Since these two episodes are basically a single story, I'll reviewing them as a single episode.
Nestled in the cancer arc are "Tempus Fugit" and "Max," two mythology episodes which work well, even at this time in The X-Files's lifespan, when the mystery elements of the mythology are all twisted. While they are mythology episodes dealing with aliens and the government conspiracy, there are no loose ends at the end of the episode, nor continuations of loose ends from previous episodes. This isolation helps greatly when previous mythology have involved a mix of aliens, black oil, an government types with little discernible motives. By the end of "Max," we almost have a perfect idea of all the sides and what they want. It's pretty spectacular how easy to understand both episodes are.
For the first time, I can clearly lay out some facts. Max and Sharon steal alien technology from a military contractor; the military contractor wants it back; UFOs abduct Max, Sharon, and Mulder when they had a piece of the technology; the military aircraft shot down the UFO, also causing Max's plane to crash. No black oil, no bounty hunters, nothing that can't be explain. Given the show's ability to pile on, this it's a big sigh of relief.
These episodes still maintain the core values of The X-Files in the midst of it all. There is the dangerous, secretive military-industrial-alien complex at work again, sacrificing innocent lives in pursuit of goals, whatever they are. At the center of the innocent is Max, the guy who just wanted the truth. He's a fairly memorable character from the first season and we see him in the videos, inquiring about why the government continues to cover things up. Except, no one cares. Surely the aliens don't care about him, not the Syndicate, not the military, not the contractors.
"Tempus Fugit" and "Max" take quite a few detours along the way, with a bunch of random characters coming closer, or even accepting, the truth. With all the weird stuff happening at the beginning of the episode, Mulder immediately starts spouting off his ideas, as Scully makes excuses for him. By "Max," enough people realize something is wrong that Mulder doesn't seem so crazy. Even still, there is the same futility that remains. More people can learn the truth, but without evidence, without hard, tangible proof, there is nothing but ideas in the minds of a few.
Score: 9.0/10
Showing posts with label The X-Files. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The X-Files. Show all posts
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 15 Kaddish / 16 Unrequited
"Kaddish"
"Kaddish" is one of The X-Files's better attempts at an ethnic episode. Sure there are the staples--the requisite Holocaust speech from the Jew, the irrational Nazis, and yet another ethnic myth turning out to be true--but the episode doesn't have an overpowering message that threatens to become a cliche at every turn of the episode.
It also helps that the golem is actually pretty interesting. It was formed out of Ariel's dream that her fiance could come back, but the golem ultimately was not human despite its looks. Behind the procedural elements and ethnic touches is a deep love story which went terribly wrong but is righted in the end. It's an unsettling love story, though, as the golem is scary right up until the end of the episode.
Mark Snow proves himself to be awesome once again, incorporating Bach's "Little G minor Fugue" with the usual X-Files instruments during the first synagogue scene.
Score: 8.7/10
"Unrequited"
Neither "Kaddish" nor "Unrequited" are good episodes (especially following the potent duo of "Never Again" and "Memento Mori"), but the message of "Unrequited" jives so well with the theme of the show and is so striking at times that the episode could have been a great one. Unfortunately, the paranormal aspect of the episode and the plot sink it to a pretty low level.
The idea behind this episode is that there is a former Vietnam POW, presumed to be dead, killing generals who are covering up the fact that there are still POWs in Vietnam or Laos. That the government would stop looking for the POWs and even cover up the story is surely a heinous crime and it resonates with every viewer. This especially means a lot to Skinner who, as we recall, was in the war himself and had some memorable experiences. Mulder learns from Marita that the government is actually setting up Skinner to fail, because they want Teager to carry out the mission and kill those generals so they can't reveal the information.
This is truly some terrible shit that's going on and it's hard not to feel horrified if the stories were actually true. (In all honesty, the POW/MIA stories sound far more credible than alien stories.) It fits nicely with the alien conspiracy--the masked men who stop at nothing to hide their faces and carry out orders from behind the veil, and the parting shot of the flag sums it up well. Teager disappearing is a cool way to show symbolically what happened to him in the eyes of the government and, in turn, the public). He's there, but not really.
Now, the conspiracy and thematic aspect are great, but there's supposed to be more to an episode. The rest is a train wreck, convoluted and disorganized. The whole disappearing ability is hardly explained, but I think it has something to do with Teager affecting people's field of vision so he can hide in their blind spot to kill them. Even then, it's not explained how he does this. And how did he learn to do this? Mulder speculates that the North Vietnamese taught him the technique, which doesn't make much sense. It also doesn't help that the episode moves blindingly slow and, aside from several random detours into militia territory, is very straightforward.
Score: 8.3/10
"Kaddish" is one of The X-Files's better attempts at an ethnic episode. Sure there are the staples--the requisite Holocaust speech from the Jew, the irrational Nazis, and yet another ethnic myth turning out to be true--but the episode doesn't have an overpowering message that threatens to become a cliche at every turn of the episode.
It also helps that the golem is actually pretty interesting. It was formed out of Ariel's dream that her fiance could come back, but the golem ultimately was not human despite its looks. Behind the procedural elements and ethnic touches is a deep love story which went terribly wrong but is righted in the end. It's an unsettling love story, though, as the golem is scary right up until the end of the episode.
Mark Snow proves himself to be awesome once again, incorporating Bach's "Little G minor Fugue" with the usual X-Files instruments during the first synagogue scene.
Score: 8.7/10
"Unrequited"
Neither "Kaddish" nor "Unrequited" are good episodes (especially following the potent duo of "Never Again" and "Memento Mori"), but the message of "Unrequited" jives so well with the theme of the show and is so striking at times that the episode could have been a great one. Unfortunately, the paranormal aspect of the episode and the plot sink it to a pretty low level.
The idea behind this episode is that there is a former Vietnam POW, presumed to be dead, killing generals who are covering up the fact that there are still POWs in Vietnam or Laos. That the government would stop looking for the POWs and even cover up the story is surely a heinous crime and it resonates with every viewer. This especially means a lot to Skinner who, as we recall, was in the war himself and had some memorable experiences. Mulder learns from Marita that the government is actually setting up Skinner to fail, because they want Teager to carry out the mission and kill those generals so they can't reveal the information.
This is truly some terrible shit that's going on and it's hard not to feel horrified if the stories were actually true. (In all honesty, the POW/MIA stories sound far more credible than alien stories.) It fits nicely with the alien conspiracy--the masked men who stop at nothing to hide their faces and carry out orders from behind the veil, and the parting shot of the flag sums it up well. Teager disappearing is a cool way to show symbolically what happened to him in the eyes of the government and, in turn, the public). He's there, but not really.
Now, the conspiracy and thematic aspect are great, but there's supposed to be more to an episode. The rest is a train wreck, convoluted and disorganized. The whole disappearing ability is hardly explained, but I think it has something to do with Teager affecting people's field of vision so he can hide in their blind spot to kill them. Even then, it's not explained how he does this. And how did he learn to do this? Mulder speculates that the North Vietnamese taught him the technique, which doesn't make much sense. It also doesn't help that the episode moves blindingly slow and, aside from several random detours into militia territory, is very straightforward.
Score: 8.3/10
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 13 Never Again / Memento Mori
"Never Again"
The course of The X-Files through the first four seasons is fairly consistent. There are the MOTW episodes, the mythology episodes, which all have a familiar feeling. Mulder and Scully--together--discover the supernatural on their quest to find the truth. There is the occasional episode from Darin Morgan, criticizing certain parts of the show, but always in a fun way. Even an episode like "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" doesn't seem too out there, considering is it Frohike narrating a story. "Home," while utterly shocking and the most controversial episode, is nothing more than a MOTW with more grotesqueness than usual.
But then "Never Again" pops up. Although it has the trappings of a standard MOTW episode, the episode, written by Glen Morgan and James Wong before leaving to helm Millenniun, has complex and off-beat themes never tackled before. It's different, very different, and always leaves me uneasy at the end. It challenges the fundamental core of the show and the salient points made by Morgan and Wong in the episode are almost unassailable, even after all nine seasons have aired.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around all the points I want to make, so I'll make this easier for myself and readers by putting them in list format.
1. Mulder and Scully--especially Scully--have had a distinct asexuality so that the sexual theme of the episode was extra-shocking.
Mulder has had hookups here and there, but Scully hasn't been getting any, at least not what we've seen. Scully going out, finding Ed Jerse, getting a tattoo, and potentially sleeping with Jerse (as good as the episode is, Chris Carter really undercut it by taking out sex scene, not to mention that both Scully and Jerse are clothed the morning after) is all very foreign. This is not a side of Scully we've seen before and I can understand why people would be miffed by this episode.
2. While Mulder may be a dick at times, Morgan and Wong magnification of his faults goes a tad too far.
Take the final lines of the episode. Scully says, "Not everything is about you, Mulder. This is my life," to which Mulder replies, "Yes, but it's--" and Scully gives him the look. From what I can hear, it sounds like the next word started with an 'm,' which would open up the line, "Yes, but it's mine too," as if Mulder thinks Scully's life is his. Would he really say something like that? Really? The ending silence is a fine way to end the episode, but Mulder's dickish behavior throughout the episode didn't seem very natural.
3. That being said, Morgan and Wong certainly have something worth talking about: Mulder and Scully may not be the wonderful duo people want them to be.
It's disturbing to see what's going on in his episode. Mulder is once again droning on about the alien conspiracy, with some random yahoo no less, while Scully obviously doesn't care. Yet, Mulder continues to push her, calling her a every moment, to make sure she's doing her job properly. When Scully returns to the office, Mulder doesn't seem to care about her. All this stuff is vaguely familiar, as Mulder often abandons her at key moments to do his own thing. We can easily see why Scully would be angry enough to lash out and go do her own thing. Alas, this episode was more of a one-shot, and the team is back to being the same in the next episodes.
4. The episode was aired out of order so "Leonard Betts" would be after the Super Bowl, and Scully's motivation for her actions may have been obscured.
This is very problematic for those who don't do extra research on episodes. At face value, after watching "Never Again" after "Leonard Betts," one would think it is an external cause--cancer--for Scully's behavior, versus the internal cause--something rebellious lurking under a pristine surface.
5. Props to Jodie Foster and Rob Bowman.
In light of the plot of the episode, Foster's voiceover of Betty and Bowman's direction sometimes gets overlooked, but I have a feeling that they would be the talk of the episode had Scully not been the center of the episode.
Score: 9.2/10
"Memento Mori"
Compared to the episode before it, "Memento Mori" is an episode everyone can get behind. It basically has everything you could ask for--small answers to mythology questions, lots of emotional content, action thrills, awesome acting by Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, the Lone Gunmen, Mark Snow at his best--packed into a neat episode. The one thing people don't seem to like are the voiceovers throughout the episode, though I like how they set the tone for the episode. (Yes, I know the voiceover dialogue is far too poetic for the characters to be saying, but Chris Carter needs an outlet for his poetry!)
One of the major problems of the latest mythology episodes is the inability to answer questions while bringing up 50 more. "Memento Mori" reverses this trend by answering some questions, namely over the clones. They are alien-human hybrids and are trying to stop the project that led to their birth by saving their birth mothers. Mulder learns that all the women who were abducted, included Scully, are infertile because their ova were taken out. While these answers barely scratch the surface, we have a better idea of what's going on without too many more questions.
Scully's struggle with cancer makes up the bulk of the episode, which Gillian Anderson deservedly won her Emmy for. She comes to grips with her condition, acknowledging that she will likely die soon, but gets treatment along with Penny Northern. It's all moving stuff, and the conclusion even more so. After treatment by a doctor who was likely a villain, after Penny Northern dies, Scully returns to her work, the thing that has carried her all these years. It coincides with Mulder's journey, infiltrating the government facility with the Lone Gunmen to find the answers.
