Millennium 5C10: “Goodbye Charlie”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season Two
“Goodbye Charlie” (5C10)
Written by Richard Whitley
Directed by Ken Fink
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
Aired January 9, 1998
Summary
Murders in the guise of assisted suicides bewilder Frank Black and Lara Means, whose primary suspect is a charismatic nurse convinced he is ministering to the terminally ill.
Synopsis
Inside a cheap motel room, Steven Kiley uses a "suicide machine" to end the life of a terminally-ill middle-aged man, Preston Williams. As Terry Jack's song "Seasons In The Sun" plays on a boombox, we see that Preston is, in fact, tied to a bed, his mouth covered with gray duct tape. Steven takes Preston's hand and forces the man's thumb down on an injection button, causing a lethal solution to enter his bloodstream.
Both Lara Means and Frank Black are contacted by the Millennium Group regarding Williams' apparent suicide, the latest in a series of such deaths. Though a note in the victim's handwriting suggests the death was self-inflicted, and an autopsy confirms Williams suffered from a terminal illness, Frank notices evidence—contusions on the wrist and adhesive particles on the mouth—indicating Williams was, in fact, murdered.
Meanwhile, Steven, who works as a volunteer manning the phones at the Seattle Crisis Center, locates his next victim: an anonymous female caller too afraid to speak freely about her illness. Steven locates the woman, whose name is Eleanor, and eventually befriends her. Eleanor is stunned when Steven describes her condition to the last detail.
Frank and Lara attend the funeral of another victim. A card attached to a display of flowers catches their attention. The oddly worded message is signed "Dr. Steven Kiley." A computer search turns up no physicians by that name, though Frank and Lara are certain they've heard the name somewhere before. A police officer staking out the motel where the suicides took place alerts Giebelhouse about a possible suspect. Frank and Lara rush to the scene, where they discover an unconscious Eleanor hooked up to a suicide machine as the song "Goodbye Charlie" plays in the background. But Steven was tipped off about their arrival, and has disappeared into the night.
Frank and Lara realize the suspect has been looting an abandoned hospital for the construction of his suicide machine. There they discover corpses stored inside slab drawers. Based on internal visions, Frank realizes the suspect is, or was, a doctor at the hospital. At some point, the doctor experienced an epiphany—and began trying to save lives by taking them.
Faking mental illness, Frank and Lara attempt to flush out their suspect at the crisis center. Through a process of elimination, the pair zero in on Kiley. They find him at a hospital, where he is employed as a nurse. Suddenly, Lara realizes the name "Steven Kiley" was a doctor on the Marcus Welby television series.
"Kiley," or Ellsworth Beedle, is taken to a police interrogation room for questioning. Records indicate Steven graduated from Harvard Medical School. Steven explains he switched from the role of doctor to nurse because the latter help people. During the conversation, Steven mentions another plane of existence that cultures in Tibet, West Africa and Mexico all believe in. Steven explains that he found the other plane when he assisted a terminally ill elderly woman end her life. Steven is released from custody due to lack of evidence.
Steven and several people from the terminal crisis center gather at the home of Mabel Shiva, the motel clerk who alerted Steven of the police raid when he was assisting Eleanor commit suicide. Frank realizes that Steven needs a release from the anxiety he experienced during the interrogation. He and Lara ride back to the motel, where they realize Mabel is Steven's assessor. The pair race to Mabel's home, but they are too late: everyone inside has taken their own life. Everyone except for Steven, who left behind a note reading: "It wasn't my choice."
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Guest Starring
Kristen Cloke as Lara Means
Tucker Smallwood as Stephen Kiley
Stefan Arngrim as Delbert
Deanne Henry as Eleanor Norris
David Hurtubise as Russ
David Mackay as Jeff Lubo
Klodyne Rodney as Nurse
Bethoe Shirkoff as Mabel Shiva
Gina Stockdale as Tammy
Dan Weber as Preston
Production Credits
Production #5C10
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
“Season in the Sun” (1974) by Terry Jacks
“Goodbye Charlie” (1959) by Bobby Darin
“The Right Side of Wrong” by Marty Jensen & Jessie Fanion
Location
Book Excerpt
“Bobby Darin was chosen to be Frank Black’s favorite artist for a multitude of reasons, not least of which is that Glen Morgan and James Wong like his music... Black’s affection for Darin is one element of Morgan and Wong’s season-long endeavor to turn Frank Black into more of a man and less of a symbol—giving him art to appreciate points to an inner life (and a past life) to which the audience is not always privy while watching. The tragedy of Darin’s life is icing on the cake. ”
—Joe Tangari
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“There is a key line in this episode, something that signals the direction being taken throughout season two. Lara and Frank are staking out a funeral when he makes some crack comment about all the cases the two have worked. Lara argues that they haven’t been cases but tests, ways for the Millennium Group to measure their respective gifts. This interesting installment in the show plays directly into that dichotomy. No matter how you feel about assisted suicide, the police treat it as a crime, a case that needs to be solved. But the solution comes early on—and is rather obvious from the fact pattern. The more interesting aspect comes when Frank and Lara question the suspect and begin to learn just what the Millennium Group is all about. Their suspect seems to be super-human, without a murderous motivation or immoral fiber in his being. There are even hints he’s been sent to do this work by some higher power. It is up to Frank and Lara to determined his Heavenly or damning purpose. This gives this episode a real resonance that a straightforward hot button issue exercise would have missed.”
—Bill Gibron
DVD Talk