MILLENNIUM Virtual Season Four Episode review by 4Q2 Submitted 11-10-99 "Twilight Years" #408 Original "Air" date: 9/03/99 Writers: Marcus Dixon and Andrew Denst In Brief: A pair of murder victims found at Frank's cabin leads to an investigation of a bizarre plot by the Millennium Group to impregnate elderly women for the purpose of creating a Messiah. A Special Note: Anyone who reads the message boards of the VS knows that, hands down, "Twilight Years" has generated the most heated posts. These messages have ranged from the subtle to the outright inflammatory. The episode has become somewhat of a controversy at this site, so much in fact that I was reluctant to post a review at all. I originally felt that my remarks would simply add to the fire of negativity surrounding this story. However, in the spirit of fairness, I will proceed with an *honest and mature* approach to criticism as I believe every writer is entitled to one. Overall Impression: The idea had some promise, but was poorly executed and unfortunately poorly written. The players were so far out of character that I suspected at one point the story may have been played up for laughs in what should have been a very, very dark tale. Details: Aye carumba! Well, I have to admit that even the print ad for "Twilight Years" caused my eyebrows to raise. Nope, something felt a little too awkward. It was a the same sort of feeling I got when I saw for the first time the teaser for "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" back in the Second Season. I had a bad feeling about it. And, I ended up liking that a whole lot. Imagine... a Millennium *comedy* episode. And it was brilliant! Fast forward to Season Three. The feeling of uneasiness returns. "...KISS special guest stars on an all-new 'Millennium'..." Oboy. Another comedy episode. But lo! It was *damned* funny! Okay, I can get into this. Now, at the outset, I didn't suspect "Twilight Years" to be aimed for the funny bone, not with such a grisly discovery taking place at Frank's cabin in the Wenatchee Mountains. More specifically, a young girl and an elderly *pregnant* woman both brtually murdered. My suspicions were aroused much later as the investigation brought Frank to the office of Dr. Belzil, who behaved like such a certified lunatic that I suddenly perked up... "Oh! It's meant to be *comedy*!" At that, I started over and tried it with new eyes. Nope. Nothing particularly funny could be gouged from this episode even if Jim Carrey himself were brought in to pick it apart. Even Gielbelhouse's "one-liners" were forced and so utterly *not* Giebs that, for the first time since the premiere of the VS, I *stopped reading*. I'm being honest. I literally threw my hands up and closed the file. I was flabbergasted at the looseness of the dialogue and (although I try not to make this even an issue) the exorbitant number of typos in the script. However, in the interest of knowing the full story, thinking that maybe there was something that was to transpire in this episode that I might need to know later, I pressed on. I have to say that if there are any plot threads extending from this episode to the finale, they better be *damn good* threads. The following are comments I have posted before on "Twilight Years" around the time the episode was first posted, and I still believe them to be my valid opinions of this episode. My "official" review resumes after the end bracket. [On the subject of "Twilight Years": Intriguing idea at the outset, but ultimately felt like a forced premise, designed simply to give the MM Group something else abominable to do. Trust me, this plot to impregnate elderly women didn't make me hate the Group anymore. It wasn't shocking or even disturbing as much as it was just... implausible, even for MM. (This is hard, but honesty was asked for.) I wouldn't be disappointed if this thread was not continued. In addition to it's forced evil, "Twilight Years" also made Frank's cabin its focal point for what felt like nothing more than an obligatory return to the place of MM's most shocking cliffhanger. I couldn't grasp the reason WHY the murders took place there. I thought the place was in the middle of NOWHERE (the very reason Frank took his family there to begin with). Wrapping up my griping... The characters all seemed out of sorts. Giebelhouse not remembering Frank's cabin? C'mon. He found Jordan wandering the woods alone there after the Marburg outbreak. Maybe it's just me, but I've never pegged Frank Black as the beer-drinking type (or alcohol of ANY type for that matter). The idea of the MMG hiring Detective Ray to botch the