This intersection by the end of the episode--Scully deciding to go back to work and Mulder returning to the hospital with more answers than before--puts all the doubts of "Never Again" behind. They mean a lot to each other and will always work to find the truth and whatever is out there. While the turmoil of the episode reaches deep into both of them, there is always another to lean on. The cancer is still there, but the partnership is as solid as ever and that's what matters.
Score: 9.8/10
The course of The X-Files through the first four seasons is fairly consistent. There are the MOTW episodes, the mythology episodes, which all have a familiar feeling. Mulder and Scully--together--discover the supernatural on their quest to find the truth. There is the occasional episode from Darin Morgan, criticizing certain parts of the show, but always in a fun way. Even an episode like "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" doesn't seem too out there, considering is it Frohike narrating a story. "Home," while utterly shocking and the most controversial episode, is nothing more than a MOTW with more grotesqueness than usual.
But then "Never Again" pops up. Although it has the trappings of a standard MOTW episode, the episode, written by Glen Morgan and James Wong before leaving to helm Millenniun, has complex and off-beat themes never tackled before. It's different, very different, and always leaves me uneasy at the end. It challenges the fundamental core of the show and the salient points made by Morgan and Wong in the episode are almost unassailable, even after all nine seasons have aired.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around all the points I want to make, so I'll make this easier for myself and readers by putting them in list format.
1. Mulder and Scully--especially Scully--have had a distinct asexuality so that the sexual theme of the episode was extra-shocking.
Mulder has had hookups here and there, but Scully hasn't been getting any, at least not what we've seen. Scully going out, finding Ed Jerse, getting a tattoo, and potentially sleeping with Jerse (as good as the episode is, Chris Carter really undercut it by taking out sex scene, not to mention that both Scully and Jerse are clothed the morning after) is all very foreign. This is not a side of Scully we've seen before and I can understand why people would be miffed by this episode.
2. While Mulder may be a dick at times, Morgan and Wong magnification of his faults goes a tad too far.
Take the final lines of the episode. Scully says, "Not everything is about you, Mulder. This is my life," to which Mulder replies, "Yes, but it's--" and Scully gives him the look. From what I can hear, it sounds like the next word started with an 'm,' which would open up the line, "Yes, but it's mine too," as if Mulder thinks Scully's life is his. Would he really say something like that? Really? The ending silence is a fine way to end the episode, but Mulder's dickish behavior throughout the episode didn't seem very natural.
3. That being said, Morgan and Wong certainly have something worth talking about: Mulder and Scully may not be the wonderful duo people want them to be.
It's disturbing to see what's going on in his episode. Mulder is once again droning on about the alien conspiracy, with some random yahoo no less, while Scully obviously doesn't care. Yet, Mulder continues to push her, calling her a every moment, to make sure she's doing her job properly. When Scully returns to the office, Mulder doesn't seem to care about her. All this stuff is vaguely familiar, as Mulder often abandons her at key moments to do his own thing. We can easily see why Scully would be angry enough to lash out and go do her own thing. Alas, this episode was more of a one-shot, and the team is back to being the same in the next episodes.
4. The episode was aired out of order so "Leonard Betts" would be after the Super Bowl, and Scully's motivation for her actions may have been obscured.
This is very problematic for those who don't do extra research on episodes. At face value, after watching "Never Again" after "Leonard Betts," one would think it is an external cause--cancer--for Scully's behavior, versus the internal cause--something rebellious lurking under a pristine surface.
5. Props to Jodie Foster and Rob Bowman.
In light of the plot of the episode, Foster's voiceover of Betty and Bowman's direction sometimes gets overlooked, but I have a feeling that they would be the talk of the episode had Scully not been the center of the episode.
Score: 9.2/10
"Memento Mori"
Compared to the episode before it, "Memento Mori" is an episode everyone can get behind. It basically has everything you could ask for--small answers to mythology questions, lots of emotional content, action thrills, awesome acting by Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, the Lone Gunmen, Mark Snow at his best--packed into a neat episode. The one thing people don't seem to like are the voiceovers throughout the episode, though I like how they set the tone for the episode. (Yes, I know the voiceover dialogue is far too poetic for the characters to be saying, but Chris Carter needs an outlet for his poetry!)
One of the major problems of the latest mythology episodes is the inability to answer questions while bringing up 50 more. "Memento Mori" reverses this trend by answering some questions, namely over the clones. They are alien-human hybrids and are trying to stop the project that led to their birth by saving their birth mothers. Mulder learns that all the women who were abducted, included Scully, are infertile because their ova were taken out. While these answers barely scratch the surface, we have a better idea of what's going on without too many more questions.
Scully's struggle with cancer makes up the bulk of the episode, which Gillian Anderson deservedly won her Emmy for. She comes to grips with her condition, acknowledging that she will likely die soon, but gets treatment along with Penny Northern. It's all moving stuff, and the conclusion even more so. After treatment by a doctor who was likely a villain, after Penny Northern dies, Scully returns to her work, the thing that has carried her all these years. It coincides with Mulder's journey, infiltrating the government facility with the Lone Gunmen to find the answers.
This intersection by the end of the episode--Scully deciding to go back to work and Mulder returning to the hospital with more answers than before--puts all the doubts of "Never Again" behind. They mean a lot to each other and will always work to find the truth and whatever is out there. While the turmoil of the episode reaches deep into both of them, there is always another to lean on. The cancer is still there, but the partnership is as solid as ever and that's what matters.
Score: 9.8/10
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 11 El Mundo Gira / 12 Leonard Betts
"El Mundo Gira"
Oh boy, another "ethnic" X-Files episode. I actually think "El Mundo Gira" has plenty of potential, but it's largely a mess with conflicting themes and tones. The title of the episode, translated into English, is "The World Turns," implying that the episode is an X-File set in a Mexican soap opera. These parts generally work, as the crying, yelling, and feuding brothers seem like what you'd find on a soap opera. Even Mulder and Scully seem to recognize what they've stepped into.
This self-recognition would indicate that the episode isn't supposed to be too serious, but the episode, inexplicably, attempts to have some social commentary which is a serious issue. There's an INS agent who seems to be the bad guy and there is a connection made between illegal aliens and actual aliens. Unfortunately, it's all heavy-handed and not thoughtful at all. The episode ends with the general idea that no one cares what happened to the brothers, but it's just a statement with little reasoning why no one would care. Surely two brothers causing people to have these terrible fungal growths should be found.
Score: 7.4/10
"Leonard Betts"
Taken alone, "Leonard Betts" would be a top-notch MOTW episode, filled with the scares, images, and scenery reminiscent of episodes like the "The Host," which features the infamous Flukeman. But this episode is also crucial to the forthcoming arc of the series--my personal favorite--and its final minutes are unforgettable.
Leonard Betts is one of the freakiest monster on the show, and he probably had a huge impact on the millions who watched the episode after the Super Bowl. His powers--the ability to regenerate his entire body--are both grotesque and almost unimaginable. He's literally made of cancer, which allows him to form new body parts and a new body when he wants. The scenes of him shedding is body, or rising out of the bath are great spectacles. The downside of his ability is that he needs to chow down on cancer cells, cut out of cancer patients from what we see. Altogether, he's one freaky dude.
Unlike Flukeman, who was largely a creature which had no sentience, Leonard Betts seems quite human--perhaps even more evolved than humans, Mulder suggests. He acts regretful when he attacks people, knowing it is is biological need which drives his actions. It is this consciousness about his actions that makes him someone to sympathize. Despite his inhuman ability and the frightening scenes, he seems all too human for us to be comfortable with.
Then the final revelation hits: Leonard needs something from Scully. Just like that, we learn Scully has cancer, and Scully's actions in the episode's dying minutes all but confirm this. While Scully doesn't do anything about her cancer immediately, even opting not to tell Mulder, Gillian Anderson shows us how good she is in those quiet moments, reflecting on herself and her condition. This is a precursor to the next arc in which Gillian Anderson delivers a monumental performance, in my opinion the finest of the series.
Score: 9.2/10
Oh boy, another "ethnic" X-Files episode. I actually think "El Mundo Gira" has plenty of potential, but it's largely a mess with conflicting themes and tones. The title of the episode, translated into English, is "The World Turns," implying that the episode is an X-File set in a Mexican soap opera. These parts generally work, as the crying, yelling, and feuding brothers seem like what you'd find on a soap opera. Even Mulder and Scully seem to recognize what they've stepped into.
This self-recognition would indicate that the episode isn't supposed to be too serious, but the episode, inexplicably, attempts to have some social commentary which is a serious issue. There's an INS agent who seems to be the bad guy and there is a connection made between illegal aliens and actual aliens. Unfortunately, it's all heavy-handed and not thoughtful at all. The episode ends with the general idea that no one cares what happened to the brothers, but it's just a statement with little reasoning why no one would care. Surely two brothers causing people to have these terrible fungal growths should be found.
Score: 7.4/10
"Leonard Betts"
Taken alone, "Leonard Betts" would be a top-notch MOTW episode, filled with the scares, images, and scenery reminiscent of episodes like the "The Host," which features the infamous Flukeman. But this episode is also crucial to the forthcoming arc of the series--my personal favorite--and its final minutes are unforgettable.
Leonard Betts is one of the freakiest monster on the show, and he probably had a huge impact on the millions who watched the episode after the Super Bowl. His powers--the ability to regenerate his entire body--are both grotesque and almost unimaginable. He's literally made of cancer, which allows him to form new body parts and a new body when he wants. The scenes of him shedding is body, or rising out of the bath are great spectacles. The downside of his ability is that he needs to chow down on cancer cells, cut out of cancer patients from what we see. Altogether, he's one freaky dude.
Unlike Flukeman, who was largely a creature which had no sentience, Leonard Betts seems quite human--perhaps even more evolved than humans, Mulder suggests. He acts regretful when he attacks people, knowing it is is biological need which drives his actions. It is this consciousness about his actions that makes him someone to sympathize. Despite his inhuman ability and the frightening scenes, he seems all too human for us to be comfortable with.
Then the final revelation hits: Leonard needs something from Scully. Just like that, we learn Scully has cancer, and Scully's actions in the episode's dying minutes all but confirm this. While Scully doesn't do anything about her cancer immediately, even opting not to tell Mulder, Gillian Anderson shows us how good she is in those quiet moments, reflecting on herself and her condition. This is a precursor to the next arc in which Gillian Anderson delivers a monumental performance, in my opinion the finest of the series.
Score: 9.2/10
Monday, August 8, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 9 Terma / 10 Paper Hearts
"Terma"
I've watched "Terma" about five times in total and still have little clue what the hell is going on. Watching the episode is an uncomfortable experience, as the episode jumps from scene to scene, from plot to plot, without any coherence. I kept wondering whether I had missed a scene or two, or had forgotten something from a previous episode, so I went back and started rewatching scenes. But it was all there, and rewatching the scenes, attempting to glean more information from the dialogue, only confirmed hat I already knew: The mythology of The X-Files is a mess and the writing behind it is also a mess. It's all very frustrating, because there are good ideas buried deep in the episode, but Chris Carter just didn't focus on anything.
The generalities of the episode are very clear, but the details, which people seem to be discussing throughout the episode, are vague at best. More unsettling is the lack of continuity from the previous set of mytharc episodes. Where are the aliens, exactly? Why are there all this new plots?
I'll try to break the plot down to the best of my ability, though I'm sure I'll fall sort. The Russians are developing their own cure for black oil--what they call black cancer--and send an agent to kill a doctor in the United States, affiliated with the Syndicate, who is also working on a cure and apparently experimenting at a nursing home. There's stuff about the Cold War still going on, arms getting chopped off, and Mulder magically appearing in front of Congress, which makes for a crowded episode with more questions and no answers. The rock is burned at the oil refinery, once again leaving behind no physical evidence for Mulder's beliefs. Behind the scenes, CSM and Well-Manicured Man seem to be at odds, but the dialogue explains their feelings, not what's going on.
