Pilot (Millennium)/Transcript

== Episode ==
*Pilot (Millennium)
== Transcript ==
=== Scene 1===
:DOWNTOWN SEATTLE
:FEBRUARY 2, 1996
:[Daytime. Outside, it is raining. A man with a ball cap is seen walking through an alley toward the Ruby Tip, a peep show.]
:[Inside, a girl is leaving work, walking down a narrow corridor with private booths on either side and various customers exiting or entering the booths. At one end of the corridor is the man with the cap. In his hand is a stack of quarters. The girl walks past him and enters the dressing room. He looks up as she passes by.]
:GIRL: I’m off.
:[There’s an attendant by the door, Sammy.]
:SAMMY: Yep.
:[She opens the door to leave. As she does, another girl, Tuesday, enters to begin her shift.]
:TUESDAY: I’m here.
:SAMMY: All righty.
:[Finishing her shift, another girl, Calamity, wearing black panties and adjusting a skimpy black bra enters the dressing room and heads for a pay phone to call her daughter’s sitter.]
:[Tuesday begins changing her clothes to go to work.]
:TUESDAY: How’s it going?
:CALAMITY: Okay. I want to make sure the baby-sitter hasn’t left yet.
:[She dials the number and waits.]
::CALAMITY: (sighs) That weird French guy’s back.
::TUESDAY: With the poetry?
::CALAMITY: Yeah. (to her daughter on the phone) Hi, honey? It’s Mommy. Is Cindy still there? Okay, let me talk to her.
:[Tuesday goes to work. She’s wearing a red bra and panties. She enters a small room where several other girls are already dancing before small windows where men have paid quarters for timed sessions where they can watch the girls dance and strip. The windows before them close with a shutter when the session is over.]
:[She begins dancing, gyrating to the music that’s piped into the room. The music is White Zombie’s "More Human Than Human" (from the Astro-Creep: 2000 CD). It continues very loud throughout.]
:{Music: "Yeah. I am the Astro-Creep, a demolition style hell American freak. Yeah, I am the crawling dead - a phantom in a box, shadow in your head. "}
:[Behind one of the windows is the man with the cap. She dances before him and sees that he’s holding up a small piece of paper with writing on it.]
:{Music: "Yeah, Into a psychic war, I tear myself apart and I eat it some more. Yeah, Scratch off the broken skin - tear into my heart, let me do it again. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah."}
:[She moves closer to the window, crouches down and begins removing her bra as the shutter comes down.]
:[Back in the dressing room, the boss comes to give Calamity some news. She has already changed into her clothes to go home. The music is muffled in the dressing room.]
:{Music: "Yeah. More human than human. More human than human."}
:SAMMY: You got a private.
:CALAMITY: I’m off.
:SAMMY: It’s 200 bucks for ten minutes.
:[She considers the money and accepts. She returns to the room, dressed again in the skimpy outfit and dances for the man, known as The Frenchman. She dances for him, tries to fulfill his fantasies. The music is Nine Inch Nails’ 'Piggy' (from The Downward Spiral CD). It continues throughout.]
:{Music: "Hey, pig, yeah, you."}
:CALAMITY: Tell me what you want. Do you like me?
:{Music: "Hey pig piggy pig pig pig... "}
:[The Frenchman shuts his eyes hard, then opens them again. His "fantasies" begin.]
:CALAMITY: Tell me what you want.
:{Music: " ...all of my fears came true."}
:FRENCHMAN: I want to see you dance on the blood-dimmed tide.
:[He sees the wall behind the girl begin to bleed from the ceiling down to the floor.]
:CALAMITY: You like to watch my body.
:FRENCHMAN: Where the ceremony of innocence is drowned.
:CALAMITY: I know you like it. Don’t be shy.
:FRENCHMAN: This is the second death.
:[He sees blood drip down the girl’s forehead. The blood begins to pour down the walls.]
:FRENCHMAN: The abominable and the fornicators. This is the second death.
:CALAMITY: Tell me what you want.
:FRENCHMAN: You’ll have your part in the lake. The great plague in the maritime city.
:[He sees the room drenched in blood.]
:FRENCHMAN: You’ll have your part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.
:[He see fire behind the girl, surrounding her, engulfing her.]
:CALAMITY: (whispers) I know you like it. I know you like it. Tell me what you want.
:{Music: "Nothing can stop me now."}
:[He shuts his eyes once more and as he opens them tears run down his cheeks.]
:[fade to black]
:[main titles]
=== Scene 2 ===
:[Seattle, Washington. It is a beautiful sunny day. Frank Black drives his family to their new home. His wife Catherine and their daughter Jordan are by his side in his red Jeep Cherokee. Catherine has her eyes covered with her hands, her daughter sits on her lap. Frank looks over to his wife.]
:FRANK: I think someone’s peeking.
:JORDAN: No peeking, Mommy.
:CATHERINE: Okay. You tell me when, Jordan.
:[Frank turns into the driveway just past a moving van with their furniture. The car still has Maryland plates: 424580M.]
:[Frank undoes Jordan’s seat belt. She turns to her father to see if she can tell her mother to open her eyes and look at their new home. He gestures for her to not give away his secret, then nods for the surprise to finally be shared with his wife.]
:JORDAN: Okay, Mommy, you can look now.
:CATHERINE: Oh, Frank, you had it painted!
:[He picks up Jordan from her lap and places her on his. As Catherine gets out of the car, Jordan gives her father a playful lick on the tip of his nose.]
:CATHERINE: It’s so beautiful.
:JORDAN: Is this our new house, Daddy?
:FRANK: Our new yellow house.
:CATHERINE: Come here.
:[She picks up her daughter and hugs her.]
:[The movers have begun taking things into the house. Frank carries a box filled with books when Catherine calls to him from upstairs.]
:CATHERINE: Frank? Can you come here? There’s something up here.
:[He climbs the stairs to join her.]
:FRANK: Catherine? What is it?
:[She goes to him, embraces and kisses him.]
:CATHERINE: I’m so happy right now. I think this move was the right thing. I really do, Frank.
:FRANK: I do too. It feels like home.
