Mistakes Of The Past Reappear In "The Pegasus"

The Good: Terry O'Quinn, Special effects, Mood, Acting
The Bad: Character, Timeline of Star Trek, Basic plot
The Basics: When Riker's former captain arrives with a mission for the Enterprise, Riker must face the consequences of his youthful actions with no real insight into his character.


One of the problems that the writers of Star Trek The Next Generation ran into in the seventh season was their attempts to go back and flesh out some of their characters, like they attempted with Geordi in "Interface" by introducing the viewer to his family. It became even more problematic in "The Pegasus," an episode that puts Riker's first mission on the front of galactic politics in the Star Trek universe.

Fresh out of the academy, Will Riker took a post aboard the U.S.S. Pegasus under the command of Captain Pressman. The ship was - apparently - destroyed with few survivors. Pressman arrives aboard the Enterprise with startling news for Riker; the Pegasus may have survived the explosion they witnessed from the escape pod and the Romulans may be attempting to locate the remains of the ship. Riker and Pressman both seem alarmed by that possibility, though they conceal from Captain Picard just why, and the Enterprise begins a search and a race to beat the Romulans to the wreckage.

There are several problems with this episode. The first is that it shakes up the personal history of Riker in a way that is very inorganic to fans of the series. Riker, very early in his career, was stationed on Betazed and chose StarFleet over Troi. However, according to the episode "Second Chances" (reviewed here!), it was Riker's assignment to the Potemkin that broke them up. They were supposed to meet again, but things came up and they didn't. If Riker's first mission was aboard the Pegasus, there could never have been that deep relationship that Riker sacrificed, at least, not in a believable way. "The Pegasus" completely trivializes what - until this point in the Star Trek pantheon - has been the deepest romantic relationship on record.

More than that, it seems like "The Pegasus" sets out mainly to answer the question "What happened to the cloaking device from 'The Enterprise Incident' (an episode of Star Trek where Kirk steals a cloaking device from the Romulans)?" Coming up with a reason that Federation ships aren't able to make themselves invisible when they did briefly in the original Star Trek seems interesting, but the answers here are unsatisfying. Given the difficulties that the Enterprise has had over the years with cloaked Romulan ships and considering their allies, the Klingons, have the technology, it seems unlikely that the Federation would sign away such a major tactical piece as part of a treaty.

Moreover, the portrayal of the young William Riker doesn't sit right with fans of the show. While an outsider might easily make the argument that leadership is something people grow into and that mistakes made as a youth could make a stronger adult personality, this does not jive with the established characterization of Will Riker. Riker's mother died at an early age and he lived for years with a father who was emotionally distant and it has long been established that the young Riker was very self-sufficient and that growing up in Alaska essentially alone toughened him up. It seems unlikely then, that a young Ensign Riker would have such blind obedience to Pressman as both Pressman and (the now older) Riker claim he had. That is to say that people who are self-sufficient and self-reliant tend to develop personalities that don't like to surrender that independent mindset.

And while truth of what the Enterprise is looking for by searching for the Pegasus is kept hidden from the audience in drawn out scene after drawn out scene, the perceptive viewer will easily figure it out when they first find the ship. Moreover, the scenes where Riker and Pressman discuss the technology without actually saying what it is do successfully create a mood of intrigue that keeps the viewer waiting and wondering. The mood ends up working successfully the first viewing, but less so upon repeated watchings.

The plus side of the episode really is in the casting of Terry O'Quinn as Pressman. O'Quinn is a genius character actor and he makes the part very distinctive. Playing Pressman with an energy that is not seen in most Admirals - much less any StarFleet personnel - we see on Star Trek The Next Generation, O'Quinn keeps the audience visually energized. O'Quinn takes the straightforward words on the page and infuses them with vitality. The result is that Pressman eclipses Riker and all the other characters for this episode. Our eyes are always drawn to O'Quinn, because he keeps his character constantly moving.

"The Pegasus" rewards fans of Star Trek The Next Generation with an answer to a long-asked question (much like "The Chase" did - more successfully - in the sixth season), but lets down those who truly care by sacrificing character to do it. It has little for non-fans to enjoy.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Seventh Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the final season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

For other works featuring Terry O'Quinn, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Lost
The West Wing - Season 7
The West Wing - Season 6
Millennium
The X-Files: Fight The Future

5/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2007, 2003 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Enter Frank Black, Investigator Of The Darkness Within In Millennium's "Pilot".

The Good: Character, Acting, Plot.
The Bad: "Gehenna" is a little weaker
The Basics: Chris Carter's serial killer horror show Millennium begins on a high note with "Pilot" and "Gehenna!"


At the beginning of Millennium, writer and creator Chris Carter envisioned a series focusing on serial killers and the man who stood at the brink to oppose them. The hero is Frank Black, an investigator who is so attuned to the mind of evil people he has the ability to put himself in their place, see through their perspective, in order to try to solve crimes. And it is intended to be a dark, adult series and Carter's vision is well-executed from the very first episode. This is a scary show and it pioneered the way for every profiler series that clogged up the airwaves after it debuted. Today, it remains an original . . . and a terrifying one at that.

In the "Pilot," a serial killer kills a stripper and decapitates her. As Seattle police detectives scramble to solve the crime, Frank Black, retired from the FBI, arrives in Seattle to settle down with his wife Catherine and daughter, Jordan. Black, now working as a consultant for the Millennium Group, is brought out to assist the police and he becomes convinced that there are more people who have been abducted and are awaiting slaughter.

When a poem mouthed by the suspect leads Frank to a biblical prophecy about the apocalypse, he is given unlimited resources by the Millennium Group to find the killer. Concerned that glimpsing into evil will fracture his psyche, Frank is hesitant, but when the police - especially Frank's old friend, Lt. Bob Bletcher - come up empty, he engages his skill to track the killer down.

In "Gehena," Frank Black is called to the site of strange ash which is revealed to be human remains desiccated in an industrial microwave. When it seems that a cult might be responsible for the death, the parents of one of the young men who has been missing from a local school hire Black and the Millennium Group to find out what happened. Frank's old FBI mentor assists Frank on the case, while helping Frank to deal with the implications of the photographs being sent to him in the mail.

Millennium is a combination of episodic - killer of the week - stories and serialized character arcs, as Frank Black is harassed by a photographer who takes pictures of his wife and daughter. This, predating the series, made him have a breakdown and in "Pilot" and "Gehena" it becomes clear that the stalker has followed Frank and his family to Seattle. These two episodes make the implied threat of the unseen stalker very real and it puts Frank on edge.

These two episodes establish well the series as a visually and psychologically disturbing drama. For example, in the "Pilot," there a person is found with their eyes and mouth sewn shut. The image is gruesome and it is shown, so for the sensitive members of the potential audience, it is important to be aware that this is the closest network television ever got to a Silence Of The Lambs series. It is creepy and truly frightening, even after multiple viewings.

Unfortunately, there are some elements of predictability even in these first two episodes. Both were written by Chris Carter and directed by David Nutter, giving the series an instant start that screams continuity! But in "Gehena," Carter seems bound by the conventions of "If a gun is introduced in the first act, it must be discharged by the final curtain." Sure, he's stylish and cool by replacing "gun" with "industrial microwave" but from the moment the mammoth device is introduced, the viewer knows someone is going to end up inside it.

What continues to sell Millennium, even ten years after it originally aired, are the characters. Frank Black is an incredible character to watch and his tortured backstory lives within him in every scene he is in in the "Pilot." Frank's ability to get inside the heads of the killers is a gift that borders on the paranormal (it is never explained in the series, outside a reference in the first episode to Frank seeing what the killer sees). It is an intriguing ability and the way it is played out - even in these first two episodes - makes for entertaining drama.

