BACKTOFRANKBLACK EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: JAMES JORDAN LOOKS BACK ON VIRTUAL SEASON FIVE OF MILLENNIUM!


With news that the Virtual Sixth Season of Millennium has now gone into production, coupled with the stellar response we received to our previous retrospective on Virtual Season Four, James Jordan kindly agreed to talk to BackToFrankBlack about his time working on twenty new episodes of Millennium. Millennium Virtual Season 5 was created by a dedicated group of Millennium fans eager to continue the journeys of retired FBI Agent and Criminal Profiler Frank Black. Each professionally written weekly episode aired online from January to June 2007. This is a behind the scenes look at their journey.

MARK HAYDEN: Could you tell us a little about yourself in terms of any writing projects you were involved with prior to Virtual Season Five? Was this a steep learning curve for yourself or something you had dabbled in to some degree previously?

JAMES JORDAN: I’d written a few odd scripts and I was honing the craft, so the mechanics of screenwriting weren’t new to me but I’d never undertaken such a huge, collaborative project before. I don’t think you can truly be prepared for how much hard work it is until you’re caught up in everything.

MH: At the time the Virtual Fourth Season was created the team involved were fuelled by the very recent cancellation of the show and a desire to see it reach the millennium and tie up the loose ends of the televised series. Considering that they felt they had achieved their mandate what inspired the Virtual Fifth Season and what story did you believe there was left to tell?

JJ: That’s a very good question! It was Tony Black, my fellow executive producer, who first proposed it. At first I wasn’t sure if it was viable or something I’d be interested in for those exact reasons, but the more we talked about the storytelling possibilities and the enduring character of Frank Black, the more tempting it became.

When we hit upon the idea of tying together all the post-millennial catastrophes and how that could be interpreted as an apocalypse unfolding in very real terms, that seemed to be the key to making the series relevant and interesting to our present times. Plus of course, Frank and Jordan hadn’t stopped living in the intervening years and there w
ould always be lots of opportunities for standalone episodes, so the chance to expand on this compelling world that Chris Carter created proved irresistible.

MH: I am fascinated by the mechanics that went in to the creation of any virtual season. From working on BackToFrankBlack I am all too aware of the sheer hard work that goes into a fan product of any kind, work that remains undetected by those who enjoy the results. Could you describe the experience of working on that season and offer a brief synopsis of the highs and lows of it?

JJ: We approached it as much like a television production as possible over the internet, which I suppose is the main difference between a virtual season and fan fiction, if you will. We worked out of a private forum where the staff would gather together to plan and structure the skeleton of the season, break individual episodes and organize deadlines and such. I’d take a pass on each script in the tradition in which US shows are run, then the final versions would go up on the website every Friday.

The highs were seeing all these people doing great work and getting some very gratifying feedback from readers. But of course we had our hits and misses and it could be both tiring and stressful. I think the hardest it got was when I got a draft in very late that was basically half finished, and I was up all night feverishly rewriting to get it out on schedule that Friday. Thankfully it only went down to the wire that once, and most of the time we were having fun with these characters and telling their stories.

MH: Could you tell us a little about the Virtual Five crew? From where did you draw supporters and contributors, how were roles assigned and so on and whether the team has continued to communicate and contribute to further projects of this kind?

JJ: At first there was an open call at the well-known fan site This Is Who We Are, which is where Tony and I first started working together and assembling a staff of volunteers. As we realized we needed confident scriptwriters as much as we needed dedicated Millennium fans, we moved over to a network that Tony had set up with ties to an existing writing community which is where we teamed up with Angelo Shrine who wrote some of our most popular episodes.

We also got I
an Austin to step in fairly late on and pick up some of the slack, and one of the unsung heroes of the project, JT Vaughn, who did all of the graphics and images for all our promos as well as our variant of the main title sequence. One or two of the other writers have lost touch, but Tony and Angelo have written episodes of a Night Stalker continuation that I’ve been running, and all those guys have got projects of their own on the go at MZP too. I would never have imagined how much I’ve been sucked into this world back when we first started VS5.

