Writers and/or Millennium aficionados needed!

[Guest octoburn]

as one of the many, many fans disappointed with the cancellation of the show, I have always wondered what happened after Frank and Jordan drove off into the sunset at the end of season 3.

as an aspiring writer, I always wanted to pen a story (preferably screenplay) with Frank Black within the Millennium "universe."

anyways, I have a story idea that I think would be good, but I need some more writers to help develop the story more richly, and to make sure I'm not crazy for thinking it's a good idea.

ably 4 years ago

no, I'm not going to go with the fad and make something about 2012 (although I actually had the idea for a millennium series probably 4 years ago, but being closer now, and the big movie coming out, I think it would seem a case of jumping a bandwagon).

so, what I'm proposing is a web serial comic (cheaper than making a movie ;) )involving Frank Black, as well as a 19 year old Jordan (that makes me feel old) who I have had the idea of actually making the protagonist of the story (with a retired Frank playing a large supporting role).

I would like to make the story similar to the "serial killer of the week" type thing that was going on in season one, but honestly, I think this idea would be better, seeing as how Frank is retired and Jordan is a bit young to be an actual profiler/FBI agent. though I guess it would be possible, as it's suggested that Jordan in extermely smart and has Frank's "gift". Though I'm not sure if I'd want to continue that line, as it seems contrary to it being an "intuition" rather than a psychic ability.

I want to leave as much of season two and three "canon" behind. there would be a few things that are unavoidable, such as Katherine's death, and the Owls/Roosters split (which would be fairly minor to the story, but it wouldn't really work without it's presence).

anyways, I want to get the main big plot "twist" that I'm not sure would fly, and it's a pretty big one: Peter Watts is the "antagonist" although it wouldn't be revealed until about halfway through the series. after the events of "goodbye to all that" the group attempts to kill Peter for his actions, but fail (that does sound a bit unreasonable: for them to fail). Peter is left scarred and eventually basically goes mad, especially after the years 2000 and 2001 pass without the "end of the world" occurring.

the story would be more of an international crime thriller than the serial killer tale. that is, unless someone can come up with a better story that is a good enough plot to fill a monthly webcomic (each month would be at least 20 "pages") for a year or more.

I could probably draw it myself, but if someone who's better than me volunteers, I won't turn it down ;)

anyways, any writers, or people in general who would have input into the story feel free to PM me, or contact me on an IM. my IM is octoburn on yahoo and Skype.

Edited November 22, 2009 by octoburn

[ethsnafu]

Hi there Octoburn!

Welcome to TIWWA and here's hoping you enjoy your stay and make many new friends in the process.

I hope you find people to assist you with this, it sounds like an amazing project and there is so much creativity around the place the place with the sixth virtual season of Millennium getting underway. Myself and Baz had planned to do something like this for BackToFrankBlack but it didn't exactly work out as planned so I'd love to see someone realise a project of this kind.

Here's hoping the fine folk round these parts jump to your assistance ;)

Eth

[Guest octoburn]

Thanks, efsnafu,

Yeah, I saw rhat thing on the front of backtofrankblack and thought "crap, someone's already done that!" but I looked at it and saw it was just a recap of the show.

That also showed me that it could easily work to make it black and white. The "noir" feel of the show itself also lent to that direction. I also thought of doing it in mostly black and white, with splashes of color for dramatic effect, like was done in schindler's list or sin city.

Again, I'm mostly looking for someone to bounce story ideas off of, not someone to write it, or draw it. If someone shows up who actually wants to help with the writing or art, that's fine, but it's not the main thing I'm looking for.

[Earthnut]

Octoburn, welcome to the group, and thank you for you interest in furthering the show in any way possible.

"Here's my thing." Right off the top of my head I would like to say that it would be great to have Lara Means back in the show, out of the hospital and doing probably so-so with her visions as she struggles to control and understand them, and maybe she and Frank kinda-sorta getting together, but creating some friction with Jordan since there would be 3 different gifts or abilities in action. Jordan would be studying to get her degree in profiling and at the same time fighting evil as it crosses her path or is drawn to her because of her gift, and naturally Frank would have to step in and help his daughter. Yes, he's been struggling to stay retired because of pulls of evil from every direction, but would always come out of retirement when Jordan needs him. There would still be pulls from the Owl and Rooster groups, those members who refuse to give up their power and control, and yes, Peter Watts naturally would be the main reason for all the upheavel. I always enjoyed the episodes when Frank and Peter worked together as a team. I dont see Peter going mad, I see him creating havoc and with tunnel vision on destroying the factions, considering all that he knows about them.

