BACKTOFRANKBLACK.COM

UPDATE BOOKMARKS - News page moved to "Backtofrankback.com"

2011-05-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

BIG change for Back to Frank Black - this news page will now run directly from http://www.backtofrankblack.com

As you can see above, BacktoFrankBlack.com is going through a major facelift - this includes a new style and all its components being situated onsite - which means this newspage hosted by blogger is... well, sadly, redundant for the large part.

This is quite sad as Blogger has served us since the start and I feel like we're retiring an old friend. All the posts made here have been archived at BacktoFrankBlack.com and we have no intention of closing this down; it is just unlikely to be updated.

SO UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS FOR BACKTOFRANKBLACK news to http://www.backtofrankblack.com!

FEARSOME FRIDAY: MILLENNIUM APOCALYPSE, SEASON ONE EPISODE THREE

2011-05-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the third of our exclusive "Fearsome Fridays" at Back To Frank Black!

Every Friday at 8pm EST we will be airing Season One of Millennium Apocalypse for your viewing pleasure, and to prepare you for Season Two later this year!

Millennium Apocalypse was created by Jason Morris of In Pieces Productions and stars Shoni Alysse-Cook as an adult Jordan Black, sucked back into the horrific legacy left by the Millennium Group and coming terms with her "gifts". This independent film project was - unsurprisingly - inspired by Millennium, Jason being a big fan. If you missed our recent podcast with Jason, please check it out after you've watched the episode!

For each episode of the first season, Jason and Shoni have recorded a special introduction. This short introduction from the MA team is exclusive to Back to Frank Black.

It will come to no surprise that Jason is a big believer in the return of Millennium and has been actively supporting us in trying to bring Frank Black back!

So sit back and enjoy Episode Three of Season One of Millennium Apocalypse!

Join us again next Friday at 8pm EST for Part Four!

Second Sight: "Sacrament"

2011-05-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

“Sacrament” (21 February 1997)

Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Michael Watkins
Editor: Chris Willingham, A.C.E.

Quote: “Been sitting here trying to prepare myself for whatever happens... That’s the Black family: try to anticipate the future so you don’t have to dwell on the past.” --Thomas Black

Overview: Since viewers were first introduced to Frank Black in Millennium’s pilot episode, his disturbing visions have become progressively more complex with each passing installment, each harrowing murder investigation. With cryptic connections mounting as the series neared the climax of its first season, it seemed that the mythology building up around the profiler’s visionary talents would soon take us well beyond mere investigative insights. In “Sacrament,” Frank Spotnitz begins to pull at loose threads left dangling from “Pilot” and “Dead Letters,” not to unravel the unfinished tapestry of Millennium but so that he may tie these threads neatly together in preparation for the epic dramas to come.

“Sacrament” stands as a milestone in that it is the first episode to openly suggest that there is an extraordinary inheritance possessed by Jordan Black. This is revealed subtly yet irrefutably in a pair of scenes that would put any concerned parent on alert. With tears in her eyes and anguish in her voice, Jordan expresses concern over the abuse being inflicted on her aunt, in spite of the fact that the child is undoubtedly being shielded from the horrors traumatizing her family. At the moment Helen Black is kidnapped, Jordan bears witness to the brutal abduction, seeing the events remotely from the sanctity of the vacant church. (The only alternative reading to this scene is the even more dramatic suggestion that Jordan is observing traumas to come, prophetically anticipating the terrible fate that awaits her Aunt Helen.) The unavoidable implication is that Jordan is witnessing great violence with her mind’s eye--in precisely the same fashion as her father.

With its emphasis on family, “Sacrament” is able to quietly reinforce the great bond between this loving father and his beloved child, a connection that has resonated with viewers since Lance Henriksen and Brittany Tiplady first shared the screen. Indeed, our sense of their relationship is only strengthened by the presence of Thomas Black, a shaken and confused man who simply cannot relate to his stoic older brother. The episode’s memorable final shot--in which Frank takes Jordan aside, separate from the rest of the family, and the two walk away hand-in-hand--is so symbolic, so evocative that it would be echoed throughout the rest of the series. This lasting image leaves us with an affecting impression of the bond that connects Frank Black to his exceptional daughter, the sort of bond that can exist only between two kindred souls who share the same gift, the same curse. Theirs is the relationship that will prove to be the very core of Millennium’s unfolding mythology.

Connections: Following her ordeal at the church, Jordan Black is afflicted by a mysterious fever, the very same symptom for which she was hospitalized in “Pilot.” Jordan’s gift for prophetic visions was first hinted at, somewhat obliquely, in a nightmare seen in “Dead Letters.”

Trances in Total: 6 (0:14)

Gore Score: 10/10

Mark Snow X-Files Soundtrack Released

2011-05-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today sees the long-awaited and much-anticipated release of Mark Snow’s 4-disc soundtrack of his score from the television series run of The X-Files — filled with a wealth of never-before released material — by La La Land Records. Clocking in at a massive running time of 311 minutes, it contains music from "Pilot” all the way up to the series finale “The Truth” with many much lauded stops along the way, including a personal — and fan — favourite in “Scully’s Serenade” from the beginning of Season Eight. Full tracklisting and details on how to order are available at La La Land Records’ product listing. The release is limited to 3,000 copies, retails for the very reasonable price of $49.98 and, as if that were not enough, early orders will be autographed by Mark Snow whilst supplies last.

And just take a look at that photo. Not only will this set boast over 5 hours of blissful music from across all nine seasons of the series but it is a thing of beauty, with much care having gone into its design. It also comes with an extensive booklet which includes the article “There’s Something Out There — The Meeting of Mythology and Music in The X-Files” by film music journalist Randall D. Larson. It’s an absolute must-have for fans of Mark’s highly influential music, which was of course also such a pivotal piece of the jigsaw in the style and tone of Millennium. And not only is this the most definitive release of music from The X-Files to date, but it is tantalisingly subtitled Volume I, hinting at the possibility of more releases in the future. In fact, plans are already afoot to release Volume II next year.

Rest assured I will be ordering a copy the very moment it comes on sale, and I urge you all to do the same since — just like the superb Millennium 2-disc set that came before it — this title will undoubtedly sell out fast.

Reflections on the Lance Henriksen Blogathon

2011-05-09T11:08:00.001-07:00

Unless you’ve been on the moon, fans of Lance can’t have failed to notice that last week marked the Lance Henriksen Blogathon, co-hosted by the huge talents that are John Kenneth Muir and Joe Maddrey. It was also, of course, timed to coincide with the release of Lance’s biography, “Not Bad for a Human”.

The week-long event was a huge success with a wealth of material celebrating Lance’s long and varied career to date being blogged, and John rounded it all off with a special thankyou on his blog to all the contributors. What we wanted to do here at Back to Frank Black, though, was to highlight the wealth of Millennium-related material that showcased how alive support for the series still is, and point you back to some of the highlights in case you shamefully missed any of them.

Some of that material of course came from John and Joe themselves. John selected some memorable character-led scenes for his five favourite Frank Black moments and referenced Frank Black’s “quiet tenderness” as a father in his piece on “The Tao of Lance Henriksen”, whilst Joe recalled the critical reaction to Millennium’s debut in 1996 and asserted how “we need (Frank Black) now more than ever”.

Others joined the fray too. Jane Considine wrote about Season One’s “The Well-Worn Lock” and told of how she is “mesmerised by Frank Black”. And an extensive and carefully considered article over at Musings of a Sci-Fi Fanatic reminds us how “Henriksen’s approach is subtle, restrained, complex and vulnerable, the necessities required for the mood and depth of Chris Carter’s Millennium and such an extraordinary human character”. The same blog followed that epic with a reminder of some of the striking visual imagery of Season One.

Back to Frank Black’s voice was also in evidence throughout the week. James wrote a personal piece about Lance, reflecting upon his portrayal of Frank as “deeply, tragically human, filled with uncertainty, hope and love”, whilst Troy also talked of his personal friendship with Lance and summed him up as “The Essence of Excellence”. Meanwhile my regular column What the Killer Sees inverted its usual format in order to examine Frank’s transformation in the episode “The Beginning and the End” and Lance's finely nuanced handling of the role to ensure that the audience “continue to want to follow this complex hero on his journey through the dark”. It was a wonderful week and we’re just proud to have been a small part of it.

So go, read and enjoy all over again. And, when you're done, go write a letter or two.

Fearsome Friday: Millennium Apolcaypse, Season One Episode Two

2011-05-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the second of our exclusive "Fearsome Fridays" at Back To Frank Black!

Every Friday at 8pm EST we will be airing Season One of Millennium Apocalypse for your viewing pleasure, and to prepare you for Season Two later this year!

Millennium Apocalypse was created by Jason Morris of In Pieces Productions and stars Shoni Alysse-Cook as an adult Jordan Black, sucked back into the horrific legacy left by the Millennium Group and coming terms with her "gifts". This independent film project was - unsurprisingly - inspired by Millennium, Jason being a big fan. If you missed our recent podcast with Jason, please check it out after you've watched the episode!

For each episode and the first season, Jason and Shoni have recorded a special introduction. This short introduction from the MA team is exclusive to Back to Frank Black.

It will come to no surprise that Jason is a big believer in the return of Millennium and has been actively supporting us in trying to bring Frank Black back!

So sit back and enjoy Episode Two of Season One of.. Millennium Apocalypse!

Join us again next Friday at 8pm EST for part three!

Happy Birthday Lance Henriksen!

2011-05-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

All of us at Back to Frank Black would like to wish Lance Henriksen a very Happy Birthday! It's hard to believe that someone who keeps up the demanding schedule that Lance does is turning 71!

From Dog Day Afternoon, Aliens, Near Dark and Millennium to Hard Target, Lance has produced a body of work that can be matched by very few in the movie and television industry. Still, with all that work and critical acclaim from many top insiders, Lance remains as humble as ever. Still the consummate professional, still wanting to perfect his craft, Lance has shown what it truly means to be an artist in the entertainment industry.

Speaking on a personal note, I have had the privilege to get to know not only the actor, but the man himself. I can safely say that I can call Lance Henriksen a friend. He is truly appreciative of all the fan support that he has received over the years and thanks all of the fans who have done so throughout his 35 years in the industry. But don't fret, Lance isn't done yet, with several movies already in the can and several more projects on the way, he continues to stay busy. Most importantly, he just released his autobiography Not Bad For a Human. You can order the limited edition of the book by going here.

Although we wanted to do something on a grander scale, Lance asked us to keep it simple. So, all of us at Back to Frank Black ask you to take the time out of your busy schedules and leave Lance a birthday message. We know that he will be very happy to see the well wishes from all his fans!

Happy Birthday Lance from Back to Frank Black!!

"Not Bad for a Human": Order Your Copy Now!

2011-05-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

Well, folks. the long wait is over, your appetites can finally be sated... Back to Frank Black is very pleased to be able to pass on the (quite literally) hot off the press news that you can order your copy of "Not Bad for a Human" now!

The official website now has a link from which you can order a copy of the Limited Edition hardcover of Lance's official biography, co-written with Joe Maddrey. And, better still, order through the website and you will receive a copy SIGNED by Lance Henriksen. Back to Frank Black will be posting our own review of the book in the very near future, but it goes without saying that this is a must-have purchase for all fans of Lance and Millennium, with significant coverage given over to his time on the series. Here's your opportunity to own a very special version of this tome, so go there now!

What the Killer Sees: Frank Black

2011-05-04T02:01:00.000-07:00

The concept of What the Killer Sees is to explore the killers that featured in Millennium’s rich canon, to profile the antagonists to Frank Black’s singular hero. For this instalment, though, to mark Lance Henriksen Blogathon Week, I’m putting a spin on that format. Following on from last week’s look at the Polaroid Stalker, we consider the events that prompted Frank Black himself to turn killer, and how Lance Henriksen’s performance ensured the audience could believe such a shocking transformation...

Killer: Frank Black (Lance Henriksen)

Episode: “The Beginning and the End” (19 September 1997)
Writers: Glen Morgan & James Wong
Director: Thomas J. Wright

Quote: “I guess deep down I knew this hour would come. I thought I did everything I could to stop this from happening. What did I overlook? What could I have done? And now what must I sacrifice to have her back safe?” --Frank Black

Profile: Frank Black is Millennium’s beacon of hope. In a world tainted by moral bankruptcy, tormented by eldritch evils and teetering on the verge of apocalyptic meltdown he is our best line of defence. He knows evil having seen the world through the eyes of killers, and yet time and again he emerges from his visions triumphant and catches the bad man.

Throughout Season One, Lance Henriksen asserts Frank Black as a devoted husband and father to a wholly believable family unit. Famously, Chris Carter directed Lance to invest the consulting profiler with a sense of quiet authority through a stillness and reserve that did not come naturally to Lance but which led him to find the truth of the character. As a result, and in spite of his insights into the minds of killers, Frank seems so far from truly becoming the capability he so vividly comprehends. It is thus in the contrast to this consistency of poise and carefully measured control across the previous twenty-two episodes that Frank’s transformation in “The Beginning and the End” provides such a powerfully dramatic pay-off.

Yet Frank has been taunted for so long by the Polaroid Stalker’s missives that have repeatedly threatened to break the sanctity of his yellow house and to harm his family. Back home after the fruitless search for Catherine following the Polaroid Stalker’s kidnap of her and escape from Tacoma Airport, Frank asks Peter what he needs to sacrifice in order to get Catherine back. From his words and subsequent actions it is apparent he is willing to sacrifice at the very least his own liberty, if not his life. Having surmised the Polaroid Stalker’s location, he ignores Peter Watts’ plea to wait for backup and instead makes the decision to go there alone and armed. Finally confronted by the man who has taken his wife captive, his poise explodes into a few moments of devastatingly visceral violence, and he repeatedly stabs the man until he is dead. But for the Millennium Group’s further interference, he would not so readily have evaded being called to answer for the killing.

Even in the wake of her rescue, Catherine is left feeling conflicted from having witnessed Frank’s violent actions from such close quarters, telling him, “I don't know yet if it was wrong, what you did.” “Neither do I,” admits Frank. And neither do we, the audience, even as we are forced to consider how we might react if our most loved ones were under such threat. Plenty of portrayals of such an act of vengeance would leave the audience with no doubt as to the moral righteousness of the hero but, quite apart from his statement, the line walked by Frank Black’s character in this episode is a fine one. As Lance outlines in the documentary accompanying the Season Two DVD release, “Every action has a reaction, so no matter how pure of heart you might have been about something, you’re gonna pay the consequences, or pay for it. The truth definitely shouts. It set me out on my own.” It was a brave move to take the series’ protagonist and transform his behaviour in this way as part of its reinvention of the series, and one that might easily have gone awry.

But as John Kenneth Muir noted in his recent article on “The Tao of Lance Henriksen”, Lance embodies the very soul of the roles he undertakes, “without standing back — away from the performance — and transmitting some sense of moral judgment”. In a less nuanced or more straightforward performer’s creative grasp, Frank Black’s actions in “The Beginning and the End” might well have felt forced or untrue to the character by trying too hard to sell the audience on the righteousness of his revenge. As it is we believe Frank’s transformation and, as he drives away from his yellow house alone at the end of the episode, we continue to want to follow this complex hero on his journey through the dark.

There are a multitude of reasons why, thirteen or so years later, a legion of fans still stand firm in their resolve to return Frank Black to our screens. There is the initial creative vision of Chris Carter, the subsequent involvement of some of the very finest writers, directors, cinematographers and editors working in television throughout its three year run all contributing to a superlative body of work, but above all there is the one constant: Lance Henriksen’s unique interpretation of the role. For those of us well acquainted with Frank Black, Lance so inhabited the character that it seems inconceivable that anyone else could have played him, as the executives at FOX originally requested. Evil has many faces. Hope has just one. And, thanks to Lance, the world still needs Frank Black.

Lance Henriksen Blogathon Week: My Life with Lance

2011-05-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

I've squandered much McLean-time trying to decide on a witty and engaging collective huddle of words on the subject of Lance Henriksen. Oddly, my musing seemed to revolve heavily around nudity gags. Alas, such lazy jokes didn't seem to quite fit the tone of the piece, so rather than continue laboured forced imagined "hilarity", I figured I'd write this au naturel myself - nude. There - it's no longer a joke, it's a fact.

Amused? Repulsed? Well if I've got you past the opening paragraph, I really don't care which ballpark you decide to sit in – you're still with me, hopefully for a little longer. So where was I? Ah, Lance.

This attempt to coax, drive and pen alphabet letters into something more dignified than a swill-and-spit word mouthwash of sentences will be coherent - I promise. While focusing on Lance it will cling to me in that particular way my clothes currently do not: My personal history with Mr Henriksen.

Before Back To Frank Black and the drive to bring Lance's Millennium character back to our screens, I will have to admit not to being a massive follower of Lance. That sounds a terrible thing to say, but it's an honest one. Naturally I was a big fan of his work throughout Millennium, but before that my experiences of Lance were relatively slim – though nevertheless significant.

I first blindly encountered Lance in Terminator, but my real memory of him first comes from Aliens. Despite my penchant for the macabre as a child, having been brought up on darker British comics like 2000AD and Eagle from five upwards, I was oddly sensitive to particular horrors. There were a couple of ideas that seriously creeped me out, and I remember being told about Alien in the playground when I was just six, and that just stuck with me. I still have dreams of being six years old and the near hysterical fear about a film I had never seen – I actually dream of living that fear as a child; of what Alien could be like through the eyes of six year old me... dreams of a film I've seen more than a few times – even played the game and read the book. If that's not an example of what a stupid berk my brain is, I don't know what is.

But in that very human way, we are drawn to what scares us. And I remember seeing Aliens when I was in my teens. Now, I know many don't consider Aliens "horror", but the general template of a lot of horror (in my humbly arrogant opinion) is the “star” is the antagonistic force, not the protagonist; the people you care about aren't as important as the force that scares and kills them. However, in Aliens there are actually a host of protagonists you could actually care for a great deal – these weren't the usual canon fodder dressed up with mild personalties, food for an unstoppable enemy. For me, the starring protagonist wasn't Ripley, it was the synthetic android, Bishop.

