Science Fiction Non-Fiction: James McLean (Millennium)

"An interview with an actor appearing on Star Trek would be more about the show and the character than the artist behind the role. We wanted to make sure that the artists on Millennium Group Sessions felt they were being interviewed for who they were, not being treated as a teat from which the fan could suckle more information about their favorite show."

 

-James McLean on efforts behind generating a campaign to bring back Frank Black and Millennium properly through exhaustive research and an intelligent approach much like the series itself, Back To Frank Black: A Return To Chris Carter's Millennium-

 

Citing Star Trek in this rather salient point is just one of the many made regarding a comprehensive work on Millennium and all involved in a fantastic read from the reference quality work that is the publication Back To Frank Black: A Return To Chris Carter's Millennium (2012).  That full analysis is forthcoming.

The Sci-Fi Fanatic BIG 10: Millennium

In honor of the publication of Back To Frank Black: A Return To Chris Carter's Millennium we look back at three seasons of Frank Black following a thorough investigation of Lance Henriksen's work specifically on the Chris Carter series Millennium. Millennium has led me to my latest BIG 10. I present The Sci-Fi Fanatic BIG 10, Millennium-style.

10. Beware Of The Dog [Season Two].

9. Sense And Antisense [Season Two].

8. Powers, Principalities, Thrones And Dominions [Season One].

7. The Beginning And The End [Season Two].

6. Monster [Season Two].

5. The Curse Of Frank Black [Season Two].

4. The Hand Of St. Sebastian [Season Two].

3. Midnight Of The Century [Season Two].

2. The Thin White Line [Season One].

1. Lamentation [Season One].

The Close Calls: There were probably a dozen that I would have happily placed on this list too.  Here are some of the close calls.

Force Majeure [Season One]/ Sacrament [Season One]/ Covenant [Season One] / Luminary [Season Two]/ The Mikado [Season Two]/ Owls [Season Two]/ Roosters [Season Two]/ A Room With No View [Season Two]/ The Fourth Horseman [Season Two]/ The Time Is Now [Season Two]/ Skull And Bones [Season Three]/ Through A Glass Darkly [Season Three]/ Omerta [Season Three]/ Borrowed Time [guests: Eric Mabius of Resident Evil/ Amanda Tapping of Stargate SG-1] [Season Three]/ Collateral Damage [guest: James Marsters] [Season Three]/ Matryoshka [with Barbara Bain] [Season Three]/ The Sound Of Snow [Season Three]/ Antipas [Season Three]/ Darwin's Eye [Season Three]/ Via Dolorosa [Season Three] and Goodbye To All That [Season Three].

It's clear to see, based on the top ten evidence above, that the serial, criminal nature of Season One and the mythology arc of the Millennium Group as a secret society in Season Two had the greatest appeal to me and the greatest impact on me personally.

I don't have to tell you, if you're a Millennium fan, that it's difficult to select just ten episodes from this series. Like many of the great series, even some of the weakest in the series offer something of interest.  Here is no exception. There's always something notable for one reason or another whether it be Henriksen's measured performance or the work of a particular guest. At the very least, Lance Henriksen is always at the center of each episodic storm and the creators did a splendid job of casting throughout its three amazing seasons. The series boasted regulars including the astounding Brittany Tiplady and Megan Gallagher, as Jordan and Catherine Black respectively, and Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts to guests including Barbara Bain [Matryoshka] and the late, great Andreas Katsulas [Forcing The End; also featuring Martin Landau and Barbara Bain's daughter Juliet Landau] of Babylon 5 acclaim.

I will submit to you that Season Three was, hands down, easily the weakest of the three seasons for me personally. Still, Borrowed Time, Omerta, Skull And Bones, The Sound Of Snow and the series finale are true standouts.  Season One, as one writer put it that visited this site, seems to be the true essence of the series and that's thanks in large part to Chris Carter who established its direction.

