Abyss Ratings for "Jose Chung's 'Doomsday Defence'" through "The Pest House"

[4th Horseman]

I have to lean towards Morianty's point of view here. I never did pick up on this, but I agree with another poster who said it is just a matter of perception. I will have to review some of the scenes mentioned with this point in mind, but I can say that I viewed the "hand grasp" in MOTC as Lara expressing compassion for Frank as someone who is coping with some of the same difficulties she has experienced with her gift, and offering her support and letting Frank know she cares deeply for him and Jordan and is there for him. At the end of The Time Is Now, when he mentions that only Lara understood, I always thought this was also a reference to both of them having a "gift". Just my opinion, but I never did get the romantic vibe between these two.

MIB - i think you will have a slightly different viewpoint when you go back and review. They shared a common bond, each to their own gifts, seperate yet striving for the same purpose. It was certainly not blatently overt, and i still feel it was more onesided towards Lara, but there were moments when it seemed glimpses of attraction...again, ZF and i have a different perception...

4th

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

MIB - i think you will have a slightly different viewpoint when you go back and review. They shared a common bond, each to their own gifts, seperate yet striving for the same purpose. It was certainly not blatently overt, and i still feel it was more onesided towards Lara, but there were moments when it seemed glimpses of attraction...again, ZF and i have a different perception...

4th

Yes, I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for that next time I watch these episodes. They are among my favorites (including Goodbye Charlie), so it's only a matter of time until I will be watching them again, and it's always fun to have a few added points of interest.

[Raven Wolf]

I think it's funny that the only one EVERYONE agreed upon was The Mikado!

[Viivi]

I have to lean towards Morianty's point of view here. I never did pick up on this, but I agree with another poster who said it is just a matter of perception. I will have to review some of the scenes mentioned with this point in mind, but I can say that I viewed the "hand grasp" in MOTC as Lara expressing compassion for Frank as someone who is coping with some of the same difficulties she has experienced with her gift, and offering her support and letting Frank know she cares deeply for him and Jordan and is there for him. At the end of The Time Is Now, when he mentions that only Lara understood, I always thought this was also a reference to both of them having a "gift". Just my opinion, but I never did get the romantic vibe between these two.

Agreed.. I've always thought that there was "just" a deep understanding and a beautiful friendship between Lara and Frank, without anything romantic.

[Guest Moriarty]

If it was the writers their intention to hint these romantic feelings it is just bad character writing. Frank deeply loves Catherine and I do not think that he would have feelings for another woman. Some people tend to say that the writers from the third season almost destroyed the character of Peter Watts in that season. But really, just think about it, if M&W intended to hint at romantic feelings between Frank and Lara it would be complete madness. Here's a guy that tries to create a secure environment for his beloved wife and daughter. Tries to get evil away from them. That was the point of season one. And then, in season two they would want the viewers to believe that he has a thing for another woman? That's just insane. I am not a M&W fan but I can't believe that they did such a thing. But if they did it is just bad bad bad writing. That's my feeling about it.

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

I think it's funny that the only one EVERYONE agreed upon was The Mikado!

Yes, I guess this is a case where everyone recognized perfection. I have always considered it one of the very best.

[Guest betweenthelines]

Not one bad episode in the bunch, that's for sure. The level of quality does vary from episode to episode, but I liked them all. My favorites are 'Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense' and 'Midnight of the Century'. The former is very creative and nothing like any of the previous episodes that aired beforehand. Favorite moments include the "this is a homicide, not a funeral" sequence alone, the references to the pilot episode, and the mockery of Scientology (just another reason why "Millennium" is ahead of its time). The only thing I didn't like was the ending, only because I was sorry to see Jose Chung go.

Now on to 'Midnight of the Century': not sure what to say about this one. I'm not sure how Frank's mother died, or why she did nothing to try and prevent it, but that's not so much a complaint as a question. Guess it's time for a rewatch...

I'm not sure I would give 'The Mikado' five stars. I do enjoy the episode, but not to the point where I'd give it a five-star rating. This only goes to show that we can't agree on anything, apart from enjoying the show in general :D. I liked 'The Pest House' for what it was: a simple horror/mystery story. Nothing complex or earth-shattering, just something that was moderately entertaining.

[Guest NighTrekr]

The Mikado has to be the most overrated episode of Millennium in my opinion. Absolutely laughable from beginning to end. Even if you somehow corrected all of the jaw-dropping inaccuracies about computers and the internet, am I supposed to buy that Frank just happened to be working the Zodiac Killer case as a rookie? (That's basically who Avatar is, and earlier versions of the script actually used the real ZK.) And at the end, how did the killer manage, in the space of a few seconds, to run from the top of the stairs, get his latest victim into place and pointing the gun in the right direction (from god knows where he had her stashed) and THEN disappear without a trace? Give me a break.

The core idea isn't terrible (a murderer broadcasting his crimes over the web) and it has its moments, but the overall execution is just inane. Add in the fact that, unlike most of the killers seen during the show's run, Avatar has little to no motivation. He's supposed to be scary, but by failing to make him a complex, real character like the other killers, he just comes off as cartoonish.

I'm guessing they were positioning Avatar as Millennium's Donnie Pfaster and never got the chance to revisit the character, but that doesn't make the episode any better. I'd give it a 2, tops.

[Beerbelch]

BEER---> Too bad you feel that way. I'd rate in the top 3 of eps. Ya gotta remember this was done almost a decade ago, concening internet exposure. The story line was good. I kept waiting afterwards for Frank to have another go at Avatar.

BELCH

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

The Mikado has to be the most overrated episode of Millennium in my opinion. Absolutely laughable from beginning to end. Even if you somehow corrected all of the jaw-dropping inaccuracies about computers and the internet, am I supposed to buy that Frank just happened to be working the Zodiac Killer case as a rookie? (That's basically who Avatar is, and earlier versions of the script actually used the real ZK.) And at the end, how did the killer manage, in the space of a few seconds, to run from the top of the stairs, get his latest victim into place and pointing the gun in the right direction (from god knows where he had her stashed) and THEN disappear without a trace? Give me a break.

The core idea isn't terrible (a murderer broadcasting his crimes over the web) and it has its moments, but the overall execution is just inane. Add in the fact that, unlike most of the killers seen during the show's run, Avatar has little to no motivation. He's supposed to be scary, but by failing to make him a complex, real character like the other killers, he just comes off as cartoonish.

I'm guessing they were positioning Avatar as Millennium's Donnie Pfaster and never got the chance to revisit the character, but that doesn't make the episode any better. I'd give it a 2, tops.

Welcome to the forum NighTrekr. I had a few problems with the episode myself, but overall, especially given the time it was done, I give it a 5 out of 5. The computer and Internet stuff was a stretch at times, but as belch mentions, the episode was done a decade ago. One additional problem I had was that, without any real analysis or study, Frank says, in a matter of fact way, that the Internet killing is real, and not a hoax, and this is based mainly on a grainy still photo of the murder that was printed out on a home printer. I would have to re watch the episode to comment on the timeline at the end, but now that you mention it, he would have had to be pretty quick to do all the stuff you mention. Still though, I am pretty picky, and overall, it is one of the better episodes for me, even with the imperfections. I think maybe they should have hired a computer/Internet geek as a technical consultant for the computer stuff though.