Jose Chung

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

I'm pretty sure that he was one of Darin Morgan's favorite actor, since he was in 3 of his 4 X-Files and in 1 of his 2 MM.

He played the deformed Horror Museum guy in Humbug, a fortuneteller in CBFR and the hypnotiser in Jose Chung's "From Outer Space".

Actually, I think that almost all of his appearance were quite standard. The only one in which he gave a great perfomance was in Lamentation which is his only role in an episode NOT written by Darin Morgan as far as I can remember.

Ahh, OK, I very rarely put links together as far as who wrote what and what actors were used. As I watch episodes in the future I should take note of the writers more, and I'm sure other stuff like that will pop up. I can't really say that I remember much about Humbug, but I agree, other than Lamentation, he kind of blends into the scenery and is just a small ingredient in the episodes. You would think, given his uniquely odd looks, that I would have picked up on some of these other roles, but a lot of that can probably be explained by the fact that I haven't watched much X-files in the past five years.

[Guest CrusaderFrank]

One of the hardest times I've laughed while watching television was at the end of the episode:

"Don't try, you'll never make it!"

"Not with that attitude I won't! "

*plop*

I laughed so hard and for so long at that! He didn't even come CLOSE to the other side!

This episode is the "Lumpy Gravy" of the Millennium catalogue. If you're a Zappa fan, you'll know; if you're not, no amount of bandwidth is sufficient to explain it. It's a weird seemingly "out-of-place" episode that only makes sense in terms of looking at the whole catalogue.

[Guest F_Black]

I have to admit, I liked the Jose Chung X-Files more, even after seeing the MM one again. Though I do appreciate a lot of the inside jokes. Duchovny appears in a poster at one point of the ep.

I mean, let's face it, can ANYTHING compete with Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek as Men In Black? Not to mention the pie-eating scene. . . . .

[Guest PeterWatts]

Wow, I just got done watching "Jose Chung's Doomsday defense", and I can't believe how much I had forgotten. First off, I had forgotten how utterly brilliant, hilarious, intelligent and clever this episode was. This was an episode of Millennium, one of the darkest series in the history of television, yet, I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard or so often. Once again, Lance Henriksen displays an incredible acting range in this episode, and all of the regulars who appear, Peter Watts, Giebelhouse, are totally effective in their revised roles in this masterpiece. Charles Reilley also turns in a spectacular performance and, in fact, got a well deserved Emmy nomination for it. As far as I'm concerned, Lance could have easily gotten some kind of nomination himself, as this is one of his best performances. The scene where he plays the fictional detective where he delivers the shot to the crotch is simply priceless and a highlight of the series. Something about that character reminds me of his character in "color of night". I had also forgotten the scene where they used the posters of David Duchovney (sp?) and many of the other small subtleties that made this episode so enjoyable and memorable.

agreed. this episode is my alltime favorite Millennium episode. Lance's crotch punch had me in stitches.

I also liked the cheeky David Duchovney poster on the wall of the Selfosophist's office. i've been trying to remember other X-Files references but could only come up with 3:

1. jose chung's doomsday defense - the david duchovney poster

2. 4th horseman (I think) - it's when Peter Watts steals the old man's belongings from some basement and notices a Morley cigarette butt on the floor.

3. through a glass, darkly OR human essence from season 3 - I can't recall offhand if it's either of these episodes but there's a scene where frank black is pursuing a suspect in some apartment complex and one of the tenants is watching the x-files episode "Killswitch".....you can heary Scully in the background.

are there any others?

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

agreed. this episode is my alltime favorite Millennium episode. Lance's crotch punch had me in stitches.

I also liked the cheeky David Duchovney poster on the wall of the Selfosophist's office. i've been trying to remember other X-Files references but could only come up with 3:

1. jose chung's doomsday defense - the david duchovney poster

2. 4th horseman (I think) - it's when Peter Watts steals the old man's belongings from some basement and notices a Morley cigarette butt on the floor.

3. through a glass, darkly OR human essence from season 3 - I can't recall offhand if it's either of these episodes but there's a scene where frank black is pursuing a suspect in some apartment complex and one of the tenants is watching the x-files episode "Killswitch".....you can heary Scully in the background.

are there any others?

