hris Carter’s Millennium is about as old as the Y2K bug panic, but it hasn’t been forgotten — not by the cast and crew, and not by Troy Foreman, the world’s undisputed biggest fan of the show. Foreman, a network engineer-by-day/producer-by-night, recently paid homage to the 1996-1999 series by creating a documentary, Millennium After the Millennium. It’s currently showing at film festivals and has so far won two film awards.
The road from fan to documentarian wasn’t nearly as mysterious as the show.
For those of you who don’t remember it, Millennium had a pitch-black premise: It’s about a former FBI profiler who can see through the eyes of serial killers. In fact, the series was so dark, its protagonist is named Frank Black.
Foreman loved it from the premiere. “It was incredible. I was hooked on the show from that moment on,” he told SYFY WIRE. “The reason Millennium resonated with me is that it was the first show that really dealt with the darkness of humanity. It still resonates.”
When Millennium was canceled, he quickly purchased the DVDs.
Several years later, before yet another rewatch, he decided to search the internet for other fans. There, he found a fan campaign called Back to Frank Black—a fan effort to reignite Millennium for the 21st century, which ultimately failed. But through the campaign, met another fan, James McLean, and together they decided to create a podcast dedicated to their favorite show.
Foreman wanted to make the podcast as professional as he could, so instead of interviewing fans, he reached out to the cast and crew. “Our very first interview was Marshall Bell, the judge from the fourth episode. Once I got one under my belt, it gave me the courage to keep reaching out to other people,” he explained. During their 2007-2010 podcast run, Foreman and McLean eventually interviewed almost every principal actor and crew member of the show.
Eventually, the podcast played itself out. “There’s not much more you can do or say about a show that had been gone for almost 20 years,” Foreman said. “We decided to end it.”
But Foreman and McLean’s enthusiasm still was not sated.
In 2011, Foreman and McLean helped keep the Millennium torch burning by helping with the book, Back to Frank Black. (The proceeds of the book went directly to Henriksen’s favorite charity, Children of the Night, which has rescued over 10,000 child prostitutes.)
Foreman had enough energy for one final fan campaign. At that point, his creative partner McLean tapped out. “He wanted to go back to school, so he stepped back. I totally understood that.”
Foreman’s idea? A documentary.
So what does a network engineer know about making a documentary? Absolutely nothing. But he did know filmmaker Jason D. Morris, who had created his own Millennium fan film series, Millennium Apocalypse. With Morris’ filmmaking know-how and Foreman’s prior relationship with most of the cast and crew—along with help from writer Joseph Maddrey—they were able to create a tribute to the show they loved.
The film was in production for two years. “Both of us work full time,” said Foreman. “[Morris] has a family with two kids.” Working around their schedules and budgets, Foreman and Morris spent one year on cinematography and one year on post-production.
It was worth their time and effort. Foreman said, “I’m 100 percent thrilled with what we come up with. Fans of sci-fi and horror are going to love it. it will give you a reason to watch the show, and it won’t spoil the series for you.”
If the film isn’t coming to a festival near you, you can purchase it online. You can also find it at some conventions: Lance Henriksen recently made space at his table for it at Horror Hound.