Worldwide Fan Project Update!


Thank for those who are sending in the videos. We've seen more coming in these past few days and I'd like to thank those who have sent.

An apology for those in the past 12 hours who have tried and had a mailbox exceeded message -- this is from video files overloading our mailbox!

The mailbox is clear, so please try sending again to info@backtofrankblack.com

If this happens again, please send to jim@backtofrankblack.com as an alternative!

These fan messages are vital to the campaign. It is a way of showing FOX the diversity of fans from across the world who support the return of Frank Black. If we can, we'll be seeing if Lance will do one for us, too. So, if you want your face in a video along with the man himself, you're a ten minute job away from doing just that!

Just use a cellphone to record a five second message of yourself saying "This Is Who We Are", then send it to your computer (unless your cell is brilliant enough to send a video file to an email address) and email to the above addresses!

This is a way for you guys to get really involved in this campaign. This is your voice and your face speaking for what you want! Don't miss this opportunity!

Future Back to Frank Black Staffer?

One of the amazing things about working on this campaign to bring Frank Black back to the big screen is that we get to meet fans of Lance Henriksen from all over the world. At last count, there have been people coming to the site from over 30 countries! This definitely shows that Millennium and Lance Henriksen have a worldwide appeal. FOX, are you reading this?

Right now, Back to Frank Black has a complete staff for the first time and we are running like a well-oiled machine, but let's not forget that we all have lives outside of the campaign. That's why it is with great pleasure that we present a future staff member. In the video clip you will see below is the lovely Juliet Balmean. She is the daughter of Back to Frank Black staff members Max and Christina. At just 17 months she sits in front of the TV and, although some very creepy images of the Pumpkinhead monster appear on screen, she just takes it in stride. One of the cutest things we have ever seen! Please join us in thanking Max and Christina in letting us share this great clip with all of you!

What the Killer Sees: Connor

Killer: Connor (John Fleck)

Episode: “Blood Relatives” (6 December 1996)

Writer: Chip Johannessen

Director: James Charleston

Quote: “How could anyone abandon a child? But millions of people do it. Millions. God, it’s scary. We have home after home filled with kids like James. And we know they'll turn violent. How do I tell the survivors that no one saw it coming? They're out there, Frank... People full of holes.” --Catherine Black

Profile: The narrative twists of this episode remind us of the shades of grey involved in profiling and the investigative process as a whole. It is for this reason that James Dickerson finds himself under suspicion for so much of the investigation. In addition to insinuating himself into families during their grief at the funerals of men comparable in age to him, he is noted to have been collecting souvenirs from the personal effects of the deceased.

As we have seen before, killers will sometimes collect souvenirs from a kill to remind themselves of the experience, and in a different way Dickerson does the same thing here to remind himself of the personal connection he has made with the families he has encountered. As Catherine Black’s analysis of his history notes, “He's a classic lost child. And there's an army of them just like him. Put up for adoption at one-and-a-half, never placed, in and out of foster care, reform school, abuse. He essentially raised himself... No-one showed him how to connect with the world. Odd as this may sound, going to funerals is his attempt.”

Dickerson’s resulting absence of self-worth and self-concern is so acute that when his mother rejects him again to his face once he is in custody, he even admits to two murders that he never committed. This is the tragedy at the heart of this story, of the psychological damage wrought on him as a child from his experiences. Frank notes to Peter Watts that he fits the profile and that he is capable of committing murder. But, as it turns out, he is not guilty. Capability coupled with behavioural similarities to those exhibited by killers does not imply that someone necessarily has made or ever will make that leap to murderous violence.

We actually know much less about the killer himself: Connor, trustee of the halfway house at which Dickerson resides. From his attitude towards Dickerson and his reaction to the sight of his mother we know that he takes a great interest in him, even to the extent of concealing him from the police. Quite what his motives are we can only guess at, but it seems likely that his own background mirrors Dickerson’s in some way and that he is seeking to compensate for this, to create a family of sorts. They may well also be a sexual component in his apparent special interest in Dickerson, but there is no overt evidence to support this. We can, however, be almost certain that his previous record would have been unblemished in order for him to be able to hold such a position as trustee of the halfway house in the first instance.

We do learn a little more about Connor from his modus operandi, though, and in particular the mutilation of his victims. The nature and physical origin of a wound pattern can often inform an assessment of the motivation behind a murder and the character of the killer. This is true for injuries that represent overkill, control-oriented, defensive or precautionary force, or how or where on the body that force was administered, plus whether it was inflicted before or after death.
Frank is able to discern that the words “STOP LOOKING” that were carved into Tina’s abdomen were done with care and consideration. This mutilation and the same words traced in pollen on the clothing of Jeffrey Cort as discovered by Peter Watts, were both inflicted after death and therefore directed at someone other than the victim. With the style of the “S” copied from the style of the Skorpion Salvage yard where Connor concealed Dickerson and the wording itself copied from the motivational message on a board in the halfway house, there are strong indications that the messages were intended for Dickerson.

