Millennium 4C15: “Walkabout”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season One
“Walkabout” (4C15)
Written by Chip Johannessen & Tim Tankosic
Directed by Cliff Bole
Edited by George Potter
Aired March 28, 1997
Summary
An online connection to a disturbed doctor leads Frank Black to become personally entangled in a murder case linked to an experimental drug that drastically heightens anxiety.
Epigraph
“I remember the very thing that I do not wish to; I cannot forget the things I wish to forget.”
Synopsis
Peter Watts tells Catherine that Frank missed a routine homicide review with Yakima police that morning. Fearing the worst, Peter and Catherine access Frank's computer, looking for clues that would shed light on his disappearance. The pair uncover email correspondence between Frank (using the pseudonym "David Marx") and a Doctor Daniel Miller. Catherine tells Peter that five years ago, just before Frank collapsed, he would sometimes vanish for days at a time and check into hotels using the same pseudonym (the name of a childhood friend who passed away).
A police officer discovers Frank, his hands bandaged, at a bus station. Bletcher tells Catherine he was wearing a hospital bracelet bearing the name David Marx. When Frank returns home, he tells his wife he cannot remember what happened to him during his disappearance but senses that someone died during his blackout period.
Watts and Frank track Dr. Daniel Miller (Danny) to a seedy hotel. Miller tells the men that Frank approached him looking for a cure to his "gift." Miller, who keeps track of experimental drugs and clinical trials, had information pertaining to a drug called Proloft, an antidepressant used to treat certain temporal lobe anomalies. But Frank insists he would never had expressed interest in taking such a drug for any reason.
Frank and Watts travel to a family clinic. Flashback images in Frank's mind reveal he was incarcerated in the clinic's trial room along with several other participants all of whom drank from a water dispenser laced with an unknown chemical substance. The drug caused the participants to lapse into a frenzied rage, which Frank likens to "animals in the zoo."
The drug company that ran the clinical test releases records to the Millennium Group. This allows Frank and Watts to meet with the other human guinea pigs who participated in the trial. During the discussion, Frank realizes one of the participants gouged out his own eyes and that this same man somehow ended up dying. But he is uncertain how the death occurred. Later, Frank discovers the body of the nurse who supervised the trial in a dumpster.
Frank returns to Danny's hotel room. There Danny tells him how, years earlier, he began experiencing hallucinations (similar to those experienced by Frank). One night Danny suddenly ran out onto a highway and was almost run over by oncoming traffic.
A researcher determines that the substance ingested by the trial participants is the exact opposite of Proloft, explaining why the participants were consumed by primal behavior. Hans Ingram, the man who ran the clinical trial, forces his way into Danny's hotel room. A short time later, Danny runs out onto a highway and is run over by an oncoming car. Nearby, Frank finds computer print out bearing a photo of Hans Ingram.
Watts and Bletcher access Ingram's apartment. There they discover an eyeless corpse inside a refrigerator. Meanwhile, Giebelhouse and Frank search Ingram's office, where they find packets of a product called Smooth Time.
The Millennium Group receives word that a group of businessmen at an office complex have suddenly run amok. Frank realizes that Ingram handed out free samples of Smooth Time to study its effect. He finds Ingram surveiling the action via the office complex's security monitors. Ingram tells Frank that the U.S. is a nation of zombies, put to sleep by his own drug company. It is his intention to "wake them up." He is taken into custody.
Back at home, Frank tells his wife that if Jordan does possess any part of his "gift," he will be there to guide her.
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O’Quinn as Peter Watts
Bill Smitrovich as Lt. Bob Bletcher
Stephen James Lang as Detective Giebelhouse
Guest Starring
Zeljko Ivanek as Dr. Daniel "Danny" Miller
Gregory Itzin as Hans Ingram
Ron Suave as Tardot
Dee Jay Jackson as G.J.
Alison Matthews as Sandy Geiger
Cheryl Mullen as Sal
Nancy Kerr as Personnel Chief Dana Flender
Arthur Corber as Moxie
Kym Sheppard as the Trial Nurse
Production Credits
Production #4C15
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Ted Mann
Consulting Producer James Wong
Consulting Producer Glen Morgan
Co-Producer Ken Dennis
Co-Producer Chip Johannessen
Co-Producer Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer Jorge Zamacona
Co-Executive Producer Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer John Peter Kousakis
Executive Producer Chris Carter
Location
Book Excerpt
“These images of the world, which Frank Black was tuned to, were not supposed to be objective reality. They were highly subjective. In fact, in script the shots were labeled ‘His Internal POV’ or ‘His Subjective POV’… Already in the first season there were some speculative episodes that were terrific but keeping a lid on this would probably have been a good idea…”
—Chip Johannessen
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“It’d be unusual for any show to start with one of its heroes drugged out of his mind, but it feels especially troubling here, seeing just how much Lance Henriksen holds all of this misery-wallowing together. He’s supposed to be the reasonable one, the guy we can relate to and root for while the center keeps failing to hold... So what we have is mystery, but it’s one of my favorite kinds of mysteries, the sort which directly acknowledges that mysteries are as much about reconstructing the past as they are about finding answers to questions... There have been a great many shows and books and movies about the so-called horrors of psych meds, and it’s the sort of easy to agree with concept that gets overplayed without much in the way of nuance. This episode, thankfully, acknowledges that drugs really can help people. At least in theory, when they aren’t created by a mad scientist who wants to drive the world insane.”
—Zack Handlen
The AV Club
“This is a strange show on many levels. The narrative is jagged, jumping back and forth from present to past to... the possible? Indeed, the whole episode is like a giant puzzle with the pieces tossed at us from all angles. It forces us to confront uneasy questions: what was Frank doing at the drug test trial? Who died? Why did the Internet ‘doctor’ lose his license? Now, if one pays close attention, they can make all the pieces fit: the fear for his family, the taking of a homicide case against the Group’s wishes, the rationale behind the ‘evil twin’ drug. The megalomaniac subplot is just further fun frosting on the cake of chaos. It is easy to see why some fans hate this particular show. Frank Black is really not ‘himself’ in this episode, acting completely out of character. But as part of the ever-evolving aspects of the series, it’s a fine outing.”
—Bill Gibron
DVD Talk