Within written by Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners
Brains’n’Beauty: Season eight is Anderson’s turn to truly
shine on the show, a chance to seize the reins before the new boy has settled
in and she isn’t needed as much anymore. She takes hold of that opportunity and
absolutely makes the most of it. The gorgeous slow motion sequences where we
are asked to follow her daily routine without Mulder are beautifully performed,
Anderson silently expressing her pain to the audience. She scoffs when Doggett
talks about rumours that Mulder could never really trust her at the beginning
of their affiliation because she was so ambitious. It has been so long I can’t
even remember the last time we heard from Margaret Scully. That’s how much of a
caricature Scully has been of late (especially in season seven where she seemed
to giggle her way through every episode), she somehow managed to lose her backstory
and her family. It’s interesting to note that without Mulder casting a shadow
over her Scully adopts his paranoid attitude, thinking her phone is being
tapped and her apartment is under surveillance. Scully smelling Mulder’s shirt
and lying in his bed says more about their relationship than any of the mushier
stuff that is still to come. I much prefer subtle little moments of affection
like this than grand gestures and cod romantic dialogue. She believes it is a
badge of honour not to dismiss the improbable just because somebody thinks that
it is BS. She’s learnt that from Mulder, you know.
Closed Mind: Introducing the magnetic Robert Patrick to the
show. Maybe it might be melodramatic of me to make the comparison (especially
since one show continued on for another forty-seven years and the other was
cancelled within two) but like Patrick Troughton taking over from William
Hartnell in Doctor Who, I cannot imagine anybody else taking over David
Duchovny’s role so successfully on The X-Files. The fact that this show was
granted a further season after the one where Duchovny had extremely limited
involvement is a miracle that should never have occurred and I’m willing to lay
the credit for that move on Robert Patrick and his sterling work this season.
We’re only meeting Doggett for the first time so it’s hard to draw any
conclusions but right from the off it is clear that he is a hard working,
determined, honourable man. Just the sort Scully needs at a difficult time like
this if she would only let him in (the same goes for the fans of the show). The
meeting between Scully and Doggett is about as awkward as it could be with her
throwing a drink in his face once she discovers who he is. He is playing mind
games with her but that really isn’t who this man is, but at this point in time
he has no idea that he is going to be working with Scully full time. Doggett is
so cool he barely blinks when Scully throws the water in his face. There’s a
real feeling after his meeting with Kersh that this is his chance to shine or
his chance to fail, all depending on whether he gets the results that his
superior is after. Look at the twinkle in Doggett’s eyes when he tries to
unravel the mystery that is Fox Mulder. Clearly he finds the man fascinating.
Trust No-1: Suddenly a show without a purpose for a season
and a half (other than to produce solid standalone anthology episodes which it
has always been about but not primarily about) finds itself a new motive for a
season – the search for Mulder. The loss of Mulder is both the curse and the
reward of season eight, a huge aberration in the series that means all focus is
on the new guy and seeing how the show copes without one of its leads. People
are more ready for the show to fail than ever in it’s eighth year, that’s the
curse. The fact that it succeeds and brings in another actor that is even more
impressive than David Duchovny as his replacement and that by the end of the
year the show belongs to him rather than either of the previous is the reward
for your patience. Suddenly all these suits are looking into Mulder’s past
activities and reading all sorts of paranoid fantasies into his actions. They
paint an uncompromising picture of the man that is hard to reconcile with the
one we know and love. I love the way his abduction suddenly makes the character
vital again, and interesting. Strange how his removal from the show should be
the very thing that salvages the character. The presence of the tombstone is
certainly convincing enough proof that Mulder was fully aware of his imminent
death. Could there be some truth in this after all? If Mulder knew he was dying
it would make sense of him trying push Scully away in Requiem, to want her to
have a normal life away from him.
Assistant Director: If Skinner tells the truth about Mulder’s
abduction then the FBI will hang him with it. It is Scully that convinces him
to be economic with the truth.
Sinister DD: ‘Anything leaves this building about aliens or alien abductions or any other nonsense that might cast the Bureau in a ridiculous light and you can forget about looking for Agent Mulder. You’ll both be looking for new jobs…’ We have a brand new Deputy Director on the show and he’s going to ensure that he dogs Scully and Skinner’s footsteps at every turn during the next two years. Actually that’s not fair, Kersh does ultimately turn out to be much more multi-faceted than the bureaucratic figures on this show in the past because he proves benevolent on the odd occasion, actively aiding The X-Files publicly slamming them. Kersh’s renewed and dominating presence gives the show a new sense of foreboding. There is a real feeling that the Agents cannot put a foot wrong or the department will be slammed. It’s a new layer of tension that suits the new season well. Kersh talking about his previous military history with Doggett means that he is now a fully functioning character rather than a walking plot device as he has been in the past.
Sinister DD: ‘Anything leaves this building about aliens or alien abductions or any other nonsense that might cast the Bureau in a ridiculous light and you can forget about looking for Agent Mulder. You’ll both be looking for new jobs…’ We have a brand new Deputy Director on the show and he’s going to ensure that he dogs Scully and Skinner’s footsteps at every turn during the next two years. Actually that’s not fair, Kersh does ultimately turn out to be much more multi-faceted than the bureaucratic figures on this show in the past because he proves benevolent on the odd occasion, actively aiding The X-Files publicly slamming them. Kersh’s renewed and dominating presence gives the show a new sense of foreboding. There is a real feeling that the Agents cannot put a foot wrong or the department will be slammed. It’s a new layer of tension that suits the new season well. Kersh talking about his previous military history with Doggett means that he is now a fully functioning character rather than a walking plot device as he has been in the past.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘They can hang me with a lie too.’
The Good: I was just wondering the previous season when they
were going to change the ID photos in the credits to contemporary pictures. It
was ridiculous that show should still be promoting almost a decade previous
versions of Duchovny and Anderson as the shows leads. Plus they look much more
stylish these days. The addition of Patrick makes my heart sing. Who is it that
slips the file under Doggett’s door? That we wont discover for a whole new
season. It was his chance to use his cover story for Mulder’s disappearance and
move his career on but somebody is trying to entice him to find out the truth,
to keep him interested. The culprit may just surprise you. How frustrating that
Scully and Skinner should drive right past the shimmering alien craft that holds
Mulder inside. You might just find yourself screaming at the TV for them to
turn around. The very use of a heat haze effect in the desert is a clever
touch. The location work as stunning as I have come to expect from The X-Files
but there is one particularly formidable shot that stands out, cruising over
the rocky desert before settling on Gibson Praise being manhandled by…Mulder!
It’s a fantastic twist ending and the last thing that anybody would be
expecting considering the show is supposed to be moving on. Great stuff.
Moment to Watch Out For: What a great way to explain why
alien abductees and believers are left to look like idiots shouting at the sky
without any proof…because the aliens are going around covering their tracks
very carefully and removing all the evidence. This could be another knock on
effect of the result of season six’s Two Fathers/One Son, the aliens tidying up
their presence on the Earth in the aftermath of their failed union with the
Syndicate.
Fashion Statement: Gillian Anderson has never looked more
resplendent on this show. Fact. There is something magnetic about Robert
Patrick, isn’t there? He might not ooze the immediate sex appeal of somebody
like Duchovny but there is something instantly attractive about him, something
that fascinates me.
Orchestra: Even mark Snow has woken up for this bold new
dawn for The X-Files. His use of female vocals for the slow motion scenes
featuring Scully dealing with Mulder’s loss really drives him the quiet pain
she is experiencing whilst being a moving piece of music in its own right.
Mythology: Why would Mulder be turning up at Scully’s
apartment and stealing her laptop? It feels like typical Carter perplexity but
it makes very good sense when the audience comes to realise that just like in
Requiem, the aliens are mopping up proof of their existence on the Earth and
taking all the evidence away with them. Gibson Praise is a name we haven’t
heard for a while but his presence is very welcome because that was a thread
that was left infuriatingly hanging.