case is a premise that not only wasn't all that surprising, but I find it hard to believe they would hire someone so BLATANTLY against Frank. The best saboteur is the one part of the mechanism that seems to work BEST. Why was THE ELDER asking Mabius if *he* should go to Seattle *himself* to "clean-up?" Feels like the lines of dialogue were switched. Finley: "She's *like* my student in The Group." "Like?" I can't see anyone of San Fernando Valley descent making into the Millennium Group.] My gripes for this episode go far beyond what I have listed so far, but I shall refrain from them as I believe that the point has been made. I was disappointed. Now... I'd like to say something to Mr. Andrew Denst. Nothing, I reiterate, *nothing* here is meant as a personal jab. Being a writer myself, I know what kind of risk is taken when something that you put your blood, sweat, and tears into on the net for all to see. Sometimes the reaction is less than favorable, and sometimes it's worse. I will go so far as to say you are a braver man than me for even attempting to write something as complex and renowned as Millennium and hoping it will translate well to the audience. I, for one, have no plans to attempt it, as I feel I am in no way ready to tell an intelligent and convincing Frank Black story. For your efforts I can only say I admire the attempt. Keep at it, good luck in future projects, and don't let this experience deter you from your passion for writing. As Neil Peart wrote, "Sometimes our big splashes are just ripples in the pool." Did The Opening Quote Seem Relevant To The Story? (Did 4Q2 get it?): Since I can find no relevance to the story as a whole, I cannot even begin to speculate what the quote is saying other than being old sucks. TV Episode(s) that it most reminded me of: Uh... Score: 1 (out of 10) NEXT IN THE PIPELINE: Ryan Frost returns and tells Frank where it's at! My review of "Our Own Flesh and Blood." Onward! -4Q2 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Twilight Years" review by Neil Anna APPRECIATING THE ARCHITECTURE ----------------------------- Yet another end-times episode - at least at the surface. The strange Dr Belziel and his Frankenstein-like medical experiments make this episode a borderline horror story. The bizarre deaths of the old woman and her young daughter (!) set up a series of strange, veiled events, obviously controlled by the Millennium Group, but not totally within their grasp. The title "Twilight Years" focuses first upon the death of the old woman, but also focuses upon the end-times themselves. As the time draws near, something will occur (born) that will change the world. Belziel thought it would be the Messiah, but it was more likely to be an Antichrist of some sort. Belziel is a simliar character to Pellier ("Hostile Elements") in that he was an honest, faithful man who was forced to do evil deeds by those masquerading as the forces of good. Unlike Pellier, he is unable to redeem himself, and dies in great anguish, unable to at least try to reverse the evil that he had done. Maybe like Pellier, Belziel could represent the Millennium Group and its imminent destruction. On a lighter note, it was good that Frank was able to return to Seattle, although it was obviously heartbreaking to go back to the cabin a third time. Getting Giebelhouse back was a masterstroke, giving Millennium fans everywhere a cause to cheer one of their most loved minor characters. STRUCTURAL FLAWS ---------------- There are a number of times throughout the script where it appears that the characters are simply engaging in narrative just for our particular sake - it is fine and normal for us the viewers/readers to "eavesdrop" on the conversations of these characters, but we must be listening to THEM talk to each other, not them talking to us. This sort of activity usually followed Giebelhouse's dialogue with a number of characters. As a result, Giebs, for all the potentially rich dialogue that he could have got, turns out to be a big dumb cop in the end. The idea of a 96 year old woman giving birth to not just one, but two, children is absolutely absurd - hence the intrigue in trying to find out what actually happened. However, the characters seem more worried about how a 96 year old would bring up and care for these children than the actual impossibility of bearing children in the first place. As a result, there is a lack of realistic incredulity on the part of the characters - as though a 96 year old new mother is quite unusual, instead of being downright impossible. Doctor Belziel himself is a horrible character - he can't lie