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Summary:
Peter Watts is forced to make the most distressing of choices when the
eldest of his three beloved daughters, Taylor, is abducted by an enraged
Gulf War veteran who has turned violent, hoping to push the Millennium
Group into admitting their crimes. Frank Black and Emma Hollis, part of the team
enlisted to help, are met with conflict from the bitter Watts who seems
sorrowfully determined to let his daughter die rather than betray the secrets
of his Group.
Season Three on DVD
Synopsis:
Students from the College of William and Mary face off at a
bowling alley during Greek Week 1999. Eighteen-year-old Taylor Watts
exits the building when it is announced that someone forgot to turn
off their automobile's headlights. A classmate named Nick Carfahna follows her into the parking lot. The pair
are attacked by two men, one wearing a military-style mask, and a second
dressed as a security guard. As Taylor is dragged to a nearby car, her
wallet falls from her purse, identifying her as Peter Watts' daughter.
Watts reviews the case for a group
of FBI agents. Nick, who survived the attack, provides police with a description
of a single kidnapper, whose mask resembled the type issued to troops in
Kuwait. After the briefing ends, Emma tells McClaren that no mention was
made of the Millennium Group or its enemies. She is also puzzled by Frank's
absence. A short time later, Emma finds Frank looking for clues at the
bowling alley parking lot. He believes the entire abduction was precisely
planned. Meanwhile, one of the kidnappers, a man named Swan, binds Taylor's
hands and ankles to a stainless steel examining table. He proceeds to remove
her clothing and cleans her body using a power sprayer and coarse brush.
Moments later, he photographs her using a Polaroid camera.
The investigators get a break in the
case when police discover an abandoned car used in the abduction. As Frank
observes the scene, he experiences internal visions of Operation Desert
Storm. He also notices tire and boot prints left behind by the kidnappers,
as well as the smell of spectrumaldehyde, which is used for the destruction
of genetic evidence. Watts arrives at the scene. Sitting by himself, he
gazes at Swan's Polaroid of his daughter.
McClaren's team determines that both
the tire tread and the boot prints were formed by items purchased from
a military PX. Frank helps narrows the search for a culprit when he mentions
the spectrumaldehyde. The clues lead FBI agents to the home of David Couger.
But when they storm Couger's house, they discover that he has been tortured
and executed. Given the nature of the slaying, McClaren concludes that
the second kidnapper executed Couger. But Frank suspects otherwise. He
believes Couger was murdered by the Millennium Group. Meanwhile, inside
the stainless steel room, Swan pulls a safety tab from a canister and sets
it near Taylor.
Frank learns that Couger was once a
patient in a psychiatric ward at a military medical center. One of the
physicians at the center leads Frank to dozens of file folders which contain
information on other patients who were part of Couger's group. Frank notices
that one of the folders is empty. The folder belongs to Eric Swan. As Frank
exits the medical center, he encounters Peter Watts. Watts produces another
Polaroid, this one depicting a sickly-looking Taylor, her eyes jaundiced,
sitting near the canister. Watts believes his daughter has only thirty-six
hours to live. He pleads for Franks help.
Emma determines that Swan used to call
Art Bell's radio talk show
— a forum for conspiracy theorists
— using the pseudonym
"Thomas Paine." Bell cooperates with the FBI investigation. He hosts a
program devoted to the topic of the Gulf War and soldiers who were exposed
to biochemical agents. Swan calls the program and claims that while serving
in the Gulf War, he received orders to fire a biological weapon at U.S.
soldiers (as part of an effort to test the weapon's effectiveness on fully
inoculated soldiers wearing protective gear). Swan followed orders and
killed an entire platoon. The U.S. government blamed the incident on the
Iraqis. Bell then introduces Frank to his listening audience. Frank describes
for Swan the manner in which his own wife died. Swan recognizes the symptoms.
He tells Frank that Catherine died of the Microplasma Flavivirus. Swan
believes his order came not from the U.S. Army, but from a group that does
what "the government can't do." Swan then pulls an antidote-filled syringe
from a refrigerator.
As Swan talks, FBI agents trace the
source of his phone call. But when they storm the house, they find two
cell phones taped together. Emma realizes the call was forwarded, and that
the signal is now lost.
Using the Internet, Emma manages to
locate an e-mail address containing the pseudonym "Thomas Paine." She and
Frank locate Swan's hideout, but inadvertently trip an alarm as they move
up the driveway to Swan's house. Frank exits the vehicle and uses his cell
phone to contact Swan. He tells him they can work together to expose the
men responsible for the platoon's loss. Suddenly, a shot rings out, and
a window on Swan's house explodes. Frank moves towards the source of the
blast and finds Watts, Mabius and a sniper. Swan tells the men that although
he possesses the antidote, he is willing to let Taylor die unless his demands
are met.
