Broken World

[Guest Jim McLean]

This was a real pity. Several reasons.

1. Horses. Prey animals don't tend to squeal if they are scared. That tends to get them eaten. They don't stampede like in the finale either. The particularly dislike treading on people. A kick to the head would have been a little more realistic.

2. Just how did the killer know Frank was at his house when he was at the Vet's? That was good timing! Or did I miss something?

3. I know Frank is the hero, and I know he's reconciled as a character to not carrying a gun... but what does he expect to do chasing after mass murderers? The resolution to this chases becomes too familiar too; he chases, they corner him, and are about to kill him when a third party interacts, often killing the antagonist. A little formulaic and I'm not sure what the character justification is. Yes, he wants to stop them, but how?

Not that it was a BAD episode. I loved the gradual profile building of a potential serial killer; I thought it was well acted and well shot. I thought the slaughterhouse held a little more variety than the standard TV slaughterhouse which generally consists of hung slabs of meat.

The lack of horse logic, the rather formulaic Frank-almost-bites-it finished with the silly Horse stampede sort of spoilt what has such a good structure and tension. Not bad, but the weakest of season one for me so far!

[HighPlainsDrifter]

This also a episode i actually enjoyed the second time around when i saw it. I also liked the profiling that lead up to the capture. I believe this epsiode won a Gensis Award. This has to do with Animal Rights in Cinematic TV.

I am not well versed in Horse Behavior but those are good obeservations. I think i need to watch it for the third time lol

i think the last time i watched this episode was a year ago

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

This was a real pity. Several reasons.

1. Horses. Prey animals don't tend to squeal if they are scared. That tends to get them eaten. They don't stampede like in the finale either. The particularly dislike treading on people. A kick to the head would have been a little more realistic.

2. Just how did the killer know Frank was at his house when he was at the Vet's? That was good timing! Or did I miss something?

3. I know Frank is the hero, and I know he's reconciled as a character to not carrying a gun... but what does he expect to do chasing after mass murderers? The resolution to this chases becomes too familiar too; he chases, they corner him, and are about to kill him when a third party interacts, often killing the antagonist. A little formulaic and I'm not sure what the character justification is. Yes, he wants to stop them, but how?

Not that it was a BAD episode. I loved the gradual profile building of a potential serial killer; I thought it was well acted and well shot. I thought the slaughterhouse held a little more variety than the standard TV slaughterhouse which generally consists of hung slabs of meat.

The lack of horse logic, the rather formulaic Frank-almost-bites-it finished with the silly Horse stampede sort of spoilt what has such a good structure and tension. Not bad, but the weakest of season one for me so far!

Wow, I wish this was the first disappointing episode for me as well. Unfortunately, there was a string of episodes I found to be disappointing much earlier. Of the episodes "Kingdom Come" through "Loin Like a Hunting Flame", I think every episode is below the standards of previous and subsequent episodes. Don't get me wrong, they are all pretty much worthy efforts and some, like "Kingdom Come", and "Wild & Innocent" would get 4 (out of 5) star ratings in my humble opinion, but the rest would probably get a 3/3.5, although I enjoyed each of them more after the second viewing, with the possible exception of "Well Worn Lock". The next stretch of episodes kick it back into high gear, at least as far as I'm concerned, ending with "Broken World", and possibly even Maranatha, which would get a solid 4 from me. I can, however, understand some of the problems you have with the episode, and recognize them as factors that people might struggle with. I don't know how far you have gotten in the episodes, but we do see Frank with a gun later in the series and see him actually using it. As for the horses, I think this is yet another example of an excellent writer with a lack of understanding of certain aspects of the subject matter. Overall, it is an episode that I enjoyed the first time around and have enjoyed every time sense, but it does have its imperfections for sure.

[The Old Man]

Broken World was never one of my favorite episodes but I too enjoyed the idea of the serial killer in the making element. I think this episode could have been re-written to make it stronger (with hindsight), maybe the upcoming serial killer idea could have been used to better effect. It was however a fair episode and I'd rather watch it than Single Blade of Grass anyday, one of my all time lower episodes.

[Guest Jim McLean]

MillenniumIsBliss' point is interesting; that the more straight forward serial killer episodes weren't quite the cup of tea. While I'm glad we agree that "Worn lock" was an exceptional episode, but I enjoyed all the early season. I find that while some find the "serial-killer-of-the-week" episodes a little run-of-the-mill, I enjoy the process Frank goes through fascinating. Also, unlike the more spiritual elements of series one (which so far there have been a couple) and the show's older brother, The X-Files, give a more satisfactory conclusion. Basically, the serial killer episodes have the same "chase the antagonist" as X-Files/Spiritual Millennium with a more defined resolution, which can be less frustrating for me!

