The Pest House

[HighPlainsDrifter]

THis is my second viewing of The Pest House. In my first viewing of it, i wasnt too impressed. This time i enjoyed it. I think its a hidden gem. Great acting by Micheal Massee and Melinda McGraw!

Question i have is Edward another one of legions minion?

i know Frank try to explain who he was but when Dr.Stoller saw him change into three people, i have to say he is a demon

[Guest Laurent.]

I must agree about the acting on this one! It really was great, as was the atmosphere. As far as those kind of horror stories and urban legends goes, I think this one is great. Even if it is not the most brilliant Millennium episode it sure is a scary one.. I remember the first time I watched it, right after seeing The Mikado, I had shivers in my spine the whole time.

[Guest Faustus]

I must agree about the acting on this one! It really was great, as was the atmosphere. As far as those kind of horror stories and urban legends goes, I think this one is great. Even if it is not the most brilliant Millennium episode it sure is a scary one.. I remember the first time I watched it, right after seeing The Mikado, I had shivers in my spine the whole time.

Yeah, I agree. I just watched it again the other night (first time in years), and I thought it was pretty cool. Good is a jumo-out-of-your-seat sort of way. Some people seem to argue that it wasn't in keeping with the season, but I think it is a nice breather from a lot of the over-arcing plot lines.

As for the legion issue, I personally think not, but I get the impression the writers/producers were being deliberatly ambigious.

[Guest Jim McLean]

As for the legion issue, I personally think not, but I get the impression the writers/producers were being deliberatly ambigious.

I would suggest that its not ambiguous, but a red herring. We go through the episode - especially the final battle presuming its a demon issue, when in fact, its not quite as simple. Frank says Edward's intentions were good, not evil, but the evil consumed him.

I suppose you could see it as being a demon thing if you see the transfer of evil being akin to say Bob in Twin Peaks; that while Edward was good, he'd dipped into the pool and now was controlled by what he had fought, but in actuality, I think we are to assume that the evil itself was so powerful it was visible, but not that he himself is a demon.

Great acting and direction all round, though I was surprised they left the poor gas attendant. I presume Frank thought he was safe as the MO was for women, not men.

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

Personally I loved it. I thought it was good fun and had a great atmosphere to it (for lack of a better word). I also agree the acting was great, and I won't drool over Melinda McGraw again, but she was great as well. I have seen the episode criticized by some in the past, so it's nice to see a string of positive messages..... for the time being anyway.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

Personally I loved it. I thought it was good fun and had a great atmosphere to it (for lack of a better word). I also agree the acting was great, and I won't drool over Melinda McGraw again, but she was great as well. I have seen the episode criticized by some in the past, so it's nice to see a string of positive messages..... for the time being anyway.

you know i find Melinda McGraw more attractive when she protrayed Melissa Scully

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

you know i find Melinda McGraw more attractive when she protrayed Melissa Scully

Yeah, me too, her character had a lot more depth in X-files and was more endearing. I enjoyed both though.

[Guest Jim McLean]

Yeah, me too, her character had a lot more depth in X-files and was more endearing. I enjoyed both though.

Endearing she wasn't.

Actually, one of my favourite moments in the episode is when Peter and Frank are walking up the corridor with her as she explains security, and Frank is distracted twice by two inmates, at one point falling behind from the other characters and out of shot. For film, it was an unusual bit of direction, potentially for its distracting qualities, but fortunately, the Doctor wasn't actually saying anything vital at that moment so it worked very nicely for that instance.

I also like the way the episode openly plays on horror cliches (in the term "urban legends") and thereby rescues itself from looking like a horror knock off. The end twist also helps keeps it from this pigeon hole.

Funny how in a season of demons, Evil and horror, this is actually the most unsettling. My partner had to leave the room. Wasn't her cup of tea!

[Guest RodimusBen]

The Pest House suffers from a recurring phenomenon in TV series wherein a fairly good episode following a fantastic episode feels like a letdown by comparison. My recollection is that The Pest House followed "Owls" and "Roosters," two of the best Group mythology episodes in S2. So that tends to color its reception when watching the episodes in order, either in broadcast or on DVD. If you pull it out and watch it independently, it does come across as an enjoyable episode. Given S2's peaks and valleys in quality, this one falls right about in the middle, which for Millennium is a cut above most television.

[Guest Laurent.]

I think it actually followed The Mikado...

But I truly agree with you about the problems that goes with following brilliant episodes.

It might have been better for The Pest House if it had been aired before The Mikado.. this way it would have felt like a "back to (almost) normal" Millennium episode and the Mikado would have raised the game even higher after that, instead of the other way around.