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Brief summary:
Frank is drawn back to Seattle to assist Emma
with a case involving a high school shooting
and its link to a doomsday cult that believes
the apocalypse will begin in 2000 after the
Y2K bug renders technology useless and reduces
society to anarchy.
Rogue's Review:
The last time I failed to watch an episode as
it aired for the first time was the much-maligned
"A Single Blade of Grass," which I
admit I really rather enjoyed. It had a charm
and menacing undertone that were interesting
as Season Two started to gather steam and get
jiggy.
Unfortunately, I can't come to the table following
"TEOTWAWKI" (which I taped and watched
later that weekend) with the same roguish enthusiasm
for an underdog ep. Too many major problems
with this tale.
First, how in the world could the series take
Frank "home" to Seattle, reintroduce
his old pal Giebelhouse, and never grace us
with a brief but poignant scene in which the
gruff city dick expresses his condolences for
Frank's loss, or inquires into his new life?
How could such an episode fail to mention the
abandoned yellow house, or the plague which
claimed at least 70 lives in Giebs's neck of
the woods? I'm not asking for the series to
dwell constantly on these things, but to ignore
them completely in an episode purposely set
in MILLENNIUM's old stomping grounds is an alarming
indication of the dismissal of continuity.
Great to see Giebs in usual form, of course!
("That can't happen. Can that happen?")
But omitting any interpersonal dialogue between
these old friends is tantamount to telling long-time
fans of the show that MM's past is dead and
gone. A major disappointment.
Now, let me pose a question: at this point
in the season, if Emma left/died/was taken by
aliens, would you miss her? I expect we'll see
an episode or three in the near future where
her character is given a bit more to do, but
after three weeks of puppydogging around behind
Frank I'm ready for Emma to break out and become
a more fully fleshed-out person. Right now,
she's only on-stage to handle the busywork,
the gathering of information, the "seeing"
of salient elements (using her to "show"
us all the figures in the aftermath of the shooting
was awkward and self-evident).
I want to see Emma's personal stake in what
she's doing. Give her some depth, and bring
her to life. I LIKE her -- I want to fall in
love with her like I have every other major
character on this show (except Catherine...
and we saw what the lack of loveability did
to Cath!).
The main failing of "TEOTWAWKI" was
its compression into 44 minutes (always a problem
with me) a storyline that needed two eps minimum
to be done right. I didn't care or believe at
all in the Com Logic group -- all we saw were
panicky men flapping their gums... I'm used
to seeing (questionable) proof of the "madmen's"
beliefs on MM; I wanted MILLENNIUM to scare
the bejesus out of me in regard to Y2K the same
way it fascinated me with the lore about Mary
Magdalene ("Anamnesis"), the way it
electrified me with the concept of the galactic
event on May 5, 2000 ("Force Majeure").
I wanted to be scared spitless by these men's
beliefs.
Instead, we got a bunch of panicky losers who
make the Freemen look like true patriots, can't
shoot for shit, and are willing to kill their
own kids to cover up what they know. The logic
escapes me. Equally fuzzy was the logic that
suggested a young man disillusioned and horrified
enough over an impending calamity to shoot a
bunch of his classmates would then seek to evade
capture. His actions don't jibe with the demeanor
of someone hollowed out by the horrific knowledge
of an impending apocalypse -- he shot from cover
and then fled the scene. If he truly believed
none of it mattered and everything was hopeless,
why would he try to hide his own responsibility?
Why wouldn't he take his own life upon completion
of his actions? Why WOULD he brush his teeth?
And please, I know everyone's sick of X-FILES
comparisons, but let me say this: Can we please
retire Robert "Pusher" Wisden from
the 1013 cast pool? I love the guy's work, but
he's already played another character in MILLENNIUM
(a lawman in "Monster") and he's got
too familiar a face to keep appearing in different
guises. I'm tempted to say his appearance is
one more way 1013 is trying to lure over the
X-Philes (aside from Doug "Tooms"
Hutchinson, Wisden's Pusher remains one of the
most popular non-mythos XF baddies ever). One
of 1013's great gifts is casting unknowns --
episodes full of unfamiliar faces that help
drive home the reality of the story. But seeing
the same faces over and over detracts from that.
In this case, it was one more nail in the "TEOTWAWKI"
coffin.
One element I liked, and NOT for 'shipper reasons:
Jordan expresses a moment's jealousy when she
asks her father if Emma is accompanying him
to Seattle. Nice. She's a child who lost her
mother -- Daddy shouldn't be going places with
other women. Makes good logical sense from a
child's point of view -- the one moment where
the logic of "TEOTWAWKI" worked for
me.
Otherwise, the ep was an uninspired mess, a
secular "Anamnesis" with none of that
episode's insight or depth. None of MILLENNIUM's
regulars were utilized properly (Giebs was thrown
in as a bone for those of us still aching for
some continuity, then underutilized). Even Frank
was wasted. It's no secret to those who've read
my past critiques that I tend to dislike episodes
in which Frank is merely an observer, rather
than an emotionally involved participant. Get
Frank into the thick of things. The stuff about
guns was great (his reaction to McLaren's comment,
especially, and his discussion with Emma about
relying on her).
But he didn't have enough of himself invested
in "TEOTWAWKI." An episode with dead
children, set in the part of the world where
a big chunk of Frank's own heart died, should
have been a humdinger.
Instead... it was merely humdrum.
Also, my pal Matt Asendorf rightly commented
that Fox was horrendously lax in failing to
precede the episode with a disclaimer, such
as the one which ran before "Anamnesis."
"TEOTWAWKI"'s opening shootout was
more disturbing and a great deal bloodier than
the one in "Anamnesis," yet there
was no disclaimer. The ep even skated past the
censors with a TV-14 rating instead of a TV-MA.
Where's the logic there? Are we suggesting disclaimers
are only necessary when schoolkids killing schoolkids
are still hot in the headlines? ("Anamnesis"
aired right after the Jonesboro shooting and
other incidents.) Fox should be more responsible
than that, and MM's makers should insist they
be. [RATING: 6/10] |