Bishop was captivating – a fusion of counterpoints. Henriksen's synthetic Bishop played off a warm innocence against the character's cold artificial intelligence. His eyes were kind, filled with youthful honesty, set upon the face of a mature man. In the midst of the frantic horror, he was the calm in the storm. On first watch his role isn't quite as assuring given the uncertainty of synthetics in the franchise – thanks to the memorable portrayal of Ash in Alien by Ian Holm. However on repeated watches, knowing Bishop isn't a wolf in sheep's clothing, he grows on you and in a sense you feel so comfortable with the character that you believe in him – thanks very much to such a unique and memorable performance from Lance.

Bishop was, in fact, a perfect compliment to the film's survivors of Hicks, Newt and Ripley. This dynamic was so strong, they took this quartet into comic form – until Alien 3 came about and severed this partnership (in which the comics then hastily reissued the past stories with this team re-casting them as an identical group of people who weren't Hicks, Newt, Ripley and Bishop, but looked like Hicks, Newt, Ripley and Bishop – oh, the wicked web of comicdom).

The lack of Bishop in Alien 3 disappointed me, but Henriksen's work in the franchise had left its mark – he had me spellbound by his performance and his face was firmly etched into my celluloid memory archive.

That being said, I still didn't follow Lance like so many of you have done. I guess my viewing consumption didn't really flow with his output. I saw him in Scream 3 in the 90s, I don't remember catching him in anything else until... Millennium!

When Millennium came along and I saw his face on some promo photos, Lance sold me on watching it. And the promo pitches I saw were good, a nice blend of images that informed me so much of what this character was about – the sympathetic eyes of Bishop were there, but there was something deeper, something, conversely, human about this character – and this was proved true in the show itself. For if Bishop was an example of how humans ought to be in a broad utopian sense – selfless, honest, informed with a gift of kindness, Frank Black was what humans should be in a real contemporary world – once again, honest and to some degree selfless, but carrying human imperfections – some knowingly, some not so – burdened with flaws and experiences that, if we let them, can consume us. In Lance's portrayal of Frank Black I saw an actor who could carry this weight in a single look; an expression that told me this man had experience – he wasn't artificial, and he was deeply, tragically human, filled with uncertainty, hope and love.

And now I'm in a very fortunate position to know the man behind these two characters. And as Frank is different to Bishop, Lance is different to both – yet in some respects imbues facets of the two. There is a natural honesty to Lance that he carries in both of these characters – but compared to Frank or Bishop there is a really raw energy in Lance Henriksen, an unstoppable urge to get things done, to find solutions and to make the most of a situation. He doesn't let himself dwell on the negatives in life, but he doesn't ignore the pain and suffering that he knows is present – and is always willing to contribute in anyway to fight such real horror. Perhaps in that respect, you can see shades of Frank, but if with Frank there's a passive dedication to hope, with Lance it's an active pursuit. And unlike both those characters, he is a man of great wit and humour – he can seriously make you laugh. He is opinionated and informed – he will say what he thinks and in his art he puts his all into the roles he plays. Moreover, he loves his fans and followers – he watches his Facebook page avidly, never taking the support for granted – in fact, I sometimes suspect slightly bemused at why he's worthy of such support at all. I don't think it's a question he lingers on. He is very much a man of the moment who simply enjoys the fact the interaction is there.

So this is where I stand today, working along side the man for Back to Frank Black and very honoured to be his friend as much as a co-worker. But while this piece is very much about my perception of the man, I hope it can be something to you, the reader. So often we are spellbound or seduced by such powerful performers on our screen and left wondering whether that thespian mask hides a man worthy of respect. Do we see any of the artist within his art, or is his art a true deception? In the case of Lance Henriksen, I hope I can assure those who do weigh up such a question that this man is firmly in the former category. Behind the many diverse roles Lance has played is an artist who you can watch knowing he's worth your respect – and he is a man who will always wear your respect as a badge of honour.

So happy birthday to Lance this week, an actor whose honest creativity deserves such an honour roll. And with that, I bid you goodnight – I'm off to put some clothes on.
- James McLean

New Auction has begun!

2011-05-02T03:33:00.000-07:00

Another round of Back To Frank Black's auctions [EDIT] Has begun!

Script: 1.0

Script: Powder

Script: No Contest 2

Script: The untold

Mark Snow Pack - Signed Limited Edition Millennium Soundtrack and photo!

As always, all proceeds will be going to www.childrenofthenight.org - a charity to help kids out of child prostitution. A worthy cause. To learn a little more, please watch the video below created by Joselyn Rojas and the rest of the B2FB staff.

Welcome to Fearsome Friday!

2011-04-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first of our exclusive "Fearsome Fridays" at Back To Frank Black!

From this Friday, every Friday we will be airing Season One of Millennium Apocalypse for your viewing pleasure, and to prepare you for Season Two later this year!

Millennium Apocalypse was created by Jason Morris of In Pieces Productions and stars Shoni Alysse-Cook as an adult Jordan Black, sucked back into the horrific legacy left by the Millennium Group and coming terms with her "gifts". This independent film project was - unsurprisingly - inspired by Millennium, Jason being a big fan. If you missed our recent podcast with Jason, please check it out after you've watched the episode!

To warm you up for the episode and the first season, Jason and Shoni have recorded a special introduction to Episode One for you to enjoy. Each episode will have a short introduction from the team, exclusive to this Back to Frank Black presentation. It will come to no surprise that Jason is a big believer in the return of Millennium and has been actively supporting us in trying to bring Frank Black back!

So sit back and enjoy Episode One of Season One of.. Millennium Apocalypse!

What the Killer Sees: The Polaroid Stalker

2011-04-29T02:01:00.000-07:00

What the Killer Sees explores a seminal if almost entirely absent figure from Millennium's first season for this edition, a character also utilised to set an altogether different tone at the outset of Season Two. Whilst a fascinating creation in and of himself, this is also by way of lead-in for a very special edition to mark next week's Lance Henriksen Blogathon Week. More of that in due course, as for now we explore the man who took Frank Black back into the abyss...

Killer: The Polaroid Stalker (Doug Hutchison)

Episode: “The Beginning and the End” (19 September 1997)
Writers: Glen Morgan & James Wong
Director: Thomas J. Wright

Quote: “I am the first and I am the last, I am the alpha and I am the omega, I am the beginning and I am the end. And soon he will come to understand this as he works to get inside me: with me his gift is useless. I don't fit into the serial killer profile he's come to understand. Now, I am so far beyond. I wasn't from a broken home, he’ll find no homicidal triad in my childhood, no setting of fires, no bed wetting, no cruelty to animals. I’ve had a formal education, responsibility, money. Until recently, not a loner. He’ll work on the principle that behaviour reflects personality. He’ll evaluate the criminal act itself, then the specifics of the crime scene, analyse the victim—which, of course, he knows well—before attempting the development of a profile with critical offender characteristics. This will lead him nowhere, absolutely nowhere, because until now I’ve committed no crime. This is something he’s never experienced before. Frustrated, agonised, angry even, he’ll turn to those torturous photographs I'm so fond of mailing him. He’ll consider complex theories regarding grandiose subtypes of delusional disorder or even photographic paraphilia… blah, blah, blah. Ultimately he will sense none of it applies.” --The Polaroid Stalker

Profile: For so long an unseen enigma, then—in “Paper Dove”—a briefly glimpsed collaborator or director of a serial killer, The Polaroid Stalker finally reveals himself and his motivation for having taunted Frank Black for months during “The Beginning and the End”. So far as we know, The Polaroid Stalker is not of course actually a killer and therefore arguably has no place in this column. His character is, however, one that bears closer examination.

Initial considerations might seem to indicate that The Polaroid Stalker fits a classic stalker profile. The stalker is usually motivated by some kind of underlying emotional conflict with his target, who is usually female, and psychologically can be delusional or non-delusional. The Polaroid Stalker, in spite of his evident state of mind, appears to be non-delusional in this aspect, as per the FBI Crime Classification Manual; his target is Frank Black, he is very organised in terms of luring him in and there is no sexual motive at work. His photographs of Frank’s family appear to represent a symbolic threat aimed at Catherine and Jordan, the very people that Frank holds dear above all others and seeks to protect within the sanctity of his yellow house, and are addressed explicitly to him.

Ultimately stalkers do reach a point where they act towards their victims, and The Polaroid Stalker is highly organised in this respect. His abduction of Catherine and subsequent evasion of roadblocks to his hideout required intricate planning. Any suggestions of photographic paraphilia can be quickly dispelled, revealed to be little more than a smokescreen. Frank Black is his ultimate target.

In many ways, the cited quote from the Stalker himself is key to understanding his true motive. As he talks Catherine through Frank Black’s thought processes in trying to profile him, he reveals an in-depth knowledge of his craft. Furthermore, he seems to have an understanding of The Millennium Group and their sinister agenda, taunting Catherine further at one point when he asks her, “Would you die for God, then? Would you, could you? Because I won't. No, they asked me to but I won't. They're gonna ask Frank if he's willing to give his life for you.” That, coupled with the Group’s detailed file on him, seems to imply that he may have been a previous candidate, much as Frank Black is now. The Group’s design for the ouroboros even appears on the wall in his hideout. Perhaps, then, The Polaroid Stalker is another individual broken by his former connection to the Group. A former student of theology, his knowledge of biblical prophecy is apparent, whilst his rantings to Catherine foreshadow some of those of Lara Means a matter of months later. And maybe his ultimate motive is to reveal the dangers that they pose, and finally to seek his own dramatic execution at Frank’s hands.

Kills: 0

Investigation: This investigation is borne of a scenario that has actively sought out Frank Black, rather than the other way around. After Catherine’s abduction from Seattle Tacoma Airport and having failed to halt The Polaroid Stalker’s escape from the airport or via use of roadblocks, he returns home in turmoil.

The hasty arrival of Peter Watts at the airport and his subsequent conversation with Frank at his home begin to reveal that The Millennium Group know far more about The Polaroid Stalker than they have admitted. When Watts has Roedecker and his colleagues provide Frank with a new level of access to their files, this truth becomes yet more apparent.

Frank studies the history of the stalker from the Group’s files but nothing about the Polaroid Stalker fits any established pattern. Ultimately, however, he realises the profile is really all about him. And this leads him on a personal mission, one that will change his life forever.

XFN joins Back to Frank Black and It's A Good Day For It!

2011-04-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

What better way to promote a movie that stars two very well known 1013 alumni than by Back to Frank Black joining forces with our brothers and sisters from www.XFilesNews.com !

Well that day is here, 1013 friends - actors Lance Henriksen and X-Files hero Robert Patrick both star in the upcoming film Good Day For It.

The film boasts an impressive cast. Along with Lance and Robert, Hal Holbrook, Robert Englund, Christian Kane and Kathy Baker also star.

Back to Frank Black recently had the pleasure of speaking with director Nick Stagliano who wanted to pass on some information to the fans. The film will make it's debut at the Newport Beach Film Festival on Saturday April 30th. After the film, Nick will be involved in a Q&A with the attendees about the film.

While speaking to Nick he told us that our support would be a big help. If all the 1013 fans could go to the Newport Beach Film Festival site and let your voice be heard. Make sure you click either "like" or "add" for the film, which will help the film in the final rankings. Also, when you see the movie, make sure you go to the film's IMDB page and leave your review and thoughts on the film.

Back to Frank Black is teaming up with XFilesNews.com to spread the word about this film and show that with our support, we can help make this film a huge success!

Nick will be doing an exclusive interview with Back to Frank Black in the next several days and we will be sure to share it with all of you! So please join us and X-FilesNews.com and show your support for this film!

For more information, please visit the Newport Beach Film Festival website here.

Video Showcase - Paint it Black!

2011-04-24T16:34:00.001-07:00

We will start to feature videos from Millennium fans with this new feature, Video Showcase. If you are interested in sending in a video, you can email us at info@backtofrankblack.com. The video can be a trailer, music video or whatever you like, so long as it is Millennium related.

The first offering is from someone who isn't a stranger to fans of this website. Jason Morris is the man behind the fan series Millennium Apocalypse. We will be debuting the first episode of Season One later this week, but right now Jason has sent us a clip that promotes both us as well as the debut of his series on our website. It's a very unusual approach and one that we think works quite well!

Second Sight: "The Thin White Line"

2011-04-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

“The Thin White Line” (14 February 1997)

Writers: Glen Morgan & James Wong
Director: Thomas J. Wright
Editor: Stephen Mark

Quote: “Can you see what I see, FBI? Can you see your fear? Can you see what you really are?” --Richard Alan Hance

Overview: At Millennium’s very center is an intrinsic concern with the nature of dreams and visions. This is, in part, because Millennium is a television series that continually embraced modes of alternate perception, both stylistically and thematically. Through the eyes of its visionary heroes and its delusional villains, the series explored the ways in which our memories, emotions, and instincts reveal themselves in the way that we see the world around us.

Perhaps no installment of Millennium’s first season embraces this more fully than “The Thin White Line.” The manhunt for copycat serial killer Jacob Tyler, who murders innocent men and women based on wishful fantasies, forces Frank Black to confront his own past. Thanks to an inventive script, the story that unfolds allows him to do this somewhat literally in some scenes. Our hero’s remarkable inner eye is expanded yet again as his trademark visions are supplemented with recurring nightmares, dreams in which the profiler is forced to relive one of the most terrifying confrontations of his life. One of these dream sequences in particular, in which the present day Frank joins forces with his wide-eyed younger self in an effort to rewrite history, beautifully enacts the psychological struggle of the story. “The Thin White Line” stands as one of the first season’s strongest episodes and this remains one of the first season’s most memorable moments.

In both nightmares and flashback sequences, “The Thin White Line” also offers us a number of minor tidbits that contribute to the mystery and mythology surrounding our hero’s remarkable talents. Dialogue suggests to us that Frank’s “feelings” had earned him something of a reputation among his colleagues as early as 1977, when he was a member of the FBI team that captured Richard Alan Hance. Marked on his palm as one of this fearsome killer’s victims, staring into the face of his own death as he endures Hance’s vicious taunts, Frank experiences the sudden flare of one of his visions. This is the first occurrence of one of Frank’s visions, chronologically speaking, shown to us in the series thus far. Whether they represent the hero’s intuitive imaginings or some prophetic insight, we now know that Frank Black was seeing what the killer sees as early as the late seventies.

This scene also marks out “The Thin White Line” as one of the few Millennium episodes in which the hero’s visions are in some way internalized, offering a self-conscious glimpse of his own fears, his own potential fate. Glen Morgan and James Wong remain true to form with this script, forever aiming to more deeply explore Frank Black’s unique way of seeing the world, to ensure that his visions contributed to the themes of the story rather than providing highly-stylized distraction or plot loopholes. This is the same writing duo that first hinted at Jordan Black’s inheritance with the bad dreams of “Dead Letters,” the same team that first turned Frank Black’s visions inward in a feverish nightmare seen in “522666.” Yes, dreams are undeniably key to understanding this series and the struggles of its characters. Under the direction of Morgan and Wong, dreams and visions would become an increasingly intrinsic element of Millennium’s deepening mythology.

Connections: Jacob Tyler’s delusional fantasies, in which he imagines his victims to be volunteering themselves, are based on the hallucinations of real life serial killer Herbert Mullin, who murdered thirteen victims in California in 1972 and 1973. Frank Black’s visions were first utilized for introspective purposes in a nightmare he experienced in “522666,” also scripted by Glen Morgan and James Wong. Serial killer Richard Alan Hance has been previously profiled in Adam Chamberlain’s What the Killer Sees.

Trances in Total: 5 (0:16)

Gore Score: 4/10

Millennium Apocalypse Season One to debut at Back to Frank Black!

2011-04-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

There is no limit to the talent that exists in the Millennium fan community. Every day we here at Back to Frank Black meet and chat with people from all over the world! We are truly amazed at the talent these fine folks often offer to share with their fellow Millennium fans. Well, we now bring you something that takes fan art to a whole new level.

Jason Morris is an independent filmmaker from California. He is also a huge Millennium fan and, back in 2004, he wanted to show his appreciation for the show. So what did Jason do? He only gathered a bunch of his friends, wrote scripts and came up with the very first Millennium themed web seriesm entitled Millennium Apocalypse! 13 episodes were produced for the first season and we are proud to announce that we will be showing the entire run here at Back to Frank Black!

We start with the first episode, entitled "The Beginning". Here we get the chance to first see Jordan, played by Shoni Alysse Cook, grown up and struggling to deal with her ability. I am sure you will find this series as enjoyable as all of us at Back to Frank Black did. The first episode will debut April 29th at 8pm EST. So, let's spread the word and get as many people in front of their laptops and monitors to watch this series! We must give a big THANK YOU to Jason Morris for allowing us to share his vision with all of you.

As a special bonus, Jason and Shoni are recording new footage to be added to the original episodes. Sort of introduction/commentary clips to make sure we are all up to speed. And as if that isn't enough, we will be giving away several signed copies of the DVD and the soundtrack. The soundtrack will be a special limited edition that will contain 2 additional tracks not on the original soundtrack release!

So please make sure you stay tuned to Back to Frank Black, watch all 13 episodes and please leave feedback for Jason, Shoni and the rest of the cast and crew from Millennium Apocalypse!

Believe in the Future! 10,013 Photos for a Greenlight XF3?

2011-04-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

As you know, we're not the only campaign to making noise right now in the Carter camp and I think we can all agree we are stronger united. With this mindset, please read and consider supporting the latest drive from the X-Files News.com staff. While Back to Frank Black looks to bring Frank Black in a form of TV Event, perhaps on FX if possible, X-Files News is looking towards the big screen for The X-Files and success is a good possibility... especially with your support. Have a read and see what you think about their latest venture - could you help bring about its goal?

So without further ado, please read on. I give you Tiffany Devol!

A picture is worth a thousand words and this year, X-Files fans are betting that 10,013 pictures are worth a greenlight for a third X-Files feature film. The Believe in the Future campaign, headed up by XFilesNews.com since 2009, has collected thousands of postcards, videos and souvenirs for Fox from fans of the series. Fox met with XFilesNews two years ago to accept a massive delivery of fan mail from around the world. Later this year, they are prepared to do it again.

The Believe in the Future campaign has the support of fans and fan groups in more than 30 countries representing 6 continents.