Yes, it was a great episode, and brilliantly written. I think you got all or most of the X-files references, but there is one more that I can think of. I don't know if this counts, but in Lamentation, Frank is going up a flight of stairs, and Peter Watts calls him to get his attention. I believe they are in the FBI building in Quantico or another FBI building, and when Frank turns around, you can see a tall man with in a suit with short hair and a short women with red hair in a "Scully" type outfit. There is speculation that these two actors were Mulder and Scully's doubles and were intended to look like the two of them passing by.

[Guest PeterWatts]

in Lamentation, Frank is going up a flight of stairs, and Peter Watts calls him to get his attention. I believe they are in the FBI building in Quantico or another FBI building, and when Frank turns around, you can see a tall man with in a suit with short hair and a short women with red hair in a "Scully" type outfit. There is speculation that these two actors were Mulder and Scully's doubles and were intended to look like the two of them passing by.

I vaguely remember this. think i'll have to watch this one again.

[nothing i do is magic]

https://www.chrisnu.com/millennium/s1/index...pgmFilters=#pic

i know i've seen other versions of it (that is, stills from the same scene), but here is the one from chrisnu's site (22 of the lametnation pics if link doesn't work)

[Guest Jim McLean]

I love this episode, thought my girlfriend found the.. flavour of the episode somewhat difficult to embrace; it clashed too heavily with the consistency of the show.

In some senses I have to agree. There is a danger in the scene when Frank brings Jose to the crime scene and to Peter, that the general process of Frank's work is almost parodied in the humour, and while it's fun to watch, I must admit, suddenly I found the tone was actually eating away at the foundations of the concept a little. Not enough to damage it (for I am bright enough to understand that it IS a show, but enough that I felt a little.. uncomfortable seeing a show which feels so real, suddenly feel so.. staged, maybe.

But aside from that, the writing is a delight, full of humour and philosophy. The acting is top notch all round and it was a good move killing Jose, adding poignancy and an element of Millennium's darkness to a show which was lighter than the usual affair!

[Guest ZeusFaber]

As much as I find Season Two to be, by and large, a misstep in many respects, "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defence" is the exception. Perhaps it's because I see it almost as its own entity, as part of the Darin Morgan cannon if you will, and as a sequel to "Jose Chung's From Outer Space".

I bemoan the tonal shifts of the likes of "Beware of the Dog", the misconceptions in "A Single Blade of Grass" and "Midnight of the Century", the outright silliness of "The Hand of Saint Sebastian" and "Owls"/"Roosters", but when it comes to Darin Morgan's work, none of my other issues apply and I feel nothing but happiness due to the outstanding writing ability on show. Do I contradict myself in doing so? Perhaps, but it's one of those delightful contradictions.

[Guest Jim McLean]

As much as I find Season Two to be, by and large, a misstep in many respects, "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defence" is the exception. Perhaps it's because I see it almost as its own entity, as part of the Darin Morgan cannon if you will, and as a sequel to "Jose Chung's From Outer Space".

Interesting. Funnily enough, my partner suggested the same in her own way; that she enjoyed Jose Chung.. but felt it worked - for her - only in its own canon. Okay, she's not fannish enough to say "canon", so excuse my translation. Basically she enjoyed it, but feels better separating it out from Millennium because it just is a step in a direction she can't reconcile with the rest of the series.

I bemoan the tonal shifts of the likes of "Beware of the Dog", the misconceptions in "A Single Blade of Grass" and "Midnight of the Century", the outright silliness of "The Hand of Saint Sebastian" and "Owls"/"Roosters", but when it comes to Darin Morgan's work, none of my other issues apply and I feel nothing but happiness due to the outstanding writing ability on show. Do I contradict myself in doing so? Perhaps, but it's one of those delightful contradictions.

I certainly agree on his writing, though given Midnight of the Century is possibly my favourite Millennium episode so far, and not being too affected by "The Hand" given that while a rather odd step for Frank, the content is in keeping with the chosen direction of Season two. As for "Beware of the Dog", while like "The Hand" its content is in keeping with Season Two, it just feels like a very bad X-Files handmedown, so I agree there. It just felt too much of a sidestep from what we've seen of Frank's world to really work for me. Plus 80% of it was fairly dull to boot.