FAQ for
"Millennium" (1996/I)

Millennium is an apocalyptic drama that follows the adventures of a man named Frank Black (no, not the rock singer, though the character was named after him). It was created by Chris Carter (he of The X Files fame). Three seasons were ultimately produced with a total of 67 episodes.

Frank Black is a retired criminal profiler who struggled against the increasing presence of evil in our society at the brink of the year 2000. After suffering what looked like a psychological breakdown, Frank left the FBI and moved his wife, Catherine, and daughter, Jordan, from Washington, D.C. to Seattle. Before the start of the show, Frank was approached by a representative from a mysterious and powerful organization known as the Millennium Group, a secretive collective of ex-law enforcement working to fight the force of evil that strengthens as we approach the millennium.

Yes and No. Millennium is about human evil, pure and simple, whether the cause is psychological or supernatural. Frank also encounters the occult, ghosts, angels, demons, and mad scientists.

As a result of the regularly shifting executive producers who supervised its creative process, each season of the series carries its own distinct style and unique elements. Creator Chris Carter oversaw production of the first season, which mainly focused on serial killers, and despite what you may hear, did feature some episodes which contained some strongly hinted supernatural elements. Writer/producers Glen Morgan and James Wong supervised the second season and proceeded to revamp the show slightly, putting in more religious symbolism and greatly enhancing the fear of the Millennium. Writer Chip Johannessen guided the show's third and final year; his season dropped the religious symbolism from season two and focused more on crime stories with some episodes featuring the supernatural here and there. However, it should be noted the changes weren't done simply out of ego; the changes were done to keep the show interesting to viewers in the hopes of boosting ratings.

That would be the Ouroboros, a symbol used a lot throughout TV, movies, and art. Other times it has been used include in the episode "Never Again" of The X Files where Scully got a tattoo of it on her back and on the TV show The Invisible Man (Sci-Fi Channel) where it was tattooed onto the hero's left wrist as cue to his doctor that the serum he used to turn invisible was about to turn him insane.

In Christian eschatology the millennium is a period of time connected to the return of Jesus and the end of the world. The millennium is a thousand year period either preceding or following Christ's appearance on earth and the establishment of his kingdom. Contrary to the presentation in the show, for most of Christian history the millennium and the apocalypse have been viewed as hopeful, even happy events since they signify Christ's final triumph over his adversaries and the ascendance of humanity to heaven.

In the past two hundred years the end of the world has become seen in a less favorable light especially in the late 20th century when the literal end of human life has become a real possibility. Various ideas arose which tied the idea of the end of the world to the advent of the calendar millennium.

Yes, this episode is in the second season and is called "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me."

Long term answer: yes. In the beginning however, Frank was not intended to be a psychic, but whenever we see Frank stare a lot at a crime scene we were supposed to be seeing Frank's elaborate thought process. However, due to the nature of the editing, the fans began to quickly believe that Frank was psychic. Even Jordan began to start developing ability similar to Frank', though in seasons one and two it was more or less just hinted at. In season two, to settle the debate, writers Morgan and Wong have Frank flat-out say he is a psychic.

It was cancelled because of the consistently low ratings on the show killing Friday night block.

No. They left because they only had a one season commitment and they fulfilled it.

Because Millennium season two ended in the summer of 1998 and they went to develop Final Destination for New Line Cinema and afterwards they have continued to work on movies.

No, it was Chris Carter, which implies he had a fair idea of what was going on in season two. In fact, Morgan and Wong have gone on record saying they were initially shocked at the suggestion.

In season two they were trying to set themselves up as a legitimate world power/secret society. The events of the Hand of St. Sebastian, Owls and Roosters, and the Four Horsemen was the Millennium Group making a play for power. The supernatural element came about because evil was becoming more domineering in the world and the demonic entity known as Legion was feeding off it.

In season one Carter presented the Millennium Group as a consultant firm. Morgan and Wong laid hints in season two that they were in fact a underground Christian cult. In season three they are an organization created by J. Edgar Hoover. Here's the explanation to clear up this continuity error: There was a Christian cult called the Milllenium Group in the late 1st century that lasted almost 900 years before it was wiped out. J. Edgar Hoover had a vision and started the Millennium Group we know in season one. However, the Millennium Group starts to model itself after the ancient cult so they can prepare mankind for the Millennium when they start to notice a very violent cycle of evil as the time reaches near. In season three they start to create more influence in the FBI so they could have a way to control the general populace following the Millennium.

Psychics interpret their visions in different ways. Some just touch an object or enter an area and can see its past and future like in a movie. Some psychics create a visual guide to help them deal with the visions; for example Danny in The Shining often talked to an invisible boy named Tony who showed him things. The angel could have simply been Lara's way of dealing with the visions.

The Owls and the Roosters are two factions of the MM Group that share the same basic belief, that the world is coming to an end. But they each have their own separate views regarding the source of this apocalypse. The Owls believe that before Earth was created, a collision between two neutron stars sent out a shockwave of extreme energy. The shockwave will reach our solar system in roughly 60 years and a new universe will be created in the aftermath. The Roosters see Armageddon in religious terms. They believe that on January 1st, 2000 the earth will face the doomsday of Revelation, threats and disaster of biblical prediction and proportion. The factions are so named because the Roosters believe that 1/1/00 will be the "new dawn" while Owls believe that it will still be "night-time".

It was explained in "The Sound of Snow" that the Marburg Virus only killed 80 people in the US; however, it is not stated how many people died in other countries like China, Russia, and South America. The numbers reported by the media were simply blown out of proportion. However the loss of 80 people to what is essentially a terrorist act on the part of the Millennium Group should not be taken lightly.

The song is "Land: Horses/Land of a Thousand Dances/La Mer" by Patti Smith off of her classic Horses album.

Frank's loss of hair color is essentially an exaggeration of an actual medical phenomena where conditions of extreme stress to the point that it interferes with the body's biological processes can cause people to lose their hair or their hair pigmentation.

Frank went back to the FBI in order to escape his assosiation with the Millennium Group as well to continue to be able to provide for Jordan. Perhaps Frank was hoping on using his history of success with violent crimes to encourage the FBI to go after the Millennium Group. However, over the course of season three, Frank learns that won't be the case. The decision to move back to DC instead of joining the Seattle field office is a bit of a puzzler; most likely it was a decision on Fox's part rather than the producers, as a means of tying the show closer to The X Files.

Millennium was created by Chris Carter, the man who created the Xfiles, and both shows shared some creative personnel. On screen connections were minimal. The only explicit connection was the character of Jose Chung who appeared in the Millennium episode "Jose Chung's The Doomsday Defense" and the Xfiles episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space." David Duchovny, who plays Fox Mulder on The Xfiles has a cameo in "Jose Chung's The Doomsday Defense". After Millennium was cancelled Lance Henrikson appeared on the Xfiles as Frank Black.

When Frank moves back to Seattle with his family they buy a big yellow house. Throughout the show the "Yellow House" serves as a metaphor for Frank and Catherine's desire for a safe, comforting place for their family.