|
Brief summary:
Five months after the death of his wife, Frank
returns to Washington, D.C. to consult for the
FBI. Joined by an eager, young agent, Emma Hollis,
Frank investigates the deaths of several identical-looking
women whom he believes have a connection with
The Millennium Group and The Marburg Virus that
killed his wife.
Rogue's Review:
MILLENNIUM is back, friends: dark, gripping,
and resonating with humanity in its own inimitable,
blood-soaked manner. It's been a long summer,
and the season premiere was worth the wait.
"The Innocents" removed much of my
trepidation about the new season and the bridge
from the events of "The Time is Now"
to the present. Seems only five months have
passed, not the eight that was reported over
the summer, and we're still roughly in a realistic
time frame (close enough) to keep our Ouroboros
screensavers humming accurately toward the show's
inevitable "event."
Just exactly WHAT that event will turn out
to be is more questionable than ever, however
- despite some shades of THE X-FILES's elliptical
clone arc, "Innocents" really appears
to be the unnatural (and gifted) child of "Force
Majeure," with its blue-eyed clones and
enigmatic predictions about some terrible future
event. What do the clones know? It's gonna take
time to find out - and God bless MILLENNIUM's
new executive producers for opening the season
right, with a two-parter rather than a rush-jobbed
single episode (a major flaw with last season's
opener, "The Beginning and the End")!
"The Innocents" satisfyingly delves
into SOME of the events of the past, giving
us a nice bridge in the sequence with Frank's
therapist (and that outstanding sequence on
video - I only wish his hair had still been
white for continuity's sake, to show us a still-crippled
Frank Black lost in the throes of grief). I
was disappointed that no mention was ever made
about how widespread the plague turned out to
be. How many people actually died? We need to
have an answer to that. It's also satisfying
to learn Catherine did NOT commit suicide (or
so we can assume, since it wasn't mentioned)
and that a chasm has opened (as is to be expected)
between Frank and his in-laws.
And how great are Frank's new supporting team
so far! I'm not crazy about Andy McLaren, Frank's
new boss, but Barry Baldwin (Peter Outerbridge)
and particularly Emma Hollis (Klea Scott) are
going to be fantastic new additions to the show!
Baldwin's just the right level of prick, and
Emma's tough, sassy, and inquisitive. A fine
replacement for the lamented Lara Means.
Bravo too to Brittany Tiplady, who comes out
swinging in the season opener! She told me over
the summer she wasn't just gonna be doing those
sleeping scenes anymore, and she wasn't kidding.
She's got spunk and talent, and her performance
was right on the money (Jordan didn't see Catherine
die, so for her the death has not become wholly
real yet - the setting of an extra lace at meals
was an affecting touch).
As for the story... OK. Similarities to XF
duly noted, but let's bypass them. A crackling
hour, wasn't it? I get the feeling all of us
rabid fans would have preferred an hour of Frank's
grief, Peter's confessions and Legion doing
the Frug with Lucy B. on the living room rug,
but it was a brave choice to charge right into
the fray. "Innocents" doesn't waste
any time going for the throat -- but it begs
more questions than it answers. I actually put
aside questions like "What happened to
Peter?" to ask "Why the heck did one
of the clones execute the other? Why are some
fleeing and others taking their own lives?"
(If there was one hinky element, it's only that
it took so long for anyone to actually say,
"Hey, these chicks look like each other,
even though one's a crispy critter!")
And what moments to savor! The exploding house,
the wolf in the trees, the butterflies (OK,
that one could have been played out to a little
more effect), and the crash on the bridge (why
the heck didn't Frank and the truck driver throw
themselves onto the hood of the ORV to prevent
it from tipping over, dammit! A flaw; Frank
would have done it). The discovery of the biohazard
containers was a particularly heart-in-mouth
moment (moreso than the exploding house, which
was spoiled, sadly, in the teasers that have
run for a month or so now) and a nice way to
slam Frank back into the past. I have a feeling
there will be many such moments to come, as
he tries to get on with his life and is constantly
reminded that he was chosen by the Millennium
Group -- and perhaps by a power even greater
-- for a purpose that has yet to be revealed.
Michael Duggan took the writing credit on "Innocents,"
but from what I've gleaned from Kay Reindl,
there was a general roundhouse bull session
(one that probably lasted for days or weeks!)
with the entire creative team about how to tackle
the introduction to the new season. Credit them
with a winning story, and Duggan with a mostly
satisfying script. Other kudos: Mark Snow manages
to turn in an even RICHER variation on the traditional
MILLENNIUM theme music, and the producers have
created a credit sequence that's even more thought-provoking
than before. A pity they held onto "The
Time is Near" as the outro slogan; I was
hoping for something new and enigmatic.
But those adjectives definitely can be used
to describe the rest of it! Once more, and with
pride: MILLENNIUM is back! There is much reason
to rejoice! [RATING: 8/10] |
