page:  = ... Thirteen Years Later = 
   
   " ... Thirteen Years Later " is the fifth episode of the third season of the American crime @-@ thriller television series Millennium . It premiered on the Fox network on October 30 , 1998 . The episode was written by Michael R. Perry , and directed by Thomas J. Wright . " ... Thirteen Years Later " featured guest appearances by the members of the band Kiss , performing both as themselves and as minor characters . 
   In this episode , Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Frank Black ( Lance Henriksen ) and Emma Hollis ( Klea Scott ) investigate a series of murders on the set of a horror film — and realize that the production is based on a case Black solved several years earlier . 
   " ... Thirteen Years Later " proved a difficult episode to produce , with filming requiring a large number of shots to be completed and the script to be adjusted on short notice . It has evoked mixed responses from critics , although the guest appearances by the members of Kiss have been more universally criticized . 
   
   = = Plot = = 
   
   Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Frank Black ( Lance Henriksen ) and Emma Hollis ( Klea Scott ) travel to Travelers Rest , South Carolina to investigate the deaths of film director Lew Carroll ( Paul Stanley ) and Marta Danbury , the leading actress in his newest film . As the local sheriff guides Black and Hollis through the murder scene , Black realizes that the film is based on a real murder case he investigated thirteen years previously ; he is shocked to learn that the true story is being sensationalized for the screen . 
   The pair interview the cast and crew as suspects , discovering that many would benefit from either of the deaths — producer Kenny Neiderman had been having an affair with Danbury ; Rowdy Beeman replaced Carroll as director ; Ruby Dahl and Ramona Tangent , whose roles in the film will expand without Danbury ; and Mark Bianco , a method actor relishing the opportunity to meet Black , whose role he plays . Also questioned is Hugo Winston , the man whose partner was murdered in the earlier case and who is campaigning against what he sees as a disrespectful production . 
   The production continues , and after the filming of a pool scene the crew gather in catering ; Beeman discovers a severed finger in his sandwich , recognizing from its ring that it belonged to Niederman . When the sheriff shuts down production , Black theorizes that the killer may target the crew 's hotel ; he and Hollis arrive to find the body of the film 's publicist hanging from a rope . The next day , a film extra ( Gene Simmons ) confesses to the killings ; Black pokes holes in his story and discovers he is not a credible perpetrator . Regardless , production is resumed — and shortly afterwards , several crew members are found with their throats cut , while Winston 's body hangs nearby in an apparent murder @-@ suicide . 
   Black doubts that Winston is the killer , and while Hollis stays in the hotel , he visits the production 's climactic shoot , set during a performance by the band Kiss . As he looks around him , the sheriff 's body is thrown down from the rafters ; as the pandemonium settles , Black realizes that horror films end with the leading lady being targeted — the killer is after Hollis . Racing back to her hotel , Black discover Hollis fending off a chainsaw @-@ wielding Bianco . Black is able to subdue Bianco after Hollis disables the chainsaw ; the actor then explains that he lacked Black 's insight and had to commit the crimes in order to see through the eyes of a killer . 
   
   = = Production = = 
   
   " ... Thirteen Years Later " is the second episode of Millennium to have been written by Michael R. Perry , who had previously penned the second season episode " The Mikado " , and would provide a further three scripts in the third season . The episode was directed by Thomas J. Wright , who helmed a total of twenty @-@ six episodes across all three seasons . Wright would also go on to direct " Millennium " , the series ' crossover episode with its sister show The X @-@ Files . 
   The episode features guest appearances by the members of the band Kiss — Peter Criss , Ace Frehley , Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley — who each portray both themselves and a small cameo role . However , the band members insisted during filming that their roles be given an equal amount of dialogue , which led to Perry being asked to amend scenes on short notice and fax updated scripts to the shooting locations ; ultimately much of this additional material was filmed but not used in the episode . Ace Frehley was also unenthusiastic towards his role , and requested to play a " 300 @-@ pound black man " instead , wishing to wear a fat suit like those used in the 1996 Eddie Murphy film The Nutty Professor ; he was eventually convinced that such a suit would take too long to fabricate . 
   Perry has described the production " ... Thirteen Years Later " as being " one of the most gruelling " of the series ' run , citing its abundance of stunt work and physical effects as the cause of this . Perry praised Wright for his ability to direct the episode within the usual time constraints , as he felt the number of shots involved was more akin to a feature film than a television episode . Guest star Jeff Yagher , who played killer Mark Bianco , is the husband of actress Megan Gallagher , who starred in the first two seasons of Millennium as Black 's wife Catherine . 
   
   = = Broadcast and reception = = 
   
   " ... Thirteen Years Later " was first broadcast on the Fox network on October 30 , 1998 . The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 5 @.@ 4 during its original broadcast , meaning that 5 @.@ 4 percent of households in the United States viewed the episode . This represented approximately 5 @.@ 37 million households . 
   " ... Thirteen Years Later " received mixed reviews from critics . The A.V. Club 's Todd VanDerWerff rated the episode a " B " . VanDerWerff felt that the episode 's comedic slant was necessary within the wider series , as he considered Millennium 's dark tone to be prone to unintentional comedy and that a comic episode provided an outlet for this . VanDerWerff found the script to be at its strongest when satirizing the character of Frank Black , but admitted that it " falls apart " when attempting to send up other subjects ; he also felt that the guest appearance by Kiss felt unnecessary and contrived . Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson , in their book Wanting to Believe : A Critical Guide to The X @-@ Files , Millennium & The Lone Gunmen , rated " ... Thirteen Years Later " one star out of five . Shearman felt that the episode had the potential to be much better , but that " the whole concept drowns in overkill " . He considered the episode 's characters to too shallow and its commentary to be too heavy @-@ handed to fully execute anything meaningful ; criticism was also levelled at the guest roles by the members of Kiss . 
   
   