properly, has a really tacky medical practice, gives in too easily, gets hysterical, becomes morose and finally begs for mercy... he reminds me of a dirty, hungry poodle. Moreover, the lie the MG gave him about his quest - finding the new Messiah by increasing births - is almost too ridiculuous for anyone of his professional standing to even consider. Obviously this was not the MG's aim, but surely they could have come up with a better lie. Frank becomes far too reactive throughout this episode - he is being driven and directed everywhere by other people. Moreover, he gave in too easily to Giebelhouse and became quite morose as a result. His pain and anguish needed to be expressed a bit more in how he dealt with Giebs and the others. Unfortunately, I found myself becoming more and more disappointed the more I read this episode. The teaser and opening scene - with the dead woman and the child in Frank's cabin - were a great lead in, but the more the story unfolded, the more it became unpleasant to read... perhaps it was the autopsy scene where the fetus is discovered in the uterus of the 96 year old. It may have been more effective if the descriptions were more implicit and less explicit - but I'll get to that more when I review "Our Own Flesh and Blood." GOLDEN MOMENTS -------------- * Abum (?) turning up on the phone - first time to Tom where he poses as the long-distance phone company telemarketer (which he does to Jesse Helms in "Somehow Satan..."), and then to Frank at the end where he claims to be a Shepherd. Not exactly explicit, but I think he was there anyway... ("keep up the good work...") * Belziel - sounds like Beelzebub, the name of the Devil. NIT PICKS --------- * The Son asking the father why they had to be out so early to hunt Deer - shouldn't this have been explained to him before he went hunting? It may have been better if he said "Dad I want to go to the toilet"... then goes into the cabin searching for relief... * Frank says to Tom and Helen "They found two dead bodies in a cabin that is owned by me." Apart from being a very weakly constructed sentence, it fails to point out that the cabin was bequeathed to Frank by his dead Father... the same Father of his Brother Tom who is standing there in front of him. Of COURSE they know about Frank's cabin. How about "They found two dead bodies in Dad's cabin - the one we stayed in during the outbreak..." * Giebelhouse convinces Frank to help in the investigation, but Ray rightly disagrees. However, he doesn't say "Hey wait on a second Giebs... this guy's a suspect. We can't have him on the case!," he says "Sorry MR BLACK, you can't." It has been Giebs who has made the decision, so it should be Giebs that Rays should be saying "no" to. * Giebs "He has *never* showed violence towards anyone. He would never kill anybody he never met before." So I suppose we can ignore the polaroid stalker, the two men he shot up in "Roosters"... * Frank seems to suggest that the needle "protected" himself from the Marburg Virus. It was not the needle but the serum inside it. How about "Lara Means gave this to me. It contained an immunity to the marburg virus, which I gave to Jordan. Lara knew it wouldn't do her any good... I owe her everything." * Giebs says "What do you mean, 'missing'?" Ray never said "Missing" - obviously missed the edit. * Giebs: "It's almost like he (Ray) has some other agenda other than finding the killer." Well thank you, it was actually quite obvious! * Belziel refuses them entry to his office, but when they eventually force their way in, he is happy and friendly - not at all like a man who has refused police entry to his office. * Man (VO) (who is obviously Ray) "Why did you involve Finley in the case?... (etc)," this smacks of trying to tie up loose ends and explain activities of the episode that could remain hidden. FAVOURITE LINE -------------- Giebs: "Last time I smelled something like this was when I visited my Mom in the nursing home." A couple of good Gieb lines... GRADING ------- 5 out of 10. Story and dialogue was quite weak, unfortunately. