2x07 19:19
Millennium (1996)
2x07 19:19, written by Glen Morgan, James Wong and Michael R. Perry, directed by Thomas J. Wright.
I busload of school children are kidnapped and taken to a hidden bunker.
In the intro we see how obsessives followed current affairs, looking for global patterns in 1997. Instead of the internet it is a few dozen TVs all blaring at once. A chart of info drawn on the floor with the red arrows all converging on "ME".
The villains are a pair of zealots who (like the Millennium Group) take Book of Revelation seriously. In a good bit, when they hear the children praying in the back of the van, the two men join hands and pray along with them.
As usual for the series, everyone knows Revelation. Frank and Peter Watts have it memorized and Frank can speak to the kidnapper in his own language. The episode title is 19:19: "Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army".
On of the leads is to track down people who have bought bibles recently (as if bibles are not distributed abundantly across the land):
quote
Peter: The Group has a database that can help. It can spit out the name and address of anyone who's bought a bible through the mail in this country over the last ten years. And we can narrow that search if he's purchased specialty items.
Frank: You telling me the Millennium Group keeps track of anyone who buys a book?
Peter: Certain books.
They call in Lara Means to help get a read on their suspect:
quote
Lara: Well in the next few minutes we'll know whether we should've just beat the hell out of him... Here's my thing. I'm results oriented.
The crisis is resolved by an actual Act of God: a tornado frees the children, kills one kidnapper and carries off the other:
quote
Peter: State troopers are following the path of the tornado. Still no trace of Matthew Prine.
Lara: Well, maybe he went somewhere over the rainbow.
Notes:
In a high speed rural chase they apprehend storm chasers who wandered in from Twister (1996). They give warning of impending tornadoes.
The school where the children would have been was completely destroyed. How about that?
I have always appreciated the program's locations that do not look like dressed sets. These run-down rural places, for instance.
A bit of tubular bells on the soundtrack. You know what that means.