Result: Defying expectations that the show would bomb without a strong Duchovny presence; Within isn’t just the strongest season opener for many years, it is the strongest opener for the series full stop. It feels like Carter is working that bit harder to make sure that a show that probably should have died a while back has a very good reason to keep going because it is better than ever. Suddenly The X-Files is less about aliens and quirky concepts of the week and the focus is on the people involved and it is a huge swing in it’s favour. Within is a very powerful character drama that puts Scully in the limelight and gives Gillian Anderson a chance to take control of the show and prove what she is really capable of without such a dominating male lead. Carter cleverly knew that whoever he replaced Mulder with was going to be treated with suspicion and so he cast exactly that light on John Doggett before allowing the character to prove himself that he isn’t working against Scully. Robert Patrick is so instantly impressive that Anderson’s performance lifts a notch automatically and together engaging fireworks fly between the two of them. It’s a damn sight more attention grabbing than the lethargic interaction between Mulder and Scully for the past year. It’s not the case that Scully is suddenly a believer and Doggett is a sceptic but she is now embracing everything that she denied for all these years and is approaching the work with an open mind for Mulder’s sake. That means the show is on a whole new footing now, a fascinating one. Twists, turns, great new characters, a fascinating new spin on some old characters, terrific acting, gorgeous location work, the best mark Snow score in years…Within is a spellbinding beginning for one the shows strongest years: 10/10
What’s it about: The alien Bounty Hunter is trying mop the
presence of alien life on Earth in the guise of Mulder…
Closed Mind: Is it me or does the name Doggett sound like
the sort designed to be spat out in disdain by men like Kersh? Instead he wears
his name with pride and overcomes it’s nature by being a fundamentally decent
person. Suddenly it sounds like a proud, firm name. Doggett wont have Scully
turn her back on him when he is asking her a legitimate question about shapeshifters,
a concept he simply cannot get his head around. I’m not sure if she walked away
because she was too embarrassed to answer or if she thought he was better off
not being exposed to this world but the fact that I am questioning a simple
gesture like that goes to show how deep the characterisation runs this year.
Doggett listens to her insane theories and doesn’t dismiss her out of hand,
that is how much he respects her. He’s not about to be patronised by Skinner
but is willing to listen to him when his superior suggests he is being used as
a pawn. He’s got a good reputation for not compromising or quitting, a damn
good FBI agent. Scully accuses Doggett of being afraid of finding the truth
about extraterrestrial but he claims he isn’t afraid of facing up to anything.
Well, I guess we’re about to find that out…
When Doggett cradles an injured and upset Scully at the climax you have
the beginnings of a beautiful new partnership. The hangdog look on Doggett’s
face as he holds her is the look of a man who is starting to question
everything he believes in.
Trust No-1: Whilst clearly being played by David Duchovny,
the blank faced automaton that squares off with Doggett at the top of this
episode is clearly not Mulder. The expressionless way he advances on his foe
and steps from the precipice to his (apparent) death is jaw droppingly handled.
It makes me wonder if I have been wrong about Duchovny all these years in my
criticism of his acting because he is genuinely chilling in this scene.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Who are these beings we dare to imagine
but fear to accept?’ – what’s going on? Even Chris Carter’s purple prose is
rather beautiful these days.
The Good: Isn’t it gorgeous that simply by bringing in a new
character who hasn’t been through the events of the past seven seasons Carter
has the opportunity to show us once again how many wonderful ideas in this
series there are. Through Doggett’s eyes (he is our identification figure in
Within/Without, especially the latter) the world of The X-Files is fresh and
invigorating and as a result the series shares those qualities too. What was
tired and passing time in season seven is spruced up and ready for action in
series eight. Brian Thompson is such a strong actor it is a shame to waste on a
(often) non-verbal role as the Bounty Hunter but saying that the character has
so much presence because of Thompson I always enjoy seeing him anyway. Suddenly
we are in hunt the Bounty Hunter (who can be anybody) territory and the wide
open spaces of the desert start to feel claustrophobic when you can literally
trust no one. We’ve seen the doppelganger scenario played out for both dramatic
and comic effect in this series before but never as effective as it is here
with the dual Scully’s. Manners remembers that they are out in the desert even
when they are in the studio and this base under siege effort is made all the
more uncomfortable by sweating up the actors and making the atmosphere feel as
stifling as possible. Although if you read into this episode a little more you
learn that they didn’t need to be sweated up…the heat reached forty degrees
plus on location. Astonishingly Carter manages to find a way to play out the
scenario of Scully and Skinner pulling guns on each other again but this time
gives it a legitimate reason (they each think the other is the shapeshifter).
This might be the only time this confrontation genuinely makes sense and to
give the idea some credence at one point in the story the hunter really is
Skinner. The desert scenery looks even more beautiful lit up at night. What
happened to Jeff Gulka? Oh yeah, he grew up and turned into a fine a little
actor. When you compare his subtle turn in Without to the squeaky voiced
automaton in The End there is a world of difference between the two (and no I
don’t just mean his voice has broken). Manners pulls off the same trick in
Without that he did in Within, Scully and Doggett mere metres from the
invisible alien spacecraft when they leave the desert. All three plots converge
at the climax (Scully’s futile search for Mulder, the Bounty Hunter and
Doggett’s realisation that things aren’t what they seem) when Scully shoots the
alien, almost surrenders to the toxic blood and is rescued at the last minute
by her new partner. It’s a terrific moment, ably scored by Mark Snow. The last shot
is like something out of The Twilight Zone with multiple versions of the
Bounty Hunter converging to watch Mulder’s torture in the chair. Money has been
spent to make that sequence work and it tingles at the spine.
Pre Titles Sequence: The quickest pre-title sequence in the
history of any show – except perhaps Voyager’s Scorpion. It is the best example
yet of what season eight is all about, not stylish set pieces to get your heart
racing but real character drama that you can believe in. Carter can’t be bothered
to waste running time on a lengthly set piece here and saves the time for the
large portion of the episode which he has already set up and is eager to
conclude. The big moment is Mulder going over the edge straight after the
titles, an awesome stunt that is captured in cinematic style.
Fashion Statement: I take it back, you know. Out in desert
with his spiky cropped haircut and sleeves rolled up, Robert Patrick is just
hotness personified. I don’t know if that makes him a DILF (I hate those terms)
because of his age but it rather confirms that it isn’t just younger guys that
float my boat and that rather pleases me. Scully looks gorgeous out in the
desert too, her red hair contrasting with the dull colour of the scenery and
packed, ready for action. What a dynamic pair they make and it only took two
episodes.
Result: Phenomenal stuff. Without dishes up a serving of The
X-Files with some very familiar elements (the alien Bounty Hunter, a spaceship,
abductions) but through the eyes of John Doggett and executed with such panache
they made to seem invigorating again. It feels like we are back in the shows
first couple of seasons before everything was taken for granted. Season eight
is the only year of the show which bucks the trend of the standalones outshining
the arc material, this year it is the running storyline that yields all the
gems. Without manages to be a touching character drama about a woman who has to
accept the loss of her childs father, a claustrophobic thriller about an alien
bounty hunter who can be anyone at anytime and an edgy coming of age tale about
a man who is being used by the FBI as a scapegoat for their failures. It works
brilliantly as all three of those things and contains many astonishing
sequences. Kim Manners has become the number one director on this show now Rob
Bowman has bowed out and he captures the sinister oppressiveness and the open
beauty of the desert setting in this tale whilst never forgetting that
ultimately it is all about the actors. You’ve got three captivating central
performances at the heart of Without from Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick and
Mitch Pileggi and their efforts have not gone unnoticed. Writer and director
aside, they make this as good as it is. What a start to the season: 10/10
Patience written and directed by Chris Carter
Result: Defying expectations that the show would bomb without a strong Duchovny presence; Within isn’t just the strongest season opener for many years, it is the strongest opener for the series full stop. It feels like Carter is working that bit harder to make sure that a show that probably should have died a while back has a very good reason to keep going because it is better than ever. Suddenly The X-Files is less about aliens and quirky concepts of the week and the focus is on the people involved and it is a huge swing in it’s favour. Within is a very powerful character drama that puts Scully in the limelight and gives Gillian Anderson a chance to take control of the show and prove what she is really capable of without such a dominating male lead. Carter cleverly knew that whoever he replaced Mulder with was going to be treated with suspicion and so he cast exactly that light on John Doggett before allowing the character to prove himself that he isn’t working against Scully. Robert Patrick is so instantly impressive that Anderson’s performance lifts a notch automatically and together engaging fireworks fly between the two of them. It’s a damn sight more attention grabbing than the lethargic interaction between Mulder and Scully for the past year. It’s not the case that Scully is suddenly a believer and Doggett is a sceptic but she is now embracing everything that she denied for all these years and is approaching the work with an open mind for Mulder’s sake. That means the show is on a whole new footing now, a fascinating one. Twists, turns, great new characters, a fascinating new spin on some old characters, terrific acting, gorgeous location work, the best mark Snow score in years…Within is a spellbinding beginning for one the shows strongest years: 10/10
Without written by Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners
Brains’n’Beauty: I’ve talked about Scully being a
revolutionary character in the past in regards to being the less emotional,
more professional half of a male/female team but it is only when you remove
Mulder from her life completely that you can see just how incredible a role
model she has become for women to aspire to. In Without Scully is emotionally
bare and yet a tough as steel, the one with all the answers who nobody wants to
listen to and despite her pregnancy is capable of carrying out her own search
for the man she loves. Not because she needs him but because he needs her. If
that isn’t a statement for how things have changed in television then I don’t
know what is. Scully can’t take the chance that she will never see Mulder again
and will continue to put her life in danger to achieve that aim, despite the
life inside her that she needs to protect now. The moment when you think she is
about to be rewarded for her epiphany and finally see an alien spacecraft that
turns out to be a helicopter screaming across the desert is expertly handled
(the shot from the crafts POV is stunning) and sensitively acted (Anderson is
blinking away tears). Scully knows what the series is expecting of her and acts
as though Doggett has to prove himself to her (‘How do you know that?’)
when the truth is in storytelling terms he is the one with the authority and it
should be the other ay around. The look on Scully’s face when Doggett tells her
he has been assigned to the X-Files is a picture and he hardly seems too
pleased about it either. Looks like the tension is going to continue. For a
show that was getting far too complacent, I am really happy about that.
