A profile of Millennium episode Dead Letters, 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.
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Welcome Frank.
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Our database lists the following locations for this episode:
Portland, Oregon
Multnomah/Clackamas County, Oregon
Seattle, Washington
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This profile of Dead Letters has been viewed 16039 times and was last accessed on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, 9:04 PM (UTC).
Portland, Oregon
Multnomah/Clackamas County, Oregon
Seattle, Washington
In France, this episode was entitled L'Empreinte de la Mort which translates into English as The Death's Trace.
In Finland, this episode was entitled Hiuksenhieno johtolanka which translates into English as A clue by a hair's breadth.
In Germany, this episode was entitled Heute hier, morgen tot which translates into English as Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.
There are a total of 120 images for Dead Letters available in our Episode Image Gallery.
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A man preys on seemingly random women, making his bloody mark on a world he feels has reduced him to nothing but a number. Investigating on behalf of the Millennium Group, Frank Black finds difficulty on the case in the form of Jim Horn, a partner who is ill-suited to handle the intense horrors the case represents.
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Chris Ellis as Jim Penseyres
James Morrison as Jim Horn
Ron Halder as The Killer
Allison Warren as Officer Sarah Stevens
Michelle Hart as Marjorie Holden
Maria Louisa Figura as Cindy Horn
Lisa Vultaggio as Janice Sterling
Ken Shimizu as C.S.T. Member
Garvin Cross as Patient
Fulvio Cecere as Security Guard (I)
Cooper Olson as T.C. Horn
Anthony Harrison as Det. Jenkins
Andrew Laurenson as Clown
Rob Morton as Lewis
For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me. And what I dreaded has happened to me, I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes. - Job 3:25,26
wait... worry... who cares?
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 Dead Letters episode transcript which has been painstakingly checked for accuracy against the actual episode.
Awakened by a nightmare, Jordan runs to the man who will protect her always: her father. Moments later, Frank is called to the horrific scene of a real-life nightmare, when a woman's dismembered body is discovered in a Portland, Oregon animal shelter. Despite the lack of physical evidence, Frank is certain that the killer has left a hidden message - and that he will kill again.
Penseyres asks Frank to team up with Jim Horn, a Portland detective they're considering as a member of the Group. Competent, experienced, and dedicated, Jim would seem a perfect choice. But a recent marital separation has left him edgy and distracted, and he openly doubts Frank's insights about the killer. Frank is aware of Jim's talents, but also sees the fine emotional line he's balancing on.
The killer disposes of his next victim in the UPS Dead Letter Office. Frank discovers a message painstakingly etched on a human hair: the words "Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow." Now he's beginning to understand the killer's psyche. The murders are the killer's bloody way of making his mark on a world that he feels has reduced him to nothing.
Jim's stress escalates under the pressure. He can't keep the violence outside anymore. Every case is personal. Every victim could be someone he loves, and every killer is a monster. Frank understands; he's been there. But he fears that Jim's loss of control may compromise their investigation.
The killer strikes again, this time a nurse. However in addition to leaving behind another message that reads "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," the killer also leaves behind the lens from his glasses which were broken at the scene. Knowing that the killer is mocking them with the latest message, Frank takes advantage of the killer's arrogance. They release to the press that the killer is of lower intelligence, having mis-spelled ventured "ventered" in his latest message. They anticipate this will provoke the killer into making a bold appearance at the memorial service for the latest victim.
The closer they get to the killer, the closer Jim gets to the edge. When the trap is sprung, Jim savagely attacks an innocent man mistaken for the killer. While the man they nabbed wasn't the killer, they find evidence the killer did make an appearance - a cross with the word "ventured" etched on it is found at the memorial.
After scanning surveillance tapes of those present at the memorial, pictures of suspects fitting the profile are distributed throughout the neighboring area and to optometrists nearby. This results in two leads: the killer's car--a battered orange van he uses as a mobile slaughterhouse-- is identified, and an optician clearly recognizes one of the suspects as a customer. Frank and Jim question the optician, a woman named Janice. Realizing the killer has chosen her as the next victim, Frank lays another trap - using her as bait.
With the pressure building, Jim becomes more unsettled. He sees the van and the killer everywhere. As they're waiting for the killer to take the bait, Jim admits to himself and Frank he can't function. Frank tells him to go home. Jim takes off - only to stage a flat tire in an alley that is the killer's only path to the trap they have set. The killer arrives as expected.
Jim snaps, and the cops arrive just in time to keep Jim from beating the killer to death. Jim's actions nearly cost them the entire case against the killer by rendering the van and its contents inadmissable. Fortunately there is enough evidence of the murders in the killer's home to prosecute. In the aftermath, a subdued Jim asks Frank how he can stay sane amid such dreadful violence. When Frank cradles Jordan in his arms, the answer is obvious.
Penseyres says other Millennium Group members recommend using the Holmes criteria – defining serial killers involving three victims with a period between murders of at least 30 days.
Frank: No sexual mutilation or intercourse with the victim. He defecated and covered his feces – a physiological release but embarrassed. Covered victim's face but not entire head – objectified her, wanted as much of his obsession visible as possible but couldn't have her looking at him, couldn't hear her fear – an indication of remorse, rare to have remorse for a stranger. Expects him to visit her grave, tell her how bad he feels.
There is no background information or references relating to this episode of Millennium.
Dead Letters is the first episode where Frank is paged by the Millennium Group with the simple message, '2000'.
'The Killer' portrayed by Ron Halder, during one scene picks up a pair of tweezers but is immediately seen writing a message on the hair under his microscope.
Credit: The Unofficial Millennium Companion by N.E.Genge
View the 9 available original 1996 Fox Millennium Episode Guide images for this episode of Millennium here.
(Comprised of 3 murders + 0 kills in self defence + 0 justifiable homicides + 0 suicides.)
N.B. Where relevant, unquantifiable groups of victims (such as multiple casualties as a result of a plane crash) are represented by a group count of 1 due to the impracticalities with listing so many unidentified persons.
(View Millennium's Violence - Deaths, Killers, Victims and Criminality Analysis)