Moreover, Frank is surrounded by people who are equally interesting. Catherine is more than just a symbol of all that is good, she is dynamic, loving and concerned about Frank and the effect his work has on him. Bletch is a competent police lieutenant and his pride is wounded by having to call in Frank, even as his friendship with Frank makes him worried about the effects of having him on the cases.

On the flip side is Frank's Millennium Group contact, Peter Watts. Watts appears as a mysterious character in these two episodes almost exclusively to deliver exposition and insinuate about what the group is for future episodes. He is well played by Chris Carter favorite Terry O'Quinn, of late of Lost. He and Lance Henriksen play off one another amazingly well.

It is Henriksen who must sell Millennium, though and he does an impressive job at that. Perfectly cast, Henriksen represents a mature, disturbed adult figure who is not Hollywood beautiful, which makes him instantly more believable in the role than any number of actors. He plays the part with a detached logic and coldness that is distinctly different from his role of Bishop in Aliens (reviewed here!). Indeed, the power of his acting is that he spends much of the episodes with a look of grim determination on his face, but in moments with his female costar, he softens and smiles. They play a couple in love with an adult sensibility to it and that is beautiful and realistic. One has the sense from the moment Henriksen appears on screen that Frank Black is a strong man with a real gift, but a core of humanity that only comes out with his family. He makes the show.

And this is a wonderful beginning to the series and one that is well worth the attention of anyone who loves great drama, especially the creepy serial killer stuff and CSI type shows that are on the air now. This is what paved the way for them. It should be noted that Millennium does fall into the same universe as The X-Files (reviewed here!).

Knowing that VHS is an outdated medium, a better investment might be Millennium: The Complete First Season, reviewed here!

7/10

For other television reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Not As Bad As I Remember It Being After The Apocalypse: Millennium Season 3!

The Good: Good acting, Interesting stories, Interesting character development
The Bad: Real stretch after the prior season's finale, Some fairly standard stories, No real surprises
The Basics: After the Apocalypse arrived at the end of the second season, Millennium returned for a third and - try as they might - is unable to get the magic back.


Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files and Millennium returned to his latter series after a year of working on The X-Files feature film and other projects to find his show had been almost completely co-opted. It was unrecognizable from where he had started it. The Millennium Group - which he had based on a group of noble, real-world profilers - had become an enemy cult that was bent upon bringing about the apocalypse. One may only imagine he was not terribly happy.

If you are a fan of Millennium and have not watched the second season finale, stop here, go watch the second season first. If you're not a fan of Millennium and don't mind reading something that is seminal to understanding the third season, but was surprising at the end of the second season, read on. Otherwise, please leave now. It's impossible to talk about the third season of Millennium without mentioning certain aspects of the second season finale.

That's all the warning I can give.

Following the viral outbreak that marked the beginning of the apocalypse at the end of season two, Frank Black returns to work for the FBI as a single father without his unique ability in play. He works quietly to raise Jordan, despite having to deal with the hostile in-laws and he searches for a way to make the Millennium Group pay for what was ultimately - apparently - a localized phenomenon with the viral outbreak.

Frank is paired with Emma Hollis, a competent and bright young woman who is pretty much fresh in the field. Frank and Hollis explore psychopaths and cases that are like generally violent The X-Files at the behest of a different Director in the FBI. And as the season goes on, Hollis and Frank learn to trust one another more while Frank's obsession with the Millennium Group fades, then returns even more forcefully.

And then the series pretty much ends. Fortunately - from a matter of perspective - this DVD boxed set includes the coda to Millennium from The X-Files, an episode called Millennium that tries to resolve the issues left open at the end of the series and instead is marginal and somewhat silly.

The fundamental problem, hands down, with the third season of Millennium is that it follows on the heels of season two. Season two's two-part finale is one of the greatest endings for a show. Ever. I mean that. Like in the history of television. Millennium's second season finale is one that I can watch over and over and over and over again and always be entertained, find something new, and end with a feeling of "WOW!" It's an ending that is almost impossible to come back from.

This is why the first episodes of season three of Millennium are forced, awkward. The producers, even Chris Carter, had no clear idea of how to come back from that finale and the best they can do is to work around it and try to figure out what the Millennium Group is now. As much as this might be heresy to fans of Millennium, I can only recommend the third season of Millennium in good faith to people who absolutely loved the first season of the show and want more of the same. Here's what you do. Watch the first season and if you love what you see and don't want the format of the show to shift radically, just buy the third season. It's a surprisingly easy transition given where Kathrine ends up at the end of season one.

But, it doesn't. Season three follows season two (reviewed here!) and it's a real tough sell on that count. The first episodes are clunky and then the show falls into stories that are more episodic than serialized. And when Peter Watts shows up - and he does - it's very hard to tell how his character relates to the character from the prior seasons. Watts has lost all revelation and doubt from the second season finale and it takes the whole season before Frank can get him even to question again.

That's not to say this is not wonderful television. It has moments that truly are. One of my favorite episodes of the series, "Omerta" is in this season. It was robbed; it should have won awards for musical direction, but did not. Similarly, I enjoyed "The Sound Of Snow" in this season and fans of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are bound to enjoy James Marsters' appearance in "Collateral Damage." And I tend to enjoy the Lucy Butler stories and this season has two (or three, wink wink) of them.

It also has some duds, like "Seven And One" which just seemed too obvious to be real. And I know a lot of KISS fans enjoyed ". . . Thirteen Years Later," but I found it to be lacking. It tried to be a second season episode and failed. It wasn't quite as clever as some of those pieces (like "Somehow Satan Got Behind Me") and it just didn't work the way it could have with better writing.

What is interesting is the character arc of Emma Hollis. Because Hollis is not tied to the previous works, her whole arc is interesting and natural. She is believable and compelling. She makes a good foil for Frank and perhaps the only real good part of the series finale is where she is left and it works.

Hollis is played quite ably by Klea Scott who is wonderful in the role. She easily projects an intelligence and innocence with her eyes and as the series goes on, she is able to flex some spine in ways that she is not able to early in the season. Scott brings a wonderful humanity to the cases that Megan Gallagher was never able to do because she was not inside Frank's professional world. Scott is articulate and charming and she carries every scene she's on her own in the series without her costar.

Lance Henriksen is stuck in a tough place, though he rides out the series quite well. With his hair back (most of the season) to a darker shade, he is put in the awkward position of redefining his character. He lives up to the challenge as best he can, making Frank more of a straight-out profiler as opposed to using an almost supernatural ability. Henriksen is appropriately intense throughout the season and the few moments he's able to soften (like when his character is with his daughter) he does so successfully.

Ultimately, though, this is one of those cases of average television falling on the heals of truly great television. I own it, as a fan of Millennium and I henpeck the episodes from time to time, but it's a rare thing for me to sit down and watch Millennium - The Complete Third Season all the way through the way I do with seasons one and two. It just had too high a hurdle to jump after such an amazing run.

For other works where the third season was the show's last, please check out my reviews of:
Star Trek - The Third Season
Veronica Mars - Season 3
Arrested Development - Season 3

4.5/10

For other television reviews, please be sure to visit my index page page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Exploring The Nature of the Group Designed To Save The World: Millennium Season Two Shakes It Up!

The Good: Very dark, Wonderfully well-written, Clever, Well-directed, Season finale!
The Bad: Seeming lack of direction at the season beginning
The Basics: As the world nears the turn of the Millennium, Frank Black finds himself exploring the group that is designed to save the world and wondering if they truly will in the second season of Millennium.


One of the problems Chris Carter, who conceived The X-Files and Millennium had with The X-Files was that he had no clear blueprint of where he wanted the show to go. If one goes back and watches the second season "mythology" episodes of The X-Files where the Alien Bounty Hunter comes into the series and compares them to the later episodes with the eye-gouged shapeshifters, it becomes clear he didn't know where they would end up when he originally characterized them. It's unfortunate, because the show would have been much stronger in its later seasons if he had the foresight to work it all out ahead of time.

