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"'Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
-
thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
television series ''
Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
''. It premiered on the
Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations a ...
on May 1, 1998. The episode was written and directed by
Darin Morgan Darin Morgan (born 1966) is an American screenwriter best known for several offbeat, darkly humorous episodes of the television series '' The X-Files'' and '' Millennium''. His teleplay for the ''X-Files'' episode " Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" ...
, and featured guest appearances by Bill Macy,
Dick Bakalyan Richard Bakalyan (January 29, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents in his first several films. Early life Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931, in Watertown, Massachuset ...
and Alex Diakun. In this episode, a group of demons convene in a doughnut shop to share stories of tempting and damning humans. However, their stories all seem to include one mysterious figure who can see them for who they really are—
Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. F ...
(
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millenni ...
). "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" marks Morgan's second and last script for the series, and parodies his earlier difficulties writing for ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
''. The episode has received mixed to positive reviews, and earned Morgan a Bram Stoker Award for Best Screenplay nomination in 1999.


Plot

Four elderly men meet for coffee late at night. The fourth to arrive is hostile to the waiter, who secretly urinates in the man's coffee. The man, Abum (
Dick Bakalyan Richard Bakalyan (January 29, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents in his first several films. Early life Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931, in Watertown, Massachuset ...
), realizes this, and the group share a laugh over it, during which they are revealed to actually be demons. One of them, Blurk ( Bill Macy), complains that there are no strong personalities in this century. He tells a story of Perry, a man he met hitch-hiking, who he molded into a
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
over encouraging conversations. Perry sought to emulate Johnny Mack Potter, the country's most prolific killer, and to break his record number of murders. As Perry drew level with Potter's figure, Blurk grew bored accompanying him on the "mundane" murders of prostitutes and vagrants. Blurk gave an anonymous tip to the police that leads to Perry's arrest; one of the men present at the arrest—offender profiler
Frank Black Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. F ...
(
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millenni ...
)—seems to see through Blurk's human disguise. In prison, Perry is murdered by his cellmate Johnny Mack Potter, reclaiming his record. Abum tells another story, which he believes shows that mankind no longer needs demonic
temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...
to be damned. Abum followed an
everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...
figure called Brock, watching his grindingly repetitive life. Brock visited a
strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, and can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style. Am ...
often but without joy, which led Abum to believe he no longer took
pleasure Pleasure refers to experience that feels good, that involves the enjoyment of something. It contrasts with pain or suffering, which are forms of feeling bad. It is closely related to value, desire and action: humans and other conscious anima ...
from sinning. One day, Abum added an additional irritation to Brock's life, posing as a traffic warden and giving him a ticket. This was enough to drive Brock to
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
. However, during this time, Abum also encountered Black, who again saw his demonic nature. Greb ( Alex Diakun) shares his tale, of a television censor called Waylon Figgleif. Figgleif's overzealous approach to
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
leads Greb to try pushing his limits. Greb assumed the form of a small demonic baby and reveals himself to Figgleif, who breaks down and starts attempting to censor everyday life. Greb repeats this trick, and encourages Figgleif to go on a killing spree—Figgleif takes a gun, bursts onto the taping of a science-fiction show about alien abduction, and kills several actors. Greb's methods and effectiveness are dismissed until he reveals the story's epigram. Figgleif's spree was caught on camera, and broadcast by another network as a found footage special. However, Greb also notes that he too was spotted by Black during this. The fourth devil, Toby (Wally Dalton), is convinced that Black really does know that they are demons. Toby also recounts his story, in which he begins to feel
ennui In conventional usage, boredom, ennui, or tedium is an emotional and occasionally psychological state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, is listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occup ...
at his failure to
damn Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, citizens would recite ...
humans for some time. He meets and courts an aging stripper, Sally, who falls in love with him. Their relationship blossomed, despite her having seen his true demonic form. One day Toby leads her to believe he is about to propose to her, before instead curtly insulting and breaking up with her. He later visited her home to find police investigating her suicide—a successful damnation. However, he also encounters Black, who sees his true nature. Instead of recoiling or reacting, Black simply tells Toby that he sees how lonely he must be. Toby's story affects all the gathered demons, who realize how lonely they really are. As they get up to leave, Abum praises the shop's coffee and briefly reveals his true form to the waiter.


