M I L L E N N I U M
"THE THIN WHITE LINE"
Ep. # 1.14 [MLM-113 (4C13)]
[ First Season ] (Complete Transcript)
U.S. Air Date: February 14, 1997
================================================================
Disclaimer: This transcript was made from a personal video copy
and is presented for Fair Use only to Millennium fans. All of
the characters and scripts are the properties of Chris Carter,
1013 Productions, Fox Broadcasting Company and their respective
authors. No copyright infringement is intended nor implied by
the distribution of this document. It is solely meant for
entertainment purposes only.
-- Maria Vitale
================================================================
[Trademark music cue as the scene fades in from white... ]
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
8:43 PM
[OPENING SCENE: Pouring rain as a man, Jacob Tyler, sits in his car,
listening to his radio -- The Bee-Gees, "How Deep is Your Love". He reaches
into the glove compartment for a deck of playing cards. He looks through
it until he finds... the Jack of Spades. He tears the card in half. He
envisions himself ringing the doorbell of a house. A woman, Anne Rothenberg,
opens the door... ]
{Woman: "Hello, can I help you?"}
{Man: "It's not personal, but you did open the
door... "}
{Woman: "I beg your pardon?"}
{Man: "Certain people will have to be sacrificed. I
made a promise."}
{Woman: "It's important to keep promises." (The man
nods.) "In fact, I think it's so} important I want
to volunteer as your next sacrifice."
[The vision ends. Now the man rings the doorbell for real. She opens the
door... ]
Woman: "Yes?"
[The man smiles at her, opens a knife, grabs her right hand -- she begins
to scream -- slashes it across the palm and pushes his way inside, closing
the door behind him, as she continues screaming.]
[Next scene: A hospital emergency room with the usual activity associated
with it. Frank Black approaches a doctor on call.]
Doctor: "Hello, can I help you?"
Frank: "I'm looking for Catherine Black. She's
working tonight in Child Counseling."
Doctor: "3B."
Frank: "Thank you."
[The doors behind him burst open with a paramedic hurriedly giving the vital
statistics of the patient in their charge -- the victim from the opening
scene, as she's wheeled into a cubicle of the ER.]
Paramedic: "We've got multiple stab wounds, front
and back. BP's 60 palps. It doesn't look good."
[Frank turns to watch the commotion.]
Doctor: "She's crashing! Get her in the trauma room.
We need a second line in her."
2nd Doctor: "She's in respiratory distress."
Doctor: "Let's intubate her, now!" (Frank follows
after them to see what's happening.) "She's in EMD
hypovolemic. Pour the fluids into her. Prep a CPR."
2nd Doctor: "I already got two lines in her."
[The monitor begins beeping faster as Frank watches from the doorway.]
2nd Doctor: "She's in defib!"
Doctor: "Let's defib at 200. Give me a milligram
of epi."
[She injects the epinephrine into the woman's IV.]
Doctor: "Okay, clear!"
[The others respond that they are clear. She uses the paddles to stimulate
the patient's heart causing her arm to slip from the table revealing her
bloodied right hand. The doctor continues issuing orders.]
Doctor: "Second charge to 300. Clear!"
[Again the others respond that they are clear. Frank steps closer to stare
at the wound on the woman's hand. Then looks down to his own right hand --
at the scar along the inside of the palm... as the heart monitor signals a
flatline.]
Doctor: "She's gone."
2nd Doctor: "Time of death -- 10:35 PM."
[FADE to black... Logo fade in... Music and main titles roll]
M I L L E N N I U M
wait
worry
starring
Lance Henriksen (Frank Black)
Megan Gallagher (Catherine Black)
created by Chris Carter
who cares?
--------- commercial segment ---------
[Trademark music cue... ]
[Episode quote]
"A man's past is not simply a dead
history... it is a still quivering
part of himself, bringing shudders
and bitter flavours and the
tinglings of a merited shame."
George Elliot
[Trademark music cue as the scene fades in from white... ]
[Episode credits roll during the next scene]
Bill Smitrovich (Lt. Bob Bletcher)
Guest Starring
Jeremy Roberts (Richard Alan Hance)
Scott Heindl (Jacob Tyler)
Music by Mark Snow
Editor: Stephen Mark
Production Designer: Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography: Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer: Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer: Ted Mann
Consulting Producers: James Wong & Glen Morgan
Co-Producer: Ken Dennis
Producer: Chip Johannessen
Co-Executive Producer: Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer: Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer: John Peter Kousakis
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
[Setting is an abandoned warehouse with debris scattered everywhere.
Movement through a hallway, flashlights lighting the way, checking each
room as it's passed. A man, FBI Agent Riley, comes out of one of the rooms,
pointing a gun at Frank, a much younger Frank, frightening them both.]
Riley: "I nearly blew a new hole in you, Frank."
Frank: "I'm sure he's here."
Riley: "Johnson and Clark are working the third
floor."
[Riley heads towards the stairs with his gun drawn before him. Frank stands
where he is, sensing that something is somewhere behind him. He looks to his
left, then turns to watch Riley climbing the stairs off to his right.]
[He nearly calls after him but turns instead to his left again and proceeds
down the hallway. At the open doorway, he checks out the room, gun drawn
and flashlight in hand. He walks through the room, throws down a mattress
that leans against the wall to reveal rats, even more debris and a crumbling
wall. He hears a floorboard creak and turns to face a closed door.]
[As he reaches to open it... he sees a hand being slashed... and awakes from
his nightmare to find himself in bed next to his wife, Catherine.]
