Millennium-4C14:Sacrament

Written by Frank Spotnitz

Directed  by Michael Watkins

On paper this sounds like a no brainer for a success. During the baptism of his nephew, Frank's sister in law is kidnapped by a sexual sadist. Through this we get introduced to a blood relation of Frank's, in this case his brother Phillip (as The X Files has shown, the introduction of relatives heightens the mythology and drama for the series), a chance to explore the hints that Jordan herself may have inherited her father's precognitive ability and even best of all, a chance for the horrors that Frank deals with in his job to hit closer to home.

Unfortunately, Sacrament never works as well as it should do and that's a little disappointing. Coming up shortly is an episode called Lamentation where terror will strike the Black household with a momentous force, and in comparison, Sacrament comes across as a little...well...lazy.  The development of the Jordan black arc, which will play a big part in all three seasons of the show, is well handled admittedly, and Phillip Anglim as Tom Black is wonderful, although it's a little disappointing we'll never see him again after this episode.

The biggest problem with Sacrament is that it never takes full advantage of the drama that it has at its disposal. We get the obligatory scene where Frank is told to stay away from the case by Blethcher and to let him and Giebelhouse handle it, mainly because Frank's emotions will be in the way. Understandable, obvious maybe, but this should be an opportunity to show Frank dealing with a case from a more emotionally compromised position. Yet, there's nothing different to the way Frank handles this case. In fact, he's as stead fast and professional as ever that you have to wonder why Bletcher doesn't have him involved in the investigation right away. We're so used to a professional Frank that it's disappointing that the series doesn't give Henriksen a chance to show more emotional range. 

There are some good touches in the episode though. The character of Richard Green makes for an interesting villain and is given a good performance courtesy of guest actor Dylan Haggerty. His slightly schizophrenic nature and the absolutely frightening scene where he shops in a hardware store for hammers, plastic sheeting and a nail gun is very effective horror. Added to this the twist ending when its revealed that the character of Green is not the kidnapper, nor the killer of the dead body that turns up half way through the episode, but in fact his father is the brains behind the kidnapping, and Sacrament shows itself to have some intelligent touches.

Maybe it's an attempt by Spotnitz not to go in the obvious directions, but it still feels as if Sacrament is a bit of a missed opportunity. Introducing a few relatives, to have the series' style of horror strike at its lead character, this could have been the Beyond the Sea of Millennium, but I dare say that's coming up in about four episodes from now. Sacrament though is a fairly decent and enjoyable episode of the show, but really it should have been a brilliant cornerstone of the show.

The X Files-4X16:Unrequited

Written by Howard Gordon & Chris Carter

Directed by Michael Lange

This review is going to be a little, shall we say, negative, which it really shouldn't be, but it is and for that I really ought to apologise. Looking at Unrequited, what we have here really ought to be a classic. Look at the authors of this episode. I don't know about you but just looking at those two names on one script fills me with confidence. They did Miracle Man together which I rather liked, they then collaborated on F Emasculata which I adored, and along with Frank Spotnitz they wrote the first part of one of the best ever mythology episodes, Nisei. So what can possibly be wrong with Unrequited I hear you ask. Well, quite a bit.

First of all, this is the shortest ever episode of The X Files, running at forty minutes as opposed to the usual forty three, but in reality it's only about thirty seven because the three minute teaser is then repeated towards the end which means that in actuality only thirty seven minutes of episode is actually being broadcast here. It wouldn't be too bad if the teaser was repeated for truly dramatic effect, but it isn't. I suppose it's trying to get a note of suspense into proceedings, but really I wouldn't be surprised if there was a realisation that the episode was too short and they decided to pad it out by putting a key scene at the episode's climax into the beginning of the episode.