Despite the less than stellar performance of The X-Files: I Want to Believe in 2008, many fans and critics alike have pointed out that with December 2012 looming, Fox Film has a perfect opportunity to bring back the mythology of The X-Files.

The Believe in the Future campaign's 10,013 Photos for a Greenlight seeks to gather fan photos from around the world spanning the years 1993-2011 with messages to Fox explaining what The X-Files has meant to fans and why they should green light a third film.

Equally exciting is the news that an X-Files event is being held at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles on May 7th. Series creator Chris Carter is expected to be there along with actor Mitch Pileggi, executive producer R.W. Goodwin, writer and director Glen Morgan, and actors Sheila Larken and Jeff Gulka. A surprise guest is also slated to make an appearance for this Q&A and book signing for the recently released LAX-Files.

The X-Files is a pop culture icon with mentions in television, radio, newspaper and magazines even now, 9 years after the end of the series.

With 2012 around the corner and word that a third X-Files script is in the works as of this year, fans are ready to believe in (and make) the future together.

Tiffany Devol
XFilesNews.com

Millennium Apocalypse speak to Back to Frank Black

2011-04-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

Back to Frank Black speak to the creator of the exciting independent production Millennium Apocalypse, Jason Morris and the project's lead lady, Shoni Alysse-Cook, as the story enters its second season.

Back to Frank Black will be airing Season One on Friday nights shortly in preparation for Season Two later this year. Listen to what Jason and Shoni have to say on making Millennium Apocalypse and their feelings on the characters and world of Millennium!

To stream this podcast directly from this post, click the podcast player below!

If you would like to download this podcast for FREE, click here!

If you'd like to see a selection of our recent podcasts and reissues, click here!

This podcast is available on iTunes. Search for "Back to Frank Black" or "BacktoFrankBlack" and click "subscribe"!

This podcast is also available on iPhone and Android as part of the Back to Frank Black app! Nominal app fee goes towards supporting the campaign. No profits come from this app service.

Not Remotely Dead Letters

2011-04-18T01:13:00.000-07:00

There's a lot going on here at Back to Frank Black of late: fan panels, impending blogathons and the imminent publication of Lance's autobiography amongst them, with yet more to come. But whilst we hope you will all continue to savour and enjoy this content along with us, we also hope that it will only reinforce your resolve rather than distract you from our shared main mission: the return of Frank Black to our screens! And for that, above all else we still need you to keep sending those letters. Here's the man himself, Lance Henriksen, to remind you why:

With that in mind, here are those all-important details once again. We have pre-written PDF letters for both FX and FOX that you just need to print and sign, and also Word versions, again for both FX and FOX, should you wish to personalise your pleas. Please do "double up" and send your missives, in whatever form, to both FX and FOX, as this approach--as two-pronged as an ouroboros' tongue--is the one that will earn us the most attention with the people that can finally bring back Frank Black. Full details can be found on our letters page. And thanks, as always, to each and every one of you for your ongoing support.

What the Killer Sees: "Yaponchik"

2011-04-15T01:20:00.000-07:00

A recent impromptu trip to one of Russia’s former neighbouring states alongside the ongoing Fukushima nuclear plant disaster have informed the choice of killer for this instalment of What the Killer Sees. That choice also takes us into as yet uncharted territory: that of a killer who may cross the line between being understood via traditional profiling methods and the supernatural. Consider the man and myth known only as “Yaponchik”…

Killer: “Yaponchik” (Levani)

Episode: “Maranatha” (9 May 1997)
Writer: Chip Johannessen
Director: Peter Markle

Quote: “In the last days, the Antichrist appears and slaughters the faithful. The Bible doesn't say he has horns and a tail. He's an evil man, not supernatural. He can't walk on water.” --Frank Black

Profile: The name “Yaponhick” is mythical. Designed to instil fear, the moniker reputedly refers to a Russian bogeyman to whom brutal murders and disasters such as Chernobyl are ascribed, seemingly accurately based upon the episode’s teaser. Moreover, the character is undoubtedly modelled upon the real life Russian Mafia member Vyacheslav Ivankov, who was known by the same nickname and was himself active in the Brighton Beach area of New York in the 1990s. The name “Yaponchik” translates from the Russian as “The Little Japanese” and referenced his Asian features. Moreover, the title is one with a degree of honour accorded it by the hierarchy of the “vor v zakone” movement of the Russian criminal underworld and has thus been adopted by a number of its dons.

Supernatural or otherwise, Yaponchik in this guise certainly follows typical aspects of the mobster or hired assassin’s MO: brutal, calculated hits using glass ammunition in a sawn-off shotgun in order to obliterate a face and the further dehumanising removal of his victims’ fingers in order to prevent their identification. But as Frank Black notes during the course of the investigation, his killings are not motivated by anything as trite as mob violence. His involvement at Chernobyl underlines the kind of “terror tactic” that is really at work: a killer seeking constantly to spread fear and thereby enhance his reputation.

His miraculous recovery from having been shot at point blank range is hard to ignore, especially given its foretelling. But is Yaponchik really more than just a man? In spite of the talk of biblical prophecy that he provokes and the consuming fear that he instils, most of the influence he has on those around him could be explained by a wealth of charisma coupled with the kind of psychological effects mastered by the likes of Derren Brown. He is clearly sharply intelligent, but is Yaponchik merely another example of a killer exhibiting a God Complex, supported by the mythology attached to his given name? Or could he be something more?

Kills: 70

Investigation: Drawn in by the latest in a series of mutilation killings in New York, Frank Black, working alongside Peter Watts, the NYPD and assisted—or sometimes hindered—by the Moscow Police Department, soon finds himself embroiled in tales of Christian symbols, Russian superstitions and biblical prophecy. Links to Chernobyl and religious icons finally lead the team to the Russian Embassy and a man who goes by the name of Sergei Stepanovich. Their efforts are wrong-footed, however, when Detective Surova attempts to exact a private form of revenge, and Yaponchik seemingly escapes sure death in a manner predicted by the Book of Revelation.

The investigation climaxes atop a hospital helipad, as those who would protect the Russian diplomat ensure his escape. Ultimately, Yaponchik is as deft at evading justice as he is at evading death, and so the truth of just who he is lives on, as does his mythic status.

Podcast Re-Issue: Back To Frank Black Vs X-Files News?

2011-04-14T04:28:00.000-07:00

A reissue from the past of one such yesterday's previous morning's earlier hour. Yes, it's another podcast reissue! Perhaps not "versus", more "mutual respect", but hell that really lacks punch as a headline, does it not?

This time we have - or rather had - a natter with Avi and Tiffany from X-FilesNews.Com. We have another outing with the girls planned in the near future, so we figured we'd slap this one we made far earlier against your iPod's screeny thing!

To listen to this podcast right now, click the flash player below!

To download the podcast, you can download it HERE!

Or to look at the range of recent podcasts and select one to listen to, click HERE!

This podcast is available on iTunes. Search for "Back to Frank Black" or "BacktoFrankBlack" and click "subscribe"!

This podcast is also available on iPhone and Android as part of the Back to Frank Black app! Nominal app fee goes towards supporting the campaign. No profits come from this app service.

Lamentation Fan Panel Podcast!

2011-04-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

Jim and Troy and joined by four special guests to talk about the fantastic season 1 Millennium episode, Lamentation! Alison Nastasi, Alexandra Scarborough, Fredric Fritz and William Johnson - plus a very unusual out-take at the end of the episode!

Join us as we chat about possibly one of the best stories in the show's entire run!

To listen to this podcast right now, click the flash player below!

Coming soon! Lance Henriksen Blogathon Week!

2011-04-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

Back To Frank Black is very proud and perhaps, a little bit humbled to be co-announcing the latest, most exciting event for Lance Henriksen fans so far this year!

Alongside writer, reviewer and big Millennium fan John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film and TV, we are announcing the Lance Henriksen Blogathon Week! A week of Lance Henriksen blogging masterminded by John himself and Nightmares in Red, White and Blue writer/producer, Joe Maddrey!

So what's this about? Well I think John will - as always - put it more succinctly thank I. He's sent us his promotion for this upcoming Blogathon week for you all to read. It's a great idea - and we'd be honoured if you'd join us in supporting John and Joe in a week dedicated to Lance Henriksen! If you're a blogger and a Lance fan, this will be of GREAT interest to you!

Over to John!

"I'm very proud and honored to announce that this blog, Reflections on Film and TV, will soon host a blogathon dedicated to the great actor, Lance Henriksen. The dates for the Lance Henriksen Blogathon are May 2 - May 7, 2011, and the event is open to any and all bloggers with an interest in this amazing talent.

The week of May 2nd has been selected for two important reasons. First, Mr. Henriksen's birthday is on May 5th, 2011, and secondly he is releasing his new biography on the same day, entitled Not Bad for a Human. The book is being published over at Bloody Pulp Books, an imprint of Steve Niles, and you can read more about the project here.

Co-hosting the blogathon with me will be the book's co-author, Nightmares in Red, White and Blue writer/producer, Joseph Maddrey. You can check out Joe's blog devoted to Not Bad for a Human, here.

I'm thrilled to have Joe aboard with me for a week dedicated to one of the greatest and most versatile character actors of his generation, and a man who has had a tremendous impact on science fiction and horror films, as well as cult-television.

I have had the good fortune to speak with Lance Henriksen a few times; once for a telephone interview featured in The Unseen Forces: The Films of Sam Raimi, and once, more recently, when he was working on Not Bad for a Human with Joe. In both instances, I got a good feeling for Henriksen's personal and professional aesthetic or credo: total commitment, total honesty, and total freedom of artistic expression.

So those are truly the only guidelines for the upcoming blogathon.

Basically, any blogger who wants to write about Lance Henriksen during the blogathon week should do so on his or her blog (as often as you like), and then e-mail me their links at the address in my contact information (on my blogger profile page) so I can lpost a snippet or excerpt of your work and link back to your blog. I'll be checking my e-mail many times a day, every day, that week, and putting up links and snippets regularly, as well as my own original Henriksen content.

As far as content is actually concerned, the sky is absolutely the limit. We're looking for film or TV reviews, lists, photo essays, poetry, videos, podcasts, birthday wishes...anything that floats your boat, Henriksen-related. There's certainly a universe of content to consider, since Henriksen has appeared in over 160 films, from westerns to action films to sci-fi and horror and also starred in three seasons of Millennium.

So please join me and Joe here for the Lance Henriksen Blogathon, from May 2 - 7. I know there are great treats in store, with special pieces by friends across the blogosophere, and hopefully the event will really kick off Mr. Henriksen's birthday celebration in high style.

Below (and also above), I have posted a few banners for the upcoming blogathon. Please feel free to copy them and post them on your blogs if you're planning to participate.

We can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!"

FB4FX - Send those letters!

2011-04-05T05:56:00.001-07:00

Below we have our plea in video form to send those letters to FOX and FX! Thanks to Joselyn for the hard work!

Letter 1:
FOX
TV Publicity
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills,
CA 90213-0900
Letter templates (if desired)
FOX Letter PDF format (print and sign)
FOX Letter doc format (modify, print and sign)

Letter 2:
Letter to FX:
FX Network
Att: Programming
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills,
CA 90213-0900
Letter templates (if desired)
FX Letter PDF format (print and sign)
FX Letter doc format (modify, print and sign)

For the sake of two postage stamps, you could be making double the difference!

Second Sight: "Force Majeure"

2011-04-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

“Force Majeure” (7 February 1997)

Writer: Chip Johannessen
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Editor: G. Richard Potter

Quote: “You’re the one who knew where she’d be… [You’re] one of them.” --Lillian Mather singles out Frank Black

Overview: Revisiting “Force Majeure” so soon after the Tōhoku megathrust earthquake that recently devastated Japan lends this strange episode’s apocalyptic paranoia extra edge, even if we have to chuckle at any reference to the supposed worldwide cataclysm of May 5, 2000. Indeed, this is a somewhat jarring installment of Millennium, and not simply because the human tendency to seek out connections prompts each viewer to think of the myriad natural disasters in recent memory that might be reconsidered as “Earth Changes.” Amid the grim murder investigations of the show’s first season, Chip Johannessen’s bizarre tale of cloning and astronomical obsession sticks out as awkwardly as guest star Brad Dourif’s Dennis Hoffman might at a New Year’s Eve party. Yes, “Force Majeure” signals that change is in the wind. In subsequent episodes Millennium would begin to transform, rapidly expanding its thematic scope and sometimes reinventing its approach to televisual storytelling.

As the series begins to change, so too does our understanding of Frank Black’s visionary talents. A simple glance above at our usual graphic collage, made-up of screen grabs from this episode’s visions, suggests that our hero’s inner eye has been opened wider, so to speak. In “Force Majeure,” Frank’s flashes of insight feature the sort of imaginings we might expect from an astronomer or astrophysicist, not a forensic profiler. Serial killers and their vivisected victims have been swapped out for burning, fast-moving images of celestial bodies juxtaposed with microscopic examinations of a woman’s ova. Outer space and inner space collide before our eyes. The show’s perceptual canvas could not have possibly been expanded more dramatically. As these visions are paired with the rantings of Dennis Hoffman, we’re prompted once more to question whether or not there is prophecy in what Frank Black sees. It seems well-timed that Peter Watts, in the midst of pursuing a very grounded investigation into these almost Fortean events, should joke that he doesn’t believe in telepathy. Frank is now seeing patterns on an unimaginably grand scale and this surprising imagery suggests either an escalating shift in his understanding of the world or that there is some hint of omniscience in his astonishing gift.

Connections: In addition to the books of Genesis and Exodus, Dennis Hoffman cites the writings of Nostradamus, the sixteenth-century apothecary now famous for his apocalyptic prophecies. References to Nostradamus can also be found in “Pilot,” in which the Frenchman first suggested that Frank Black’s visions showed him glimpses of some future cataclysm.

Trances in Total: 2 (0:03)

Gore Score: 1/10

Millennium Movie Trailer?

2011-03-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

One of the great things about being part of the Back to Frank Black campaign is that we get to meet and associate with great fans from all over the world. Not only are they Millennium fans, but many of them are very talented! One such fan is someone who should be familiar to you. Jussi Saarikkomäki entered our Millennium Movie Poster Project and came in second place. Here is the entry that he sent in:

Well, Jussi is back again and this time he has come up with what he thinks could be the Millennium trailer! This was sent along to Lance Henriksen to take a look at and he really enjoyed it! So, after you watch this, please take a moment and leave a comment letting Jussi know what you thought of his work.

Happy Birthday Troy Foreman!

2011-03-27T10:08:00.000-07:00

His plan is success, and nothing will stop him from achieving his goal to bring back Frank Black. As such, there can only be one ruthless, dominating icon that I can lazily montage which to me screams Troy Foreman mash up!

I just love the pointy finger!

It's Troy's birthday - he's 68 today, and possibly needing some Viagra and stuff (yeah, that word will bump us on the search listing), but pity the old man with much false love like I do!

Happy Birthday Troy!

What the Killer Sees: Edward Petey

2011-03-25T01:09:00.000-07:00

For this edition, What the Killer Sees considers the antagonist from a Season One episode that I would argue is oft under-rated. One of just two instalments to have been scripted solely from the masterful pen of Frank Spotnitz, “Weeds” boasts concepts and imagery that linger long in the mind, whilst also tapping into something of a semi-recurring theme from Millennium’s first season. Enter through the tall gates of Vista Verde and bear witness to the horrors committed within the would-be haven of security that its inhabitants live within…

Killer: Edward Petey (Josh Clark)

Episode: “Weeds” (24 January 1997)
Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Michael Pattinson

Quote: “I'm their only hope. The fathers of these boys were all liars; they tried to hide their sins… You've seen what these men look like. You see what they'll do to their children. They'll make them just the way they are: sick and corrupt… I tried to help them. I care about these boys. Why am I the only one?” --Edward Petey

Profile: From its teaser onwards, this episode offers the viewer a rare insight into no less than “what the killer sees”, both in terms of his environment and the people within it. This is a warped vision of his actual surroundings, with dark, foreboding clouds scudding across a sky under which the people are “ugly, decaying” as Frank Black puts it. We first see Edward Petey sobbing at the wheel of his car from their effect, clearly deeply disturbed by the world he perceives around him.

Petey also exhibits behaviours in his modus operandi that speak to how he views himself. Even as he seeks to expose the originating wrongdoing with obtuse clues, he looks to “cleanse” his victims from the sins of their fathers by having them drink his blood. The religious overtones of such a ritual cannot and should not be ignored for they represent a God Complex or, more accurately, a severe narcissistic personality disorder. He claims a moral high ground over everyone within the community, exaggerated to the extent that he believes his blood carries the holy power to literally cure his victims of the poisonous influence of their forebears.

Edward Petey is one of a number of killers from Millennium’s first season — alongside those in such as episodes as “Pilot”, “The Judge” and “Kingdom Come” — who are driven to kill as a form of meting out moral judgment on what they perceive as a corrupt and broken world. As a result, none of them see what they do as wrong but quite the opposite. In Petey’s case, deeply affected by the hit-and-run that resulted in the death of Coach Burke’s son, he has become so outraged and disillusioned at the community around him that he seeks to “root out sin, expose hypocrisy” in a most violent and perverse fashion. Whilst extremely rare in real life, with serial killers more often motivated by their own internal desires and pathologies, by their actions these types of murderers serve to reflect the darkness of the world they inhabit outwards again, even as they act to reinforce it.

Kills: 2

Investigation: Faced with a pedestrian investigative police presence and the fumbled efforts of an outraged community, Frank takes a big risk in this case, namely his memorable, half-truthful claim at the meeting of Vista Verde’s inhabitants that that killer “doesn’t want anything — he’s insane.”

Frank knows this to be untrue but seeks to draw the killer out by prompting him into hasty action as a response to the taunt. Initially this seems to have been counter-productive when another victim is taken, but from the background noise on tape sent to Bob Birckenbuehl featuring the voice of his son, Frank Black and Cheryl Andrews are able to track the killer to his hideout beneath the high school swimming pool. They bring Petey into custody but too late to save Bob Birckenbuehl, who has heeded the warning that as a killer his life must be forfeit in order to save his son. Petey’s final act, then, is to indirectly deprive Charlie Birckenbuehl of his “sinful” father altogether.