[Rising quietly, so as not to disturb her, he picks up a sweatshirt and
heads to his office down in the basement. He sits, smiles faintly at the
screensaver on his Macintosh computer which consists of his daughter
Jordan's picture and a hand-scrawled scan of: "I Love Daddy."]
[He again looks at the scar on his palm, clenches his fist and reaches
to log on to the Millennium Group, entering his User I.D. and Password.
Accepted, he is welcomed and the start-up screen begins loading. Message
onscreen reads: "Group Database Access Approved."]
[Upon entering, Frank selects a scar tissue database with a hand outline.
He uses a stylus pen to trace his own scar, entering the data into his
computer and requests: "Find Match." The database searches all scars on
file for 1996 to 1997.]
[As it continues to look for a match, Catherine comes downstairs looking
for Frank.]
Catherine: "Honey?"
Frank: "Couldn't sleep."
Catherine: "Something affected you at the hospital."
(She takes his hand in hers.) "You want to talk about
it?"
[Frank looks at her but doesn't answer. She kisses him. The computer signals
it has completed its task. Both look at the screen to see the results: "No
Match Found." Catherine, seeing the hand outline onscreen and the scar drawn
there, looks to Frank's hand, lightly tracing his scar with her finger. He
clasps her hands, rises and they both return upstairs together, holding one
another as the compuer screen is shown again.]
[NEXT SCENE: Street traffic across from the Public Safety Building in
Seattle. Inside, Lt. Bob Bletcher's office, as Bletch reads to Frank from
the police report of the dead woman that Frank saw at the hospital the night
before.]
Bletch: "Anne Rothenberg, 32. Her husband found
her when he came home from work. He said some cash
and some jewelry were missing. Poor woman probably
surprised a burglar."
Frank: "Similar M.O.'s in any recent break-ins?"
Bletch: "No, we've been on a hot-streak. No homicides
as a result of break-ins in two months."
Frank: "Subject leave anything, anything at the
scene?"
Bletch: "Anything like... ?"
Frank: "Like anything."
Bletch: "No, but if, uh, any `like anythings' turn
up, uh, you'll be the first person I'll call."
(Frank smiles at Bletch.)
[NEXT SCENE: Tyler steps out from his car and walks towards a liquor store.
Inside, the store clerk is sitting at the counter watching a basketball game
on TV, as Tyler enters.]
[Tyler again envisions the exchange with his victim prior to living it. He
grabs a bag of chips and tosses it on the counter.]
Clerk: "Anything else?"
Tyler: "I was never a religious person. But I've
been troubled by what I've done." (The clerk rings
up the chips.)
Clerk: "You need some help finding something?"
Tyler: "Do you know why I'm here?"
Clerk: "Certain people have to be sacrificed."
Tyler: "Then you understand -- you accept this?"
Clerk: "God says if you're repentant, you'll be
forgiven. You've made your peace. I must make mine."
[End of vision, Tyler enters the scene for real this time, grabbing and
tossing a bag of chips onto the counter. The clerk reaches for a bag... ]
Clerk: "Anything else?"
[Tyler pulls out a gun, points it at the clerk and fires four shots. As he
leaves the store with a bag filled with money from the cash register, a sign
on the door is shown which reads: `Smile - You're on Camera!']
[NEXT SCENE: Again in Bletcher's office, Bletch is showing the surveillance
tape from the liquor store to Frank. Date on the lower left-hand corner
reads: "2 12 97" and the time code begins at: "10:12.53"]
Bletch: "Well, our streak is over. This came
in just a couple of hours ago."
[The tape shows Tyler entering the store and approaching the clerk at the
counter with the bag of chips. It cuts back and forth to Bletch explaining
to Frank why he wanted to show him the tape.]
Bletch: "It's probably not connected to the
Rothenberg robbery/homicide -- different weapons,
circumstances, totally incompatible M.O.'s -- but
there was just something weird about this I wanted
you to look at. Listen to the way he talks to the
victim."
[CUT back to the running videotape... ]
Clerk: "Anything else?"
Tyler: "I was never a religious person. But I've
been troubled by what I've done." (The clerk rings
up the bag of chips.)
Clerk: "Seventy-five cents."
Tyler: "Do you know why I'm here?"
Clerk: "I don't know -- a good time? I got a special
on malt liquor in the back."
[Frank envisions the exchange Tyler had with the victim and begins to echo
the clerk's words as Tyler heard them in his mind... ]
Frank: " `Certain people have to be sacrificed.' "
Tyler: "Then you understand -- you accept this?"
[Bletch can only hear the exchange as it occurs on the tape and stares at
Frank's narration.]
Frank: " `God says if you're repentant, that
you'll be forgiven. I've made my peace, now
you must do your duty.' "
Bletch: "What the hell are you talking about?"
[CUT back to the tape... Tyler is seen shooting the clerk to death.]
Bletch: "The bastard didn't even ask him for
the money before he killed him."
Frank: "He gave his permission."
[CUT back to the tape... Tyler is turning away from the counter after taking
the money from the register, as Bletch is about to stop the tape.]
Frank: "Oh no, let it run."
[Tyler can be seen tossing something down towards the dead clerk's body
on the floor. Frank rewinds the tape a few seconds to watch Tyler's action
again. As Tyler again tosses something down to the ground, Frank points to
the screen.]
Frank: "An `anything.' "
[NEXT SCENE: The liquor store crime scene. Frank finds a some items strewn
on the floor behind the counter, lying in a puddle of the dead clerk's
blood. Frank crouches down, pulls on a rubber glove, reaches for a pocket
knife and picks up a portion of a playing card from the blood-soaked floor.