As an individual episode, "Terma" isn't that bad. The dark, uneasy atmosphere is the same as in the other conspiracy actions, and the action scenes are nice. In the larger picture, however, the episode only serves to muddle an already muddle story. It leaves behind far more questions than answers, and forces us to plod forward into the unknown, hoping there may be answers one day.
Score: 8.0/10
"Paper Hearts"
An apt counterpart to "Paper Hearts" is the earlier episode "The Field Where I Died," in my opinion, a failed episode. Both have similar goals in that they are Mulder-centric and pack an emotional punch. The difference, though, is that it is abundantly clear in "Paper Hearts" why the issue is so important to Mulder, whereas "The Field Where I Died" floats the nebulous idea of past lives in order to make it seem relevant.
If we remember all the way back to the pilot, Mulder's motivation for the X-Files is his sister. He has believed all these years that his sister was abducted by aliens. It is this belief that fueled him through all those mythology episodes, what dragged Scully into his big mess. When Mulder realizes that it may have been Roche who abducted his sister, this is a highly significant moment, bolstered by Mulder's volatile reaction. This is serious business, fundamental to the core of The X-Files.
Central to the episode is David Duchovny who displays the single-minded conviction we know Mulder has. The reveal that Roche probably wasn't involved is one of the most powerful scenes of the entire series, Mulder confronting Roche over the fact that they are in the wrong house. After all the pressure Roche put on Mulder, it is release as Mulder unloads on him, affirming his central belief that Roche is a liar.
Even if Roche is liar, episode places a nugget of doubt in the audience and Mulder's minds. I mean, Roche could have forgotten the location of the house, instead remembering the details of the girls he fixated on. With the emotional gravity, "Paper Hearts" works as well as any standalone episode of the show, even if there is no progress by the end of the episode.
Score: 9.3/10
I've watched "Terma" about five times in total and still have little clue what the hell is going on. Watching the episode is an uncomfortable experience, as the episode jumps from scene to scene, from plot to plot, without any coherence. I kept wondering whether I had missed a scene or two, or had forgotten something from a previous episode, so I went back and started rewatching scenes. But it was all there, and rewatching the scenes, attempting to glean more information from the dialogue, only confirmed hat I already knew: The mythology of The X-Files is a mess and the writing behind it is also a mess. It's all very frustrating, because there are good ideas buried deep in the episode, but Chris Carter just didn't focus on anything.
The generalities of the episode are very clear, but the details, which people seem to be discussing throughout the episode, are vague at best. More unsettling is the lack of continuity from the previous set of mytharc episodes. Where are the aliens, exactly? Why are there all this new plots?
I'll try to break the plot down to the best of my ability, though I'm sure I'll fall sort. The Russians are developing their own cure for black oil--what they call black cancer--and send an agent to kill a doctor in the United States, affiliated with the Syndicate, who is also working on a cure and apparently experimenting at a nursing home. There's stuff about the Cold War still going on, arms getting chopped off, and Mulder magically appearing in front of Congress, which makes for a crowded episode with more questions and no answers. The rock is burned at the oil refinery, once again leaving behind no physical evidence for Mulder's beliefs. Behind the scenes, CSM and Well-Manicured Man seem to be at odds, but the dialogue explains their feelings, not what's going on.
As an individual episode, "Terma" isn't that bad. The dark, uneasy atmosphere is the same as in the other conspiracy actions, and the action scenes are nice. In the larger picture, however, the episode only serves to muddle an already muddle story. It leaves behind far more questions than answers, and forces us to plod forward into the unknown, hoping there may be answers one day.
Score: 8.0/10
"Paper Hearts"
An apt counterpart to "Paper Hearts" is the earlier episode "The Field Where I Died," in my opinion, a failed episode. Both have similar goals in that they are Mulder-centric and pack an emotional punch. The difference, though, is that it is abundantly clear in "Paper Hearts" why the issue is so important to Mulder, whereas "The Field Where I Died" floats the nebulous idea of past lives in order to make it seem relevant.
If we remember all the way back to the pilot, Mulder's motivation for the X-Files is his sister. He has believed all these years that his sister was abducted by aliens. It is this belief that fueled him through all those mythology episodes, what dragged Scully into his big mess. When Mulder realizes that it may have been Roche who abducted his sister, this is a highly significant moment, bolstered by Mulder's volatile reaction. This is serious business, fundamental to the core of The X-Files.
Central to the episode is David Duchovny who displays the single-minded conviction we know Mulder has. The reveal that Roche probably wasn't involved is one of the most powerful scenes of the entire series, Mulder confronting Roche over the fact that they are in the wrong house. After all the pressure Roche put on Mulder, it is release as Mulder unloads on him, affirming his central belief that Roche is a liar.
Even if Roche is liar, episode places a nugget of doubt in the audience and Mulder's minds. I mean, Roche could have forgotten the location of the house, instead remembering the details of the girls he fixated on. With the emotional gravity, "Paper Hearts" works as well as any standalone episode of the show, even if there is no progress by the end of the episode.
Score: 9.3/10
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 7 Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man / 8 Tunguska
"Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man"
If "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" were to be taken at face value--as a completely authentic, factual account of CSM's life--it would be a very troubling episode, throwing a bunch of inconceivable parts into the mythology. Somehow, CSM would have personally shot and killed both JFK and MLK, rigged the 1980 "Miracle on Ice," and is the reason why the Bills never win the Superbowl. Thankfully, the story is narrated by Frohike, who, as we know, is part of the Lone Gunmen and a notorious conspiracy theorist. He notes that he got all the information from a magazine he subscribes to, and will confirm the information from his hacker sources. We can all breathe easily that the episodes depicted in the episode probably aren't accurate in the least bit.
But even if this isn't really what CSM's life was like, the episode still delves into the mentality of the men in the shadows, who seemingly have control of everything, with a spark of reality. The emotional core of the episode, the despair of CSM as his stories continue to be rejected, remains true even if the facts are exactly true. At the end of the day we can say that, yeah, he probably didn't do any of those things or was only a small part of them, but his life isn't a picnic. He's human, just like us.
We see him sent out to carry out orders from the higher ups, often with a degree of discomfort. He respects MLK, but for the country he must do it. There is a sense of duty in every action, and what we perceived to be malicious evil in the first three seasons is only devotion to duty. Reflected in the alien conspiracy, the members of the Syndicate probably aren't always happy about the things they do, but realize that they have to get dirty in order to keep order. This lingers heavily on the conscience, as there are plenty of times when CSM looks conflicted.
Throughout the episode, CSM tries to get stories published and fails--for although his official job has lots of clout, it is shrouded in secrecy, unknown and unhailed. After years of work, he has no public recognition, nothing to leave behind as proof of his efforts and struggles. CSM is a nobody, a random government employee with a suit, as regular as everyone else. But he knows he is more, except no one else does.
Score: 9.2/10
"Tunguska"
There is an epicness to "Tunguska," I think, unmatched by any previous episodes. What began as a simple conspiracy, confined to the United States, becomes global, as Mulder and Krycek travel to Russia, finding themselves in the midst of a gulag where prisoners are experimented on with black oil, and the episode ends with Mulder infected with black oil as well. This is heavy stuff, bolstered by the appearance of Scully at a Senate hearing at the beginning of the episode, refusing to reveal Mulder's whereabouts.
But the episode also leaves you wondering, "Well, what now?" The previous batch of mythology episodes introduced the clones, and then promptly disappeared them. Now we're back to black oil which apparently came from inside meteors from space and landed in Russia in 1908 and aren't giving anyone radiation burns. Was the black oil in the previous season different from this strand? CSM and Well-Manicured Man are scheming, but they aren't being forthright as always.
Once again, Chris Carter writes a good episode, with some very cool actions scenes and plenty of foreboding tension. However, no loose ends from previous episodes are being tied up. If anything, Carter drags things out further and further. There is a finite length to long how one can keep this up, and Carter surely does not realize this. Indeed, he plows ahead, adding layers and layers to the mystery without going back to answer previous questions.
Score: 8.8/10
If "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" were to be taken at face value--as a completely authentic, factual account of CSM's life--it would be a very troubling episode, throwing a bunch of inconceivable parts into the mythology. Somehow, CSM would have personally shot and killed both JFK and MLK, rigged the 1980 "Miracle on Ice," and is the reason why the Bills never win the Superbowl. Thankfully, the story is narrated by Frohike, who, as we know, is part of the Lone Gunmen and a notorious conspiracy theorist. He notes that he got all the information from a magazine he subscribes to, and will confirm the information from his hacker sources. We can all breathe easily that the episodes depicted in the episode probably aren't accurate in the least bit.
But even if this isn't really what CSM's life was like, the episode still delves into the mentality of the men in the shadows, who seemingly have control of everything, with a spark of reality. The emotional core of the episode, the despair of CSM as his stories continue to be rejected, remains true even if the facts are exactly true. At the end of the day we can say that, yeah, he probably didn't do any of those things or was only a small part of them, but his life isn't a picnic. He's human, just like us.
We see him sent out to carry out orders from the higher ups, often with a degree of discomfort. He respects MLK, but for the country he must do it. There is a sense of duty in every action, and what we perceived to be malicious evil in the first three seasons is only devotion to duty. Reflected in the alien conspiracy, the members of the Syndicate probably aren't always happy about the things they do, but realize that they have to get dirty in order to keep order. This lingers heavily on the conscience, as there are plenty of times when CSM looks conflicted.
Throughout the episode, CSM tries to get stories published and fails--for although his official job has lots of clout, it is shrouded in secrecy, unknown and unhailed. After years of work, he has no public recognition, nothing to leave behind as proof of his efforts and struggles. CSM is a nobody, a random government employee with a suit, as regular as everyone else. But he knows he is more, except no one else does.
Score: 9.2/10
"Tunguska"
There is an epicness to "Tunguska," I think, unmatched by any previous episodes. What began as a simple conspiracy, confined to the United States, becomes global, as Mulder and Krycek travel to Russia, finding themselves in the midst of a gulag where prisoners are experimented on with black oil, and the episode ends with Mulder infected with black oil as well. This is heavy stuff, bolstered by the appearance of Scully at a Senate hearing at the beginning of the episode, refusing to reveal Mulder's whereabouts.
But the episode also leaves you wondering, "Well, what now?" The previous batch of mythology episodes introduced the clones, and then promptly disappeared them. Now we're back to black oil which apparently came from inside meteors from space and landed in Russia in 1908 and aren't giving anyone radiation burns. Was the black oil in the previous season different from this strand? CSM and Well-Manicured Man are scheming, but they aren't being forthright as always.
Once again, Chris Carter writes a good episode, with some very cool actions scenes and plenty of foreboding tension. However, no loose ends from previous episodes are being tied up. If anything, Carter drags things out further and further. There is a finite length to long how one can keep this up, and Carter surely does not realize this. Indeed, he plows ahead, adding layers and layers to the mystery without going back to answer previous questions.
Score: 8.8/10
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 5 The Field Where I Died / 6 Sanguinarium
"The Field Where I Died"
"The Field Where I Died" is supposed to be emotional; it's supposed to be deep; it's supposed to be romantic in a dark way. But is it all those things in reality? It's a highly ambitious episode, uncovered by comedy or the usual trademarks of a "different" X-Files episode, and Glen Morgan and James Wong surely go for broke with the episode. However, it does reach its intended goals, in my opinion.
The episode goes along fine, until the multiple personalities kick in and Kristen Cloke starts overacting. The persona Sydney, in particular, is off-putting as to derail the entire episode. She has this scrunched up face, weird voice, and these bizarre ticks which, put together, make her inhuman. This would actually work well in other episodes of the show, but not this one.
