Millennium: Season One

In the mid-'90s, Chris Carter was king; the shadowy web of aliens, monsters, murders and conspiracies he had created with The X-Files had skyrocketed the series into both critical and fan acclaim. In '96, he introduced his rabid followers to a second groundbreaking but equally conspiratorial and much more macabre offering, Millennium. In Millennium the emphasis was clearly off of monsters and extraterrestrials, and back on the madness of man himself. The world-weary lead Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) is a retired profiler who works as a consultant with a mysterious collective aptly named the Millennium Group, and while Frank may dream of a world where he isn't pursuing serial killers and fearing for the safety of his wife and daughter, he is unable to leave it behind. Frank's unique "gift" remains that he alone can see directly into the minds of the murderers he pursues, and the 22 episodes that comprise this first season of Millennium don't hold back — the killers are the sickest of the sick and the vilest of the vile. Millennium, like its predecessor The X-Files, is a series that was practically born to be watched on DVD — the shadowy locales are digitally perfect, the eerie effects and soundtrack (by the always impressive Mark Snow) are clear and pristine, and there are no commercials to disrupt the mood. But this brings up the inevitable question: "What about the extras?" Unfortunately, they are pretty lacklustre. One would think that a series as complex as Millennium would warrant more than two commentary tracks over the span of a season. Other special features include a "making of" documentary, the usual trailers and TV spots, and a featurette on the Academy Group, a real-life collective of profilers. (Fox)