FB4FX: Lance speaks!

2011-03-23T15:23:00.000-07:00

In regards to yesterday's post, we have a message from Lance Henriksen, Frank Black himself, in regards to the FX and FOX mail drive, to you!

Letter 1:
FOX
TV Publicity
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills,
CA 90213-0900
Letter templates (if desired)
FOX Letter PDF format (print and sign)
FOX Letter doc format (modify, print and sign)

Letter 2:
Letter to FX:
FX Network
Att: Programming
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills,
CA 90213-0900
Letter templates (if desired)
FX Letter PDF format (print and sign)
FX Letter doc format (modify, print and sign)

(website will be updated with these new templates shortly)

For the sake of two postage stamps, you could be making double the difference!

FB4FX: Big update!

2011-03-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

With Thomas J. Wright week firmly and rather successfully in the can, we felt it was time to bring you the very latest on the campaign to bring Frank Black to FX!

First off -- and most importantly -- we've been in contact with people at FX as a direct result of the letter campaign. This means that within a mere couple of weeks of sending letters, your voices have been heard! I think this shows just how important each and every one of you are to the campaign and to Frank Black, so a huge thank you to all that have written in thus far. Having consulted with a very helpful contact at FX as well as those wise men from the Millennium fold, we believe we are now in a better position to move the campaign on a stage further.

But only with your further help.

As a result of the discussions and advice we have received, we are now going to aim the campaign simultaneously at both FX and FOX. And that means we will need double your support! Again, I think recent events have proven that we can rely on that. Within a few weeks of the campaign to FX going live and even whilst we are still working behind the scenes too with this new focus, we received contact from FX about the influx of mail arriving on Ms Woodrow's desk. You made that happen. You, the consumer. In an age where social technology is putting the consumer more in control -- with DVDs sales, rentals, online streaming and the like -- your voices now hold the capability to be heard in more and more ways than ever before.

To explain the shift in focus in a little more detail, based on the advice and experience of our Millennium colleagues and recommendations from FX, we will be asking you to send your letters to a couple of different destinations. FX have a policy regarding unsolicited mail sent directly to individuals that means they do not necessarily receive the most attention. However, letters send to a specific mailbox location are collated and reviewed on a regular basis with their executives, specifically where many letters are received on a single subject. So if everyone reading this writes to the PO Box we list below for FX, with the same subject and in the same polite, thoughtful and intelligent tone that we know we can naturally expect from Millennium fans, those letters will make a very real difference and your voices will be heard.

At the same time, FOX still own the rights to Millennium and Frank Black and so we will be adding focus there too. By asking you to write to both FX and FOX simultaneously, we hope to encourage interest at FX such that they will go to "Mama" FOX and show their interest in the concept, interest that in turn will be further validated by your feedback to FOX.

In summary, we are looking at you guys and girls once again to really make a difference here. And additionally in the next few weeks we will be asking yet more of you! We will be on the look-out for avid Millennium and Lance fans to help us prove that interest is out there by recording and otherwise documenting your own interest and that of other fans at meetings, conventions, book signings... and pretty much anywhere there is a gathering of people who would want Frank Black back! More on that, with some all important dates and locations, in the coming days and weeks.

Here for now are the two new addresses - how to help us is explained below. We do appreciate the effort taken in sending letters -- especially by those of you who have already written to FX one or more times -- but as you have already proven it does yield results, so never doubt that! And with the social technology of the internet here binding us all together we have a big, big advantage in co-ordinating all our interest in this big push for the long awaited return of Frank Black!

How to help:
The addresses for both FOX and FX are both directed through the same PO Box. This may initially sound a bit mad, particularly if you've not worked at a large corporation. It's essentially a sorting house, so it is VITAL that you clearly mark both letters distinctly! Given letters are initially sorted, please do not use one envelope for both campaign letters! We need the letter drive to be clearly labelled and consistent throughout!

Letter 1:
FOX
TV Publicity
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills,
CA 90213-0900
Letter templates (if desired)
FOX Letter PDF format (print and sign)
FOX Letter doc format (modify, print and sign)

Letter 2:
Letter to FX:
FX Network
Att: Programming
P.O. Box 900
Beverly Hills,
CA 90213-0900
Letter templates (if desired)
FX Letter PDF format (print and sign)
FX Letter doc format (modify, print and sign)

(website will be updated with these new templates shortly)

For the sake of two postage stamps, you could be making double the difference!

Bring Me The Head of Lance Henriksen Podcast!

2011-03-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

A new exclusive Millennium Group Sessions podcast with the writer, director, producer and actor, Michael Worth about his project "Bring Me The Head of Lance Henriksen".

Want an idea what this is all about - here's the long teaser!

Michael is looking for any support he can get on this project and we're hoping that once you've heard the podcast you might have the time, money and inclination just to drop by their website and donate to the production. The link is below!

http://www.indiegogo.com/henriksenshead

To listen to this podcast right now, click the flash player below!

Second Sight: "Loin Like a Hunting Flame"

2011-03-18T11:01:00.001-07:00

“Loin Like a Hunting Flame” (31 January 1997)

Writer: Ted Mann
Director: David Nutter
Editor: Chris Willingham, A.C.E.

Quote: “[The victims represent] a window into sexuality, the way he wants it to be. Perfect, uninhibited, guiltless. His actions will follow the development of his fantasies.” --Frank Black

Overview: I’ll admit, the approach of Second Sight is sometimes rather restrictive. My intention has always been to treat this ongoing examination of Millennium’s visions with a scientific rationale bordering on the forensic. After all, the nature of Frank Black’s visions remains one of the show’s most enduring mysteries and, as any good Millennium Group analyst would suggest, such intractable enigmas can only be properly challenged with a methodical modus operandi. It’s episodes like this, however, that leave me second guessing that rigid rationale. By design, Second Sight restricts its focus to those visions we can attribute to Frank Black himself. Our tally of trances below, for instance, counts only the flashes of insight experienced by our hero during a given episode, excluding any other drug-induced delusions, premonitory nightmares, or psychotic hallucinations that might be witnessed by other characters. (An exception to the rule is made only in the case of Jordan Black, as in episodes such as “Dead Letters.”) Undeniably, however, dreams and visions are an inherent, integral part of the storytelling seen on Millennium. In “Loin Like a Hunting Flame,” it is the rich visual fantasies of serial killer Art Nesbitt--played with chilling detachment by guest star Hrothgar Mathews--that allow us fascinating insight into the state of his psychology. There is far more to Millennium’s ambitious attempt to convey multiple modes of perception than first meets the eye and, truly, it is far more than can be comprehensively covered in a blog column such as this.

While we’re on the subject of this column’s format, let us take a moment to retrospectively consider some mounting statistics. It should be noted that the visions of “Loin Like a Hunting Flame” serve to challenge a lasting misconception concerning Millennium’s visual style. I’ve granted the episode a “gore score” of one out of ten. As a pharmacist with homicidal intent, Art Nesbitt kills cleanly and this episode eschews the anticipated blood and guts in favor of depicting his sexual fantasies with vivid images of beauty and sensuality--though, admittedly, the cinematic technique for these visions remains the same and the sequences are no less disturbing than usual. Remarkably, out of the first twelve episodes of the series, at least three other episodes have earned the same score: “Dead Letters,” “522666,” and “The Well-Worn Lock.” (A fourth, “Kingdom Come,” remained bloodless but earned an additional point on our scale for the sheer brutality of its slayings.) In other words, one third of the episodes in the first half of the first season of Millennium convey their cinematic horror without slinging a single drop of blood at the screen. Among both uninitiated and longtime viewers, I think, Millennium is often remembered as a television series that relied on gore to tell its terrifying stories. This is, after all, a series that earned a near-permanent parental advisory warning from its network. We remember Frank Black as a criminal profiler who was cursed by his gift because his thoughts were forever saturated with blood. These statistics serve as a measurable reminder that the horrors of this series were far more nuanced. As Chris Carter has said, the filmic frights in a series like Millennium show little of the gory details we anticipate but they leave a lasting--and sometimes rather messy--impression on our fertile imaginations.

Trances in Total: 3 (0:16)

Gore Score: 1/10

"Not Bad for a Human" Blog Updates

2011-03-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

We have recently brought you news of the confirmed release date for Lance Henriksen's autobiography - Not Bad for a Human - which once again is May 5th to coincide with Lance's birthday. We also intend to keep you closely updated on further news on the book and planned events to promote its release as and when we receive it, and so here goes with the very latest.

As we have previously mentioned, the book will receive a limited edition hardcover release via Bloody Pulp Books. In addition, a paperback edition will be published simultaneously by Alexander Henriksen Publishing and this will be widely available via Amazon and the usual online outlets.

Also, Joe Maddrey has blogged about his inspiration for co-authoring the book with Lance, and invites fans to share their own thoughts on Lance's long and illustrious career. And to get news and pre-order details in due course for the limited edition from Bloody Pulp Books, you are invited to sign up to their mailing list.

More news as we receive it, then, but for now mark your calendars and count down with us to that exciting release date...

There are 52 days remaining.

Thomas J. Wright Week - Sunday: Thomas J. Wright interview!

2011-03-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Sunday is upon us! Thanks to all who took part, be you contributors or simply readers, supporters, crusaders or dreamers.

Thanks of course to Tom himself - for as much being an inspiration and a charming follower of our work here.

So here we go, we'll bow out this special week with an interview with Tom himself!

How to listen to this FREE podcast:

Flash Player: Listen directly (note: as of Sunday morning, the processing of this as an embedded broadcast is still compiling - please use the download link below or go to our podcast list HERE !)

To download to your hard-drive, Click here!

Available on iTunes. Search for "Back to Frank Black" or "BacktoFrankBlack" and click "subscribe"!

Also available on iPhone and Android as part of the Back to Frank Black app! Nominal app fee goes towards supporting the campaign. No profits come from this app service.

Thomas J. Wright Week - Saturday: Joselyn's Eye

2011-03-12T04:39:00.000-08:00

It's Day Six of Thomas J. Wright Week and, given his prominent role as director, it makes sense that we have a video for you. Cue another of the Back to Frank Black team regulars to celebrate Thom's work behind the camera in the return of Joselyn's Eye.

Regular readers of the blog will of course be familiar with Joselyn's work, but herein her accomplishment is twofold: first, to break down the role of the director to give some insight into Thom's craft and, second, to illustrate that with a compendium of clips from the huge array of episodes he has directed. Sit back, then, and enjoy another wonderful compilation celebrating the huge contribution by Thomas J. Wright to the realisation of Millennium's singular vision...

Thomas J. Wright Week - Friday: What the Killer Sees

2011-03-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

For this edition and in honour of Thomas J. Wright Week, What the Killer Sees takes its cue once again from the recent podcast interview with writer Michael R. Perry in which he talked at some length about the episode “Nostalgia” and notably Thomas J. Wright’s direction thereof.

Whilst some considerable focus has been placed upon the visual feast that is “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions” this week to date, Thomas J. Wright’s legacy for Millennium is of course much broader. He directed twenty-six episodes – over a third of the series’ entire run – and served as a producer on forty-five. Added to this is a huge body of directorial work that takes in turns for other series as diverse as The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Max Headroom, Angel, The Wire and NCIS, to name but a few. It is no understatement to say that Thomas J. Wright – whose career started out as a storyboard artist for the late, great Alfred Hitchcock – stands now as one of the foremost television directors of his generation.

Consider for today, then, how that directorial vision told the story of an uncomfortable return to a childhood home for Emma Hollis, and the unveiling of a murderer who, racked with guilt, has hidden for years in plain sight…

Killer: Jerry Neilson (Ted Marcoux)

Episode: “Nostalgia” (7 May 1999)
Writer: Michael R. Perry
Director: Thomas J. Wright

Quote: “I think he wanted them to know what he had done, what he carried around inside, because they never stopped him. Show them, Jerry. Show them where the bodies are.” --Frank Black
Profile: Jerry Neilson is a killer wracked with guilt. In many ways he sees himself as a moralistic judge, not so much motivated by any pleasure he takes from killing so much as by anger at Liddy Hooper’s lack of self-respect and how she thus allows herself to be used and passed around in the seedy backroom of Bar None. Nonetheless there is a sexual motivation – probably accompanied by self-hatred – since the “genetic evidence” inside the lifeguard stand within the State Park reveals his unhealthy obsessions and, in flashback, we see him about to violate Liddy having drowned her. He judges the other men who have used and abused her, but none more harshly than himself for sharing their proclivities.

Neilson fully expected to be called to account for this first killing, but when he wasn’t he repeated the ritual with other girls who would not necessarily attract too much attention. Thus Frank notes that his MO has evolved, that he has become cocky over the years between his murders. That guilt remains an underlying motive too, however, with the subsequent killings perhaps committed in the hope that each one would lead to his capture, ultimately causing him to only bury the foot of Jan McCall, his final victim, in shallow ground and in an inhabited area where it would soon be discovered.

Kills: 6

Investigation: During the course of this investigation, Frank Black all but gets to act out any Columbo fantasies he may have harboured. Whilst the audience is not privy to witnessing who committed the murders at the outset, it becomes clear very early on to both Frank and Emma Hollis that Neilson is guilty. Rather than see them both seek out an unknown killer, then, we watch instead how Frank goes about evincing a confession from him.

When we as viewers first arrive in South Mills we are presented with what seems to be a bright, welcoming community, the one that Emma remembers from her childhood. The camera tracks across gleaming white picket fences and shows clean, open streets bordered by well topiaried trees.

The titular reference to nostalgia is a strong aspect of a core theme to the investigation – and, for that matter, the episode as a whole – in terms of perspective. Emma Hollis remembers South Mills as the “last good place” she lived in. She is, ultimately, angered to find out that it is in fact no different to anywhere else as its seedy, murderous underbelly is revealed. Neilson’s perspective is one we have explored in his profile, whilst we learn how conflicted are the other local law enforcement in their own perspectives to the murders under investigation. As Michael R. Perry revealed in the aforementioned interview, Thomas J. Wright utilised a split-focus diopter to allow the camera lens to give us depth of focus and facilitate close-up shots of eyes and faces. This really allows us, the viewer, to fully experience those perspectives: their viewpoints, embarrassments and revelations.

Ultimately, Frank succeeds in convincing Neilson to admit to his crimes and allow the bodies of his victims to be recovered and buried with dignity. The mood of the episode is thus transformed in turn from those bright, open vistas of South Mills to darker images that reflect the sinister reality beneath the town’s veneer, pulling the viewer along Emma’s emotional journey that lies at the heart of the story. These later scenes confer a brooding melancholy, granting “Nostalgia” a shifting tone that stands apart as a singular investigation from Millennium’s varied and rich tapestry, one that stands out due to Thomas J. Wright’s masterful direction.

Thomas J. Wright Week - Thursday: Music & Art

2011-03-10T05:11:00.000-08:00

Thursday! Thirsty Thursday? Thankful Thursday? No! It's Thomas Thursday (and for you non-English speakers, that doesn't rhyme as well as it appears it should!)!

A lighthearted offering today, particularly relevant for those who have a penchant to mix critically acclaimed directors with fun jingles. Remember the jingle for Lara Means Week? Did you manage to scrape that out of your brain yet? Just recently? Good -- because this will most likely replace it!

This, again, is from Steven Katzenmoyer and is both catchy and humorous -- perfect for your Thomas Thursday!

Finally, another wallpaper -- same vibe, slightly different look! Sparkle your desktop with this baby!

Enjoy!

"Not Bad For A Human" Official Release Date!

2011-03-09T18:27:00.001-08:00

We hope that everyone is enjoying Thomas J. Wright Week. Make sure you come back tomorrow for Day Four of the festivities, but we thought we needed to take a quick break for some very important news.

We are proud to announce that there is now an official release date for Lance Henriksen's autobiography, Not Bad for a Human. The autobiography will be released on May 5! We are sure you are all well aware that's Lance's birthday; what a great present for one of the most iconic actors in the business! Please stay tuned to Back to Frank Black as we will be releasing details of an exclusive contest with a fantastic prize. You can also visit the official website for Lance's book at Not Bad for a Human.

Thomas J. Wright Week - Wednesday: "Out of Chaos Comes Awareness"

2011-03-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

For Day Three of Thomas J. Wright Week we have a real treat in store for you from another unwavering Back to Frank Black supporter and semi-regular contributor of considerable standing: the one-and-only John Kenneth Muir. Readers of his really rather wonderful blog – John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film and Television – will be very much familiar with his wise insights, piercing reviews and devilish competitions, whilst newcomers should head to the link and prepare to be wowed. Right after, that is, you have read this typically brilliant article on how Thomas J. Wright's artistry brought to life one of Millennium's most visually powerful instalments...

Out of Chaos comes Awareness:
Visualizing Millennium’s “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions”
By John Kenneth Muir

What comes after someone survives a terrible and terrifying event? What truths or new perspectives follow in the wake of pure, blood-pumping terror?

These are the pertinent questions raised and answered (at least obliquely) by “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions,” the Millennium first season segment that directly follows “Lamentation,” the unforgettable introduction of Sarah Jane Redmond’s villain, Lucy Butler. The battlefield or thematic terrain of the episode is well-enunciated in the week’s opening quotation from Charles Manson, which reads: “Paranoia is just a kind of awareness, and awareness is just a form of love.”

In other words, “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions” concerns awareness in general, and specifically Frank’s dawning awareness of a Cosmic Order outside the ken of mankind. This awareness comes to him only after an extended and painful period of self-doubt and grief.

But ironically, awareness would also not be possible without that self-same period of self-doubt and grief.

Penned by Ted Mann and Howard Rosenthal, and superbly directed by Thomas J. Wright, “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions” thus finds the series’ lead protagonist, Frank Black at his lowest and most world-weary ebb and then – surprisingly – opens his eyes to an unseen world; the world of angels, demons and cosmic hierarchies.

The title of the episode itself indicates the nature of those cosmic schemes or hierarchies. According to some Biblical scholars, “Thrones” are living symbols of God’s justice and authority, “Dominions” are beings who regulate the lower angels, “Powers” are the bearers of conscience and keepers of history and “Principalities” are the educators and guardians of the realm of Earth.

