The Rogue's Eye View
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M I L L E N N I U M
105. 522666

Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong
Directed by David Nutter
Original Air Date: November 22, 1996


Brief summary: Frank and Peter Watts pursue a mad bomber who is terrorizing Washington D.C.. The bomber promises to taunt the FBI until he's heard and seen... as a star.

Rogue's Review: The numbers of the title spell out the word "KABOOM" on a telephone touchpad, and this episode came close to being something of a bomb itself. It was probably spared that fate only because "Kingdom Come," slated to air ahead of it, was delayed following the death of a Chicago archbishop – Frank's thoughtless, headlong plunge into danger would seem even more foolish following the one he takes in "Kingdom Come," and add to the clunky unreality of this episode. But we'll get to that...

In "522666," Frank's target is a serial bomber who receives sexual gratification from detonating controlled explosions in public places. The opening sequence treats us to the unpleasant (mostly suggested) view of the killer masturbating while awaiting his first explosive "masterpiece," and things stay pretty much on that level throughout the episode. The killer takes a special interest in Frank as the most visible "face" of the investigation into his crimes, and he targets the profiler with a rather ghoulish bombing incident – one which has a surprising twist.

Despite the good qualities of "522666," the episode is mainly a dud – once more rushing to its conclusion all too quickly, failing to tell us all we would have liked to know about the killer, and ineptly handling the consequences of Frank's hard-to-account-for impetuous side, as he blindly rushes into this deadly situation. The latter is justifiable, but remains hard to accept. [Rating: 4/10]

"What I do is not work, Frank. It's art. My palette is fire, glass and blood. It's a fleeting art. It lasts only a fraction of a second, but the effect is profound, permanent." -- Raymond Dees


reviews by Rick Smith (1996 - present) and website by Matt Asendorf (2004)
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