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Summary:
A man preys on seemingly random
women, making his bloody mark on a world he feels has reduced him
to nothing but a number. Investigating the
killings on
behalf of the Millennium Group, Frank Black faces an obstacle in the form Jim Horn, a partner who is ill-suited to handle the
horrors of the case.
Season One on DVD
Full Transcript Available
Quote:
"For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me. And what I
dreaded has happened to me, I am not at ease, nor am I
quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes." —Job 3:25, 26
Synopsis: Awakened by a nightmare, Jordan runs to the man who will
protect her always: her father. Moments later, Frank is called to the horrific
scene of a real-life nightmare, when a woman's dismembered body is discovered
in a Portland, Oregon animal shelter. Despite the lack of physical evidence,
Frank is certain that the killer has left a hidden message and that he
will kill again.
Penseyres asks Frank to team up with Jim Horn, a Portland
detective they're considering as a member of the Group. Competent, experienced,
and dedicated, Jim would seem a perfect choice. But a recent marital separation
has left him edgy and distracted, and he openly doubts Frank's insights
about the killer. Frank is aware of Jim's talents, but also sees the fine
emotional line he's balancing on.
The killer disposes of his next victim in the UPS Dead
Letter Office. Frank discovers a message painstakingly etched on a human
hair: the words "Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow." Now he's beginning to understand
the killer's psyche. The murders are the killer's bloody way of making
his mark on a world that he feels has reduced him to nothing.
Jim's stress escalates under the pressure. He can't keep
the violence outside anymore. Every case is personal. Every victim could
be someone he loves and every killer is a monster. Frank understands;
he's been there. But he fears that Jim's loss of control may compromise
their investigation.
The killer strikes again, this time a nurse. However in
addition to leaving behind another message that reads "Nothing ventured,
nothing gained," the killer also leaves behind the lens from his glasses
which were broken at the scene. Knowing that the killer is mocking them
with the latest message, Frank takes advantage of the killer's arrogance.
They release to the press that the killer is of lower intelligence, having
misspelled ventured "ventered" in his latest message. They anticipate
this will provoke the killer into making a bold appearance at the memorial
service for the latest victim.
The closer they get to the killer, the closer Jim gets
to the edge. When the trap is sprung, Jim savagely attacks an innocent
man mistaken for the killer. While the man they nabbed wasn't the killer,
they find evidence the killer did make an appearance - a cross with the
word "ventured" etched on it is found at the memorial.
After scanning surveillance tapes of those present at
the memorial, pictures of suspects fitting the profile are distributed
throughout the neighboring area and to optometrists nearby. This results
in two leads: the killer's car
—
a battered orange van he uses as a mobile
slaughterhouse
—
is identified, and an optician clearly recognizes one
of the suspects as a customer. Frank and Jim question the optician, a woman
named Janice. Realizing the killer has chosen her as the next victim, Frank
lays another trap, using her as bait.
With the pressure building, Jim becomes more unsettled.
He sees the van and the killer everywhere. As they're waiting for the killer
to take the bait, Jim admits to himself and Frank he can't function. He
takes off only to stage a flat tire in an alley that is the killer's
only path to the trap they have set. The killer arrives as expected.
Jim snaps, and the cops arrive just in time to keep Jim
from beating the killer to death. Jim's actions nearly cost them the entire
case against the killer by rendering the van and it's contents inadmissible.
Fortunately there is enough evidence of the murders in the killer's home
to prosecute. In the aftermath, a subdued Jim asks Frank how he can stay
sane amid such dreadful violence. When Frank cradles Jordan in his arms,
the answer is obvious.
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Photographs:
- Jordan dreams of Frank spiraling down
- Jordan's nightmares contain an evil clown
- Millennium Group consultant Jim Horn
- Frank closely examines detailed evidence
- The killer's message, written on a hair
- The duct taped face of a female victim
- A crime scene in pieces
- A magnification of the killer's message
- Frank and Jim examine a public memorial
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Abyss Rating:
(5/5)
Media Review:
"Millennium, produced by The
X-Files creator Chris Carter and one of the most eagerly awaited
debuts of the fall season, suffers from delivering its point too
aggressively. The show is constantly contrasting the bleak offices and
dark labs in which Black works to hunt the deranged cult leaders and
sexual serial killers who are his prey, with the image of his
blindingly yellow Seattle home, framed always by a blue sky that is
eerie in its brilliance... Meet Frank Black, Everypatriarch, on a
mission to keep ugliness from tainting his family. And it is a mission
he doesn't take lightly." —Ginia
Bellafante, Time
"With a grotesque series of crimes at its
center —
our killer likes to cut up bodies in many
pieces —
'Dead Letters' is one of the more horrifying episodes in season one.
Seeing Jim Horn go through his mental breakdown gives us insight into
where Frank Black is coming from and the conclusion has a real legal
authenticity to it (no hot shot heroics here). About the only letdown
is the murderer himself. We rarely understand his reasons for
committing these horrible acts. We never quite learn enough about him
to comprehend his rationale, no matter what insights Frank and Jim
argue over. We need to appreciate his evil and unfortunately, we
don’t." —Bill Gibron, DVD Talk
Trivia:
"Dead Letters" was the first Millennium script written by the
writing/producing pair of Glen Morgan and James Wong. The duo,
well associated with Ten-Thirteen Productions, would go on to write
seventeen Millennium episodes in all, most while serving as
executive producers for the show's second season.
This episode also marks the Millennium
directorial debut of Thomas J. Wright. The director would go on
to helm a total of twenty-six Millennium episodes, more than a
third of the series, often directing scripts written by Morgan and
Wong.
Morgan and Wong wrote the role
of Jim Horn specifically for actor James Morrison. The actor is
considered one of the primary alumnus associated with the duo and has
appeared in several of their projects including The Wonder Cabinet,
The Others, and the feature film The One. The name
of Horn's fictional son T.C., in fact, is a direct reference to
Colonel T.C. McQueen, Morrison's character on Space: Above and
Beyond.
Death Toll:
3
Title:
In
postal service terminology, dead letters are those mailings that have
been determined to be undeliverable. A Dead Letters Office, such
as the one seen in this episode, collects mail that cannot be
delivered and cannot be returned to its mailer. Symbolically,
this episode's title is also to be taken as a representation of the
killer's self-image; the serial killer in this episode feels himself
to be a dead letter figure, reduced to an aimless and disregarded man
by authority and society.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Guest Starring:
James Morrison as Jim Horn
Chris Ellis as Jim Pensyres
Ron Halder as the Killer
Garvin Cross as Patient
Anthony Harrison as Det. Jenkins
Lisa Vultaggio as Janice Sterling
Rob Morton as Lewis
Maria Louisa Figura as Cindy Horn
Cooper Olson as T.C. Horn
Michelle Hart as Marjorie Holden
Fulvio Cecere as Security Guard
Andrew Laurenson as the Clown
Allison Warren as Officer Sarah Stevens
Ken Shimizu as C.S.T. Member
Production
Credits:
Production #4C02
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Sheila Haley
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Ted Mann
Consulting Producer James Wong
Consulting Producer Glen Morgan
Co-Producer Ken Dennis
Co-Producer Chip Johannessen
Co-Producer Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer Jorge Zamacona
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Chris Carter
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