Millennium, Season 1 on DVD, Review.

“Millennium” was an intense, dramatic series, which ran on Fox, from the fall of 1996, to the spring of 1999. I consider it to be one of the finest programs to ever air on television. It was just a cool show, that’s all there is to it, with solid acting, great photography, and intelligent stories which demanded the viewer’s attention and thoughts. (This is to say it was not targeted toward “Shopping Mall Nation”)

Millennium was produced by Chris Carter, the same gent who brought us the X-files. It starred Lance Henricksen as Frank Black, a retired FBI profiler who has a “gift”. Starring with Henricksen is Megan Gallagher as his wife Catherine, and Terry O’Quin as Peter Watts, Frank’s contact man for the mysterious Millennium Group, which is a private group of consultants which Frank now works for, and which works with law enforcement agencies on matters of serious, violent crime. The Millennium Group also believes that “we cannot just sit back and wait for a happy ending”. (More about the inner workings of the mysterious, enigmatic group are revealed in season two.)

Fox Home Video has just released the first season of the series on DVD. As a confirmed fan, (I’ve heard we’re known as “Millennilites”) I could not pass this up. It’s great to finally have this series on DVD. The transfer quality and sound quality are top notch, and the included extras are just what you would want, not too much or too little. Everything seems more lively, detailed, and deep on the DVD set. (word of warning: The scenes which are bloody, are very bloody and graphic on this set. This is a series which does deal with “mature subject matter” If you tend to wimp out when such things come along, consider yourself warned, OK?) At some other web sites, some have complained of artifacts in the images, and some “pops” in the sound. I have viewed almost the entire set at this point, and I have not experienced this. Granted, with Mass produced DVD’s, there are certainly bound to be some errors. Save your receipts, as always.

I was quite pleased with the packaging. The slipcase artwork is nicely done, and each of the six discs lives in it’s own thin case. I wish the X-Files sets had been done this way. As nice as the artwork on the cases looks, the way the disc packaging works, unfolding like a roadmap, with the discs all contained in one case, was not the best idea.

Note: If you like fluff such as “Friends”, or programs aimed at the frat house crowd such as “Fear Factor”, then Millennium is clearly not for you. Like the X-files, it’s a show for thinkers. (And there is just too little of this programming on commercial network television anymore. The only things worth watching are “24”, and “Alias”. I’m told that “24” will not be back until mid-season. )

I recommend this purchase for all fans of Millennium. You will not be disappointed. I’m looking forward to the release of the second and third seasons. Like most fans, I questioned the direction of the show in the third season. Still, the third season has some fine episodes.

Side notes: Just how popular was this series? Well, a group of fans felt it ended prematurely, (I felt this way!) so they took matter into their own hands, by creating a “Virtual season” on the good old internet. These “non-professional writers” actually wrote some very well-crafted episodes, for your reading pleasure.

Thanks to Fox Home Video, for finally bringing this fine program to DVD, and Thanks to actors Lance Henricksen and Terry O’Quinn for fine performances as Frank Black and Peter Watts. The interaction between the two characters grew better and more involved as the series progressed. I’d like to see Chris Carter do something more with both characters. (We never did learn, with one hundred per cent certainty, the fate of Peter Watts. )