was last accessed on Thursday, March 28, 2024, 7:58 AM (UTC).

Episode Info

Title:

Maranatha

MLM Code:

#MLM-120

Production Code:

4C20

Season:

1

Original Airdate:

1997-05-09

Nielsen Rating:

6.3

Episode Music

Episode Locations

Chernobyl, U.S.S.R. (Pripyat, Ukraine)

 

Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York

 



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Alternative Episode Titles

In France, this episode was entitled Yaponchik which translates into English as Yaponchik. [View all]

In Finland, this episode was entitled Tshernobylin sanansaattaja which translates into English as Messenger of Chernobyl. [View all]

In Germany, this episode was entitled Der Schwarze Mann which translates into English as The Black Man. [View all]

Random scenes from Maranatha

A random scene from this Millennium episode Maranatha.
 
A second random scene from this Millennium episode Maranatha.
 
A third random scene from this Millennium episode Maranatha.
 

There are a total of 105 images for Maranatha which are available in our Episode Image Gallery.

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Awards Won

  • Sadly Maranatha didn't win any awards.

Award Nominations

  • Unfortunately Maranatha didn't receive any award nominations.
 

#MLM-120 Maranatha

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An image from Millennium: Maranatha.

Episode Summary

Frank Black and Peter Watts investigate a series of brutal killings in the Brighton Beach Russian community of New York City, killings that are linked to the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. The shotgun slayings seem to be the work of mysterious Russian diplomat Sergei Stepanovich, a man recognized by the local immigrants as Yaponchik, a mythical Russian figure destined by prophecy to be revealed as the Antichrist.

Main Crew

Written by Chip Johannessen
Directed by Peter Markle
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.

Main Cast

Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts

Guest Stars

Bill Nunn as Lt. McCormick
Boris Krutonog as Yura Surova
Levani Outchaneichvili as Yaponchik

Supporting Cast

Dmitri Boudrine as Andrei Pietrovich Melnikov
Michael Aniol as Priest (II)
Michael Cram as Paramedic (I)
Beverly Pales as Torch Singer
Bill Croft as Broadface
Brian Downey as Medical Examiner (I)
Roger Haskett as E.R. Doctor (I)

More...

Quotation/Proverb

Behold ye scoffers, For I will work wonders in your days, Which ye will not believe. - Book of Habakkuk

Seasonal Episode Tagline

wait... worry... who cares?

Biblical Reference

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. - Revelation 8:10-11

Synopsis

Please note that this is the original Fox synopsis and occasionally this may differ from the events that were actually filmed. Please also view the Maranatha episode transcript which has been painstakingly checked for accuracy against the actual episode.

In the Brighton Beach area of New York City, a man named Yaponchik kills a Russian Elder by shooting him in the face with a 12 gauge pistol. It becomes the third such killing in which the perpetrator mutilated the body to prevent positive identification. Frank assists N.Y.P.D. Lieutenant McCormick, Yura Surova, from the Moscow Police Department, and undercover officer Andrei Medikov with the investigation. While inspecting the Elder's corpse, Frank notices an odd mark in the shape of a inverted "V." But he is unable, at first, to determine its meaning.

Frank enters the Novgorod, a nightclub frequented by Russians, where Yura and Andrei are supposedly working undercover. Yura approaches Frank, and while they talk, a man known as Yaponchik sits down with Andrei and points a 12 gauge pistol at his face. One of the Russian clubgoers recognizes Yaponchik, and calls out his name. Suddenly, a stampede of screaming people rush for the exit. During the confusion, a shot rings out. Frank rushes to the table where Andrei was sitting, and discovers his faceless body on the ground.

Yura explains to Frank that the name 'Yaponchik' is synonymous with evil, a kind of Russian bogeyman. Later, Watts confirms that the symbol discovered on a victim's body is a portion of the monogram of Christ. He also states the Russian people believe Yaponchik was responsible for Chernobyl, a disaster some believe is predicted in the Bible. Frank examines a photograph of Yura and Andrei standing next to one another at Chernobyl. He realizes both men were at the power plant in 1986, and both believed in the Yaponchik prophesy. Later, he accuses Yura of staking out the night club for the sole purpose of assassinating their prey--the mythological Yaponchik.

A priest identifies one of the killer's victims as a woman who restores religious icons. Frank, Watts and the priest inspect the woman's loft, where they discover several parcels wrapped for shipment, addressed to the Russian Consulate. Frank realizes the dead woman had discovered Yaponchik's identity, and was sending him religious icons as an offering. Frank also concludes that the man known as Yaponchik killed his victims to fuel the myth of his existence--creating even more terror amongst those who believe in the prophesy.

Frank and Watts pay a visit to the Russian Embassy, where they deliver an icon to the man the parcels were addressed to: Sergei Stepanovich. They address him as Yaponchik, who tells them they are fools for believing Russian superstition. Later, Lieutenant McCormick warns Frank and Watts that Stepanovich is protected by diplomatic immunity and cannot be prosecuted even if he is the man responsible for the murders. Frank concludes that Yura, Andrei and the Priest were all stalking Yaponchik, who they believe is the Antichrist.

Yaponchik kills two more men inside a Russian bath house, but this time Yura is there. Yura steps forward with a gun pointed at Yaponchik's head. Yaponchik tells him he can't kill him. Yura shoots Yaponchik in the head, mortally wounding him.

