Joseph Maddrey, our stalwart co-host for this week's Lance Henriksen Fest, today recalls the initial critical and audience response to Millennium (1996 -1999) at his excellent blog, Movies Made Me.
Variety scribe Jeremy Gerard called the pilot “literate, well-acted and blessed with an irresistible hook,” and proclaimed it “the best new show of the season." He also heaped praise on Henriksen, calling him "exceptionally appealing as Frank, sort of Clint Eastwood with a tough of Stallone thrown in for good measure." The review was not, however, an unqualified rave. Gerard added a personal note: "I just wish it were a little more fun, that I didn't have this nagging feeling that it wants to hurt me the next time I come around." His was not the only conflicted response.
New York Times writer John J. O'Conner hailed MILLENNIUM as "the season's most chilling drama," while Los Angeles Times critic Howard Rosenberg dismissed it as "gruesome, foreboding television to slit your wrists by." Time magazine applauded the show's "marvelously unrelenting sense of unease," while Newsweek complained that it delivered "all the smut and violence that Bob Dole warned you about - and then some." The latter even called for the "V-chip police" to arrest Chris Carter on sight.
Wow. An excellent read and I must tell you that I made an observation about Henriksen to Eastwood in my own entry before reading this. I thought it was original but clearly not.
ReplyDeleteA wonderfully penned essay. It really captures the essence of the character. A great summation!