Catholicism and Millennium

[Guest dubbljay]

Given how long this show has been off the air, I'm sure this topic has been broached; still, I'd be curious to know if others have noted the many Catholic influences and references in the series. Some are more subtle than others, of course, and as a returnee to the Faith, I'm delighted by all of it. Are any of the show's creators/producers/directors Catholic?

I'd also appreciate some help with picking an episode that my Catholic friends--those unfamiliar with the show--could get into without being turned off? I have a couple of ideas but wouldn't mind a few suggestions.

Thanks!

[Earthnut]

There are definitely catholic influences in the series, and many other religions as well. For example, the belief in the Russian mythological being called, "Yaponchik," in Maranatha. In Sacrament, before Frank's sister-in-law is abducted, they are in St. John's Catholic church for her child's baptism. And of course, there's other episodes, and plenty of references to satanic worship.

Libby would probably have to be the one to answer who all is Catholic and who isn't. She's like a living data base for the show.

[Libby]

(Discussions about religion can be somewhat tricky because it's do with people's personal beliefs, and there have been problems in the past.)

There are episodes where themes from other belief systems are involved, as Earthnut says. There's also episodes such as Anamnesis, which is more Dan Brown territory than mainstream Catholicism; and A Single Blade of Grass, which involves native American beliefs; and Forcing the End involves Jewish beliefs.

I think the writers/producers used whatever bits of whatever belief systems they wanted for dramatic reasons, without being influenced by any one particular belief system. They'd also use whatever would be recognisable for the majority of the audience, and as the primary audience would be the USA it isn't surprising that many of the episodes took elements from the Christian faith, as opposed to themes used by TV and movies aimed primarily to audiences in Asia or the Far East.

If I were a living database, Earthnut, I'd have an entry telling me where the heck I'd put my file containing episode synopses – which would have saved me the time it took to find it.

However, from memory(!), I don't recall M&W or Chip ever mentioning their own personal beliefs. But CC has said publicly that he was raised Southern Baptist (until he discovered surfing) and his wife has said publicly that she is Jewish – so an eclectic mix.

Anyway, I hope I've managed to keep within the board guidelines (see: "Our Policies", next to "View New Content" – top right of the main page – and scroll down to "The Golden Rules" #16). If I've overstepped the line, I expect The Old Man will be along with the Big Stick of Doom.

[IHaveGoodInstincts]

Hello and Welcome!

My big draw to Millennium was that they took the concept of evil seriously and realistically, both in the natural and supernatural sense, if I can call it that without too much explanation. They did this by using many different ideas, not all of which I personally agree with, but they did it in ways that were basically respectable to many perspectives and/or faiths. The bad guy in "Kingdon Come" clearly had big problems with faith and belief in God, but the tone of the story made characters like Ardis question her own stance of being "Happily Cynnical" about religious issues. What about that bird that flew into the window and died? Even that raises questions, for children and adults.

The wild and crazy looking "Somehow Satan Got Behind Me" closely parallels "The Screwtape Letters," written by C.S. Lewis, who is considered by many to be one of the great Christian theolgians of recent time.

[inkster]

I like that comment about the show taking it seriously. I think that's why it has stuck with so many Catholics and Anglicans (myself included). I find most shows have to add humour somewhere along the line to avoid anything they think viewers will find awkard. Or producers get nervous if there's a silence there no one can put their finger on. They get scared and think viewers will too (or advertisers I guess)

Great discussion by the way!

[Guest Bad Boy Dazza]

I think the show had STRONG Catholic vibes however there were episodes which went against Catholic doctrine, mainly Anamnesis, in which Peter Watts says the Millenium group believed Jesus had biological children through Mary Magdalene.

[Earthnut]

Basically, the show went in just about any direction the writers could think of, and maybe that's one reason why the show is so good, it had an awesome variety and always kept the viewer guessing or leaving them with a question. People love that.

Humor is necessary in everything, a TV series, a book, otherwise some people would get bored with the same old same old. Spending an evening at the Donut Hole is a blast. Just don't drink the coffee.

[IHaveGoodInstincts]

I like that comment about the show taking it seriously. I think that's why it has stuck with so many Catholics and Anglicans (myself included). I find most shows have to add humour somewhere along the line to avoid anything they think viewers will find awkard. Or producers get nervous if there's a silence there no one can put their finger on. They get scared and think viewers will too (or advertisers I guess)

Great discussion by the way!

Welcome Inkster!

Millennium did a lot of things well. I find season 1 of the show to have a much more subtle type of humor. Even the producers have stated that they found it difficult to inject humor into the show. There are a lot of lines in "The Judge" that still make me chuckle, including the auction yell, and where Bletcher tells Frank that 500 years ago he would have been burned as a witch. Season 2 and 3 seemed to find more ways to get humor in, but it was still a pretty serious show.

[BillQS]

One of the things about Millennium, especially in Season 2 is that many episodes have a "religious" flavor, although little of what is depicted is actual Catholic Doctrine or Dogma. If anything, as has been said above, the stories lean into a Dan Brown kind of flavor, using religious iconography as a backdrop for telling a thriller.

I think the depiction of the Russian immigrant community in Maranatha from Season 1 is very interesting, especially in the way it explores some areas of Eastern Orthodoxy which being Westerners we don't see much of.

[SmokeyPSD]

Me personally I never felt Catholicism too strongly in Millennium, it was more the concept of faith being shown. In a variety of settings, paths and iconographies and also the personal battle to keep it in the march to the end of days for individuals.