"The Field Where I Died" is about stretching the concept of love across time, that Mulder and this woman have a universal connection, spanning over a century. This is heavy stuff that shouldn't be taken lightly, and then Sydney pops up, doing her crazy person thing with wild, awkward gesticulations. She just doesn't belong in the episode. Even if you buy the conceit of the episode--Mulder and this woman being soulmates--the episode doesn't have a proper flow, especially with the impromptu regressions where David Duchovny tries really hard to cry and be all emotional.
The lack of comedy, which I pointed out earlier, is one of its main features. This is serious business! While Darin Morgan probably could have done wonders with the premise, his brother and James Morgan portray this relationship as sacred, and perhaps something that could be real. There's a funny line about Scully not wanting to redo the flukeman incident, but this episode is one of the heaviest of the series, with a continually foreboding tone to go with the romanticism of characters going into their personas. But I think the harshness of the ending, the cult members all dying, really kicks the message home, however hokey and overacted it may be.
Score: 7.8/10
"Sanguinarium"
Putting aside all the dumb dialogue about plastic surgery, you have to admit that Kim Manners really knows how to get the optimal gore out a scene and does a great job with a limited plot. That said, the episode is unmemorable in every respect other than directing. The biggest problem is that the writers lead the audience to believe that the doctors in charge of the hospital are actually a group of evil witches. But no, they are just evil plastic surgeons. The actual witch is lone doctor who kills people every 10 years to rejuvenate his face. The message: look at the things people will do for youth!
Score: 8.0/10
"The Field Where I Died" is supposed to be emotional; it's supposed to be deep; it's supposed to be romantic in a dark way. But is it all those things in reality? It's a highly ambitious episode, uncovered by comedy or the usual trademarks of a "different" X-Files episode, and Glen Morgan and James Wong surely go for broke with the episode. However, it does reach its intended goals, in my opinion.
The episode goes along fine, until the multiple personalities kick in and Kristen Cloke starts overacting. The persona Sydney, in particular, is off-putting as to derail the entire episode. She has this scrunched up face, weird voice, and these bizarre ticks which, put together, make her inhuman. This would actually work well in other episodes of the show, but not this one.
"The Field Where I Died" is about stretching the concept of love across time, that Mulder and this woman have a universal connection, spanning over a century. This is heavy stuff that shouldn't be taken lightly, and then Sydney pops up, doing her crazy person thing with wild, awkward gesticulations. She just doesn't belong in the episode. Even if you buy the conceit of the episode--Mulder and this woman being soulmates--the episode doesn't have a proper flow, especially with the impromptu regressions where David Duchovny tries really hard to cry and be all emotional.
The lack of comedy, which I pointed out earlier, is one of its main features. This is serious business! While Darin Morgan probably could have done wonders with the premise, his brother and James Morgan portray this relationship as sacred, and perhaps something that could be real. There's a funny line about Scully not wanting to redo the flukeman incident, but this episode is one of the heaviest of the series, with a continually foreboding tone to go with the romanticism of characters going into their personas. But I think the harshness of the ending, the cult members all dying, really kicks the message home, however hokey and overacted it may be.
Score: 7.8/10
"Sanguinarium"
Putting aside all the dumb dialogue about plastic surgery, you have to admit that Kim Manners really knows how to get the optimal gore out a scene and does a great job with a limited plot. That said, the episode is unmemorable in every respect other than directing. The biggest problem is that the writers lead the audience to believe that the doctors in charge of the hospital are actually a group of evil witches. But no, they are just evil plastic surgeons. The actual witch is lone doctor who kills people every 10 years to rejuvenate his face. The message: look at the things people will do for youth!
Score: 8.0/10
Monday, July 11, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 3 Teliko / 4 Unruhe
"Teliko"
"Teliko" is one of The X-Files's most forgettable hours and I don't really want to say much about it. The episode begins with a pretty startling sight, a black guy turned into an albino, but the episode drops from there. It's one of those episodes, you know, the ones where the writers add an "ethnic" flair to the episode, this time showing off African folklore. While the episode has a notion of the government ignoring deaths of black men, it also seems rather anti-immigrant, the immigrant in question,Samuel Aboah, turning out to be a monster and the guy helping him getting hurt.
The teliko itself is pretty forgettable itself, as we don't know its intentions for a long time and we don't really see it in the end when Scully shoots it. There's the usual science vs. supernatural debate which ends with the scientific knowledge that the teliko is a tribe of people that steals hormones from blacks.
Score: 7.8/10
"Unruhe"
Compared to "Teliko," "Unruhe" is a pretty great episode. There are good Mulder and Scully moments, a decent villain, and genuinely tense scenes. But the episode isn't all that interesting. The supernatural hook of the episode is a killer who somehow imprints his visions onto film. Since the killer turns out to be a legitimately crazy person, we never really know why it happens and the episode feels empty in the end.
The photo manipulation in the episode seems like a precursor to the thousands of scenes in the last decade in which the computer basically blows the investigation wide open. It's cool for The X-Files since computers aren't widely used, but it has gotten way overused as a method of plot development.
Score: 8.7/10
"Teliko" is one of The X-Files's most forgettable hours and I don't really want to say much about it. The episode begins with a pretty startling sight, a black guy turned into an albino, but the episode drops from there. It's one of those episodes, you know, the ones where the writers add an "ethnic" flair to the episode, this time showing off African folklore. While the episode has a notion of the government ignoring deaths of black men, it also seems rather anti-immigrant, the immigrant in question,Samuel Aboah, turning out to be a monster and the guy helping him getting hurt.
The teliko itself is pretty forgettable itself, as we don't know its intentions for a long time and we don't really see it in the end when Scully shoots it. There's the usual science vs. supernatural debate which ends with the scientific knowledge that the teliko is a tribe of people that steals hormones from blacks.
Score: 7.8/10
"Unruhe"
Compared to "Teliko," "Unruhe" is a pretty great episode. There are good Mulder and Scully moments, a decent villain, and genuinely tense scenes. But the episode isn't all that interesting. The supernatural hook of the episode is a killer who somehow imprints his visions onto film. Since the killer turns out to be a legitimately crazy person, we never really know why it happens and the episode feels empty in the end.
The photo manipulation in the episode seems like a precursor to the thousands of scenes in the last decade in which the computer basically blows the investigation wide open. It's cool for The X-Files since computers aren't widely used, but it has gotten way overused as a method of plot development.
Score: 8.7/10
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 4 Episode 1 Herrenvolk / 2 Home
"Herrenvolk"
As I stated in my last review, the end of the third season and beginning of the fourth season, in retrospect, is about where the mythology begins to unravel. There is more and more mystery piled on top of the existing mystery without explanation and it all begins to become too much to handle. At the end of the episode, we have more to work with: bees, pollen, clones (including one based on Mulder's sister), X dead, X's replacement, markers in the smallpox vaccinations, Jeremiah Smith getting offed, the bounty hunter healing Mrs. Mulder. If that seemed like a lot, well, it is. And that's just the new content in this episode along. Include black oil, the alien Deep Throat showed Mulder, the Syndicate, and a bunch of stuff I'm forgetting, The X-Files is already jammed packed with layers and layers of mystery which need explanation.
But I gotta admit, "Herrenvolk" is an exciting episode. Mulder is running around the place with Jeremiah Smith, discovering all this new stuff which seems to be of utmost importance, before returning to the hospital with an incredibly haggard look. (Long aside: I read Cybill Sheperd's autobiography a while back and remember her talking about Moonlighting how long it took for her makeup to be done while Bruce Willis didn't need much, and how she's be blamed if she looked tired while Bruce's looking tired only added to the David Addison look. Point being, I wonder if it was the same with David Duchovny because damn does he look jacked up at the hospital.)
Scully, meanwhile, is abandoned by Mulder at the beginning of the episode (the way she kept yelling his name, never getting a response, made me feel really bad for her), and after some initial excitement, returns back to DC to do some investigating. The other plots of the episode feel the same, part of a never-ending cycle of deception. CSM gets X and Mulder has lost an important ally once more.
By itself, "Herrenvolk" is a strong episode, fast paced and everything. That may be enough for those who don't particularly care about the mythology. But for those who try to connect the dots, those who piece together the puzzle Chris Carter has laid out, it all seems a bit much. Does Chris Carter have the answers for all these questions? If he actually pulled through in the end with a non-convoluted explanation, then I would say he's a genius--but that never happened.
Score: 9.1/10
"Home"
"Home" is an unquestionably classic X-Files episode and memorable to anyone whose watched it. The primary reason is that the episode features some of the most fucked up, degenerate behavior imaginable, directed in the scariest fashion possible. There is a constant feeling of claustrophobia, as Mulder and Scully enter this dark world of the Peacocks and face these horrors. At the same time, though, despite the horror movie setup which often stifles characters, Mulder and Scully, their distinct characterizations in particular, come out. Mulder and Scully can still poke fun at each other even when they are in scary situations.
There is also a disturbing ambiguity in the episode as to who is in the wrong. Obviously the Peacocks are murderers and should be dealt with accordingly, but the initial provocation is in doubt. These are people who isolated themselves from the outside world, unbothered by the tumult of the modern world and not bothering anyone else. But after the baby is found, everything changes. The feds, Mulder and Scully, roll into town, investigating the baby, and everything changes. Even the now-deceased sheriff acknowledged that. There is a touch of sympathy when you think of that it those terms.
The Peacocks were all willing participants in their hellish (from our perspective) and would have been fine if left along. The end result, two dead and only Edmund and his mother alive, is sad in its own way. The incompatibility of the Peacocks and the modern world speaks to the larger idea that the small town life is disappearing. For the mantra "the truth is out there," there is yet another disturbing angle--that the truth and the quest to uncover the truth has with it the destruction of a certain culture and community, much like CSM and the Syndicate hint it.
At the end of the day, "Home" remains a terrifying and brilliant episode whichever way you look at it. There isn't much supernatural element to it and the mystery is largely figured out at the end of the episode. It is the nature of humans that resonates with us and that's where The X-Files strikes its hardest.
Score: 9.8/10
As I stated in my last review, the end of the third season and beginning of the fourth season, in retrospect, is about where the mythology begins to unravel. There is more and more mystery piled on top of the existing mystery without explanation and it all begins to become too much to handle. At the end of the episode, we have more to work with: bees, pollen, clones (including one based on Mulder's sister), X dead, X's replacement, markers in the smallpox vaccinations, Jeremiah Smith getting offed, the bounty hunter healing Mrs. Mulder. If that seemed like a lot, well, it is. And that's just the new content in this episode along. Include black oil, the alien Deep Throat showed Mulder, the Syndicate, and a bunch of stuff I'm forgetting, The X-Files is already jammed packed with layers and layers of mystery which need explanation.
But I gotta admit, "Herrenvolk" is an exciting episode. Mulder is running around the place with Jeremiah Smith, discovering all this new stuff which seems to be of utmost importance, before returning to the hospital with an incredibly haggard look. (Long aside: I read Cybill Sheperd's autobiography a while back and remember her talking about Moonlighting how long it took for her makeup to be done while Bruce Willis didn't need much, and how she's be blamed if she looked tired while Bruce's looking tired only added to the David Addison look. Point being, I wonder if it was the same with David Duchovny because damn does he look jacked up at the hospital.)
Scully, meanwhile, is abandoned by Mulder at the beginning of the episode (the way she kept yelling his name, never getting a response, made me feel really bad for her), and after some initial excitement, returns back to DC to do some investigating. The other plots of the episode feel the same, part of a never-ending cycle of deception. CSM gets X and Mulder has lost an important ally once more.
By itself, "Herrenvolk" is a strong episode, fast paced and everything. That may be enough for those who don't particularly care about the mythology. But for those who try to connect the dots, those who piece together the puzzle Chris Carter has laid out, it all seems a bit much. Does Chris Carter have the answers for all these questions? If he actually pulled through in the end with a non-convoluted explanation, then I would say he's a genius--but that never happened.
