Beware of the Dog

Season:

2

MLM Code:

#MLM-202

Production Code:

5C02

Original Airdate:

1997-09-26

Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Allen Coulter
Edited by George R. Potter

A retired couple driving along a country highway pull their R.V. over to the side of a road outside of a town so small it's not on their map. As they begin to turn in for the night a pack of dogs invades their motor home and kills them.

Peter Watts attempts to contact Frank regarding the attack as Frank is taking Jordan home to Catherine. Ignoring his pages, Frank and Catherine discuss their living arrangements. Catherine has decided to take Jordan and live with a friend and since Frank is already living in an apartment by himself, they discuss selling the house and the implication of that action.

Watts finally reaches Frank after he's returned to his home, and urges him to take the case. Frank dismisses the deaths as the result of a wild animal attack. Cryptically, Watts insists Frank investigate further, "It's time you go there, Frank."

Frank arrives in "Bucksnort" and, looking for a hotel, enters the adjacent diner. There he encounters some local townspeople who mistake him for their new sheriff and warn him to return before dark. Sticking out from the rest of the locals is Michael Beebe who later explains his recent relocation to the area as an attempt to escape the crime-ridden streets of Los Angeles. Thinking that he is the new sheriff, Michael asks Frank to investigate his elderly neighbor, whom he believes is connected to the attack.

Instead, Frank inspects the crime scene at the R.V. Just as the sun dips below the horizon, he notices a pack of five dogs descending from a nearby hill. Frank returns to the hotel, and discovers he has been locked out and those inside ignore his pleas for assistance. As he searches for shelter the dogs ferociously attack. Frank fights his way to his car and heads for a small hospital, hitting and killing one of the dogs in the process. Despite Frank's frantic pleas that he has been injured, he is again ignored by those inside the hospital. An elderly man stops his truck and retrieves the dead dog. The other dogs trot away, following the vehicle.

After he passes out, the townspeople finally help Frank into the hospital. Believing he is unconscious they discuss the town "situation" and its recent disturbances. Frank however is conscious and begins to think that there are greater forces than wild dogs at work in Bucksnort.

Early the next day Frank makes his way through a forest and comes upon several obelisks near an embankment. As Frank pauses, Michael Beebe emerges from nearby bushes. Almost simultaneously, dogs appear on the embankment ridge. The same old man appears and Frank asks him to call off his animals. The old man laughs "They're not my dogs." But the animals leave the area nonetheless. As Frank looks down to the obelisk he picked up as a defense he notices that it is etched with the ouroboros-the symbol of the Millennium Group.

Confused by the apparent graveyard, Frank searches out the Old Man in his shack. They speak of the Millennium Group, the history and meaning of the ouroboros and most importantly the Millennial event. The men walk to a nearby clearing where the Old Man encourages Frank to approach the growling dogs who have gathered. As he complies, Frank is struck by several internal images: his wife, Jordan, his home, etc. Frank eyes the dogs, the incarnation of evil, and stands his ground. The animals back away. Frank has passed the test.

The Old Man explains that the equilibrium between good and evil has grown increasingly out of balance with the approach of the Millennium. Frank realizes the dogs started attacking after Beebe constructed his home on previously protected property, upsetting the delicate balance. The Old Man states that the "crime" Beebe ran away from in the city is not evil-but the fear that kept him trapped inside his home, inside his tiny world, is the evil.

Afraid that the dogs will kill Michael Beebe, Frank tells him that he must move out of his house. Beebe balks at the idea. As he asks Frank to leave they discover the dogs have surrounded the house. The Old Man enters and insisting it's the only way, sets fire to the dwelling, burning it to the ground.

Back at his yellow house, Frank removes a "For Sale" sign from the lawn, telling Catherine that they can't give up on the idea of the house and that they'll move back "when it's a home again."