Assistant Director: ‘I don’t like pointing guns at
pregnant women anymore than I like them pointing them at me…’ Skinner has a
great role in the series now Mulder has buggered off. He’s a vital presence in
Scully’s life, her rock to see her through these troubled times before she
transfers those feelings onto Doggett. Skinner can see that Doggett is being
used as a pawn by Kersh and his superiors as he has seen happen to Mulder and
others before and he is in the perfect position to warn him away from
displeasing them.
‘How does the FBI find a man and then lose him in the middle
of the desert?’
‘It’s someone in this room…’ – I love moments like that in
science fiction.
‘In case something tries to rip your throat out I’ve got you
covered.’
Ugh: Whilst not too grisly in itself, Mulder snapping his
arm back into place might just make you wince. Mulder’s indignities in the
chair continue
Moment to Watch Out For: The image of Scully in the moon
kissed desert alone with her flashlight and screaming out Mulder’s name pretty
much sums up the first half of season eight.
Orchestra: Snow is still on fire, scoring Scully’s pursuit
of the deaf girl across the beautiful expanse of desert as though it is the
most exciting set piece the show has ever concocted.
Foreboding: For now we’re leaving Mulder in the hands of the
aliens whilst we get to know Agent Doggett a little better. But he’ll be back.
Patience written and directed by Chris Carter
Brains’n’Beauty: Scully is wandering around the office in a
bit of daze, spying Mulder’s name on his desk and thinking back on all those
times they had together. Isn’t it strange that the bond between these two
characters always seems stronger when they are torn apart? It was the case in
season two when Scully was taken from Mulder and the same potent feeling of two
characters that are meant to be together lingers when the reverse takes place
in season eight. To give him his credit, Doggett asks how they are going to
split up the office into their own sections – Mulder arrogantly assumed control
of everything right up until Scully had to force him to answer why he never
gave her a desk in season four. Scully shuts Doggett off immediately, informing
him that he is on borrowed time and they are only renting out this space until
Mulder returns. What a cow. This is the first time Scully has been treating so
dismissively by a law enforcement officer for many a year because of her gender
and it is the perfect opportunity for Doggett to step in and voice his
objections to the way she is being treated. When Scully admits ‘I never said
what you’re looking for is a man…’ it is an important moment because it is
the first real indication that she will be fulfilling Mulder’s role these days
and pushing for a paranormal explanation. How amusing to have Scully accused of
making the most farfetched leap of explanation possible after all her years of
pointing the same criticism at Mulder. She admits she isn’t an expert, she’s just
making a leap. The implication seems to be that because Scully isn’t telling
Detective Abbott what he wants to hear then she is deliberately misleading the
investigation and that she is solely responsible for his death because she
didn’t agree with him. These silly men. Scully wonders of she is trying to hard
to manufacture a theory, to step into Mulder’s shoes in his absence. That’s a
nice realisation for her to come to and a poke in the eye to detractors that
didn’t buy into her sudden role as the believer. I rather like it, frankly I
think it is brainless that she didn’t reach this point about two or three
seasons back given everything she has been exposed to. Rather wonderfully, in a
show that has been about sexual politics in the workplace it is Scully that has
to help Doggett away from the scene of the crime. Stick that in your pipe and
smoke it, Abbott.
Closed Mind: How strange for somebody to be working on The X-Files to have friends that want to come down to the office in the basement? It really is a different world with John Doggett. He’s no slacker, that’s for sure and has spent his first weekend on the job getting up to speed on their work on the X-Files by reading every single case in the cabinet. I bet he had a good chuckle at some of it given that they lost most of their records in the fire at the end of season five and considering most of the episodes since then have been light hearted. A least he can’t say he isn’t informed about the sort of work he will be doing. He’s not the sort of investigator that makes leaps because he has seen too often in the past that they get people killed. Scully makes his belief in the human bat creature sound like an accusation, one that exposes that he does occasionally make a leap. By the end of this episode Doggett has done enough to see that Scully gives him a chance and she makes the move to put Mulder’s name plate away and order in a desk for him. For now, she accepts that he is here to stay and that is a gesture we needed to see.
Closed Mind: How strange for somebody to be working on The X-Files to have friends that want to come down to the office in the basement? It really is a different world with John Doggett. He’s no slacker, that’s for sure and has spent his first weekend on the job getting up to speed on their work on the X-Files by reading every single case in the cabinet. I bet he had a good chuckle at some of it given that they lost most of their records in the fire at the end of season five and considering most of the episodes since then have been light hearted. A least he can’t say he isn’t informed about the sort of work he will be doing. He’s not the sort of investigator that makes leaps because he has seen too often in the past that they get people killed. Scully makes his belief in the human bat creature sound like an accusation, one that exposes that he does occasionally make a leap. By the end of this episode Doggett has done enough to see that Scully gives him a chance and she makes the move to put Mulder’s name plate away and order in a desk for him. For now, she accepts that he is here to stay and that is a gesture we needed to see.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘You’re familiar with the principle of
Occam’s Razor?’ ‘Yeah you take every possible explanation and choose the
simplest one. Agent Mulder used to refer to it as Occam’s Principle of
Limited Imagination.’
‘You ever carry one of these?’ – Doggett asks Scully about
torches.
Ugh: Regurgitated fingers. Oh lummy.
The Good: For a show that should be trying to forget it’s
main star it is sure packing these episodes full of reminders of him. Or rather
reminders of his absence. Whilst it seems like a mistake for the show to fail
to move on when it most needs to this is all part of a much bigger game plan.
The nods to Mulder are not only there to show what a hard time Scully is having
coping with his loss but also to keep the thread going so that when his return
is on the cards in the middle of the season it doesn’t feel so jarring. It is
what happens between now and then that surprises, I got used to having Doggett
around and preferred his interaction with Anderson to Duchovny’s. Episodes like
Patience and Roadrunners are essential in providing a foundation for that
transference of loyalty. It might not be the most horrific creation that The
X-Files has ever created (but that is facing some pretty gruesome competition)
but you still wouldn’t wanted to meet the black eyed, fanged bat creature down
a dark alley at night. I’d like to think that men like Detective Abbott are a
breed of man from the past but the truth is I have been privy to moments of
casual sexism (especially in the workplace) throughout my entire life and
whilst women have much more of a voice these days, there are still an alarming
amount of men who wish they didn’t. This isn’t a criticism of how the episode
handles the idea (because Doggett is there doing his bit for men everywhere)
but the state of affairs in sexual politics in certain parts of the world.
Abbott is overweight, pompous and demeaning and I can’t say I was sad when the
bat creature got his claws on him. The physical effect of the bat creature
swooping through the misty graveyard and chewing on the Detective’s neck is
exquisitely handled. What about that formidable angle of the bat hanging from
the garage roof? The final set piece out in the shack manages to be tense
despite the fact that we have been here before. Carter has spent the last 35
minutes showing us what the creature can do so when it comes to attacking
Doggett and Scully we know they have to keep their wits about them. It’s nice
to see the pair of them working together, bullets blazing, to frighten the
creature off.
Pre Titles Sequence: It certainly wont win any points for
originality but it is still the most winsome pre-title sequence in a while, a
genuinely atmospheric and creepy opening set piece that really reminds of The
X-Files of old before it discovered post-modernism. It has a tiny subversion
that works (Lance turning out to be the victims husband rather than her
killer), features a fingers-up-the-spine score from Mark Snow and feels darker
and more edgy than anything we have seen in a while. It feels like the series has
found it’s horror roots again and that is no bad thing. The creature might not
be original (a bat mutant is straight out of a b movie) but it sure slices
people up real good.
Moment to Watch Out For: You can’t accuse Doggett of not
doing any legwork in his first proper X-File. He is set upon by a scavenging
bat creature in the shallows of a lake at night and has to fight for his life
as it tries to savage his flesh. There’s an initiation and a half. I’d probably
asked for re-assignment.
