The Pilot

I've been an X-Files fan for so long I just had to give this show a try. I wasn't disappointed. The pilot episode has definitely got me interested in what happens next. It does a great job of sowing little seeds that will hopefully grow later in the show:

• frank's mysterious "powers"
• the function and purpose of the Millennium Group
• the targeting of his family
• the meaning of all of this Nostradamus and prophecy talk

I think Seattle provides a perfect backdrop for this kind of show. The dreary and rainy city is great to add to the feeling of doom and dark mystery.

I think it was overall very well acted. The warm dynamic between Frank and his family is contrasted well with his icy and aloof dynamic among the officers.

I enjoyed the dark imagery and I'm hopeful this show will continue to push that side of things perhaps further than the X-Files does.

One reservation I have is that this whole prophecy thing won't be adequately explained in the future. I hope it gets elucidated properly and doesn't become a confused mess like X-Files mythology can tend to.

In Seattle, a peep show stripper is found murdered by the police. Meanwhile, the former FBI agent, Frank Black (Lance Henriksen), returns to his hometown Seattle with his wife Catherine Black (Megan Gallagher) and their daughter Jordan Black (Brittany Tiplady) to leave a peaceful life in town. However, when Frank reads the murder of the stripper in the news, he visits his friend Bob 'Bletch' Bletcher (Bill Smitrovich Lt.) from the Seattle P. D. to see her body. Frank, who belongs to the Millennium Group, has the weird power to be in the mind of the killer and sees how the girl was murdered. When a gay male hooker is found completely burned, Frank concludes that the serial-killer is following Nostradamus and will not stop his crime spree.

"The Pilot" is a great episode of "Millennium", where the consultant of the Millennium Group is presented. His powers are interesting since he can see the thoughts of the killer. This first episode seems to be a good introduction to the proposal of the "Millennium" series. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "The Pilot"

Surprise, surprise, this first show introduces us to the core characters and the basic premise of Chris Carter's "The X-Files"-like "Millennium".

That the show has a lot of similarities to the X-Files both helps and hurts it. It helps because the "X-Files" was one of the best television shows to ever hit the airwaves, and with the same production team working on a new show with some similar themes while their star attraction was at the peak of its creativity and popularity helps "Millennium" obtain a lot of the effective atmosphere of "The X-Files". The similarities also hurt "Millennium", however, because it's clear from this first episode that there are a lot of important differences between the two shows, so fans trying to read "Millennium" in the same way that they read "The X-Files" were sure to end up a bit frustrated. The pacing and structure of "Millennium" are very different. In many ways it is a much moodier and more ambiguous show. There are strong religious themes/subtexts (some of which occur more in later episodes), the focus is more on horror, and although Chris Carter is still concerned with obsession as well as bureaucratic blunders and quagmires, he explores those themes at least initially more with respect to trying to maintain a traditional family unit in the face of these problems.

After an introduction that hints at just how dark and supernatural the show may become, The pilot episode begins with Frank Black (played by one of my favorite character actors, Lance Henriksen) moving his family from Washington, D.C. to Seattle, largely because of some of the issues mentioned in the last paragraph--or so appearances and statements to friends and even family go. Black is from Seattle and worked homicide there years ago. No sooner does he get back home then he becomes wrapped up in a serial murder case. Carter and director David Nutter first play this as if it's a symptom of an addict-like obsession, but we soon learn that there may be more to Black's involvements, and we get a glimpse into his "special powers"--he seems to be a psychic.

Carter and director Nutter introduce a number of threads that will continue in later episodes. The pilot is interesting and unusual because some of these ancillary issues seem to be more the focus than the murder case--so we can tell that this is going to be a bit more complex than a just a "monster-of-the-week" detective show.

I'm a big advocate of watching television series in order, so of course, you should start here if you can.