MILLENNIUM Virtual Season Four Episode review by 4Q2 Submitted 11-27-99 "Sala' Del La Morto" #404 Original "Air" date: 7/23/99 Writer: Gavin Hunter In Brief: The sudden disappearances of clergymen prompt a frightnened priest to enlist Frank's help. He finds that the men did not in fact disappear, but suffered the fate of Lot's wife, Sarah, as told in the Old Testament. Overall Impression: Ah yes... the "fire and brimstone" feel of Millennium swings back with full force on this one. "Blood and Water" provided a nice preview of the things to come when it came to "judgement day" themes. "Sala" delivers a nice chilling punch in that direction. Details: I'm not a religious man, but I do enjoy good old fashioned Good vs. Evil struggles - The eternal seed of great storytelling. Perhaps that is why I love MM so much (and more than likely the reason I'm gettin' out to see "End of Days" in the near future). Now, my semi-agnostic nature aside, I have to admit when you give me a story (especially a Millennium one) where a *priest* is quaking in his boots enough to get outside help, you've got my attention. Hell (pardon the pun), *I* was kinda nervous as Father Matthew was pleading with Frank for his help. When men of the cloth are getting snuffed out, what does that say about the power of Good in the MM universe? Look out. The sentiment was expressed best outside the Turner residence with the frightened religious folk chanting the coming end. The disappearance of the clergymen drove the point home that the end may very well be just a lightning bolt away. Sure, we watched Sammiel whomp-ass on Al Pepper at the supermarket, and Lucy Butler ate a fender sandwich at the end of "Antipas." But, is evil dead? As Frank told us "She's not. She never will be." Now the evil is infiltrating the ranks of His own, and it's time to pay the piper. Let the games resume and the eternal battle rage. "Sala' Del La Morto" delivers the "impending doom" atmosphere with style and grace, but not without its minor shortcomings. But, since they are *minor* indeed, we'll get to that later. I want to point out something about Frank's visions that I am noticing over the course fo the VS, and it seems to have started with this episode. The inner-revelations that have become Frank's trademark "power" seem to be having much more dramtic effects on him. As we witnessed him experiencing these visions on the TV show itselt, he seemed quite unaffected by them, lost in thought, trying to decipher its meaning to himself. Now it seems that they are causing actual physical reactions in Frank (shuddering, jolting, "shaking off the effect"). Is this something that is supposed to foreshadow another side to Frank's gift? Is it getting stronger? Is he experiencing fear in greater quantities? Does it have any connection with Jordan's blooming abilities? The physical reactions just don't seem "Frank-like," but I am willing to accept them if they have a specific purpose, otherwise I get mental glimpses of Christopher Walken in "The Dead Zone." "Sala Del La Morto" has its abundance of very fine moments of drama and did generate a few thoughts on faith and hypocracy after my initial reading was over. The first things I thought of were the sad, shocking news stories that occasionally pop up on NBC, where a trusted priest, a man the town respects and looks to for advice, turns out to be a monster of the worst kind. Almost as revolting is the way some parishes snap to when the news breaks, making moves toward damage control, covering up. The idea that many of these "men of God" cast the faith aside, victimizing the innocent, and go unpunished is a hard one to accept, and stories like this at least provide vitual comfort that somebody, *something*, could be watching, waiting, and waiting to judge. This is a story that I think all clergymen should read, and perhaps a few of tempted ones out there, hiding behind the stained glass, who are still teetering on the brink will have enough faith to turn back. I think if I weren't an agnostic, "Sala Del La Morto" would be much much scarier to me. Now, some little picky thangs... - First off, I don't know how the general attitude among the population in Maryland is, but there was something quite unsettling (and *creepy*) about Det. Hagerdy's all too disarming demeanor. Most cops aren't gonna be happy about outside help no matter who the guy is, but this guy was all too accomodating for me to really swallow his initial scenes with Frank. His cheerfulness seemed to rub off on Frank a little to easy, all the way to the point where Frank *smiles* (!) as they discuss visiting a crime scene. Did anyone else experience a flashback to "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense" at that moment? Frank: Boys, boys! This is a murder, not an funeral. (maniacal laughter) - Secondly, I'm not a forensics expert (and this may very well invalidate this particular nitpick) but how is it possible to obtain fingerprints from a pile of salt? If this is