Fashion Statement: Is it me or is Scully’s hair looking
better than ever? I frames her face these days and we get the best opportunity
to see just how beautiful Gillian Anderson is.
Result: I’m noticing a very strong Chris Carter presence at
the beginning of this season. He obviously wanted to be there to guide the
series through the tricky transition of losing Mulder and setting up Doggett in
his place, which to his credit he seems to have achieved seamlessly. It is the
Scully/Doggett scenes that make Patience as good as it is because it is so
revitalizing to have these investigations performed by a pair with issues with
each other again. This is where Mulder and Scully were on a regular basis in
season one and it feels just as winning. The monster have the story is old hat
and seems to have only been given have the attention of the characterisation
but to his credit Carter directs the hell out of this instalment so for the
most it doesn’t really matter, it’s still pretty creepy anyway. I think it was
Rob Shearman that said that had this been a Mulder and Scully investigation it
would have been real bottom of the barrel stuff but because it continues to
develop Scully and Doggett’s relationship it scrapes a pass on the strength of
their material. I think that’s a little unfair since Carter is such a dab hand
at this sort of simple horror tale these days (he was pulling them out the bag
as early as Darkness Falls and The Host) that if you turn all the lights off
and let the atmosphere of this piece wash over you then you will get a quite a
lot from it. And is it my imagination or is the picture crisper this year and
the colour scheme darker and more menacing? Suddenly Los Angeles feels as
atmospheric as Vancouver and it really feels like I am watching a different
show from the kooky and colourful season seven. Patience is never going to win
any awards for originality but it knows precisely what it is doing and provides
an hours worth of chills and character development. As a story it might be a
little mundane but what this series needs right now is some back to basics
stories like this: 7/10
Roadrunners written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Rod
Hardy
Brains’n’Beauty: Scully is taking a brand new tack with
Doggett now she needs a favour of him, going all cutesy on the phone when
asking him to pull together some research. Her big mistake is in not taking him
with her on this assignment but that is what this episode is all about, showing
that she needs him as much as he needs her and that they are going to have to
work together in order to survive this dangerous work. Anderson is just superb
in this episode as she is throughout season eight, giving a rock solid
performance that sees Scully at her most powerful even when she is at her most
vulnerable. Scully ensures that the villagers know precisely how disdainful she
is of their hospitality and recognises that she has been manipulated into
staying and helping the wounded man they have in a back room. Listen to her
when she screams after she has been implanted with the slug, she doesn’t sound
quite human anymore. We have never seen rage quite like this from Scully
before. You are left with no illusions that if she gets free that she will tear
the heads off every one of them. For once, Scully is as relieved to see Doggett
as I am.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘We’re just a few like minded people
trying to keep the modern world at bay…’
The Good: What is it about season eight and wide open
spaces? The first four episodes have features some of the best location work we
have seen on this show in years, really capturing the delights that America has
to offer. The desert location in Roadrunners feels very different to that of
Within/Without and that is because the pace and tone of the two shows is so
different. Whilst the opening two parter was all about claustrophobia,
Roadrunners is trying to make the desert feel as lonely and spacious as
possible. I don’t know where they find these eerie locations but the petrol
station and small town are both prime horror movie locations. What would seem
like a perfectly innocuous scene (such as Scully getting petrol from an out of
town station) in any other episode are given a different emphasis, an unnerving
edge which adds to the overall to the effect. Slow but sure you realise that
her engine has been impaired to deliberately stop her from leaving and that the
information that she has been given doesn’t quite add up. Scully is being
isolated, lied to and trapped. You want to scream at her to walk out into the
desert and not stop until she reaches the next town. Lawrence Pressman deserves some kind of award
for delivering one of the creepiest turns in an X-File without hardly uttering
a word. The scene where he is standing outside his property and watching Scully
without making a movement is disturbing because of his stillness and ability to
make you feel uneasy with simply a smiling glance. He knows Scully is
coming back because she has nowhere else to go. Everything that Pressman says
sounds gentle and wistful but it just serves to emphasise the childlike
eeriness of the man. That feeling of wrongness about this community is expertly
created by director Rod Hardy, none of them behave in the way you would expect
a small town to. The villagers converge on the house where Scully is staying
all holding lamps, it is like a bunch of fireflies dancing in the night.
Pre Titles Sequence: Sick! I remember first watching
Roadrunners back when it had its first airing in the UK and thinking I had seen
it all as far as The X-Files was concerned and that the show would never truly
scare me again. I was about to pay for my complacency. The teaser is like the
episode in a microcosm, a work of cold, terrifying beauty that starts out
slowly but explodes with sudden horror when you least suspect it. The opening
shot of the desert at dusk is beautiful but that’s about the only thing that is
in a sequence that sees a man taken from a bus and have his skull caved in by
calm, smiling cult members and for them to turn on a hideously unreasonable
passenger who probably needed to be taught some manners. For horror aficionados
(like me), this is vintage stuff and the sort of monstrousness that can really get
under your skin. Watch out for the crazy cult bus if you are travelling through
the desert, folks.
Orchestra: Snow wisely keeps the music to an absolute
minimum throughout the first half of the episode but when he does get the
chance to make an impact he doesn’t waste a note. Scarce, but one of his finest
horror scores (especially during the sequence where they approach Scully with
the slug).
Result: Wow, just about the nastiest thing to be put out
under The X-Files banner. Roadrunners is one of the few episodes to genuinely
scare me on transmission and it really got under my skin on this re-watch too.
It’s a slow burn horror movie in miniature which revels in a creepy atmosphere
in the first half before exploding into life with spectacular cruelty in the
second half. I always thought it was the solo Scully episodes that were the
weakest but Gilligan bucks the trend and produces something that is truly
memorable and grotesque and so different from the rest of his oeuvre. If I
thought that he was only capable of writing quirky comedies and touching
character dramas then this proved me wrong. Roadrunners also stands as a good
reason why this show needed some fresh blood pumped into its creative as
newcomer Australian director Rod Hardy proves a real find, directing this
episode with the consummate flair of a man who understands horror and how to
get under your skin. My one complaint is that it is early days for Doggett and
yet he barely gets to appear in the first half, but that is an understandable
aberration considering the whole point of this episode is to prove to Scully
that she needs Doggett in order to keep her skin tightly wrapped around her
body. I cheered with delight when he turned up to rescue her from the freakiest
cult I have ever seen on television and the shot of him carrying her away from
the scene cements him as her new partner in a very important way. We’ve seen
her rescue him and him rescue her now as Carter cleverly builds their
relationship in the first half of the season. However this is less about
character drama than we have seen of late and manages to be the scariest X-File
in a long, long time. Whether it is skulls being caved in, a town of creepy
inbreds trapping Scully, silhouettes against a bus or glistening, bloody slugs
being inserted into your back, Roadrunners is thick with atmosphere and terror
and proves that this show hasn’t lost it’s touch when it comes to scaring the
life out of you. The difference between this and the last time the show tried
to scare the life out of you by torturing Scully (Orison) is extraordinary,
everything they seemed to forget about atmospheric storytelling is back with a
vengeance. Top quality horror and another huge sign that the show is undergoing
a creative renaissance. The unhurried pace of building an atmosphere, the
expert shock moments, the focus on performance and lighting…if Alfred Hitchcock
were to direct an episode of The X-Files this is how good I imagine it would
be. Can this show survive without Mulder? Oh yes: 10/10
Invocation written by David Amann and directed by Richard
Compton
Brains’n’Beauty: I cannot stress enough how nice it is to
see Gillian Anderson acting again. There is such a difference between how
emotionally rewarding performances this season and the way she complacently
waltzed through season seven pretty much playing herself. Invocation is an
episode dealing with the loss of children and it brings very different
reactions out in Doggett and Scully; both of whom are hiding something about
their own children from the other.
Moment to Watch Out For: What’s lovely about the scene with
the psychic and her dramatic reaction to Billy is that Doggett is standing back
with arms folded, sceptical, and Scully herself remains unclear whether she
believes in it or not…and they both get a shock when the information about
Luke’s disappearance is revealed.
Orchestra: As soon as Snow pulls out a creepy, child-like
score for an episode you know it is going to be quite an unnerving experience.
The opening music is especially good at setting the scene, suggesting something
awful is going to happen and capturing the shock of losing your child at a
fair. That’s quite a big ask of music but Snow delivers with ease. He’s a dab
hand as this show now.
