MilleniuM Uncensored

[Raven Wolf]

For me Millennium worked better by NOT showing gratuitous sex and violence. It was far more disturbing to let it play in your mind, of what was happening off screen. You can play with an audience like that, letting them bring more to the scene a lot more. And I think, if anything, more blood and guts would have turned more people off.

I remember Lance saying in an early interview that he would have liked to be able to use more language, in terms of swearing, which would be more realistic in certain circumstances. But in many ways it was the characters restraint that gave them nobility and allowed viewers to relate to them more, in a show that was for the time, very cutting edge and very disturbing to a lot of people.

If it was made today in a new series or film, i would like to see that restraint continuing. Its an element of what made the show special.

You make an excellent point here. And, perhaps I should clairify. Sheer blood and guts like we see in movies like "Scream" are a real turn off. It would have to be handled carefully. Such as, in the movie Se7en, they did not SHOW what happened to cop's wife at the end. They never SHOWED that guy kill her, or show her head in a box, but the IMPLICATION was enough to finalize the horror.

[Guest Moriarty]

You make an excellent point here. And, perhaps I should clairify. Sheer blood and guts like we see in movies like "Scream" are a real turn off. It would have to be handled carefully. Such as, in the movie Se7en, they did not SHOW what happened to cop's wife at the end. They never SHOWED that guy kill her, or show her head in a box, but the IMPLICATION was enough to finalize the horror.

Yeah but on a sidenote: there was enough gore in Se7en earlier on in the movie. I mean, the guy who was kept on his bed for a whole year, the fat man at the beginning etc... But I get you point Raven: better an implication of horror than showing the horror itself.

[Guest Frank L.]

Yeah but on a sidenote: there was enough gore in Se7en earlier on in the movie. I mean, the guy who was kept on his bed for a whole year, the fat man at the beginning etc... But I get you point Raven: better an implication of horror than showing the horror itself.

The gore in the beginning of the movie is still a result of the killers actions. They never show him doing those things. The implication of horror works really well with the "Lust" and "Envy" murders. Think about the "Lust" murder. It's horrible.

Showing too much gore will scare off regular viewers, except for the gore-lovers. New movies like Slither, Hostel and The Devils Rejects show gore to shock people. MillenniuM wasn't about this. I've heard several filmmakers like Rob Bowman and Steven Spielberg say: what you don't see is always scarier than what you do see. I agree. MillenniuM cleverly used Frank's (fast moving) visions to add some shock.

[4th Horseman]

You make an excellent point here. And, perhaps I should clairify. Sheer blood and guts like we see in movies like "Scream" are a real turn off. It would have to be handled carefully. Such as, in the movie Se7en, they did not SHOW what happened to cop's wife at the end. They never SHOWED that guy kill her, or show her head in a box, but the IMPLICATION was enough to finalize the horror.

Erin...great points here..implied violence is far scarier than seeing an axe thru the noggin...why is it that Twilight Zone continues to be popular to this day? Its because Rod Serling was the master at psychological terror. Hitchcock was, with the exception of Psycho, made from the same mold as well. Se7en had such a great, great ending...you didnt see anything but the box, but you KNEW what was it in...it leaves us the option of thinking just how we would react in such a situation...

4th Horseman..

[Guest jimmy b]

Erin...great points here..implied violence is far scarier than seeing an axe thru the noggin...why is it that Twilight Zone continues to be popular to this day? Its because Rod Serling was the master at psychological terror. Hitchcock was, with the exception of Psycho, made from the same mold as well. Se7en had such a great, great ending...you didnt see anything but the box, but you KNEW what was it in...it leaves us the option of thinking just how we would react in such a situation...

4th Horseman..

From what i have seen of the series so far, (series1 and the first 4 episodes of series 2) i think the series has just the right level of violence , and having Frank say a swear word every 5 minutes, or to show ANY nudity is going to be nowhere near as impactful as the fact that in the episodes i have seen so far Frank just has to speak loudly for the viewer to know somethings amiss, which is something very few shows have nowadays ( god i sound old ) !!!!!

Thats just my thought , i think tv veiwers are so de-sensitised to most things these days getting them to think is a major way to be more in your face !!!!

jimmy

[Guest elithia_caymen]

From what i have seen of the series so far, (series1 and the first 4 episodes of series 2) i think the series has just the right level of violence , and having Frank say a swear word every 5 minutes, or to show ANY nudity is going to be nowhere near as impactful as the fact that in the episodes i have seen so far Frank just has to speak loudly for the viewer to know somethings amiss, which is something very few shows have nowadays ( god i sound old ) !!!!!

Thats just my thought , i think tv veiwers are so de-sensitised to most things these days getting them to think is a major way to be more in your face !!!!

jimm

True, what wasn't shown in Millennium is what was scarier. Then realizing there are people out there like those characters is the thing that completely scares the crap out of you (several Millennium episodes reminded me to be much more careful in my daily wanderings). Plus letting it get in your mind is not a good thing....has anyone ever watched season 1 in a weekend? Not good. I think Millennium was a sort of groundbreaker for the shows that came along later (esp things like nip/tuck) and basically now it would be almost considered tame. Anyone remember the ep "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" where CC & Co. really got their feelings out about how they felt about network censors? Millennium was just ahead of its time.