MILLENNIUM Virtual Season Four Episode review
by 4Q2
Submitted 2-6-00 (Still not used to seeing dates like this.)

"Iso Bet Din" #413
Original "Air" date: 10-22-99
Writers: Anne Andrews and Bunny Williams


In Brief:
Jordan's blossoming "gift" comes into focus amidst a series of mysterious
deaths in Ohio, and a disturbingly enigmatic box bought at an auction.


Overall Impression:
This was an episode that started to make sense to me, then suddenly I came
down with a case of the dumb-dumbs.  Very heavy story that ultimately
suffered by the limitations of a TV script.


Details: 
Well, we all knew it was coming.  Being Frank Black's daughter can't be an
easy gig for little Jordan.  What with losing mom to a nasty,
body-liquifying flu bug, having bizarre dreams that would make Jesse
Ventura pee his pants, and occasional visits from Beelzebub's Quality
Control guys... and oh yeah, that vision thing too.  This is one little
girl I'm not envious of.  And now that her "powers" are starting to kick
up like a bad case of acne, we have before us "Iso Bet Din."

This was an episode that, logically, had to happen and considering the
events in the highly entertaining "Shophetim," seeing this story didn't
surprise me.  However, what did surprise me about Anne Andrews' second
story for the VS was the scope it seemed to set itself at.  Almost from
the outset, everything about the script seemed to say to me "This is a
*big deal*." Yep.  There was a lot to be said here.

What am I talking about?  Take the opening quote for instance.  I haven't
seen an into that long since "The Fourth Horseman"... hell, since "Blade
Runner!" The idea of having Jordan doing the voice-over added to what
seemed to me an attempt to establish "epic scope." Also the attention to
narrative detail (eight paragraphs worth before the first lines are
spoken) appeared to promise something absolutely imperative was on the
horizon.

Okay, I was a willing passenger on the proverbial train, and seeing how
the episode seemed to be building on elements from the brilliant
"Shophetim" I was anxious to get going.

Well, unless I blinked at the wrong moment, the only traces of that
episode seemed to be present were the aformentioned "gift," the poison
that Gilead DeSidon used to murder a business partner, and Gideon Crammer.
Now, don't get me wrong.  I wasn't expecting nor clamoring for a direct
sequel to "Shophetim," but when you use flashbacks to the episode as your
setup, a certain expectation is planted in the mind of the reader.  For
the record, "Shophetim" was a much easier episode to follow while
possessing a plot that was still appropriately cryptic for Millennium.
"Iso Bet Din" is, as it should be, another story, but a much harder story
to tell.

On that note, I'd like to say now what I feel would have made the story
work a bit better.  "Iso Bet Din" clearly had a lot to say, not just about
Jordan and her developing senses, but the way we as "the flock" are all
too willing to take what is free, what is simply handed to us, without
even thinking of *why* is it given to us... where it came from... from
whose hand it is presented.  I'm going to forgo analyzing the significance
of the mystery box from the auction this time around and suggest that this
story suffered from the limitations of the "teleplay" format.  There were
several attempts made here to describe, in detail, the thoughts and
feelings of the characters as well as the surrounding circumstances.  It
was all very expertly written, but the style used was costly.  Now, a
*novelization* of "Iso Bet Din" would more readily do the story and its
messages justice.  With a script, there are too many limits and all too
many instances where you have a character speaking out loud to no one in
order to make known what they are thinking.  Novelizing this story might
have made this more believable.

The idea of Jordan realizing her potential and developing a sense of duty
is all well and good (and almost expected at this point the the MM
continuum) but the problem with the thread being followed here is that now
Jordan is being robbed of her "kidness." I don't know many eight-year-olds
who are that damned articulate.  Yes, yes... I know.  Suspension of
disbelief.  Well, as I mentioned earlier, it was damaged when Crammmer
knew *all too much* about Frank and Jordan's abilities.  I was half
expecting Crammer to be revealed as another ex-MM candidate.

Now, normally I'd save a comment like what follows for the "Nitpick
Corner." However, this becomes more of a fairly significant story issue
the more I think about it.  I must have missed something in between
"Shophetim" and this episode.  Crammer seems to have some very detailed
knowledge of not only Frank's "gift" but Jordan's as well.  When exactly
did Frank disclose this vital info to the community of general law
enforcement.  This just seems like something Frank would keep from even
the highest ranking of officers, and hearing Crammer speak of it with such
an air of familiarity just shattered my suspension of disbelief.


4Q2's Most Annoying Character Award Goes To...
Christina Allison.  My god, where's a muzzle when you need one?
Motor-mouth on wheels, my friends.  I found myself so *not* interested in
her dialog moments that it probably made her take on things so
inconsequential to me as to rob me of a few important story points.
Although *important* is not a word that leaps to mind when I think of this
character.  (E.G.: "Did you know your barn is on fire?") Do you know you
sound like a supporting character on "Friends?"