Result: Another new director on the show, and another very
well executed story that feels entirely different in tone to anything seen in
season seven. David Amann burst onto the scene with the moderately effective
Terms of Endearment in season six but since then his scripts have been fairly
unmemorable but improving with each subsequent episode (Agua Mala, Rush,
Chimera) and he would go on to write two knockouts in season nine – Hellbound
and Release. What he brings to the party that most of the other writers seem to
miss is a sense of real world drama, a feeling that the show is always one foot
in the door of world of real people. His dialogue is often hard hitting and
natural and with Invocation he has struck upon a theme that allows him to
indulge in both, child abduction. The aspect of Invocation that really stuck
out for me was that despite the stunning imagery and crazy concepts, it always
felt like we were stepping on the lives of the sort of people that could live just
down the street. There’s some terrific work going on with Scully and Doggett
again too, both of whom have an extreme reaction to the returning child case
because they are both keeping a child related secret from each other. The
audience knows why Scully is touchy around the subject of children and learns
why Doggett is too. It’s another sprinkle of that season eight tension that
makes all the difference to standalone episodes like this – Mulder and Scully
were so exhausted dramatically come season seven that the monster of the week
tales didn’t have a chance half the time. I’m trying to pretend that this is
the finest X-File ever written or directed but it scores highly in both regards
and is another highly watchable installment. Thanks to either the stunning
interaction by the new leads or because the storytelling has been top dollar
(neither is at their peak in Invocation but both are very good), the show
hasn’t delivered a dud yet in season eight. How long can this last?: 7/10
What’s it about: Martin Wells is accused of his wife’s
murder…
Closed Mind: Despite the lack of Doggett in the main body of
the action (he’s sidelined here almost as much as he was in Roadrunners),
Redrum does serve to add another piece to the puzzle to make up an overall
picture of my new favourite. Wells and Doggett’s friendship is established
cleverly, with each passing step backwards a day his warmth towards the
convicted man gets stronger as the case against him is slowly deconstructed.
Remember in season six when Mulder met up with a woman he had been talking to
online – a character that we had never heard of before who made no impact? In
season eight the show can get away with introducing close friends of Doggett’s
because we have only just met the guy. It’s nice to see something of his social
circle and that he hangs around with fundamentally good men like himself. It’s
something that the show will return to time and again in it’s last couple of
years (indeed it would poke fun at it brilliantly in season nine’s Scary
Monsters) but Doggett simply doesn’t have the imagination to run with the
theory that Martin is living his life backwards and thinks he is going for an
insanity plea. What is the worst place in the world a defence prosecutor can
find himself? Watching him being mistreated by the criminals that he has put
away is quite discomforting because of the injustice of it. He doesn’t deserve
to be here but they do.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘You do realise that you’re not going to
be able to prove this, right? If tomorrow is really the day before today then
we wont have had this conversation. It means we’ll have to have this
conversation again’ ‘Make sure I skip that fricking meeting’ – Scully believes,
Doggett doesn’t.
The Good: I would say that this premise is more suited to
The Twilight Zone than The X-Files but considering the show took a huge leap in
the direction as soon as season six kick started it hardly surprises me that
quirky, non-paranormal ideas turn up these says. That doesn’t mean the premise
of a man living his life backwards isn’t a great one and Steven Medea has
concocted a plot which allows the notion to come with huge mystery (who killed
Martin’s wife?) and build up to the event. If Martin’s memory was intact and
this story was playing out in a linear fashion then it would be a simple murder
and trial drama but in reverse it becomes a race against time to try and figure
who has committed the crime after the event so Martin can stop it before he
reaches the day it happens. Each step back a day starts with a close up of the
spiders web being built backwards in Martin’s cell, a delicate pointer that
time has passed in reverse again and we are one more day in the wrong
direction. He gets squished a few times throughout
the course of the episode but he’s always there the next day, having completed
a little less of his web. The sudden, brief flashbacks to Vicky’s murder are
vital because they plant suspicion in the audiences head – how does Wells
remember in such vivid and dramatic detail his wife’s death? The nanny cam
seems to be Martin’s salvation until it plunges him further into trouble as he
is seen in acting suspiciously in his flat before the murder. Whoopsie. Wells
hasn’t figured out the game yet and tried to have the nanny cam removed from evidence,
not realising that he has gone back a day not even shown it to his defence
attorney yet. He hasn’t even met his defence attorney yet. The spider
webbed tattoo on a fellow prisoner that features in Martin’s memories of
Vicky’s murder allows the audience to make a link and figure out the culprit.
Martin’s innocence has already been proven by how his character has been
portrayed so it really doesn’t matter that his virtue is confirmed halfway
through the episode. But how does he prove he didn’t do it? Because of the
formula of the episode, Wells waking up at Doggett’s turns out to be quite a
surprise. Vicky’s murder is dramatically filmed for maximum impact but once it
is played backwards it becomes something surreal and disturbing. There are
still some surprises though, specifically Trina’s hand in events and the
commonplace but explicable reason that Ocumpo wanted revenge on Wells. Did
Wells go for the easy option and convict his brother out of hand despite the
evidence simply because his face fitted the crime? Now he’s suffering for his
prejudice.
Moment to Watch Out For: Few X-Files have a climax with this
much build up and so the moment when Martin reaches the night of Vicky’s murder
it is clench your bum time. A love a race against time ending and this one that
is filmed with a razor sharp sense of drama and suspense. The fact that he
almost does kill Vicky is a great touch and a momentary moment of humour before
things get much darker. Another shout out for Snow’s music for this sequence,
which is exceptional. The audience is literally taken to a knife edge, Martin
screaming helplessly as Ocumpo prepares to slit Vicky’s throat.
Redrum written by Steven Medea and directed by Peter Markle
One Hit Wonder: And it definitely is a hit for the actor.
Joe Morton has the unenviable task of carrying an entire episode of the X-Files
on his back at a time when the show was trying establish itself without one of
its original stars. A tough ask but one he is more than up to the task for. Had
Redrum been handed a lesser actor then the whole experiment would have bombed
but there is a sincerity and likeability in Morton’s performance that turns a
clever hour into a riveting one. Martin is clearly innocent but the evidence
against him is so compelling that even he starts to doubt himself and consider
what would make him kill his wife. I was behind him every step of the way as he
tried to unpiece the mystery of what happened, rooting for him to be innocent
and for the facts to have been twisted against him. If you can invest in Martin
Wells, this works as a riveting character piece in its own right. Redrum rewards
repeated viewings because Martin being shown a snapshot of Vicky’s murder
really makes an impact the second time you watch it – it’s the first time
Martin has been told but as far as Doggett is concerned it is a firm reminder
of a crime that he has committed. When he faces Al in court he is looking into
the eyes of the man he knows will be his executioner if he doesn’t figure a way
out of this. Clearly he loves his kids and is delighted to see them but given
the press attention and their mothers murder, they have to be encouraged to hug
him. Come the end of the episode Martin doesn’t care that his reputation may be
in tatters, that he will be disbarred for withholding evidence, he just wants
to save his wife from the hands of a man who wants revenge. He’s flawed, but
ultimately a good man who wants to correct his mistakes.
Brains’n’Beauty: It’s so strange how effortlessly Scully has
walked into Mulder’s role this year. Perhaps Gillian Anderson is just a better
performer but she makes the scenes where she discusses time running backwards
seem entirely plausible as an idea and as one her character would believe in.
The Bad: Only the final voiceover bugged. I’m not sure it
was at all necessary after Doggett’s ‘second chance’ line. Irritatingly it
means I can’t give this exceptional installment full marks.
Pre Titles Sequence: Plenty of shows use the one-off formula
of having a pre-titles sequence that comes in at the end of the episode and
then heads back a few days after the titles to explain how we reached that
point but Redrum is the only case that I can recall where it takes us
step-by-step backwards, a day at a time towards the incident that kick started
the events that lead to the pre-titles. Am I making sense? It’s dash clever
whether I am or not. The climactic result of Martin’s transfer to another
prison is his father in law shooting him and it means that this episode is
bookended by two dramatic events (the murder of Martin and the murder of his
wife, which in normal circumstances would take place in the reverse order). It
also means we know what fate is waiting for Martin if he doesn’t prove his
innocence. The focus on Scully’s watch informs the audience of exactly what is
going on and it would appear that Martin’s gift of reverse time is a direct result
of his unjust murder. Divine intervention? A freak occurrence? Who cares, this
show is thinking big once again.
Fashion Statement: ‘You’ve got a whole lot of trains to
be pulling…’ – an explicit reference to anal rape in The X-Files and the
fate that awaits Martin if he doesn’t find some way out of prison.