It is the torn half of the Jack of Spades. Turning it reveals a back image
made up of skulls which causes Frank to relive several harried flashbacks
from a time in his distant past. He turns and speaks over his shoulder to
Bletch.]
Frank: "I'd like to examine the Rothenberg crime
scene."
[NEXT SCENE: The Rothenberg residence. Everything has been cleaned up. The
living room is neat and ordered as several detectives search through the
house. Frank is kneeling on the floor, also searching. Bletch is holding an
evidence bag with the bloodied torn playing card.]
Bletch: "Frank, forensics' already been through this
place. They didn't find anything. Mr. Rothenberg
spent all night cleaning up. In his state of mind,
he might have destroyed the evidence and not even
remembered."
[Frank continues to search. Bletch kneels next to him.]
Bletch: "Why is it so important we find this card?"
(He shows the evidence bag to Frank.) "If these
two murders are related, we've got the surveillance
camera footage from the liquor store. We should be
with a sketch artist building a composite instead
of this."
Frank: "Something I need to know."
[Frank stands and walks across the room to an upright piano while Bletch
continues to look at the card piece in the bag. Frank looks at some dried
flowers in a pot on the floor beside the piano. He pulls the pot away from
the wall and finds the other half of the playing card.]
[This triggers more images, flashbacks for Frank. He again sees a bloodied
hand with a slash cut across the palm. He also sees another torn playing
card covered with blood: the King of Clubs.]
[Back to the present, the torn playing card beside the piano is face down.]
Bletch: "You found it! (Kneels besisde Frank.)
"Is it a Jack of Spades?"
Frank: "I can't. (Shakes his head, unable to
turn the card.) I can't do it, Bletch."
[Bletch reaches over, picks up the card. A close-up shows that the card back
has the same skulls the other torn half had and the words: "58th Airborne.
Expect No Mercy." Bletch turns the card to reveal that it is also a Jack of
Spades and then places it next to the evidence bag to confirm that they are
both halves of the same card.]
Frank: "He always kills in pairs."
Bletch: "You know this guy."
Frank: "Twenty years ago. I was almost a second
of a pair."
[Frank shows Bletch his right hand, running his fingers over the scar on his
palm.]
--------- commercial segment ---------
[Trademark music cue as the scene fades in from white... ]
[Setting: The Black residence, Frank's basement. Frank is showing a case
file to Bletch on his computer. Image onscreen is a mugshot photo.]
Frank: "Richard Alan Hance, born February 17th, 1953,
to a Josephine Hance. Father unknown. When he was six
he was sent into foster care, where for the next ten
years he lived with nine different families."
[Frank continues to speak as the computer screen is shown. A copy of Hance's
file is visible and reads as follows:]
Washington Correctional Centre
4600 Monitor Road
Shelton, Washington 98402
SUBJECT INFORMATION
Name: Hance, Richard Alan
Race: White
Sex: Male
HT: 6'3"
WGT: 185 Lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Complexion: Medium
D.O.B. 02/17/1953
SS# 010-09-2011
NCIC INFORMATION
Father unknown, remanded into foster care at
the age of 6. Remained in welfare care until
the age of 16.
{Mugshot}
WASHINGTON STATE
CORRECTIONS CENTER
HANCE, RICHARD ALAN
321-857
Frank: "In county social-welfare parlance, he
was labeled `irredeemable.' When Hance was seventeen
he was sent to live with his grandparents on a farm
in Montana. They were self-sufficient people living
in rural isolation. Six months after Richard Hance
moved in, his grandparents' decomposing bodies surfaced
on Flathead Lake. Murder charges were dropped for lack
of evidence. Hance was encouraged to join the military.
Did two tours in Viet Nam. Discharged in 1977."
[He picks up several crime scene photos and hands them, one at a time, to
Bletch.]
Frank: "That same year on the outskirts of Tacoma,
Sandra Bishop's body was found dead at her house,
apparently from surprising a robber."
[The first photo is of Bishop, lying on the carpet of her floor, covered
with blood. The second is a close-up of her bloodied right hand with a two
and a half inch slash across the length of her palm.]
Frank: "Half a death card, used by soldiers in Viet
Nam to designate their kills, was discovered at the
scene."
[Third photo is of a torn playing card, with blood splatters: the Queen of
Diamonds.]
Frank: "The other half was found three days later,
on a jogger, killed returning to his car."
[The last photo is of the other half of the torn card, back face with the
words: "58th Airborne. Expect No Mercy."]
Bletch: "You think Hance is responsible?" (Frank
nods.) "Then we should put a warrant out for Richard
Alan Hance." (Frank shakes his head.)
Frank: "He's presently at the Washington Correction
Center, serving seven consecutive life sentences."
Bletch: "Seven?"
Frank: "The week after the first two murders, two
more bodies were found."
[What follows is a flashback that intercuts with Frank description of the
events which took place twenty years earlier. It was raining heavily.]
Frank: "After the second pair of victims, there was
a lull. We thought he went away. Then Seattle PD
received an anonymous call regarding the whereabouts
of the Death Card Killer."
[Several Seattle uniformed officers, detectives and FBI agents, in
designated jackets, are standing in the downpour in a alley behind an
abandoned building.]
Frank: "They found evidence he might have squatted
in an condemned building but was long gone. We came
in after the operations to see if anything more could
be learned from his abandoned belongings."
[The FBI agent in charge speaks to Frank before they enter the building.]
{Agent: "Do you get any feelings about this one,
Frank?"}
{Frank: "Abandoned building in an industrial park.
