Characters
But, Mulder, the new millennium doesn't begin until January 2001.
— Scully · The X-Files
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The speaker interrupts with a precise correction about when the new millennium begins, naming January 2001. Addressing Mulder directly, the line brings calendar arithmetic into a conversation that apparently assumes otherwise. Its humour comes from puncturing a grand occasion with a carefully stated technical distinction.
Context reviewed