:[They stand in front of a window on the second floor, holding each other.]
=== Scene 3 ===
:[Later on, as the empty moving van leaves and Frank goes to pick up his newspaper off the front lawn, he meets his new next-door neighbor.]
:MAN: Hello there! Hi! I’m, uh, I’m Jack Meredith. Guess we’re going to be neighbors.
:FRANK: Nice to meet you. Frank Black.
:[They shake hands.]
:JACK: Hi, ya, Frank. So, where are you folks from?
:FRANK: Well, we’ve been in Washington, D.C. for the past ten years. But my wife and I are both from here in Seattle.
:JACK: So, what brings you back here?
:FRANK: (laughs) I want to come home and put some roots down.
:JACK: Oh, well, that makes sense. What, uh, what kind of work do you do, Frank?
:FRANK: Well, I do some consulting.
:JACK: Oh, good. Can we, uh, can we invite you folks over for dinner this week? I see you have a little girl.
:FRANK: Thank you. I’ll talk to my wife.
:JACK: Good.
:[Frank turns and walks back toward his home.]
:JACK: Hey, say Frank! You couldn’t have picked a nicer place to come back to.
:[He gives Frank a thumbs-up gesture and heads toward his own home as does Frank.]
:[On his steps, Frank removes the newspaper from its plastic bag and glances at the front page. He stops on a news story about the girl from the peep show. He is disturbed by the story. The headline reads: "Mother Found Murdered in Home - 5-year-old Daughter Hid from Slayer". There’s a rumble of thunder.]
=== Scene 4 ===
:SEATTLE PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING
:[Outside, it is raining. Inside, Frank steps off an elevator and walks toward Lt. Bob Bletcher’s office.]
:[Just outside the glass-paneled door, he stands listening, and watching the detectives and his old friend talk inside the office. The name painted on the door is: 'Lt. Robert Bletcher, Homicide.']
:BLETCHER: How old was this kid?
:DET. KAMM: Seventeen.
:BLETCHER: Seventeen years old. This guy’s got no other priors?
:KAMM: Nothing at all.
:[Frank opens the door and then knocks. Bletcher looks up, then tosses down on the desk the file he’d been holding.]
:BLETCHER: Think I’ve just seen a ghost.
:FRANK: Hey, Bletch.
:BLETCHER: (chuckles) Hey, what are you doing here, Frank?
:[They shake hands.]
:FRANK: We moved back to Seattle.
:BLETCHER: You and Catherine?
:FRANK: Yeah. We missed the weather.
:BLETCHER: (laughs) (to the detectives) Hey, this is Frank Black. Used to work homicide here before he became a big star at the F.B.I.
:DET. GIEBELHOUSE: You’re the guy that caught the guy - the serial murderer who ate his victims. What’s his name - Piggett?
:FRANK: (nods) Leon Cole Piggett.
:GIEBELHOUSE: I was always curious, how’d he prepare them?
:FRANK: In a skillet, with potatoes and onions.
:GIEBELHOUSE: Ooo, man!
:FRANK: (to Bletcher) Got a minute?
:BLETCHER: Yeah, sure.
:[They go for a walk and talk around the squad room.]
:FRANK: How’s work?
:BLETCHER: Oh, homicide rate’s at a record low. Only 34 last year.
:FRANK: Congratulations.
:BLETCHER: Uh, I’d like to take all the credit but the truth is we’ve got some damn fine paramedics.
:FRANK: How about this woman two days ago, the one with the little girl?
:BLETCHER: She was a stripper, worked a peep show. Somebody obviously wanted more than a peep.
:FRANK: You’re keeping the details from the press.
:BLETCHER: It was bloody and cruel.
:FRANK: How’s the little girl?
:BLETCHER: She’s in custody down in D.S.H.S.
:FRANK: She witness the murder?
:BLETCHER: No, she didn’t. Are you down here looking for work, Frank?
:FRANK: Sexual homicide - that’s what I did for ten years, Bletch.
:BLETCHER: Yeah, and I hear it pushed you into early retirement.
:FRANK: Any chance you could take me down to see the body?
:[Bletcher does take him down to the morgue. There they are joined by the pathologist, Curt Massey, who shows them the woman’s body.]
:MASSEY: She went down fighting, I can tell you that. Blunt trauma. Ante-mortem impact abrasions on her upper torso. She was a strong woman. Took some work to subdue her. Mind you, her killer was no weakling either.
:[With a glove in his hand, he reaches over to pull the zipper back so that he can reveal the woman’s body but Frank prevents him from doing so by placing his hand over the pathologist’s.]
=== Scene 5 ===
:[Being near the body triggers a series of brief visions for Frank.]
:[The first: He hears her screaming and someone attacking her.]
:[The second: Silence but he sees her lying on the floor, covered with blood.]
:FRANK: He severed her head.
:PATHOLOGIST: No mean task, let me tell you.
:FRANK: What was the position of the body when they found her?
:[The pathologist looks to Bletcher who nods consent to release the information.]
:[Frank sees this next vision as the Massey describes her position.]
:MASSEY: She was on her back with her arms crossed over her chest.
:[The third: Silence. She is lying on the bed but this time he also sees the killer’s hands as he places her arms crossed over her chest. The bedroom is in disarray, blood on the bed cover and on her neck.]
:FRANK: You didn’t find the murder weapon. But it was something he took from the crime scene.
:BLETCHER: A carving knife was missing from a kitchen set.
:FRANK: She was clothed.
:[The fourth: Silence. The dead girl again, on the floor, her clothes undisturbed, blood on her neck.]
:FRANK: There was no evidence of sexual assault.
:BLETCHER: What else?
:FRANK: He cut off her fingers.
:MASSEY: The man with the x-ray eyes.
:FRANK: What did Hair and Fiber turn up?
:BLETCHER: Maybe you should tell me.
:[Frank just stares at him.]
:BLETCHER: Two head hairs from a black male.
:[Frank doesn’t say a word but just walks away.]
:MASSEY: How’s he do that?
:BLETCHER: I don’t know. Lucky guesser.
:[He follows after Frank. Frank opens the door to the stairs as Bletcher catches up with him.]