Score: 9.1/10
"Home"
"Home" is an unquestionably classic X-Files episode and memorable to anyone whose watched it. The primary reason is that the episode features some of the most fucked up, degenerate behavior imaginable, directed in the scariest fashion possible. There is a constant feeling of claustrophobia, as Mulder and Scully enter this dark world of the Peacocks and face these horrors. At the same time, though, despite the horror movie setup which often stifles characters, Mulder and Scully, their distinct characterizations in particular, come out. Mulder and Scully can still poke fun at each other even when they are in scary situations.
There is also a disturbing ambiguity in the episode as to who is in the wrong. Obviously the Peacocks are murderers and should be dealt with accordingly, but the initial provocation is in doubt. These are people who isolated themselves from the outside world, unbothered by the tumult of the modern world and not bothering anyone else. But after the baby is found, everything changes. The feds, Mulder and Scully, roll into town, investigating the baby, and everything changes. Even the now-deceased sheriff acknowledged that. There is a touch of sympathy when you think of that it those terms.
The Peacocks were all willing participants in their hellish (from our perspective) and would have been fine if left along. The end result, two dead and only Edmund and his mother alive, is sad in its own way. The incompatibility of the Peacocks and the modern world speaks to the larger idea that the small town life is disappearing. For the mantra "the truth is out there," there is yet another disturbing angle--that the truth and the quest to uncover the truth has with it the destruction of a certain culture and community, much like CSM and the Syndicate hint it.
At the end of the day, "Home" remains a terrifying and brilliant episode whichever way you look at it. There isn't much supernatural element to it and the mystery is largely figured out at the end of the episode. It is the nature of humans that resonates with us and that's where The X-Files strikes its hardest.
Score: 9.8/10
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 23 Wetwired / Talitha Cumi
"Wetwired"
"Wetwired" is a perfect example why The X-Files often reaches another level of quality. The episode starts off in normal X-Files territory, a poor sap killing his wife who he believe to be someone else and similar cases, but soon veers off in a deadly direction, involving Mulder and Scully to the fullest potential.
The culprit for these killings, it turns out, come from these extra lines from the TV broadcast signal which makes them paranoid. Scully, who has been watching the tapes, is sucked into this paranoia, seeing Mulder with CSM (surely a gut-wrenching experience giving Mulder's supposed convictions). It's kind of a cop out that Mulder happens to be red-green colorblind (I believe it's the first and last time this is brought up), but it's a plausible explanation which keeps the episode moving ahead.
Scully ends up going crazy, believing Mulder is behind everything (now THAT would make for an insane twist if it were real), and hides at his mother's house until Mulder and Margaret talk her down. Everything is fine in the end and Scully is given a perspective on how Mulder lives, always wary of those around her and the ever-powerful government.
There is real deception at work, as Mulder finds X cleaning up for the government and we later see X meeting with CSM. His conversation with Mulder reveals his intentions--to use Mulder for his own ends rather than help Mulder. It just happens that their goals intersect sometimes. While we still don't know how this is all related, whether the aliens are part of this mind-altering program or whether it's something else that the conspiracy people do on the side, it's still a spooky, unnerving look at the power these people have with human technology alone.
Score: 9.0/10
"Talitha Cumi"
I think the mythology of The X-Files starts unraveling around "Talitha Cumi." After the introduction of black oil early in the season, we get set of episodes which ignores black oil while introducing several new ideas. As more moving elements are introduced without proper explanation, the final payoff has to be inclusive and contain a lot of content. But there is also a point at which there may be too much to handle and through three seasons, The X-Files has already accumulated plenty of unexplained parts. This isn't too much of a problem right now, but it's certainly worrying to see things continually packed on.
As far as the episode itself, there is plenty to like about it. The conspiracy is in full force along with some more alien elements. Mulder and Scully are again plunged into this dangerous world which seems to have no end. The plot lies in the arrival of a guy--or, more precisely, an alien--named Jeremiah Smith, who has the power to heal people and change his appearance. Mulder obviously has an interest in him as well as CSM who manages to capture him. What transpires is two fascinating conversation between CSM and Smith about God and the role of the government, culminating with the revelation that CSM is dying of cancer.
The episode has lots of twists, with the reveal of Jeremiah Smith changing his face like the bounty hunter aliens, and the fact that a bounty hunter alien pretended to be Jeremiah Smith when coming to Scully. Scully also finds Jeremiah Smiths all across the country, which is a big deal going forward. In the midst of these aliens who don't seem to be on the same side, CSM is doing things as well as X, who gets in a huge fight with Mulder.
Following the revelation in "Paper Clip" that Mulder's father was involved with those currently running the conspiracy, we learn that CSM knew Mulder's mother well and even went to speak with her. Apparently, this gave her extra stress and she had a stroke. She is bedridden the entire episode, but manages to give Mulder a hint which leads him to those pokey things you use on the back of the aliens' necks.
Like the second season, the third season ends on a great cliffhanger, the bounty hunter having found Mulder, Scully, and Smith. Unlike the previous season's cliffhanger, though, there is more going on, with Mulder's mother in need of treatment and discussion of colonization.
Score: 9.2/10
"Wetwired" is a perfect example why The X-Files often reaches another level of quality. The episode starts off in normal X-Files territory, a poor sap killing his wife who he believe to be someone else and similar cases, but soon veers off in a deadly direction, involving Mulder and Scully to the fullest potential.
The culprit for these killings, it turns out, come from these extra lines from the TV broadcast signal which makes them paranoid. Scully, who has been watching the tapes, is sucked into this paranoia, seeing Mulder with CSM (surely a gut-wrenching experience giving Mulder's supposed convictions). It's kind of a cop out that Mulder happens to be red-green colorblind (I believe it's the first and last time this is brought up), but it's a plausible explanation which keeps the episode moving ahead.
Scully ends up going crazy, believing Mulder is behind everything (now THAT would make for an insane twist if it were real), and hides at his mother's house until Mulder and Margaret talk her down. Everything is fine in the end and Scully is given a perspective on how Mulder lives, always wary of those around her and the ever-powerful government.
There is real deception at work, as Mulder finds X cleaning up for the government and we later see X meeting with CSM. His conversation with Mulder reveals his intentions--to use Mulder for his own ends rather than help Mulder. It just happens that their goals intersect sometimes. While we still don't know how this is all related, whether the aliens are part of this mind-altering program or whether it's something else that the conspiracy people do on the side, it's still a spooky, unnerving look at the power these people have with human technology alone.
Score: 9.0/10
"Talitha Cumi"
I think the mythology of The X-Files starts unraveling around "Talitha Cumi." After the introduction of black oil early in the season, we get set of episodes which ignores black oil while introducing several new ideas. As more moving elements are introduced without proper explanation, the final payoff has to be inclusive and contain a lot of content. But there is also a point at which there may be too much to handle and through three seasons, The X-Files has already accumulated plenty of unexplained parts. This isn't too much of a problem right now, but it's certainly worrying to see things continually packed on.
As far as the episode itself, there is plenty to like about it. The conspiracy is in full force along with some more alien elements. Mulder and Scully are again plunged into this dangerous world which seems to have no end. The plot lies in the arrival of a guy--or, more precisely, an alien--named Jeremiah Smith, who has the power to heal people and change his appearance. Mulder obviously has an interest in him as well as CSM who manages to capture him. What transpires is two fascinating conversation between CSM and Smith about God and the role of the government, culminating with the revelation that CSM is dying of cancer.
The episode has lots of twists, with the reveal of Jeremiah Smith changing his face like the bounty hunter aliens, and the fact that a bounty hunter alien pretended to be Jeremiah Smith when coming to Scully. Scully also finds Jeremiah Smiths all across the country, which is a big deal going forward. In the midst of these aliens who don't seem to be on the same side, CSM is doing things as well as X, who gets in a huge fight with Mulder.
Following the revelation in "Paper Clip" that Mulder's father was involved with those currently running the conspiracy, we learn that CSM knew Mulder's mother well and even went to speak with her. Apparently, this gave her extra stress and she had a stroke. She is bedridden the entire episode, but manages to give Mulder a hint which leads him to those pokey things you use on the back of the aliens' necks.
Like the second season, the third season ends on a great cliffhanger, the bounty hunter having found Mulder, Scully, and Smith. Unlike the previous season's cliffhanger, though, there is more going on, with Mulder's mother in need of treatment and discussion of colonization.
Score: 9.2/10
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 21 Avatar / 22 Quagmire
"Avatar"
Before watching the episode, I honestly didn't remember much about "Avatar" other than that it was a Skinner episode and an average episode. After watching the episode, I think I know why. The episode is a hazy experience, indicating significance of both the supernatural and conspiratorial kinds, but ends up fulfilling neither to a satisfactory extent.
While the episode certainly has merits of its own--Mitch Pileggi finally getting a large role and really doing a fantastic job, introducing Skinner's backstory, Mulder and Scully heavily involved--the episode feels like a start to developing Skinner and not a story that can stand on its own. His wife, the succubus, and CSM messing with him would all be great to expand on since we learn relatively little about them, but they weren't developed in later episodes.
So, at the end of the day, "Avatar" is an episode that could have been part of something great. Instead, it leaves us with some decent Skinner background and a bevy of unfulfilled ideas.
Score: 8.5/10
"Quagmire"
"Quagmire" generally isn't considered a classic X-Files episode. There's nothing too inventive about the episode, nothing too emotional or funny. It's not profound like Darin Morgan episodes or exciting like mythology episodes. We're not left at the end of the episode stunned at anything. The episode is, for all intents and purposes, a typical MOTW episode
But I'm a huge fan of the episode and have watched it bunch of times. (I'm really surprised I didn't put in on my list of top 25 episodes.) There is an innate likability permeating the episode due to Mulder and Scully. Mulder drags Scully to a remote lake where people have been disseminating and where the fabled Big Blue is supposed to live. We see people being killed, so we know something is truly up. At this point, there is nothing out of the ordinary, as the usual local cranks and local police do their thing while Mulder engages the imaginary and Scully sticks to science.
Then, Mulder and Scully go out in the middle of the lake in a boat, get hit by something big, and end up stranded on this small rock. For an entire 10 minutes, they just sit there and talk. This, in my opinion, is a classic X-Files scene. It is the culmination of the episode--after all the complaining about being dragged out there and poor Queequeg getting eaten. Now they're stuck in the middle of a lake with a monster circling them. Scully compares Mulder to Ahab and bemoans how Mulder lives and acts. Mulder, in turn, takes it in stride and isn't bothered too much.
But despite their apparent differences, they are still together after these years. What began as Scully "spying" on Mulder has become a real partnership, with trust and friendship and devotion. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are absolutely dynamite in the scene, their chemistry popping off the screen. There is a closeness between Mulder and Scully not only in the words they say, but also in the way they say them.
Eventually, the monster turns out to be an alligator which is nowhere near as cool as a sea monster but monstrous in its own way. The end threw my for a loop, because I though the final shot was only the lake and something moving underneath. Instead, we actually see the monster come out of the water, lift its head, and go back down.
Score: 9.3/10
Before watching the episode, I honestly didn't remember much about "Avatar" other than that it was a Skinner episode and an average episode. After watching the episode, I think I know why. The episode is a hazy experience, indicating significance of both the supernatural and conspiratorial kinds, but ends up fulfilling neither to a satisfactory extent.
While the episode certainly has merits of its own--Mitch Pileggi finally getting a large role and really doing a fantastic job, introducing Skinner's backstory, Mulder and Scully heavily involved--the episode feels like a start to developing Skinner and not a story that can stand on its own. His wife, the succubus, and CSM messing with him would all be great to expand on since we learn relatively little about them, but they weren't developed in later episodes.
So, at the end of the day, "Avatar" is an episode that could have been part of something great. Instead, it leaves us with some decent Skinner background and a bevy of unfulfilled ideas.