It's isolated enough at night to be an urban version
of Grandpa Hance's farm in Montana. I think it's a
good tip, sir."}
{Agent: "All right. The building's been swept by the
Seattle PD. But there's plenty of hiding places." (All
of the agents, including Frank, check their weapons.)
"So, be careful in there. All right, let's go."}
[They enter the building, in pairs -- Frank and his partner Riley, followed
by another team of Johnson and Clark. All have their guns drawn and are
carrying flashlights, checking every corner as they go.]
[Johnson and Clark head upstairs. Frank and Riley continue searching the
first floor, room by room, with Frank leading the way.]
[Upstairs, Johnson and Clark are following the same procedure. Back
downstairs, Frank finds the remains of some food, including a can of Smeat,
a canned meat product. He turns to his partner.]
{Frank: "Cover me."}
[He holsters his weapon, kneels down, picks up the can and smells it. The
odor is pugnent.]
{Frank: "It's decomposing. I'd say he'd been here
less than forty-eight hours."}
{Riley: "You must be great at parties." (Jokingly.)}
[Frank again pulls out his gun and they continue searching.]
[Upstairs, Johnson and Clark do the same. Johnson finds some blood splatters
on a mattress and scraps some samples into a vial, while Clark continues on
without him. Johnson then find a magazine, `Police Stories: Sex Freak Drank
His Victim's Blood,' with a bloody thumb print on the cover.]
{Johnson: "Hey, Clark? Looks like we got a partial
thumb on this magazine." (No response.) "Clark?"}
[Still no response, so Johnson goes off in search of Clark. As he goes from
one room to the next, he finally spots his partner on the ground.]
{Johnson: "Clark?"}
[He kneels by his side, reaches over to feel for a pulse at his throat and
finds his fingers covered with blood.]
{Johnson: "Oh, God!"}
[Johnson, still kneeling, begins looking around the room with the
flashlight. Hance is hiding in the shadows with greasepaint covering his
face for camouflage. Beside Clark's body, Johnson finds a torn half of a
playing card, covered in blood. As he picks it, Hance comes out from the
shadows, creeps up and kicks him, knocking him down. Frank and Riley hear
the noise from below.]
{Frank: "Go!" (And they both rush up the stairs.)}
[Hance stands over Johnson, takes out his knife, uses his foot to hold down
Johnson's right hand and slashes it across the palm. Hance then grabs and
pulls Johnson by the shirt collar into another room. Frank and Riley begin
searching for their colleagues.]
{Riley: "Johnson? Clark?"}
[He motions for Frank to continue searching while he heads on down the hall
to do the same. Frank opens the door to a room, enters and begins looking.
Then he is walking down a hallway, checking each open doorway with his
flashlight for any movement. As he reaches the next door, Riley appears,
pointing his gun at Frank -- the same moment Frank had relived in his
nightmare earlier.]
{Riley: "I nearly blew a new hole in you, Frank."}
{Frank: "I'm sure he's here."}
{Riley: "Johnson and Clark are working the third
floor."}
[Riley heads towards the stairs with his gun drawn before him. Frank stands
where he is, sensing that something is somewhere behind him. He looks to
his left, then turns to watch Riley climbing the stairs off to his right.
He nearly calls after him but turns instead to his left again and proceeds
down the hallway.]
[At the open doorway, he checks out the room, gun drawn and flashlight in
hand. He walks through the room, throws down a mattress that leans against
the wall to reveal rats, even more debris and a crumbling wall. He hears a
floorboard creak and turns to face a closed door.]
[As he reaches to open it... a dead Johnson falls on top of him, pinning him
to the ground. Hance appears out of the shadows again, places his foot over
Frank's right wrist, and slashes the palm with his knife. Frank tries to get
up but is unable to because of Johnson's body. Hance then drops the other
torn half of the playing card near Frank.]
{Hance: "Joker."}
[He kneels down close to Frank's face.]
{Hance: "Can you see what I see, FBI? Can
you see your fear? Can you see what you
really are?"}
[There is an image of Frank's face becoming someone else's but the identity
is unclear.]
[Hance raises his hand to stab Frank as Riley enters the room and fires,
wounding him. Hance returns fire, hitting Riley. Riley manages to get off
one more round but not before Hance fires off five more shots, killing
Riley.]
[Hance continues to pull the trigger but the gun is empty. Frank finally
manages to free himself of Johnson's body and reaches for his own gun on
the floor. Frank, using his left hand, points the gun at Hance.]
{Frank: "Drop it! Drop it, you son-of-a-bitch!"}
[Hance continues to point his gun at Frank. Frank pulls the hammer back,
cocking the gun.
{Frank: "Come on! Give me a reason!"}
[Hance finally lowers the gun and places it on the ground, surrendering to
Frank.]
{Hance: "You get me an ambulance. I'm hurt."}
[Frank finishes telling his story to Bletch.]
Frank: "If he follows Hance's pattern, the current
subject will take two more victims. The second pair
before a period of unknown activity. Whatever Hance
did, whatever happened to him during that lull in
1977, made Hance more aggressive. It was only a
lucky tip that allowed us to catch him at all."
[Frank begins wringing his hands, rubbing the scar on his palm, and
squeezing his hands together. Bletch notices this.]
Frank: "And the loss of three lives. We have to
stop the subject before he gets there."
Bletch: "Maybe, uh, someone should talk to, uh,
Richard Hance."
Frank: "Someone?"
Bletch: "You."
[He hands Frank Hance's file. Frank takes it and drops it on the desk.)
Frank: "After killing a prison guard, Richard
Hance has been isolated from human contact for
three years."
Bletch: "You've already spoken with Washington
Corrections?"