Or contrarily, “Thrones,” “Dominions,” “Powers” and “Principalities” may be the categories of evil Minions existing on Earth; the twelve principalities of Satan, for instance (death, anti-christ, covetousness, witchcraft, idolatry, sedition, hypocrisy, disobedience, rejection, hypocrisy, etc.).

Similarly, in Ephesians 6:12 the apostle Paul wrote: “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” This was the author’s manner of suggesting that anti-God, malevolent forces existed in places of state, in places of Empire, in places of government.

Thus, in pondering this episode of Millennium, we (along with Frank) find ourselves plunged into a war involving supernatural beings on Earth. On one hand are angel-like agents of God such as Sammael, who seems a “guardian of the realm of Earth.” On the other hand is Alesteir Pepper, a man of worldly wealth and power and perhaps, actually, a demon. Even Aleister’s name suggests evil, as he jokes with Frank, making an almost-cryptic allusion to the notorious poet and Satanist mystic, Aleister Crowley (1875-1947).

In terms of Millennium history, “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions” plays tonally almost like the epilogue or coda of “Lamentation,” and represents one of the earliest instances in the Carter series of direct supernatural involvement in human affairs. To recap, in “Lamentation,” Frank’s family is threatened by Lucy Butler, and his best friend, Bob Bletcher (Bill Smitrovich) is murdered in Frank’s own sanctuary, the yellow house where Frank tries in vain to “paint away” the darkness in life, per the words of series creator Chris Carter.

As “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions” opens, Frank grapples heavily with the death of “Bletch” and the invasion of his yellow sanctuary. Accordingly, the episode’s dialogue continuously maps Frank’s sense of world-weariness, confusion, and diffidence. “I’m not ready to come back to work yet,” he tells Peter Watts with resignation during one phone conversation.

When Frank does become involved in a new case for the Millennium Group – a seemingly-Satanic ritual-turned-homicide – Frank admits that his “clarity is not what” he “had hoped it would be.” At home, Catherine worries what will happen to Frank if he cannot right his ship; if he cannot return to his true nature as a crusader against the darkness. “You can’t deny who you are Frank…if you let things go on this way, it’s only a matter of time…”

The unspoken ending to Catherine’s last sentence is no doubt an allusion to Frank’s nervous breakdown; the last time he lost his grip on his identity and his true, best self. Catherine clearly fears the same thing could occur again if Frank doesn’t find his emotional footing.

Interestingly, when Frank is confronted by Pepper, a man who may be a demon, he notes – in maddeningly ambiguous tones – that “you’ve come to me before.” This seems an implicit suggestion that Frank’s previous mental breakdown arose as a result of the works of a demon, even, perhaps, the Devil himself. Only now – upon recognizing the demon again (although perhaps in a different form) – does Frank understand what he is really battling.

Admirably, director Thomas J. Wright’s selection of compositions during the early portions of “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominion’s” echo Frank’s crisis; his sense of uncertainty about himself, his gifts, and the nature of the world around him. Thanks in large part to these shot choices death itself seems to oppress Frank in this episode, like an anchor pulling him down farther and farther.

To augment this perception of a man overwhelmed and oppressed by death, Wright stages shots of Lance Henriksen visually entrapped between support beams in Frank’s basement (the site of Bletch’s murder). This mise-en-scene limits Frank’s space in the frame and creates, in essence, a visual “cage” around the character.

Director Wright – a veteran of such programs as Beauty and the Beast, Otherworld, Dark Skies, and Nowhere Man – also frequently positions Frank underneath heavy stone archways or obscured behind objects in the frame. These choices by Wright in general reinforce the lugubrious or heavy nature of the story, of Frank “denying who he is,” in the words of his wife, Catherine, and feeling defeated and overwhelmed by recent, tragic events.

At about the ten minute point of the episode, for instance, in the scene that finds Frank and Peter Watts discussing Sammael, Wright even positions Frank behind two coffins in the foreground, a visual indicator that death is foremost on his mind, and occluding, again, his space or freedom in the frame.

Another moment, early in the episode, also expresses Frank’s conflict. He gazes at his reflection in a bathroom mirror, and the idea, expressed by the director’s selection of angles, is that he is battling himself, (his reflection); battling his sense of doubt and uncertainty.

As the episode continues and Frank is drawn further into the seemingly unconnected case of a murderer named Martin, the profiler continues to flash on mental images of Bletch’s murder. But instead of denying the connection to the event that consumes his mind, Frank begins to explore it more fully. This is Frank’s perennial strength, his ability to face the darkness head on. Soon, he is listening to his visions instead of trying to dismiss them as symptoms of trauma or stress.

Again, Thomas J. Wright cannily finds exactly the right visuals to suggest Frank’s restored confidence. When, during the climax of the episode, Frank witnesses a parking lot confrontation between a diabolical attorney named Aleister and a stranger – really the “angel of death” Sammael, for instance, Wright presents two competing visions of the conflict in fast succession.

In the consensus view of reality, Sammael is armed with a gun and fires it at Pepper at point blank range. But in Frank’s personalized, insightful view of the event, a kind of supernatural energy beam is emitted from Sammael’s palm and strikes the demonic lawyer. These rapidly alternating views of the same event make the audience aware that Frank again has confidence in his insights. He sees the event for what it is: a supernatural assassination; one of God’s agents (Sammael, who in literature is sometimes good and sometimes evil) “binding” and defeating an agent of Satan, Aleister Pepper.

Likewise, when Frank disarms Sammael after the confrontation, Wright’s camera adopts a low angle perspective, one that in cinema history traditionally represents power or strength. Frank and Sammael – again, an angel or supernatural creature of some variety – share a tight two shot, as Frank puzzles over the gun.

Both the perspective and the staging reveal Frank’s intrinsic strength. Visually, he is on equal footing with the angel in this case. The shot selection thus makes one wonder if Frank is actually a critical part of God’s hierarchy as well. Like a “Throne” is a symbol of “justice” and like a “Power” is a force of conscience, so thus is Frank himself, discerning truthfully that which other humans cannot see. The two-shot reinforces this notion, as it suggests a comparison, a kinship between the two objects or people sharing space in the shot.

When Frank declares that whatever force killed the man named Martin was “anything but natural” in “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions,” he is evidencing his sense of “awareness” (after the paranoia and doubt) as referenced in the episode’s opening quote. Frank has begun to detect that something bigger than man is involved in man’s affairs, and that he is, in fact, a crucial player in that supernatural war.

This idea represents a huge opening up of Millennium’s mythology, an embrace of religious mythology or “faith” in very literal, concrete terms. But what remains so remarkable about this episode is that Frank’s journey from awkward self-doubt to awakened awareness is charted not just in terms of dialogue or narrative details, but in the director’s artistic and meaningful selection of angles and viewpoints.

I often write on my blog that film and TV work best when form follows or reflects content, and this axiom is also true in spades of Thomas J. Wright’s work on Millennium, and this episode in particular.

Another way to put it: The teleplay for “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions” makes Frank aware that there is more on Earth than is dreamed of in man’s philosophy; but Wright’s clever, crisp and expressionist visualization of the teleplay makes the audience actually feel that another world exists side-by-side our own.

More than that, Wright’s steady direction shows us Frank’s place within the larger battlefield, and allows us to take the measure of the man. The Devil wants more than anything to co-opt Frank, to turn him to darkness, but the message of “Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions” is that if Frank can maintain confidence in his “gift,” he will see through the Devil every time.

Thomas J. Wright Week - Tuesday: Here's My Thing!

2011-03-08T01:01:00.000-08:00

We plunder onwards into Thomas J. Wright Week today with a welcome return for stalwart Back to Frank Black supporter and anonymous reviewer DiRT, who presents an all-new edition of his semi-regular video column.

In this edition, DiRT explores the work of Thomas J. Wright as director on Millennium and also focuses in particular on the episode "Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions". It's an entertaining and animated ride as ever and so, with a deluge of thanks to DiRT for his contribution to the week, check out the video right here:

We'll be back tomorrow with more celebrations of Thomas J. Wright's career and contributions to Millennium, so be sure to check back and we'll see you then!

Thomas J. Wright Week - Monday: Welcome!

2011-03-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

My esteemed colleagues, friends, countrymen, Romans, Klingons, Lutons (that's just for John Muir), Krotons and the usual rabble: welcome to Thomas J. Wright Week!

So what do we have in store? We have music, we have videos, we have articles, we have reviews, we have interviews... and to kick it off in the most sensible fashion we have words about Millennium's quintessential director on the quintessential show from the mouth of said quintessential director.

This excerpt is from the Millennium DVD box sets. We naturally encourage all of you to purchase one if you've not already got it and, if you have, well... Easter's coming up and I am sure it will make a more interesting gift than a chocolate egg!

And to finish off Monday, a wallpaper of the man himself with a dab of Millennium. Download it for this week, wear it upon your PC screen with pride! Click to open to full size.

X-Files Rumours Ahoy!

2011-03-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

Some good news has surfaced for The X-Files, though I'm sure the true Philes will have this from their own sources, primarily XFilesNews.com. This bit of rather tasty hope comes from Fox All Access.

I'll report the nuggets as they have been compiled on X-Files News.

Fox All Access has posted some new information about a third X-Files movie: "This is what we know as of now. Discussions for XF3 are happening. Nobody will go on the record as of now. But as we told a few months ago David D, Gillian, and Chris Carter are on board and a script is in the works. This is good news! THE STUDIO HAS NOT SAID NO to XF3. Trust me that is even better news."

In another post, Fox All Access states, "Rumors have late 2012-2013. It depends on the budget, keeping the cost of the film down. XF2 made its money back and more worldwide and talks continue... Keep up the fight for XF3."

And in a post to a fan, Fox All Access writes, "Honestly, where there is smoke there is fire... Trust me, when we are seeing Blade Runner prequels, a remake of Total Recall, and more, I don't think Fox Film will let X-Files just sit and gather dust. It's way to valuable just to sit there." Some encouraging updates there!

And let me take this moment to wish Tiffany at X-Files News a very happy birthday. May Mulder arrive neatly wrapped in nothing else but a bow upon her front doorstep -- or whatever present suits her wishes!

Second Sight: "Weeds"

2011-03-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

“Weeds” (24 January 1997)

Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Michael Pattinson
Editor: George Richard Potter

Quote: “He sees his victim as ugly, decayed. The mutilation suggests that he wants us to see the boy the same way. He’s trying to tell us something... That he won’t stop killing until he makes us understand whatever it is he’s trying to communicate.” --Frank Black

Overview: In the presentation of its startling visions, “Weeds” faithfully follows the televisual template laid out in Millennium’s unforgettable pilot. Indeed, “Weeds” and “Pilot” are connected in many ways. This often gruesome whodunit allows us to experience both the nightmarish hallucinations of an obsessive killer as well as the investigative insights of our heroic criminal profiler. The episode’s killer, Edward Petey, has much in common with the Frenchman, not least the fact that he doesn’t see the world like everybody else. (How does he see it? “Differently.”) As a result, both “Weeds” and “Pilot” stand out as episodes of Millennium that, rather uncharacteristically, rely heavily on special effects make-up in the realization of their visions--special effects make-up encompassing more than the usual blood spatters and gore, make-up that alters the very physiology of the victims on display. As the episode’s title implies, Petey’s unique perception of Vista Verde Estates shows us a world dominated by decay, its residents wan and aged. Men and women of all ages, parents and children alike, are transformed into withered husks before our very eyes. The artists at Lindala Make-Up Effects had their work cut out for them with this installment.

Interestingly, the effect of such transformations, as in the pilot, almost subliminally suggests that there is something preternatural about the visions flashing before us on the television screen. That whisper of a paranormal sensibility originally suggested to the audience by the prior work of Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz seems, somewhat unfairly, to be enhanced by the use of obvious visual effects. When we see children transformed into the elderly in a flash of white light we know we are witnessing something wholly unnatural. It is difficult to shake the insinuation that what we are seeing is not simply some over-imaginative flourish born of a diseased mind but something far outside the realm of the natural. Our impression of Frank Black’s talents is affected by association. Once again, we are inspired to pose questions about the nature of his gift. Indeed, that seemingly miraculous facet of the profiler’s abilities hinted at in the early days of Millennium would soon be explored in dramatic fashion in another installment scripted by Frank Spotnitz.

Connections: The visions of “Weeds,” featuring extensive prosthetic work and old-age make-up, evoke the imagery of “Pilot,” featuring make-up depicting mutilated faces. For the Millennium viewer, it is difficult not to see Edward Petey’s distorted perception of the Comstock residence--that of a red house under roiling black clouds--as a stark negative of the imagery typically associated with the Black residence.

Trances in Total: 3 (0:11)

Gore Score: 7/10

Coming Next Monday: Thomas J. Wright Week!

2011-03-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

A special week coming up, one that has been on the cards for sometime now, but with auctions, make or breaks and small things like like Christmas and New Year, it's been hard to find a slot where we could give it the room it deserves. Well, the time is now. Music, features, articles and interviews -- all regarding this one special fella!

What are we talking about? Play the video--thanks to Joselyn, as always--though the title to this blog and the video's name might give it away!

"Not Bad For A Human" - Update!

2011-03-01T02:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the details for Lance Henriksen's upcoming book release! Back to Frank Black will have an exclusive competition relating to this release -- so watch out for that! We will also be reviewing Lance's book but, for now, here's a little detail into what the book has in store for you! Enjoy!

NOT BAD FOR A HUMAN:

THE LIFE AND
FILMS OF LANCE HENRIKSEN

Lance Henriksen will be at the Armageddon Expo in Adelaide, Australia, this coming weekend – meeting fans, signing autographs and talking about his forthcoming autobiography, Not Bad for a Human. The iconic actor has been working with writer Joseph Maddrey for more than a year to make the project a reality. “This thing has taken on a life of its own,” Henriksen says. “It started with me and Joe talking in my living room, and it’s become a labor of love by a community of amazing artists.”

The book will be published in a limited edition by Steve Niles and Alex Lodermeier’s Bloody Pulp Books, and will feature original artwork by Bernie Wrightson, Eric Powell, Tim Bradstreet, Mike Mignola, Bill Sienkiewicz and Tom Mandrake, among others. (The lineup may change.)

art by Bill Sienkiewicz

Niles, a well-known horror writer and creator of the 30 Days of Night series, says, "I had no intention of publishing a bio. It's funny because we started Bloody Pulp as a way to publish something I could sell at cons. Artists always have these really cool sketchbooks they sell, so I wanted to do a writer’s sketchbook of sorts. When I read Lance’s book I was so struck by the honesty of it, and the fact that he talked about the work and not gossip, it made me want to publish it... and here we are. I knew we were onto something when I started calling artists. Every single artist I called said yes to the project straight out. I told Lance that's the power of his work. He has fans everywhere."

Co-author Joseph Maddrey, who wrote and produced the 2009 horror documentary Nightmares in Red, White and Blue, adds, “This book shows all sides of Lance Henriksen. We’ve talked about every one of his movies and written about all of the iconic characters he’s played over the years. On top of that, Lance has been very forthcoming about who he is as a person. He said in the beginning that he didn’t want to hold anything back, and he hasn’t.” Henriksen concludes, “This isn’t just a book about me becoming an actor. It’s a book about all the people I’ve crossed paths with over the years who have helped me to flourish in spite of the chaos of my early life. It’s about this lifelong process of becoming a human being. It’s all in there. Believe me, there’s not going to be a sequel!”

The limited edition will be released in late spring / early summer 2011. Excerpts and updates will be posted on the official website, notbadforahuman.com, and on the publisher’s website, www.bloodypulpbooks.com.

Lance Attends Antipodean Armageddon

2011-02-28T14:11:00.000-08:00

Lance is currently doing the rounds at Australia's Armageddon Expo, appearing at the Sydney event over the weekend. Our superb sisters in Ten-Thirteen fandom over at X-Files News were in attendance and have been blogging about the event with joyful abandon!

Their staff reporter Sandi Hicks writes about the fun they all had meeting with Lance and how they made him an honorary member of Aussie X-Files @ Facebook, such that he wore their gift of a t-shirt for the rest of the event.

There's even a shout out for the Back to Frank Black team, so do be sure to check out the article in full. For our Australian readers who didn't make it to Sydney, Lance will also be attending the Adelaide event this coming weekend. Do tell Lance we sent you if you can make it, but be sure you've sent your letter to FX first!

Our thanks as ever to everyone at X-Files News for the coverage, be sure to support their campaign for The X-Files 3 and here's to a bright future for all Ten-Thirteen fandom!

What the Killer Sees: Avatar

2011-02-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Returning after a short sabbatical, What the Killer Sees is pulling out the big guns for this edition. As a nod to the recently released podcast interview with writer Michael R. Perry—a highlight of the Millennium Group Sessions’ entire run and a very revealing interview that I highly recommend—we turn our attention to one of the most popular episodes in Millennium’s entire run and an antagonist to rival Lucy Butler as Frank Black’s archnemesis…

Killer: Avatar

Episode: “The Mikado” (6 February 1998)

Writer: Michael R. Perry

Director: Roderick J. Pridy

Quote: “Avatar will tell us how to find him. And then, after he escapes, he proves his superiority.” --Frank Black

Profile: Avatar is a highly organised killer. The degree to which he stages his murders and the level of pre-planning demanded by the obtuse clues he leaves in his wake along with their complexity all indicate this and point to an extremely high intellect. He is also very unusual in a couple of respects. Whilst most serial killers follow a particular modus operandi, even when this develops over the course of a killer’s career, Avatar has completely changed his approach from a decade previously. Also, it is notably rare for a serial killer to go for such a long period as this without any activity unless incarcerated or otherwise restricted. Perhaps Avatar has simply evaded detection over this period, although this seems unlikely, since what truly defines him and forms his overriding motive is the extent and methods by which he taunts the authorities that would seek to catch him. This sociopathology not only leads to him asserting a level of control and superiority over the authorities as he demands that they “defer” to him—“The Lord High Executioner”—but also cultivated a culture of fear and infamy from his previous killings.