:BLETCHER: Frank!
:[They both beginning climbing up the stairs.]
:BLETCHER: You obviously just didn’t come down here to say hi. What are you doing here?
:FRANK: I’ve seen this M.O. before. I know the patterns and the profile.
:BLETCHER: So what’s the profile?
:FRANK: He’ll kill again.
:BLETCHER: She was a working girl, a target.
:FRANK: That’s not why he chose her.
:BLETCHER: Why did he choose her?
:FRANK: I don’t know yet. I’m working with a consulting group. These guys have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. They could take a look.
:BLETCHER: I’ve got three detectives assigned to this. What do I tell them?
:FRANK: That the killer’s going to be hard to catch. They could use some luck or some help.
:[He turns and leaves.]
=== Scene 7 ===
:[The Ruby Tip peep show. The same room as before where the girls are dancing for their customers in the booths.]
:[Frank arrives, his jacket is soaked from the rain. Walks down the narrow corridor where a man is mopping the floor.]
:[Outside one of the private booths is a Polaroid of a girl. Handwritten at the bottom of the photo is: 'Tuesday.' Frank enters the booth. A blonde girl seen earlier, Tuesday, is wearing skimpy red lingerie and pulls back a curtain as music begins. The music is Portishead’s 'Roads' (from the Dummy CD). It continues throughout. ]
:TUESDAY: Hi. You caught me. I was just thinking something nasty.
:FRANK: Just want to talk.
:TUESDAY: (begins dancing) Talk to me. Tell me what you want.
:[Frank holds up to the glass the newspaper clipping of the dead girl.]
:{Music: "Ooh, can’t anybody see... "}
:FRANK: You knew her, didn’t you?
:[She stops dancing, folds her arms and becomes more self-conscious.]
:{Music: "We’ve got a war to fight... "}
:TUESDAY: This isn’t an interrogation booth.
:[Frank takes down the clipping.]
:FRANK: I’m not a cop.
:{Music: "Love will find a way... "}
:TUESDAY: I’ve already given my statement.
:FRANK: I might be able to figure out who killed her.
:{Music: "Regardless of what they say... "}
:TUESDAY: Yeah? How?
:FRANK: Tell me about her.
:{Music: "How can it feel this wrong?"}
:[Music continues throughout.]
:TUESDAY: Her name was Calamity. She didn’t hook. She didn’t do drugs. She just danced for the money so she could raise her little girl. There isn’t much else to know.
:FRANK: Any fans? Any freaks?
:TUESDAY: If you didn’t notice, the clientele here isn’t exactly the picture of moral rectitude. They’d applaud, but it takes both hands.
:FRANK: Can you think of any reason someone might have killed her?
:TUESDAY: A reason? Men don’t need reasons - all they need is an excuse.
:[This triggers another vision for Frank. He sees the dead girl as the killer did, surrounded by flames.]
:FRANK: I’m sorry. Thanks for your time.
:[He starts to leave.]
:TUESDAY: There’s a guy.
:[Frank stops and returns to the window.]
:TUESDAY: He holds up poetry to the window.
:FRANK: What does it say?
:TUESDAY: I don’t know. It’s in French. We call him 'The Frenchman.'
:FRANK: He ever solicit anyone?
:TUESDAY: (shakes her head) No, but he paid her for a private.
:FRANK: Do they have a camera here?
:[She silently nods toward the camera’s location in the booth.]
:TUESDAY: Don’t tell them I told you.
:[The camera’s red light can be seen from the rear as Frank looks directly at it from his POV.]
=== Scene 8 ===
:[Night. It is a cruising area for gay men to meet and solicit sex. The Frenchman is driving through the area.]
:[Then he can be seen walking through a wooded area, again frequented by gay men.]
:[The Frenchman envisions that the men all have their eyes and mouths sewn shut, yet he hears whispering, mumbling. He begins breathing heavily. He finally leaves the area and goes back to his car.]
:[He places his head on the steering wheel when a young man approaches the car. He knocks on the window, then walks around the front of the car to get into the passenger seat. As he does, The Frenchman starts the engine and they drive off together.]
:[He later pulls up under a traffic bridge. He opens the passenger side door and drags the young man’s body out toward the rear of the car. He drops him down on the ground. Blood can be seen on the man’s chest. He opens the trunk and stuffs the man’s body inside it. Then with a bloody hand, shuts the trunk.]
:[fade to black]
:[polaroid fade up]
:[The Black residence. Outside, bright sunny day. Children can seen riding their bikes. Inside, Frank and Catherine’s bedroom. Jordan is reading the newspaper with her father, whispering so as to not wake her mother who is sleeping next to them. They’re looking to buy a new pet, a dog.]
:JORDAN: What’s a boxer?
:FRANK: It’s a big dog. It looks sort of like...
:[He squishes the tip of nose down and lets out a grunt to try and mimic the dog for Jordan, as Catherine, who has been pretending to be asleep, smiles but tries to hold back a laugh.]
:JORDAN: I don’t think so.
:CATHERINE: What about a basset hound?
:FRANK: There’s too many big ears in this house already.
:CATHERINE: (laughs) Now we know why Daddy’s face looks like a boxer.
:[Catherine pokes jabs at Frank’s face while Jordan grabs his lips and playfully squeezes them. The phone rings. Frank answers it. Catherine and Jordan begin playing with each other.]
:FRANK: Hello?
:BLETCHER: Frank, it’s Bob Bletcher. We found a body. I think you might want to come take a look.
:[Catherine becomes distracted, listening to Frank’s phone conversation.]
:FRANK: Yeah, I think so.
:BLETCHER: Off of 90 on Snoqualmie. You’ll see the circus.
:FRANK: Right, I’ll be there.
:
:[A wooded area. Dozens of officers are there. Some are surveying the area, others photographing the crime scene, still others are just trying to keep the area clear of curiosity seekers. Lots of radio chatter in the background.]
:SURVEYOR: Mark that.
:1st OFFICER: (Into a radio) That’s affirmative. Six units on scene, do you copy?
:DETECTIVE: ... Park Ranger...
