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Summary:
Young men are being abducted from a gated
community and made to pay for the secret sins of their fathers. Frank
Black and the local police desperately try to determine the killer's
identity by deciphering a multitude of clues but meet an unexpected obstacle when they find
that one father
simply isn't willing to admit to his crimes.
On DVD,
In Print (German)
Full Transcript Available
Quote:
"But know ye for certain...Ye shall surely bring innocent
blood upon yourselves and upon this city..." —Jeremiah
26:15
Synopsis: An unidentified
man in a van follows a teenage boy, Josh Comstock, as he rides his new
motorcycle through Vista Verde Estates, a gated, upper middle-class
neighborhood in Washington State. As night falls, Josh rides his bike across
the dirt of an undeveloped cul-de-sac. The driver parks his van and approaches
the boy, suddenly, jabbing a cattle prod into Josh's chest and sending him
flying backwards into the dirt. When Mr. and Mrs. Comstock awaken the next
morning, they find the corpse of another teenage boy in Josh's bed — and their
son missing.
Frank
offers his services to Sheriff Gerlach, who is in charge of the investigation.
During their conversation, Gerlach admits that the deceased boy, Kirk Orlando,
disappeared while returning home from a basketball game. Convinced he might
have prevented Josh's kidnapping, Gerlach feels enormous guilt for not
alerting the community about the missing boy.
A
coroner discovers blood in Orlando's mouth and stomach, and Frank realizes
that the killer forced his victim to ingest human blood. Orlando's father
gives police something he found inside his mailbox — a pile of confetti
made from dollar bills.
Black
and Gerlach attend a community meeting organized by resident Edward Petey.
During the meeting, an angry man from the audience, Robert Birckenbuehl,
accuses the sheriff of withholding the truth. Gerlach tells the audience
that the killer lives in the community.
Mr.
and Mrs. Comstock return home from the community meeting and find the number
"331" painted in blood on their son's bed. Later, Mr. Comstock tells Black
that the number refers to a hotel room number where he and another woman
had an affair. Comstock realizes he must now reveal the affair to his wife.
Next
the Driver surprises Birckenbuehl's son, Charlie, stunning him with a cattle
prod and kidnapping him from his own bedroom window. With some help from
pathologist Cheryl Andrews, Black discovers the killer poisoned the goldfish
in Charlie's room by adding Scotch to the aquarium — another cryptic message.
Frank
and Gerlach interview Adam Burke, a swim coach who instructed both missing
boys. Gerlach tells Frank that Burke's young son was killed by a hit-and-run
driver. Frank then receives an envelope containing an enameled paint swatch,
on which is written "528," but is unable to deduce the meaning of the clue.
When
Mr. Comstock returns home one evening, he finds Josh, shivering but alive,
sitting on the couch. Andrews discovers that Josh was also forced to ingest
human blood, and later that the paint swatch and code number match enamel
used on a specific type of mini-van. Black realizes the mini-van is the
same vehicle driven by the hit-and-run driver who killed Burke's son. He
also concludes that the murderer returned Josh unharmed only after Mr.
Comstock told his wife about his affair. The first victim was murdered
because his father refused to confess his sin — one involving money (hence
the dollar bill-confetti).
Black
realizes Charlie was kidnapped because Mr. Birckenbuehl was the hit-and-run
driver that killed Burke's son. Black tells Birckenbuehl he must make a
public confession if he wishes to see his son released unharmed. The killer,
Frank concludes, sees himself as a holy figure, and is attempting to expose
hypocrisy and purify sin by making the teenagers drink his blood to cleanse
them of the sins of their fathers.
Though
the media is informed that Birckenbuehl was arrested for manslaughter,
in private, Birckenbuehl insists he is an innocent man. When the ruse fails,
Frank listens carefully to an audio tape made by the killer. The killer
wants Birckenbuehl to know that if you take a life then your life must
be taken in return. That is why his son had not been returned. Frank recognizes
sounds on the tape and realizes Charlie is being held captive in a basement
beneath the high school's swimming pool. Frank rescues Charlie and takes
Edward Petey, the killer, into custody. But Mr. Birckenbuehl is found dead,
having hung himself in his own bedroom.
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Photographs:
- Linda Comstock discovers her son's body
- Frank and Sheriff Gerlach host a meeting
- Bob Birckenbuehl addresses the residents
- Birckenbuehl is taken into police custody
Abyss Rating:
(2/5)
Media Reviews:
"Something about 'Weeds' just isn’t right.
Maybe it’s the standard befuddled local police chief, a clichéd
character that seems to pop up in every other Millennium
episode (Frank is basically handing them their suspect on a silver
police blotter and all these law guys can do is stand around in
slack-jawed disbelief). Perhaps it’s the ritualistic elements of the
tortures (Why the blood drinking? Why the cattle prod?), the full
facets of which are never really explained. Or it could be that we are
tossed a big fat red herring (the sullen swim coach) before we really
have a grip on all the dynamics of the retribution. Whatever it is, it
takes Herculean efforts by the cast and crew to overcome it. 'Weeds'
is one of the weaker episodes in the series, but it also had some of
the greatest potential. Too bad it couldn’t completely come together." —Bill Gibron, DVD Talk
Trivia:
While
only two Millennium novelizations were released by publisher
HarperCollins in the United States — "The Frenchman" and "Gehenna"
— other installments in the short-lived book series were
planned and even commissioned. A complete novelization of
"Weeds" was written by science fiction author Victor Koman in 1997.
Unfortunately, sales figures prompted HarperCollins to decide against
publishing further Millennium volumes. The book only saw
print in Germany and Japan.
Death Toll:
2
Title:
Edward Petey's
crimes within Vista Verde Estates represent an effort to expose those
members of the community he perceived to be hideously sinful.
His twisted visions, seen throughout the episode, reveal the ugliness
he saw spreading all around him. To Petey, head of the community
board, his attacks were perpetrated against those human weeds
festering inside the community.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Guest Starring:
Ryan Cutrona as Sheriff Paul Gerlach
Michael Tomlinson as Tom Comstock
Josh Clark as Edward Petey
Terry David Mulligan as Bob Birckenbuehl
Brian Taylor as Coach Burke
CCH Pounder as Cheryl Andrews
Don MacKay as Jack Meredith
Joy Rinaldi as Linda Comstock
Paul Batten as Priest
Andrew Johnston as County Coroner Tasini
Fred Henderson as Lawyer
Karin Konoval as Woman
Karen Kruper as Mrs. Petey
Jade Pawluk as Charlie Birckenbuehl
Betty Philips as Abby
Rick Ravanello as the Cop
Production
Credits:
Production #4C09
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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