Watching the second season of Millennium on DVD it becomes clear that Carter's disciples, Glen Morgan and James Wong, executive producers of the show, have no such lack of vision. Out of the twenty-three episodes in this set, the pair wrote twelve. Chris Carter's name is featured prominently on the box, but - while he created the series - it is clear he had little to do with the creation of these episodes. Morgan and Wong created a creepy masterpiece that reaches its fullest potential here in its second season.

Opening with the cliffhanger from the first season, Millennium finds Frank Black's wife Catherine at the mercy of a kidnapper. Over the course of the season premiere, Frank finds himself struggling to find Catherine and going into the darker ranges of his psyche. When the situation resolves itself, Frank finds himself pushed away from his family, distraught. He moves out of the yellow house and away from his loved ones into a small, spooky yellow house where he begins to question who exactly the Millennium Group is and what role they intend to play in the oncoming apocalypse. As the season progresses, Frank finds himself more and more troubled by the discoveries until events climax in an incident that will change everything for him.

First off, is the sole point against this season and the boxed set DVD. The second season of Millennium is a definite shift in the television show. Unlike the first season "serial killer of the week" storylines, the second season of Millennium is an exploration of the growing apocalypse predicted for the end of the Millennium and an investigation into the Millennium Group. As a result, this show is a little different from the first season and it feels like the train has switched tracks. The DVD boxed set suffers because the two people who took the show in this new and wonderful direction, declined to participate in the creation of the extras. That is truly disappointing. (As a result, one of the extras is simply Chris Carter sitting and saying that he had nothing to do with the second season of Millennium and that it was very different from the show he envisioned.)

The result, however, is a show that is incredibly creepy that starts at a murky character point and builds incredibly to a climax of catastrophic proportions. The first episodes of the season build an estrangement between Frank and Catherine and introduce Lara Means, another Millennium Group Candidate. Frank and Lara investigate potential child molesters, a young man abducting innocent children to keep them safe from the apocalypse, holy relics that are causing international conspiracies, and a division within the Millennium Group itself.

This is a terrifically engaging show and this season is filled with some of the most intense and intriguing plots of any television show conceived. Here are some of the highlights that make this boxed set an easy and truly worthwhile investment:

"Monster" - A creepy story of a day-care with perfect casting of a little girl who is just plain evil,

"The Curse of Frank Black" - A very different episode for Millennium as there is almost no real case, but rather an exploration of Frank and the pathetic form his life has taken on. Unredeemably depressing,

"19:19" - One of the few "serial killer of the week" type stories in the second season, this follows Frank and Lara tracking down a young kidnapper that believes he is saving children from the apocalypse,

"Jose Chung's 'Doomsday Defense'" - An episode that would have been inconceivable in the first season, Darrin Morgin's quirky author Jose Chung, from The X-Files appears on Millennium to expose a cult and the end of the world in a hilarious, weird, episode that makes its mark,

"Goodbye Charlie" - One of the most powerful episodes of television anyone could watch, this follows an amazingly ambiguous villain who is able to sense when people are dying of terminal illnesses and he helps them kill themselves. This is an hour of television that is fearless in its exploration of assisted suicide and the ethics behind it and it is amazing, given the power and tact of the episode, that it was ever made,

"Owls" and "Roosters" - An episode that the show has been building to all season wherein a division in the Millennium Group forms over how the end of the world will come about. When a piece of wood from the cross of Jesus is unearthed, it sparks debates between those who believe in a theological apocalypse and those who believe in an imminent secular apocalypse. And this is a wonderful conspiracy tale as the divisions are exacerbated by a third faction that his attacking the Group from without,

"In Arcadia Ego" - Following a prison break, two female inmates who are very much in love flee to have a baby they believe is immaculately conceived,

"A Room With No View" - Another incredibly powerful episode wherein young high schoolers are abducted and tortured to break them of their extraordinary abilities. This is an episode that is both frightening in its implications and extraordinary in its resistance. It is fine to watch the resistance of evil in the form of young people simply trying to make life better for others,

"Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" - Another weird episode that would have been inconceivable in the first season (also written by Darin Morgan) wherein four devils sit around a coffee shop discussing the nature of evil today. It's hilarious and just plain weird,

"The Fourth Horseman" and "The Time Is Now" - The two-part season finale that is one of the most gripping and intense season finales of all time. "The Time Is Now" is impossible to stop watching (even with the full-act breakdown sequence). When a virus begins to plague Washington State with complete lethality and communicability, Frank discovers the Millennium Group may be the cause and the true villains of the apocalypse. Best season finale ever. Seriously. Of all time!

In fact, the build-up to the season finale is a ratcheting up constantly that does not disappoint the viewer and leaves the viewer aching for season three. It also does beg the question (which is, alas, not answered in ANY of the DVD extras!), "Was the second season finale of Millennium originally intended to be a series finale?" Millennium was picked up for a third season, but the way the second season ends, it puts fans over the edge of a cliff in the most entertaining, agonizing way.

As with all great television, Millennium is truly about characters and how they develop. Here is how the second season finds the principles:

Lara Means - Introduced in this second season, Lara is a Millennium Group Candidate who has the supernatural power of seeing an angel that forebodes bad things. She is articulate, wry and efficient and she and Frank bond quickly into a great team,

Jordan Black - Her abilities begin to develop more and more as the young girl begins to see things beyond her and that freaks out Catherine,

Peter Watts - Far more knowledgeable and in control, Peter becomes a gate keeper to Frank and Lara and it becomes clear that he is the keeper of the Millennium Group's secrets. He becomes more of a religiously-oriented figure in the second season and his relationship with Frank becomes more and more strained as Frank questions what the Group is,

Catherine Black - Surviving the horrible abduction by a maniac, Catherine finds herself raising Jordan and trying to reconcile her love of Frank with despising the Millennium Group he has joined. Catherine's part is much smaller this season as she is estranged from Frank and she works hard to find her way back to love, with mixed results,

Frank Black - Estranged form Catherine and distanced from Jordan, Frank spends his time focusing on the apocalypse and how to prevent it, if that is at all possible. Frank aids individuals in doing good and tries to combat larger evils in a world he is discovering is more and more out of his control or understanding. When his abilities fade, he becomes hardened and as they resurface, he learns the end may be much nearer than anyone had anticipated.

While Terry O'Quinn (Watts), Kristen Cloke (Lara Means) and Megan Gallagher (Catherine) are all amazing in their roles and performances, the show hinges on the acting talents of Lance Henriksen. Indeed, there is only one episode Lance is not in (and it is in this season). Henriksen is moody, intense and realistic as Frank Black adding his dour demeanor and gravelly voice to create a character that is adult and incredible. This season allows Lance to illustrate more of his talents with moments of comedic edge to them.

Millennium is a great horror show that creates horror far more often by using realistic situations than the supernatural. In its second season, investigator Frank Black discovers that the horrors of our world may be caused by those claiming to work to prevent the end of the world.

For other works featuring Terry O'Quinn, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Lost
The West Wing - Season 7
The West Wing - Season 6
The X-Files: Fight The Future

10/10

For other television show reviews, please be sure to visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008, 2005 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Millennium Season 1: Chris Carter's Scary Growth Into Adulthood

The Good: Genuinely horrific moments, Excellent acting, Great characters, Amazing opening credits
The Bad: One or two conceptually far-fetched plots
The Basics: In the adult horror show Millennium's first season, Frank Black uses his gift to see in the minds of the evil to try to keep his family (and the world) safe.


