Well, so much for this season's new-and-improved version of "Millennium."
If the season premiere (tonight at 8 on Ch. 13) is any indication, this Fox series still has major problems - despite the promises of the new executive producers, James Wong and Glen Morgan, that the show would be much more watchable this season.(Creator Chris Carter of "X-Files" fame is still credited as an executive producer on "Millennium," but his involvement will be much curtailed.)
Lance Henriksen remains the focal point of the show, and that's one of its problems right there. His one-note performance as Frank Black is not only off-putting, but sometimes unintentionally humorous.
Black is a former FBI agent - a profiler who can get inside the mind of criminals. He left the bureau and is working with the Millennium Group, a shadowy organization that is intent on battling the forces of evil as the millennium approaches.
In tonight's season premiere, Black goes searching for his kidnapped wife (Megan Gallagher). And Henriksen displays more emotion than ever before in the role - he actually raises his voice slightly to his daughter!
There's also an unintentionally hilarious moment when Henriksen - without the slightest bit of emotion or modulation in his voice, says, "I'm now in this dangerous level of anger."
And there's a scene late in the episode in which Frank gets physically violent - and the expression on Henriksen's face barely changes.
Then there's the fact that "Millennium" is the most pretentious show on television. It's full of mock solemnity and pompous monologues that are empty of any real meaning.
It's also very violent for television without being particularly scary.
Not to mention that there are still problems with the entire concept behind Black, making the character difficult to accept. We're still told that he doesn't have psychic powers - he can just get inside the mind of the criminal.
And yet the flashes of "insight" that he has certainly have the look and feel of psychic episodes. And if he's seeing inside the mind of the criminal, how can he "see" his kidnapped wife from a point of view the criminal doesn't have in tonight's episode?
Why anyone would want to spend an hour with this somber, morose program is difficult to understand.