Millennium 5C23: “The Time is Now”
The Millennial Abyss | Episodes | Season Two
“The Time is Now” (5C23)
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Edited by James Coblentz
Aired May 15, 1998
Summary
The spread of a deadly virus and the mysterious undertakings of the Millennium Group precipitate a crisis of apocalyptic proportions that will forever change the Black family.
Synopsis
Jordan, Frank and Catherine bury the dead parakeet, prompting more questions from Jordan regarding God and the hereafter. Later, a Millennium team clad in biohazard suits sweeps into the Davis home, where earlier an entire family was wiped out by the mysterious virus. Outside the house, in the backyard, are a dozen dead birds of various species.
Catherine, Frank and Jordan return to the yellow house. Frank realizes that, with all of the unhappiness associated with the structure, such as the deaths of Bletcher and the Old Man, it is time to find a new home. A short time later, Frank receives paperwork in the mail, indicating his father left him a cabin in a remote wooded area. Frank tells Catherine about Watts' prediction that there would be an earthquake. Although he distrusts the Group's power and control, Frank cannot walk away until he knows what the future entails.
Richard Gilbert meets Frank in a parking lot. When Frank reveals he has decided to stay with the Group, Richard warns against it, as even now, they are being spied upon by Group members. Gilbert drives off in his car, and shortly thereafter, Mr. Lott steps from the shadows. He reveals that the Group is uninterested in any single individual life, but feels its responsibility lies with the whole of mankind.
The next morning, Frank discovers that Richard lost control of his automobile as he drove away from their meeting. Frank examines the automobile, searching for evidence that it was tampered with. Watts informs him that the Group is not at fault, its attention focused on something far more important. He reveals that he broke into the Group's database, and has learned that the mysterious virus was discovered by the Soviets years earlier in the jungles of Africa. It was then genetically enhanced, creating a biological weapon of astonishing toxicity. When the Soviet Union fell, the virus was inadvertently exposed to the environment, and carried aloft by birds. In 1986, a Wisconsin farmer and his entire flock of hens died from exposure, but like the Spanish flu of 1918, it mysteriously went away. The boy who died by the lake the previous week had somehow contracted the disease. Watts believes the Group developed a vaccine to the virus back in 1986, but produced only enough to inoculate its own members (both Frank and Watts received the vaccine during their quarantine period). Frank instructs Watts to find Lara Means and meet him back at his house, as he knows of a location where they can live until the crisis passes.
When Watts arrives at the cottage where Lara is staying, Blaylock and another Group member intercept him. During the ensuing struggle, a gunshot rings out. Frank receives a phone call, and listens to the sound of the struggle, followed by the sound of a car pulling away in the distance. With help from Giebelhouse, Frank traces the call to the cottage.
Lara experiences powerful visions of the apocalypse. For a moment, she considers taking her own life. Instead, she writes something on an envelope. Frank breaks down the door and races inside. In a nearly psychotic state, Lara raises her gun and opens fire, narrowly missing Frank. Paramedics rush inside and help restrain Lara. As she is wheeled away, Frank takes the envelope, which contains a syringe filled with a vaccine to the virus.
Frank telephones Catherine and instructs her to begin gathering provisions. He then drives to the psychiatric hospital, where he speaks with Lara. He asks her about Watts' fate, but she can only stare back with lifeless eyes. Frank thanks Lara for the vaccine, then drives his family to the remote cabin.
Frank tells Catherine that during the years of the Black Plague, people gathered their families and retreated to the mountains, allowing them to survive the outbreak. Later, as Jordan sleeps, Catherine listens to a news broadcast, which details the symptoms of the virus. Catherine asks Frank to kill her if she should become infected. Frank counters it would be impossible for him to do so, arguing that if he got sick, he would go off into the woods to die. He then produces the syringe containing the vaccine. He explains that he has already been inoculated, and the syringe contains enough vaccine for one person. Catherine immediately insists that Jordan be given the shot.
Later that night, Catherine wakes experiencing symptoms of the virus. She quietly walks out of the cabin and heads towards the woods. Finding blood on Catherine's pillow, Frank watches the darkened forest. The next morning, Frank's hair has gone completely gray. As he holds his daughter in his arms, he experiences internal blasts of static, interspersed with apocalyptic distress calls in many languages. And it is in the cabin that Frank and Jordan remain alone and uncertain.
Starring
Lance Henriksen as Frank Black
Megan Gallagher as Catherine Black
Brittany Tiplady as Jordan Black
Terry O'Quinn as Peter Watts
Guest Starring
Kristen Cloke as Lara Means
Glenn Morshower as Richard Gilbert
Stephen Macht as Mr. Lott
Daryl Shuttleworth as Brian Dixon
Hiro Kanagawa as Team Member Lewis
Barry W. Levy as Blaylock
David Longworth as Duffy Deaver
David Palffy as Dr. Sorenson
Ian Robison as the Computer Monitor
Production Credits
Production #5C23
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
"Land" (Part One: "Horses" / Part Two: "Land of a Thousand Dances" / Part Three: "La Mer(de)") (1975) by Patti Smith
“In the Year 2525” (1969) by Zager & Evans
Location
Book Excerpt
“When you watch it, there’s information coming through. The horses come through: one is red, and then it cuts to the Iraq war, because in Revelation there would be war and pestilence and disease. So then the yellow horse could come through, and you would cut to the Marburg virus and the jungle. There was a lot of information going through... I was really extremely proud of that, the way that everybody came together for that. That was my favorite moment of Millennium.”
—Glen Morgan
Back to Frank Black
REVIEWS
“This is a dense presentation, 90 minutes of mythology, murder, misunderstandings, death, disease and disgusting, depressing imagery. The ‘bleed out’ cases are especially gruesome, giving these episodes a weight and new sense of urgency. Also aiding in the atmosphere of dread are Terry O’Quinn, making Peter Watts the most sympathetic—and suspect—that he’s been all season, and Kristen Cloke, who gets a tour-de-force mental montage set to the Patti Smith song ‘Horses,’ is just amazing. This is what Millennium did best, not only in individual swatches but overall. These shows pay off in ways we have wondered about all series long, bringing in elements cast off from other shows and involving ancillary issues we thought unimportant at the time. With the stunning finale and the ambiguous nature of its symbolism, it is hard to see where the series would go in season three. Fans would argue that the creators had the same feeling.”
—Bill Gibron
DVD Talk
“The Time is Now” print ad.