It was a show that some say was too dark for television, too disturbing for its audience, but it is now almost universally accepted that Chris Carter's Millennium was ahead of its time. Before CSI, before Criminal Profiler, before Numbers, Millennium terrified and thrilled for three outstanding seasons. In the countdown to the landmark year 2000, it revealed the darkest layers of the human soul, and those who would sacrifice everything to fight it's corruption and evil.
In 1998, the show was cancelled, but that wasn't the end. The following year a dedicated group of fans created their own continuation, a virtual season 4, that addressed many of the unanswered questions left by the show's premature end, and posed some of their own, in a series of weekly published screenplays, professionally formatted and produced. Another team, inspired by their success and creativity, produced a virtual season 5 in 2007, again to critical acclaim.
It seems the appeal of former FBI agent Frank Black and his battle against the evil that men do continues to grow with DVD sales and the BackToFrankBlack campaign, which supports both series' star Lance Henriksen and creator Chris Carter's wish to see a Frank Black feature film. In the meantime, f
ans do not only have the VS4 and 5 to enjoy, but over the past year, rumours and whispers of a proposed Virtual Season 6 have surfaced.
"Well, those rumours are true," confirms showrunner Barry Renshaw, a comic book and storyboard artist, and a longtime Millennium fan. "After months of development, plans have been laid down that will see Frank Black through not just a season 6, but a final season 7 as well. Millennium was, in my view, never just about reaching the year 2000. What happens afterwards to these characters is just as important, if not more so, than that date itself."
With a team of writers forged from the forum This Is Who We Are, including co-showrunners Joe McBrayer and Harry Smyth, Renshaw understands that everyone has their favourite aspect of the show, which had different executive producers on each season. "There are a few frustrating inconsistancies natural with any TV show, and indeed, with real life," he suggests. "Up to now, however, we at VS6 believe you have only seen certain aspects of the world of Millennium. Even Frank Black, with all his insight and heightened facilities, could never see the whole picture. With VS6, we aim to reveal the whole tapestry, and more importantly, ask what new questions and dangers and mysteries such a reveal will mean for Frank and and his now teenage daughter Jordan."
Episode 6.01 will be released on Friday 3rd September 2010, with each episode released weekly. In the lead up to that date, there will be teasers, special events, and multimedia material that will be released. In fact, some secrets of VS6 are already out there on the internet, if you know where to look.
However, the VS6 is not yet set in stone: "What we need right now are writers," explains Renshaw. "Each season has 22 episodes to fill, and although we at VS6 are few, the Group is Legion. So we're inviting interested writers to get in touch via the TIWWA forum. If you would like a chance to help define the future of Frank Black, and to help raise public awareness for the BTFB campaign, now is the time to get involved. We need writers w
ho can not just bring ideas to the table, but who know how to format and pace a screenplay for TV. Your ideas don't need to be fully formed, as of course the showrunners and story editors will help shape them for the season and fit them into our planned arc, but we would like all potential writers to have submitted their interest in the project by 25th December 2009."
The clock is ticking. The time is near. And for some, it's running out.
BackToFrankBlack.com, throws it's support behind this project and behind Barry and the team and if your are interested in being part of this virtual season and helping the team in the way they have described above simply email us at info@backtofrankblack.com and we will forward your correspondence to them.
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