Second of all, this is The X Files attempt at doing an action movie. There's nothing wrong with this because whenever the series tries these pocket action movies, they work a charm. F Emasculata in season two, Medusa in season eight, they're great, adrenalin pumping and usually very exciting. Unrequited, with one notable exception which I'm coming to in the next paragraph, is never really exciting. It's trying to In The Line of Fire with an invisible assassin, complete with suspenseful assassination scenes, conspiracies and political intrigue, but it never truly engages.

With one exception. Halfway through the episode, we get a ten minute sequence of superb suspense, editing and thrills as Mulder attempts to stop an assassination in The Pentagon. The editing, the music, the direction, for ten minutes Unrequited bursts to life with superb brilliance, and when watching it you could almost be forgiven for thinking that the episode is about to kick of, but it doesn't. What we get then is scenes of Mulder, Scully and Skinner walking around, in their lovely long trench coats, talking about stopping the assassin, saving the Generals, maybe taking out their guns every now and again, talking some more, in their coats, about saving the Generals and then taking out their guns every now and again before walking around and... you get the idea.

There are also two fundamental emotional issues wrong with this one. This is a tale centred around Vietnam, yet the script never truly allows itself to take advantage of having Skinner, a confirmed Vietnam veteran, heart and soul of the episode in the way it should. We do get a great final line delivered by Mulder to his superior, but yet, it almost feels like an afterthought, as if Carter and Gordon only remembered when it came time to deliver the episode to be filmed. On the plus side, it is great to see Mitch Pillegi get a good deal to do in a stand alone like this. In actuality, ever since Avatar in season three, the writers seems to have realise just how great a dynamic the series can have with having Skinner join Mulder and Scully on their escapades.


Also, more unforgivably, this is the first episode that is truly post-Memento Mori, Kaddish doesn't count because it was filmed before, it was an undeserved victim of its schedule, here there is no excuse for not mentioning Scully's cancer, except it appears to be set before the cancer arc and that just smacks of fear from Carter's part to deal with the arc outside of the established mythology episodes. Thankfully, episodes that are coming up won't be so fearful.

Overall, the problem here is just how disappointing Unrequited is. It's not a terrible episode, it's got pace, it's fun in places, but it feels like it should carry more weight, in terms of emotional content and in thriller content. The episode gives short shift to the overall mythology and to its characters that it not only makes the episode disappointing but the attitude of its writers to its own characters feels disappointing also.

The X Files-4X12:Kaddish

Written by Howard Gordon

Directed by Kim Manners

Kaddish marks the last solo script of The X Files from Howard Gordon, there will be two more episodes from the writer before he departs from the series, but they will be collaborations with David Greenwalt and Frank Spotnitz. In some ways Kaddish is the quintessential Howard Gordon X File. It's a revenge tale, involving the paranormal and is focused as much on the emotional repercussions of its characters actions as it is on Golems and mud monsters. It is a beautiful tale, well told and is one of my personal favourites of The X Files' fourth season.

There was some criticism at the time of its broadcast that the series was ignoring Scully's cancer in a distasteful way, a frightened way almost, that the writers, having crafted this storyline didn't want to deal with it head on in the way that it should. This is not the fault of Kaddish or Gordon. If you've been following the episodic order of my reviews, or the production code that appears at the end of the end credits, you'll know the fourth season of The X Files was all over the place. We've dealt with this before in my review of Leonard Betts, but I think it's worth repeating that because it makes Kaddish a victim, a victim of scheduling and a victim of some criticisms that it doesn't deserve.

Taken on its own, it's a brilliant tale and probably would have benefited from being scheduled away from the cancer arc.  Appreciation might have been better, but I won't lie, I find this a superb episode. It's beautiful, frightening, romantic, sweet, disturbing and contains one of the most beautiful visual effects to ever appear on the show in its final scene. You see, I love these X Files episodes that tell good scary stories. It's what Carter wanted the show to be about and Kaddish represents the best elements of how scary The X Files was and how great the storytelling could be. Revenge has worked as a main theme on the show before and whilst revenge from beyond the grave is a recurring element of Gordon's work (Born Again, Lazarus), with Kaddish he makes it work because of its love story, this isn't just an empty headed tale of revenge complete with grisly set pieces, it's a romance and a tragedy.