This should not detract, however, from the fact that Avatar has another motive belying his crimes. His typology is that he selects couples, killing the male and then enslaving the female before murdering her. He thus seeks to usurp the men and gain control and ownership over the women he murders. Frank Black gives an insight into this element of his motive by voicing what he “sees” as the investigative team seeks his lair:

“You slaughtered that young girl for no other reason than you wanted to. You hate yourself but you feel like you're God at the same time. But maybe the bitch had it coming. I watched the life blood drain from her body. And now she is mine forever. I showed her to the world. And now I have her in a safe place where I can see her any time I want.”

Avatar is, of course, closely based upon the Zodiac Killer. Various particulars of the cases and the killers mirror one another: the use of ciphers, delivering a minute change to a known text in his encrypted messages, the taunting of the police, the adoption of a symbol as a calling card, the evasion of capture, even down to sending of a segment of The Mikado to the authorities.

Kills: 22

Investigation: The most notable aspect of this latest investigation into Avatar’s killings of course derives from the fact that the murders are broadcast online; it offers a social comment in that the public’s voyeurism precipitates the bloody culmination, making them complicit to the crime. “The web has become his world” as Frank puts it. Given it is not immediately clear where the crimes are being perpetrated, no-one has jurisdiction; it is as though Avatar has selected the medium to highlight this shortfall in the law, or maybe even to defy Frank Black’s gift. As Frank indicates when it is suggested his apparent re-appearance is in fact a copycat killer:

“The most recent events are not a copy. It's a whole new creation, from the slipstream of electrons, a world as real as life or death but that disappears in the blink of an eye. The devil has a new playground.”

Nevertheless, assisted by Roedecker unleashed on the Millennium Group’s state of the art technology and Frank Black’s instincts, albeit muted by the fact he is not present at the crime scene, the investigation closes in on Avatar’s location by unravelling some of his subtle clues. Ultimately, though, Avatar manages to stay one step ahead and proves he is still a rare match for Frank’s gift, escaping from the stage on which he has performed for him and for us in order to fight—and kill—another day.

Charity Auction Round Five

2011-02-22T01:05:00.000-08:00

Amidst a swathe of other activity here at Back to Frank Black, we have now commenced Round Five of the charity auction! Our eBay auction page now has the following items up for bidding:

A complete series DVD box set of Space: Above and Beyond signed by Glen Morgan, Kristen Cloke and James Morrison
A Special Edition DVD of Aliens accompanied by a 10"x14" signed photo of Lance Henriksen as Bishop
Lance Henriksen's autographed copy of his script from Tarzan II
Lance Henriksen's autographed copy of his script from Nature of the Beast including his own notes from filming
Lance Henriksen's autographed copy of his script from Baja including his own notes from filming

As with previous rounds, all of these exclusive items are being auctioned in aid of Children of the Night, so please get bidding now and dig deep for this very worthy charity.

Write a letter to FX!

2011-02-21T14:07:00.000-08:00

It has begun. The time is now to send your letters to FX!

In the wake of our landmark "Make or Break" podcast, the creators behind Millennium have given the Back to Frank Black campaign a new focus: FX! In order to bring Frank Black to FX, however, we need you to add your voice to the campaign. To help you help us, help you help Frank Black, we've written up a letter that will ensure your voice is heard!

There are three approaches to writing your letter to FX: 1) A pre-prepared letter you can print and sign. 2) An letter download which can be edited and customized. 3) A simple letterhead for you to print and write your own personal letter on. (These options are also available on the Back to Frank Black letters page.)

And if you've not heard Lance's plea on this, take a listen to his message on Facebook! As Lance says, "We can take the power in our own hands with Millennium... Start mailing!"

Here are the links. Download the letter template of your choice and get writing! Express how you feel about Millennium and its future. This is our chance to let FX know that there is an audience eagerly awaiting the return of Frank Black!

1) PDF letter. You just need to print this out and sign it!
http://backtofrankblack.com/letter/FXLetter_PDF.pdf

2) DOC download. This provides a starting template you can then personalise, print out and sign!
http://backtofrankblack.com/letter/FXLetter_Word.docx

3) PDF letterhead. Print this letterhead and write your own letter!
http://backtofrankblack.com/letter/FXLetterhead_PDF.pdf

Where do you send it?

Senior Vice President for
Original Programming at FX
Danielle Woodrow
Twentieth Century Fox
10201 W. Pico Blvd.
Bldg. 88, Room 132
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Michael R Perry speaks to Back to Frank Black!

2011-02-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

We've been waiting ages to release this interview. Finally, here we are! This is it! This is our exclusive interview with Michael R Perry, writer of some of Millennium's top stories and a key player in season three! Don't miss this!

PLUS: We talk about the next phase in the campaign as we follow the implications of the "Make or Break" podcast to their logical conclusions! This includes a new address for sending your letters. We are now focusing the campaign on trying to get the FX channel to consider the potential in Frank Black's return! Write to FX, let them know just how passionate you are about seeing Millennium back on television...

Senior Vice President for
Original Programming at FX
Danielle Woodrow
Twentieth Century Fox
10201 W. Pico Blvd.
Bldg. 88, Room 132
Los Angeles, CA 90035

More information on the podcast!

How to listen to this FREE podcast:

Flash Player: Listen directly!

To download to your harddrive, click this link!

Second Sight: "The Wild and the Innocent"

2011-02-18T13:39:00.000-08:00

“The Wild and the Innocent” (10 January 1997)

Writer: Jorge Zamacona
Director: Thomas J. Wright
Editor: Stephen Mark

Quote: “An inordinate amount of violence and suffering has occurred in this house. [Maddie Haskel] might know something that could help us.” --Frank Black

Overview: In a previous installment of Second Sight, our bi-weekly examination of Frank Black’s visionary talents, we considered that location might be key to understanding the nature of those visions witnessed in “Kingdom Come.” By the mid-point of the show’s first season, the dedicated Millennium fan knows the familiar triggers for the profiler’s gore-laden reveries. We brace ourselves for an onslaught of nightmarish imagery when we see Frank button up his coat as he steps onto a crime scene.

As the man who channeled the character’s sensitivities, Lance Henriksen is certainly aware of the link between site and sense. The actor has quite vocally challenged any oversimplification of this complex relationship, however, defying those who would misconstrue the visual devices of Millennium. When the camera offers us a close-up of a piece of shattered glass, triggering one of the hero’s blood-drenched hallucinations, it should not suggest to us that there is some negative psychic energy imbued within the glass itself. The shattered glass is just a piece of the puzzle, and Frank Black is gifted enough to see the larger picture at a glance. “I always felt Frank Black had morphed into a person who put abstract loose ends together in his head in a way that other people couldn’t,” Henriksen once explained in a Back to Frank Black interview. “He could take threads of an idea and they would suddenly appear to him, almost as a linear story. In other words, walking into a room he would see pieces of a puzzle, like a great chess player, and he would string them together.”

Nevertheless, we cannot ignore the fact that location and physical objects play an integral role in the coalescing and unraveling of such threads. In “The Wild and the Innocent,” Frank Black lingers in the house of Killean and Maddie Haskel long after the local police have moved on to their crime lab, spending his time poring over the personal items that fill their home. It is the possessions he finds there--mirrors and jewelry boxes, blankets and toy dolls, photo albums and high school yearbooks--that introduce him to the troubled young woman at the center of this heartbreaking story. These objects speak to him, telling the linear story of the young girl’s traumatic life and prompting a series of those powerful and evocative visions we’ve all come to expect. The formula for detective stories should draw our attention to the evidence that we all leave behind as we live our lives, in public or in private. It is a theme brought vividly to the surface each and every time one of our hero’s visions is triggered by an artifact or a crucial piece of evidence. There is significance and meaning imbued in the items we touch, the residue of our lives, even if they are merely individual pieces of a much larger mosaic. In those lonely scenes in which Frank tours the Haskel homestead by flashlight, as Bobby and Maddie take to the open road in a desperate bid to track down Angel, “The Wild and the Innocent” somberly reminds us of the traces of ourselves that we leave behind as we live out our everyday lives.

Connections: The visions of “The Wild and the Innocent” are used to reveal a character’s backstory, an effect similar to that used to illustrate Galen Calloway’s past in “Kingdom Come” and the history of sexual abuse in “The Well-Worn Lock.”

Trances in Total: 3 (0:12)

Gore Score: 7/10

Make or Break: Chris Carter, Frank SpotniTz, and Lance Henriksen talk about Millennium's future!

2011-02-04T05:46:00.000-08:00

This is the big interview! This is Lance Henriksen, Chris Carter, and Frank Spotnitz talking about the future of Millennium. Is there a future? Listen to the podcast and find out how this conversation has shaped the future of this campaign! Don't miss this!

How to listen to this FREE podcast:

Flash Player: Listen directly!

To download click this link!

Available on iTunes. Search for "Back to Frank Black" or "BacktoFrankBlack" and click "subscribe"!

Also available on iPhone and Android as part of the Back to Frank Black app! App version includes an Xmas message from Lance and a PDF greetings card from the team! (Extra features are included in most app versions of the podcasts. Nominal app fee goes towards supporting the campaign. No profits come from this app service.)

Lance Henriksen Autobiography has a publisher!

2011-02-02T19:53:00.001-08:00

Back to Frank Black is honored to be the first Lance Henriksen related site to bring you the news that he has signed a deal with a publisher to release his autobiography! And as if that's not enough, the first limited release will contain original artwork by artists such as Bernie Wrightson, Erick Powell, Tim Bradstreet, Mike Mignola and many others!

Lance has been working on his autobiography for over a year with the very talented Joe Maddrey and is excited to have the fans read it. Stay tuned to Back to Frank Black for more details and competitions in the very near future, and to read the official story, please follow this link.

Jim and Troy on the Lance Feltman Radio Show this Saturday!

2011-02-01T06:50:00.000-08:00

This coming Saturday myself, Jim "Sprightly" McLean, and Troy "Luscious" Foreman will be appearing for their second time live on the Lance Feltman Radio Show at around 9am EST on Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM.

This is in light of the recent developments in regards to the campaign to bring back Frank Black. If you want some of the inside gossip, listen in!

Ezekiel Editorial: Make or Break? Make!

2011-01-29T12:32:00.000-08:00

Time for an official update. If you follow us on Facebook -- or if you follow Lance on Facebook -- you'll have heard that we had a meeting midweek with Lance Henriksen, Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz on the future of Millennium.

The meeting was amazingly positive. All involved were on the same page, which was very exciting indeed. We will be releasing that podcast on the 4th February, as announced.

However, there was a sacrifice. As with the Christmas podcast featuring Lance, Megan and Brittany, it evolved into something more than we planned. There was, brutally, no need for questions. Chris, Lance and Frank talked about the show's future.

We had many questions asked of us, however, so many that we had to run through three drafts of potential questions just to reduce the questions to a manageable amount. Even then I doubted we'd get through that final set... We didn't even use one.

As such, we're looking at scheduling a special questions session in the future that uses those fan-submitted questions -- so we can get a chance to put your queries directly to the Millennium big names. Again, apologies they couldn't be used in this podcast, but when you've got the three main voices of Millennium naturally communicating without prompting, you want to let that run its own course!

On top of this, we have more good news from other quarters coming soon to this blog! Keep your eyes peels, m'friends!

Second Sight: "Wide Open"

2011-01-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

“Wide Open” (3 January 1997)

Writer: Charles D. Holland
Director: James Charleston
Editor: Chris Willingham, A.C.E.

Quote: “Hi, Bob... Came down to see what I didn’t see.” --Frank Black

Overview: Millennium defies traditional genre labels but, over the years, it has most often been described as horror. Indeed, a tagline printed on promotional posters prepared by Fox Broadcasting for the show’s second season declared, “We don’t want to scare you. We want to terrify you.” The series employs many tactics in order to strike fear into the hearts of its viewers but among the most complex and captivating of these is to be found in the show’s preoccupation with spectatorship, the act of looking. Though it is a subject matter we don’t often stop to reflect on in our daily lives, there is an inherent power in the gaze, there is an undeniable threat in a stare, and these ideas are embodied in the serial killers seen so frequently on the series. It has been evident since that first blood-drenched private strip show the Frenchman paid to see in the visually arresting “Pilot.” On Millennium, spectatorship inevitably gives way to the threat or menace of voyeurism, which inevitably gives way to sudden and brutal death.

No episode thus far has explored this theme more clearly, perhaps, than “Wide Open.” Here we have an installment concerned with the relationship between fear, security, and spectatorship, a story about a voyeuristic killer and a traumatized young witness whose experiences prove pivotal to the ensuing investigation. A trademark Ten-Thirteen sight gag reinforces the themes of the episode when we are shown a sign promoting the selling points for Emerald Shore Realty: “Killer Views, Killer Price$.” Such visual cues abound, from Detective Giebelhouse’s futile efforts to peek in apartment peep holes to a realtor’s viewing of a harrowing videocassette. Nothing sells the dominating menace inherent in the act of looking more strongly, however, than the penetrating, unblinking stare of guest star Pablo Coffey in his chilling portrayal of the aptly named Cutter. His is the watchful eye behind the peep hole, the controlling hand behind the camcorder. There is threat in the man’s very look, a prevailing menace that cannot be blocked or avoided or deterred. As Hannibal Lector explained to Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, “We begin by coveting what we see every day. Don’t you feel eyes moving over your body, Clarice? And don’t your eyes seek out the things you want?” The key to this case, our investigators soon realize, is in the gaze.

The only hope for security, in fact, is offered not by police patrols or burglar alarms but by the gaze of Frank Black. Cutter is not the only character possessed of a watchful eye. Opposing voyeurism with vigilance, “Wide Open” shows us the power provided by our eyes and thereby reinforces the unique power of the protagonist. Frank Black is a hero whose might lies not in his lightning reflexes or his unrivaled strength but in his eyes and in his mind’s eye, in his often astonishing facility for observation. It is what Frank Black sees that sets him apart. The strobe-like imagery of his trademark visions--some of which, in this episode, focus directly on the eyes of young Patricia Highsmith, who is emotionally scarred by what she has seen--are there to remind us of this. These visions are a mixed blessing--both a gift and a curse, as the profiler has told us--and “Wide Open” remains a frightening example of horror television. There is hope in the profiler’s visions but they are, as ever, jarring and deeply upsetting to see. As viewers participating in our own sort of voyeuristic engagement with the violence and gore that flashes before us on the glowing TV screen, it is impossible not to be unnerved by the implications.

Trances in Total: 4 (0:10)

Gore Score: 4/10

Make or Break: Podcast update!

2011-01-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

Just an update on the Frank Spotnitz, Lance Henriksen and Chris Carter interview we had scheduled to record today - the interview has been delayed due to some unforeseen difficulties and Chris was unavailable. We're hoping to reschedule this week. All parties are still eager to take part, so no worrying!

On a very positive note, Lance and Frank took this opportunity to have a chat together about the show, their work and the show's future. It was a very encouraging and exciting moment. Both love the show and the concept. Both are aware of the hurdles and challenges. Both would love to see the concept taken further.

We will let you guys know when the reschedule is - we aim to meet the same release date if possible, but given you've all jumped on this event with such interest it seemed inappropriate not to keep you all up to date with what's going on.

The response to this interview from readers of this page has been enormous. We've had to whittle down the possible questions we could use through three drafts for it to be even near manageable and we know even that set probably won't get used in its entierity. You've all been an invaluable resource for preparing this event and we thank you for that. We will keep you posted!

What the Killer Sees: Chris Carmody

2011-01-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

In the previous edition of What the Killer Sees, school shooting spree killer Brant Carmody came under the psychological spotlight. Whilst his death seemed initially to be the suicide of a guilt-ridden killer, soon the sinister motives and misguided beliefs of those close to him revealed a yet more disturbing truth. In this instalment we delve back into the same gripping episode--as scripted by upcoming interviewees Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz--in order to profile none other than the teenager’s father…

Killer: Chris Carmody (Robert Wisden)

Episode: “TEOTWAWKI” (16 October 1998)

Writers: Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz

Director: Thomas J. Wright

Quote: “Is that what it takes to save the world? Killing your own flesh and blood? Saving the strong and letting the weak die?” --Frank Black

Profile: Few of Millennium’s antagonists quite fulfil the “End is Nigh” billboard-wearing, underground bunker-dwelling profile like Chris Carmody and his associates. It is a character we all know well enough: those fearing the end of days to such a deep extent that they would secretly hoard tinned food, weaponry, generators and the like to ensure that they and their loved ones survive the inevitable apocalypse to come. But what is the psychological profile of such a person?

Certainly Carmody cannot be equated with a full-scale cultist such as Ricardo Clement, but nevertheless his actions are founded within an unshakeable certainty in his beliefs. These beliefs are not based upon some religious faith in the End Times, however, but rather are cemented in a seemingly much more tangible threat that failures in technology on the turn of the millennium will trigger society’s collapse. What lies behind such an obsessional fear of the anarchy that would rise in its wake? An isolationist viewpoint and an inherent lack of trust in others for certain. But maybe there is something yet more fundamentally human that lies beneath such fears. Fear of the apocalypse can be seen to mirror the fear of our own mortality, with even the more outlandish doomsday scenarios standing as reminders of our own inescapable death. All things must die, everyone and everything is ultimately destined to be lost to us. It seems more than feasible that fears over “The End Of The World As We Know It” are a dramatic projection of those thoughts regarding our own mortality onto the world we live in. Carmody’s is a mind broken, lost to such thoughts.

The depth of Carmody’s convictions are surely most apparent in his willingness to murder his own son, seemingly in a misguided attempt to protect the rest of his family. On his capture, he openly states this as his over-riding motive in the knowledge that the shooting spree that Brant undertook at his school was motivated by his inability to deal with the looming threat of such a chaotic world. It seems Carmody is likely being truthful in this regard.

A variety of psychological states are known to cause parents to commit filicide. These range from mood disorders through to delusional thoughts and disorganised behavioural patterns. Superficially, Carmody appears to be much more calculated and conscious in the actions he takes, however given his underlying beliefs as outlined here we cannot rule out such thought patterns leading to the resolve that it is the right thing to do under the circumstances to take the life of his son. As Frank Black narrates in the closing scene of this episode, Carmody is an example of “the radical few, who obey no disciplines. Unencumbered by conscience, they prepare ruthlessly, pursuing their own preservation. If they survive, the rest of us perish.”

