Micheal R. Perry pens the fiftieth episode of Millennium that feels like it riffs a bit on the whole meta horror movie serial killer theme revolutionised a few years earlier by Wes Craven’s film Scream. Airing on 30 October, 1998, the episode was another Halloween episode.

This time around, Frank (Lance Henriksen) finds himself mired in a series of murders taking place on a film set (which is loosely based on one of Frank’s cases from thirteen years earlier). Someone is killing people on the set in homages to horror films, each one being broadcast the night before on cable (there are nods to Freddy, Jason, and Micheal).

While everyone is worried about what Frank’s reaction is going to be to the liberties taken with the the case and his life, he’s more interested in solving the case alongside agent Hollis (Klea Scott).

The episode features an appearance by Kiss (promoting their new album Psycho Circus), Donnelly Rhodes, and Jeff Yagher (who is the film’s lead actor, and slowly begins to incorporate Frank’s appearance and behaviors into his performance).

There’s a lot of humour, it’s pretty eccentric – I love how Frank takes apart horror villains, and also the way he breaks down the film’s script. He understands how horror films work, and catches on just in time to save the day, and come to Hollis’ aid. He also draws his gun, which you can tell Henriksen is uncomfortable with and doesn’t like for his character.

It’s a lighter episode, and gives us a break from the heavier episodes that see the position of Peter (Terry O’Quinn) and the Millennium Group in a darker perspective.

Skull and Bones was written by Ken Horton and Chip Johannessen, and debuted on 6 November, 1998. When a mass grave is uncovered, Hollis and Baldwin (Peter Outerbridge) find themselves investigating, while Frank runs down a lead presented by a strange man, Ed (Ayre Gross) who is so detail-oriented that he discovers connections between all of them, and that some of them have connections to the Millennium Group.

Peter is lurking around the crime scene, and making things uncomfortable for Hollis while Frank interacts with Ed, as both attempt to uncover what is really going on, and what the Group’s connection to the site is.

It’s a dark episode that lets Hollis see both sides of the Millennium coin through Peter, and lets Frank have some solid conversation with someone who may not know what the Millennium Group is all about, but can understand and connect the details that tie the murders atogether.

It’s a bit of a heavier episode, coming on the tails of the decidedly fun …Thirteen Years Later, and has a lot of exposition and connections drawn, but it’s a great payoff for fans, as things continue to develop and change in Frank’s world.