When Millennium first aired, it was easily the edgiest show on network television. Seeing it now on DVD, it's easy to be amazed with how much horror, gore and even near-nudity the show got away with. This is an adult show from the get go and it's very successful at being an adult exploration of the horrors people inflict upon others.

Frank Black, having recovered from a mental breakdown as a result of his work, moves to Seattle with his wife and daughter. There, working as a consultant for the mysterious Millennium Group, he finds himself getting more and more back into the life he thought he left behind as he chases down serial killers and other villains against society.

Frank Black is no ordinary investigator, though. He possesses a freakish talent to understand the mind of evildoers so well that he can see what they see. He catches glimpses into the minds of those who do evil and is thus able to track them down with a high degree of success. Over the course of the first season, Frank is put in situations where he must confront serial killers, mind-controlling cults, bombers, molesters, and zealots.

Frank's professional life is balanced by his family life. After a day of encountering evil, he returns to his bright yellow house to the woman he loves and the daughter who is growing up in the world Frank is desperate to make for her.

Like all great dramas, the stories revolve around characters and Millennium is no exception. The principles for the first year (though only Lance Henriksen and Megan Gallagher are credited every episode) are:

Frank Black - This is mostly his story. Frank tries desperately to keep evil at bay by catching the worst elements of society. But his gift comes with a soul crushing price as he comes to realize that the world is too big to be saved by one man,

Katherine Black - Is a social worker who loves and supports Frank and keeps him grounded. She is a pragmatist, but as Frank's association with the Millennium Group progresses, she begins to feel more and more distance from him and more fear for what he is doing,

Bob Bletcher - the Chief of Detectives in Seattle and an old friend of Frank's, he helps Frank whenever possible and acts as a friend to both Frank and Katherine. Unsure the depth of Frank's ability or ability to stay grounded, Bletcher lives in the real world, but accepts Frank's help when the case is unspeakably bad,

Peter Watts - Frank's coworker at the Millennium Group. A forensic expert, Peter represents the Group which is otherwise nebulous. He is efficient and calculating,

and Jordan Black - the daughter of Frank and Katherine, she is almost completely innocent. Her innocence is challenged when Katherine begins to suspect that she may share in Frank's abilities, making her a target of evil.

Millennium is a show where pretty much anything can happen. Unlike some shows that will take the viewer to the edge of terror and then everything turns out all right, Millennium is a show grounded in some measure of the worst aspects of reality. Good people suffer, evil occasionally gets away, relationships get strained. It has a gritty feel to it that makes it quite compelling.

A great deal of credit must be given to the cast and the writers. Series creator, Chris Carter, has a talent for casting and for picking writers and directors who know how to scare the bejesus out of their viewers. And it is not all gore. In "The Well-Worn Lock," one of the series' only Katherine Black stories, the horror of the episode is done all in the writing, the acting, and the insinuations. This is easily the most creepy hour of television done without envoking the supernatural.

The actors must get some serious credit. Megan Gallagher is wonderful as Katherine Black. She lends a realism to the supernatural show by embodying a strong, intelligent woman who expresses so much through her body language. She was perfectly cast as a foil to Lance Henriksen.

Terry O'Quinn is not given as much to do in the first season as he is in subsequent seasons, but he establishes Peter Watts as an intriguing character. O'Quinn has a gravitas to him that lends well to a character like Watts who clearly has more knowledge than we ever see in this season. O'Quinn is balanced well by Bill Smitrovich, who plays Bletcher. Smitrovich's everyman quality works perfectly to portray a less guarded associate of Franks. Smitrovich is likable and his ability to balance an air of integrity with good natured smiles makes him a pleasure to watch.

Lance Henriksen is amazing as Frank Black. First of all, it is refreshing to see someone who looks more like a real person than most anyone else on television. Henriksen does not possess a Hollywood face or bearing. Instead, he and his gravely voice make Frank into a believable entity. Henriksen plays confused, confident, and stricken without ever leaving the conflicted character of Frank Black. He is a pleasure to watch and a force of his own on screen.

Who would enjoy Millennium? Anyone who likes a good, intelligent horror. This is not about people jumping out of the dark, it's about people who go to open houses and wait in the closets until the home's owner comes back. It's not about cheap gore, it's about the sliding of the lock on a child's bedroom door and the understanding of the terrible thing going on on the other side. This is a great show for those who understand that the world is mostly good, but there is evil in it.

And it's refreshing to see someone else fighting for us.

For a little more information on what is in this boxed set, please check out my more detailed review of the first two episodes, "Pilot" and "Gehenna" by clicking here!

For other works featuring Lance Henriksen, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Alien Vs. Predator
Alien 3
Aliens
The Terminator

7.5/10

For other television works, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008, 2004 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Unfortunately Erratic Series, Millennium The Complete Series Is Shaky.

The Good: Genuinely horrific moments, Excellent acting, Great characters, Space-saving boxed set.
The Bad: It's all over after the second season finale . . .
The Basics: Chris Carter's most successful (to date) non-The X-Files project is Millennium, a series that is erratic with real hints of greatness that didn't quit while it was ahead.


There are few television series' that I truly consider as examples of a poor overall work where there is something to love. But with Millennium, Chris Carter's project while The X-Files (reviewed here!) was at its peak, it is hard to discuss the series with love and feel like one is being truthful. With Millennium The Complete Series, this becomes very evident. The show had three seasons, but the first is radically different from the second and the third struggled to reinvent itself and, coming on the heels of a powerful season finale, failed horribly. The result is a creative, but terribly erratic series which does not hold together very well at all.

Millennium is a forensic crime drama that precedes the C.S.I. craze. The boxed set of Millennium The Complete Series features the same discs from:
Millennium Season One
Millennium Season Two
Millennium Season Three without any additional bonus features or discs, but in a slimmer DVD case. Millennium focuses on Frank Black and is a deep, very dark psychological horror series that has a former F.B.I. Agent working for a group of consultants as the year 2000 approaches.

Season one finds Frank Black, having recovered from a mental breakdown as a result of his work, moving to Seattle with his wife and daughter. There, working as a consultant for the mysterious Millennium Group, he finds himself getting more and more back into the life he thought he left behind as he chases down serial killers and other villains against society. Frank Black is no ordinary investigator, though. He possesses a freakish talent to understand the mind of evildoers so well that he can see what they see. He catches glimpses into the minds of those who do evil and is thus able to track them down with a high degree of success. Over the course of the first season, Frank is put in situations where he must confront serial killers, mind-controlling cults, bombers, molesters, and zealots. Frank's professional life is balanced by his family life. After a day of encountering evil, he returns to his bright yellow house to the woman he loves and the daughter who is growing up in the world Frank is desperate to make for her.

In the second season, Frank and his wife Katherine are estranged as a result of the extreme lengths Frank went to to save Katherine's life at the climax of the prior season. On his own and with Peter Watts, Frank struggles to understand serial killers, torture artists and actual devils and angels who cross his path while attempting to reconcile with his wife and see his daughter.

And the third season has Frank reuniting with the F.B.I. when it appears the Millennium Group is actually a sinister organization.

The problem here is that the seasons do not truly relate to one another. Season one has the Millennium Group working to save humanity and treasuring Frank's gifts while ridding the Seattle area of all sorts of darkness. Season two has quirky stories that exposes the supernatural and insinuates the Millennium Group is not all it initially seemed. And the final season pairs Frank Black with a rookie investigating surprisingly mundane cases.