:[An officer tries to prevent Frank, who has just driven up in his Jeep, from entering the area.]
:2nd OFFICER: I can’t let you go down there.
:BLETCHER: It’s all right, officer. Thank you.
:[He and Frank walk down a slope.]
:BLETCHER: Looks like I called you all the way out here a little hastily.
:FRANK: What is it?
:BLETCHER: A body, male. It was charred so badly we couldn’t tell the sex.
:FRANK: Somebody set it on fire?
:BLETCHER: Either before or after it had been decapitated. We can’t tell yet.
:[A charred hand is the only thing visible. The rest of the body has been covered with black plastic by the police.]
:BLETCHER: Whoever killed him, did it somewhere else, then brought him out here. Looks like he parked up on top of the road and pushed him down the hill.
:GIEBELHOUSE: (to Frank) I suppose you’re going to want to see the body.
:FRANK: No, that’s okay.
:[He begins walking around the area, then looks further down the hill. He has three brief visions of the dead man screaming, ablaze in flames, moving slowly through the thinly wooded area below.]
:BLETCHER: Frank.
:FRANK: It’s the same killer.
:[He begins walking further down the hill, toward the spot he 'saw' the man on fire.]
:BLETCHER: What?
:FRANK: He did it here. The victim was set on fire here in the woods. How far to the river?
:BLETCHER: Four miles.
:FRANK: That’s where they came from.
=== Scene 9 ===
:[The wooded area near the river. A massive search is underway, including several ground teams and a helicopter.]
:CHOPPER PILOT: This is Air Mobile One to Base. Yeah, we’re looking for something down near the river.
:RADIO: Roger, Mobile One.
:[The chopper flies over the area. Several officers can be seen walking along the riverbanks and surrounding areas.]
:BLETCHER: (Into his radio) Copy that.
:[Off in the distance a detective shouts at the others.]
:DETECTIVE: Over here!
:[Several officers clear away dried leaves to reveal what they’ve found. Frank, Bletcher and the others run over to see.]
:1st OFFICER: Weird.
:2nd OFFICER: What is it, Jake?
:1st OFFICER: We found it.
:[As they wipe away the rest of the leaves, they see that they’ve discovered a coffin. On the lid is carved the word: 'PESTE.' Before they can open the lid:]
:FRANK: (sighs) It’s empty.
:[They open the coffin and see that it is indeed empty. There are bloody scratch marks on the inside of the lid. A puddle of blood can be seen at one end. Frank turns and looks at Bletcher before walking away from the area.]
=== Scene 10 ===
:[Seattle. It is pouring with rain. Frank is driving Bletcher back to town in his Jeep.]
:BLETCHER: Your associate was down in pathology looking at the body this morning. A guy named Watts?
:FRANK: I haven’t spoken to him yet.
:BLETCHER: A couple of my detectives did. He told them he was part of something called The Millennium Group.
:FRANK: Yeah.
:BLETCHER: Is that who you’re doing this consulting for?
:FRANK: Mm-hmm.
:BLETCHER: So who are they?
:FRANK: Just some guys who used to work in law enforcement.
:BLETCHER: F.B.I.?
:FRANK: Some of them.
:BLETCHER: My guys want to know why you’re here, Frank. I still don’t know what to tell them.
:FRANK: I’m here because I have a wife and a kid and I want them to live in a place where they can feel safe.
:[Frank pulls the car over to the curb. Bletcher opens the door and steps out into the rain.]
:BLETCHER: How do you do it, Frank?
:FRANK: Lucky guesser.
:[Bletcher laughs. He shuts the door and Frank continues his drive home.]
=== Scene 11 ===
:[By the time he finally arrives home, it is night. The rain has stopped and Frank begins to walks toward his front door when he hears someone call out to him from behind.]
:MAN: Frank!
:[He walks over to meet the man who has been sitting in his car, waiting for him to come home.]
:MAN: I’m Peter Watts, from the Group.
:[He hands Frank an envelope.]
:WATTS: I would have faxed you, but I wanted to introduce myself.
:FRANK: I heard you were down looking at the body. Did you find anything?
:WATTS: A few things slipped by. One salient oversight.
:CATHERINE: (calling out to him) Frank?
:FRANK: I’ll be right in, Catherine.
:[She looks at him and then shuts the door.]
:WATTS: There was severe blunt trauma to the body so it was easy to miss, but inside the victim’s left thigh, I found a needle puncture.
:FRANK: From what, a syringe?
:WATTS: Maybe. There was no evidence of anything administered in the adipose and surrounding tissue. I know they think the killer’s a black male.
:FRANK: (shakes his head) I’ve already ruled that out.
:WATTS: The deseverance of the head and the fingers was done with skill, precision. You know why.
:FRANK: The killer was covering his tracks. The victim may have scratched or bitten him. He may not have gone down there to kill her.
:WATTS: The kitchen knife was convenient but he knew what he was doing. And with real sangfroid, judging by his tidy cleanup.
:FRANK: What does the group think?
:WATTS: That your instincts were right. The killer’s being compelled by an extraneous stressor. He’s out of control.
:FRANK: Anything else?
:WATTS: That you’re the right man for this. All our resources will be available to you.
:[Frank nods and Watts heads back toward his car.]
=== Scene 12 ===
:[Up in their bedroom, Frank enters quietly as Catherine lies in bed, still awake, waiting for him to return.]
:CATHERINE: Who was that?
:FRANK: His name is Watts. He had some information for me.
:CATHERINE: He sat out there for over an hour. He could have come to the door.
:FRANK: I don’t think he wanted to impose.
:CATHERINE: I can handle imposition, Frank. What I can’t handle is secrecy.
:[He sits on the bed next to her. She sits up.]
:FRANK: I don’t keep secrets, Catherine. I’ll tell you anything you want.
:CATHERINE: You think you’re protecting me but you make it worse, Frank. You can’t shut the world out for me. You can’t ask me to pretend that I don’t know what you do.
:FRANK: Everyone pretends. We all make believe. These men I help catch - make us.
:CATHERINE: We’re raising a daughter, Frank. The real world starts to seep in. You can’t stop it.