Spiritual elements do fascinate me (and I did also enjoy the X-Files), so I'm not against the structure of such stories, but what I do enjoy about the serial-killer stories of Millennium, is the truth DOES out; that we DO get a resolution that is unified rather than suppressed.

Yes, there were some more outstanding episodes than others in the early run, but the process of the hunt, and the passive drama that Frank motivates keep me riveted, even to the generic stories.

And while as The Old Man says, the process of "Broken World" was captivating, and again, the passive intensity of Frank was spellbinding, it was just let down by a little too much show formula and some horsey inconsistency.

I do agree with MillenniumIslBliss that it's surprising that a show of such calibre would fall for generic trappings (neighing horses, for instance). Yes, you could argue it's for drama, but this show always seemed to be one which wouldn't just take the obvious routes, and in this case, I think they did a little, which is why it's a lull in quality, even if the drama and acting itself remains high.

Edited June 30, 2007 by Jim McLean

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

MillenniumIsBliss' point is interesting; that the more straight forward serial killer episodes weren't quite the cup of tea. While I'm glad we agree that "Worn lock" was an exceptional episode, but I enjoyed all the early season. I find that while some find the "serial-killer-of-the-week" episodes a little run-of-the-mill, I enjoy the process Frank goes through fascinating. Also, unlike the more spiritual elements of series one (which so far there have been a couple) and the show's older brother, The X-Files, give a more satisfactory conclusion. Basically, the serial killer episodes have the same "chase the antagonist" as X-Files/Spiritual Millennium with a more defined resolution, which can be less frustrating for me!

Spiritual elements do fascinate me (and I did also enjoy the X-Files), so I'm not against the structure of such stories, but what I do enjoy about the serial-killer stories of Millennium, is the truth DOES out; that we DO get a resolution that is unified rather than suppressed.

Yes, there were some more outstanding episodes than others in the early run, but the process of the hunt, and the passive drama that Frank motivates keep me riveted, even to the generic stories.

And while as The Old Man says, the process of "Broken World" was captivating, and again, the passive intensity of Frank was spellbinding, it was just let down by a little too much show formula and some horsey inconsistency.

I do agree with MillenniumIslBliss that it's surprising that a show of such calibre would fall for generic trappings (neighing horses, for instance). Yes, you could argue it's for drama, but this show always seemed to be one which wouldn't just take the obvious routes, and in this case, I think they did a little, which is why it's a lull in quality, even if the drama and acting itself remains high.

Well, to be honest, I think I might not have conveyed my opinions of "Well Worn Lock" properly. It was actually one of my least favorite of S1, although I don't think there is a single terrible episode in the entire first season. I agree though that the early part of the season went on an exceptional run. To me, and I know that there are those who disagree on some of them, but I would give each of the first five episodes a 5 out of 5 rating. It isn't until the next batch of seven episodes, including "Well Worn", that they kind of bounce up and down between 3 and 4 star episodes. As for the serial killer of the week episodes, I guess I am kind of mixed. Many of them, in my opinion, are the best episodes the series has to offer, for example, Dead Letters, Thin White Line, Lamentation, etc. There are, however, a few subpar episodes of this kind, such as Blood Relatives, Loin Like A Hunting Flame, and Paper Dove which, again, were really not bad episodes, but just not as good as some of the outstanding episodes. Just my two cents anyway.

[Guest SouthernCelt]

I found "Broken World" to be a most disturbing episode because of the expose' of the practice of using pregnant mare urine for medical purposes (rather than by chemically synthesizing it) and especially of the wanton way in which the offspring of the mares were summarily slaughtered for dog food. I wondered after seeing this the first time if the main purpose of it even being made wasn't to satisfy the writer's/producer's/director's desire to do something to bring the practice to the public eye and foster public opposition to this being allowed to continue.

Although I'm no radical animal rights advocate, there are two things about how animals are treated that I'm opposed to:

First, horses are considered "companion" animals because they can be domesticated and get along well with humans. I am vehemently opposed to the use of any such animals for food production and I don't give a damn what your culture permits -- that ain't my culture. (I've pretty much split from a long-time friend over the issue of horses raised for food. He thinks the law, which fortunately in Mississippi disallows horses being raised for human consumption and regulates how horses can be sold for pet food, should be changed so livestock farmers can raise horses for export to foreign markets as slaughtered meats. He got this idea after a European visit in which he saw horse meat dishes on a menu in France. Rather than get into a discussion/argument that would likely lead nowhere but to bad feelings, I simply stopped associating with this guy.)

