Season 4...what was awaiting us?

[Guest the_judge]

I am sure this has been posted before, but nevertheless, here goes:

I recently read the fan interviews with Lance in which he claimed that Chris Carter had season 4 planned out and that he felt the show would have found its feet throughout the course of that season. However, he doesnt go on to say what the direction of the show would have been had it of not been cancelled (for lack of knowing or otherwise).

Were details regarding what would have happened to the show ever released via interview or any other medium? I am extremely curious to know what it would have become.

[ethsnafu]

Hi Judge!

I don't recall ever hearing that plans were afoot for a fourth Season but I found a snippet from an interview in which Lance discusses what he would have liked to have seen.

Hope this is of some help?

Henriksen seems keen that the series, or at least the character of Frank Black, could return in some form. If Millennium was to spawn a feature film the repercussions on its universe would be very interesting. If the desired project did go ahead it could leave the door open for a fourth season, but what route would that take? "In a Season Four there would be less solving the case by the hour, and there would be many more cases going on simultaneously so that you would never know when the show was going to end. You would just be totally involved in the world that these characters were in. Because some cases in reality take years, you don't do it in the course of a show which is what I wanted to see from the very beginning. Artistically it would become more poetic and deal with issues in a more abstract way."

[Guest Jim McLean]

Hi Judge!

I don't recall ever hearing that plans were afoot for a fourth Season but I found a snippet from an interview in which Lance discusses what he would have liked to have seen.

Hope this is of some help?

It's a shame Millennium's original concept couldn't return, minus the heavy mythology and upcoming Millennium issue. As a sexual/crime profiler show, TV has a more arc based medium which could put Frank on some interesting long term thriller cases which could evolve with the maturity and intelligence of Millennium.

[Bardo Thodol]

I was just thinking about posting a similar topic recently! I love hearing folks speculate about what S4 would've been like, what the creators had planned, what fans would have liked to have seen happen or more of.

Who was lying on the floor in Peter's house in the S3 finale? Was it Peter, or the Group assassin sent to kill him? Would be have seen Peter turn up at some later point, coming out of hiding to assist Frank?

What would Lucy Butler be up to? Would she manage to finally concieve a child again with Frank? What would she do about her implied threat about Jordan at the end of Antipas?

Would we see Avatar return to exploit the next venue of human voyerism and masicism? Would Frank finally catch him this time?

What would become of Emma? What would become of her ambivelent new candidacy in the Group? How far into the Group would she be drawn in? Would she finally be indoctrinated? Or would her strength of character allow her to use the manipulate the Group, working as a kind of "double agent" for Frank, the Trust, etc.

Would Frank finally join the Trust to support and facilitate his efforts? Would he still be able to work of the FBI, or would he have alienated himself or lost all trust in the Bureau?

What would become of the Group? Would it fall further into its agenda, disrepute, and schism, as indicated in the X-Files "Millennium" episode?

Would Legion manifest itself within the Group in some other way, after Mabius?

And would there be another Legion manifestation in general, come back to taunt or tempt Frank?

What would the ultimate Legion manifestation, Yaponchik/Antichrist get up to in s4? Would he begin to unite the prophetic "kingdoms" of Eastern and Central Europe and Russia through his powers in the economy of the criminal undergroud/mafia/oligarcy of these nations? How would this play out?

These are the possibilities that I have always speculated about and would have liked to have seen played out in some way. What are you thoughts or responses to these questions and speculations?

[4th Horseman]

It's a shame Millennium's original concept couldn't return, minus the heavy mythology and upcoming Millennium issue. As a sexual/crime profiler show, TV has a more arc based medium which could put Frank on some interesting long term thriller cases which could evolve with the maturity and intelligence of Millennium.

Good topic Laredo...don't forget about Jordan...her powers were developing as well, and it would have been interesting to see how this particular event would have been handeled as she matured. What i found interesting in S3 was the developing awareness that Jordan had in relation to her ability. It could have provided a branch of opportunity had S4 ever became a reality..

4th Horseman

[ethsnafu]

Good topic Laredo...don't forget about Jordan...her powers were developing as well, and it would have been interesting to see how this particular event would have been handeled as she matured. What i found interesting in S3 was the developing awareness that Jordan had in relation to her ability. It could have provided a branch of opportunity had S4 ever became a reality..

Absolutely my friend,

One of the most engaging components of Season Three was the maturation of Frank and Jordan's relationship and the exploration of her burgeoning 'facility'. In many ways Jordan was a more successful foil for Frank than Emma and to have that dynamic with a child actor is a mark of how adroit Brittanny was an actress.