Watts takes the cell phone. He gives Swan
the exact coordinates of where the biological weapon was dropped, along with
other information proving that it was the Millennium Group that gave the orders
to fire upon U.S. soldiers. He then asks for his daughter to be released. Swan
returns to the stainless steel room, only to discover that Taylor has escaped
from the restraining chair and has given herself the antidote. Suddenly, Taylor
appears behind Swan. Using all her remaining strength, she snaps his neck.
Later, The Watts family sits down for dinner and Taylor asks her father if Swan
was telling the truth about what happened during the Gulf War. He does not
respond. |
Photographs:
- Frank connects with Swan on live radio
- Frank and Emma approach the hideout
- Frank talks to Swan on his cell phone
- Peter carries a terrified Taylor outside
- Andy McClaren and Peter Watts
- Late night radio talk show host Art Bell
- Frank Black sits in on Art Bell's program
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Abyss Rating:
(4/5)
Trivia:
"Collateral
Damage" features a noteworthy guest appearance from radio personality
Art Bell, appearing in the episode as himself. The longtime host of
Coast to Coast AM — a nationally syndicated nighttime radio show
once transmitted from his own one-man station in
Pahrump, Nevada — Bell earned attention by
dedicating his on-air discussions to exploring conspiracy theories,
the paranormal, and the UFO phenomenon.
His appearance in this episode
was prompted by writer
Michael R. Perry who, eager to connect Bell with the conspiracy-driven
Ten-Thirteen Productions, understood how appropriately the well-known
radio host could be integrated into this episode's storyline. Bell
was impressed, he later explained to listeners during one of his
Coast to Coast AM programs, that Perry's script contained real
world science and research regarding the connections between Gulf War
Syndrome and Microplasma Flavivirus.
Lance Henriksen made an appearance on Art
Bell's radio show on January 21, 1999 — the night before
"Collateral Damage" first aired — to promote and discuss this episode. Millennium creator Chris Carter
appeared on
Coast to Coast AM on October 28, 1999. The two
discussed, among other things, Bell's appearance in this episode,
the cancellation of the series, and the possibilities for the show's
future.
Guest star James Marsters,
who appears here as enraged veteran Eric Swan, is best known for portraying
the vampire Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off,
Angel. Says Marsters about his Millennium appearance, "I
was really honored because I noticed that the lead, Lance, I noticed
him in Alien 2, you know, and he broke my heart. In that movie,
I mean, how can you break a guy’s heart in the middle of all that
blood? You know, but he’s really one of the best actors we have. And I
went on [Millennium] and the whole crew, the show is a lot like Buffy
in that it strays toward cinema. It tries to be as good as a movie,
and what that means is that everyone works really hard. This is the
joke name of Buffy in Hollywood: Buffy the Weekend Slayer.
Because we start at 4:00 in the morning on Monday and we leave the set
about 6:00 in the morning on Saturday. And with Millennium,
it’s just that much. The joke about Millennium was that there’s
two shots for every shot that they use. They shoot many more set-ups
than they even cut to. And everyone was apologizing to me: 'Sorry
we’re not nicer, we’re just kinda stressed out right now.' And, I
don’t know, I’ve never seen people work harder and be nicer about it,
and I was honored to be on the set frankly."
Actress
Jessica Schreier portrays Peter Watts' wife, Barbara, in this episode for the third
time. The actress, who would appear in the role once
more on the series, had previously guest starred in a two-part episode
of The X-Files.
Thomas J. Wright recorded an audio
commentary regarding "Collateral Damage" for Fox Home Entertainment's
DVD release of Millennium: The Complete Third Season.
Death Toll:
2
Title:
The episode's title, a
military euphemism for
inadvertent casualties and destruction inflicted on civilians in the
course of military operations, specifically references the U.S.
soldiers that Eric Swan inadvertently killed when he was ordered to
launch a biological weapon test. Swan's ceaseless guilt over the
"collateral damage" leads him to undertake the drastic acts seen here.
Starring:
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Klea Scott as Emma Hollis
Stephen E. Miller as Andy McClaren
Guest Starring:
Art Bell as Himself
James Marsters as Eric Swan
Jacinda Barrett as Taylor Watts
Bill Marchant as David Cougar
Jessica Schreier as Barbara Watts
Bob Wilde as Mabius
Brendan Fehr as Nick Carfagna
David Lewis as the FBI Technician
Kaare Anderson as Raid Agent
Terry David Mulligan as Dr. Harvey
Laura Mennell as Sorority Sister #1
Kea Wong as Sorority Sister #2
Production
Credits:
Production #6C11
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
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