Secondly, I'm opposed to slaughtering or putting down animals, particularly young ones (babies) simply because they're an incovenience and might bring a few bucks as dog food. I can accept euthanizing animals with birth defects that prevent any semblance of normal existence or the rare cases where they become infected with a communicable disease that can't be cured w/o killing them. If the kid is born, he/she deserves a chance to grow up and enjoy as full a life as nature will allow. Just as dogs become attached to humans in what many describe as an unconditional love relationship, horses do likewise except that their love is directed more toward doing what horses are genetically prone to do. Once trained to follow human direction, horses are typically happiest when they get to do things that horses like to do.

[Guest bluestocking]

This was an episode I remember finding kind of boring when it first aired, but I liked it a lot more when I watched it again the other night.

I do find it a little jarring because I live two hours drive from Williston, the town where the episode is set, and they got some of the details wrong. When Frank calls the sheriff's office, the dispatcher should say "Williams County Sheriff's Department" not "Williston Sheriff's Department." I call those people on a regular basis for the paper I work at and they actually usually just say "Sheriff's Office." Williston is located in Williams County, not in Williston County. Western North Dakota IS hilly, but it doesn't have the mountains that I saw in the background as Frank and Peter drove in their car. The various little towns where the farms were located were all fictional names. I don't think there is a horse slaughterhouse in Williston. There's currently a bill in the North Dakota legislature to study whether we OUGHT to have one in the state because some legislator thinks it would be a great way for the state to make money. I hope it goes down in flames because I absolutely hate the idea.

The story itself was pretty interesting. The reaction of the sheriff and the rancher and the guys in the bar was right on. They WOULD not believe a serial killer was in the works at first, even if someone like Frank told them so, and they'd be digusted and disbelieving that someone could be getting sexual pleasure from killing horses. They'd believe that it was wild animals hurting the horses or it had to be an outsider, some nut off the highway, not any of the good people they know and work with every day. This kind of thing really does not happen here, or at least that's the myth. The fictional sheriff was actually overstating it when he said the bar would turn into a "killing field" four times a year. More like one or two murders a year, if that, and it's usually a domestic situation or a bar fight or a drug deal gone bad. We have one unsolved murder of a college student a couple of years ago and that does freak everyone out because no one knows who broke in and killed her.

I liked the vet, Claudia, who seemed to have really taken a liking to Frank, especially after he saved her. She even looked a bit like Catherine with her long auburn hair and her strong-mindedness and sensitivity. I usually don't see Frank as having much sex appeal, but in this episode he kind of did. I could almost see him on a horse riding with the vet after she asked him if he rides and he said he did. "I thought so," she said, summing up what she thought of him as a man. I kind of hope he looked her up after the series was over. She'd have made a good girlfriend and stepmom for Jordan and she could teach Jordan to ride. The country around Williston and riding horses would be a good counterpoint to the monsters Frank and Jordan see in their minds and in real life. I also found myself cheering when the white horse stomped that serial killer Willi to death.

Edited February 26, 2009 by bluestocking

[Guest Black's Babe]

One thing that really creeped me out about this one.

The shot of that poor woman's feet in those leather straps, whil hangin upside down dead.

Along with Willi shirtless engaging in a primal scream in the background.

It reminded me of a somewhat similar scene in the film "Blue Steel" with Jamie Lee Curtis.

Eugene Hunt(Ron Silver) was naked on a rooftop, where he bathes in the blood of his latest victim.

By smearing her blood soaked dress all over his body.

Eugene's victim wasn;t shown after the kill, but his exuberance and BLOODLUST was similar to Willi's.

Edited February 27, 2009 by Black's Babe

[Guest Pluto]

I don't mind this episode too much. I don't watch it often, but when I do it still entertains. It has good escalation.

I'd pick it over "Well Worn Lock" any day.

About the horse sound-effects, I don't think they are too bad. The horse in the episode was clearly very perturbed, and if they didn't get those noises from a horse, are you thinking they just made some fake noises?

If the horses act a little unnatural on the same show that has angels and demons, I can suspend that small belief and still enjoy it.

It may be one of the best TV shows, and the writers should be as honest as possible, but it's still just a show.