The thing about Kaddish is that it isn't concerned with set pieces. There's very few of those trademark stalk and murder scenes one would associate with a tale like this. It's almost as if Gordon knows that The X Files has done scenes like that numerous times and can just replace them with a sweeping love story separated by death and populate it with characters who feel real. The problem with doing a story about Orthodox Judaism is that it can lead to stereotypes, but Gordon manages to ignore this, he makes Jacob, Ariel and Issac feel like genuine people, torn apart by hateful Neo-Nazis. Even they are vividly portrayed. They're not likeable people in any way, but instead of simply being hateful villains who must be punished for their crimes, they are instead portrayed as frightened individuals who preach hatred but who are gutless to do anything about it, instead hiding behind pamphlets and propaganda.

This is a wonderful piece of television horror. It's wonderfully dark, poignantly romantic and deeply beautiful, finding beauty in darkness. There's a real passion and anger to this one that is powerful to watch, it's without doubt Gordon's best work on the show, his other revenge motivated tales I always enjoyed, although I understand many didn't, viewing them as formulaic  and run of the mill, and whilst Kaddish can be viewed as many things, formulaic and run of the mill is one thing it isn't, it feels different and unique, is backed by wonderful direction from Kim Manners, a superb, mournful Mark Snow score and a great atmosphere. 

I love it, it's a masterpiece.

Millennium-4C13:The Thin White Line

Written by  Glen Morgan & James Wong

Directed by Thomas J Wright

For their final season one episode of Millennium, Morgan and Wong create an absolute masterpiece. Yes, I know, I'm coming across as a shameless hypester with a phrase like that, but everything about The Thin White Line is a masterclass in writing, direction, performance, editing and movie making as a whole, that it in many ways could be easily classified as the best episode of Millennium's first season.

The thing I love about Morgan and Wong is that they are very deconstructing writers, whether it is  their own creations or someone else's, but especially in their collaborations with Chris Carter, they seemed to love taking his characters and the established patterns of his universe and taking it apart before trying to put it together again. The X Files seen them do this many times, especially with their season four work and we'll see them take this style of theirs to the stratosphere when they take charge of Millennium's second season. All throughout season one of Millennium we've seen them play with the notion of the show's psychological framework and the effect such abilities have on the mind in Dead Letters, push Frank physically in 522666 and here they play with the character mentally, delving into his past and actually cracking a little the calm facade he displays when investigating violent homicide.

Right from the opening scene, there is an ingenuity on display. Most of the time on the series the killer's point of view is seen from Frank, the MTV style flashy editing being our look into the killer's mind as well. The manner in which The Thin White Line lets us see the killer's imagination, showing how his victims give permission for him to kill them only for a quick edit to take us back to the more violent, less consensual reality is superb. Wright's cinematic use of the camera and the superb editing from Stephen Mark is breathtaking, the thing I love about what they do here is how they make the series feel so much like a big screen film and yet this is done so subtly, compared to the hyperactive filming techniques used by television directors today.

This is all helped by a fantastic script and most brilliant of all it sees the single most best use of Morgan and Wong's trademark 'long scene'. Nearly every one of their episodes contains at least one scene featuring no more than two actors chewing up the scenery with fantastic performances and superb dialogue and The Thin White Line has the most powerful example of this. Frank Black, in order to find the killer, must visit in prison a man, Richard Alan Hance, who he put away, whose crimes have prompted the copy cat that Frank and Bletcher are now after. The scene where they sit down, separated only by a table and talk lasts for nearly eight minutes. It's the most gripping scene of the episode. Henriksen, guest star Jeremy Roberts, Wright's use of a long shot incorporating the two actors followed by close ups of their faces is inspired, the performances are as gripping as an action sequence and the dialogue is sharp, in a day and age when network television is in a rush, when good drama is dying only to be replaced by cheap, reality television, to see that there was a time when good writing, acting, direction, editing, scoring and production values like this could still exist is both sad and invigorating. 