Did The Opening Quote Seem Relevant To The Story?  (Did 4Q2 get it?):
Well, depends on which *paragraph* you're talking about.


TV Episode(s) that it most reminded me of:
"Borrowed Time," "Saturn Dreaming of Mercury"


Score: 7.5 (out of 10)
Well-written?  Check.  Everyone in Character?  Check.  Easy story to
follow?  Well... it was well-written.

NEXT IN THE PIPELINE: Trick or Treat there Daddy-O!  The VS serves up its
Halloween episode "Hollow Scars."  Onward!

-4Q2K

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"Thoughts on the VS4 Part Three" review by Jon


Well, 5 more episodes of the Virtual Season have now been released, so here
is my next set of mini-reviews. There are only 5 more episodes to go... the
Time is Near... 

Last time I concluded with the words: 

"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!"

So what happened next?


(these reviews may contain SPOILERS - you have been warned)


VS13. Iso Bet Din

This was a rather unusual 'Jordan episode' which features a box which may
or may not be Pandora's. This episode was very similar to 'Shophetim', with
an over-reliance on prose exposition, an obtuse and unlikely plot and
stagey dialogue. In common with 'Shophetim', there are one or two
interesting ideas in this story, but they are buried deep. The plotting is
lax and the characters' motivations are poorly explained. Poor Jordan is
stuck with some extremely dodgy lines, which others have already commented
on. Not quite what I would expect a child to come up with, not even a
'special one'. I get the impression that this story leads more or less
directly on from 'Shophetim' and has little or nothing to do with the rest
of the VS4. One small mercy is that, as there are only 5 episodes left,
there will at least be no follow-up to 'Iso Bet Din'. 

In summary: similar to the awful 'Shophetim', but with better spelling.

VS14. Hollow Scars 

The long-awaited Halloween episode, I had been looking forward to this one
and was sorry to see it delayed. As it turned out, I needn't have worried.
Ryan Frost had been coming along very nicely before this episode. Good
character development, nothing forced or rushed. He was set to become
another Bob Bletcher and already had put Emma Hollis in the shade.

This episode turned all of that on its head. It seems that Ryan had
forgotten to mention to Frank that he was abducted and branded in the past
by a group of evil types who like to mumble 'Phaestos'. Easy to overlook,
really. Oh, and Frank's brother and sister-in-law have a big fight and
demand that Frank and Jordan leave. In addition to this, we have a
gratuituous appearance of Lucy Butler, an rather bizarre flashback to a
'past self' of Frank and an inexplicable reference to Frank's other
'missing' brother. There *is* a very interesting idea at the heart of this
episode, but it's very poorly developed with a meandering plot and
unconvincing dialogue. I was reminded of the episode 'Twilight Years'
while I was reading this one, although 'Hollow Scars' is a bit better than
that stinker. I suspect that with another few revisions, this script could
have been really great, but as it is it's a bit of a damp squib. 

In summary: better than 'Twilight Years'. 

VS15. Anthropophagi 

The Lucy Butler episode! Great! Another long-awaited milestone for the VS4!
I was looking forward to this one too, so it was disappointed when it was
delayed. 

In the end it was much more of an 'Antipas' than 'A Room With No View'.
Lucy is back again, pregnant and hooked up with a cannabalistic killer.
This episode was well-written and nicely paced with a good sense of menace
and suspense. Only the plot was a let-down, with Lucy going to great
lengths to taunt Frank for no apparent reason (as usual). The story sort of
fizzles out at the end (Lucy escapes again - ho hum), and the framing
device (linked scenes at the start and end) didn't really cut it for me.
Just on a technical point: the afterbirth IS the placenta (Kilner says:
"Y'know, judging from the state of his mouth it seems he actually *ate* the
afterbirth, and the baby's placenta.") Just like 'Antipas', there's a lot
of fire and smoke in this episode (pregnant Lucy! cannibal killer eating a
placenta!) but the story just doesn't make a lot of sense. 

In summary: not a bad episode, but not a classic. 

VS16. Dawn of Nothing 

Another big hitter! The Avatar episode! Wow! And this one was on time! The
writing in this one was very good, with effective pacing and solid plot
development. Avatar is back and up to his old tricks - he lures Frank into
a 'final showdown' and an impossible choice. It's just a shame that this
episode owed so much to 'The Mikado'. So many of the 'Avatar' elements are
present that it's obvious from an early stage that it's him again. The use
of the Internet, the videotaping, the Bowie knife, the taunting of police
and the fact that he knows Frank all contribute to a sense of irritation
when our hero takes so long to realise what we have already figured out. At
the end of 'The Mikado', Frank tells Peter that Avatar will be back again,
but next time he'll be using his evil talents in another new and surprising
way. So it would have been nice to see Avatar using a *really* new method
of terror, instead of essentially re-hashing his previous methods. Another
quibble is the ending. I never imagined that Avatar would meet his end in
such a contrived way, and I found the part where Frank unmasks him and says
'he's nobody' a little irritating. This guy is pure evil - he should go out
with a bang, not a whimper! To my mind, at least, the real Avatar is still
out there waiting for his next opportunity.