:[He looks at her intensely.]
:FRANK: I want you to make believe that I can.
:[She kisses him on the forehead.]
=== Scene 13 ===
:[Later on, Frank goes down to his basement office. He looks at the contents of the envelope Peter Watts has brought him. There is a micro-cassette audio tape, several Polaroids and a sheet of paper. Frank also has a copy of the videotape from the private session the dead girl had for The Frenchman.]
:[Frank watches the videotape. The music in the background is 'Piggy,' by Nine Inch Nails. The tape shows The Frenchman in the booth, watching the girl dance. He is speaking but his words are inaudible thanks to the pulsating rhythms of the music.]
:{Music: "Hey pig piggy pig pig pig. All of my fears... "}
:[Frank rewinds the tape, in an effort to write down what was said by The Frenchman.]
:{Music: "... pig, pig. All of my fears came true."}
:[Frank begins writing some words down:]
:BLOOD ___________ TIDE
:[Rewinds the tape.]
:{Music: "... pig, pig... "}
:{Frenchman: (whispering) "I want to see you dance... "}
:[Frank writes:]
:BLOOD RIMMED TIDE
:{Music: "All of my... "}
:[More whispering by The Frenchman, as segments of the tape keep repeating because Frank is trying to make out the words.]
:{Music: "All of my fears came true."}
:[Frank writes:]
=== Scene 14===
:BLOOD DIMMED TIDE
:WHERE THE AIR AND
:MONEY OF INNOCENCE
:... CEREMONY
:IS DOWN (strike out)
:{Music: "Black and blue and broken bones you left me here. "}
:[Frank writes:]
:... OF INNOCENCE
:... DROWNED
:[Frank looks up at a board where he has pinned the Polaroids of the murder victim. He looks at the black-and-blue bruises on the girl’s body.]
:{Music: "My little piggy needed something new."}
:[And at the needle mark on her thigh. Music continues.]
:[Frank then looks at the Polaroids taken of the empty coffin the police found in the woods near the river.]
:{Music: "Nothing can stop me now ’cause I don’t care any more."}
:[Frank looks at two photos of the coffin lid with the word: 'PESTE' carved into it.]
:{Music: "Nothing can stop me now ’cause I don’t care any more."}
:[The lyric keeps repeats twice as Frank puts the photos into his scanner, then stops, picks up that day’s newspaper, still in its plastic delivery bag.]
:{Music: "Nothing can stop me now ’cause I just don’t... "}
:[Removing it from the plastic and unfolding it, one of the headlines reads: "Police Move to Clean Up Cruising in Park". Frank looks closely at the accompanying photo. There are several police detectives standing under an overpass. A word is written above their heads on the overpass: 'PESTE.']
:{Music: "Hey pig, nothing’s turning... "}
=== Scene 15===
:[Night. Frank drives to the same area as in the newspaper photo and finds the overpass with the graffiti. It is written in yellow paint.]
:[A number of gay men are cruising the park. Frank walks along the path. A couple of young men turn to look at him as he continues walking.]
:[He then has the same visions which The Frenchman did: he sees each man before him with their eyes and mouths sewn shut. He hears muffled voices whispering. As another couple of men walk near Frank, he sees their eyes and mouths the same as before. They turn to stare at him and then the vision ends. They appear normal again as they pass by him.]
:[Frank recovers from the visions and looks up to see a man in a ball cap walking in his direction. The man stops, looks at Frank. Frank knows that he is The Frenchman. The man realizing that Frank knows who he is, turns and starts to run through the woods. Frank gives chase.]
:[The Frenchman shoves a young man out of his way, throwing him to the ground. He continues to run with Frank pursuing him. There are lights in the distance. The Frenchman is running in that direction. Frank follows.]
:[Frank loses him for a moment, then hearing a car horn, realizes he’s at an onramp to a bridge and runs up toward it.]
:[The Frenchman can be seen running between the lanes of traffic as Frank jumps over the barrier onto the bridge. Frank runs after him. A car swerves to miss The Frenchman as he runs around the front of the car. The car now blocks a lane completely and two other cars collide because of the obstruction. The Frenchman climbs over another car that has swerved before him, blocking his path. All the while Frank tries to catch up with the man.]
:[Cars horns beep as many of the motorists begin shouting at one another. None of this slows down Frank nor The Frenchman who continues to climb over cars in his way.]
:[The Frenchman moves off to the left side of the overpass and as Frank tries to run across lanes, a car has to slam on the brakes in order to avoid hitting him. Frank loses his footing just inches from the stopped car. Stands and walks slowly trying to see where The Frenchman has gone but he’s lost him.]
:[Traffic is a mess. Cars are blocking all lanes. Horns are blaring. Many motorists are outside of their vehicles. Frank rushes through the throng to look for The Frenchman but he can’t find him anywhere.]
:MOTORIST: He jumped!
:[Frank runs toward the motorist.]
:FRANK: Where?
:[The man points to a spot on the bridge.]
:MOTORIST: Off the side!
:[Frank runs toward the area, jumping over the pedestrian barrier and walks to the side of the bridge. He looks out over the water below but can see nothing except for the wake left behind by a passing boat.]
:[As he walks away, the camera pans down to where The Frenchman is hiding, hanging onto some cables below the bridge. He looks down at another passing boat below him.]
:[fade to black]
:[polaroid fade up]
:[The police station. Frank gives a briefing to the assembled detectives assigned to the case, at least a couple of dozen men and at least one woman. Behind him is a chalkboard and a TV set with a VCR set up to play the video tape from The Ruby Tip peep show. There is a freeze-frame of The Frenchman on the TV monitor.]
:FRANK: The dancers call him 'The Frenchman' because he held poems up to the windows written in French. I was able to enhance the picture and the audio off the original.
:[Frank presses the play button.]
:{Frenchman: "I want to see you dance on the blood-dimmed tide. The ceremony of innocence is drowned."}
:BLETCHER: What does it mean?
:[Frank pauses the tape again.]
:FRANK: It’s from a poem called 'The Second Coming' by William Butler Yeats. 'Things fall apart, the center cannot hold. Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. The blood-dimmed tide is loosed.' He’s writing about the Apocalypse.