MH: Once you'd established a creative team what ground rules, or guidance, was implemented to ensure that the final product felt like a Millennium project rather than an original work with the Millennium characters inserted into it. Are there any particular televised episodes that you allowed to flavour the tone of the season you were writing?

JJ: To start off, I put together a bible that established the basic points that Tony and I had agreed on, along with where we saw characters like Frank Black at this point in time and the overall tone and direction we were aiming for. So all the writers had that to keep us on the same page, plus we’d break all the episodes together to make sure things stayed consistent, or sometimes I’d write the outline and hand it to a writer to do their script from, because some people prefer to work that way. We’d try and pick out as many little details as we could to evoke the visual sensibilities of the show, the opening epigrams and the legends for example, just to add to that authentic Millennium experience. I don’t think there were any specific episodes we picked out for reference, but broadly speaking we always said we’d try to hearken back to the tone of the first season while bringing our own flavour to it all.

MH: You introduced a number of original characters in the Virtual Fifth Season. Were you aware of any differences between writing for characters you had created as opposed to those you had enjoyed as on screen creations. Is it harder to ensure a consistent personality and voice for an original creation than one who was already very established?

JJ: Absolutely, yes. When it comes to Frank Black, you’ve got the benefit of 67 TV episodes and everything an actor brings to the character, all Lance Henriksen’s brilliant facial reactions and mannerisms, not to mention that fantastic voice. There’s so much to draw on and replicate with points of reference an audience would recognize. With an original character you have none of that. A reader will never hear an actor reading the lines, never see them bring it to life, so you have to try and compensate for that on the page as best you can.

We had our young detective Brad Locke as our second lead, and to try and get him to stand up to Frank Black and not feel overly similar to any other past characters could be very difficult. The same could be said for Miranda Graff, the romantic interest for Frank who couldn’t just be another Catherine but at the same time had to be carefully written so as not to disrespect her memory either. I think most people would a
gree that it’s generally easier to write for Frank, and I know that I certainly found the same to be true for the likes of Lucy Butler.

MH
: For the fans, a virtual season allows them to enjoy another slice of the characters and the show they support but wherein lies the enjoyment for those behind the scenes? Given the amount of sheer hard slog involved with creating something like this how does all that hard work reap its dividends?

JJ: The writing is its own reward, in many respects. As much as it is hard work, the enjoyment is just as you say in revisiting these characters and having fun with them in their world. We did it for the love of it and nothing more, after all. But I suppose the greatest reward is when someone reads our work, or I should say when someone tells us they’ve read it and what they thought, be it good or bad. Otherwise it’s like a tree falling in the forest. As enjoyable as it is to do, the scripts are written to be read, of course, and when someone spends their free time reading 60-odd pages of fan-written stuff and maybe even sending us a little feedback, it’s the most gratifying thing in the world.

MH: Virtual Season Four was heavily inspired by the mythology of Season Two of Millennium. What particular mythology drove your own season and can you give us a brief, spoiler free version, of what the particular arc for your season was if any.

JJ: We agreed fairly early on that we wanted to go in a different direction to the season two style mythology. Just as all three seasons of Millennium had their own unique identity by virtue of three different sets of showrunners, we decided we’d follow that pattern and establish our own identity compared to VS4 since, true to history, we were yet another different creative team. But we were always very firm on respecting the great work of our predecessors and treating it as canon, or “fanon” if you will. Our mythology episodes are basically about the idea that the apocalypse is in progress having only just got started in 2001.

We sort of follow the concept of “an apocalypse of our own creation” posited towards the end of season three. We look at things that are happening all around us like H5N1, missile defense platforms, natural disasters and terrorism with an eye for how they
might be interpreted as symptomatic of the end times. There’s also quite a lot of what fans would call “Legion” throughout the season and how this force of evil may be turning its eye from Frank to Jordan.