Score: 8.5/10
"Quagmire"
"Quagmire" generally isn't considered a classic X-Files episode. There's nothing too inventive about the episode, nothing too emotional or funny. It's not profound like Darin Morgan episodes or exciting like mythology episodes. We're not left at the end of the episode stunned at anything. The episode is, for all intents and purposes, a typical MOTW episode
But I'm a huge fan of the episode and have watched it bunch of times. (I'm really surprised I didn't put in on my list of top 25 episodes.) There is an innate likability permeating the episode due to Mulder and Scully. Mulder drags Scully to a remote lake where people have been disseminating and where the fabled Big Blue is supposed to live. We see people being killed, so we know something is truly up. At this point, there is nothing out of the ordinary, as the usual local cranks and local police do their thing while Mulder engages the imaginary and Scully sticks to science.
Then, Mulder and Scully go out in the middle of the lake in a boat, get hit by something big, and end up stranded on this small rock. For an entire 10 minutes, they just sit there and talk. This, in my opinion, is a classic X-Files scene. It is the culmination of the episode--after all the complaining about being dragged out there and poor Queequeg getting eaten. Now they're stuck in the middle of a lake with a monster circling them. Scully compares Mulder to Ahab and bemoans how Mulder lives and acts. Mulder, in turn, takes it in stride and isn't bothered too much.
But despite their apparent differences, they are still together after these years. What began as Scully "spying" on Mulder has become a real partnership, with trust and friendship and devotion. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are absolutely dynamite in the scene, their chemistry popping off the screen. There is a closeness between Mulder and Scully not only in the words they say, but also in the way they say them.
Eventually, the monster turns out to be an alligator which is nowhere near as cool as a sea monster but monstrous in its own way. The end threw my for a loop, because I though the final shot was only the lake and something moving underneath. Instead, we actually see the monster come out of the water, lift its head, and go back down.
Score: 9.3/10
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 19 Hell Money / 20 Jose Chung's From Outer Space
"Hell Money"
Unlike the previous episode, "Hell Money" actually has some interesting ideas. There is a particularly cruel lottery in which the loser loses an organ instead of a dollar, and spirits in freaky masks going about the place. The family drama behind the lottery is potent as well, a sick daughter and a father needing money for an operation. The set-up is decent and could have made for a good episode.
Unfortunately, the episode suffers from the same problem as "Teso Dos Bichos"--Mulder and Scully aren't involved. They follow-up on leads and do normal investigation stuff, but none of it seems particularly special. There isn't much of a supernatural presence, and their input hardly makes a difference in the episode. Eventually, they reach place of the lottery, bust in with their guns, arrest Chao, and it's over.
Score: 8.1/10
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space"
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is possibly the best episode of The X-Files. Regardless of where you think it ranks, though, the episode is undoubtedly an instant classic. Penned by Darin Morgan, it's an incredible episode from beginning to end--funny, delightful, insightful, everything. The episode is more peculiar than most episodes, but Morgan, who wrote most of the other funny episodes ("Clyde Bruckman," "Humbug," "War of the Coprophages"), knows the exact balance and when to pull back on the absurdity.
The premise of the episode isn't that complicated: Scully is visited by the famed writer Jose Chung, who is doing research for his latest book. He wants her account of a particular incident, and this frame narrative of their discussion leads us through various characters and wildly differing accounts. And you can kind of piece together a general idea of what happened. The two teenagers Chrissy and Harold were probably taken by people from the Air Force dressed as aliens in order to hide the existence of an experiment. It's possible that the kidnappers, Chrissy, and Harold were then taken by actual aliens, though only Harold and Roky seem to recall this. In between all of this, two men in black who look like Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek are going around warning people to be quiet.
Of course, none of this has to do with the central mythology of The X-Files--no Syndicate, no black oil. But it has lots to say on the entire show in general and the search for the unknown. Every character has their story, their beliefs of what happened. And through this, they form the way they think. Jose Chung sums this up nicely at the end: "For although we may not be alone in the universe, in our own separate ways on this planet, we are all alone." Peering into the darkness, all these people who seem to have experienced the same events, or were at least in the same vicinity, are on vastly different tracks, believing what they may believe, desiring what they may desire.
The frame which the episode operates through is incredibly effective. Humor permeates the episode, inside jokes flowing from one line to the next as the story unfolds.As Scully talks with Jose Chung, the story is slowly strung together, and by the end of the episode, we have a much better idea of what happened. It is also not clear exactly what happened. Were Chrissy's memories stolen through hypnotism? Was Mulder with the Air Force pilot in the diner? Who were the men in black working for? At the end of the day, the truth is not known by anyone, despite multiple stories.
The opening of the episode--what appears to be a spaceship flying through the sky and the camera pulling back to reveal a basket holding an electric worker--shows the exact problem. Everyone sees things from close-up, at the ground-level. Even the most intuitive person cannot hope to get the full story without pulling back to see the larger picture. In this case, the government likely knows what happened, but muddles things up even more by messing with Chrissy and Harold.
Score: 9.8/10
Unlike the previous episode, "Hell Money" actually has some interesting ideas. There is a particularly cruel lottery in which the loser loses an organ instead of a dollar, and spirits in freaky masks going about the place. The family drama behind the lottery is potent as well, a sick daughter and a father needing money for an operation. The set-up is decent and could have made for a good episode.
Unfortunately, the episode suffers from the same problem as "Teso Dos Bichos"--Mulder and Scully aren't involved. They follow-up on leads and do normal investigation stuff, but none of it seems particularly special. There isn't much of a supernatural presence, and their input hardly makes a difference in the episode. Eventually, they reach place of the lottery, bust in with their guns, arrest Chao, and it's over.
Score: 8.1/10
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space"
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is possibly the best episode of The X-Files. Regardless of where you think it ranks, though, the episode is undoubtedly an instant classic. Penned by Darin Morgan, it's an incredible episode from beginning to end--funny, delightful, insightful, everything. The episode is more peculiar than most episodes, but Morgan, who wrote most of the other funny episodes ("Clyde Bruckman," "Humbug," "War of the Coprophages"), knows the exact balance and when to pull back on the absurdity.
The premise of the episode isn't that complicated: Scully is visited by the famed writer Jose Chung, who is doing research for his latest book. He wants her account of a particular incident, and this frame narrative of their discussion leads us through various characters and wildly differing accounts. And you can kind of piece together a general idea of what happened. The two teenagers Chrissy and Harold were probably taken by people from the Air Force dressed as aliens in order to hide the existence of an experiment. It's possible that the kidnappers, Chrissy, and Harold were then taken by actual aliens, though only Harold and Roky seem to recall this. In between all of this, two men in black who look like Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek are going around warning people to be quiet.
Of course, none of this has to do with the central mythology of The X-Files--no Syndicate, no black oil. But it has lots to say on the entire show in general and the search for the unknown. Every character has their story, their beliefs of what happened. And through this, they form the way they think. Jose Chung sums this up nicely at the end: "For although we may not be alone in the universe, in our own separate ways on this planet, we are all alone." Peering into the darkness, all these people who seem to have experienced the same events, or were at least in the same vicinity, are on vastly different tracks, believing what they may believe, desiring what they may desire.
The frame which the episode operates through is incredibly effective. Humor permeates the episode, inside jokes flowing from one line to the next as the story unfolds.As Scully talks with Jose Chung, the story is slowly strung together, and by the end of the episode, we have a much better idea of what happened. It is also not clear exactly what happened. Were Chrissy's memories stolen through hypnotism? Was Mulder with the Air Force pilot in the diner? Who were the men in black working for? At the end of the day, the truth is not known by anyone, despite multiple stories.
The opening of the episode--what appears to be a spaceship flying through the sky and the camera pulling back to reveal a basket holding an electric worker--shows the exact problem. Everyone sees things from close-up, at the ground-level. Even the most intuitive person cannot hope to get the full story without pulling back to see the larger picture. In this case, the government likely knows what happened, but muddles things up even more by messing with Chrissy and Harold.
Score: 9.8/10
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 17 Pusher / 18 Teso Dos Bichos
"Pusher"
"Pusher" is one of the coolest non-mythology episodes. It's one of the new episodes not shrouded in darkness, but the stakes remain as high as ever. What sets the episode apart from other is how human the case seems. Though there is a supernatural element to it--Robert Modell able to push thoughts onto others simply by talking--the fact that he is a living man, openly professing his guilt, makes things more unsettling. We know he's a sentient human being, lurking out there and waiting for the right time to strike.
Like in the best X-Files episodes, Mulder and Scully are invested in this episode. After falling into this case, they immediately are pushed into action. Mulder testifies on the stand against Modell, who gets away, and see Burst die in front of their eyes. And the climax is full of exhilaration, as Mulder plays Russian roulette with Modell before finally shooting him.
The one thing that doesn't quite work in the episode is Skinner and the woman who beats him. The whole episode is unnecessary in an episode which focused on Mulder and Scully, and didn't seem necessary to the plot. Both Skinner and the woman are tools to advance one plot point, that Modell is interested in Mulder.
The final scene in which Mulder contemplates what happened is, to me, Mulder reflecting on his resemblance to Modell. Here's this man who was a nobody, who wanted to be a somebody. A special ability came to him, and he grasps at this one chance to be a somebody, foregoing life. He desire to achieve his life's goal trumped all and he chose to kill people. Mulder, similarly, has goals and dreams he has not yet achieved, proving the existence of extraterrestrials. What if Mulder had the chance, like Modell, to reach his dream, but also give up his life and humanity? How far would be push himself?
Score: 9.3/10
"Teso Dos Bichos"
"Teso Dos Bichos" is the opposite of "Pusher," forgettable and boring. The episode begins with the standard setup of a skull of a female shaman being excavated and the natives believe it to have a curse. Lo and behold, one of the scientists is killed. From there, the episode goes as expected, people debating the morality of taking the skull from its home country and superstitious stuff in the background.
Mulder and Scully spend the episode phoning it in. It's the same as usual--Mulder believes in the curse, Scully doesn't. They help the police with the investigation, but they are nowhere near as involved as they were in "Pusher."
Nothing too interesting happens until Mulder and Scully are nearly killed by a pack of cats, a fairly good twists since we were led to believe the culprit was a jaguar, and it's kind of scary if you don't like cats. But that can't save the episode which wasn't interesting to begin with. The skull returns home and we're left with a generic and broad statement: don't mess with some things.
Score: 7.8/10
"Pusher" is one of the coolest non-mythology episodes. It's one of the new episodes not shrouded in darkness, but the stakes remain as high as ever. What sets the episode apart from other is how human the case seems. Though there is a supernatural element to it--Robert Modell able to push thoughts onto others simply by talking--the fact that he is a living man, openly professing his guilt, makes things more unsettling. We know he's a sentient human being, lurking out there and waiting for the right time to strike.
Like in the best X-Files episodes, Mulder and Scully are invested in this episode. After falling into this case, they immediately are pushed into action. Mulder testifies on the stand against Modell, who gets away, and see Burst die in front of their eyes. And the climax is full of exhilaration, as Mulder plays Russian roulette with Modell before finally shooting him.
The one thing that doesn't quite work in the episode is Skinner and the woman who beats him. The whole episode is unnecessary in an episode which focused on Mulder and Scully, and didn't seem necessary to the plot. Both Skinner and the woman are tools to advance one plot point, that Modell is interested in Mulder.
The final scene in which Mulder contemplates what happened is, to me, Mulder reflecting on his resemblance to Modell. Here's this man who was a nobody, who wanted to be a somebody. A special ability came to him, and he grasps at this one chance to be a somebody, foregoing life. He desire to achieve his life's goal trumped all and he chose to kill people. Mulder, similarly, has goals and dreams he has not yet achieved, proving the existence of extraterrestrials. What if Mulder had the chance, like Modell, to reach his dream, but also give up his life and humanity? How far would be push himself?