Frank: "I've never taken my eyes off of him even
though for all intents and purposes he's dead."
Bletch: "Then, uh, how is it possible that he's,
uh, responsible for these recent murders?"
Frank: "Hance's cellmate, prior to being placed
in isolation, whom the guards referred to as `Mrs.
Hance,' has been released from prison. He's broken
parole. His whereabouts are unknown."
[He turns back to his computer and calls up Tyler's file from the Washington
Correction Centre.]
Frank: "Jacob Tyler. He is the living reincarnation
of Richard Alan Hance."
[NEXT SCENE: Tyler is shown walking down a crowded street, picking up on
conversations around him but twisting them in his mind, personalizing them
to fit his own interpretation. He sees a meter maid and turns away, worried
that he might be recognized. As he passes people on the street, he thinks
he can hear they say to him... ]
{1st Woman: "They're everywhere."}
[He turns to stare at her as she continues walking past him. Another woman,
walking with a friend, turns to look at him.]
{2nd Woman: "They're on to you, it's just a
matter of time."}
[And then goes on walking and talking with her friend.]
2nd Woman: "And he had a little tie... "
[Tyler turns and begins to follow the two women when a street evangelist
points to him and... ]
{Evangelist: "You, who have sinned, shall endure
the tortures of the Devil! For each condemnation,
ten lashes with a red-hot wire! The flesh will be
flayed from your body and salt poured over the
wounds! And your screams of mercy shall fall on
deaf ears! And those who screamed in vain, under
your hand, shall rejoice in your suffering!"}
[Tyler walks away from the man as he continues to offer his street-corner
sermon to anyone who will listen.)
Evangelist: "The Lord has sent me to prophecy
against this city -- all the words that ye
have heard. Therefore, mend your ways... "
[Tyler passes a newsstand and, in his mind, sees his face on the cover of
every single magazine, with headlines that read: `Captured.']
[NEXT SCENE: It is night, raining, several police vehicles are already at
a crime scene when Frank pulls up in his Jeep Cherokee. He climbs out and
walks over to meet up with Bletcher. There are two bodies on the ground,
covered with plastic as Bletcher describes the situation to Frank.]
Bletch: "Motorist looking to relieve himself
stumbled over the bodies."
[He holds an evidence bag in his hand and shows it to Frank.]
Bletch: "Queen of Hearts. Half here, half on
the other body."
Frank: "We're too late."
Bletch: "Too late? This couple was murdered at
least three weeks ago."
Frank: "That means that the liquor store owner
completed the cycle. He's gotten there."
Bletch: "Period of unknown activity. There's
no way to stop him, until he acts again."
Frank: "There is something."
[Frank has a short flashback of images from his encounter with Hance.]
Frank: "I have to speak to the dead."
--------- commercial segment ---------
[Trademark music cue as the scene fades in from white... ]
BASEMENT
WASHINGTON CORRECTIONS CENTER
[Hance is in a large cell, standing on a table, slamming a food tray
against the ceiling of the cell toward the fluorescent lights above, trying
to silence its constant hum. Frustrated with the tray, he tosses it down
and begins slamming his own shoulder against the ceiling by jumping on the
table.]
[Four guards approach his cell. One of them is carrying a tray with shackles
on it.]
[CUT to another part of the prison -- an interrogation room, without bars,
but with steel walls. The room is well-lit and silent. Frank is speaking
with the prison warden, trying to convince him to grant him a private
interview with Hance.]
Warden: "I think you're making a mistake."
[Frank repeatedly rubs his right hand.]
Warden: "This man has been convicted of three
additional killings while incarcerated, including
the guard, whose bloodied-body he paraded up and
down the cellblock like some kind of trophy."
Frank: "He has information that can help us
save lives."
Warden: "Yeah, well, maybe we could set up
a chair between the cells. You can conduct
your interview there."
Frank: "In order to get what I want, I have
to gain his trust. He won't give us anything
from behind those bars."
Warden: "There's no surveillance set up in
this room. You'd be on your own in here."
(sighs) "When you're done, you can press
this button."
[He places a remote switch on the table.]
Warden: "The guards'll come get him. And,
uh, you're going to have to sign this before
we bring him in."
[He hands Frank a sheet of paper.]
Warden: "It's just a statement acknowledging
that you understand that if you're taken hostage,
the prison administration will not negociate for
your life."
[He signs the paper and hands it back to the warden.]
[Frank faces the locked door. As it opens, he comes face to face, with
Richard Alan Hance, accompanied by the four guards. Frank looks at the
guards and says... ]
Frank: "Remove the cuffs."
[The guards hesitate and look from Frank to the warden.]
Frank: "Please, remove the cuffs."
[The warden nods and the cuffs are removed. The shackles on his legs remain.
The warden indicates that the guards are to leave and he follows them out
the door. Then it is shut, leaving Frank and Hance alone.]
[Hance looks up at the lights and the humming begins again. They both sit
down at the steel table, across from one another, the remote switch near
Frank's hands.]
Frank: "My name is Frank Black. I'm not part of
the prison or the FBI or any other law enforcement
agency. I assure you that anything we talk about
will not be passed alone to the prison authorities.
You're not being taped or monitored in any way. I'm
asking for your cooperation in freely talking about
your childhood, your life, your crimes."
Hance: "Make them turn off the lights. In my cell,
they keep them on twenty-four hours a day, every
day. Fluorescent lights. It's the hum. You hear
it?" (Frank nods.) "60-cycle hum. Constant. It's
like you're aware of your own heart beating. The
pounding. Even when my eyes are closed and I'm
sleeping, I can see the light right through the
eyelids."
[Frank stares at him throughout.]