This was a warning from Connor to Dickerson to stop looking for a sense of family elsewhere, an attempt to retain control, power and ownership over him, whether or not there is an implied sexual aspect underlying these motivations. It is this same motivation that leads Connor to attack Mrs Dechant, seeking to strike at the heart of Dickerson’s estranged and fractured family. James Dickerson’s entire life has been devoid of any real sense of familial love, and Connor’s unnatural interest in him represents yet another failing of the system to support his welfare in its absence.

Kills: 2

Investigation: James Dickerson remains the prime suspect throughout much of the investigation, with his personal and criminal past plus his stalking of bereaved families all seeming to provide additional evidence of his guilt. Catherine Black also provides good insights into the social care system and the effects of its failings upon those caught up in it. It is only when tracking Dickerson to the halfway house that things begin take a turn, with Connor being obviously obstructive to the police. Discussing the case with Catherine, Frank makes the leap that the message “STOP LOOKING” is not a message from Dickerson but to him, and it is this realisation that leads Frank to visit Dickerson’s mother, narrowly rescuing her from becoming Connor’s next victim.

Re-release: Sarah Jane Redmond Interview!


Back To Frank Black are proud to re-release one of their personal favourites - the Sarah Jane Redmond interview! This interview brings you Lucy Butler herself in a frank (pardon the pun) and relaxed interview session.

We have a bonus snippet of Sarah and the Back To Frank Black campaign PDF included for those who have purchased the iPhone App! Purchasing the app for your iPhone helps fund the campaign. No money taken by the campaign goes anywhere but back into the project.

For those who haven't heard this interview, enjoy! For those who have - take a wander down memory lane with Lucy!



Or..





Available on iTunes: search for "BacktoFrankBlack" or "Millennium Group Sessions" and click subscribe!

Adam and the B2FB WorldWide Fan Project!


To help, encourage and/or inspire fellow fans, Back To Frank Black staff writer, brainstormer and rather sparky fellow Adam Chamberlain has agreed to put his video for the Worldwide Fan Project up onto the blog.

For those a little less in the know than my good self (and obviously Adam as well), Back to Frank Black will be doing a montage of videos of fans from across the world declaring their love for the show in a simple phrase "This Is Who We Are".



This video doesn't have to be long, it doesn't have to be smart, it just has to "be". If you want to do one that somehow signifies who you are, maybe via a landmark that associates you to your country, or maybe something personal to you that shows what you're about (a teddy, a toy, a large rack of assorted used and unused carving knives etc), that's brilliant but not essential.

Once complete, send to info@backtofrankblack.com. These only have to be short -- quality isn't vital. For many, it is just a quick recording on their cell/mobile phone, plug into the computer, transfer the movie to the hard-drive and send via email to us.

Simples, ja?

Halloween Week Competition: The Winner


We hark back to Halloween Week now to revisit the sinister subject matter of our holiday competition. In Millennium's "Thirteen Years Later," method actor turned madman Marc Bianco adopts the identities of a half-dozen killers from classic slasher films. Inspired by this entertaining identity crisis as well as the irreverent spirit of the Halloween season, Back to Frank Black asked you: which famous fictional killer from film or television would you most like to be and why?

The responses we received for this competition were astonishingly diverse as well as both thought-provoking and entertaining. The winning entry is that composed by Gregg Wright, who wrote to tell us that he'd choose to be Richard B. Riddick, the "quintessential anti-hero" portrayed by Vin Diesel in Pitch Black (2000) and The Chronicles of Riddick (2004). Gregg explains:

"Riddick is the ultimate human predator and the ultimate hunter of man... No prison can hold Riddick, at least not forever. He will, inevitably, escape... He is, by far, the most dangerous man in the universe and one of the most badass fictional characters ever created. But he retains just enough of his humanity that I can respect him. In such a harsh and unforgiving universe, Riddick can't be blamed for becoming the man that he is. I think that on some level, we can all relate."


With his answer Gregg has won himself a copy of Nightmares in Red, White, and Blue (2009) signed by both Joe Maddrey and Lance Henriksen! Congratulations, Gregg! And a hearty Back to Frank Black thank you goes out to all those who participated in this particular competition. It was a pleasure to share a somewhat chilling glimpse at your own personal dark side.