A Chinese hello

[Guest Django]

Ni hao everyone.

I was a big fan of Millennium when it aired & thought it never got its due. Lance Henriksen has always been good in whatever role he was in. I taped most of the show on its original airings but since DVDs I never use the VCR anymore and whats more all those tapes are back in the US. I moved to China in late 2004 and this place is a paradise if you like DVDs. I bought all 3 seasons for under 30 U$. After buying them I only watched some of the ones that stood out in my mind like Somehow Satan, Room With a View & Jose Chung. Recently I went back & started watching the seasons in order. I'm quite surprised at how well they hold up & what a special time it was. This was right before the internet became a household item. It was kind of funny to see Roddicker get all excited for a T1 line in "The Mikado." When I first moved here I had a roommate & he got hooked on the show.

From reading a lot of the different posts it seems fans can be divided into 2 camps, those for & against season 2. At the time I remember really enjoying season 2 but that feeling has changed since watching them again. I do think there were some stand out shows in that season but I don't think Morgan & Wong knew what they were getting themselves into. I enjoyed the conspiracy stuff on the X-Files but that too fell into the same trap. Where was the payoff? What were they envisioning?

I enjoyed listening to Carter explain how the season got away from him because it made a lot of sense. I'm sure in researching for the X-Files he learned about the workings of FBI agents & he wanted to show something different than the conspiracy stuff. He was working on a more serious & altogether scarier premise. These were crimes capable of happening by real people, a true evil if you will. Frank has to deal with this all the time & his only salvation is his family. How can he live in both worlds, especially when he knows his family is a target (polaroid man)? Carter based the Millennium group on a bunch of real life heroes who do have to face this kind of horror, The Academy group.

Because of the growing popularity & some of the irreverence found in the X-Files, I think many fans wanted the same kind of feeling in Millennium. I remember after the 1st season an Entertainment Weekly column gave tips on how to save certain shows & they had suggestions for Millennium. If I remember correctly bringing in Morgan & Wong was an idea in that article also. Anyway I think the Millennium being a conspiracy was an all too easy move that wasn't as planned out as it should have been. Once they went in that direction Carter's vision of the Millennium group was gone. I think you can see the frustration in Henriksen in some of the interviews. They didn't want the group to be evil.

How can M&W justify the Millennium group knowing the identity & keeping track of the Polaroid killer especially after he abducts Catherine? Frank losing his family, despite wrenching up the drama, really takes away his only hope. After the virus what were M&W going to do? Catherine meeting her end was terribly moving but also felt hollow because it felt a season ending stunt. Perhaps M&W felt the show was too dark & wanted to lighten it up. Little did they realize how ahead of the curve Millennium was considering the success of shows like CSI & all the profiler type shows since.

After the return of Carter & others for season 3, they really were behind the 8 ball in terms of where to go. I find the regular cases far more interesting than the mythology stuff in Millennium. Seasons 1 & 3 have a sensibility that I enjoy far more than the vague conspiracies of season 2, although at the time I really enjoyed the conspiracy stuff when it aired. Possibly because it felt like it was building to something. However seeing their work since I don't think M&W had any idea of what that would be.

Despite the change there are some really terrific episodes in season 2. I think Millennium's influence can also be seen in a number of shows right now. The cold brutality of murder & clinical nature of autopsies & profiling are found in the CSI shows while the mythology episodes of an evil group turn up in Lost. This was a wonderful show. The performances, the look & sound of the series are always great and its too bad that it went through such radical changes & never found the audience it deserved.

Looking forward to talking more in depth with you about this show.

[Guest betweenthelines]

Welcome to the board, Django. You bring up some interesting points. From what I've read about this show, the writing staff thought that the second season was going to be the last one. Hence the Marburg plotline. When asked what he and his writing partner would have done in Season 3, James Wong only said something about "more end-of-the-world stuff". Who knows if they actually came up with any full ideas...?

Regardless, I wasn't too fond of Season 3. There were some great episodes ('Antipas', 'The Sound of Snow', '...Thirteen Years Later', 'Collateral Damage') but the grim, off-kilter atmosphere I enjoyed so much about the other seasons was taken away. I felt like the show was replaced with a standard cop drama with characters from "Millennium" making an appearance.

[The Old Man]

Welcome to our Millennium forums! What a great post! I too think you've summed up the fans feelings really well there. Look forward to chatting with you around the board!

This is who we are

[Guest gmcp]

That's quite an introductory post! Welcome to TIWAA!

Debates over the seasons can get quite political here, but we all love 'em all!

[Guest ___ L@the_of_Heaven___]

Ni hao everyone.