Hance: "I used to hate living in the darkness.
Now I would kill just for a second of black."
[Frank stares more intently at Hance.]
Hance: "Well, you know... figuratively."
Frank: "There are no rewards for cooperation."
Hance: "Well then why the hell would I talk to
you?"
Frank: "You can go back to the hum."
[Frank takes the remote switch and places it between them.]
Frank: "This interview can be ended by either
one of us by pressing that button. I'll go my
way, you'll go back to your cell. Sandra Bishop,
let's start there."
Hance: "Ah, no! A good story you have to start
at the beginning. Sandra Bishop would be like
walking into a play after the intermission."
Frank: "What's the beginning of the story?"
Hance: "First though, you wanna make a movie
about my life, I want Gary Busey to play me.
I think he'd be perfect for the part. Is he
still popular?"
Frank: "I don't get cable."
Hance: (He gestures with his fingers, as if they
were the lens of a camera.) "We open on my grand-
parents' farm in Montana. I was, uh, seventeen. It
was February and Valentine's Day. There was this
girl that I was sweet on. Oh, and I want Ally Sheedy
to play her."
[Frank looks as though he's beginning to lose patience with Hance.]
Hance: "Okay... where was I? Oh! I had saved my
money all winter-long so that I could buy her the
biggest box of chocolates in one of those heart-
shaped boxes. I sent her a card. Wouldn't let my
grandma see the card 'cause I knew she'd just go
on and on about how much I spent. So I just asked
her to address it 'cause I couldn't read or write.
Anyway, February 14th comes and I'm walking up to
her house and I got that box of chocolates under my,
under my arm and I'm walking up the driveway and,
and all of her, all of her folks, they're outside
and they're laughing at- at me! And she's- she's
crying, she's just bawling her eyes out. And she
says to me, `They say you can't read!' Then she
shows me the card I'd sent her, you know. It's,
uh, it's a Father's Day card. I just dropped the
box and I turned around and walked away. Been
walking away ever since."
Frank: "Willie Lloyd Turner. That's HIS story. He
was executed May 25th, 1995 in Virginia." (Hance
begins to laugh.)
Hance: "Something borrowed, something... " (Frank
interrupts him.)
Frank: "John Barnes."
Hance: "The jogger, hmmm... "
Frank: "1977. The matched pair."
Hance: "They all asked for it."
Frank: "Asked?"
Hance: "You just gotta listen. You gotta feel the
vibe. And the meat, as I call 'em, they'll volunteer
their lives up."
Frank: "Is that what you call the FBI agents -- the
meat?"
Hance: "No, no, no, no, no. They're like me -- meat-
eaters. That's what made them so fun to kill." (He
laughs again.) "The hunters become the hunted."
[Images from Hance's memories of killing Clark, attacking him from behind.]
Hance: "The first one, practically offered himself
up to me, like Ophelia offering herself to Dracula."
[More images from Hance's memories of luring Johnson to his death.]
Hance: "And Ophelia became my bait. And the second
one, after witnessing my power, just surrendered."
[Images of the attack on Johnson and the slashing of his palm.]
Hance: "I mark 'em, on the palm. That's my trademark.
That makes them my property -- my meat."
Frank: "And the third?"
Hance: "The third one was a coward. I ate his fear
up like it was a Thanksgiving meal. His sweat was
the cranberry sauce. His breath was the stuffing.
And those frozen eyes? They were the dark meat."
Frank: "You marked him -- but you didn't kill him."
[He bends back his hand to show Hance his scar.]
Hance: "The joker! You think you're safe in here
with all these guards all around and me shackled.
And this little panic button at your fingertips.
Takes them 33 seconds from the moment you push that
button to the time they open that door. I counted.
You know what I can do to you in 33 seconds, Meat?"
Frank: "YOU'RE the one who has to decide when to
push that button."
[Hance envisions Frank grabbing and shoving the remote switch towards him,
but in reality, Frank doesn't move an inch.]
Frank: "I thought about how I should have ended
your life, the way you ended my friends and the
others. If I had pulled that trigger, no one would
have given it a second thought. There would have
been no doubts, by anyone -- except me. And now I'm
beginning to wonder if I made the right decision.
I was afraid to come here. Not because of you...
but because of me. I'm not so sure I should have
given myself the chance to make that decision again.
Make it for me. Give me a reason."
Hance: (Puts his hands up as if quitting.) "No,
I've already eaten you. May I be excused?"
Frank: "Jacob Tyler. You finished eating him?"
Hance: "Now, I would never hurt Jacob."
Frank: "Tyler came into this prison -- he was
a bank robber, with no history of homicidal
violence. Now he's following your pattern,
your exact signature. You killed him and made
another Richard Hance."
Hance: "Look, you ever share your life so
completely with another human being that you-
you- you eat, you sleep, you- you breathe
everything the same. I touched his life like
no one else can because I was in here with him!
I mattered and he mattered! I lived as Jacob
and he lived as me. We are as one."
[He points to the fluorescent lights above him.]
Hance: "They're trying to torture me with these
lights." (He chuckles.) "But for every second
these lights burn, that tells me that's another
second that he's out there. That's not murder --
that's love."
Frank: "And if you truly love him, he'll do as
you've done. He'll take two pairs of two and then
rest, gathering his strength and resources for the
test. The test where the hunters become the hunted.
The anonymous tip -- the trap -- you called it in!"
[Hance doesn't answer but simply stares at Frank.]
[NEXT SCENE: Night. Tyler, driving a different car, stops at a phone booth.]
Operator: "Crime-Stoppers Hot Line."