Result: How like this show to offer up something as
unexpected as Redrum when it needs to start asserting it’s identity again and
to make it such a compelling example of an FBI-lite episode of the show. He cut
his teeth on Brand X, a competent but unspectacular installment of the show but
is now ready to deliver something truly memorable. It’s a streak that would
continue as we head into the final year with Medea contributing two of my
favourites of the last season, 4-D and Audrey Pauley. Everybody needed to bring
their A-game to this story in order for an unforgiving audience who were still
missing Mulder to give this one a pass and the fact that Redrum escaped with a
pretty decent critical reception is a miracle and a testament to everybody’s
work (with the only real objections coming from the shippers who cannot imagine
this show without a Mulder/Scully connection). What an impossible story to plot
and script, what an incredible job Medea does in presenting the mystery,
exploring his concept and building up to a dramatic conclusion. As a piece of
writing, this is one of the most intelligent X-Files as it manages to do some
very clever things with its conceit and yet explain itself explicitly at every
turn. Joe Morton takes the reins for a single episode and delivers a terrific
performance of a wronged man caught in a terrible situation and trying to dig
his way out. The reason this episode goes from a good one to a great one is
because Morton allows us to empathise with Martin whilst suspecting him, he is
an effortlessly likable character caught in the impossible task of having to
prove his innocence whilst living his life backwards. The X-Files has proven it
can lose one of it’s stars and still kick ass but with Redrum they go one step
further and prove that if necessary it could survive as an anthology series
with no regulars whatsoever (in its basic form The Twilight Zone). If it
was serving up episodes like Redrum it would be one to watch with interest.
This show is doing phenomenally well without Mulder, whether the shippers want
to believe that or not: 9/10
What’s it about: The mass murder of cult members leads Agent
Doggett to pursue their bewitching leader…
Closed Mind: ‘Just because I’m assigned to The X-Files
you want me to think like Scully and Mulder would, you got the wrong guy. I
need facts, not wild ideas.’ Mulder was great at examining people and
Scully at examining the dead but Doggett’s skill is in walking onto a crime
scene and picking up as much detail as possible, something he is seen to be
extremely adept at here. Doggett doesn’t understand why when there are murder
victims stacked high that Scully is taking personal time and it seems a little
churlish at this point that he would be left out of the loop. I would be pissed
off too. It would have been so easy to have had Doggett turn out like Agent
Harrison later in the season, somebody who is intimately involved in the work
and ready to leap to all manner of wild conclusions. Instead the writers choose
to push against that and against audience expectation by having him approach
the work with no imagination whatsoever and refusing to accept the strangest
theory just because there are none other available. It means the show itself
has to work hard to convince him and in doing so it seems to have upped its
game with some really challenging storytelling. This might be an odd
observation to make but the camera just loves Robert Patrick, doesn’t it? He
can stand there mutely throwing off a look but still be the most fascinating
person on the screen. Scully tells Doggett to trust his instincts but when he
isn’t sure what is real and what is imaginary anymore how can you take that
advice? The Lone Gunmen are not the sort of advisors that Doggett would think
of approaching but as soon as it is clear that they are intelligent men with
vital input to offer there is no question of turning them away. He respects
what they bring to the party and there is a feeling he will seek them out
again. He learns that Scully is at the hospital but not why and you would have
to start to wonder if his colleagues were deliberately keeping secrets from
him. Patrick aces the scenes in the last ten minutes, walking through his usual
routine at work as if something terrible is wrong, as if he was dreaming the
whole thing. What we are left with is a man who has opened a door on the possibility
of the paranormal and who is plagued by the nightmares he has suffered because
of this case.
Assistant Director: Gillian Anderson is sitting this one out
so Mitch Pileggi gets to fill the breach and as he has proven time and again he
is more than up to the task. His continued involvement in the show and how much
screen time he gets is one of the joys of the latter seasons of The X-Files.
You would think that putting two dour investigators together (Skinner and
Doggett) would make for tough viewing but they spark off each other extremely
well even when Spotnitz’s dialogue is more rough and ready than witty repartee.
With Scully missing, Skinner is the one who is flaunting the X-Files
explanation. My how things have changed. It’s not such a leap since Skinner has
read a file on every investigation Mulder and Scully have written and he has
been a participant in a reasonable number of them himself. Some of that has got
to rub off. Now he has seen Mulder physically abducted by aliens it would seem
he is much more open minded, just like Scully.
Ugh: You can have great fun with this type of episode where
the victims can be twisted into thinking that their worst fears are happening
to them. So prepare yourself for some hallucinatory nightmare sequences involving
a man drowning in cement, bloody footprints and decapitated heads, hundreds of
squeaking rats eating a man alive, But they all end with the victims getting
the chop. Oh, and Tepit burrows his forehead into a circular saw. That is grim.
The Good: It was going to take something pretty special to
unearth anything new from the idea of a paranormal cult that has been beguiled
enough to be convinced to take their lives. Step forward Via Negativa aka
something special. Besides the crazy cult isn’t what this episode is about, it
is just the invitation into this illusory world for Doggett. Keith Szarabajka
is almost entirely responsible for the reason these clichéd ideas work so well
because I was started to come under his spell when listening to one of his seductive
hypnotic rants. He has one of those voices that you can relax into and trust
every word that they say. He’s a man with dangerous beliefs but compelling
ones; that hallucinatory drugs can lead you to the path of darkness (Via
Negativa), a plane closer to God. I would have suspected that the Lone Gunmen
and Doggett would be a unhappy combination so imagine my surprise when these
happen to be some of their best scenes in years, bouncing very well off of
Doggett’s practical stoicism. Let’s hope we get to indulge in this mix again
soon.
What’s it about: The machines are taking over…
Brains’n’Beauty: This is mid period of season eight where Scully and Doggett have developed a way of communicating and working together and do some good work. It’s the ‘before Mulder returns’ part of the year, after which Scully decides to give up the work the focus on her baby.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘What are you saying? That Ray Pearce
has become some kind of metal man? Because that only happens in the movies,
Agent Scully.’
The Bad: I’m not convinced by Wade Andrew Williams’
remarkably dour performance in Salvage as Ray. He’s pretty much a blank slate
throughout which makes him the perfect killing machine for the more exciting
moments but leaves the rest of the actors little to react against during the
more emotional ones. There is something dissatisfying about this all being a
horrible misunderstanding, that the barrel just happened to wind up at the
salvage yard where Ray worked and infecting him. The direction falters only in
the last scene which feels like it should mean more than it does, with the
moment that Ray gets crushed barely perceptible it is so fast. The voiceover
isn’t needed at all, it is trying to stress all the themes of the episode when
the script has already done that perfectly adequately.
Moment to Watch Out For: Shooting straight through the
bloody windscreen and cutting to Scully standing in the dramatic dent in the
car is a delightfully oddball touch. Delario’s face that has been caved in by
human fingers is off the chart too (‘You mean someone…? ‘Like a bowling
ball…’).
Result: Am I the only person who is fond of Salvage?
For Rod Hardy’s impressive direction alone it deserves a pass, let alone the
other goodies nestled inside. That’s not to say this is a classic episode by
any means because there is something tangible that holds this one back from
greatness but the overall standard of acting is good, the characterisation of
the guest characters is good and the way the story unfolds is enjoyable enough.
The only thing that stands out as being exceptional is the effects work and
stunts. Even the Scully/Doggett interaction is less abrasive and more gentle
than usual although I would suggest that is not entirely a swing in their
favour and that things shouldn’t be allowed to get too quiet between them. It’s
an X-File that is playing to a formula – Ray has been wrong by the company he
works for and he is going to crush each of their throats with his metal hand –
but it does allow for some impressive set pieces and quirky visuals with the
carnage he leaves behind. All Salvage needs to elevate it is an extra layer of
polish, script wise to give it a little more energy. This is one of those
season eight episodes that does feel like it needs a more humour injected to
make the overall experience more of a lively one but saying that I’m pleased it
was made year where the show is taking itself seriously again, had it been a
season seven installment it would have been insufferably smug and
self-satisfied. On it’s own terms Salvage is well written and made and whilst
it will never rock your world, it provides a decent hours entertainment: 7/10
What’s it about: Going to the toilet and crapping out Deep
Roy. I kid you not.
Closed Mind: Doggett is being utterly facetious when he
suggests this might be the work of sloppy vampires, but it is still very
amusing. Even Doggett is squeamish at the (unseen by the audience – thank
goodness!) damage to a mans rectal wall. I like the Doggett is not seen to be
entirely reasonable when it comes to handling Mulder’s associates like Chuck.
Had they characterised him as being completely level-headed about dealing with
the same people they may as well have re-cast Mulder. Instead Doggett walks out
on their meeting with Chuck because his ideas are so out there. It creates a
different tone, a more abrasive and interesting one. She asks if Doggett is
questioning her integrity but he counters that and questions the whole damn
case. It might not be what the ‘bring Mulder back now!’ crowd would want to
hear but Scully and Mulder had far more vicious differences of opinion back in
the day (I remember an especially hysterical one in Ice). At the risk of
sounding like an apologist, he is perfectly within his rights to question
Scully’s methods, her sources of information and the bizarre nature of this
particular case. It’s not until he’s given incontrovertible evidence of
mystical happenings (a camera that reveals the fakirs mental trickery) that his
firm doubts start to crumble.