:[Frank again presses the play button.]
:{Frenchman: "This is the second death. The abominable and the fornicators. This is the second death."}
:GIEBELHOUSE: The second death?
:KAMM: It’s from the Bible.
:{Frenchman: "You’ll have your part in the lake. The great plague in the maritime city. You’ll have your part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone."}
:[Frank stops the tape.]
:FRANK: That’s from Revelations. Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. 'The abominable and the fornicators.'
:GIEBELHOUSE: So what’s he trying to say?
:BLETCHER: He’s preaching.
:[On a chalkboard is written:
:THE GREAT PLAGUE IN THE MARITIME CITY WILL NOT STOP UNTIL DEATH IS AVENGED BY THE BLOOD OF A JUST MAN TAKEN AND CONDEMNED FOR NO CRIME THE GREAT LADY IS OUTRAGED BY THE PRETENSE]
:FRANK: He’s prophesizing.
:GIEBELHOUSE: The end of the world?
:FRANK: The great plague in the maritime city.
:[Frank turns toward the chalkboard, picks up a yellow chalk and writes the word 'PESTE' above the word 'PLAGUE.']
:FRANK: 'La grand peste en la cité maritime.' 'Peste.' The word written on the lid of the buried coffin. It’s from Nostradamus, the 16th-century apocalyptic poet.
:BLETCHER: So you think the killer is fulfilling the prophecy.
:FRANK: 'The great plague in the maritime city will not stop until death is avenged by the blood of a just man. The great lady is outraged by the pretense.' Seattle, the maritime city. AIDS, the great plague. Death avenged by a just man, taken and condemned for no crime.
:KAMM: So, the killer thinks he’s righteous, a just man.
:BLETCHER: Who’s the great lady - and why is she outraged?
:FRANK: The killer is confused about his sexuality. He feels guilt, quite possibly from his mother. So he goes to peep shows to try to feel something toward women but all he feels is anger - anger that fuels his psychosis, that distorts and twists his view of reality.
:GIEBELHOUSE: Twists it to fit some screwy French poetry?
:FRANK: The killer doesn’t see the world like everyone else.
:BLETCHER: How does he see it?
:FRANK: Differently.
:GIEBELHOUSE: Wait a second. You say this guy is angry at women, that he cruises boys but then he kills this John Doe we found burned in the forest. How does that work?
:FRANK: He’s very confused.
:GIEBELHOUSE: Undoubtedly.
:FRANK: His way of dealing with it is by fulfilling a prophecy.
:GIEBELHOUSE: I don’t buy it.
:KAMM: Uh, it’s a good story but I’ve got to agree. Evidence just doesn’t support it.
:[Frank looks from Kamm to Bletcher.]
:BLETCHER: The hairs we pulled off the female victim came from a black male.
:FRANK: There’s only been one incident of a black male serial killer. Statistically, it’s improbable.
:GIEBELHOUSE: So we just throw out the evidence.
:FRANK: Those hairs could have been planted or picked up before the murder.
:GIEBELHOUSE: (to Bletcher) We’re not the F.B.I. We got limited resources. We go chasing after the wrong guy we could end up with more victims. I don’t think we have time to waste, do you?
:[Several of the detectives turn to look at Bletcher, waiting for him to reach a decision.]
:BLETCHER: No.
:[Frank has been looking at Bletcher along with the detectives. Once he made his decision, Frank turns and removes the tape from the VCR. He walks through the room, hands Bletcher the tape.]
:FRANK: Got to get home to my family.
:[Frank leaves.]
:
:[He drives his Jeep through the garage heading for the exit when he’s stopped by Bletcher, who stands in front of his car in the pouring rain.]
:BLETCHER: Tell me why I’m wrong. Why should I listen to you?
:FRANK: You’re in a hard spot, Bob. You got a department to run.
:BLETCHER: Tell me how you know. Why are you so sure? [pause] You see it – or something.
:FRANK: It’s complicated, Bletch.
:BLETCHER: What do you see?
:FRANK: I see what the killer sees.
:BLETCHER: What, like a psychic?
:FRANK: No. I put myself in his head. I become the thing we fear the most.
:BLETCHER: How?
:FRANK: I become capability. I become the horror - what we know we can become only in our heart of darkness. It’s my gift. It’s my curse. That’s why I retired.
:BLETCHER: What the hell are you doing, Frank. Get out. Leave it alone.
:FRANK: I tried.
:BLETCHER: What brought you back?
:FRANK: Some other time, Bletch.
:[Frank drives off towards his home.]
=== Scene 16 ===
:[He pulls up in front of his house, runs toward the door through the rain and finds that the front door has been left open. Fearing the worst, he enters, calling out for his wife.]
:FRANK: Catherine?
:[No response.]
:[He runs up to his daughter’s bedroom, pushes open the door and finds no one there. Becoming more frightened, he again calls out.]
:FRANK: Catherine!
:[No one is home. Frantic, he runs outside and is met by his neighbor, Jack Meredith.]
:JACK: Frank! Hey, Frank!
:FRANK: Have you seen Catherine or my daughter?
:JACK: I was just coming over to leave you a note. She couldn’t reach you.
:FRANK: What happened?
:JACK: Well, your little girl, she had some kind of seizure.
:
:[At the hospital, Frank hurries over to a nurse to ask about his child. Catherine sees him as he arrives.]
:FRANK: My daughter Jordan Black was brought in.
:[Catherine heads toward him. The nurse searches a list.]
:NURSE: Jordan Black.
:[Frank looks up and sees Catherine and walks over to meet her. Together they walk down the hall to Jordan’s room.]
:FRANK: What happened?
:CATHERINE: I found her on the floor in the bathroom. She’d passed out and hit her head. They’re running tests.
:FRANK: Where is she?
:CATHERINE: Sleeping. They sedated her. She’s got a very high fever.
:[They finally arrive at her room.]
:CATHERINE: They’re pretty sure it’s just a very bad flu reaction. They’re calling in a specialist.