Another thing I noticed when I rewatched The Thin White Line is how wonderful the bedroom scenes are. Don't be getting dirty minded, they're not those type of bedroom scenes. The show has these wonderful moments, dotted throughout season one, where Frank and Catherine will discuss the central themes at the heart of the show or the episode in their bedroom, their discussions showing the intelligence and intimacy between them. You can see how something like this could easily have inspired Medium. I love Medium, it's a great series, but scenes involving Allison Dubois, a psychic investigator, in her bed beside her husband waxing lyrical about the episode's plot line, could easily have come from Millennium. I love these scenes between Frank and Catherine, the united front, but re-watching this episode, with Catherine's attempts to clam her husband's troubled mind, a moment of intimacy and comfort which is lovely to behold, is chilling given what Morgan and Wong would do in season two.

Away from that though, taken on its own merits, The Thin White Line is another perfect episode of Millennium, and rewatching it in 2011 shows just how wonderful, brilliant and downright underrated this series was. Simply amazing.

Millennium-4C12:Force Majeure

Written by Chip Johannessen 

Directed by Winrich Kolbe

I really admire the intention and attempts at this one. After twelve weeks of serial killings, dark crimes and full on horror, Millennium, for the first time, deals with the subject of the coming of the year 2000 itself. It's an interesting thing to do and in some ways Force Majeure could be seen as a foreshadowing of certain directions the series would take in its second season.

For me, watching the first season of Millennium reveals itself not to be a show about the so called incoming cataclysm of the year 2000, which was very much hanging in the air at the time with fears of what it would mean for the world to have the digit 2 at the start of our year now not to mention things like the so called Millennium bug.  I always thought the idea of the Millennium was a macguffin, and that what the show was really about was how the world was falling apart and how its inherent dangers were becoming even more so as the end of the century and the beginning of a new one approached.

It's a lovely opening up of the show's story telling opportunities to see a tale like this, it's got a great storyline, it feels epic, different, and whilst I don't think it's a one hundred per cent complete success, it shows how in tune Johannessen was with the show that he feels he has the confidence to attempt this one. A tale of the suicides of young women who share facial similarities and their father who is housed inside a hyperbaric chamber, it sounds very X Files, and yet it manages to still retains its feel as an episode of Millennium. The introduction of Dennis Hoffman, wonderfully played by Brad Dourif who sadly wouldn't return to the show again, gives the series a chance to open up character wise as well, his chemistry with Henriksen is wonderful, his natty dressing style and softly spoken charm, not to mention Mulder like ability to talk on and on and on about Millennial prophecies as opposed to government conspiracies is charming and a complete departure from his role as Luther Lee Boggs from The X Files. 

The mystery at the heart of the episode, which is why are these women killing themselves, is a good one and the teaser which opens with the shocking images of one of these women setting themselves on fire, is startling and almost instantly lets one know that this is going to be a little different than normal and for the most part it works very well, the use of the planet alignment is well used, and the autopsy scene where it's revealed one of he victims is super ovulating despite being a teenager and shouldn't be doing so, is a real jolt, but I don't think the resolution to the tale, where it becomes a Noah's Ark metaphor is as successful, the revelation of who the old man in the chamber, admittedly played well by Morgan Woodward, also subverting his X Files appearance from season two's Aubrey despite being a similarly medically compromised character like Old Cokely, is a little...well...I hate to use the word clumsy, but it is, although I gotta give the episode top marks for attempting it. 

For the most part though, this works well, it's got a different feel which is a joy, it doesn't feel as despairing as some episodes have done and by opening up the show that little bit more, by showing that there other stories to tell with these characters, it gives Millennium a chance to be more than  just a serial killer show.

