Review: Back to Frank Black / Editor: Adam Chamberlain, Brian A. Dixon / Publisher: Fourth Horseman Press / Release Date: Out Now
Millennium was showrunner extraordinaire Chris Carter’s follow-up to the phenomenally successful X-Files, starring Lance Henriksen as Frank Black, a serial killer profiler with a gift for seeing into the heart of darkness. Cancelled in 1999 after three seasons, it’s remembered as a uniquely thoughtful and groundbreaking series and as a highlight of Carter’s career.
This book is just the kind of weighty tribute such a seminal show deserves. It contains a number of illuminating and well-written essays on the symbolism, mythology and background of the series, but its real strength lies in its unusually lengthy and frank interviews with the key participants, including Henriksen (a “compulsive potter”, we learn here) and composer Mark Snow (who apparently was once in a band called the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble. Hmm, must check out their stuff on iTunes… or maybe not).
Best of all are the interviews with the talented writers who toiled behind the scenes to make Millennium what it was. These explore how the show changed from season to season under different runners, and also provide a wealth of insights into what it’s like to pen scripts for the high pressure, short deadline world of network TV. It goes without saying that, if you’re a fan of Millennium, this excellent book is a must-read, but the budding scriptwriters among you should also seek it out for its fascinating depiction of the inner workings of a major TV show.