Kills: 1

Investigation: Having intuited that Brant Carmody was unlikely to have taken his own life, Frank Black leads the investigation down a new avenue of inquiry: to find his killer. A study of Brant’s computer identifies a threatening e-mail from someone identified only as “Skylark”, an alias that the FBI track back to Carlton King, the son of Gary King, one of Chris Carmody’s associates.

Ultimately this finding leads Emma Hollis and Frank Black to discover the group’s secret compound. After a tense stand-off, Gary King surrenders and Chris Carmody is taken into custody at his home, his family destroyed rather than protected by his actions.

Happy Birthday Brittany!

2011-01-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

The image says it all really - Brittany puts another year under her belt, and I hope it's not too ungentlemanly to tell you all the fair lady's age - she's twenty today!

Ah twenty, I remember twenty... fifteen years ago. Full of hope... aspirations... visions of a perfect future, before reality tore them asunder like a wicked step-sister clawing at my dreams of going to the ball with my perfect glass slippers...

Hm, but I digress! Brittany, from myself, Troy, the crooks and cronies at Back to Frank Black as well as the fans who support us, we wish you a happy birthday full of hopes and aspirations for the perfect future!

If you missed Brittany speaking to us, here's the Christmas episode of the Millennium Group Sessions with Brittany, Megan and Lance chatting for the first time in many years!

Happy Together - Kristen's dad releases a book!

2011-01-19T04:41:00.000-08:00

"No matter how much passion there is at the beginning of a relationship, for love to last it must be actively created. For thirty years, Dr. Bill Cloke, an innovative and successful couples’ therapist, has been helping couples create lasting connection, commitment, and intimacy by learning the essential relationship skills he now reveals in Happy Together." - happytogetherbook.com

Kristen Cloke, Millennium's Lara Means, has always been kind with her support for what we do here, and we'd like to take this opportunity to support a project close to her own heart.

Dr. Bill Cloke, Kristen's father, has just released a book that looks to help everyone maximise their potential in relationships. Happy Together puts the years of experience Dr. Cloke has as a relationship therapist for 30 years onto paper. Given that I doubt many of us have perfected our relationships (please don't take a good, hard look at my own track record), a little guidance from those with objective experience can never be a bad thing!

If you have a moment, take a look at the book's website. Campaigns are about people working together towards a common cause, supporting each other. As Kristen and Glen have been such a pillar to us, as a community of like minded people, I'd like to hope we can offer the same in return!

Happytogetherbook.com - is available from Barnes and Noble and Borders, as well as a plethora of online outlets. You can read excerpts from the book on the website, including some of the first chapter. Whether we like it or not, Love is always important and for most of us (okay, me at the very least) a foggy mystery. Perhaps Dr. Cloke can help bring some clarity!

“Happy Together explains why love, like happiness, is an inside job. Dr. Bill Cloke gives great insights into how to create a loving relationship that lasts.”
—Marci Shimoff, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Happy for No Reason

Lance's "Aliens" Script Makes $3,700 for Charity Auction

2011-01-17T00:53:00.000-08:00

The fourth round of the Back to Frank Black charity auction concluded last week and we are very pleased to be able to confirm that one of the prime lots -- Lance Henriksen's original script from Aliens, complete with his own notes from the production -- raised the huge sum of $3,700!

All money raised from the auction is being donated to the registered charity Children of the Night, a group that fights to get children out of prostitution, and so most importantly this money will help to make a very real difference for a very worthy cause. As Lance himself said on his Facebook page in respect of the sum the script raised, "This is going to save some lives."

Back to Frank Black have worked alongside some of the cast and crew of the television series Millennium to produce a range of unique and original items to be sold off in aid of Children of the Night. The whole team would like to thank them all for their contributions, as well as the work done by everyone who has helped to publicise this event and of course all those who have taken part in the bidding. The success of the auction is down to each and every one of you, and -- in particular the sum achieved by the Aliens script -- also signifies the ongoing level of interest in Lance Henriksen's celebrated career that is core to our continuing campaign to return Frank Black to our screens.

Second Sight: "The Well-Worn Lock"

2011-01-14T06:32:00.000-08:00

“The Well-Worn Lock” (20 December 1996)

Writer: Chris Carter
Director: Ralph Hemecker
Editor: Steve Mark

Quote: “You’re doing the right thing. I have a strong feeling about it.” --Frank Black

Overview: And so, we come to “The Well-Worn Lock.” This episode is well-known for being unique in the series, presenting a glimpse down the road not taken by Millennium. Here is a powerful and sobering installment concerned not with apocalyptic conspiracies or sadistic serial killers but with child abuse and the structures of power and lies that protect abusers. The story prompted author Andy Lane to suggest that “Millennium is so realistic it tears away the last vestiges of the lies we try to tell ourselves about the way the world works.” The hero of this hour is not the dauntless forensic profiler but his wife the social worker, Catherine Black. With “The Well-Worn Lock,” Chris Carter explores the untapped potential of Millennium’s characters, format, and central premise.

Given the set-up, it is perhaps surprising that the episode features any of Frank Black’s trademark visions at all. In this installment there is no “mind of the killer” for the profiler to inhabit. We do, however, witness a single visualization lasting all of four seconds, a brief experience that reveals the true purpose behind the titular well-worn lock. The rest of the episode is peppered with similar sporadic sequences conveying disturbing memories of a painful history of sexual abuse. While previous episodes such as “Pilot” or “522666” have relied on Millennium’s fleeting, stochastic displays of aggression and gore to convey the fantasies of killers, “The Well-Worn Lock” utilizes the same affecting cinematic techniques to represent the traumatic experiences of victims. The functional purpose of these sequences remains the same in spite of the shift in storyline: horrifying, painful imagery is conveyed rapidly, forcefully, in a fashion that does not allow the viewer to dwell on any one image but does nothing to lessen the overall emotional impact of the experience. In the end, the visions of “The Well-Worn Lock” force us to assimilate the sort of memories that are usually repressed, compel us to feel the uncommon compassion possessed by the likes of Frank and Catherine Black, and, once again, reinforce Chris Carter’s overarching philosophy that the profiler’s gift is, above all else, empathic.

Connections: Though the visions of Millennium are predominantly used to represent the mindset of murderers, visions from the point of view of a victim were previously seen in “Gehenna,” also scripted by Chris Carter.

Trances in Total: 1 (0:04)

Gore Score: 1/10

Lance's Aliens script up for for grabs on round 4 of the auction!

2011-01-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Round four of the Back to Frank Black charity auction has begun!

This round includes the fabled Aliens script, Lance Henriksen's personal copy, and it is filled with notes from the actor regarding his work on the film. This is a must for any Aliens or Lance fans!

Lance Henriksen's original autographed script from Aliens with notes
Lance Henriksen's original autographed script from Jennifer Eight
Lance Henriksen's original autographed script from Dead Man
Near Dark on DVD, signed by Lance Henriksen with autographed photo
An 8x10 autographed photo of Klea Scott

To bid on these, please visit our eBay auction page!

All of the money earned from these auctions goes to Children of the Night, a charity working to get kids out of child prostitution. Please support this worthy cause!

Official Endorsement

2011-01-09T01:00:00.001-08:00

There are many things going on right now in the world of Back to Frank Black. We have the amazing podcast coming up with Lance, Chris Carter, and Frank Spotnitz. We have our charity auction, which will kick off round four this coming Monday. We are also working on our Worldwide Fan Project... Nope, we haven't forgotten about that! So, while we continue to work hard behind the scenes, every once and a while we get recognized for our hard work.

Back to Frank Black would like to announce that we are now the only Millennium related site that has been officially endorsed by Frank Black himself, Lance Henriksen. We have worked with Lance over the past couple of years and have done some amazing things together. Along with Lance, we are all working hard to make a Millennium movie a reality! Talking with Lance, you will learn that he has a great sense of humor and we have decided to dedicate a BRAND NEW t-shirt to his sense of humor. During one of the staff meetings that Lance was involved with, he made a comment that we all laughed at. In a humorous way, it reflects his desire that the campaign continue to fight to achieve great things. We asked if we could use the statement for a t-shirt and Lance kindly agreed, so here is the newest addition to our t-shirt line up:

But wait, there's more. In celebration of the upcoming EVENT podcast with Lance, Chris, and Frank, we have one another t-shirt to add to the mix, and it is quite fitting. This podcast could be make or break for the campaign, so the t-shirt we have added to our store speaks for itself...

So, if you are interested in one of our new t-shirts, make sure you head on over to this link and purchase one. Remember, all money made from these sales goes directly back into the campaign.

We would like to thank Lance Henriksen for endorsing the work that we are doing. We hope you as fans are enjoying what we are doing and we hope you continue to support the campaign!

Happy Birthday, Adam Chamberlain!

2011-01-07T23:59:00.001-08:00

Although there is a lot going on with the Back to Frank Black campaign, we still need to take time out and acknowledge special occasions. Well, today we send out a very special Happy Birthday to staff member Adam Chamberlain! Adam has been a longtime Millennium fan but has just recently become a part of the Back to Frank Black team. Adam has such insight into the show that he now writes his own weekly column called What the Killer Sees.

I hope you all will take a moment and wish Adam a very Happy Birthday!

Make or Break? The biggest podcast yet: Revealed!

2011-01-07T07:52:00.000-08:00

This is it, as close to make or break as it comes...

This is very much a crossroads. The campaign has reached a point where it will take a turn for the better or for the worse. We've had all these guys on previous podcasts -- they all know about the campaign, they know what we're about. And here they are, willing to talk together with no coersion or arm-pulling.

Lance Henriksen
Frank Spotnitz
Chris Carter

One podcast.

And your chance to send us questions! This is the big one!

We don't know where this will go and, as I was saying to Lance and Troy last night, it feels like the podcasts we've done before have all been leading to this one. It's an event unto itself which is both exciting and scary. And with your questions, you get a possible chance to shape that event.

We've asked you to be patient in the past. Campaigns are unusual things and this has to be one of the most unique campaigns ever fought in television and film -- one that has had the support of virtually the entire cast and crew of the show, which has devoted friends supporting it wholeheartedly in the media and entertainment industry, and has a fanbase that stretches across the world. All this for a decade-old, three season show. There's been a reason to be patient, and that's because at every corner we've found people willing to support and believe in it -- so much so, the lead actor is now campaign staff. It's a show that touched many hearts and one that has a lead cast that feels perfect for the entertainment market today. These things take time, and we will find out this month whether, indeed, the time is now.

So: questions! Send them to us at info@backtofrankblack.com! Be sure to include where you are from so we can read your name and location on the show! Send in those questions!

What the Killer Sees: Brant Carmody

2011-01-07T03:03:00.000-08:00

In the early days of a New Year in which the news has been characterised by the unexplained mass deaths of not one, not even two but three flocks of birds as well as no fewer than two million fish, I feel as if I should be writing about “The Fourth Horseman” / “The Time Is Now”. Instead and over two instalments I shall be exploring the events of another episode concerned with potentially apocalyptic events at the turn of a year, one expertly crafted by none other than Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.

Killer: Brant Carmody (Jeremy Guilbaut)

Episode: “TEOTWAWKI” (16 October 1998)

Writers: Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz

Director: Thomas J. Wright

Quote: “I think that Brant Carmody did in fact kill those kids. I think that his rage was driven by his absolute conviction that the end of the world was coming and that nothing—not even the taking of his classmates’ lives—mattered any more. But his death was not a suicide.” --Frank Black

Profile: High school killing sprees are always particularly shocking. That a student such as Brant Carmody should take up arms and indiscriminately shoot his classmates betrays not just friends and peers but also the very roots of an institution based on growth and learning, robbing young adults of the future for which they are being so diligently prepared.

Such spree killings so often appear to come out of the blue, and frequently the perpetrator is soon characterised as an outcast or loner type. This can be the case, but often is merely a means by which to distance the killer from “normal” human behaviour, to try to separate their actions from what we know to be within the capability of our fellow man. Beneath the surface, however, there are of course often underlying tensions and motives that burst to the surface in dramatic fashion in these instances. Details that can, at least to some degree, deem to explain the seemingly inexplicable.

Spree killers are often desperately seeking to make a statement when they rampage in this fashion. Feeling disconnected from their environment or society as a whole, they are making a last ditch stand, externalising angry or violent thoughts that they can no longer restrain themselves from acting out. Whilst the spree is often premeditated there is nearly always a trigger to this shift. This is very much the case with Brant Carmody as he struggles to make sense of his new foreknowledge of a world his father reveals that, according to his beliefs, is set to go to hell at the turn of the upcoming millennium. As a result and as Frank notes in the selected quote, Carmody’s world is shattered and human life ceases to hold any value to him.

Brant Carmody’s apparent suicide is not wholly out of character with many spree killers, who would take their own lives rather than risk capture, and perhaps hence Barry Baldwin’s swift conclusion that this is what happened. Frank expresses his conviction from the outset, however, that this was not the case in this instance. Brant Carmody evades capture at the scene of the shootings in the chaos that follows and has resumed his regular routine, both signs of his intent to continue living his life. Thus his sudden death doesn’t quite fit the pattern and this leaves loose ends that hint at a whole other level to the mystery.

Kills: 3

Investigation: Emma Hollis is amongst the first investigators from the FBI to arrive at the scene of the school shooting, and her fledgling instincts soon pick out two disturbed youths amongst the crowds of children being reunited with frantic families. A conversation with Carmody’s girlfriend then reveals his preoccupation with the end of the world. It is Frank Black, however, who first calls out Barry Baldwin on his presumptuous conclusion that Brant Carmody killed himself without having taken the time to methodically rule out any other possibilities.

It turns out that Frank’s instincts are correct. Whilst Baldwin was quick to dismiss the police investigation, Giebelhouse also goes on to note certain aspects of the circumstances surrounding Brant’s death that do not fit with a suicide. But what could possibly drive a father to commit filicide? The beliefs and motives underlying Chris Carmody’s actions will be the subject of the next edition of What the Killer Sees, in a fortnight’s time…

A Millennium teaser

2011-01-02T21:19:00.000-08:00

With a new year comes exciting things for the campaign. Here is a little something that we have planned...

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

A Happy New Year from Back to Frank Black! Some potentially big stuff this January! Stay tuned! Very exciting 2011!

Second Sight: “Blood Relatives”

2010-12-31T06:26:00.000-08:00

“Blood Relatives” (6 December 1996)

Writer: Chip Johannessen
Director: James Charleston
Editor: George R. Potter

Quote: “I know. I know you had to go in there. Because of who you are. Because you had no choice.” --Catherine Black

Overview: There is a standout moment in “Blood Relatives” when Frank Black, standing on the shore of a glistening lake, his thoughts dominated by the details of a hideous crime, takes a moment to slip off his iconic coat and then tosses it to the waiting Peter Watts. The dedicated viewer knows just what will happen next. Before Bob Bletcher can even cry out a protest, as he did during a similar scene in the pilot, the profiler steps forth and trudges determinedly into the water in search of the case’s next clue. He finds it nearly a dozen feet from the shore, fishing with his arm beneath the surface of the water, fingers combing submerged sand and rocks in search of a reflection. He emerges from the lake soaking wet but grasping the evidence that will lead them onward in their search for a sadistic killer.

Water is often used symbolically in film and fiction. This is especially true in Millennium, a series that used water as a central symbol or metaphor in several episodes, most notably “Seven and One.” Here--as in “Pilot” and “Kingdom Come”--it serves to clearly illustrate a trait that is intrinsic to Frank Black as a character and essential to our ongoing effort to understand the nature of his unique gift. If the meaning of the lakeside scene in “Blood Relatives” is lost on the viewer, it is reiterated just moments later as the investigators storm the halfway house that hides James Dickerson. As Bletcher, Giebelhouse, and Watts follow signs and directions and head for Dickerson’s bedroom on the second floor of the building, Frank Black dashes in an entirely different direction, moving underground, to the house’s darkened basement, where he discovers that the suspect has escaped them via a cellar window. While the Seattle police search obvious or expected terrain, above the surface, Frank Black alone dares venture below.

The very tenacity that Frank demonstrates when he is faced with the barrier of a river, lake, or other body of water is what allows him to dip beneath the murky, seemingly impenetrable surface of the human psyche. In these instances as in others, Lieutenant Bletcher is Inspector Lestrade, representative of a police force possessed of pedestrian thinking and limited imagination; Frank Black is a man of wholly unconventional thinking with the courage to match it. As an investigator, Frank possesses both the ability and willingness to venture beyond the boundaries of the safe or the anticipated, that selfless willingness to immerse himself in darkest depths in search of an answer. When Frank gives himself over to one of his gruesome visions--regardless of whether we believe those visions to be somewhat supernatural or purely intuitive--he is allowing himself to be plunged below the surface of what is known into uncertain territory as uninviting as an icy river, as dark and foreboding as any abandoned basement. From a psychological perspective, his forays into the mind of the killer are no less bold. If Frank Black’s closest friends and colleagues cannot even fathom the nature of his extraordinary gift, it is because they lack that unusual and selfless mindset that shows the hero of Millennium to be so incomparable.

Connections: Cinematically, this episode’s visions are similar to those of “Kingdom Come,” the previous installment, as this is the second episode in a row to feature a death by drowning. Connor, the episode’s jealous serial killer, has been previously profiled in Adam Chamberlain’s What the Killer Sees.

Trances in Total: 3 (0:08)

Gore Score: 6/10

Happy Birthday, Klea Scott!

2010-12-29T13:32:00.001-08:00

It is always better late than never! With that being said, Back to Frank Black would like to take this moment and wish actress Klea Scott a very Happy Belated Birthday! Klea's birthday was on December 25th!

Klea has been a big supporter of our campaign and we truly consider her a friend. We hope you all will take a moment and wish her a Happy Birthday as well in the comments section.

We recently spoke with Klea and found out that she is in Canada filming right now and as soon as we have more information on the project, we will pass it along.

Happy Birthday, Klea!

A Black Christmas: Lance, Megan and Brittany unite!

2010-12-25T14:32:00.000-08:00

Back To Frank Black are proud to present one major event of 2010 for the campaign. Today, 26th December (Boxing Day to some), we have a very special podcast lined up, available through iTunes, iPhone, Android, Flash Player or a direct link download!