The X Files-4X15:Memento Mori

Written by Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, 
John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz

Directed by Rob Bowman

It's hard to forget just how big a deal this was when it was first broadcast. A genre magazine I used to buy religiously, XPose, ran Mulder and Scully on the cover of their magazine with the words "Will Scully Die" in big letters (God help anybody who was spoiler phobic back in those days), there were Emmy nominations for writing, direction and certainly Gillian's nominations at the awards that year were probably based on her work in this one and many declared this one to be The X Files' best ever episode at the time.

There are so many things about Memento Mori that are brilliant and up to this point probably represent The X Files at its very best. There are also one or two things that jar a little, but let's stick to the good first of all. I could point out how good Gillian Anderson is, but it would be very obvious of me, but I'm going to do it anyway. Gillian Anderson is brilliant here and well done to The X Files, an American television series with two of the most gorgeous actors to appear on screen, for not glamorising Scully's cancer battle. Dark rings under her eyes, emotionally exhausted and confined to a bed for most of the episode, Scully's illness is a stark and shocking example of a real world disease infiltrating the world of a genre show. Whilst realism has always been knocking at the door of the series' mythology with things like the Holocaust, the Cold War and political intrigue, to have the female lead of the series struck down by an all too real disease is a brave move. It works though and brings out the best in the show's actors. I should also give special mention to Gillian Barber as Penny Northern. Her scenes with Gillian Anderson are beautiful and the friendship that develops between both Penny and Scully is one of the most beautifully played in the nine year run of the show.

Rewatching the episode recently showed up to me just how unoriginal some of this is at times. We get Mulder going to Skinner looking to meet the CSM, scenes in hospitals, clones in white coats working in labs and colonists melting in green goo, yet the thing with Memento Mori is that it takes many aspects of the show and does them at their absolute best. We get emotional scenes between Mulder and Scully that were always the stock and trade of these episodes, yet none of the previous mythology episodes ever had a scene as tender and as beautiful as the one that closes the episode. We've seen Mulder demand the CSM's whereabouts from Skinner before, but here it takes on a real edge because of what's at stake and the decision Skinner takes at the end of the episode. We've seen Mulder being chased down by government hit men before, but never as gripping as the moment where X's killer tries to shoot him through bullet proof glass and then there's The Lone Gunmen. They pop up, retread over the branched DNA speech from One Breath and then subsequently manage to make it out of their office and assist Mulder in the episode's climax. It's easy to see why this is a fan favourite.

It also makes me realise just why this show has proven to be so popular with females over the years. Most genre shows are usually, stereotypically almost, labelled as shows for males, yet The X Files, almost instantly, buckled that trend by hitting a home run with a unisexual audience, with a large number taken up by women. Memento Mori is a prime indicator of how and why because watching it makes one realise just how much the mythology is actually taken up with female body horror. Many of the abductees are women and the aftermath concerns feminine concerns as health and childbirth. Here we learn that ova is extracted from the abductees and later seasons will deal with pregnancy itself.

I do have one issue though. Voice overs. I love Chris Carter's writing, but he does have a knack for overwriting sometimes and Memento Mori is one of his guiltiest offenders. Big words, poetic phrasing and a slight sense of pretentiousness run through the voice over work in this one. It's beautifully carried by Gillian and I think it gains real weight with her delivery, but on paper it must have seemed difficult to even try to say some of the dialogue here. There are times when Carter hits a home run and seems to have written something quite profound. Scully's line about cancer being medicine's demonic possession and chemotherapy an exorcism is wonderful, yet at other times it comes across a little as a fifteen year old trying to be profound and instead coming across as pretentious.