During Season Two the thematic was about introspection, Lara and Frank serving up a discourse on the visionary experience yet the innocence of childhood allowed Jordan a simplistic relationship with her abilities, one devoid of the associated descriptive angst. It would have been fascinating to have seen how Jordan would have developed once her awareness allowed her to begin to consider her abilities and internalize them.

[4th Horseman]

Absolutely my friend,

One of the most engaging components of Season Three was the maturation of Frank and Jordan's relationship and the exploration of her burgeoning 'facility'. In many ways Jordan was a more successful foil for Frank than Emma and to have that dynamic with a child actor is a mark of how adroit Brittanny was an actress.

During Season Two the thematic was about introspection, Lara and Frank serving up a discourse on the visionary experience yet the innocence of childhood allowed Jordan a simplistic relationship with her abilities, one devoid of the associated angst. It would have been fascinating to have seen how Jordan would have developed once her awareness allowed her to begin to consider her abilities and internalize them.

Gosh, in re-reading my post i just realized that one sentence is redundant...when i said "What i found interesting in S3 was..." i erased my initial thought and substituted it with my Jordan issue. What i meant to say was, and maybe many of you will disagree, but in S3 it was interesting to see the difference in Jordan's "uncertainty" or confusion about her gift is and how she was to use it vs. the seemingly mature approach of how Legion was represented in her contemporaries (Lucas, Divina)...Jordan seemed at times like a"deer in headlights" (knowing that there was something to Lucas as he drove by in the car, at the beginning, but then not knowing why she was drawn to their house). The manifestations of Legion or evil if you will seemed to possess (bad choice of words) a far higher degree of confidence, even to the point of luring Frank into the basement in Saturn Dreaming of Mercury....did anyone else get the same impression??? I guess the impression to be taken, especially with the re-appearance of Lucas at the end of SDOM is that evil is eternal, never-ending....just a thought...

[Raven Wolf]

Really great thoughts here!

[ethsnafu]

Mighty 4th,

What fabulous points you raise.

If I recall correctly when 'Monster' gave us the first commentary on the subject of infant manifestations of evil it was implied that Danielle Barbakow was an 'Old Soul'. She too had an extent knowledge and malign congizance that belied her years. Danielle's Mother was later to assert that upon peering into her daughters eyes she experienced no maternal longing which supported the vague inferences throughout that Barbakow was a pre-pubescent husk containing something of nefarious intent. It's a fascinating thematic to represent the demonic in the form of the innocent and in each Millennium episode that dealt with this the maturity with which these souls enacted their deeds seemed a constant reminder to consider the ancient evil these gentle forms housed. Oddly enough something similar was displayed with Claire Mckenna in Anamnesis who had a profundity and philosophy that astonished those around her and again the inference here was that she had become the vehicle for a force more ancient, more ascendant than her simple human form suggested.

A truly unnerving concept that these infant minds literally drowned in the power of internal possession.

[Guest Jim McLean]

I whole heartedly agree on the points about Jordan and Frank. I think what I enjoyed so much about Frank was he was a hero that wasn't disposed to the Hollywood fixation on sexually chemistry or romantic Fairy tale love. He was a man whose love aspired to trust, friendship and family which was so fresh in an industry of fake romance and barbie doll looks.

When Catherine departed, I think that created such a catalyst for Frank and Jordan and the strength of their family bond. The episodes with the pair were undoubtedly some of the strongest in the season.

I don't know about anyone else, but love from family has always been - for me - the strongest dramatic motivator, far more than having to save the girl. Take the bond between brothers, fathers, mothers and sisters and you get a far more real, relatable love than the ego driven fairy tale of rescuing the gorgeous girl. The love between the father/daughter relationship of Frank and Jordan is tangible; believable. People will risk their life for their offspring, but they are less likely to find such an urgent imperative to fisticuff with a band of bandits on top of a moving train simply because one particular girl is hot.

While I've enjoyed Millennium's mix of supernatural, intellectual mythology and downbeat crime, I think if it was - in my dreams - to have a realistic chance of returning, I think it would have to pick its genre more closely. Personally, I think the crime element had the strongest - and most mainstream accessible - consistency, so I'd opt for a more crime based show with a few longer story arcs based on that template.

While I've enjoyed Jordan's battle with her gift, I think the bond between father and daughter, between such a complex and lonely individual as Frank with the opus of his world is fascinating whether there is any "gift" involved or not.

Either way, I agree - season four would have been a delight if it could have expanded as contemporary television has done into longer arcs and focused more on Frank and Jordan as a pair.