Did season 2 screw up the series

[ethsnafu]

Hi Lyn,

I see that's your first post so allow me to wish you a very warm welcome to TIWWA and I hope you enjoy your stay here and make many new friends in the process.

I think, over the years, I have said all I probably can say on the thematic changes from one season to another and for everyone who didn't like those changes there is someone else who did. Variety is the spice of life after all.

As well as the fact that the show did not have a stable creative team throughout it's three years, it's also worth noting that it did suffer, very heavily, from network interference during the second and third seasons which resulted in some of the changes we see on screen. Not only were changes requested to the entire feel of the show but individual episodes were interfered with as rewrites were demanded or (in the case of ...Thirteen Years Later) the content of the episodes was literally dictated to the writers by the studios.

Whether Chris Carter would have been more successful at resisting this interference than Glen Morgan, James Wong or Chip Johanessen we will never know now.

Eth

[IHaveGoodInstincts]

Morgan amd Wong definitely went for broke with the season 2 cliff...or should I say cliffhanger! The ending was a little extreme in my opinion, but I liked the other stuff. I have read articles that they wanted to further develop specifics of the show after season one. I have also read that Morgan and Wong were responsible for much of the in-depth character development in season 4 of the X-Files.

[Guest RodimusBen]

My single major criticism of Millennium is that it wasn't more even-handed in its balance between mythology and stand-alone episodes. However, it was something that could not be helped for all the reasons Mark mentioned above, which is why I choose to focus on the merits of each individual episode of Millennium rather than trying to find a big picture in that mosaic. There is something there, but it's very hard to discern because of those outside influences on the show.

Off-topic Flash Fact, of course MM wasn't the only show to suffer network interference. ABC execs were constantly fighting against the steady increase of sci-fi elements in LOST during its first three years. They threw a fit over the four-toed statue, which first appeared in the season 2 finale.

[ethsnafu]

I didn't know that about the 'four toed statue' Ben but then you are a veritable encyclopaedia when it comes to Lost. I'd love to know what the big hoohaa was about.

One of the things I found interesting with regards to network interference on Millennium is how much it concerned actually pushing the mythical and spiritual elements of the stories in season two. When Glen Morgan spoke of the degree of influence that Fox had in the script for a "A Single Blade of Grass" I was amazed that the episode was originally more procedural. Given Kay and Erin's evident love of mythology and legend I thought the mythology rich story must have been their original idea but what actually happened was that Fox called for more mysticism and humour in an otherwise procedural script albeit one with speculative elements (much like S1's Force Majeure). Scenes were excised and as a result the whole episode under-ran. With a deadline approaching Kay and Erin didn't have the time they needed to rework it and had to insert a number of 'vision scenes' to make the episode meet is running time and as a result all involved felt that is was less than satisfying as an episode of the show.

It's surprising just how heavy handed Fox were during that second season but from their point of view they had ploughed a significant amount of money into Millennium (money they cut quite considerably in the second and third seasons) and they felt the format was failing and drastic measures were needed to ensure its survival. Perhaps they ought to have left the creative decisions up to the writers.

Eth