Like all great dramas, the stories revolve around characters and "Millennium" is no exception. The principles for the first year (though only Lance Henriksen and Megan Gallagher are credited every episode) are:

Frank Black - This is mostly his story. Frank tries desperately to keep evil at bay by catching the worst elements of society. But his gift comes with a soul crushing price as he comes to realize that the world is too big to be saved by one man,

Katherine Black - Is a social worker who loves and supports Frank and keeps him grounded. She is a pragmatist, but as Frank's association with the Millennium Group progresses, she begins to feel more and more distance from him and more fear for what he is doing,

Bob Bletcher - the Chief of Detectives in Seattle and an old friend of Frank's, he helps Frank whenever possible and acts as a friend to both Frank and Katherine. Unsure the depth of Frank's ability or ability to stay grounded, Bletcher lives in the real world, but accepts Frank's help when the case is unspeakably bad,

Peter Watts - Frank's coworker at the Millennium Group. A forensic expert, Peter represents the Group which is otherwise nebulous. He is efficient and calculating,

and Jordan Black - the daughter of Frank and Katherine, she is almost completely innocent. Her innocence is challenged when Katherine begins to suspect that she may share in Frank's abilities, making her a target of evil.

Millennium is a show where pretty much anything can happen. Unlike some shows that will take the viewer to the edge of terror and then everything turns out all right, Millennium is a show grounded in some measure of the worst aspects of reality. Good people suffer, evil occasionally gets away, relationships get strained. It has a gritty feel to it that makes it quite compelling.

The actors must get some serious credit. Megan Gallagher is wonderful as Katherine Black. She lends a realism to the supernatural show by embodying a strong, intelligent woman who expresses so much through her body language. She was perfectly cast as a foil to Lance Henriksen. Similarly, Terry O'Quinn establishes Peter Watts as an intriguing character. O'Quinn has a gravitas to him that lends well to a character like Watts who clearly has more knowledge than we ever see in this season. O'Quinn is balanced well by Bill Smitrovich, who plays Bletcher. Smitrovich's everyman quality works perfectly to portray a less guarded associate of Franks. Smitrovich is likable and his ability to balance an air of integrity with good natured smiles makes him a pleasure to watch.

Lance Henriksen is amazing as Frank Black. First of all, it is refreshing to see someone who looks more like a real person than most anyone else on television. Henriksen does not possess a Hollywood face or bearing. Instead, he and his gravely voice make Frank into a believable entity. Henriksen plays confused, confident, and stricken without ever leaving the conflicted character of Frank Black. He is a pleasure to watch and a force of his own on screen.

But the entire series is erratic and viewers might do better with the first and second season without the third to weigh it down. Even though the first and second are radically different, they are both good. The third is deadweight on a creative series.

For other shows that originally aired on FOX, please check out my reviews of:
Family Guy Presents: It’s A Trap!
Glee - Season Two, Volume One
Fringe - Season Two
Arrested Development
Wonderfalls
VR.5
The Adventures Of Brisco County Jr.

5/10

For other television series reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Elaborate Arc To The Big Screen, The X-Files: Fight The Future Holds Up Better For Fans!

The Good: Good acting, Nice character development, Interesting story
The Bad: Often convoluted, Somewhat problematic in the overall mythos
The Basics: When The X-Files moves to the big screen, Mulder and Scully take on a change in the nature of one of the show's biggest villains.


I've long said, to any who would listen, that the main problem with The X-Files was that creator Chris Carter did not know from the beginning where the show was going. That is to say in his mythology episodes for the series, he did not know on day one what the backstory was, who the key players were and where the show was going to go with them all. The X-Files movie, preview titled Fight The Future, though it does not appear as such on screen, is the film debut of The X-Files and it wisely tells an X-File Mythology story.

When a Federal Building in Texas is blown up, Agents Mulder and Scully - late of the X-Files at the FBI - happen to be part of the team sent to prevent the explosion. In trying to determine why that building was blown up, they encounter the enigmatic Dr. Kurtzweil, who claims to have information about the mysterious group that seems to control the world in The X-Files. Mulder soon comes to believe that the extraterrestrial Black Oil is intended for use as a weapon to be distributed by bees and when Scully falls prey to it, Mulder is in a race against time to save her.

Okay, here's where The X-Files starts to seriously lose cohesion. In the television version of The X-Files, the Black Oil is an extraterrestrial life form. That's cool, we can understand that. They have their own spaceships which are custom designed for them and the Black Oil can inhabit humans and take control of them. We get all that. In this movie, the Black Oil is something far more sinister, it's essentially a spore that will mutate the victim into a husk for a bigger, nastier alien life form.

And this is what, the movie shows us, the conspiracy is all about. This begs two important questions: 1. Why would the most powerful people in the world want to create an army of angry aliens they cannot control out of the human population and 2. Don't any of the members of the conspiracy watch The X-Files and know that this is a pointless goal? The second question is asked because the villainous Krychek discovers first hand (pun intended) how to defeat the Black Oil on the show. The Black Oil won't stay in anyone who has a big enough physical defect, like the loss of a limb. So, while Mulder struggles with vaccines and such, all that needs to be done to stop this weird alien invasion is for people to saw off a hand or a foot. Not ideal, but becoming an incubator for the creepies from this movie seems less cool.

What works here is that this is The X-Files. The dialogue is smarter than your average action-adventure film. The story remains tightly focused on two characters who are likable and smart and who the majority of the audience knows already. And despite the nit-picking, there is a pretty solid story being told here that is interesting and well-paced. Moreover, this is an action-adventure movie that is easily rewatchable.

The principle characters, Mulder and Scully, are just as they are in the television series. In this movie, they continue doing what they've been doing. So, in the beginning of the film, they are joking around, when they are on the run they only trust each other. In that regard, Fight The Future is spot on for fans of the series. These are our characters we've watched for years and for newcomers, they are very likable here, so that works quite well.

Mulder is played by David Duchovny and in Fight The Future he is given a great deal of physical stunts to work through. Through most of the movie, Duchovny is running, jumping, ducking, it seems he is always in motion and Duchovny pulls it off without it ever seeming like he's breaking his professional facade.

As always, Gillian Anderson gives a great performance as Dana Scully. She gets through the technobabble and sells the viewer on the reality of this world. Anderson also is masterful at expressing emotions with her facial expressions and she creates a perfectly terrified mood in one of the most tense scenes of the film without uttering a word.

The big guest star in this movie is Martin Landau who plays Kurtzweil. He's up to the task, as always and it's refreshing to see such a high caliber actor associated with The X-Files. On the DVD, the bonus features, like the commentary, provide welcome information about the making of the movie.

Fight The Future can be found cheap most places these days and the truth is, it's worth picking up. It's a smart, if convoluted, easily rewatchable way to spend two hours for fans of the series or anyone who just wants a fun story.

For other films based on television shows, please check out my reviews of:
The Star Trek film collection
G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

7/10

For other film reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Near-Perfect Season Of Television You Shouldn't Buy Unless You've Already Been Lost (Season 6)!

The Good: Excellent character development, Great story twists, Great acting, Amazing finale, (Presumably) great bonus features.
The Bad: Utterly pointless for those who have not watched the series.
The Basics: Lost The Complete Sixth Season tells an amazing story and is a must for fans of the series, but stands alone poorly.


Lost recently completed its six-season run on television and almost the next day the DVD and Blu-Ray sets were announced. Most of those features have already been leaked - and many of them are the standard Lost features - but even without getting the bonus features the sixth season of Lost may be very completely considered and the review of the content of the sixth season is very simple.

Don't bother.

Yup, I said it. There are three types of people who might be reading this review: Lost fans, Lost fans who are patient, and those who have never seen Lost. For Lost fans, they are buying this set regardless for the simple reason that they have the other five sets and need the sixth season to complete the storyline. For Lost fans who have been patient, there is Lost - The Complete Series, which was being released concurrently with Lost - The Complete Sixth Season (and is linked at the bottom of this review!). For those few fans who didn't buy the DVDs all along, or those upgrading to Blu-Ray in one smart, fell swoop, Lost - Season 6 is a pointless investment. And then there are those who have never seen Lost before. For those people, reading a review of Lost - The Complete Sixth Season, especially one which has an "episode guide" quality to it is utterly pointless. Why? Lost is, more than any show on television in the last decade, a novel on television. Reading a plot synopsis of the episodes is like reading a synopsis of the last few chapters of a book. Sure, you might learn something about the plot, but: 1. the ramifications and significance of those events are often lost on the reader and 2. In Lost there are mystical aspects as well as twists that are either incomprehensible or ruined by reading the plots out of context.

