|
Summary:
After a fatal shooting during a high school basketball game, Frank
Black, Emma Hollis, and Special Agent Barry Baldwin travel to Seattle
to become involved in an investigation that will soon lead to a
survivalist group supported by a high-brow computer corporation. It
soon becomes evident that this group is so frightened of the predicted
Y2K computer meltdown that they're stockpiling food and weapons in
preparation for Armageddon and willing to kill anyone, including their
own children, in order to ensure their own survival.
Season Three on DVD
Synopsis:
Students gather inside the gymnasium of Redland High School
to celebrate the school's victory at the state academic
championships. Amongst the student body are cheerleaders
Tammy Meador and Kathy McNew, who encourage their classmates
to join them in some rousing cheers. Watching Tammy from
afar is Carlton King, an odd, gawky teenager. Carlton lays a
book near Tammy's pom-poms, then walks towards some nearby
doors. Shortly thereafter, Brant Carmody, another student
reluctant to join in the celebration, exits the gymnasium.
As the school principal announces that ComLogic Computers
has donated a system worth over two million dollars, gunfire
rings out. Three students, including Tammy Meador, are
killed in the melee.
Agents Baldwin and Hollis are
assigned to investigate the case. They meet with Giebelhouse, who is
still a detective working for the Seattle Police Department.
Giebelhouse explains that the shooter, whose identity is still
unknown, opened fire from underneath the bleachers. As the murder
weapon was recovered, it is hoped that the registration number will
provide clues. While searching the gym, Emma comes upon the book that
Carlton left near Tammy's pom poms. She decides not to tell the other
investigators about the discovery. Later, Giebelhouse contacts
McClaren and requests Frank's assistance.
Emma tells Baldwin that other
students described Brant Carmody as non-communicative. A record check
also reveals that Brant was twice arrested for assault and battery.
And it is also determined that the teenager is the son of a very
wealthy computer executive. When the agents arrive at the Carmody's
front door, shots ring out. Brant's father, Chris, announces that his
son shot himself. The agents are unable to revive the boy. Back at
Quantico, Baldwin concludes that Brant fired upon his classmates and
then committed suicide. But Frank has his doubts. He points out
several holes in Baldwin's investigation, including his failure to
test either of Brant's parents for powder burns. After the meeting,
Frank asks McClaren to send him to the high school so he can perform
some detective work of his own. As Frank packs his suitcase, he
receives a surprise visit from Emma. She shows him the book she
discovered at the gym. The book contains prayers from the Dark Ages,
and is inscribed with the name "Skylark." Frank realizes the shooter
left it behind as a warning to Tammy Meador.
Meanwhile, Chris Carmody,
computer technology czar Jock Hauser, Principal Kalmer and Carlton
King's father, Gary, meet in a field in the countryside, where they
practice firing their guns at figures of human beings. Jock accuses
Chris of telling his son about the group's secret. Chris admits to
this, stating that he did so at the insistence of his wife.
Frank and Emma question
cheerleader Kathy McNew, who had been dating Brant Carmody. She
explains that Brant spoke often of the end of the world, and how
society will collapse come the year 2000. Later, as Frank inspects the
room where Brant's body was found, he is struck by a series of
internal visions. He concludes that Brant was the shooter inside the
gymnasium. But he also believes that Brant's death was not a suicide.
Emma searches Brant's computer
files and discovers a threatening email message composed by Skylark.
Emma contacts an Internet service provider to determine Skylark's real
identity. Shortly thereafter, Kalmer, Jock Hauser and Gary King meet
at a rural warehouse when they learn that the FBI has identified
Skylark as Carlton King.
Emma, Frank and Geibelhouse
search the King family's credit card records. They discover purchases
for such items as gas generators and non-perishable food, along with
assault rifles. They also determine that Gary King co-owns 14,000
acres of desert land in eastern Washington State. Frank concludes that
the group to which Gary belongs is preparing for complete technology
failure in the year 2000, and has erected a self-sufficient compound
to protect their families from harm.
