My friends snubbed Millennium

[model217]

It's frustrating when you have friends over and you think they will at least be somewhat interested in what you have on for the nights entertainment. I would see there faces cringe or their blank looks after watching Millennium. I never got that with the X Files.

If you really want to clear the room,put on an episode of Good vs Evil. I could never find anyone except my wife that would stick around and watch that with me. I usually ended up being an apologist trying to explain to them it was supposed to have a campy look to it. No one ever got it.

Of course I give people that same blank look when they ask us if we would like to watch Hell's Kitchen or one of those reality shows. So what comes around...

[Guest RodimusBen]

BEER---> Good - now go watch another episode. Let you friends free fall. How come everybody isn't as good as we are?

BELCH

As a matter of fact, I did just that... I watched Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense, Midnight of the Century and Luminary this afternoon.

Of course I give people that same blank look when they ask us if we would like to watch Hell's Kitchen or one of those reality shows. So what comes around...

I spent a semester living with a couple of girls who watched ALL of the major realities TV shows that were on then-- Real World, Apprentice, Big Brother, etc. Talk about an awkward semester...

[The Old Man]

Millennium certainly doesn't float everyone's boat, and also it floats different boats for different people. I found out a colleague at work loved the show but hadn't seen it all when it was on TV. I loaned her each of my box sets in turn and she loved watching them for the serial killer element, but totally hated Jose Chung and Somehow Satan. She could watch them and had to skip the episodes. They are kind of quirky (well, very as we know!) and I understand how some people cannot like or understand, perhaps appreciate what the shows producers were attempting to do, because such fans of the show are more into the serious darkness, evil and hope, humanity, serial killer and forensic science elements and aspects of the story as a whole, which is fair enough.

One thing I have learnt over the years is that Millennium was and continues to be many different things to many different people and that is one of its greatest achievements where it could have been a more linear and constrained experience as with other shows, popular or not.

[Bardo Thodol]

Maybe you guys can help me. I'm having a bad morning. I should probably not let this bother me as much as it has but I figure if anyone would understand how I feel it's the people in this forum.

...

It just seems like with a certain type of person, if you have a group viewing and what you're watching isn't action-packed or laugh-out-loud hilarious, they start feeling like they'll be perceived as lame if they actually take it seriously, so they start trying to outdo each other to make fun of it as much as they can, to promote some sort of cynical image for themselves. Like I said, I am sure I'm letting this get to me more than it should but I am still really upset by the whole thing. I was hoping to make some new Millennium fans, particularly given the other shows we DO share an interest in (X-Files and LOST), and I can't help but feel a little personally insulted that they couldn't restrain themselves long enough to even try to enjoy this show that I vouched for.

Rant over. Some words of support would be helpful...

My response to their behaviour would have been much the same as yours. I think MLM does not appeal to pop culture mind as The X-Files and Lost do. That's propably one of the reasons it was cancelled. I think it just goes over the heads of most people or it just cuts life to close to home for them to cope with it. In this sense I am not very surprised by their reaction to MLM. Seems to me like the behaviour of people who joke around about something they can't deal with or don't understand.

I am surprised that one of your friends found Frank Black boring! He is such a complex, intense, unusual character!

You should be proud to be one of the few who actually "gets" MLM and really loves it.

And, if it is any consolation, I am very jealous that you had a 1013 night with friends! I have tried a handful of times to get people together over the past few years to watch TXF or MLM to no avail. For one reason or another it just didn't materialize. I have to say 1013 nights are one of my favourite things.

[Guest RodimusBen]

In this sense I am not very surprised by their reaction to MLM. Seems to me like the behaviour of people who joke around about something they can't deal with or don't understand.

I agree with you completely. Whenever I see people make fun of something as intelligent and deep as Millennium, I just feel sad because it shows that they prefer to go through life with their higher brain functions switched off. I think I was particularly surprised that my friends reacted that way to it. I thought more highly of them. And as someone else said in this thread, perhaps they would have had a better reaction if watching it individually and not in a group where they could show off for each other by making jokes about it.

[Bardo Thodol]

True appreciation or understanding often requires individual, independent thought, effort, and intuition. Sadly, this is often lacking in most people.

[Earthnut]

Maybe you guys can help me. I'm having a bad morning. I should probably not let this bother me as much as it has but I figure if anyone would understand how I feel it's the people in this forum.

Last night we had an X-Files/Millennium night. A few of my friends came over. I had been looking forward to this night for a long time because none of them had seen Millennium. One of my friends is a huge X-Files fan but had never seen Millennium. When I described it to her she was definitely interested. But it was all downhill from there.