Jordan has a gift but it is different then Frank's, just as Lara's is different. We all have been given gifts, the difference is not everyone develops theirs to be of any use. Frank and Lara could maybe be trying to subdue their visions and abilities, while Jordan on the other hand, may be going head on with hers, ready to battle a grizzly bear with a switch.

There are so many different directions that can be taken, but the one constant is always, the good vs evil battle that rages both within man and without, whether it's the human evil seen within man in "A Well-Worn Lock," to spiritual good vs evil in "Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions." Just as was said in the last episode by Jordan, "We are all shepherds," we all do have the responsibility to help guide and direct others into the light. Most of us don't have to battle evil, just resist it, but there are those who do battle evil, and that's the root of the show to me. What Frank went through in all his cases, especially with Lucy Butler, is proof enough to me, and I trust to most of us. Evil is always present, but with courage and faith, we can make it our footstool.

This is what I have for today.

[Guest octoburn]

Octoburn, welcome to the group, and thank you for you interest in furthering the show in any way possible.

Any time. I've always loved the character of Frank Black, as well as how the show blended the darkness of the world with the things that are uplifting.

"Here's my thing." Right off the top of my head I would like to say that it would be great to have Lara Means back in the show, out of the hospital and doing probably so-so with her visions as she struggles to control and understand them, and maybe she and Frank kinda-sorta getting together, but creating some friction with Jordan since there would be 3 different gifts or abilities in action.

Never thought of that, honestly. But I did always love the chemistry Frank and Lara had when they worked together.

But, as you mentioned, having three people with extremely advanced gifts could get muddled, especially when Jordan would be at the phase where she's trying to understand and control it. I'm thinking she could have a secondary role, maybe tracking down Jordan, knowing that she has a gift on Frank's level.

I don't see Frank and Lara really "teaming up" in the sense that they did before, maybe they get back in contact through Jordan, and she helps Frank when Jordan is in jeopardy.

Jordan would be studying to get her degree in profiling and at the same time fighting evil as it crosses her path or is drawn to her because of her gift, and naturally Frank would have to step in and help his daughter. Yes, he's been struggling to stay retired because of pulls of evil from every direction, but would always come out of retirement when Jordan needs him.

Agree about the angle on Jordan here. Maybe she's working in low level law enforcement to begin with, or maybe studying for profiling/FBI work.

Of course, Frank is struggling to stay retired, he always has. But, at this point, Frank's what, 62 or so? I think his birth year was given as 1947 in the show. So he obviously wouldn't be as capable at the physical things he did while the tv show was in it's heyday. But yeah, as you said, willing to step up when Jordan is in need/danger.

There would still be pulls from the Owl and Rooster groups, those members who refuse to give up their power and control, and yes, Peter Watts naturally would be the main reason for all the upheavel.

This is where I'm going to have to disagree. I mentioned in the first post that I wanted to avoid "canon" outside of the first season as much as possible.

In the whole of the story, I don't want a prominent presence from the owls, roosters, or the millennium group as a whole. If they were still a private group of highly specialized detectives, yeah, that'd be great. However, I hated the route they took with making them X-file-style-freemasons. In my mind, they would play a small role, with a few surviving members, but the passing of the millenium with little occurence would dwindle heir numbers.

I always enjoyed the episodes when Frank and Peter worked together as a team. I dont see Peter going mad, I see him creating havoc and with tunnel vision on destroying the factions, considering all that he knows about them.

Yeah, Peter's character was the second best character in the show, besides Frank. Again, always great chemistry between those two.

My idea is that the millenium group attempted to kill Peter after the events of "goodbye to all that", but after several failed attempts, they think they succeed, and actually do take out his family, but he narrowly escapes. Within the scope of the story to be told, there are everal angles that could be taken, him trying to avenge his family's death, trying to get revenge in general on the millennium group, etc.

Jordan has a gift but it is different then Frank's, just as Lara's is different. We all have been given gifts, the difference is not everyone develops theirs to be of any use.

Agreed. This is what could be very interesting to developing within the story.

Frank and Lara could maybe be trying to subdue their visions and abilities, while Jordan on the other hand, may be going head on with hers, ready to battle a grizzly bear with a switch.

Agreed, again. See above.

There are so many different directions that can be taken, but the one constant is always, the good vs evil battle that rages both within man and without, whether it's the human evil seen within man in "A Well-Worn Lock," to spiritual good vs evil in "Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions." Just as was said in the last episode by Jordan, "We are all shepherds," we all do have the responsibility to help guide and direct others into the light. Most of us don't have to battle evil, just resist it, but there are those who do battle evil, and that's the root of the show to me. What Frank went through in all his cases, especially with Lucy Butler, is proof enough to me, and I trust to most of us. Evil is always present, but with courage and faith, we can make it our footstool.

This is what I have for today.