That said, Lost The Complete Season 6 is easy to recommend for fans who need it to complete their collections. But for those who have never seen an episode of the series, this is an abysmal place to begin the series. There is no point in trying to start here and because it is layered, complex and phenomenal, the storyline will just baffle and confuse most people. So, despite the fact that I must write on to write a considerate review of the contents of Lost - The Complete Sixth Season I highly recommend casual readers stop now, rent or borrow (aren't libraries great?!) a copy of the first season of the series. If you get hooked, go out and purchase Lost The Complete Series. Buying just Season six is pointless and reading about it makes it impossible to get the full element of surprise that comes from the smart way the series unfolds over the six seasons. (If you haven't seen any of season six, it is impossible to discuss it intelligently without revealing some of what the characters go through early on and in important moments from the prior season.)

Lost - The Complete Sixth Season opens with "LA X," a double-long episode which appears to reimagine the entire series. Words like "appears to" in a Lost review are the way reviewers help to indicate that one has to be engaged while watching Lost without actually ruining the many twists and turns of the show. Gone are the time travel elements from the fifth season of Lost and they are replaced with what the producers are calling "Flash Sideways" occurrences. While I will gladly reveal how the "flash sideways" world differs from the standard Lost universe, the significance of the "flash sideways" experience is what is revealed in the final fifteen minutes of the series and ought not to be ruined by a reviewer.

In the "flash sideways" world, Oceanic flight 815 did not crash and Jack Shephard finds himself on that flight, a cut on his neck, but generally no worse for wear. He saves Charlie from a drug overdose in the bathroom of the airplane and when his father's coffin is lost, he meets John Locke and offers to consult with him on his spinal injury. As Kate flees the authorities and the very pregnant Claire tries to learn the status of her baby, other people on the flight - like the police detective James Ford - begin to return to their lives after their trips to Sydney, Australia. But when Desmond, who is working for Charles Widmore, needs to make sure Charlie gets to an event for Widmore, he begins to break through the realities and bring together those who were on 815 and those who have alternate lives off the island in this existence.

In the main narrative, Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Hugo, Jin, Miles and Sayid return to the present as a result of Juliet setting off the nuclear bomb at the climactic moment of the prior season. Sawyer, distraught, goes rogue while most of the others head for the Temple. Unfortunately for them, on the other side of the island, the man who appears to be John Locke is leading Sun, Richard Alpert, Lapidus and Ben Linus toward the Temple. Having killed Jacob, the group which is now led by Jacob's adversary, sets off on a mission to leave the island. The man who appears to be Locke wants nothing more than to leave the island and he soon reveals just how badly he wants to leave.

When Jin, separated from the others, finds himself in the care of Claire, he quickly realizes that Claire has gone quite mad and is under the influence of the man who appears to be Locke. When Charles Widmore manages to return to the island with a submarine, Jin is abducted and the various camps collide. As Jack tries to keep as many of his friends alive as he can, Locke attempts to leave the island and Charles Widmore establishes a dangerous camp which seems to be bent on exploiting the island for his own nefarious gain.

Whenever I've tried to get the few people I meet who are not already fans of Lost they tend to have an "I'll wait to see if it ends well and then start from the beginning attitude." Perhaps the very best thing one may say about Lost - The Complete Sixth Season is that it ends the series magnificently. With such an ambitious show, fans tended to want both answers and a resolution that justified the faith they had in the prior seasons. With this season, they get exactly that. The plots progress, people change sides and allegiances, backstory holes are filled in, mysteries of the island are revealed, Ben Linus gets beaten up and there is a sense still that the story is moving without it ever being dumbed down. In this fashion, season six may be a final chapter of a book, but it makes one want to go back and reread (or, in this case, rewatch) the book again.

The episodes hardly stand alone in the sixth season as the story progresses, but moves in a very strong, serialized way toward the end. In fact, the only real disappointment in the sixth season is that the story ramps up and adds tension to the main narrative the episodes "Ab Aeterno" and "Across The Sea" come up and break the flow. Those two episodes finally give explicit answers on how Richard Alpert's story and Jacob's stories unfolded to get them to the places they started the series. But while they are satisfying for fans and the overall narrative, they take tangents at awkward times, much like the cave scene on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back.

Lost Season Six returns the emphasis to characters, as well as just finishing the plot up. Sawyer's actions are largely motivated by his sense of loss and when we watch him, especially early in the season, it is hard not to feel for him. Similarly, Claire's return is more than just a pleasant reunion for the fans, it is a troubling exploration of a woman mentally tormented for three years. As Jack learns more about his fate and begins to adopt the idea of destiny in relation to the island and his life, he begins to step up to the challenges of protecting the island, especially now that Jacob needs a successor.

In the sixth season of Lost, the characters get their chance to grow and some of them make leaps and bounds in the brief season, making for a compelling sense of journey. In the final season the preliminary characters include:

Dr. Jack Shephard - Returning to the present, he tries to protect his friends and put some faith in others, like Hugo. As he learns about Jacob's need for a successor, he considers what the island has meant to his life and debates stepping into the role Jacob selected for him. In the flash sideways universe, he is a successful doctor with a son who offers John Locke hope,

Kate Austen - Her return to the present means Kate may actually have a chance to find Claire and when that quest takes a turn for the dangerous, she ends up in Locke's camp by default. Despite trying to help Sawyer through his loss, she is eager to get Claire and get off the island, to return to Aaron and her life in the real world. In the flash sideways universe, she is a fugitive once more who accidentally abducts Claire before continuing her run from the authorities,

Sayid - Almost mortally wounded, he is brought to the Temple by Jack and Hugo and ends up being menaced by their "protectors" there. When he attempts to do the bidding of the disciples of Jacob, he meets up with Locke and offers the man who appears to be Locke the best chance of eliminating threats to him that exist. In the flash sideways universe, he is trying not to be a mercenary, but problems with Nadia's husband compel him to return to his violent tendencies,

Hugo ("Hurley") - Returning to the present, he starts to see the recently-deceased Jacob and learn what it means to be a "candidate" of Jacob's. By following Jacob to a lighthouse - and taking Jack with him there - he manages to save himself from the man who appears to be Locke. But as the end draws nigh, his destiny appears to be most bound to the island. In the flash sideways experience, he is the luckiest man on earth,

Sun - Stuck with the man who appears to be Locke, she uses that status to search for Jin. Her single-minded quest causes her to splinter off from Locke's protection and she never gives up hope of finding Jin, especially when she encounters others whom she knew were lost in time. In the flash sideways, she is having an affair with Jin, despite her father's disapproval,

Jin - Back in the present, he starts looking for Sun, but finds himself caught in one of Claire's traps when he leaves the protection of the Temple. Almost as soon as he recovers, he is abducted by Charles Widmore's forces. In the flash sideways, he is charged with the task of bringing money to a mercenary with a cruel purpose while hiding his love for Sun,

James "Sawyer" Ford - Broken by the death of the one he loves the most, he heads back to where he was happiest on the island on his own. Soon, though, his drunken solitude is interrupted by the man who appears to be Locke, who tells him why he was brought to the island. Once that happens, Locke employs Sawyer to learn all he can about Charles Widmore's faction, which has landed on nearby Hydra Island. In the flash sideways, he is a police detective who is searching for Anthony Cooper,

