Dead Letters (Millennium)
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"'Dead Letters" is the third episode of the first season of the American
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
- thriller
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
''
Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
''. It premiered on the
Fox network Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...
on November 8, 1996. The episode was written by
Glen Morgan Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served as ...
and James Wong, and directed by Thomas J. Wright. "Dead Letters" featured guest appearances by Chris Ellis, Ron Halder and James Morrison.
Millennium Group The Millennium Group is a fictional secret society featured in the crime thriller television series ''Millennium,'' and briefly on ''The X-Files.'' Having begun life as a Christian sect at the end of the 1st century AD, the Group grew into a fa ...
consultant
Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...
(
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in various science fiction, action and horror genre productions, including Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise and Frank Black in the Fox television series ...
) is sent to evaluate a prospective member of the group, who perform private investigative work and liaise with law enforcement. Meeting this hopeful member, Jim Horn (Morrison), Black is drawn to investigate a serial killer operating in the area; while Horn begins to unravel under the strain of the case. Several of the cast and crew made their first contributions to the series in "Dead Letters", with Wright, Morgan, Wong and Ellis all returning for future episodes. Production of "Dead Letters" impressed other series regulars—series writer
Chip Johannessen George Frederick "Chip" Johannessen (born November 16, 1955) is an American writer, editor, and producer of several popular television series. He is credited with work on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', ''Dexter'', ''Moonlight'', ''Millennium'', and ''Bev ...
praised the script's attention to detail, while producer John Peter Kousaskis called positive attention to its physical and make-up effects.


Plot

Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965), better known by the stage name Black Francis, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies. Following the band's break ...
(
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in various science fiction, action and horror genre productions, including Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise and Frank Black in the Fox television series ...
) comforts his daughter Jordan (
Brittany Tiplady Brittany Alexandra Tiplady (born January 21, 1991) is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Jordan Black in the television series ''Millennium'' (1996–99). She won a 1998 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Drama Series – ...
) when she is awakened by a bad dream. However, Black is soon called to investigate the body of a woman at a dog pound in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. He is asked by Jim Penseyres ( Chris Ellis), a fellow member of the
Millennium Group The Millennium Group is a fictional secret society featured in the crime thriller television series ''Millennium,'' and briefly on ''The X-Files.'' Having begun life as a Christian sect at the end of the 1st century AD, the Group grew into a fa ...
, to help a local detective on the case, as he is being considered as prospective member of the Group. Black believes the murder to be the work of a
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
and is convinced there will be a message from him on the bodies. Black meets up with the detective, Jim Horn ( James Morrison), and sees that he is a competent and experienced investigator, although his recent
marital separation Marital separation occurs when spouses in a marriage stop living together without getting divorced. Married couples may separate as an initial step in the divorce process or to gain perspective on the marriage and determine whether divorce is warr ...
has left him distracted and on edge. Meanwhile, the killer murders another woman and disposes the body in a post office's
dead letter office Dead letter mail or undeliverable mail is mail that cannot be delivered to the addressee or returned to the sender. This is usually due to lack of compliance with postal regulations, an incomplete address and return address, or the inability to ...
. Investigating, Black finds a human hair with a message etched into it—"hair today, gone tomorrow"—which he takes as an indication that the killer is lashing out at a world that he feels has treated him as insignificant. Horn's mental condition seems to deteriorate, and he begins to take the case personally, leading Black to doubt his ability. A third victim turns up with another message—"nothing ventured, nothing gained." A lens from the killer's glasses is also recovered. Black organizes a press release in an attempt to draw out the killer, taunting his intelligence by including a falsified
profile Profile or profiles may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Music * ''Profile'' (Jan Akkerman album), 1973 * ''Profile'' (Githead album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Pat Donohue album), 2005 * ''Profile'' (Duke Pearson album), 1959 * '' ''Profi ...
describing him as uneducated. Black and Horn feel this will lure the killer to the latest victim's memorial service. Horn attacks an innocent man at the service, believing him to be the killer, although a cross found at the memorial with "ventured" etched upon it proves the killer did attend. Surveillance footage of the service yields two leads—a local
optician An optician is an individual who fits glasses or contact lenses by filling a refractive prescription from an optometrist or ophthalmologist. They are able to translate and adapt ophthalmic prescriptions, dispense products, and work with acces ...
recognizes the suspect as a customer having a glasses lens replaced, and the killer's vehicle is identified. Black and Horn realize that the killer will have chosen the optician as his next victim and agree to set another trap with her as the bait. An increasingly unhinged Horn begins imagining the killer and his van at every turn. As he and Black wait for the killer, Horn admits that he cannot trust himself to be there and is told to go home. However, he parks his car on the route towards the trap, feigning a flat tire. When the killer's van attempts to pass, Horn attacks him, but police arrive in time to stop him beating the killer to death. The attack renders any evidence found in the van inadmissible in court, although Black tells him enough evidence was found at the killer's house to secure a conviction. Later, Horn asks Black how he can deal with cases like this on a regular basis. Black does not answer, but later comforts his daughter after another bad dream.


