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Summary:
When Frank Black and Peter Watts take note of a killing
that seems to have been performed to fit urban legends and campfire stories they
look to the nearby East County Forensic Psychiatric Hospital for
the source. Even though the criminally insane inmates being
treated there are difficult to deal with, and a certain doctor remains
stubbornly unsupportive of the investigation, Frank discovers a man so
willing to rid the patients of evil that he may have become it
himself.
Season Two on DVD
Synopsis:
A young couple, Kevin and Christy, share a romantic
interlude inside a car. As they pull apart, Kevin recounts a
story involving an inmate at a nearby psychiatric hospital,
nicknamed the Pest House. According to Kevin, the inmate
slit the throats of seven sorority house sisters who were
away at camp. An eighth intended victim grabbed hold of a
clever and chopped off her attacker's hand. Shortly after
Kevin finishes the tale, the couple hear a scratching noise
on the roof of the car. Kevin exits to investigate, but does
not return. A scared Christy exits the vehicle — only to see
a dead Kevin hanging upside down from a tree.
Watts and Frank examine
photographs of the crime scene. Watts recounts events that lead to the
murder, which Frank discounts as urban legend. But Watts counters that
Christy confirmed the tale. Watts then reveals that an inmate interned
at a nearby psychiatric hospital, Woodcock, fits the killer's profile.
However, his complicity is undermined by his poor physical condition.
Watts and Frank travel to the asylum nonetheless, where they are
greeted by Dr. Stoller, an attractive psychiatrist. With Stoller's
permission, the pair interview the deranged Woodcock, who claims he
did not commit the crime, but recognizes his handiwork nonetheless.
Later, a fight breaks out when a large man named Bear attacks a fellow
inmate. With some help from Frank and Watts, the situation is
neutralized. That night, another young couple, Ted and Callie, stop
along a deserted roadway to fix a flat tire. They are attacked and
killed by an unseen presence.
Aided by Detective Munsch, Watts
and Frank examine the crime scene. Frank concludes that the young
couples' murders are not connected, as the M.O. is completely
dissimilar. After examining Bear's case history, Frank concludes the
murders for which he was convicted, and the killings of Ted and
Callie, are almost identical (the killer removed the hands of both
female victims). Dr. Stoller dismisses the theory — until she discovers
a woman's press-on nail in her lunch. Frank examines the contents of a
stew pot being served at the hospital commissary — and finds a human
hand contained within. Later, Frank questions Bear. Bear insists that
someone took something out of him, but before he is able to clarify
his statement, he lapses into a seizure. Later, Frank tells Stoller
that someone in the hospital is responsible for the murders. Stoller
allows him to secretly observe a group meeting. Frank's interest is
piqued when Woodcock accuses Edward, a male nurse, of stealing his
dreams. While experiencing a series of inner visions, Frank sees the
murder of Dr. Stoller, a knife slashing through an upholstered seat.
Though still uncertain of the
killer's identity, Frank warns Stoller that her life may be in danger.
Stoller, however, dismisses his concerns. Shortly thereafter, she is
approached by Purdue, an inmate. Purdue insists that Edward is
stealing his fellow inmate's dreams — and states that he will not allow
the same thing to happen to him.
Watts uses his computer to
research the case histories of all the inmates, looking for anyone who
would use a knife to kill his victims inside a car. Watts concludes
the most likely suspect is Purdue. Frank concludes that the murders
are all composites of urban legends. Frank gives chase when Stoller
peals out of the hospital parking lot in her car. Stoller temporarily
manages to lose Frank, then pulls into a gas station. An attendant
alerts Stoller that an armed man is hiding in the back seat of her
car. Frank arrives at the scene, but finds the back seat is empty. He
and Stoller drive from the scene as the attendant phones the police.
But before he can place the call, he is murdered inside the cashier's
booth.
As Frank searches the hospital
for Purdue, he encounters Edward, who recounts how another nurse was
savagely murdered by Woodcock years earlier. He is convinced that the
only way to cure the inmates' illness is to drain every violent
impulse from their bodies.
The hospital is plunged into darkness
when someone cuts off the electricity. As Frank and Stoller roam the
unlit corridors, they come upon the body of a night nurse, Wilda, who
was killed and stripped of her keys. Suddenly, Purdue's voice booms
over the intercom system. As Frank and Stoller close in on Purdue,
they encounter another figure roaming the darkness. Purdue smashes a
chair into Frank's back, sending him to the ground. The mysterious
figure, armed with a knife, then advances on Stoller. From Stoller's
point of view, she sees the figure change from Edward, to Purdue, to
Bear, and then to Woodcock. Suddenly, Purdue swings the chair at the
figure. An intense battle ensues, until finally, Purdue kills Edward.
Frank and Stoller examine Edward's body, noting nurse Wilda's keys in
his possession. Though at a loss for an explanation, Frank
hypothesizes that evil, like matter, can never be destroyed — it merely
changes shape. Though Edward found a way to remove the evil from
others, he could not find a way to release it from himself.
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Photographs:
- Peter and Frank tour the hospital
- Violent killer Cainan Purdue
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The massive and animalistic Bear
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Inmates gather for a daily group meeting
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Frank makes a call to confer with Peter
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Dr. Stoller leads Frank and Peter
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Abyss Rating:
(3/5)
Media Review:
"'The
Pest House' appears to be the anomaly in this season of Millennium,
an episode that pays lip service to the Group’s interest in this case
to merely go back to the same old killer-of-the-week conceit. While
the acting is wonderful, and the actual story very moody and
atmospheric, the show has spent so much time getting us into the
mythology and the cosmic issues of good and evil that we want to
wallow around in that spiritual pool for a little while longer. Being
tossed back into Frank’s world of profiling and predicting seems less
substantiative now that we sense they’re just exercises to entertain
the powers-that-be in the series." —Bill Gibron, DVD Talk
Trivia:
Guest star
Melinda McGraw, who portrays the stubborn
Dr. Stoller, is perhaps better known to fans of Ten-Thirteen
Productions as Melissa Scully, the ill-fated sister of Dana Scully on
The X-Files. Glen Morgan and James Wong first worked with the
actress on The Commish.
Guest star Justin Louis, who plays Edward,
first worked with Morgan and Wong on 21 Jump Street. He later
starred in the pilot episode of the duo's The Notorious 7, a
series that was rejected by the Fox network.
Like Melinda McGraw, guest stars Michael
Massee, C. Ernst Harth, and Darcy Laurie had all previously appeared
in minor roles on The X-Files.
Death Toll:
6
Title:
The episode takes as its
title the grim nickname that local teens have assigned to
Oregon's East County Forensic Psychiatric Hospital.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Guest Starring:
Melinda McGraw as Dr. Stoller
Michael Massee as Purdue
Justin Louis as Edward
Darcy Laurie as E. Jacob Woodcock
C. Ernst Harth as Bear
Greg Anderson as Detective Munsch
Brendan Fehr as Kevin Galbraith
Holly Ferguson as Katie
Tyronne L'Hirondelle as Brennan
Amber Warnat as Christy Morris
Michael Weaver as Ted
Production
Credits:
Production #5C15
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Chip Johannessen
Consulting Producers Darin Morgan
Co-Producer Robert Moresco
Co-Producer Paul Rabwin
Producer Thomas J. Wright
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Glen Morgan
Executive Producer James Wong
Executive Producer Chris Carter
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