Second Sight: "Loin Like a Hunting Flame"

“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

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!

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!

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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

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

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

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!

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.