Millennium was a great television show in a bygone era when substance meant something, before Reality Television, the Writer's Strike and Youtube's prominence. But was it too dark and ugly for network television? My answer is no, of course not.
Criminal Minds, CSI, ER, and many others have presented difficult subject matter with high and low budget art direction and production. FOX had great success with the X-Files, Married with Children and In-Living Colour, which at the time were met with a constant barrage of attacks for their crude, irreverent and controversial material. The charge was led by people like Tipper Gore and Jerry Falwell among others, but their ratings and popularity prevailed to silence the 'never watched it but fear it' haters.
Millennium was a show, like Homicide, that was uncompromising with a sense of direction (it was not always clear what it was) and vision for a different darker and colder world, where most of us don't like to admit that we live.
Lance Henriksen, Terry O'Quinn, Kirsten Cloke, and the series of guest stars made this show remarkable, a critical success, a cult favorite and ultimately canceled due much in part to its Friday airtime and fearful advertisers, not wanting to alienate what they believed was middle America.
The ugly was presented in an interesting manner, as part of some building linear storyline with the secret-society, Nazis and the Demons which Frank Black sees. This was Lance Henriksen's best role, he gave his best performances to date, and has cemented his cult status as the greatest character actor since Brad Dourif and Slim Pickens.
And yes, I watched When Animals attack Charles Barkley. The clip when he wrestles a bear for going through his garbage was as good as when he fell over racing that NBA referee at the All-Star Game. If the show ever existed.
Criminal Minds, CSI, ER, and many others have presented difficult subject matter with high and low budget art direction and production. FOX had great success with the X-Files, Married with Children and In-Living Colour, which at the time were met with a constant barrage of attacks for their crude, irreverent and controversial material. The charge was led by people like Tipper Gore and Jerry Falwell among others, but their ratings and popularity prevailed to silence the 'never watched it but fear it' haters.
Millennium was a show, like Homicide, that was uncompromising with a sense of direction (it was not always clear what it was) and vision for a different darker and colder world, where most of us don't like to admit that we live.
Lance Henriksen, Terry O'Quinn, Kirsten Cloke, and the series of guest stars made this show remarkable, a critical success, a cult favorite and ultimately canceled due much in part to its Friday airtime and fearful advertisers, not wanting to alienate what they believed was middle America.
The ugly was presented in an interesting manner, as part of some building linear storyline with the secret-society, Nazis and the Demons which Frank Black sees. This was Lance Henriksen's best role, he gave his best performances to date, and has cemented his cult status as the greatest character actor since Brad Dourif and Slim Pickens.
And yes, I watched When Animals attack Charles Barkley. The clip when he wrestles a bear for going through his garbage was as good as when he fell over racing that NBA referee at the All-Star Game. If the show ever existed.