Production

"Dead Letters" is the first episode of ''Millennium'' to be written by James Wong and
Glen Morgan Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served as ...
, who would go on to write another fourteen episodes across the
first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
and
second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
seasons. The episode is also the first not to have been written by series creator Chris Carter, who had penned both of the preceding episodes, "
Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
" and "
Gehenna Gehenna ( ; ) or Gehinnom ( or ) is a Biblical toponym that has acquired various theological connotations, including as a place of divine punishment, in Jewish eschatology. The place is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border ...
". "Dead Letters" also marked the first time Thomas J. Wright had directed an episode of the series. Wright would go on to direct twenty-six episodes across all three seasons, as well as directing "
Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
", the series'
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...
episode with its
sister show Sister shows, also known as companion series, are two or more television series which exist in the same fictional universe and which may have crossovers. They differ to a degree from spin-offs, in that they are established independently from one ...
''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
''. He had also previously worked with Morgan and Wong on their series '' Space: Above and Beyond''. The episode marked the second of three appearances by Chris Ellis as
Millennium Group The Millennium Group is a fictional secret society featured in the crime thriller television series ''Millennium,'' and briefly on ''The X-Files.'' Having begun life as a Christian sect at the end of the 1st century AD, the Group grew into a fa ...
member Jim Penseyres; Ellis had previously appeared in "Gehenna", and would reappear in the next episode, "
The Judge The Judge may refer to: Literature * ''The Judge'', novel by Elia W. Peattie, 1889 * ''The Judge'', 1925 American translation of ''The Old Man'' (Gorky play), 1915 * ''The Judge'', novel by Rebecca West, 1922 * ''The Judge'', 2010 English trans ...
". Guest star James Morrison, who portrayed the troubled Jim Horn, had also previously appeared as a main character in Morgan and Wong's ''Space: Above and Beyond'', playing Tyrus Cassius McQueen; his character's son in this episode is named TC as a reference to this. Lisa Vultaggio, who played the optician used to bait the killer, had previously worked with Morgan and Wong in ''The X-Files'', appearing in the first season episode " Beyond the Sea". Producer and writer
Chip Johannessen George Frederick "Chip" Johannessen (born November 16, 1955) is an American writer, editor, and producer of several popular television series. He is credited with work on '' 24'', ''Homeland'', ''Dexter'', ''Moonlight'', ''Millennium'', and ''Bev ...
felt that the scene in this episode in which a human hair is discovered with a message inscribed upon it was a "perfect" moment, in that it "told you everything about this guy he killer... but you had no idea what he was or what he was going to do next ... you know what kind of crazy motherfucker would do that, but where he is or what he's going to do next, who knows". The episode's opening nightmare sequence, in which Jordan Black (Brittany Tiplady) is terrified by a clown crawling along the ceiling, was inspired by the childhood nightmares of Morgan and Wong, and left Tiplady suffering from bad dreams herself for several nights after filming. Producer John Peter Kousakis recalls having visited the episode's set late during production, having felt that make-up effects supervisor Toby Lindala had been doing "fabulous" work on the series' prosthetic body parts. Walking on set to find Lindala's recreation of a quartered corpse, Kousakis remarked "we're doing something special here, but we're also doing something really outrageous". Lance Henriksen also found this scene too graphic to film all at once, taking time between shots to compose himself.


Reception

"Dead Letters" was first broadcast on the
Fox Network Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...
on November 8, 1996;Shearman and Pearson, p. 107 and earned a
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
of 8, meaning that roughly of all television-equipped households were tuned in to the episode.Genge, p. ''xviii'' "Dead Letters" earned positive reviews from critics. Writing for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'', Zack Handlen rated the episode a B+. Handlen felt that the episode is "not art, not yet, but it is deeply personal", and praised the opening dream sequence, describing it as "flat-out Lynchian nightmare territory". However, he noted that the episode's dialogue felt too "flat" and "expository", adding that it serves to draw "attention to themes that were already plastered across the screen in blinding red and black". Bill Gibron, writing for
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
, rated the episode 4 out of 5, describing it as being "one of the more horrifying episodes in Season 1". Gibron added that "seeing Jim Horn go through his mental breakdown gives us insight into where Frank Black is coming from", although he felt that the lack of real insight into the killer's personality let the episode down. Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book ''Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen'', rated the episode four stars out of five, describing it as a "gripping and sincere portrait of human ugliness at its most banal". Shearman and Pearson praised guest star James Morrison's acting, noting that he was "the very humanity that the show is crying out for".


Footnotes


References

* *


External links

* {{Millennium episodes, 1 Millennium season 1 episodes 1996 American television episodes