Millennium Overview: This is Who We Are
Part One – Evil & Frank Black
Often a television series that attempts to create an experience that is even slightly above the lowest common denominator line will have a short life; this is even more likely for a series that weaves the prophecies of Nostradamus, apocalyptic poetry, and religious myth into a supernatural murder mystery. FOX approached Carter to create as series to capitalize on the success of X-Files, and Carter responded, armed with an artistic freedom made possible from the success of the X-Files.
The series itself is dark. The lighting is dark, the crimes are dark, and with the lighting is dark. Arguably, Carter creates this darkness to juxtapose the light brought by Frank Black and his mission to protect his family from the human monsters that surround us. With the films “Seven” and “Silence of the Lambs” as templates, Carter wanted resurrect the horror of Evil, which he felt had been degraded by secularism and science.
The Evil depicted in the series is balanced by Frank Black’s timeless ethics and adherence to conventional family values. However, these same values are constantly challenged by the duty he feels toward “good.” Here lies one of the many conflicts that moves the series forward – Frank Black’s confliction: the duty concerning his family vs. the duty concerning the struggles of good and evil.
The character of Frank Black seems inspired by movie westerns. As a hero, he is self-reliant, capable, and quiet. Additionally, he has added to his pallet, a gift that both haunts and guides him – a second sight that allows him to “become the thing we fear most, the horror in the heart of darkness.”
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