:[A nurse is attending Jordan, fixing her blanket, wiping the perspiration from her forehead. Frank stands near the bed and looks at his daughter.]
:FRANK: Why isn’t he here yet?
:CATHERINE: He’s on his way.
:[Frank continues to look at Jordan, very concerned.]
:FRANK: So fragile.
===Scene 17===
:[Later that night, Frank and Catherine both are asleep in Jordan’s room when a nurse comes in to take some blood from Jordan.]
:[Frank wakes to see the nurse place a syringe into Jordan’s IV line and draw out blood. He then begins to stare at the syringe, making an important connection in the case.]
:[Catherine wakes to find Frank staring at Jordan and becomes concerned.]
:CATHERINE: What is it, Frank?
:FRANK: He’s taking blood.
:CATHERINE: Who?
:FRANK: The killer. He’s got more bodies, buried alive.
:[He looks at her, not knowing what he should do. He waits for her to make the decision for him.]
:CATHERINE: Go, Frank. It’s okay.
:[He leaves.]
:[fade to black]
:[polaroid fade up]
:[It is very late at night and it has stopped raining. Another search is underway in the same woods as before.]
:RADIO: We covered the area a mile north down to the river - nothing.
:BLETCHER: Copy. (to Frank) I’m going to call this off, Frank. We can come back during the light of day.
:FRANK: They could be dead by then.
:[Frank keeps searching, keeps moving forward even when he gets to the river’s edge.]
:[He enters the water.]
:BLETCHER: Frank!
:[Continues without responding.]
:1st DETECTIVE: We’re not going in the water!
:2nd DETECTIVE: You’ve got to be kidding!
:BLETCHER: Frank, you’ll freeze to death! Frank!
:[Frank does not respond but continues toward the other side.]
:BLETCHER: Ah, damn!
:[Bletcher removes his overcoat and hands it to Giebelhouse.]
:BLETCHER: Here.
:[He begins wading through the water after Frank. The other detectives remain on shore but they all turn their flashlights in Frank’s direction.]
:BLETCHER: Oh! Oh, oh. It’s a good thing I already got a family!
:[On the other side of the embankment, Frank and Bletcher continue to search for more coffins and buried bodies. Bletcher steps on something that sounds hollow.]
:BLETCHER: Frank!
:[Frank runs over to join him and together they wipe off the leaves which cover the coffin. From inside they can hear a muffled cry.]
:BLETCHER: Oh, God! Come on!
:[Frantically they hurry to try and remove the lid. Wiping away the last of the leaves they find another message carved into the lid: 'LA GRANDE DAME.']
:BLETCHER: Jeez!
:[There are more muffled screams from within the coffin as they find that the coffin lid is screwed on.]
:BLETCHER: It’s screwed!
:[They try to pull it open by its air holes but cannot. They begin unscrewing the lid but soon lose patience with that and finally tear open the lid.]
:[Inside they find a man, his eyes and mouth have been sewn shut. His wrists also appear to be sewn. He continues to cry, trying to scream, desperately.]
:BLETCHER: (to the detectives) Hey! Get paramedics over here! Get the paramedics over here, right away! Paramedics!
:[The other detectives begin running across the water to join them.]
:[Frank and Bletcher help the man out of the coffin. He is still crying, screaming. Frank holds the man in his arms, trying to comfort him. He has removed his leather jacket and placed it over the man’s shoulders.]
:[Bletcher looks inside of the coffin and notices a plastic bag. Lifting it, he sees that it is the severed head of the first victim, Calamity. Across her forehead is carved the word: 'MYSTERY.']
:[The man is crying uncontrollably in Frank’s arms.]
:FRANK: (to Bletcher) There may be others.
:BLETCHER: (to the detectives) Come on, spread out!
:[The detectives move out, searching while Frank continues to hold the man who finally begins to calm down.]
=== Scene 18 ===
:[The police station, Bletcher’s office. Bletcher is on the phone.]
:BLETCHER: Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
:[Giebelhouse brings Frank a cup of coffee.]
:FRANK: Thanks.
:GIEBELHOUSE: They found two more coffins. Both of them were empty.
:[Bletcher gets off the phone.]
:BLETCHER: He just gave us a description of the suspect. White male, early 30s, wearing a ball cap. He was taking blood from the victim.
:GIEBELHOUSE: I’ll put it out on the air. (leaves)
:FRANK: The killer’s passing judgment. He’s probably testing the blood, carrying out his death sentences on the afflicted. Check in with any medical facility that handles blood.
:BLETCHER: We got the word out to the labs.
:FRANK: I got to call Catherine.
:BLETCHER: Uh, here.
:[He hands him his phone.]
:BLETCHER: 18 years, Frank. 18 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as terrifying as what I saw tonight.
:FRANK: You ever see your kid lying on a bed in an emergency ward?
:[Frank dials the number but it’s busy.]
:BLETCHER: Made sense to me out there - what it does to you - why you quit.
:[Frank hangs up the phone and sits on the edge of the desk.]
:FRANK: (sighs) The cruelty, the unspeakable crimes. It all becomes - numbing, depersonalized, common.
:BLETCHER: What was it then?
:FRANK: I was on a serial case in Minnesota. The killer’s name was Ed Cuffle. He would choose a neighborhood and he would go up to a door. If he found it unlocked he considered that an invitation to go in and kill anybody home. He would take Polaroids of his victims which he’d send to the police. Took us months, but we caught him. He’s serving triple life sentences.
:BLETCHER: And that was it.
:FRANK: A year later, I reach into my mailbox and I take out the mail and there’s a letter addressed to me - no return. Inside are Polaroids of Catherine at the supermarket, Catherine at the school. Suddenly the psychic novocaine wore off. The numbness became paralyzing fear.
:BLETCHER: You ever find who sent them?
:FRANK: No. But I couldn’t leave the house. Why should I go to work when I can’t even protect my own family? My little girl was a miracle. We weren’t supposed to be able to conceive. I couldn’t let her out of my sight.
:BLETCHER: But you beat it. How?
:FRANK: I was approached by a group of men who helped me understand the nature of my facility, my gift.
