On October 25, 1996, I remember being out with friends, but I was really anxious to get home because my VCR was set to record a new show premiering on FOX. It was created by Chris Carter, who was still riding high on the juggernaut known as The X-Files. It starred one of my favorite character actors, and I was excited to see him heading up a series.
The show was called Millennium, and I wasn’t prepared for what it had to offer. There was absolutely nothing like it on television at the time, and it paved the way for many dark crime shows in the years to come.
The pilot episode was unlike anything I’d seen prior; it set an extremely high bar for many shows to follow. Lance Henriksen played Frank Black, a former FBI profiler who could look into the minds of killers. He’s recruited by the mysterious Millennium Group to consult on cases involving serial killers, the occult, and conspiracies, all while struggling to keep his family together.
Millennium ran for three seasons only to be canceled in 1999, right before… THE MILLENNIUM! It was a huge mistake by the network, because there was so much material that could have been mined, only to be cut short by a few months.
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The fans have never let go of the show, and filmmaker Jason D. Morris and his team at Resurrection Films produced After the Millennium (aka Millennium after the Millennium) almost a decade ago. For whatever reason, I never acquired a copy, but now, thanks to C, there’s a brand-new, 140-minute, wide-release version coming to Blu-ray. The time is now for me to step back into the darkness of Millennium, and I have certainly missed it.
If you’re going to do an essential documentary on the series, then there would have to be interviews with key players like Lance Henriksen, Chris Carter, Megan Gallagher, Brittany Tiplady, Klea Scott, Frank Spotnitz, Bill Smitrovich, and they’re all accounted for. Plus, a huge list of producers, episode directors, writers, and more, chronicling the show from start to finish.
They discuss what worked best for the show, got into what didn’t, and what could have been done better. They even talk about The X-Files crossover episode that was a missed opportunity. It’s clear by all the interviews that the show meant something to everyone involved; they’re even a bit optimistic there could have been a revival.
The sad part is, watching it now, knowing the interviews were recorded nearly a decade ago, that hope has slowly begun to fade. No one is getting younger. Although he still looks great, Henriksen is in his 80s now, and the window is slowly beginning to close. Stranger things have happened, though; there’s still an inkling of hope.
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After the Millennium has a wide range of bonus features that include Home Again: Return to the Yellow House, Millennium CD Release Signing Event, Matthew Ingle’s Artwork Gallery, End Game: The Return of Avatar, interviews, Opening Credits Contest Submissions, trailers, and more.
The only negative thing I can say about this labor of love is that it will have a very niche audience, wide release or otherwise. It’s a documentary for the fans, and they will continue to give it love for many years to come. After the Millennium allows the show’s flame to continue burning brightly while bringing some much-needed light to the darkness.
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