Ugh: ‘Is that from something going in or coming out?’
The X-Files has promoted some pretty grim imagery and ideas in the past.
Everything from a limbless in-bred strapped to a trolley being kept under the
bed to a man, who once decapitated, can grow his own head back again. Badlaa
might just take the crown for the least tasteful and most revolting concept
that the show dared to suggest. An Indian fakir who can literally crawl up
inside of a man via his rectum and settle inside his stomach and then slither
out once he has made it to his destination. That’s so horrible that only Chris
Carter (John Shiban admits as much) would dare to push it. It’s certainly the
most extreme method of getting through airport security and immigrating to
America that I have ever heard. It’s a warning against morbid obesity
everywhere. Even I put down my beanburger at the thought that if I ate too many
more Deep Roy might vanish up my bottom.
The Bad: I’m not sure why we cut away from characters and
then back to the fakir who is nestled up inside his victim – it seems like a
tame method of suggesting that a character his been stuffed like a Turkey at
Christmas. They could have gone the whole hog and had the stomach swelling as
if the burst and gas and blood escaping from the rectum, something really
discomforting and nasty like that. If you’re going to suggest something as
vomit-inducing as this, there is no point in approaching the idea half
heartedly. Whilst I love the idea of the fakir travelling on the trolley with
squeaky wheels (it is a great, creepy way of suggesting Deep Roy is coming to
munch his way up your butt), I’m heartily disappointed that it takes so long to
get to the nasty business of showing this method of transport in action. It
really isn’t like The X-Files to be so shy. The last scene of the fakir back at
work in India begging seems pointless now the story has been wrapped up. With
haven’t experienced a ‘the danger is still out there’ moment as futile as this
since season two.
What’s it about: Doggett continues his search for Mulder…
Trust No-1: Once again it is the absence of Mulder
and him not being able to answer for himself that is much, much more
interesting than he ever managed to be the seventh season. The one element
brought to the discussion of the character that didn’t quite ring true in
Within/Without was that Mulder had an incurable brain disease that we knew
absolutely nothing about…but The Gift manages to retcon that surprise
information before the character even returns to the show. This was either the
intention all along or the writers panicking after they have realised they have
made a mistake and rectifying it quickly. Either way I think this is rather a
neat solution and a fascinating way to handle the problem. If this was the
result of them going one shock revelation too far, then I think the exercise
was worthwhile because this episode gains an intriguing premise because of it.
I love how Mulder looks up at the creature not with revulsion but with wonder,
the ultimate expression of what his life’s work has been about. And it is going
to save his life. Without his belief in the paranormal, without being able to
seek this creature out, he would have died.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘We have sick people. Sick people who
need what it has.’
The Good: Lot’s of mysteries are built in early (Mulder’s
homicidal actions, the nature of the creature) that Doggett has to try and
unravel a year after the events. It is nice that there is a built in reason
that attracts Doggett to this case (his search for Mulder) rather than having
to resort to searching The Enquirer or have a newspaper clipping shoved
under the basement door. I always enjoy stories that have dual narratives in
different time periods where one directly effects the other and Frank Spotnitz
has cleverly written a piece where both storylines play off each other and feed
separate clues to build an overall picture of what is going on. I’ve heard many
comments that it was a nightmare to try and recreate the same atmosphere of
darkness in California that was so readily available in Vancouver hence the
lightness of tone and direction the show took in its sixth and seventh seasons.
However they have seemed to have found their groove in series eight because
this might just be the darkest year yet, not just in terms of storytelling
(with outstandingly grim horror tales such as Roadrunners and Via Negativa) but
also in terms of mood. Watch out for the sequence where the cars pull up
outside the house in the woods with the townsfolk calling out the creature, it
is shrouded in mist and shadows and drenched in a thick atmosphere of dread.
When Doggett heads down into the caves armed with a gun and a torchlight is
another phenomenally atmospheric scene. Hungry managed to put a sympathetic
spin on a mutant of the week very successfully but that had the bonus of a
committed performance and the entire focus being made squarely on Rob and his
addiction. The Gift manages exactly the same innovation but does so even more
impressively it is achieved purely through the storytelling, the creature being
treated so abominably and behaving so unselfishly that your heart bleeds for
its suffering. Isn’t it great how gently the sequences with the creature doing
it’s business are played, Kim Manners managing to generate an atmosphere of
terror (the slavering creature coming out of the mist, opening its mouth
obscenely and consuming her) and beauty (a naked woman, the gentle music) at
the same time (not an easy combination). Watch out for a very nice turn from
Caroline Lagerfelt as ‘Rustic Woman’ (couldn’t they have found a better name
for her than this?). The shot of the creature weeping, crippled by the diseases
it has been forced to consume, is heartbreaking. Ultimately the people of this
town (including law enforcement) want to continue exploiting the soul eater
because it can relieve the suffering of their loved ones, not giving a damn
about the fact that that suffering will simply be transferred to somebody who
is already living a pained existence. It says rather a lot about the human
condition and the moral objections we are will to put aside to protect our
loved ones. The creature taking away Doggett’s death is the only way this
episode could have ended and it provides some welcome relief for a man who was
being mistreated appallingly.
Moment to Watch Out For: The terrific shock moment when
Doggett is shot. It’s a scene that stabs at the heart because it is so
unexpected and one that will polarise opinion. Those Mulderites that have been
clambering for his return will be cheering (rather uselessly since it is
Doggett who is looking for Mulder) whilst fans of Doggett will be appalled that
he has been snatched away so quickly. Either way, it is a great moment of
surprise in a show that had started to forget how to pull them off. Isn’t it
wonderful that there is a built in get out clause as well that doesn’t cheat
the audience?
What’s it about: People are dying in a Boston subway system…
Closed Mind: The look on his face when he quietly and
happily excepts the role of dogsbody in the subway system makes me want to give
him a hug. He is still trying so hard to prove himself to Scully that he would
happily walk into danger for her. He stays down in those tunnels much longer
than I would have under similar circumstances and describes Scully as ‘the
boss.’ He describes being sent down instead of Scully the right call,
despite his companions attempts to turn him against her he remains loyal. He
refuses to leave until they have found the answers and their mystery guest…he
recognises that this is about saving peoples lives at all costs. We’ve already
seen what the Medusa creature can do to a man so the moment Doggett’s face is
lit up with bioluminescence is worth a dramatic cut to an advert break.
The Good: Although it cannot be said to be the first of it’s
kind (Doctor Who’s The Web of Fear shows how the BBC concocted a similarly
impressive set with extremely limited resources), the subway set that the
designers built for this episode is impressively huge and detailed. Aside from
the lack of graffiti and litter, I was perfectly convinced that this was filmed
in a genuine subway station and along the claustrophobic and dank tunnels that
connect them. I am so used to seeing Ken Jenkins as the slimy and Hitleresque
Dr Kelso on Scrubs that it took me a few watches of Medusa to adjust to seeing
him in a straight role. It’s a memorable performance but ultimately he is
playing one of those character that is there to throw a spanner in the works
and to complicate the narrative, which he does with great aplomb. You’ve also
got DS9’s Penny Johnson (I say DS9 but she is one of America’s most
recognisable television actresses, that just happens to be the show that I have
seen her in the most besides the first two seasons of 24 and Castle) as part of
the team heading down into the tunnels to investigate the spate of murders. Her
part is as underwritten as Jenkins’ but the thrill is in seeing an actress you
admire in another role in another show that you love. She does everything that
is required of her and more and brightens up an already perky episode. A round
of applause for the transit control centre set as well, another beautifully
designed and constructed piece of work from a set team at the top of their
game. Between them, they have made this action adventure feel like it is taking
place in a real environment underground. The use of POV cameras in the tunnels
was a smart idea because it gives the episodes a dramatic visual aspect during
the tenser moments of the episode. Spotnitz hands out early clues as to the
nature of the threat this week when the ventilation system is mentioned – if
the subway officials knew it was the nature of the organism to react to sweat
then naturally they want their investigative team to perspire as little as
possible. There’s also a close up on a puddle glowing menacing less than ten
minutes into the episode. Having Karras watching over Scully’s shoulder and
reminding her of the deadline before the trains start running again gives the
episode an added layer of tension, this is a race against time to save peoples
lives. The mystery deepens when Doggett comes across a number of bodies wrapped
in plastic sheeting and a diminutive person ducking in and out of the subway
system. It would appear that the officials will go to any lengths to cover up
the deaths and keep the trains running on time and there is a great deal of authenticity
in that. A possible biological weapon that has leaked into the subway system?