Score: 9.3/10
"Teso Dos Bichos"
"Teso Dos Bichos" is the opposite of "Pusher," forgettable and boring. The episode begins with the standard setup of a skull of a female shaman being excavated and the natives believe it to have a curse. Lo and behold, one of the scientists is killed. From there, the episode goes as expected, people debating the morality of taking the skull from its home country and superstitious stuff in the background.
Mulder and Scully spend the episode phoning it in. It's the same as usual--Mulder believes in the curse, Scully doesn't. They help the police with the investigation, but they are nowhere near as involved as they were in "Pusher."
Nothing too interesting happens until Mulder and Scully are nearly killed by a pack of cats, a fairly good twists since we were led to believe the culprit was a jaguar, and it's kind of scary if you don't like cats. But that can't save the episode which wasn't interesting to begin with. The skull returns home and we're left with a generic and broad statement: don't mess with some things.
Score: 7.8/10
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 15 Piper Maru / 16 Apocrypha
"Piper Maru"
On its own, black oil is a sick idea. Oil is as ubiquitous a substance as there is and for aliens to either be oil or use oil as a medium of transportation is very scary. In "Piper Maru" and "Apocrypha," we see just how easily aliens can slip in and out of humans without being noticed, and the aliens seem to be special abilities as well. That's the good part. Looking back on black oil, it's still a great idea that was horribly wasted as the series progressed. And it's a shame consider how great these two episodes are.
"Piper Maru" is a very ambitious episode of television, bringing back the stolen tape and the murder of Scully's sister, while introducing a new threat using a black and white format. That's a lot to handle, and the episode never feels rushed and no part gets shafted. All the plots are engaging and different--revisiting the past, learning about new things, or coming to terms with the world.
Mulder chases a woman to Hong Kong and finds Krycek, presumed to be the killer of Scully's sister, while a black oil alien is shadowing them. Scully revisits her childhood home, still dealing with the fact that her sister's murderer will likely never be found. She finds a friend of her father who recounts his tale on a submarine, and the striking effects of black oil. What was believed to be a salvage operation for a nuclear warhead became a death coffin with an unknown danger. Back in Washington, the shadowy forces send a blunt message, having Skinner shot in a restaurant for poking where he shouldn't be.
As the episode moves ahead, so does our understanding of what's going on. What used to be lights in the sky are now tangible things Mulder can clearly see. While we don't know what black oil is or how it fits in, it all seems like we're one step closer to the truth. Things are being uncovered and information is coming out, or so it seems.
"Apocrypha"
Whenever there is a new threat in the X-Files, it is never localized in certain area, away from everyone else. There is always a global component to the conspiracy, that the dark, multinational entity is waiting around every corner. The episode culminates in Mulder and Scully tracking Krycek to an abandoner missile. They are finally there, about to uncover all the mysteries, and then the rug is pulled out from under them. Armed men arrive and it's over.
But even if they end up with nothing, there is a resounding echo of hope. Mulder and Scully have come farther than they ever have and make some gains. Skinner is alive and the supposed killer of Scully's sister is dead. They've made inroads, however small they are, and that is enough to fuel the hunt.
Score: 9.4/10
On its own, black oil is a sick idea. Oil is as ubiquitous a substance as there is and for aliens to either be oil or use oil as a medium of transportation is very scary. In "Piper Maru" and "Apocrypha," we see just how easily aliens can slip in and out of humans without being noticed, and the aliens seem to be special abilities as well. That's the good part. Looking back on black oil, it's still a great idea that was horribly wasted as the series progressed. And it's a shame consider how great these two episodes are.
"Piper Maru" is a very ambitious episode of television, bringing back the stolen tape and the murder of Scully's sister, while introducing a new threat using a black and white format. That's a lot to handle, and the episode never feels rushed and no part gets shafted. All the plots are engaging and different--revisiting the past, learning about new things, or coming to terms with the world.
Mulder chases a woman to Hong Kong and finds Krycek, presumed to be the killer of Scully's sister, while a black oil alien is shadowing them. Scully revisits her childhood home, still dealing with the fact that her sister's murderer will likely never be found. She finds a friend of her father who recounts his tale on a submarine, and the striking effects of black oil. What was believed to be a salvage operation for a nuclear warhead became a death coffin with an unknown danger. Back in Washington, the shadowy forces send a blunt message, having Skinner shot in a restaurant for poking where he shouldn't be.
As the episode moves ahead, so does our understanding of what's going on. What used to be lights in the sky are now tangible things Mulder can clearly see. While we don't know what black oil is or how it fits in, it all seems like we're one step closer to the truth. Things are being uncovered and information is coming out, or so it seems.
"Apocrypha"
Whenever there is a new threat in the X-Files, it is never localized in certain area, away from everyone else. There is always a global component to the conspiracy, that the dark, multinational entity is waiting around every corner. The episode culminates in Mulder and Scully tracking Krycek to an abandoner missile. They are finally there, about to uncover all the mysteries, and then the rug is pulled out from under them. Armed men arrive and it's over.
But even if they end up with nothing, there is a resounding echo of hope. Mulder and Scully have come farther than they ever have and make some gains. Skinner is alive and the supposed killer of Scully's sister is dead. They've made inroads, however small they are, and that is enough to fuel the hunt.
Score: 9.4/10
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 13 Syzygy / 14 Grotesque
"Syzygy"
I remember "Syzygy" better than most episodes, and what I remembered of it was that it was a bizarre. Rewatching it, I'd say it is an awkward episode. It's supposed to be one of the funny episodes where it's not too serious and there are things to laugh at. Only I wasn't amused once. The main problem with the episode is how everyone behaves. Mulder and Sculy are quarreling, the two teenage girls are acting weird for no reason, and the townspeople aren't quite right either. I think that's where the bizarre part comes in. People are doing things they aren't supposed to be doing, but without understanding why, it's more weird than funny.
When we do learn the reason why, however, the episode becomes even more problematic. There is a "scientific" reason for this, a certain alignment of planets, which caused people to act differently. With this in mind, I suppose it explains why people are acting differently, but that puts all their actions in a rational framework which probably makes it less funny.
On the plus side, the episode is fairly spooky for a while. Using the lighting to great effect, Rob Bowman captures the potential for wrongdoing in this small town and sets the atmosphere for the episode. At the end of the day, though, "Syzygy" is a very disposable episode. Mulder puts it best, "Sure, fine, whatever."
Score: 8.3/10
"Grotesque"
Behind the seemingly simple plot of "Grotesque" lies a complex web of ideas. The episode begins without any supernatural elements, Mulder called in to help on the murder. And the episode ends with no clear supernatural elements, as the additional murder turns out to be the one who called in Mulder, his former mentor Prescott. But throughout the episode, Mostow claims there is a gargoyle that possessed him. Indeed, his sculptures encasing bodies are so hideous and frightening that it seems to be a plausible explanation. There is no definitive answer for this in the end, as there rarely is for the X-Files.
Looking at the non-supernatural side of the world, there is another explanation--that the gargoyle, representing the tormented man, is not a supernatural being that posses people but a construct of the mind which drives people mad. That seems to be the best explanation for Prescott who was driven mad after catching Mostow.
Likewise, Mulder falls further and further in the episode, consuming himself in the case and the nature of the evil. Scully finds herself alone and very worried about where Mulder is. Eventually, Mulder comes out of it after catching Prescott. There are lingering concerns, however. If it was the capture of Mostow which drove Prescott to madness, would it be the capture of Prescott that leads Mulder to madness? Above all, David Duchovny again proves himself very capable of portraying the crazed side of Mulder that refuses to let go or be led astray. It's a scary thing when it rears its head.
Score: 9.1/10
I remember "Syzygy" better than most episodes, and what I remembered of it was that it was a bizarre. Rewatching it, I'd say it is an awkward episode. It's supposed to be one of the funny episodes where it's not too serious and there are things to laugh at. Only I wasn't amused once. The main problem with the episode is how everyone behaves. Mulder and Sculy are quarreling, the two teenage girls are acting weird for no reason, and the townspeople aren't quite right either. I think that's where the bizarre part comes in. People are doing things they aren't supposed to be doing, but without understanding why, it's more weird than funny.
When we do learn the reason why, however, the episode becomes even more problematic. There is a "scientific" reason for this, a certain alignment of planets, which caused people to act differently. With this in mind, I suppose it explains why people are acting differently, but that puts all their actions in a rational framework which probably makes it less funny.
On the plus side, the episode is fairly spooky for a while. Using the lighting to great effect, Rob Bowman captures the potential for wrongdoing in this small town and sets the atmosphere for the episode. At the end of the day, though, "Syzygy" is a very disposable episode. Mulder puts it best, "Sure, fine, whatever."
Score: 8.3/10
"Grotesque"
Behind the seemingly simple plot of "Grotesque" lies a complex web of ideas. The episode begins without any supernatural elements, Mulder called in to help on the murder. And the episode ends with no clear supernatural elements, as the additional murder turns out to be the one who called in Mulder, his former mentor Prescott. But throughout the episode, Mostow claims there is a gargoyle that possessed him. Indeed, his sculptures encasing bodies are so hideous and frightening that it seems to be a plausible explanation. There is no definitive answer for this in the end, as there rarely is for the X-Files.
Looking at the non-supernatural side of the world, there is another explanation--that the gargoyle, representing the tormented man, is not a supernatural being that posses people but a construct of the mind which drives people mad. That seems to be the best explanation for Prescott who was driven mad after catching Mostow.
Likewise, Mulder falls further and further in the episode, consuming himself in the case and the nature of the evil. Scully finds herself alone and very worried about where Mulder is. Eventually, Mulder comes out of it after catching Prescott. There are lingering concerns, however. If it was the capture of Mostow which drove Prescott to madness, would it be the capture of Prescott that leads Mulder to madness? Above all, David Duchovny again proves himself very capable of portraying the crazed side of Mulder that refuses to let go or be led astray. It's a scary thing when it rears its head.
Score: 9.1/10
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 11 Revelations / 12 War of the Coprophages
"Revelations"
Whenever religion reared its head in The X-Files, I was always confused and irritated, "Revelations" being the worst offender. Somehow, Mulder, the guy who jumps to the most insane conclusions on a whim, refuses to believe in the possibility of miracles, discounting the Bible as parables. And like Scully in some of the early episodes, when evidence is presented in front of him, he balks and does what Scully does--find the typical scientific answer. In this episode particularly, Mulder comes off as a petty rebel who defies organized religion while embracing conspiracy theories for the sake of doing so.
And Mulder's absurd disbelief, in comparison to his usual blind devotion, reinforces Scully's behavior in this episode where her own lapsed faith is tested to the extreme. Her role reversal comes out of her faith--not thin air--much as Mulder's belief in the paranormal stems from his sister's abduction, and at the end of the episode, she tells a priests she hasn't confessed in 6 years.
The plot seems like a precursor to the mythology of Millennium which started the next year. There's a lot of Biblical talk and destruction, but it's a story of Scully's faith and a boy who doesn't quite know what to do. As much as the script bothers me, it's hard to look past the directing and general tone of the episode.
Score: 8.9/10
"War of the Coprophages"
I've watched "War of the Coprophages" several times, and it's never struck me as one of the better episodes, though many regard it as one of the best episodes of the series. Like every Darin Morgan-written episode, it's a nice balance of humor and horror, which would seem to elevate it among the pantheon of great episodes.
Upon further exploration into the episode, however, there simply isn't any substance. In between the scary scenes of cockroaches, Mulder and Scully's funny conversations over the phone, and big ideas about bugs and robots, the episode lacks a solid plot to hang on to. The episode is essentially a mash-up of the best banter of Mulder and Scully, and a few key points: aliens may regard humans as humans regard cockroaches, humans often revert to their base instincts.