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "Thoughts on the VS4 Part Two" review by Jon OK, OK. I know I promised to wait until another 7 episodes had been presented, but this pause in the VS4 seems the perfect opportunity for another set of mini-reviews and a review of the 'state of the union'. And Dan *did* ask for opinions... From the first 7 episodes, I had singled out 'The First Prophet', 'Genesis' and 'Hostile Elements' for special praise. I was, however, concerned about the proliferation of 'preventing the apocalypse' episodes, and the lack of overall plot development between episodes. You will recall from my first set of mini-reviews that I was concerned that the authors of the VS4 would try to explain *all* of the contradictions of season 3 and that taking this step might doom the VS4 to failure. The next 5 episodes were very interesting... (these reviews may contain SPOILERS - you have been warned) VS08. Twilight Years Coming hard on the heels of the excellent 'The First Prophet', this episode had a hard act to follow. Even allowing for this, 'Twilight Years' was quite dreadful, almost without a redeeming factor. Poor characterisation, unlikely dialogue, bad spelling and an improbable plot added up to one big stinker. Some of the lines were so bad that I found myself laughing out loud at several points. The use of Frank's cabin was gratuitous in the extreme, and I still have no idea what the ad line was supposed to mean - "You're never too old to stop." Definitely the worst episode of the VS yet, by a good margin. It's a shame that this was the episode referred to in the Salon article, which made the point that the VS4 is trying to shake off the dubious reputation of 'fan fiction'. Anyone who followed the Salon link to this stinker would have only had their prejudices against bad fan fiction reinforced. I was warned against reading this episode, and I'm now sorry I didn't take the advice. If you haven't read it, *please* don't bother. VS09. Our Own Flesh and Blood A welcome relief from the mythology/conspiracy thread which has dominated the VS4 to date. Quite a good episode, with nice characterisation and convincing scenes between Jordan and Frank. My only objection to it is the way in which Frank and Ryan investigate the crime at the centre of the plot. The perpetrator is quite obviously the son (unfortunately, this is kind of given away by the title - oops!), but Frank stubbornly refuses believe this until he has his nose effectively rubbed in the evidence. There *are* parallels between the way that Jordan and the killer have both been affected by childhood trauma, but I found Frank's refusal to accept the possibility of the son's guilt irritating. Discussion over this episode has finally settled the argument over Jordan's schooling : she Jordan *has* changed schools *and* principals and Frank *does not* have to drive her all the way to her old school in DC! (Footnote: The original VS09: 'Acolyte' was pulled at the last minute and replaced by 'Our Own Flesh and Blood', apparently 'due to unforeseen circumstances'. It seems unlikely that 'Acolyte' will ever see the light of day as part of the VS4. The reasons for its disappearance remain speculative, although, occurring the week after the awful 'Twilight Years', it seems likely that there were major script problems which could not be resolved in time.) VS10. Akuma Odori Shorter than the average VS4 ep (as has been noted), and better for it. This is another good episode, with an effective and engaging plot, believable characters and suitably scary details. It even almost manages to make sense of events in 'Bardo Thodol', but finally shies away from this. It's only slightly frustrating that the episode ends with a whimper rather than a bang, and we don't find out what's been going on after all. In common with 'Our Own Flesh and Blood' there was a minor glitch about Jordan's school, but this did not detract from the overall impact of a good script. VS11/12. Rapture/Tribulation This was the first two-parter of the VS4, and was an ambitious attempt to deal with some of the many loose ends left hanging from the episode 'Exegesis' in the third season. I started reading 'Rapture' really wanting to *love* it, and was surprised to find that I only *liked* it. I continued with 'Tribulation' and found that I had the same reaction. I thought the scripts were *good*, but not *great*. Sorry, Dan, perhaps you have already spoiled us with your excellent 'The First Prophet'! To be brief, there was plenty about the two-parter that I liked. The disappearance from the plane in mid-flight was well-handled, as was the following investigation. The idea of there being a captive pool of remote viewers is a good one, as is the regular baby-snatching to keep up the numbers. And the remote viewing in time as well as space was a good idea. Also, the way that the story was dove-tailed with 'Exegesis' was excellent. But... I find myself objecting to the very idea of The Board. I think it's just one Proper Noun Conspiracy too many in a season where conspiracy and secret organisations seem to be sprouting like mushrooms in the dark. The Board... are they the