Production

"Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" is the second, and last, episode of ''Millennium'' to have been written by
Darin Morgan Darin Morgan (born 1966) is an American screenwriter best known for several offbeat, darkly humorous episodes of the television series '' The X-Files'' and '' Millennium''. His teleplay for the ''X-Files'' episode " Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" ...
, who also directed the episode. Morgan had previously written and directed " Jose Chung's ''Doomsday Defense''" earlier in the season. Morgan also served as a consulting producer for the season, and is the younger brother of
Glen Morgan Glen Morgan (born July 12, 1961) is an American television producer, writer and director. He is best known for co-writing episodes of the Fox science fiction supernatural drama series ''The X-Files'' with his partner, James Wong. He served as ...
, an executive producer for the series. Morgan's script contains several references to his time as a writer for ''Millennium''
sister show Sister shows, also known as companion series, are two or more television series which exist in the same fictional universe and which may have crossovers. They differ to a degree from spin-offs, in that they are established independently from one ...
, ''The X-Files''. One of Morgan's episodes for that series, " War of the Coprophages", had come under heavy criticism by the standards and practices department at parent network
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...
, who took exception to the initial script's heavy use of words such as "crap" to refer to the excrement that episode's cockroaches fed upon. Morgan attacked and parodied this approach with one of the tales in "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me", with a network censor again targeting the use of the word "crap" and storming onto the set of a show resembling ''The X-Files'' being taped, featuring lookalikes of
Fox Mulder Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterres ...
and
Dana Scully Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the Fox science-fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anderson. Scully is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Specia ...
with
theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances ...
very similar to that series' playing in the background. The episode also contains a version of the dancing baby animation that was popular at the time, parodying its use on the series '' Ally McBeal''. Guest star Alex Diakun had previously appeared in the first season episode "
Lamentation A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethi ...
" in an unrelated role; while Dan Zukovic, who played network censor Waylon Figgleif, had also appeared in a small role in "Jose Chung's ''Doomsday Defense''".


Broadcast and reception

"Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" was first broadcast on the Fox network on May 1, 1998. The episode earned a
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
of 5.7 during its original broadcast, meaning that of households in the United States viewed the episode. This represented approximately households, and left the episode the eightieth most-viewed broadcast that week. Morgan's script for the episode earned him a
Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...
nomination in 1999, for
Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...
; the award was won jointly by Bill Condon for '' Gods and Monsters'' and
Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films ''The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), '' I, Robot'' (2004), ...
, David S. Goyer and
Lem Dobbs Lem Dobbs (born Anton Lemuel Kitaj; 24 December 1958) is a British-American screenwriter, best known for the films '' Dark City'' (1998) and '' The Limey'' (1999). He was born in Oxford, England, and is the son of the painter R. B. Kitaj. The pe ...
for '' Dark City''. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics. '' The A.V. Club'' Zack Handlen rated the episode an A, calling it "maybe the best hour of television ''Millennium'' ever produced". Handlen felt that the episode's "disarmingly simple" premise belied its depth, and praised Morgan's script as perhaps the writer's best work. Bill Gibron, writing for
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
, rated the episode 3.5 out of 5, calling it "a very fun, very irreverent respite for the series". Gibron felt positively about the episode's dialogue and humor, and praised it for its self-parodying elements. Robert Shearman and
Lars Pearson Lars Pearson (born 1973, in Iowa) is an American writer, high school teacher, editor, and journalist. He is the owner/publisher of Mad Norwegian Press, a publishing company specializing in reference guides to television shows including '' Buffy t ...
, in their book ''Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen'', rated "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me" two stars out of five, finding that it fit poorly with the tone of the series. Shearman felt that the episode was "self-indulgent and irrelevant at worst, and at best only sporadically funny".


Notes


Footnotes


References

*


External links

* {{Millennium episodes, 2 Millennium (season 2) episodes 1998 American television episodes