We first watched the Pilot, and they were making fun of it within the first five minutes. An online friend I talked to afterward called it the "stupid-in-a-group" gene, which I think is an accurate description. These friends are a few years younger than me, college age, and I think they all feel like they have to show off for one another while they are watching something. It quickly became a contest to see how much they could make fun of it.

The next episode I showed them was Lamentation. Now up until a certain point I had not said anything, because I am always the guy who wants to be quiet when we are watching stuff and take it seriously, but I know a lot of times "shushing" people makes me look like the party crasher. But midway through lamentation they were talking and joking so much I could not even hear the damn show anymore (even though I had seen it a half dozen times), and I finally said, "You guys, I can't hear a freakin' thing!!!"

Suddenly everyone shut up and it was like I had sucked all the air out of the room. We watched the rest of the episode in silence (okay, two of them were still whispering and giggling to each other the whole time). Afterward I said, "So I guess you guys aren't really sold on this show, huh?" and I was amazed at the response I got. My X-Files fan friend said that Lance Henriksen was "boring," and that she didn't understand the point of the show. And had I wanted to really get into an argument just then, I would have told her that that may have been because she couldn't shut up long enough to listen to what they were saying.

It just seems like with a certain type of person, if you have a group viewing and what you're watching isn't action-packed or laugh-out-loud hilarious, they start feeling like they'll be perceived as lame if they actually take it seriously, so they start trying to outdo each other to make fun of it as much as they can, to promote some sort of cynical image for themselves. Like I said, I am sure I'm letting this get to me more than it should but I am still really upset by the whole thing. I was hoping to make some new Millennium fans, particularly given the other shows we DO share an interest in (X-Files and LOST), and I can't help but feel a little personally insulted that they couldn't restrain themselves long enough to even try to enjoy this show that I vouched for.

Rant over. Some words of support would be helpful...

Hello all, my name is Darlene.

I'm new here and trying to get started on my 500 posts to earn the 2-CD fan set of music.

I have a friend that I loaned the frist season to that never saw the show and loves X-Files. My girlfriend was here last night and had never seen an episode of M. and watch 2. She liked it and wants more. I think the secret with introducing it is which episode you show. Maybe the pilot was too intense. I totally agree that introducing this show should be one on one, and, Millennium really isn't for everyone, but the fan base is growing everyday.

Darlene

[Guest RodimusBen]

Hello all, my name is Darlene.

I'm new here and trying to get started on my 500 posts to earn the 2-CD fan set of music.

I have a friend that I loaned the frist season to that never saw the show and loves X-Files. My girlfriend was here last night and had never seen an episode of M. and watch 2. She liked it and wants more. I think the secret with introducing it is which episode you show. Maybe the pilot was too intense. I totally agree that introducing this show should be one on one, and, Millennium really isn't for everyone, but the fan base is growing everyday.

Darlene

Hi, Darlene.

I think you are quite right and I only wish I had chosen some different episodes or shown the show to my x-files friend fan alone. Maybe I can talk her into watching one more episode and show her a really good one from season 2.

[ethsnafu]

Hi guys,

Out of interest Darlene, which two episodes did you choose to show to your girlfriend, might be good to consign them to memory for future attempts to convert my own chums who have, thus far, resisted quite spectacularly. I did, however, manage to convert my brother, ardent phile of many years who though MM dour and soulless, by dangling 'Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense' in front of his face. Naturally there was enough crossover in the character of Jose to appeal to his less than refined sense of televisual excellence and the rest is history. I did manage to convince my Mother that MM was much better than she gave it credit for with 'Midnight of the Century', my father, however, cannot bear to watch it. Even though I surround myself by fully maturated uber-geeks and uber-nerds I haven't had much success with MM. Lance is enough to get them interested, Terry also, but they cannot make it through the first season unscathed, they keep waiting for a little light relief, maybe a musical episode or one with puppets (yup they are cheese adoring Whedon fans). Sadly tis horses for courses and being a confirmed arrogant Limey I guess I've never really worried too much what people think of my dear old franchise. You know what they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.

Oh, some of my chums like Charmed. Nuff said.

Eth

[Guest RodimusBen]

Eth,

That's funny because JCDD was the first episode I showed to my mother. And I have to say, watching through the series with her was a lot of fun. She was squeamish with a lot of the season 1 episodes but pretty much after Beware of the Dog and Monster, she started actively asking me to bring more Millennium episodes over when I would come and visit. I suppose I probably should have taken a cue from that experience and showed those episodes to my friends.