Richard Alpert - Almost immediately realizing who the man who appears to be Locke actually is, he becomes convinced that he is in hell and develops suicidal tendencies. With Ben, he tries to insure that the man who appears to be Locke never leaves the island,

Miles - Pretty much along for the ride, Miles looks to stand up to the man who appears to be Locke while still getting himself off the island. He tends to take the less risky ways when he can and is pretty much out to survive. In the flashes sideways, he is James Ford's partner on the force,

Charles Widmore - Finally returns to the island ready to rule it for his own purposes. He quickly abducts Desmond and subjects him to a horrific experiment. In the flash sideways, he is a billionaire whose son is a piano prodigy,

Ben Linus - Changing sides almost every episode, he is on the run for his life when Ilana realizes he killed Jacob. Almost rescued by the man who appears to be Locke, he begins to question which side in the conflict for the island he actually wants to be on. In the flash sideways world, he is a history teacher who must choose to either help his favorite student or make a play to become principal of the school,

Desmond - Brought to the island again, he is experimented upon in a way that allows him to be used by Widmore and feared by the man who appears to be Locke. His love for Penny makes him want to leave the island more than anything else. In the flash sideways, he was on Oceanic 815 and actually works for Widmore directly,

Ilana - The bounty hunter who is bound to protect the remaining candidates, she becomes distraught when she learns Jacob has been killed. In the flash sideways experience, she is a lawyer who reunites Claire and Jack,

Claire Littleton - Left alone on the island for far too long, she went pretty much crazy, though she recognizes the man who appears to be Locke for who and what he is. She vows revenge against Kate and the Others for stealing Aaron. Protected by the man who appears to be Locke, she reenters the mix in a dangerous way. In the flash sideways universe, she is still pregnant and is aided by an unlikely Kate in her attempts to find the people who were supposed to adopt Aaron,

and John Locke - Having been revealed as only the form of the man, his true nature is slowly revealed as more than just an enemy of Jacob. He single-mindedly focuses on leaving the island while he tries to convert the remaining candidates to his cause. When Charles Widmore arrives on the island, he sees that he has one last opportunity and obstacle to leaving and sets about removing those obstacles. In the flash sideways, Locke is aided by Hugo in becoming a substitute teacher at the school Ben works at.

In the sixth season of "Lost," the acting is exceptional. For performers like Daniel Dae Kim and Evangeline Lily, this means honing their roles. But for actors like Jorge Garcia, Josh Hollowell, and especially Emile de Ravin, this season is a chance to branch out. Jorge Garcia gets a chance to play Hugo in an entirely different way in the flash sideways bits and he makes excellent use of that opportunity to reinvent the character. Hollowell is absolutely amazing in the way he plays a broken Sawyer. But from the moment de Ravin, who was absent from the prior season, returns, she is electrifying. She manages to play Claire as disturbing and disturbed in a way that will make fans realize just how much they missed both the character and the actress.

On DVD and Blu-Ray, the brief sixteen episode season (two are double - or better - long) of Lost comes with the Lost-standard bonus features. There are four featurettes, one on the flash sideways, the featurette that preceded the series finale and two others which talk about how the season progressed and the series ended (at least one is never-before-seen, produced for the DVD/Blu-Ray). There are also commentary tracks on four episodes ("The End" is NOT one of them) and fans are likely to be happy with the commentary track on "LA X" and the sidestory episodes. The Complete Sixth Season also includes deleted scenes and a blooper reel.

Fans of Lost will want to own "The Complete Sixth Season" and it is a great value for those completing their DVD series. But for those who haven't started, pass this buy, shell out a few extra bucks and buy the big set instead; this is a series that is worth the faith we put in it and "The Complete Sixth Season" ends it remarkably well.

For other Lost works, please check out:
Lost The Complete Series
Bad Twin
Lost Series 1 Shannon Rutherford action figure

9/10

For other television series reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Better With More Viewings/Features, Lost Season Five "Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit" Is For The Fans!

The Good: Intriguing plot twists, Decent acting, Amazing Blu-Ray bonus features/limited edition swag.
The Bad: Light on character development
The Basics: The limited edition release of the Blu-Ray of Lost Season Five offers fans some real boons, as well as great television!


Give up. Give up and stop reading this review now. Yes, I'm talking to you, the reader who has never seen an episode of Lost, doesn't understand what the hype is about and is wondering if this makes a good gift for someone. It doesn't . . . unless that person is a fan of Lost. Lost is a show which is take-it or leave-it. You're a devoted fan or you're not and if you've never heard someone talk about their love of Lost, they probably are not the devoted fan who would want this DVD or Blu-Ray set. Moreover, the "Dharma Initiative Orientation Kit" packaging of the season is limited edition, more expensive and intended only for the true fans of the show.

Seriously, give up. There's no reason to read this review. No one needs a review of Lost Season Five. The people who want it, bought it three days ago when it hit stores, have asked for it on their holiday wish lists or have some plan to buy, rent, steal it or pick up the complete series set (reviewed here!). If you are not one of the people who has seen Lost and is waiting, keep waiting. If you're thinking about getting into the show, this is absolutely the last thing in the world to read. The reason for this could not be more simple: Lost is like a novel for television. Each season is a "volume" within that novel. As a result, picking up and watching Lost Season Five is like picking up the fifth book in a series or turning to a fifth chapter or section within a single book. Lost Season Five moves at a pace that is fast, continuing a story so deep in progress that it does not even make an effort to backtrack and repeat old information to viewers. Thus, anyone who has not seen Seasons One through Four will be missing vital pieces of information and have no clue about the significance of certain peripheral characters.

. . . and in the fifth season, peripheral characters in the Lost storyline become incredibly important. As well, what is going on in the main plots are confusing enough (though fans who know what came before expect the show to be smart and doing new things and will easily catch what is going on), having to have others explain it to viewers is pointless. Stop now, go back and watch from the beginning. By the time you get to "Season Five," you'll want this boxed set. You'll buy it . . . or you'll hate the show and have given up on it. There is truly little middle ground with Lost.

Despite that being the very best advice anyone can give readers on Lost Season Five, here is what to expect when buying this DVD:

Following the climactic event of the fourth season of Lost, where six members of the crashed Oceanic 815 flight and Desmond Hume were rescued and returned to civilization and those left behind were besieged by a commando force, Ben's attempt to move the island has an unforeseen consequence. Those left behind on the island, along with Jin (who survived the destruction of the freighter), find themselves unwillingly skipping through time at unpredictable intervals. As John Locke carefully pieces together what has happened, with the help of Daniel Faraday and Richard Alpert, and seeks to set right the relationship the mysterious island has with time and space, off the island, Ben makes contact with each of the Oceanic Six and tries to get them to return to the island. Three years after they were rescued, Ben, Locke and the Oceanic Six find themselves on a new plane headed to the new location of the mysterious island they randomly crashed on before.

But those left behind were not restored to time and space in a normal fashion. Instead, when Locke rescued them from the dangerous shifts in time, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Miles, and Daniel found themselves in the past, where they took up with the Dharma Initiative. When the second plane with Ben and the Oceanic Six crashes on the island, it does not do so normally: Jack, Kate, Hugo and Sayid end up in the past, complicating the lives of their peers working for Dharma. That leaves Ben and Sun in the present, on the island, dealing with an incredible mystery: the resurrection of John Locke!

In its fifth season, Lost becomes an even more complex mystery, one that seems to have the Island as a playground for two avatars who have arranged the principle characters as pieces, from long before any of them ever ended up on the island. The initial concept seems to stem from a very subtle piece of acting in the fourth season finale, where Ben knocks a mysterious wheel awkwardly while turning it. That one moment knocks the island off its temporal axis and causes the characters left behind to time shift. The involuntary leaps through time have dangerous consequences, weakening the bodies of those who have been there the longest and killing Charlotte.