Lance Henriksen, Brittany Tiplady and Megan Gallagher unite for the first time since the show. The podcast recording is pretty much raw - there's none of our usual intros or editing, this is the three talking for the first time, honestly and organically. Originally pitched as a "Midnight of the Century" interview to co-incide with Christmas, this interview immediately becomes what it could only be in these circumstances - a reunion.

How to listen to this FREE podcast:
Flash Player: Listen directly!

Download as an mp3!

Availiable on iTunes - search for "Back to Frank Black" or "BacktoFrankBlack" and hit "subscribe"!

Also available on iPhone and Android as part of the Back to Frank Black app! App version includes an Xmas message from Lance and a pdf greetings card from the team! (Extra features are included in most app versions of the podcasts. Nominal app fee goes towards supporting the campaign. No profits come from this app service)

Midnight of the Century: Angels and Personal Demons

2010-12-24T02:11:00.000-08:00

“Midnight of the Century” (19 December 1997)

Writers: Erin Maher & Kay Reindl

Director: Dwight Little

The first thing we hear in “Midnight of the Century” is a ticking clock, the opening image that then fades in by way of accompaniment its rocking pendulum. This episode’s title comprises two descriptors of time, and the weight of time’s passage is very much its underlying theme, right from the opening moments in which Frank is first visited by the ghost of a Christmas past that is to haunt him this particular Christmas Eve.

“There’s something about this time of year that always makes me consider time. Wouldn't it be wonderful if in life you could pick the speed in which you were going to experience time? I would have it take forever for these kids to grow up; I don’t care if they didn’t like it. I'd have autumn go much slower, winter a little faster and the time that I was experiencing regret I'd have go… slower actually, so I could fix and leave the situation without regret.” --Peter Watts

Peter Watts’ speech to Frank and Lara at his pre-Christmas gathering speaks to the same themes, to the sense of reflection that this season can often inspire in us, contextualised further beyond his family to the larger concerns that lurk at the heart of The Millennium Group. We are all at time’s mercy, but life’s highs and lows and the all too often irreparable mistakes that scar our passage through it can leave us yearning to have mastery over it, to wind the clock back, to revisit and fix our failings.

Angels of course manifest throughout this episode in one form or another, each in their way guiding Frank as to how he might do just this to a fashion. He is at first reluctant to heed them in spite of their appearances, however, and clashes with Catherine over Jordan following her being re-cast from the role of an angel in her nativity play. Catherine knows what Frank’s gift did to him and seeks to protect her daughter from a similar fate. As the conversation flashes him back to his own childhood and similar treatment from his father, though, Frank understands the need to recognise Jordan’s gift for what it is and to support her. If her gift is denied or demonised, then Frank’s family history could so easily repeat itself and Jordan could be destined to live a lonely, misunderstood and burdened life. Here the situation is left unresolved, and it is not until Frank talks his daughter’s emerging gift over with Lara that his next course of action becomes clear to him.

“Here’s my thing. This is a tough time of year for me. Angels are everywhere… It’s not what I see, but from them I get the same feeling when ‘he’ appears. And that's how it all started when I was a kid; I just sort of felt them. I felt a presence around me… I don't know how you can prepare her, Frank. You’re right – they won’t just go away. And for me, it only gets more intense as I get older… I would’ve done anything, anything, not to have this in my life. But Frank, look – at least she’s got a father who understands, and that will really help her… But there is one thing. In The Bible – and to me – they are messengers. This was brought to your attention and you said you’d seen angels all day. So my immediate concern isn’t for Jordan but for you. You may not be able to see them, but I feel that something is trying to be communicated to you. And there's only one place to find the answer.” --Lara Means

And so it is that Frank finds himself finally visiting his long estranged father. He finds Henry Black living alone in a dilapidated yellow house – Frank’s childhood home – itself full of painful memories and regrets. Here we learn more of Linda Black and a fateful Christmas Eve from over five decades ago.

“Do you remember Blue Rose Tea? They used to have those little angel things that you could send away for. Your mother wanted one in the worst way and I wouldn't have the damn things in the house. Fifty-one years ago, she changed her mind; she gave in and said she wasn't seeing angels anymore. The last picture she made was with you. That scared me, Frank; it scared me enough that I gave in. I wanted to find her one of those little Blue Rose angels. I finally found one at the Woolworth's. I gave it to her; she was so touched. We made a pact over that, your mother and I. I told her that I would love her forever, and she said that she would move the figurine to show that she was waiting for me on the other side where I too could see the angels, and where we could finally be forever together.” --Henry Black

Henry’s attitude towards his late wife’s gift mirrors that of Catherine towards Jordan’s, and whilst both are valid and understandable reactions in the face of seemingly supernatural powers, Frank’s overriding fear is revealed to be that of history repeating. Frank’s father recognised that Frank and Linda, his mother, were both gifted albeit in different ways, just as Catherine recognises the same in her husband and daughter and fears for her child’s future. Henry feared that his wife’s premonition of D-Day would lead her to be branded insane, whilst Catherine simply wants Jordan to be able to lead a “normal” life.

Pivotal to breaking a rift that has spanned decades between Frank and his father is the picture of the angel that Jordan claims her grandmother helped her draw, identical to the one she helped Frank draw exactly fifty-one years earlier. Frank shows it to Henry, and he instantly recognises the image. Her angel leads the two men to begin a process of reconciliation and forgiveness. And so the pact between husband and wife is finally honoured through time and the angel does move, as Henry Black offers it to Frank and he in turn gifts it to Jordan, who seems to recognise a sign of her grandmother’s love for her from beyond the grave. The angel connects the family through the generations: past, present and future.

Of course, “Midnight of the Century” has a sting in its tale. Frank and Henry’s reunion may have begun to reverse many years of mutual regret over their relationship, but as the fetch of Henry manifests amidst the falling snow before him Frank realises that their time is now short. This proves to be the case in “The Fourth Horseman” and, in a poignant moment at her grandfather’s graveside, Jordan returns the same angel to her father to be placed on Henry’s Black’s grave. Again, the angel connects the generations.

In sum total, then, the episode is a meditiation on the inexorable passage of time: the upcoming millennium, the midnight of the century, one generation of the Black family mirroring another, the year’s end as a time for reflection. It is a sentiment I share around this season and one that, even after so many repeat viewings, “Midnight of the Century” stirs powerfully within me. A moment’s pause in which to look both backwards and forwards and to reflect upon the passage of time. So, on the eve of another Black family reunion, wherever you are this Christmastime and however you will mark it, be sure to spend your time without regret, tell the people that mean the most to you – especially those you may have neglected – that you love them, and just make the most of the time afforded to you. And Merry Christmas.

What the Killer Sees will return in the New Year.

Dreaming of a Black Christmas

2010-12-23T05:13:00.000-08:00

Well... the halls are decked, there's an angel perched precariously atop the tree and beneath it are piled presents that hopefully someone hasn't already given to your loved ones, prompting you to have to go out shopping again on Christmas Eve. But something's missing, right? Something to make the season feel truly complete? Something you can't quite put your finger on? Well, we can now reveal just what that is. To whet your appetites, Joselyn Rojas has created this wonderful, moving video for the occasion:

Yes, Back to Frank Black has been working to bring you a very special family reunion for the holidays. Back together for the first time in twelve years, Lance Henriksen, Megan Gallagher and Brittany Tiplady - Frank, Catherine and Jordan Black - are in conversation exclusively for the Millennium Group Sessions.

So be sure to check back here on Christmas Day for a unique gift to all of you: a really special Black Family reunion.

Charity Auction Round Three

2010-12-20T02:12:00.001-08:00

We're back with another five items in the charity auction - and what a superb range of lots we have for you this time! There are some truly unique items here that will surely have every Lance Henriksen and Millennium fan drooling over their screens. Our eBay auction page has duly been updated with the following:

Lance Henriksen's original autographed script from Alien 3.
Lance Henriksen's original autographed script from Tarzan.
An 11" x 14" signed photo of Lance Henriksen as Jesse Hooker from Near Dark
The complete Millennium Season Two DVD boxset signed by Kristen Cloke, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan & James Wong
A copy of the Millennium theme sheet music signed by Mark Snow

Once again this fantastic range of items is exclusive to the charity auction in aid of Children of the Night. Bidding is open now, so get busy for your chance to own one or more of these unique mementos from Millennium and Lance Henriksen!

Happy Birthday Christina!

2010-12-19T01:01:00.000-08:00

Back to Frank Black would like to take this moment to wish fellow staff member Christina Nicholls a very Happy Birthday! Christina is one of the newest members to our team, but she has already made a tremendous impact on the campaign!

Christina, from all of us and the Millennium fandom, Happy Birthday!!!

Second Sight: "Kingdom Come"

2010-12-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

“Kingdom Come” (29 November 1996)

Writer: Jorge Zamacona
Director: Winrich Kolbe
Editor: George R. Potter

Quote: “I haven’t thought about [God] in a very long time… Because I’ve seen the innocent die. I’ve seen children murdered in their beds. The weak and helpless slaughtered without purpose, without sense.” --Frank Black

Overview: During the show’s original run, enthusiastic online fans concocted the earliest iteration of the Millennium drinking game, in which on-screen character cues prompt a knowing audience to imbibe. Frank hides his case files when Catherine comes down to the basement? Down a shot. Frank or Peter instantly recognize an obscure biblical passage? Two shots. Frank laughs? Chug from the bottle. And the very first item on this list leading the way to paranoid inebriation? “Frank sees what the killer sees.”

Any television series able to support its own drinking game is by definition formulaic, and Millennium is no different, especially in the throes of its first season. Every fan of the series has heard, and at one time wielded, the familiar “serial-killer-of-the-week” critique. The formulaic elements that are entwined with Frank Black’s grisly visions, however, episode-by-episode, serve to progressively reinforce the very meaning always insisted upon by creator Chris Carter. When Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis insists “Frank Black was not a psychic,” he is echoing a refrain commonly heard from the show’s producers but one that was more difficult to accept in the early days of the series. “It’s misconception on the audience’s part and a lot of the critics,” Kousakis explains, “because when Frank would investigate a crime... there would be flashes, and we used a device, a technical device, on film to try and manifest that and try to somehow interpret for the audience what he was going through.”

Though Millennium sometimes seems hopelessly confused on the issue, in episodes such as “Kingdom Come” Kousakis’s argument is aided by the fact that this now-familiar technical device is more often than not site specific, bound to settings already associated with the investigative process. This realization reveals how key the scene is to our understanding of what the hero’s unending hallucinations truly represent. The answer, in instances such as this, just may be location, location, location. Though the content of the visions sometimes reaches beyond the confines of the crimes themselves--notably, in this case, Frank visualizes the formative tragedy that initiated Galen Calloway’s deadly crisis of faith--these visions are prompted by casework. The locations themselves, be they chaotic or bureaucratic, come alive with the details of the crime, calling out to the profiler with the screams of its victims. When Frank Black buttons up his coat and steps into a crime scene, morgue, or police lab, we know it’s time to reach for that drink.

Trances in Total: 6 (0:12)

Gore Score: 2/10

Horror Channel talks to Lance Henriksen

2010-12-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

This week the Horror Channel began running the series Millennium. What better way to celebrate that then with a brand new interview with lead actor Lance Henriksen? With the help of Back to Frank Black staff member James McLean, James Whittington from the Horror Channel had the chance to interview the acting legend.

You can read part one of this fascinating interview right here. We here at Back to Frank Black are proud to have been able to put this together. Keep checking back on the blog for the second part of the interview!

Midnight of the Century T-shirt available in the Back to Frank Black store!

2010-12-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

The Back To Frank Black merchandise shop now has a new garment for the winter season! This is the exclusive "Midnight of the Century" inspired top!

Click here for more details!

$31.80 - all money from our shop goes to funding this campaign. This shirt will be great for Christmas/New Year - and all year round, really!

What the Killer Sees: Ricardo Clement

2010-12-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

Killer: Ricardo Clement (Bob Wilde)

Episode: “Gehenna” (1 November 1996)

Writer: Chris Carter

Director: David Nutter

Quote: “Something happened down in San Francisco.” --Frank Black

“Anything you want to talk about?” --Catherine Black

“I'm just confused about something I thought I understood about evil. What it is, exactly.” --Frank Black

“You mean, what causes it?” --Catherine Black

“It seems that the old biblical concept of the devil's influence has lost any currency.” --Frank Black

“I just think the language has changed. I think science and psychology have given us a clearer idea of why people commit evil acts. I see it every day – abused kids become abusive adults.” --Catherine Black

“So the true source of evil is us.” --Frank Black

“You mean, are we all capable of it?” --Catherine Black

“Or is there something out there – a force or a presence – waiting until it can create another murder, another rape, another holocaust.” --Frank Black

“I think it's something that everyone who looks deeply at life wonders.” --Catherine Black

“What would you tell a child? What would I tell Jordan?” --Frank Black

“Maybe you should just tell her goodnight.” --Catherine Black

Profile: Ricardo Clement is perhaps even more of a mystery at the end of his encounter with Frank Black than he at first appeared. What we do learn of him for sure, however, is his position as a sinister cult leader with a deadly agenda.

The cult leader tends towards a dictatorial regime, controlling his subjects through manipulation and often by preying on the weak. It is for this reason that former member become victim Eedo writes to his family with such genuine conviction about the beliefs of the cult to which he has fallen victim. We see evidence of this manipulation from Clement as he brainwashes his telemarketers with a series of slogans continually projected onto their gloomy office wall.

A cult leader’s inflated ego nearly always co-exists alongside a flagrant disregard for his subjects couched behind a veneer of charm and guile. This psychopathology is theorised to often stem from deep rooted feelings of anger such that other people become objectified to the extent that the cult leader experiences no feelings of guilt over their fates. This theory of suppressed rage may also explain Clement’s incredibly sadistic means of dispatching his victims; as Frank notes, he wants to watch them suffer and specifically wishes to see them burn alive. This is perhaps another thematic link to Gehenna since followers of Moloch, one of the false gods worshipped at the original site as referenced in the Hebrew Bible, used to sacrifice their children by fire. Furthermore Clement is another example of a highly organised killer, having his victims lured into his clutches whilst he looks on with night vision goggles before murdering them and disposing of their remains in a very specific and carefully orchestrated fashion.

Furthermore, the cult behind Gehenna International would be classified as a “destructive cult” in that it knowingly inflicts emotional and physical harm upon its own members, in this instance in a particularly violent fashion. It is a term sometimes extended in this new millennium to also include certain terrorist groups. Whilst the reference during the investigation by Mike Atkins to sarin attacks in Japan directly links to Aum Shinrikyo, practices of harm towards its own members are perhaps better exemplified by the history of the Branch Davidians. The belief in end of the world prophecies is common to both and another well-known attribute of such cults, exemplified here by Gehenna International’s ultimate design.

There is one further theme explored in this episode that is particularly pertinent to this column: that of the very source of evil itself. Brian A. Dixon recently discussed the introduction of the notion of Legion in his consideration of this episode in his Second Sight column, whilst the age old argument of nature or nurture was a point of discussion in the comments prompted by the very first edition of this column, witnessing the “birth” of a serial killer in “Broken World”. The brief representations of Clement as a demon and his eerie and knowing glares towards Frank even when he is hidden via one-way glass hint at the manifestation of some deeper evil power at work, a possibility Frank speaks of in the conversation with Catherine quoted at the top of this column. Catherine’s view is one more rooted in the developing field of psychology alongside science to explain such actions, whilst acknowledging that the debate on the subject continues. It is of course a dichotomy so superbly dramatised throughout Millennium and here personified in the enigma that is Ricardo Clement.

Kills: Unknown (at least 7)

Investigation: The investigation into Ricardo Clement and Gehenna International begins when quantities of ash dumped in the rose beds at a San Francisco public park are found to contain a human ear and then on further examination revealed to contain the remains of at least seven people. Traces of the gas phosgene lead to an abandoned dry-cleaning facility that suffered an accident some years previously, and a tooth found at this scene linking to a missing Russian first makes the connection to the cult via a letter sent by the missing man to his family six months previously.

Frank makes the connection to Gehenna International after consulting The Bible (and not for the last time in his work connected to The Millennium Group) back at home in Seattle. Sharing this with his mentor Mike Atkins, Frank unwittingly leads him into danger when Atkins decides to follow up this potential lead by investigating their facility alone. He barely escapes with his life but Frank’s hunch is proven correct, the cult is revealed and its leader, Ricardo Clement, is finally brought into custody.

Second set of items goes to auction!

2010-12-08T12:39:00.000-08:00

Our second set of items for the Back to Frank Black Charity Auction has now gone live on eBay! This includes Lance Henriksen's personal script for Alien vs Predator! We also have items donated by Mark Snow and Kristen Cloke! Our eBay auction page will provide you with an overview of the items currently up for bid. The listing is as follows:

Lance Henriksen's autographed script from Tales from the Crypt: "Yellow"
Lance Henriksen's autographed script from Powder
Lance Henriksen's autographed script from Alien vs. Predator
An 8" x 10" autographed photo of Kristen Cloke
A Millennium original soundtrack autographed by Mark Snow

Again, the cause is Children of the Night. The charity helps to save children from prostitution, a problem that people often associate with times gone by, and so horrible a concept it often gets ignored. Please help us help this fine charity and the poor children affected by this horrendous crime.

For more information, visit to childrenofthenight.org.

Your support is appreciated.

Happy Birthday, Joselyn Rojas!

2010-12-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Today marks the birthday of our very own vidder - to use the parlance of our times - the wonderful and talented Joselyn Rojas!

Joselyn's will be a familiar name to followers of this campaign as well as online fans of The X-Files, with her hugely creative talents frequently adorning both fandoms. As well as her occasional column Joselyn's Eye, in recent weeks and months alone she's brought a stream of fabulous videos to illuminate this very blog. To name but a handful, included amongst them are those celebrating the female leads of Millennium - Catherine Black, Lara Means and Emma Hollis - not to mention the impressive awareness video for our ongoing Children of the Night charity auction. The Back to Frank Black blog would certainly be less cinematic without her creative touch and, for that matter, our meetings would be altogether less colourful!

So, all of us here at Back to Frank Black would like to wish Joselyn Feliz Cumpleaños and we invite you to do the same by joining us in telling her how wonderful you think her work is too in the comments section.