Tyler: "I have some information... information
regarding the, uh, the guy in the papers?"
Operator: "Could you be more specific, please?"
Tyler: "The guy who killed the liquor store guy?
You know, with drawing in the papers."
Operator: "Yes, sir. Have you seen someone who
matches the composite?"
Tyler: "Yeah. I think I've seen him around this
abandoned building on, uh, 30th and Hope. I think
he crashes there at night."
Operator: "Thanks for the tip, sir. You may be
eligible for a rewar-."
[Tyler hangs up the phone.]
--------- commercial segment ---------
[Trademark music cue as the scene fades in from white... ]
[Sound of thunder and pouring rain as once again the setting is the
abandoned warehouse twenty years ago. Movement through a hallway, flashlight
lighting the way, checking each room as it's passed. A man, this time it's
present day Frank Black, comes out of one of the rooms, pointing a gun at
the younger Frank Black.]
Older Frank: "I nearly blew a new hole in you,
Frank."
Younger Frank: "I'm sure he's here."
Older Frank: "Johnson and Clark are working
the third floor."
[The Older Frank moves off to echo Riley's steps while the Younger Frank
continues as before. He senses that there's something close by and turns to
consider calling after the Older Frank who is climbing the stairs, but does
not. Instead, he turns and investigates the room at the far end of the
hallway.]
[The Older Frank takes the stairs, two at a time, and cautiously enters the
room in front of him, calling softly for Johnson and Clark.]
[He can hear some sounds, mumbling, and goes further into the room to find
that part of the floor is missing giving a clear view of the floor below.
He sees the Younger Frank on the ground, Agent Johnson on top of him and
Richard Alan Hance standing above Frank, dropping the torn half of the Joker
near his head.]
[The Older Frank kneels down on the floor by the hole's edge for a closer
look. He sees Hance kneel beside the Younger Frank and ask... ]
Hance: "Can you see what I see, FBI? Can you
see your fear? Can you see what you really are?"
[The Older Frank is becoming more anxious. He hears a shot fired. Looking,
he sees Riley enter the room. He's hit Hance but he's still able to return
fire.]
[The Older Frank then holds his head, blocking his ears with his hands and
shuts his eys, unwilling and unable to bear witness to the unfolding events
yet again. When he opens his eyes he sees the Younger Frank pointing his gun
at an unarmed and wounded Hance.]
Frank: "Drop it, you son-of-a-bitch! Come
on! Give me a reason!"
[Hance continues to point his gun at Frank. Frank pulls the hammer back,
cocking the gun. As Hance leans down to surrender his weapon, the Older
Frank can sense what is about to happen. He even pulls out and points his
own gun down at the Younger Frank, shouting... ]
Older Frank: "No!!"
[The Younger Frank opens fire on Hance, firing nine shots -- from a six-
cylinder revolver.]
[The nightmare awakens Frank, who sits up in bed in the early morning hours
and manages to wake Catherine up with his movement.]
Catherine: "Frank?" (sighs) "You haven't
slept through the night for a week."
[She takes his right hand in hers.]
Frank: "Sorry I woke you."
Catherine: "I'm not."
Frank: "I've been questioning some of my actions.
We think we're doing our job putting these guys
away. All we do is put them in jails and prisons
or hiding them from sight."
Catherine: "You've taken away their ability to
harm any others."
Frank: "You think so? Four people have died
because of my inaction."
Catherine: "Your `inaction?' " (Frank nods.)
Frank: "Twenty years ago I could have destroyed
a cancer. Instead of killing it, I allowed it
to spread."
Catherine: "Richard Hance." (Frank nods again.)
"That `cancer' was a man under your custody. You
could no more kill him than you could kill Jordan
or me." (sighs) Frank... I believe in the goodness
that's in you. You have to find a way to believe
in it again."
[She kisses him on the cheek and rests her head on his shoulder.]
[NEXT SCENE: That night, outside of the building at 30th and Hope, the
police are in full force, watching the building for any movement. Frank
and Bletch are watching as well. Frank looks a pair of binoculars. There's
a light in a third-floor window.]
Frank: "You got the anonymous tip last night?"
(He asks Bletch who is standing behind him.
Bletch nods.) "Well, if he stays with the
pattern, that'll be the trap. He'll be in
the building, waiting."
Bletch: "Undercover officers kept this under
surveillance since early this morning. If he
moves a hair, we're gonna nail him."
Frank: "I think Jacob Tyler has lost all
contact with his own personality. We can't
count on his survival instincts to surrender,
even against overwhelming odds."
Bletch: "Maybe in this case it's better just
to end it. Here. Now."
[Frank looks at him but doesn't respond. Bletch picks up his radio and
issues the order... ]
Bletch: "Okay, it's a `Go!' "
[Sirens wail, police cars pull up as teams of SWAT members and canine
squads approach the abandoned building. A radio dispatcher can be heard
offering instructions and relaying messages when shots are fired, hitting
several police officers. Everyone dives for cover. Frank looks through the
binoculars trying to locate the shooter.]
Frank: (Pointing to a building under
construction across the street.) "There
he is! Third floor!"
[Bletch again gets on the radio.]
Bletch: "Third floor! The northeast building!
The one under construction! Go!"
[They both head for the building and enter it. Tyler is using a high-
powered rifle and continues firing several more rounds. Then he begins
to move around the empty floor of the building as Frank and Bletch begin
searching for him. Bletch goes off on his own while Frank hangs back.]
[While Bletch climbs up a flight of stairs, Frank goes off toward his
left. He finds the empty shell casings as Tyler comes up, hitting him from
behind.]