The episodes hardly stand alone in the fifth season as the character groups each are given very different "quests" and in most episodes, only one decision is reached in each group and one corresponding action is taken. So, for example, in "Jughead," Faraday determines that a bomb found on the island needs to be buried and Locke makes the decision to return to the Orchid, though it isn't until the next episode that he and his group actually journey there. Similarly, while it had been teased for two season finales now, the process of Jack rounding up the Oceanic Six with Locke's body takes five episodes.

Lost Season Five is also hampered, in part, by a lack of character development. Viewers know that Jack's return to life as a doctor in the United States left him tortured from Season Four. In season five, we just see the end result of that as he desperately tries to get the Oceanic Six to come with him and how. But Jack does not so much grow and change this season (save for the fact that he is able to take orders from LaFleur - Sawyer - when he joins the Dharma Initiative in the past). In fact, only Sawyer and Juliet have real character arcs this season; everyone else is caught up in plot arcs. And the plots are incredible with essentially two arcs the entire season: the round-up/timeshift plot and the return to island/conflict with Dharma plot. Of course, it is vastly more interesting for fans than just those two concepts, but the truth is, the season does boil down to those two (or, I suppose, four) arcs and the characters in them tend to encounter plot challenges - like the sudden presence of a nuclear bomb on the island - as opposed to character challenges.

Even so, for that hypothetical reader who is determining whether or not to shell out $100 on the limited edition "Dharma Orientation Kit" version of the fifth season of Lost (snicker!), it helps to know who the principle characters in this season of Lost are:

Dr. Jack Shephard - Getting himself off drugs, he teams up with Ben to bring everyone back to the Island, believing that leaving was a huge mistake and everyone there is in danger. With the second plane crash, he finds himself in the past where he is happy to slum under the radar of the Dharma Initiative while LaFleur solves the problems,

Kate Austen - Having met Sawyer's girlfriend and finding herself hounded by Claire's mother, she reluctantly gives up Aaron and returns to the Island. There, she finds herself coming between Sawyer and Juliet and working in the motorpool. She risks everything to save the child Ben Linus, which changes everything,

Sayid - Having made a split with Ben, he is captured by Ilana and is forcibly returned to the Island. There, he finds himself in the past, where he comes to believe his destiny is to set everything right . . . by killing Ben in the past,

Hugo ("Hurley") - Rescued by Sayid from the mental institution, Hugo continues to have conversations with the dead and his second plane ride puts him in 1977 where he is happy to work for Dharma and write "The Empire Strikes Back,"

Sun - Now in charge of her father's company, she has allied herself with Charles Widmore. However, a visit from Ben which proves to her that Jin is alive gets her to return to the island. The only one of the Oceanic Six left in the "present" when the plane crashes, she soon learns that the others ended up in the past and works with Ben and John to figure out how to get them back,

Jin - Having been knocked clear of the freighter and ended up back at the island for the time shifts, he is rescued in the past by Sawyer and finally learns English. Pining for Sun, he is happy to do whatever might reconnect him with his wife,

"Sawyer" ("LaFleur") - After the loss of Jack and Locke, he takes over as the natural leader of those on the island and helps them weather the dangerous time shifts. He convinces the head of Dharma that he is not a hostile and even negotiates with Richard Alpert (an ageless denizen of the island) to save everyone's life. He masquerades as "LaFleur" and becomes the Dharma security chief. As a result of their struggles together, Sawyer forgets about Kate as best he can and develops a relationship with Juliet,

Juliet - Trying to save the lives of the timeshifting survivors when the time shifts have serious health consequences, she is relieved when the shifts end and she settles in with the Dharma Initiative. She and Sawyer soon fall in love, but with the return of Kate, it is her strength that will change the course of history,

Miles - The psychic specialist from the freighter quickly figures out the identity of one of the chief Dharma scientists and comes to realize exactly how his fate has been tied to the island all along,

Daniel - After the death of Charlotte from the time shifting (don't look at me that way, it happens ridiculously early in the season!), Farraday loses it some and is saved by discovering Charlotte in the past living as a child in the Dharma Initiative. He uses the time in the past to return to the mainland to figure out how to right the course of history and return everyone to where and when they belong. His return to the Dharma Initiative, though, sets off a chain of events which will inspire the entirety of season six,

Ben Linus - The villainous leader of The Others works to return to the island and against all odds and reason is successful. As he, John and Jin struggle to figure out what happened to the others and he works to atone for the death of his daughter, his past is revealed as a child in the Dharma Initiative. And when Sayid tries to kill his child counterpart, it is Richard who steps up with a way to save him that changes him forever,

Desmond - (is he even in the season?!) Briefly seen in only a couple episodes, Desmond is happy with Penny, but may fall prey to Ben's lust for vengeance against Penny's father, Charles Widmore,

Ilana - A bounty hunter who captures Sayid and leads a new team with a nefarious purpose across the island,

and John Locke - After timeshifting around and meeting Richard Alpert in various time periods to have clues scattered for him, John returns to the United States the same way Ben did . . . but fixes what Ben screwed up. Once back, John works quietly to get the Oceanic Six to return to the island, but ends up dead at the hands of Ben (which is no surprise to viewers). But the trip back to the island resurrects Locke and he uses Ben to gain access to the ruins of the temple on the island, where a much bigger showdown is brewing.

In the fifth season of Lost, there are no new real parts (Zuleikha Robinson Ilana is a supplemental character whose presence is hardly as inspired as prior cast additions, like Daniel or Desmond or Juliet), so by this season, all of the principle actors have their beats down. Henry Ian Cusack is neglected for the season, while Jeremy Davies gets a real chance to shine as Daniel. But for the most part, the actors are performing within the established greatness of their abilities. Actors like Matthew Fox, Terry O'Quinn, and Evangeline Lilly give unsurprisingly wonderful performances in the roles they had had for four years prior.

In fact, the only real surprise on the acting front comes from Josh Halloway and Elizabeth Mitchell as "LeFleur" and Juliet. After years of working together, Halloway proves he can mix it up by developing real on-screen chemistry with Mitchell. Together, they make the Sawyer/Juliet arc not only plausible, but enjoyable to watch. They deserve some serious kudos for shaking it up well.

On DVD and Blu-Ray, the brief sixteen episode season of Lost comes loaded with bonus features. There are the usual episode commentaries, deleted scenes and a gag reel. As well, there are featurettes which include Nestor Carbonall on-set while shooting his last scenes for season five (very entertaining) and Michael Emerson off-camera wandering the Burbank Lost studios (also very entertaining!). As well, there is a video of the celebration thrown for the 100th episode of Lost! But the grail for Lost fans come in the "Dharma orientation kit," a deluxe packaging that includes an annoying VHS tape (with all of the orientation videos shown so far on Lost spliced together properly), a c.d. single ("Dharma Lady" by Geronimo Jackson), and patches from the show. Among the non-programming swag are maps of the island, the truce with the Others and the patches (one is limited edition, if you manage to pull it). The VHS tape is an actual tape and that's annoying, but the bonus swag reminds one of the postcards put in the Gold Box Twin Peaks Complete Series Set and it is hard for die-hard fans to complain about all of the extra goodies. Those with a Blu-Ray player with an internet connection may use the discs to connect with Lost University, which is an interactive experience that makes the viewer one of the Dharma Initiative!

So, fans of Lost get a slightly above-average season with exceptional swag with the limited edition packaging. And while the season is a little rockier than I would have liked, my faith in the show has not been shaken. For those who have the same faith, this is THE way to get the penultimate season of Lost!

For other Lost works, please check out:
Season 1
Season 2
Bad Twin (a tie-in novel)
Season 3
Season 4

7/10

For other television reviews, please check out the index page!

© 2010, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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