It doesn't take too much away from the episode as a whole though, this is a superb piece of television, and best of all, Scully's cancer isn't done and dusted by the end of the episode. We don't get a last minute miracle cure, it isn't magicked away. We're left with Mulder and Scully in a hospital corridor, left with a determination to keep fighting. I suppose it's an optimistic ending of sorts, but it still leaves Scully and the audience with the spectre of death hanging overhead and just when we're getting our heads around that, we're given the cliffhanger of Skinner selling his soul to the CSM. In a season full of grim moments, Memento Mori could be seen to be the harshest tale of all.

I don't know if I would ever call Memento Mori the best ever episode of The X Files, but it's certainly in the ball park. It's beautifully emotional in places, exhilarating in others and whilst the voice over is a little over cooked, you can't deny just how powerful the episode is overall. Fantastic.

The X Files-4X13:Never Again

Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong

Directed by Rob Bowman

Never Again marks the last X Files script to be written by Glen Morgan and James Wong and like everything else they've done for season four they've gone for something a little controversial, opting to tell an X File through the eyes of Scully, adding a sense of ennui and world weariness to the character, a jaded boredom at her work with Mulder.

As you've probably noticed by some of my season four reviews, the episodes seems to be all over the place chronologically. Season four was the year Fox played with the episodes episodically depending on their schedule. The second episode, Unruhe, was moved to being the fourth episode to make it the first episode to be aired on the Sunday 9pm slot, whilst the fourteenth episode, Leonard Betts, was moved to the twelfth, so that it would air immediately after the Superbowl, meaning that Never Again, which was originally to be broadcast before Leonard Betts, was broadcast after and inadvertently became part of a three episode arc that took in Leonard Betts, Never Again and Memento Mori. With this in mind it would appear that Never Again is portraying Scully's weariness at having discovered the possibility that she has cancer, yet this was never the intention of Morgan and Wong's script as it was originally set to be broadcast before the cancer arc. 

Scully's behaviour here seems almost justified, a young woman who has been alerted to her mortality lets of steam and lets her hair down and  I get it as that, it works tremendously well, I don't know if I could ever buy Scully's behaviour in this one away from the cancer arc and I think it  works better having been rescheduled and becoming part of the continuity. 

Like many episodes of The X Files that portray one of our heroes indulging in romantic entanglements with characters who are not Mulder or Scully, Never Again gets a frosty and controversial reception and is very much a part of Morgan and Wong's style of trying to pick apart the show in the space of forty five minutes and the putting it back together again before the end credits roll. Personally, I love this one. Originally ear marked as a directorial job for Quentin Tarantino before the DGA intervened and stopped this wonderful meeting of pop cultural minds from happening, I just adore it. I don't know why fans seem to get a little annoyed when an episode like this comes along (come on people, the characters aren't monks at the end of the day), it's satisfying, it has some wonderful character development and I love seeing Scully with her hair down, acting out of character. Yes I concede, she is acting out of character in this one, but then again that's the point of the episode.

Taken as part of the cancer arc, this works well, I don't know if I could have bought it away from the two episodes it's in between and if it had have gone out on its own then I think I would have looked at it as another attempt by Morgan and Wong to simply tear apart the show. Okay, maybe it is, but it never comes across as this now and for that I'm thankful. Gillian once again puts in another great performance (this season has really seen both David and Gillian run with their roles), David portrays Mulder's confusion at Scully's behaviour wonderfully, and Rodney Rowland, another Space:Above and Beyond alumni, puts in a great guest turn and his scenes with Gillian are wonderful and how could I not mention Jodie Foster, as the voice of Betty. Brilliant.

For their final episode, Morgan and Wong have shown that they were never afraid to make Mulder and Scully real characters. From Squeeze onwards, they weren't afraid to take Mulder and Scully away from the romanticised mystery seekers that Carter made them and turn them into even more three dimensional beings with flaws. They were the first to display Mulder's recklessness in Tooms, to have him break down in One Breath, to challenge Scully's beliefs in Beyond the Sea, and gave the CSM his first words. Their final episode portrays a world weary Scully and a surprisingly ignorant Mulder and their final moment in the show is a wonderfully unresolved one, with our two heroes in their office not knowing what to say. It seems to just sum up their work on the show so well and why their work marks some of the defining moments of the show's nine year run.