Tyler: "I just want you to know it's not
personal."
[Tyler has his rifle pointing at Frank, who is kneeling at his feet.]
Frank: "We answered the call."
Tyler: "You know why I'm here?"
Frank: "You made a promise -- a promise you
have to keep."
Tyler: "You understand?"
Frank: "Certain people have to be sacrificed."
Tyler: "Then you accept this?"
Frank: "No. I've already been sacrificed."
[Frank holds up his palm and shows Tyler his scar. While distracted, Frank
grabs the rifle and kicks Tyler's legs out from under him. Scrambling,
Frank ducks behind some steel barrels as Tyler pulls out a handgun and
begins shooting at the barrel, hoping to hit Frank. He continues pulling
the trigger even after he empties his gun. Frank then rises, points the
rifle at Tyler and... ]
Frank: "You are not who you are!"
[Tyler begins to lower his gun.]
Frank: "You're Jacob Tyler!"
[Frank lowers the rifle and looks directly at Tyler.]
Frank: "And you'll have to find a way to
believe in that again."
[Bletcher enters from behind Tyler, unseen and unheard, until... ]
Bletch: "Drop it!"
[Tyler turns around and points the empty gun at Bletch.]
Bletch: "Drop it now!"
Frank: (Screams.) "No!!"
[Bletch shoots Tyler dead.]
Bletch: (Into his radio... ) "This is
Bletcher. Third floor -- suspect's down.
Send the coroner."
[Frank stares at him as he picks up Tyler's gun, opens it and finds nothing
but empty shell casings.]
Bletch: "Couldn't take the chance, Frank...
for now or later."
[Both men stare at one another.]
Frank: "How did we get to this place where
the only thing we're good for is notifying
the loved ones?"
[FADE to the prison, Hance's cell. He's lying on his cot, trying to sleep
through the humming of the fluorescent lights above as go out, first two by
two, then the rest. Now in silence, Hance can only hum himself to sleep.]
[Trademark music cue as the credit fades in from black... ]
Executive Producer: Chris Carter
--------- commercial segment ---------
[PREVIEW of next week's Millennium -- no image description]
Voice Over: "Frank Black has hunted the darkest
evil, but never this close to home."
Bletch: "Leave it alone!"
Frank: "I can't, she's my brother's wife."
Voice Over: "A brand new Millennium... "
[End titles roll]
Ten Thirteen Productions
in association with
20th Century Fox Television (R)
A News Corporation Company
Co-Starring
Ken Tremblett (Agent Riley)
Allan Harvey (Agent Johnson)
Mark Holden (Agent Clark)
Nancy Sivak (Anne Rothenberg)
Larry Musser (Warden)
Tom Heaton (Store Clerk)
Casting by Rick Pagano/Debi Maniwiller, C.S.A.
Vancouver Casting by Coreen Mayrs
Original Casting by Randy Stone, C.S.A.
Production Manager: Kathy Gilroy-Sereda
First Assistant Director: Morgan Beggs
Second Assistant Director: David Klohn
Set Decorator: Louise Roper
Art Director: James Steuart
Construction Coordinator: Mike Rennison
Script Supervisor: Beth Mercer
Location Manager: Matthew Chipera
Hair Stylist: Brenda Gibson
Makeup Artist: Natalie Cosco
Special Effects Makeup: Lindala Makeup Effects, Inc.
Costume Designer: Diane Widas
Head Painter: Jenny Seinen
Sound Mixer: Patrick Ramsay
Camera Operators: Rod Pridy, Mike Wrinch
Gaffer: Barry Donlevy
Key Grip: R.K. Hill
2nd Unit Director of Photography: Les Erskine
Property Master: Kimberley Regent
Special Effects Coordinator: Bob Comer
Stunt Coordinator: Lou Bollo
Transportation Coordinator: James Perenseff
Extras Casting: Lisa Ratke
Assistants to Chris Carter: Mary Astadourian, Joanne Service
Production Coordinator: Isabel Johnson
Post Production Supervisor: Julie Herlocker
Casting Associate - Los Angeles: Alfred Gomez
Casting Associate - Vancouver: Heike Brandstatter
Post Production Sound: West Productions, Inc.
Supervising Sound Editor: Mark R. Crookston
Re-Recording Mixers: James G. Williams, Bryan Gladstone, Don MacDougall
Scoring Mixer: Larold Rebhun
Music Editor: Jeff Charbonneau
Assistant Editors: Jim Thomson, Robert Hudson
On-Line Editor: Rob Williams
DaVinci Colorist: Kevin Kirwan
Visual Effects by Area 51
Visual Effects Supervisor: Glenn Campbell
Visual Effects Producer: Tim McHugh
Main Title Sequence by Ramsey McDaniel/Storm Media
Processing by Gastown Labs
Telecine by Gastown Post
Electronic Assembly by Encore Video
Cameras and Lenses by Clairmont Camera
Vehicles Provided by Chrysler
Filmed on Location in British Columbia, Canada
Presented in Dolby Surround TM where available
Copyright (c) 1997
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
All Rights Reserved #4C13
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is the author of this motion
picture for purposes of copyright and other laws.
The characters and names depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any
similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Ownership of this motion picture is protected by copyright and other
applicable laws, and any unauthorized duplication, distribution or
exhibition of this motion picture could result in criminal prosecution
as well as civil liability.
========================================================
Millennium
Copyright and TM, 1997 -- FOX Broadcasting Company
========================================================
Last Updated: April 14, 1997
Copyright (c) 1997 -- Nightowl Productions
Webmaster: Maria Vitale -- E-mail: nightowl@nyct.net