The two saving graces to the episode are the cockroach scenes at the beginning and the moments between Mulder and Scully which are a pure joy to watch.
Score: 9.1/10
Whenever religion reared its head in The X-Files, I was always confused and irritated, "Revelations" being the worst offender. Somehow, Mulder, the guy who jumps to the most insane conclusions on a whim, refuses to believe in the possibility of miracles, discounting the Bible as parables. And like Scully in some of the early episodes, when evidence is presented in front of him, he balks and does what Scully does--find the typical scientific answer. In this episode particularly, Mulder comes off as a petty rebel who defies organized religion while embracing conspiracy theories for the sake of doing so.
And Mulder's absurd disbelief, in comparison to his usual blind devotion, reinforces Scully's behavior in this episode where her own lapsed faith is tested to the extreme. Her role reversal comes out of her faith--not thin air--much as Mulder's belief in the paranormal stems from his sister's abduction, and at the end of the episode, she tells a priests she hasn't confessed in 6 years.
The plot seems like a precursor to the mythology of Millennium which started the next year. There's a lot of Biblical talk and destruction, but it's a story of Scully's faith and a boy who doesn't quite know what to do. As much as the script bothers me, it's hard to look past the directing and general tone of the episode.
Score: 8.9/10
"War of the Coprophages"
I've watched "War of the Coprophages" several times, and it's never struck me as one of the better episodes, though many regard it as one of the best episodes of the series. Like every Darin Morgan-written episode, it's a nice balance of humor and horror, which would seem to elevate it among the pantheon of great episodes.
Upon further exploration into the episode, however, there simply isn't any substance. In between the scary scenes of cockroaches, Mulder and Scully's funny conversations over the phone, and big ideas about bugs and robots, the episode lacks a solid plot to hang on to. The episode is essentially a mash-up of the best banter of Mulder and Scully, and a few key points: aliens may regard humans as humans regard cockroaches, humans often revert to their base instincts.
The two saving graces to the episode are the cockroach scenes at the beginning and the moments between Mulder and Scully which are a pure joy to watch.
Score: 9.1/10
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 9 Nisei / 10 731
As September is already upon us and I've come far short of my initial summer goal of reviewing the entire series, I'll try to speed things up and finish reviewing the third season by watching 2-3 episodes at a time and reviewing them in a single post.
"Nisei" and "731" are two of the best mythology episodes in the entire series. "Nisei" charges forward right off the bat, giving us a heavy dose of action and mystery, and something related to Japanese scientists operating in secret in America. "731" doesn't let up, pushing the stakes further and further, while the pacing of the two are near perfect. But at the same time, both episodes have their quieter, human moments where events unfold and we can collect ourselves.
In the first episode, Scully finds a group of women who recognized her. However, she does not recognize them, but further inquiry reveals that they all were implanted with chips and abducted previously, some even multiple times. And worse, some of these women have cancer which no doctor can stop. Scully is visibly shaken, unable to process the wealth of information she's come upon and leaves.
After Mulder jumps on the train at the end of "Nisei," he spends most of the episode with an "NSA agent" aboard the compartment with the creature the Japanese scientists loaded in. To make matters drastically worse, the compartment is now locked and there's a bomb ticking down. Mulder is saved by X who pulls through in heroic fashion, but there's much to be resolved.
As a result of her experiences at the leper colony, Scully now believes that aliens is a cover story for human testing by the United States which the US government will now co-opt. Faithful until the end, Mulder insists on the "truth"--aliens.
Scully's charge brings up an interesting question. Would it be worse for the government to cover up unspeakable horrors performed on humans by humans, or to cover up the existence of aliens? I'd it's darker and more insidious for the government to cover up something they did rather than extraterrestrials, and would make for a good show in and of itself. From a storyline standpoint of established fact on The X-Files, obviously aliens are more compelling and interesting.
Director Rob Bowman and DP John Bartley do amazing work in "731." At the beginning of the episode, the shadows splay out in such a manner to give a hint at what the lepers may be, but keeps their faces hidden, so we can't see exactly what they are, ratcheting up the tension for the rest of the episode.
The biggest problem with the two episodes--which becomes more glaring as the series progresses--is that little is actually explained. Was the creature an alien-human hybrid? A leper? A supersoldier? All we know for sure is that Dr. Shiro Zama was experimenting on people/creatures and CSM has his notes.
"Nisei" Score: 9.3/10
"731" Score: 9.6/10
For those curious about Unit 731 and the sick freaks behind it, look up clips on Youtube of Men Behind the Sun and Philosophy of a Knife. Once you watch them, you'll see why no further explanation is needed. (Big warning to anyone who wants to watch: it's more messed up than anything from Hollywood, and not for the weak-stomached. Hostel and Saw are nothing comparison.) Or, better yet, read a book on Japanese atrocities.
"Nisei" and "731" are two of the best mythology episodes in the entire series. "Nisei" charges forward right off the bat, giving us a heavy dose of action and mystery, and something related to Japanese scientists operating in secret in America. "731" doesn't let up, pushing the stakes further and further, while the pacing of the two are near perfect. But at the same time, both episodes have their quieter, human moments where events unfold and we can collect ourselves.
In the first episode, Scully finds a group of women who recognized her. However, she does not recognize them, but further inquiry reveals that they all were implanted with chips and abducted previously, some even multiple times. And worse, some of these women have cancer which no doctor can stop. Scully is visibly shaken, unable to process the wealth of information she's come upon and leaves.
After Mulder jumps on the train at the end of "Nisei," he spends most of the episode with an "NSA agent" aboard the compartment with the creature the Japanese scientists loaded in. To make matters drastically worse, the compartment is now locked and there's a bomb ticking down. Mulder is saved by X who pulls through in heroic fashion, but there's much to be resolved.
As a result of her experiences at the leper colony, Scully now believes that aliens is a cover story for human testing by the United States which the US government will now co-opt. Faithful until the end, Mulder insists on the "truth"--aliens.
Scully's charge brings up an interesting question. Would it be worse for the government to cover up unspeakable horrors performed on humans by humans, or to cover up the existence of aliens? I'd it's darker and more insidious for the government to cover up something they did rather than extraterrestrials, and would make for a good show in and of itself. From a storyline standpoint of established fact on The X-Files, obviously aliens are more compelling and interesting.
Director Rob Bowman and DP John Bartley do amazing work in "731." At the beginning of the episode, the shadows splay out in such a manner to give a hint at what the lepers may be, but keeps their faces hidden, so we can't see exactly what they are, ratcheting up the tension for the rest of the episode.
The biggest problem with the two episodes--which becomes more glaring as the series progresses--is that little is actually explained. Was the creature an alien-human hybrid? A leper? A supersoldier? All we know for sure is that Dr. Shiro Zama was experimenting on people/creatures and CSM has his notes.
"Nisei" Score: 9.3/10
"731" Score: 9.6/10
For those curious about Unit 731 and the sick freaks behind it, look up clips on Youtube of Men Behind the Sun and Philosophy of a Knife. Once you watch them, you'll see why no further explanation is needed. (Big warning to anyone who wants to watch: it's more messed up than anything from Hollywood, and not for the weak-stomached. Hostel and Saw are nothing comparison.) Or, better yet, read a book on Japanese atrocities.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 8 Oubliette
For some reason, the producers brought back the actress who plays Lucy, Tracey Ellis, in a later episode in which she is also featured heavily and not very good again. If there's one thing that detracts from "Oubliette," it's her. In the episode, she has two modes--abrasive or curling up and crying--detracting from David Duchovny's riveting performance. It's hard to connect with her when she rarely acts human enough for us to really care.
And hat's why Duchovny is there to pull the weight. Given what happened to his sister, Mulder finds himself empathizing with Lucy while she is under a cloud of suspicion from the other agents. Through him, we are can see a little of Lucy who doesn't always have an attitude or is crying.
Plot-wise, "Oubliette" is different than a normal episode. It's a per-cursor to Millennium, a dark show about serial killers and other weirdos which Chris Carter launched the next year. Jewel Staite (kind of cool how she looks the same years later) plays Amy Jacobs, a girl who is kidnapped by photographer creep and spends the episode trying to get out. Meanwhile, Mulder drives the investigation forward, using Lucy's connection to Amy, eventually finding the kidnapper.
Up next, one of my favorite set of mytharc episodes!
Score: 8.8/10
And hat's why Duchovny is there to pull the weight. Given what happened to his sister, Mulder finds himself empathizing with Lucy while she is under a cloud of suspicion from the other agents. Through him, we are can see a little of Lucy who doesn't always have an attitude or is crying.
Plot-wise, "Oubliette" is different than a normal episode. It's a per-cursor to Millennium, a dark show about serial killers and other weirdos which Chris Carter launched the next year. Jewel Staite (kind of cool how she looks the same years later) plays Amy Jacobs, a girl who is kidnapped by photographer creep and spends the episode trying to get out. Meanwhile, Mulder drives the investigation forward, using Lucy's connection to Amy, eventually finding the kidnapper.
Up next, one of my favorite set of mytharc episodes!
Score: 8.8/10
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 7 The Walk
"The Walk" is an all-around solid episode without any notable flaws. The pacing is quick after the initial, with people getting dispatched left and right as Mulder and Scully play catchup, and there are a several fantastic shots, notably the boy getting covered in the sandbox, the woman drowned in the pool, and every shot with the guy who jumped into the boiling water.
But Mulder's final monologue, in addition to Rappo's actions, sums up many monsters on the show and puts an onus on the military's treatment of soldiers, pushing "The Walk" up a little higher. There's a clear distinction that Rappo was a man, but was injured in the line of duty, losing both sets of arms and legs. Somehow, discontentment born out of this, essentially transforming him into a monster. But at the same time he's not a monster who is based on biological needs, but one who is still part-human--and that side of him is devious and cunning. His form is revenge is smart and calculated. He strikes at victims' family, tormenting them into oblivion--similarly transforming them into mere husks, less than human creatures only wishing to die.
Score: 8.8/10
But Mulder's final monologue, in addition to Rappo's actions, sums up many monsters on the show and puts an onus on the military's treatment of soldiers, pushing "The Walk" up a little higher. There's a clear distinction that Rappo was a man, but was injured in the line of duty, losing both sets of arms and legs. Somehow, discontentment born out of this, essentially transforming him into a monster. But at the same time he's not a monster who is based on biological needs, but one who is still part-human--and that side of him is devious and cunning. His form is revenge is smart and calculated. He strikes at victims' family, tormenting them into oblivion--similarly transforming them into mere husks, less than human creatures only wishing to die.
Score: 8.8/10
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Review - The X-Files Season 3 Episode 6 2Shy
"2Shy" is very similar in concept to "Squeeze." A monster baring more than resemblance to humans hunts unsuspecting prey to fulfill a biological need. The only difference--and the reason why the episode is a whole step down--is that Virgil Incanto must go after fat people and their adipose tissue.
It becomes a dumb "the internet has predators" episode, as we see Virgil lure in insecure women on chat rooms to feast on, although there has to be much better ways to get what he wants. We see him consume three separate people without the internet, so why does he have go online where he has more difficulty.
Mulder and Scully largely stay on the sidelines until the very end and we don't see much of their personalities. It also doesn't help that none of the other characters are even mildly likable. The only redeeming part of the episode is that Timothy Carhart has a mesmerizing performance as Virgil Incanto.
Score: 8.2/10
It becomes a dumb "the internet has predators" episode, as we see Virgil lure in insecure women on chat rooms to feast on, although there has to be much better ways to get what he wants. We see him consume three separate people without the internet, so why does he have go online where he has more difficulty.
Mulder and Scully largely stay on the sidelines until the very end and we don't see much of their personalities. It also doesn't help that none of the other characters are even mildly likable. The only redeeming part of the episode is that Timothy Carhart has a mesmerizing performance as Virgil Incanto.
Score: 8.2/10