:BLETCHER: This Millennium Group. They really believe all that stuff? Nostradamus and Revelations? The destruction of the world?
:FRANK: They believe we can’t just sit back and hope for a happy ending.
:[Bletcher nods and finally leaves Frank alone in the office to make his call to Catherine. He picks up the phone, dials and gets a busy signal again. He stops the tone, holding down the receiver with his finger and the phone rings.]
:FRANK: Bob Bletcher’s office.
:MAN: Bob?
:FRANK: He just stepped out.
:MAN: Can you give him some information for me? It’s urgent.
:FRANK: Let me get a pen. Shoot.
:MAN: Tell him we think we tracked down those blood samples he’s looking for. They were sent to a lab the Seattle P.D. uses downtown.
:FRANK: Where were they sent from?
:MAN: Ah, that’s just it. They were sent through the same channel - intra-office.
:[Frank hangs up the phone and searches through the empty police station for Bletcher.]
:FRANK: Bob. Bob?
:[He takes a service elevator down to the morgue. He finds someone at work there.]
:FRANK: Excuse me, I’m looking for the pathologist.
:MAN: Sorry. He’s not here.
:[Frank notices something odd about the man. He’d been walking around the lab nervously, trying not to look directly at Frank or to let him do the same. But now he sense something more.]
:[He moves closer to the man who keeps his back to Frank.]
:[It triggers some of the same visions he’s had before. He hears her scream throughout. He sees: the dancer surrounded by flames; the girl being attacked by the killer with the kitchen knife; the girl’s head in the plastic bag which they found in the coffin and the bloodied murder scene after the girl’s death in her home.]
:[Visions over, he continues to stare directly at the man, knowing him to be The Frenchman. The man finally turns around to face Frank and suddenly recognizes him from his chase earlier.]
:[Grabbing a knife, he becomes aggressive towards Frank, as Frank moves backwards, away from the man. Between them lies a body on a stretcher.]
:FRENCHMAN: Who are you to condemn me? They’re the guilty. I took responsibility. You see them out there where Satan has them all.
:[Frank shoves the stretcher towards The Frenchman, trying to pin him.]
:FRANK: Drop the knife!
:FRENCHMAN: The great plague!
:FRANK: Then we’ll talk!
:FRENCHMAN: They don’t ask who takes responsibility!
:[He slashes at Frank with the knife and pushes the stretcher over on its side. It knocks Frank down onto the floor and he’s trapped by the weight of the corpse on top of him.]
:FRENCHMAN: This is prophecy! The final judgment and victory! This is the way it ends! But you know that. You can see it - just like I do. You know the end is coming! (shouts) The thousand years is over!
:[He thrusts his knife at Frank who manages to pull up the corpse in front of him which absorbs the blow. As The Frenchman struggles to pull the knife out of the corpse, Frank finally frees himself of the weight and crawls backwards toward a column as The Frenchman advances on him.]
:FRENCHMAN: But you think you’re the one to stop it! You think it can be stopped!
:[A gunshot rings out just as The Frenchman raises his knife to stab Frank. He collapses to the ground, dropping his knife. Bletcher can be seen, gun in his outstretched right hand, approaching. The Frenchman lies mortally wounded on the ground. With his dying breath, he says:]
:FRENCHMAN: You can’t stop it.
:[The man exhales and dies. Bletcher finally lowers his gun.]
=== Scene 19 ===
:[The Black residence. Outside, Frank Black arrives home. Inside, Frank sneaks in, hiding behind the door frame.]
:FRANK: (whispering) Catherine.
:CATHERINE: Oh, I’m glad you’re home. I’m going to be late for my interview.
:[Frank still hides himself behind the door frame.]
:CATHERINE: What are you doing?
:FRANK: Where’s Jordan?
:CATHERINE: She’s up in her room. What are you doing, Frank?
:[He finally enters the room. He has something hidden inside of his jacket. It’s a puppy, for Jordan. Laughing, he shows it to Catherine.]
:CATHERINE: Oh, my God! Look at this!
:[Frank hands her the puppy.]
:CATHERINE: (cuddles the puppy) Oh. Ooo.
:[Up in Jordan’s bedroom, she is in bed, with her eyes shut tight, fingers crossed half-covering her eyes, trying to sneak a peek at the surprise.]
:CATHERINE: I think someone’s trying to peek.
:JORDAN: What is it!? What is it!?
:[Frank places the whimpering puppy on Jordan’s lap.]
:JORDAN: Oh, Daddy, what’s his name?
:FRANK: He doesn’t have a name yet.
:JORDAN: Can I name him?
:FRANK: Well he’s your puppy, isn’t he?
:[The puppy starts licking Jordan’s face and climbing all over her.]
:JORDAN: Oh, I love him so much!
:[Downstairs, the mail has just been pushed through the mail slot and falls to the ground. Frank picks up the mail, removes the rubber band holding the bundle together and looks through it. Various bills, junk mail and finally a large yellow envelope, with no return address, as follows:
:0404 **WS R004 CAR RT SORT
:FRANK BLACK
:1910 EZEKIEL DRIVE
:SEATTLE, WA
:98924]
:[Frank tears open one end of the envelope, reaches inside feeling the contents with his fingertips as he hears Catherine come down the stairs. He freezes.]
:CATHERINE: I think you’ve already got a mess to clean up up there.
:FRANK: Right.
:[She opens door to leave.]
:CATHERINE: Wish me luck.
:[He doesn’t respond but just stares at her, a look of concern on his face. She notices that something is wrong.]
:CATHERINE: What?
:FRANK: Nothing.
:[He kisses her.]
:FRANK: Be careful, okay?
:[She smiles at him, turns and goes to her car. The car door can be heard opening and closing, then the car engine starting, as Frank removes the contents of the envelope. They are Polaroids of Catherine and Jordan in Catherine’s blue mini-van. The last photo is of them in a supermarket parking lot. Directly behind them is a Seattle taxi cab. Frank turns and looks up and off into the distance.]
:[fade to black]
== Chronology ==
*Next - Gehenna (episode)/Transcripts
== Source ==
Category:Millennium transcripts
Category:Millennium season 1 transcripts