sort-of-Jewish one?... or the ones from the Spanish Inquisition?... or the ones making poisonous pharmaceuticals? .... or the ones that actively engineer atrocity and corruption? I also think that the episodes would have been stronger without the 'will he/won't he die' Elder diversion and the deus-ex-machina rescue by Mabius. Emma's investigation also seemed fumbling and unimaginative. The remote viewer plot was good, but I wondered just why they're so important if they can't see beyond the millennium - so they can only see a few months into the future? The whole thing with the rapture was OK, but it didn't ring true for me. I just hadn't imagined the rapture as amounting to a rather mundane disappearance from an airliner. Also, I found the 'bilocation' thing a little too far-fetched. If the remote viewers are so powerful, why don't they just take over and do away with the Group and the Board? Finally, I wanted to scream when Frank and Ryan abandoned 718 at Ryan's house! Unusually for a Dan episode, I found the writing a little hard to follow, with perhaps just a touch too much detail and a little too much exposition. So, overall, I enjoyed this two-parter, but (for me at least) it didn't hit the highs of 'The First Prophet'. So there we are. 12 episodes down, 10 (or is it 8) to go? There are only 11 weeks of the 20th century remaining... 4 of these 5 episodes are good solid additions to the VS4. 'Twilight Years', on the other hand, can do nothing but harm the VS4, and ideally should never have seen the light of day. The themes from the first 7 episodes (water and insects) have not really been enlarged upon, nor has Emma's involvement in the Group. Three of the episodes have dealt successfully with neglected themes from the third season and deserve extra credit for this. I would never have thought that the events from 'Exegesis' and 'Bardo Thodol' could be successfully enlarged upon, but the VS4 has done it! So... 4 out of 5 good episodes... but what about the *story*? I really have to repeat my concern over the lack of plot development so far. The twelfth episodes of the second and third seasons were 'Luminary' and 'The Sound of Snow' respectively. Think how far Frank had come from 'The Beginning and the End' and 'The Innocents' in each case. In the case of the first twelve episodes of the VS4, I don't think Frank has really developed as a character at all. At the end of the third season, he still thought that the Group killed his wife. He knows they killed Peter Watts. He suspects that they were going to kill him next. He knows they were behind a string of murders in the third season. So he and Jordan go on the run, because 'we are all shepherds' and Frank's gift is now one of 'light' where he can appreciate 'the point of view of the victim'. What does he do next? He moves in with his brother and doesn't get a job, but runs off to investigate anything which comes his way when Ryan Frost calls him up. He worries about Jordan, but dumps her on his brother and sister-in-law whenever he has to run off. He goes house-hunting without success. He doesn't go after the Group. He doesn't avenge Peter's death. He's very very PASSIVE. He waits for things to happen to him. This is not the Frank Black we all know. As for Emma, well, she's with the Group. Has she learned anything? Not much? Is she curious? Not really. Again, she bumbles from investigation to investigation. What about her father? Who knows. What about the Group? Are they evil? Maybe. Are they still pulling the strings behind the scenes? Yup. Can we make sense of any of it? Ummmm... What about the mytharc? Well, there are secret societies coming out of the woodwork. Everyone is getting onto the end-of-the-world-bandwagon. Roll up, roll up, to the convention of evil conspiracies! Remote viewers welcome! Minorities catered to! Come on in! Evil pharmaceutical companies especially welcome! A special discount to remnants of the Spanish Inquisition! We're doing a special 'Evil For Its Own Sake' package! What about the millennium? Well, the rapture has come and gone without too much effect on the wider world. Apart from that, who knows? And so to the future... what comes next? 'Iso Bet Din' is the next episode on the schedule. I can only hope that it's a little better edited and proofed than 'Shophetim', and that it makes a little more sense. After that, who knows? The VS4 *can* be a success in time for the millennium, but there's not much time left and it really needs a strong direction. The latest 5 episodes have moved things on a little, but not enough. And Frank needs to get off his ass! Get to it, people!