indeed a reality in investigations, I'm very curious to know how it's done. But, doesn't granule salt just stick to the natural oil on your fingers when you touch it? I just don't see the it. - Thirdly, we are well into the Season by the "air" date of "Sala," and the absence of Ryan Frost, now an established character in the MM universe, just feels wrong here. It was stated before that his specialty was religiously motivated crimes, and this falls flat into that category. His take on things would have been interesting, at the very least. Most dramatic moment: Frank and Emma's first moment at the police station, staring each other down. PERFECT moment to cut to "commercial." No lines. Nothing. Very cool. Most dramatic moment (runner-up): Jordan (To Father Matthew): Why are you scared? Gooses bumps, ahoy! Did The Opening Quote Seem Relevant To The Story? (Did 4Q2 get it?): Biblical language structure has always been a bit irritating to me, but I'll take a whack at this nonetheless. I came away from the quote with "if even God's own homies can't be trusted to stay pure, what the heck does it say about the rest of us poor shleps, the corrupted ones?" TV Episode(s) that it most reminded me of: "The Hand of Saint Sebastian," "Owls," "Roosters," "Powers, Principalities, Thrones, and Dominions" Score: 8 (out of 10) The thin portrayal of Det. Hagerdy and the absence of Frost from a case that is almost tailor-made for him are my only real issues. Otherwise a very gripping story. NEXT IN THE PIPELINE: "Shophetim," and a review of the long awaited adventures of Mulder, Scully... and FRANK! A review of "The X-Files: Millennium." Onward! -4Q2, president of the Hair Club for Men... and a client. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Sala' Del La Morto" review by Neil Anna PREAMBLE -------- There's nothing like having the 'flu to get me to stay at home and review these! APPRECIATING THE ARCHITECTURE ----------------------------- "Sala' Del La Morto" (SDLM) is an interesting twist on the Biblical tale of Lot's wife, whereby the faithless and the corrupt face God's judgment. In the case of Lot's wife - she was supposed to be part of God's people, but instead "turned back." Therein lies the distinction between the different sorts of people in the world of SDLM. The evildoers will perish like Sodom and Gomorrah, but their destruction is forthcoming. What the Albigenses and their "mysterious figure" were doing was different, however. Rather than seeking out the evildoers to punish, they sought after hypocrites - those who claim to be on the side of God, but whose life and actions tell otherwise. This is the importance of understanding Lot's wife - she was supposedly part of the people of God, but turned back, and was turned into salt. The same is happening here to these supposed "men of God." As a plot-driven script it is quite a decent piece of work. The mystery of the events are not fully explained, nor are they supposed to be. Rather than having the "killer" apprehended, the final "man of God" is tested and found to be faithful. And because of Father Matthew's faith meets strict FDA standards the world (or at leats Baltimore) is saved from destruction - "Judgement can only be halted for another Millennia is a faithful one exists." This has parallels to the original Old Testament story of Lot, where Lot has a almost comical discussion with God about the merits of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah - basically Lot argues that if God destroys these cities and there happens to be a "Godly" man among them, wouldn't that be unjust? God agrees, but destroys the cities anyway because no good man can be found. What is also good about this script is that Frank and Jordan are now looking like staying at his Brother's house. Not only does this give Frank a good base, but it also allows Jordan to be looked after by Helen Black - all of which allows Frank to go off into the countryside looking for serial killers and evil stuff without having to worry about Jordan's breakfast. It also gives Frank proximity to Ryan Frost who, we assume, will eventually ask Frank to work for him... STRUCTURAL FLAWS ---------------- Like "Genesis" before it, "SDLM" suffers from being too closely associated to another "real" Millennium episode - "Kingdom Come" from first season. In both episodes, Frank is investigating the deaths of members of the clergy, and discovers that they have something to do with the inqusition. Moreover, both episodes have a climactic scene where Frank is talking to a minister/priest who is on the verge of being murdered as they speak. Here the similarity ends, with Father Matthew surviving while the poor minister from "Kingdom Come" gets some pliers from hell. Moreover, the killer in "Kingdom Come" is reacting against faith by committing these heinous crimes, while the clergy deaths in "SDLM" are punishment for real sins. So while "SDLM" is similar to "Kingdom Come," the similarity is not as obvious as "Genesis" and "Skull & Bones" are to one another. But the Clergy deaths in "Kingdom Come," while horrifying, are within the scope of human experiences. The deaths in "SDLM," however, are not. The bodies are turned into salt, and it was much more like an X-Files storyline as a result. Having Lucy Butler kill people through hanging is weird, but the end results are not. Here, both the initiator of and the mode of death are both mysterious. It is therefore very difficult to believe that Detective Owen Hagarty didn't go Bananas over this issue! More time should've been spent in the script at least describing the fear and confusion of these poor regular cops who are faced with stuff outside the realms of normal human experience. There was some rather sloppy Biblical research as well for this script. Father Matthew states that "wicked and dastardly evil men were turned into pillars of salt" in the Old Testament. Wrong. Only Lot's wife was. Now I realise that poetic license comes into play here, and I'm willing to admit that this particular issue wasn't very important, but the Biblical sloppiness doesn't end there. It also seems as though the actual Inquisition itself was part of the Bible - "We exchanged words about the Inqusition in The Bible, and the two groups that were formed because of it." The Inquisition was an actual event, but it occurred over a thousand years after the Bible was written. GOLDEN MOMENTS -------------- * Emma being the one to calm down Frank's anger with the words "we have a suspect" - nothing like getting his mind back onto what's important! * The humility of Father Matthew - from the outset we *knew* he was a good guy because he was able to swallow his pride and ask Frank, an irregular church-goer, for help. * The crowd of Millennium freaks outside Pastor Turner's place. How 'bout a "Save Millennium" sign? * Emma listening to Ricky Martin while looking at the crime scene photos. * The death of Len Parker - being salted just before hitting the windscreen. Would've looked great on film! * Impending judgement accompanied by rain, rain and more rain. The Biblical Flood is in the picture again! NIT PICKS --------- * Pastor Turner isn't described well enough at the beginning - halfway through imagining a rather thin man behind the lectern, I'm told he has a "plump" face.. * "For each minister there has been a different sect involved..." This sounds more like a cult. How about using the word "denomination?" * Would Frank really smile and say "I thought you'd never ask" when asked if he'd like to see the crime scene? "Yeah! Give me more death!." I think not. * Owen states about the salt that "It's nothing Frank. No hidden message of any sort. No hairs, no fibers, not even fingerprints were lifted off it!" But then Frank says a couple of pages later "Have your people analyze the salt. I believe you'll find traces of skin tissue." Did Owen's "people" analyze the salt or not? Why would they have not found skin traces while they were examining the salt for hairs or fibres? More information is needed. * "Dastardly evil men" - who says "Dastardly" these days? * How the hell can a woman tell if her husband is dead through "Women's intution?" That part of the Emma/Anne scene was quite weak. * There probably needed to be more information about Father Matthew's reaction to the man in the confessional - not just "slightly afraid," but a growing sense of terror and realization would be more appropriate. * The "Born Again Church of God" scene was waaay too short - we didn't even know the guy was a pastor apart from the "Pastor Michael Williams" above his lines. For a TV shoot, this would not have been good. See my suggestion below in the Appendix to make it better... * Frank whistling the cops over? I'm sure Henriksen was able to do that in his merchant seaman days, but I would've thought Frank yelling "Hey! Over here!" was more in line with his character. * Father Matthew's lines to Frank at the end were not very good. Why is he all suddenly mysterious and coy about the terrible thing he had just experienced? "I saw... a dark figure..and then he..." (etc) would've been a bit more realistic. FAVOURITE LINE -------------- Frank: "I don't know *what* I believe anymore." GRADING ------- 7.5 out of 10. APPENDIX -------- * The idea of Salt being part of the OT sacrifice (Leviticus 2.13) could have been included a bit more here. Perhaps even "Salt of the Earth" analogies... maybe. * It may have been better if the Pastor of the "Born Again Church of God" was supplying drugs as part of his "Street ministry," rather than just being a user himself. This would've allowed the pastor to be "on the street" when he was killed, and it would have been more effective if Frank/Emma had found a bag of suspicious white powder rather than the rather corny scene of "hyperdermic needles poking up from the soil." * Could the killer from "Kingdom Come" have been a member of this particular group? It would've made the tie in between the two episodes a lot stronger.