Near death, Yaponchik is rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. As Frank observes the carnage at the bath house, he realizes Yaponchik received the same mortal head wound as predicted in the Book of Revelation. Prophesy dictates that the Antichrist is man who will miraculously survive a fatal head wound. Fearing Yaponchik's wound might heal, Frank and Watts make their way to the hospital. Yura, however, arrives first. He approaches Yaponchik's bedside, pulls out his gun and prepares to shoot his enemy once again. But Yaponchik convinces him that he is "not the one." Accepting his words, Yura lowers the weapon and helps Yaponchik access the hospital's Medevac pad.

Frank, Watts and the Lieutenant rush to the rooftop, but a barred security gate blocks their access. As a helicopter lands on the roof, Frank shouts to Yura through the security gate, urging him not to board the craft. Several broad-faced men step from the helicopter and usher Yaponchik on board. Several other men attempt to grab Yura and pull him away, but Yura grabs onto Frank and the gate. One of the Broad-Faced men starts to pull a gun from his belt, but the Lieutenant and two other officers draw their weapons in a stand-off. The Broad-Faced men retreat to the helicopter, which soars off into the sky.

Background Information and References

Chernobyl accident From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Chernobyl accident occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union). It is regarded as the worst accident in the history of nuclear power. Because there was no containment building, a plume of radioactive fallout drifted over parts of the western Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, UK, and the eastern United States. Large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated, resulting in the evacuation and resettlement of roughly 200,000 people. About 60% of the radioactive fallout landed in Belarus.

The accident raised concerns about the safety of the Soviet nuclear power industry, slowing its expansion for a number of years, while forcing the Soviet government to become less secretive. The now-separate countries of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been burdened with continuing and substantial costs for decontamination and health care because of the Chernobyl accident. It is difficult to accurately tally the number of deaths caused by the events at Chernobyl, as most of the expected long-term fatalities, especially those from cancer, have not yet actually occurred, and will be difficult to attribute specifically to the accident. A 2005 United Nations report attributed 56 direct deaths; 47 accident workers and 9 children with thyroid cancer, and estimated that as many as 4,000 people may ultimately die from long term accident-related illnesses.

However, this report was contradicted by a 1998 World Health Organization (WHO) report, which counted 212 dead among only 72 000 "liquidators" (of a total of approximately 600 000), and an April 2006 report by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) (who were awarded the 1986 Nobel peace prize), which counted tens of thousands dead among the liquidators.

Chernobyl and the Bible

Because of a controversial translation of "chernobyl" as wormwood, some people believe that the Chernobyl accident was mentioned in the Bible:

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. - Revelation 8:10-11

The story appears to have spread to the West with a New York Times article by Serge Schmemann (Chernobyl Fallout: Apocalyptic Tale, July 25, 1986) in which an unnamed "prominent Russian writer" was quoted as claiming the Ukrainian word for wormwood was chernobyl.

The name of the city comes from the Ukrainian word for mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), which is chornobyl. As a result, chornobyl has been translated by some to simply mean wormwood. This translation is a matter of controversy.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Episode Trivia

The helicopter Yaponchik utilizes for his escape from the hospital rooftop is labeled on its underside with the registry number 666, the number noted in Revelation to be the mark of the Beast.

This episode's closing is unique in that it represents the only occasion, in sixty-seven episodes, that the final scene fades to white instead of black. Frank Black opens a door and steps into blinding white light and, in what is a negative inverse of the traditional closing, the executive producer credit that ends the episode appears as black text on a pure white background.

Credit: Brian Dixon, The Millennial Abyss

Episode Bloopers

In the helicopter at the end of the episode: Yaponchik gets on the helicopter with his face wrapped in bandages. The next scene, as the copter takes off, some else is sitting in the window seat. Then Yaponchik is seen sitting at the window again.
Credit: Fourth Horseman of TIWWA

In the scene in which Frank and Peter visit the New York consulate of the Russian Federation, they're ushered into a reception room containing a fairly prominent portrait of Mikhail Gorbachev. But Gorbachev's political leadership ended with the end of the Soviet Union and communism in 1991, so the portrait should have been of then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

I noticed this obvious error when the episode was first broadcast in 1997, and have always wondered if it was somehow deliberate (a stylistic touch or maybe an inside joke), given that they got so many other nuances right.
Credit: David Hand

Original Fox Promotional Episode Stills

View the 4 available original 1996 Fox Millennium Episode Guide images for this episode of Millennium here.


Mortality Count: 
6 Deaths


(Comprised of 6 murders + 0 kills in self defence + 0 justifiable homicides + 0 suicides.)

NB. Where applicable, large groups of victims (such as multiple victims in a plane crash) are represented by a count of group count of 1 due to impracticalities with listing so many unidentified persons. For enhanced details, see the Violence Markers below.

Violence Markers

  • Yura Surova was responsible for the attempted murder of Yaponchik during this episode of Millennium (Maranatha).
  • Yaponchik was responsible for the murder of Russian Mob Guy during this episode of Millennium (Maranatha).
  • Yaponchik was responsible for the murder of Galina during this episode of Millennium (Maranatha).
  • Yaponchik was responsible for the murder of Detective during this episode of Millennium (Maranatha).
  • Yaponchik was responsible for the murder of Andrei Pietrovich Melnikov during this episode of Millennium (Maranatha).
  • Yaponchik was responsible for the murder of unnamed man in sauna (1) during this episode of Millennium (Maranatha).
  • Yaponchik was responsible for the murder of unnamed man in sauna (2) during this episode of Millennium (Maranatha).

(View Millennium's Violence - Deaths, Killers, Victims and Criminality Analysis)