MH: The virtual Fourth season was able to bring itself to the attention of Chris Carter who, almost, appeared to endorse it. We know Lance was particularly impressed with the project as was Kay Reindl who passed comment and offered praise regarding the project. Were you able to bring your own season to the attention of any of the cast and crew?

JJ: Not that I’m aware. We got a brief mention in Sci Fi Now magazine once, but that’s about it. The internet is such a different beast now to what it was in the 90s, there’s no novelty value to this kind of thing now, and of course the show had been off the air for a long time before we got started. I’d be very surprised if anyone outside our little corner of the internet knew VS5 existed.

MH: With hindsight and experience what advice can you give those who are currently in the process of working on Virtual Season Six of the show?

JJ: Give yourself plenty of time! You really don’t get a sense of how much work it is until you’re in the thick of it all. And focus on making the scripts the best they can be. As much fun as it is to come up with new ideas and play with promos and extras, if you haven’t got the scripts you haven’t really got anything. Best of luck!

Please join with me in thanking James for taking the time to answer our questions and if you have not had the chance to enjoy the Virtual Season Five of Millennium then may I urge you, as one who has enjoyed it many times, to do just that. You won't regret it.

HERE'S DIRT'S THING: BEWARE OF THE DOG!

Ladies and gentlemen it's time, once again, for our masked avenger, wrestlemaniac and super powered reviewer DiRT to cast his x-ray vision upon another episode of Millennium and direct his considerable following in our direction in the process. This time it's time for a wander down to Bucksnort for season two's Beware of The Dog.

Beware Of The Dog sees Frank travel to Bucksnort, a small town where residents fear for their lives outdoors after the sun goes down, when packs of blood-thirsty dogs roam the streets. Here he discovers that the Millennium Group and its members may be far stranger than is common knowledge and that there may be truth to legends of demons who took on the form of canines. Whatever you think of this episode, kudos has to be given for introducing R.G. Armstrong as The Old Man, a character who was to become beloved of fans and rightly so. So grab some coffee with half-fat cream (and don't forget the cinnamon this time) let's see what DiRT thought shall we?


So did he get it right or do we we have to send a pack of baying hounds after his blood? Here's where you tell us what you thought of his thoughts. Rest assured, DiRT does check out your comments so please do share them. And whilst I'm here, I hope you will join me in wishing all our US friends, including DiRT, a truly wonderful Thanksgiving Day.

As always, every new video we add to Youtube, or is
added to Youtube for us, reaches out to a whole new audience and may find a Millennium who never knew of our campaign in the process. Don't forget, keep sending those letters and postcards to Mr. Steve Asbell.

As always, lend your considerable support to the man and go visit his own websites and find out what it's all about. Remember, every video made for the this campaign is an indispensable way of reaching out to a potential new campaigner.

Mark
  • To visit his website and enjoy the numerous things he has on offer, click here!
  • To check out his Youtube channel and view more reviews from the man himself, visit here!

A NEW MILLENNIUM - VIRTUAL SEASON SIX MOVES INTO PRODUCTION!

It was a show that some say was too dark for television, too disturbing for its audience, but it is now almost universally accepted that Chris Carter's Millennium was ahead of its time. Before CSI, before Criminal Profiler, before Numbers, Millennium terrified and thrilled for three outstanding seasons. In the countdown to the landmark year 2000, it revealed the darkest layers of the human soul, and those who would sacrifice everything to fight it's corruption and evil.

In 1998, the show was cancelled, but that wasn't the end. The following year a dedicated group of fans created their own continuation, a virtual season 4, that addressed many of the unanswered questions left by the show's premature end, and posed some of their own, in a series of weekly published screenplays, professionally formatted and produced. Another team, inspired by their success and creativity, produced a virtual season 5 in 2007, again to critical acclaim.

It seems the appeal of former FBI agent Frank Black and his battle against the evil that men do continues to grow with DVD sales and the BackToFrankBlack campaign, which supports both series' star Lance Henriksen and creator Chris Carter's wish to see a Frank Black feature film. In the meantime, fans do not only have the VS4 and 5 to enjoy, but over the past year, rumours and whispers of a proposed Virtual Season 6 have surfaced.