Carlton King leads Emma and
Frank to the rural warehouse. Gunshots ring out, and Emma returns
fire. During the confusion, Emma calls out Frank's name but Frank does
not respond. Rifle in hand, Gary King seeks out Frank. But Carlton
stands between the two men. Frank convinces Gary to surrender. Later,
Chris Carmody is charged with murdering his own son. Chris explains
that he killed Brant because his wife and daughters would have
remained behind (away from the safety of the compound) if his son had
been sentenced to jail for murdering his classmates.
Later, Frank tells Emma that he did not
bring his revolver with him to the warehouse, as he was relying on her
experience as an agent for protection. He also states that if man is
going to survive a technology failure, it is humanity — not food and
ammunition — that will save the day.
|
Photographs:
- Giebelhouse and Baldwin investigate
- Frank faces Chris
Carmody
- Emma Hollis is forced to draw her weapon
- Carlton King confronts
Frank with a gun
- Frank and Emma in a tense situation
- A smiling Agent Emma Hollis
Abyss Rating:
(5/5)
Media Review:
"Scott's presence is bracing. Her
Hollis is a novice who idolizes Black and is all alert sensitivity
whenever he's around; Scott captures perfectly the way young adepts
try to soak up everything about their heroes. And Black is,
appropriately, unnerved and grumpy about her eagle-eyed attentiveness;
they make for a nicely awkward pair whose relationship can only grow
more complicated and interesting."
—Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly
"While
the dreaded 'computer scare' turned out to be nothing to worry about—and
I can safely admit/brag that I didn't buy one ounce of bottled
water—the
forward-thinking mindset of Millennium carried a strong sense
of urgency and dread that made it a true product of the era (though
again, viewed in hindsight, it still holds up very well). The scope of
the entire series was still several years ahead of its time at this
point, hiding in the shadow of our beloved Agents Mulder and Scully,
ready to make paranoid freaks out of us all."
—Randy Miller III, DVD Talk
Trivia:
"TEOTWAWKI," written by series
creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, was inspired by the paranoia
surrounding the predicted Y2K computer crash. Featuring the panic
associated with the approaching millennium was one of the tactics
Carter hoped would help to keep the show's focus frightening. In an online chat Chris Carter explained,
"The millennium was the central
influence on the concept of the show. But no one I know is really
afraid of the millennium, so making it a scary concept requires
illustrating ways in which the anxiety it produces affects society."
This episode also deals with the troubling
subject of high school shootings such as the one that occurred at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The April 28, 1999
edition of the Vancouver Sun featured an article entitled "Millennium
Stars Reflect on TV and Littleton." The article endeavored to explore
how the cast and crew of what was unarguably one of the most violent
shows on television responded to the high school shooting that
occurred in Littleton and public claims that depictions of
violence in the media fuel such real world attacks.
Millennium's consistently low
ratings had not noticeably improved with the premiere of the show's
third season. When asked whether or not Carter
considered the series a success despite its chronically low ratings
he replied, "I still think it's one of the best-produced shows on TV,
I think the stories are interesting, and I'm sorry it hasn't found the
wider audience it deserves."
Setting this episode in Seattle allowed
actor Stephen James Lang to return as Detective Giebelhouse, one of
the show's regular guest players during the first
and second seasons. Lang would appear as Giebelhouse once more on
Millennium despite the show's shift in locale.
Robert Wisden appears here for the second
time on Millennium. The talented guest performer had previously
been seen in the second season episode "Monster" as well as on such
shows as The X-Files and Stargate SG-1.
Death Toll:
4
Title:
This episode's peculiar
title is an acronym: The End Of The World As We Know It.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Klea Scott as Emma Hollis
Peter Outerbridge as Barry Baldwin
Stephen E. Miller as Andy McClaren
Stephen James Lang as Detective Giebelhouse
Guest Starring:
Robert Wisden as Chris Carmody
Jeremy Guilbaut as Brant Carmody
Hilary Strang as Mrs. Carmody
Andrew Johnston as Principal Kalmer
Eric Keenleyside as Gary King
Sasha McLean as Tammy Meador
Laurie Murdoch as Jock Hauser
Michelle Skalnik as Kathy McNew
Keith Gordey as Software Engineer
Production
Credits:
Production #6C03
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
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 Chip Johannessen
Executive Producer Michael Duggan
Executive Producer Chris Carter
|