In summary: a good treatment of the Avatar theme, but I found the ending
just a little unsatisfying. 

VS17. Where Shadows Fall 

I found this episode a little odd. It's quite well written, with fair
characterisation and an interesting premise. It's just that it contains
almost no source of dramatic tension and lacks a sense of focus. Little of
importance seems to happen from the start of the episode to the end, and
some of Frank's dialogue is a pretty unlikely as well. There are echoes of
'The Well-Worn Lock', 'Through a Glass Darkly' and 'Our Own Flesh and
Blood' (as well as certain scenes from 'The Exorcist') but the episode
fails to match any of these in quality and depth. Maybe I'm missing
something, but I found this a most unsatisfying read. Sorry, Matt.

In summary : fairly well-written, but would have benefited from a much
stronger storyline. 


Hey, before you complain - I know I'm hard to please! So far, I have loved
'Genesis', 'Hostile Elements' and 'The First Prophet' and I also liked a
lot about 'Akuma Odori' and the two-parter. The 5 episodes I have reviewed
here just didn't quite make the grade for me. 'Anthrophagi' and 'The Dawn
of Nothing' were good but not great and the other three are strictly
second-stringers.

Of the 17 episodes released so far, I would say that the 6 listed above
have been great/very good, another 6 have been OK and a further 5 have been
indifferent/bad/dreadful. Top of the shop for me has been 'The First
Prophet' while 'Twilight Years' languishes in position 17. Favourite writer
has to be Dan Owen (naturally), followed closely by Kevin Patterson and
Eric Davis. I won't bother to list my least favourite writers, you know who
you are.

To return to a familiar hobby-horse of mine, there is still an absence of
significant plot development in the VS4. These 5 episodes have been
essentially stand-alones (poison candy - phaestos - Lucy - Avatar - demonic
possession), with little to connect them to the rest of the season. I am
left to wonder whether there is anyone in the driving seat at the VS4 any
more, or is it just a series of scripts from interested parties? 

If the VS4 is content to be a collection of fan fiction ("here's my Lucy
Butler episode," "here's my Avatar episode") then it's doing OK, but the
creation of a coherent season requires a little more than good stories. We
need to see long-running plot threads, a little subtext and the development
of major themes. I remember reading a quote in which the writers aspired to
rise above the normal level of fan fiction, but I'm not convinced that
these aspirations are currently being met. 

I have complained before that Frank's character was going nowhere this
season, and these 5 episodes have again failed to move him. These episodes
have hardly mentioned the following 'season themes': the Group, Emma, the
coming of the millennium. In fact, Emma and the Group seem to have
vanished. It's as if the underlying themes have been forgotten in the push
for a few 'big' one-off episodes. Or are you just waiting for the X-Files
crossover?

There are still 5 episodes to go, and I find myself with a list of
questions: 

1. What is the Group really doing?
2. What is Legion?
3. What about all that brain research?
4. What about Emma's father?
5. What about the Board?
6. What is Blaylock up to?
7. What is the deal with the flies and buzzing insects? (which have more or
less vanished)
8. What is really going to happen at the Millennium?
9. And is Frank important to it at all?
10. What about the remote viewers?
11. What about the experiments from 'Akuma Odori?"
12. What about the red bowls / palm trees / heads
13. What is Lucy really up to?
14. What really happened in Seven and One?
15. Where is Frank's other brother?

I could go on, but I am expecting the answers to at least questions 1-11
and perhaps 13 before the VS4 wraps up. Ideas and issues from Season 3 have
been deliberately taken up in the VS4 (the brother, the experiments, the
remote viewers) while others have been ignored (palm trees, heads, red
bowls, the activities of the Group), and yet more new ideas have been
raised (all the nonsense in 'Shophetim', 'Twilight Years' and 'Hollow
Scars' to name but a few). It's going to be a big job to get the VS4 to end
with a bang and not a whimper.

There are 5 episodes to go... the time is near...

"The Third Eye" seems set to return to the subject of the Group's
involvement with brain surgery, "In Adventu Dominie" looks like a vehicle
to explore the Emma/father/sister plotline and "Diabolus Ex Machina" looks
like a Legion episode. These all look like potentially good/great episodes
and I'm hoping that the as-yet untitled 2-parter finale is going to really
be something.

Good luck!