Millennium-4C11:Loin Like A Hunting Flame

Written by Ted Mann

Directed by David Nutter

I don't know what it is, but it seems to be a thing with any television series with even a trace of a genre element that the writers must attempts an episode in its first season where the message of the story is 'sex killls'. The X Files attempted this in its first season with Genderbender and other genre shows like Angel and Torchwood did their own stories where having sex is equal to death. Loin Like A Hunting Flame is very similar to Genderbender, the main difference being that Millennium's take is narratively better than The X Files' episode, although admittedly this is plagued by a few problems of its own. Rest assured, there is no cop out ending involving  a crop circle in this one.

There has been a sexual undercurrent to some episodes of Millennium so far, the Pilot with its sexually confused serial killer, 522666 with its bomber who get sexual kicks from the thrill of the explosions he is causing and then there was The Well Worn Lock that was about sexual abuse, Loin Like A Hunting Flame is the first episode where the threat of violent death meets head on with sex and as such it proves to be an interesting episode, with a lot of good effort put into it but which sadly is never a one hundred per cent complete success.

It instantly reminds me of Genderbender from The X Files. There are nightclub scenes, complete with driving techno music and blue lighting, and a thrill on the series part that it's undertaking in some risque subject matter. The problem being is that the episode isn't really risque at all, the sex scenes are distinctly uninteresting and I find it hard to believe that serial killer of the week Art Nesbitt would actually find any of this helpful to his predicament.


That predicament forms the psychological backbone of the episode. Art Nesbitt has not consummated his marriage after 27 years and is having his victims enact sexual fantasies that he feels he should have had. Its played pretty well by Hrothgar Matthews and the scenes between himself and Barbara Howard as Karen Nesbitt have a wonderful uncomfortable atmosphere, plus given the character's occupation as a pharmacist, we're once again being presented with a "anybody can be a serial killer" mode of portrayal.

It's a pretty good bit of psychological drama, but the episode falls down a little, quite surprisingly actually, with some of the scenes that deal with Frank's investigation. This week Frank is partnered with Maureen Murphy, played by Harriet Sanson Harris from season one X Files episode Eve. Anybody who has seen that episode will  know instantly how great an actress this lady is and to have her join the ranks of wonderful guest stars to partner up with the leading man on this show (alongside Terry O'Quinn, CCH Pounder, Chris Ellis, not to mention Brad Dourif who is coming up) is a great choice. Except the script gives her little to do except deliver some plot exposition. The character is a little one note and given how brilliant Harris can be it's a little disappointing. I understand the character won't be unhinged like Sally Kendrick was, but neither does Maureen have any of the noble characteristics of Peter Watts or Bob Bletcher, she is in the end a pretty bland character.


That cannot be said of William Lucking. You may remember him as Rocky from Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'. Here he essays the role Detective Thomas, a slightly sexist detective whose antagonism towards Maureen actually hides his own sexual inadequacies.  It's a lovely performance and develops wonderfully from being an unlikeable one to sympathy. The 'confession' scene where Thomas admits to Frank about his failed marriage is superb and brilliantly performed and it's here that Henriksen really gets to fire of a guest star this week.

This is isn't a terrible episode by any means, it's just that it feels a little wasted in places. The script has some interesting ideas at its heart, but they're never fully developed as well as they could  be. Any layers appear to come from the actors themselves whilst it makes the huge mistake of giving a key role to a great guest star and then give her nothing to do, but it manages to have David Nutter directing it so it's got a great visual style and when it does put its stock into a guest character the results are quietly stunning. Overall it's a flawed tale with moments of ingenuity.