Show runners James Wong and Glen Morgan steered Season Two, for better or worse, into a tangled web of secret intrigue and they generated something special, albeit controversial, in the process with its own tone and flavor taking the series in an unexpected direction. Season One and Season Two are so radically different from one another the departure can seem jarring at times, but its easy to respond strongly to both.

Season Three is an amalgamation of those first two seasons mixing police procedural with Millennium Group conspiracy and added a new character in Klea Scott as Emma Hollis that was not entirely successful in recreating the feel of either of those seasons for this viewer. A new direction is always intriguing, but Season Three was a strange fusion of the first two seasons and the addition of Scott and a new show runner and the subtraction of Gallagher created something unique in its own right. One could certainly argue its contrasts to the previous two seasons is what makes it so distinct. Despite the fact it lacked some of the power of those first two well-executed seasons, Season Three does have some impressive moments, which I've noted in the Close Calls. Obviously, I decided Season One and Season Two would receive the greatest representation from me in my BIG 10 and deservedly so. The BIG 10 is comprised of some real corkers!

As Frank Black slowly greys over the course of Season Three one can't help but wonder what additional wisdom he might have brought to a renewed Millennium. If you haven't seen Henriksen's work on this particularly strong series you're missing out. It's a pleasure. The first two seasons, in particular, had me riveted.  New viewers are in for a rich viewing experience.  For fans of Henriksen, the work of Chris Carter or the series Millennium I hope you'll find time to support the efforts behind the new book, Back To Frank Black: A Return To Chris Carter's Millennium.  It's available and the time is now.

Lance Henriksen: Androids, Aliens & Gunslingers: Profile Of A Serial Actor

In honor and anticipation of the upcoming book Back To Frank Black: A Return To Chris Carter's Millennium, and the folks over at Fourth Horseman Press, to be released soon this post is in dedication and support of the effort over at Back To Frank Black. It is also a tribute to the work of a prolific character actor, an actor whose journey culminated in one of the finest performances of his career and in one of television's great characters - the road to Frank Black. The book's focus is on the character Frank Black and the series Millennium and thus the actor who embodied the spirit of that series, Lance Henriksen.

In the run up to that exciting Millennium publication, we look at the journey of character actor Lance Henriksen through images.

This entry has been a work in progress and finally it is ready and not a moment too soon, because the time is near. This is a look at Henriksen's career and the many wonderful highlights along that road to Frank Black and beyond. Some are true standouts for me personally.

Watching those early seasons of The X-Files again recently, it was clear to me that Millennium had the benefit of a learning curve by Chris Carter as a production. Millennium had the benefit of roughly three years of The X-Files to its credit before moseying out into an unsuspecting world with a series that seemed to be perfect in execution and tone. Creators, producers and writers were able to get their feet wet on The X-Files and establish and finesse the rhythm for that series before climbing into the world of Millennium. Millennium was the recipient of those growing pains because it is nearly flawless on almost every level as a production, a heady, atmospheric mix of crime drama, horror with just the right touch of science fiction possibilities.

Further, Chris Carter and his team did a remarkable job casting each series. The young aesthetic of The X-Files cast plays into its raw power. The casting of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, as Special Agent Fox Mulder and Special Agent Dana Scully respectively, is inspired. They were young and clearly still learning on the job. The two demonstrated themselves as outsiders within the FBI. This energy and dynamic really plays out beautifully over the course of nine seasons. The young cast is given the chance to learn and grow and we, the viewers, mature with them.

Conversely, Millennium had the benefit of a veteran presence in Lance Henriksen. This was a seasoned actor who clearly had seen a thing or two. There was a confidence and experience to his grizzled character and Henriksen channeled that vibe naturally, effectively and via an appropriately mature calm for the Millennium series.

Duchovny and virtual unknown Anderson work wonders with the material on The X-Files and the length of that series allowed its strengths to truly shine. The shorter length of the Millennium production was a truly fortunate recipient to find the strength of a professional out of the gate like the shoulders of Lance Henriksen. The risky Millennium couldn't afford to get it wrong. It was the immense talent of Henriksen that was the core of the series grounding it through the transitions to each season as showrunners took Millennium into different, sometimes controversial, but exciting directions.