"Well, those rumours are true," confirms showrunner Barry Renshaw, a comic book and storyboard artist, and a longtime Millennium fan. "After months of development, plans have been laid down that will see Frank Black through not just a season 6, but a final season 7 as well. Millennium was, in my view, never just about reaching the year 2000. What happens afterwards to these characters is just as important, if not more so, than that date itself."

With a team of writers forged from the forum This Is Who We Are, including co-showrunners Joe McBrayer and Harry Smyth, Renshaw understands that everyone has their favourite aspect of the show, which had different executive producers on each season. "There are a few frustrating inconsistancies natural with any TV show, and indeed, with real life," he suggests. "Up to now, however, we at VS6 believe you have only seen certain aspects of the world of Millennium. Even Frank Black, with all his insight and heightened facilities, could never see the whole picture. With VS6, we aim to reveal the whole tapestry, and more importantly, ask what new questions and dangers and mysteries such a reveal will mean for Frank and and his now teenage daughter Jordan."

Episode 6.01 will be released on Friday 3rd September 2010, with each episode released weekly. In the lead up to that date, there will be teasers, special events, and multimedia material that will be released. In fact, some secrets of VS6 are already out there on the internet, if you know where to look.

However, the VS6 is not yet set in stone: "What we need right now are writers," explains Renshaw. "Each season has 22 episodes to fill, and although we at VS6 are few, the Group is Legion. So we're inviting interested writers to get in touch via the TIWWA forum. If you would like a chance to help define the future of Frank Black, and to help raise public awareness for the BTFB campaign, now is the time to get involved. We need writers who can not just bring ideas to the table, but who know how to format and pace a screenplay for TV. Your ideas don't need to be fully formed, as of course the showrunners and story editors will help shape them for the season and fit them into our planned arc, but we would like all potential writers to have submitted their interest in the project by 25th December 2009."

The clock is ticking. The time is near. And for some, it's running out.

BackToFrankBlack.com, throws it's support behind this project and behind Barry and the team and if your are interested in being part of this virtual season and helping the team in the way they have described above simply email us at info@backtofrankblack.com and we will forward your correspondence to them.

AVATAR VISION PROUDLY PRESENTS: GUILTY WEEDS!

Time once again for another Millennium music video courtesy of our video guru Josef. Each and every week Josef locks himself away in The Spotnitz Sanitarium and creates another musical montage in the hope that we can reach another potential campaigner via the power of Youtube and I know you guys have come to enjoy his work and look forward to it. You can help this campaign by joining Josef and making a video of your own. It needn't be something as complex as a music video, a simple recording of yourself talking about support for this campaign is all we need. Give it some thought.

This week we turn our attention to Frank Spontnitz's Weeds, a tale of a private community and the fate that begins to befall a group of young men made to pay, literally, for the sins of their fathers. Interestingly, Frank Spotnitz himself considers this his least favourite episode of Millennium but states that the idea behind it is an interesting one. What do you guys think? Do your share his opinion or consider it one of the greats? Either way, settle back and enjoy the show!



So don't be shy. Let Josef know what you think of his latest creation and tell us what you think about the episode. A good one, a great one, a very thin and white one? We want to know your thoughts so please do leave us a few comments as we really enjoy hearing from all you good people.

As promised, each music new release from Josef will be accompanied by a postcard that we urge you to send to Steve Asbell at 20th Century Fox. Making 20th Century Fox aware that we are here to stay and active in our support of a Millennium Movie is a vital way you can help this campaign achieve its ends. We are regularly asked what is the best way to help this campaign and there is no finer way than sending this postcard. The only way we can bring this show back is to make some noise and continue making that noise. That's how we will bring Frank Black back.

Mark

To see the address you need to send this to as well as a range of others you might like to send, click here!

  • To visit Josef's Youtube page and ch eck out his own collection of videos, click here!
  • To check out his myspace page and listen to some of his original compositions, click here!