Lucy Butler, the Legion, is something is think could be worked into the story. One idea is that maybe an incarnation of Legion not seen before would encounter Peter post-trauma and possible being what brings Peter to a brink of being insane, being a borderline criminal? Just ideas.

[Guest RodimusBen]

You have some interesting ideas for where you would like to take the story. However, I am always a little wary about the idea of "ignoring" this or that particular part of a continuity. One of the worst perpetrating franchises in that respect is Robocop. It seems that 90% of all the fiction written about Robocop after the 3rd movie basically ignored Robocop 2 and 3. Certainly I can understand the inclination to do that, since Robocop 1 was clearly a far superior film to its sequels, but as a fan watching things like the Prime Directives mini-series, it's hard to keep track of what they're considering canon and what they aren't. When the reality of the mythology branches off in multiple directions like that, it can tend to be very distracting for someone who is already well versed in what came before.

Millennium evolved and changed so drastically with each new season that it is very tempting to want to ignore or even erase certain parts of it that were not to our taste. In another thread we recently had a discussion about how overtly supernatural the show became in the third season, which was something a lot of people seemed to disapprove of. Likewise, making the Millennium Group into a cult was something that a lot of people such as yourself were turned off by. However, those decisions were made, and they were incorporated into the reality of the Millennium universe by the showrunners of the time. In my opinion, it is the burden of future writers within the same mythological universe to cope with those decisions in their own way.

The best example of this is how Chris Carter himself dealt with the events of Season 2 when he came back to take a more active role in Season 3. Clearly from interviews he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken (as much as some of us loved it), and he therefore radically redirected the show once again. While he played a little fast and loose with retconning the Marburg virus into a localized outbreak, he didn't outright ignore anything that had come before. Consider the same approach to your own work. Don't outright ignore anything, but feel free to put new twists on it that you find to your own liking. It is, after all, your story, and no one can tell you that what you come up with is right or wrong because it's unofficial!

[Guest octoburn]

Rodimus: I agree with pretty much everything you said. I never intended to ignore anything outright, but to, as you said, fit it into the story I'm telling. But, if something isn't necessary for the story I'm telling, what's the point in mentioning/using it? If something isn't relevant to the story, I'm not going to throw it in there to say that I know about it. That applies to everything, whether it's an element of the series I like or not.

My idea with the millennium group is that they are at a point where they're almost nonexistant, though those that are still around are in prominent, powerful positions. The thought being that it would be tough to recruit to the millennium group after the millennium has passed without "circumstance" in terms of the apocalyptic ending they were foreseeing.

Emma Hollis, for example. How would sha handle both this, and the decline of the millennium group? Would her beoing director of the FBI (or whatever her official title was) enable her to almost "force" people into the group the way she was? Is Emma still in her position with the FBI 10 years later? If not, did she move up or down? Why?

There's so many variables, it's going to be complex to work out.

There are many elements of seaons two and three I've already mentioned I'm going to use, so it's not like I'm saying I'm going to retcon those two seasons as a whole. But obviously thuings would change pretty drastically in the ten years since we last heard from Frank, Jordan, Peter, Lara, Emma, etc.

The main place this rose from, is that I wanted to write a Millenniumistic movie, and the idea I had ended up being called "the Fourth Horseman" which I still might keep as the title. The main basis of the story was of a young woman who is a profiler/advisor who gets caught up in the acts of a terrorist/criminal who believes that he is the fourth horseman. I had a couple of ideas of how to rationalize his thinking about that, but never got the specifics because I never had an idea I had that was convincing enough in my mind.

Then while reading fanfics and thinking about comics and webcomics, I had the idea to do it as a "millennium" online serial comic. Ands that's when I found this place and posted :D

[Guest octoburn]

seeing the recent posting about the new virtual season, and the interview with one of the the vs5 creators, I had an idea to do a quick comic/GN of one episode of the virtual seasons already done. just to see how well I can meld a "millennium" story into that art form.

any ideas on what episodes? I remember some from VS 4, but the only one that sticks out in my head is the finale. haven't read any of VS 5 yet. any ideas?

[ethsnafu]

Nice idea!

My vote would go for VS4 Episode One. Jump straight in where the season begins. If you illustrate a story from the middle of VS4 or from VS6 people will be unfamilair with the arcs, the characters and anything that happened prior. VS4 picks up literally where Season Three ends so that would be the very best place to start in my opinion.

I do hope you get this done, I would love to see the results.

Eth

[Guest octoburn]

Yeah, that would probably be ideal.

But, aren't there any of the vs episodes that are at least mostly "stand alone"?

I'd really like to go through them and pick a story I really like and use it, but I really don't have time to read through that many vs episodes and try to pick one, which is why I asked for suggestions.