The strengths of Millennium's storytelling craft can be traced or drawn from some of the procedural exercises of The X-Files. Chris Carter's Fire and Glen Morgan & James Wong's Beyond The Sea certainly reflect the roots and seeds from which these creators would draw upon and take much deeper with Lance Henriksen at the Millennium helm.

But beyond the fantastic work provided by Lance Henriksen for the unforgettable Millennium series he has played key characters in a number of film roles before and after. These are Henriksen's highlights over the course of a varied career. This is by no means a complete filmography as his career has been vast and varied and, sadly, rather easy to miss at times. The title is meant to be fun. Lance Henriksen: Androids, Aliens & Gunslingers: Profile Of A Serial Actor.

Lance Henriksen Selected Filmography:

Dog Day Afternoon [1975]

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind [1977]

Damien: Omen II [1978]

The Visitor [1979]

Piranha II: The Spawning [1981]

Nightmares [1983]

The Right Stuff [1983]

The Terminator [1984]

Jagged Edge [1985]

Savage Dawn [1985]

Aliens [1986] "Right before we shot it, I went up to Jim and I said, 'Rather than just a casual demonstration, what if I put my hand over Bill's hand as I do this?' Jim said, 'That's a good idea.' So we did it... That one act tells you everything you need to know about Bishop. I put my hand on top of Bill's, because I was protecting him. Bishop wouldn't hurt a fly. He wouldn't hurt anything that's alive." "Aliens was a figurative rebirth into the world of acting, as well as a game-changer in his off-screen life."

Choke Canyon [1986]

Near Dark [1987] Jesse Hooker, "Held [the family] together like my alcoholic grandfather held the family together."

Deadly Intent [1988]

Pumpkinhead [1988]

House III [1989]

Survival Quest [1989]

Johnny Handsome [1989] "His strength as an actor is that there's such clarity in his emotions. He's got a wonderful ability to tap into his emotions, and to transmit everything he's going through - the anxieties, the anger, the happiness - so clearly. So you don't feel like you're watching a guy act; you're watching real emotions." [Walter Hill]

Hit List [1989]

The Pit And The Pendulum [1990]

Stone Cold [1991]

Jennifer 8 [1992]

Alien 3 [1992] "The actor was was... disappointed with the film's nihilistic ending, which seemed to him like an insult to the mythology created by the first two films."

Delta Heat [1992]

Excessive Force [1993]

Man's Best Friend [1993]

Hard Target [1993]

No Escape [1994]

Felony [1994]

Gunfighter's Moon [1995]

Aurora: Operation Intercept [1995]

The Quick And The Dead [1995]

Dead Man [1995]

Powder [1995]

Mind Ripper [1995]

The Hills Have Eyes III [1995]

Dusting Cliff Seven [1996]

Millennium [1996-1999]

The Day Lincoln Was Shot [1998]

Scream 3 [2000]

The Mangler 2 [2001]

The Untold [Sasquatch] [2002]

Mimic 3: Sentinel [2003]

AVP Aliens Vs. Predator [2004]

Into The West [2005]/ Supernova [2005]/ Hellraiser: Hellworld [2005]/ When A Stranger Calls [2006]/ Abominable [2006]/ Pumpkinhead 3: Ashes To Ashes [2006]/ Pumpkinhead 4: Blood Feud [2007]

Bone Dry [2007]

Appaloosa [2008]

Pistol Whipped [2008]/ Alone In The Dark II [2008]/ Screamers: The Hunting [2009]/ Slammin' Salmon [2009]/ The Penitent Man [2010]/ The Genesis Code [2010]/ Scream Of The Banshee [2010]/ Good Day For It [2011]

The Witches Of Oz [2011]

Beautiful Wave [2012]/ The Arcadian [2012]/ Monster Brawl [2012]/ It's In The Blood [2012]

Quotes extracted from the book Not Bad For A Human by Lance Henriksen and Joseph Maddrey.