Just a writer's note before I get started; this review is more about the series itself in general but I'll still cover the episodes on this tape.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the TV show "Millennium", it aired from October 1996 to its eventual demise in May of 1999. Chris Carter, famous for creating the pop culture phenomenon The X-Files was under heavy pressure by Fox to make another prime time series.

Using The X-Files as a showcase for his new show, Millennium blasted off to some of the highest ratings for a television show ever. However, the subject matter within each episode seemed to scare off the average viewer, and over time the show ran into ratings problems on it's Friday night timeslot and finally after three seasons, Fox cancelled it. It's a shame, because this was really the only series ever on TV that actually managed to scare me. It also makes X-Files look as harmless as bambi by comparison.

Millennium stars Lance Henriksen (The Terminator, Aliens) as a former FBI serial profiler Frank Black. What makes his character more interesting than most is that he can literally see inside the killer's head, but as he's often said, his gift is also his greatest curse. You may have heard of this before, in the film "From Hell" where Johnny Depp has the same ability, and it's basically a take-off.

"The Pilot", the first episode on this tape kicks the series off in fine form. Frank, who previously resided in Washington, D.C. has given up chasing down twisted, psychotic serial killers after things start to affect his family, and returns home to Seattle. Once he's there though, he's met by another ex-FBI agent named Watts (Terry O'Quinn) who tries to recruit Frank into the ranks of the shadowy Millennium Group. Their motives aren't always clear, but they either want to control or stop the end time. It may sound funny now after 2000 passed without a hitch, but the story and excellent writing keep it going and it's always entertaining.

The group likes Frank's ability to see inside the killer's mind, and they're attracted by what he can do. In the pilot, Frank works with the local Seattle police to try and apprehend the Frenchman, a killer leaving mysterious clues in French. There's also some great performance by Frank's wife Catherine (Megan Gallagher) and his daughter Jordan (Brittany Tiplady).

In the second part of the tape we have the episode "Gehenna", an evil, devilish incarnate that Frank will encounter several times in the seasons to follow. The heavy mists and rainy streets of Vancouver (where it was filmed) provides the perfect backdrop for a dark and foreboding atmosphere. While some people may complain that Millennium's third season was a step down from the previous two, it was still better than 95% of all the other crime shows on TV.

The production values in the series were consistently high, and the acting was just incredible. How Lance Henriksen didn't win an Emmy for his haunting portrayal of a man terrorized by all the evil surrounding him, I'll never know. In many ways I thought this series, while darker and far more disturbing, was better than The X-Files. This 2 episode VHS is probably pricey and hard to find, but television may never be this strong or realistic again, and you might find a copy at amazon.com.

Take a look at what's on the tube these days. There are dry, un-funny sitcoms, dramas that are far past their glory days, and a seemingly endless amount of reality television shows. It really makes you appreciate what good TV used to be like. "Millennium" throughout its three year run was a frighteningly real depiction of the world we live in and Frank Black's struggle to deal with it. The writing was top notch, the acting was as good as any motion picture, and the atmosphere was intense. If there was ever a more powerful television series, I've yet to see it.



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age