Millennium 5C02: “Beware of the Dog”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season Two
“Beware of the Dog” (5C02)
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Allen Coulter
Edited by George R. Potter
Aired September 26, 1997
Summary
The Millennium Group prompts Frank Black to investigate a pack of vicious dogs that are terrorizing a rural town in attacks seemingly understood by a mysterious old man.
Synopsis
A retired couple driving along a country highway pull their R.V. over to the side of a road outside of a town so small it's not on their map. As they begin to turn in for the night a pack of dogs invades their motor home and kills them.
Peter Watts attempts to contact Frank regarding the attack as Frank is taking Jordan home to Catherine. Ignoring his pages, Frank and Catherine discuss their living arrangements. Catherine has decided to take Jordan and live with a friend and since Frank is already living in an apartment by himself, they discuss selling the house and the implication of that action.
Watts finally reaches Frank after he's returned to his home, and urges him to take the case. Frank dismisses the deaths as the result of a wild animal attack. Cryptically, Watts insists Frank investigate further, "It's time you go there Frank."
Frank arrives in "Bucksnort" and, looking for a hotel, enters the adjacent diner. There he encounters some local townspeople who mistake him for their new sheriff and warn him to return before dark. Sticking out from the rest of the locals is Michael Beebe who later explains his recent relocation to the area as an attempt to escape the crime-ridden streets of Los Angeles. Thinking that he is the new sheriff, Michael asks Frank to investigate his elderly neighbor, whom he believes is connected to the attack.
Instead, Frank inspects the crime scene at the R.V. Just as the sun dips below the horizon, he notices a pack of five dogs descending from a nearby hill. Frank returns to the hotel, and discovers he has been locked out and those inside ignore his pleas for assistance. As he searches for shelter the dogs ferociously attack. Frank fights his way to his car and heads for a small hospital, hitting and killing one of the dogs in the process. Despite Frank's frantic pleas that he has been injured, he is again ignored by those inside the hospital. An elderly man stops his truck and retrieves the dead dog. The other dogs trot away, following the vehicle.
After he passes out, the townspeople finally help Frank into the hospital. Believing he is unconscious they discuss the town "situation" and its recent disturbances. Frank however is conscious and begins to think that there are greater forces than wild dogs at work in Bucksnort.
Early the next day Frank makes his way through a forest and comes upon several obelisks near an embankment. As Frank pauses, Michael Beebe emerges from nearby bushes. Almost simultaneously, dogs appear on the embankment ridge. The same old man appears and Frank asks him to call off his animals. The old man laughs "They're not my dogs." But the animals leave the area nonetheless. As Frank looks down to the obelisk he picked up as a defense he notices that it is etched with the ouroboros-the symbol of the Millennium Group.
Confused by the apparent graveyard, Frank searches out the Old Man in his shack. They speak of the Millennium Group, the history and meaning of the ouroboros and most importantly the Millennial event. The men walk to a nearby clearing where the Old Man encourages Frank to approach the growling dogs who have gathered. As he complies, Frank is struck by several internal images: his wife, Jordan, his home, etc. Frank eyes the dogs, the incarnation of evil, and stands his ground. The animals back away. Frank has passed the test.
The Old Man explains that the equilibrium between good and evil has grown increasingly out of balance with the approach of the Millennium. Frank realizes the dogs started attacking after Beebe constructed his home on previously protected property, upsetting the delicate balance. The Old Man states that the "crime" Beebe ran away from in the city is not evil-but the fear that kept him trapped inside his home, inside his tiny world, is the evil.
Afraid that the dogs will kill Michael Beebe, Frank tells him that he must move out of his house. Beebe balks at the idea. As he asks Frank to leave they discover the dogs have surrounded the house. The Old Man enters and insisting it's the only way, sets fire to the dwelling, burning it to the ground.
Back at his yellow house, Frank removes a "For Sale" sign from the lawn, telling Catherine that they can't give up on the idea of the house and that they'll move back "when it's a home again."
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Guest Starring
Randy Stone as Michael Beebe
R.G. Armstrong as the Old Man
Brent Butt as the Short Order Cook
Ralph Alderman as Nate
Anita Wittenberg as Cora
Arnie Walters as Paul Lombardo
Margaret Martin as Mary Ann Lombardo
Production Credits
Production #5C02
Music by Mark Snow
Production Designer Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer Chip Johannessen
Consulting Producers Darin Morgan
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 Glen Morgan
Executive Producer James Wong
Executive Producer Chris Carter
Soundtrack
“Close to You” (1970) by the Carpenters
“As Long as I’m Singing” (1964) by Bobby Darin
Location
Book Excerpt
“From the moment Catherine and Jordan leave the yellow house and Frank is exiled into the loneliness of that new ‘dark house,’ conceived of by Glen Morgan and James Wong, we know that something different is now necessary for Frank Black to develop. The second phase of the mythic journey begins with Frank alone, surrounded by wild dogs, and moving toward his first enigmatic meeting with the Old Man; ‘Beware of the Dog’ underscores Frank’s lack of control and his sense of being lost.”
—Paul Clark
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“This was just wonderfully weird and entertaining... And really, it brings the best out in Frank. He seems a much more human, dynamic character this season, as opposed to the world-weary sage of season one... This ep, he's frightened, sad, irritated, and struggling to maintain composure in the face of a whole mess of nutters. Frank has always been the ‘straight man’ of Millennium, the one normal center that throws the lunacy into starker contrast, but this season seems to understand that he works best when he isn't perfectly composed. It's easier to connect with him when his response to psycho dogs and irritating hicks and frustratingly opaque elderly people is roughly the same as our response would be... What I'm saying is, if we're going to have lumpy, imperfect TV, let it be the kind of lumpy, imperfect TV we see here, shooting the moon with a bazooka full of rabid puppies.”
—Zack Handlen
The AV Club
“Beware of the Dog” print ad.