I was a big fan of Millennium when it aired & thought it never got its due. Lance Henriksen has always been good in whatever role he was in. I taped most of the show on its original airings but since DVDs I never use the VCR anymore and whats more all those tapes are back in the US. I moved to China in late 2004 and this place is a paradise if you like DVDs. I bought all 3 seasons for under 30 U$. After buying them I only watched some of the ones that stood out in my mind like Somehow Satan, Room With a View & Jose Chung. Recently I went back & started watching the seasons in order. I'm quite surprised at how well they hold up & what a special time it was. This was right before the internet became a household item. It was kind of funny to see Roddicker get all excited for a T1 line in "The Mikado." When I first moved here I had a roommate & he got hooked on the show.

From reading a lot of the different posts it seems fans can be divided into 2 camps, those for & against season 2. At the time I remember really enjoying season 2 but that feeling has changed since watching them again. I do think there were some stand out shows in that season but I don't think Morgan & Wong knew what they were getting themselves into. I enjoyed the conspiracy stuff on the X-Files but that too fell into the same trap. Where was the payoff? What were they envisioning?

I enjoyed listening to Carter explain how the season got away from him because it made a lot of sense. I'm sure in researching for the X-Files he learned about the workings of FBI agents & he wanted to show something different than the conspiracy stuff. He was working on a more serious & altogether scarier premise. These were crimes capable of happening by real people, a true evil if you will. Frank has to deal with this all the time & his only salvation is his family. How can he live in both worlds, especially when he knows his family is a target (polaroid man)? Carter based the Millennium group on a bunch of real life heroes who do have to face this kind of horror, The Academy group.

Because of the growing popularity & some of the irreverence found in the X-Files, I think many fans wanted the same kind of feeling in Millennium. I remember after the 1st season an Entertainment Weekly column gave tips on how to save certain shows & they had suggestions for Millennium. If I remember correctly bringing in Morgan & Wong was an idea in that article also. Anyway I think the Millennium being a conspiracy was an all too easy move that wasn't as planned out as it should have been. Once they went in that direction Carter's vision of the Millennium group was gone. I think you can see the frustration in Henriksen in some of the interviews. They didn't want the group to be evil.

How can M&W justify the Millennium group knowing the identity & keeping track of the Polaroid killer especially after he abducts Catherine? Frank losing his family, despite wrenching up the drama, really takes away his only hope. After the virus what were M&W going to do? Catherine meeting her end was terribly moving but also felt hollow because it felt a season ending stunt. Perhaps M&W felt the show was too dark & wanted to lighten it up. Little did they realize how ahead of the curve Millennium was considering the success of shows like CSI & all the profiler type shows since.

After the return of Carter & others for season 3, they really were behind the 8 ball in terms of where to go. I find the regular cases far more interesting than the mythology stuff in Millennium. Seasons 1 & 3 have a sensibility that I enjoy far more than the vague conspiracies of season 2, although at the time I really enjoyed the conspiracy stuff when it aired. Possibly because it felt like it was building to something. However seeing their work since I don't think M&W had any idea of what that would be.

Despite the change there are some really terrific episodes in season 2. I think Millennium's influence can also be seen in a number of shows right now. The cold brutality of murder & clinical nature of autopsies & profiling are found in the CSI shows while the mythology episodes of an evil group turn up in Lost. This was a wonderful show. The performances, the look & sound of the series are always great and its too bad that it went through such radical changes & never found the audience it deserved.

Looking forward to talking more in depth with you about this show.

Welcome Django! (Great name BTW! I'm trying to collect all the GOOD Django films; so far I have the very rare 'Django the b*******' )

You offer some good thoughts and insights; I agree with you about the group becoming evil. However, I'm afraid it sounds like you fall into the 'STUFFY, ULTRA-LINNEAR WUSSY faction'...

So, you know what THAT means...

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

Welcome Django! (Great name BTW! I'm trying to collect all the GOOD Django films; so far I have the very rare 'Django the b*******' )

You offer some good thoughts and insights; I agree with you about the group becoming evil. However, I'm afraid it sounds like you fall into the 'STUFFY, ULTRA-LINNEAR WUSSY faction'...

So, you know what THAT means...

L@the, remember that discussion we had about taking it easy on the newbies ? If we have to have this discussion again, you will be sent to bed without your Twin Peaks dwarf "fear jello".

[Guest ___ L@the_of_Heaven___]

L@the, remember that discussion we had about taking it easy on the newbies ? If we have to have this discussion again, you will be sent to bed without your Twin Peaks dwarf "fear jello".

DAMN! Sorry...

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

DAMN! Sorry...

LOL, I'm sorry, I take it all back. I just can't bear to see the "sadangel" icon. It's heart breaking.

[Guest ___ L@the_of_Heaven___]

LOL, I'm sorry, I take it all back. I just can't bear to see the "sadangel" icon. It's heart breaking.

Does that mean I DO get my Fear Jello...??? Heh heh...

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

Does that mean I DO get my Fear Jello...??? Heh heh...

Yes, but only if you dance like the Dwarf does in the dream.