That’s a terrifying notion putting thousands of people at risk and making them
all potential carriers to spread to the world upstairs. By the end of the
episode we have been saturated in so much darkness underground that Medusa
turns out to be the ultimate example of an X-File cliché, it is practically
flashlight porn. The Medusa creature itself is entirely plausible but not
exactly riveting answer to what has been happening so you’ll either swing one
way or the other in your reaction depending on what you are after in this show.
A sea creature that is reacting with sweat and killing people, perhaps it is
from the depths of the oceans that have been unexplored which would makes its
previously unrecorded existence a realistic one. The pollution of the subway
network by a an infection of glowing water reminds me nostalgically of the Doctor
Who story The Green Death which sported a similarly luminescent waterfall
of pollution. Except that tale had Giant Maggots too.
Pre Titles Sequence: I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll
say it again but I love stories that are set on, in or around trains. I always
think it is because of the little boy in me that is screaming to come out but
actually over time I have come to understand it is just because I love trains.
So this spooky sequence on board a deserted subway train that heads off into
the distance and something horrific occurs out of sight is right up my street.
The technical achievements are impressive (both the subway set that was purpose
built for Medusa and Mark Snow’s bold and dramatic music) and the mystery is
kept well built with a nasty eaten away far left behind for Doggett to try and
unearth the reason behind. Like the episode at large, there is nothing
especially clever going on here but it is stylish and engaging for that.
What’s it about: Scully’s pregnancy is proceeding apace and
Doggett is still in the dark…
Closed Mind: Looking like a wounded puppy for possibly
pushing his partner too far, Doggett soon regrets mentioning that he has read
her file and taken on board what has happened to her over the past seven years.
Scully is behaving suspiciously and yet acting accusatory when Doggett starts
asking questions about ultrasounds and her Doctor. If only she would tell him
the truth they could cut through all this mistrust and pretence.
Trust No-1: It almost seems unfair on Doggett that the
writers should bring back Mulder for Per Manum and make him sweeter and more
gentle than he has ever been before. It is enough to make all those people who
have missed him scream to the heavens in thanks and all those who have adjusted
and enjoyed the new dynamic question whether it is an acceptable substitute.
Actually the writers are playing a far more interesting game than that. Per
Manum is probably the only episode in season eight which does promote the
optimistic return of Mulder to the show and his scenes are entirely told in
flashback during season seven. It is a lovely peak at the softness of the
interplay between Mulder and Scully at its height before Mulder is returned to
the show permanently in the present day only to find that it doesn’t have a
place for him anymore. I’m surprised Scully was so understanding about Mulder
keeping the information about her removed and defective ova given that she has
always had ideas of motherhood. Doggett reads a file and she goes nuts, Mulder
explains that he has known all along why she cannot give birth and she barely
reacts. I guess that is the nature of the two relationships.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘My wife gave birth to an alien!’ cries
Duffy like the front cover of The Enquirer. Why is this in this section and not
the one below? Because it is precisely the sort of hullabaloo that John Doggett
fears hearing when he comes into work each morning and gives Scully very little
room to manoeuvre in suggesting there might be some veracity in it.
The Good: Thanks in no small part to Kim Manners excellent
handling of the transitions so that they are both surprising and perfectly comprehensible,
the hopping back and forth between flashbacks and the present day makes for an
unusual and effective narrative device in Per Manum. Check out the superb
camerawork during the sequence where Doggett meets Scully and Skinner at
roadside diner at night. It glides along the ground and straight through the
window. The sort of direction that is overlooked but stunningly achieved.
Interesting to see Doggett get his own younger, cuter version of Deep Throat
within the government. Knowle Rohrer would go on to appear in a wealth of
episodes in the last season and a half and Adam Baldwin has the conspiratorial
glances down pat. He’s also pretty easy on the eye too. Scully escorting a
pregnant woman to safety is a dry run for what she will be going through in
Existence at the end of the season. It’s such a brilliant dramatic device that
Carter and Spotnitz used it twice, although the second time it is even more
dynamic.
Moment to Watch Out For: Sometimes this show really manages
to surprise me. When it should be taken seriously it can come across as the
most cringeworthy soap opera, in part due to Carter’s dreadful handling of
personal dialogue. And then there are moments such as the one where Mulder has
to give Scully his answer to her request for him to be a sperm donor which on
paper is doomed to melodramatic failiure. And yet it works. It really, really
works. Anderson and Duchovny bring down their performances to such a delicate
level, Kim Manners gives them total exposure and the dialogue manages to be
sweet and funny. It’s one of the most touching moments in the shows entire run.
And I would have sworn that this sort of thing would have been hideously
overdone on The X-Files. It’s like I said, they have re-discovered something in
season eight that had been forgotten for at least three years…suddenly the show
is about the people in it again and they are being written for better than
ever. The way this scene blends into another with Scully alone, afraid and
without Mulder to comfort her is profoundly moving. Equally strong is the final
scene between Doggett and Scully where the truth about her baby is blown wide
open. It’s is so gently played by Patrick and Anderson that it gave me
goosebumps. This really has been a relationship to watch.
Result: An excellent character drama which brings all
the elements that have made this year such a joy back into sharp focus after a
spate of standalone episodes. Scully’s fractious relationship with Doggett, her
dexterously handled pregnancy, Mulder’s disappearance that has somehow made him
more interesting than when he was around full time, Skinner’s involvement in
the personal lives of his Agents…Per Manum brings it all into a cohesive whole
for the audience and pushes the story onwards for all of these characters so we
are in the right position for Mulder’s return in the next episode. It’s a joy
to see David Duchovny back in the show but more than that it is a joy to see
him acting in the role again rather than sleepwalking through the part
like he did for much of the last series. With Robert Patrick taking his place,
suddenly Duchovny has to prove his worth. As lovely as the Mulder/Scully scenes
are my focus was primarily on the Scully/Doggett relationship which continues
to yield rewards as they get closer despite one half of this partnership
keeping secrets to the point of obstinacy. What appears to be a simple story is
revealed to be a lot more complex than it first appeared, the regulars being
set up from their very first appearance to ensure that Scully is delivered into
a hazardous situation for her and her baby. On it’s own terms Per Manum is a
quiet X-Files that isn’t going to blow you away with grand set pieces but if
you are the sort of viewer that enjoys the subtleties of character development
and chance for actors of the calibre of Anderson, Duchovny and Patrick to get
the chance to show off their talents then this might be right up your street. I
honestly never knew that this show could be this moving: 9/10
This Is Not Happening written by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners
What’s it about: The return of Mulder?
Closed Mind: Doggett and Scully’s approaches still differ and he wont defer to her touchy feely techniques when he feels that pressing the witness will get results. Doggett succinctly tells Scully that if she is going to reject every possibility that he throws her way and go off on a tangent about alien Bounty Hunters then they will have to part company (and Scully, as if knowing that she is passing the torch onto to Reyes in the future, states ‘enjoy your new company’). There was a tiny moment in Invocation where we realised that something tragic has happened in Doggett’s past with regards to his son and the audience is spoon fed a little more information here. Doggett and Reyes were working together during the case when he was missing and he gently asks her to keep his history out of this case and leave the past in the past. This will be mined for real emotional worth in future episodes. It goes to explain why Doggett is so vehemently against believing in the paranormal as an explanation for disappearances. He knows first hand with personal experience that people vanish all the time in the most horrific and violent of ways. If he had turned to such an outrageous way of thinking during his sons disappearance he might never have found the body. Kudos to Carter/Spotnitz for refusing to let this character back down and stay truthful to himself and for giving him a very good and understandable reason for doing so. It might have come in handy to have included this scene much earlier in the season to have prevented him from looking so stubborn but this rewards the patient viewer tenfold.
New Ager: Introducing Monica Reyes, a character that split opinion between those that found her a ray of sunshine and those that found it a struggle to accept that this show isn’t going to be solely about Mulder and Scully anymore. To be fair to her critics the character does come with a few too many quirks in her first appearance (she’s a new ager, she smokes, she’s eccentric in her approach to investigation) and it does feel as if the writers are going out of their way to make her appealing and a bit different. However all this is rendered pretty soluble when you factor in that she is being played by Annabeth Gish, a delightful performer who stresses these qualities but gets to play them down in future episodes. The truth of the matter is that she lights up the screen for me (after half a season of Anderson and Doggett looking dour – as good as that might have been – it is lovely to meet somebody who enjoys smiling and looking on the lighter side of life) and has great chemistry with Robert Patrick (and going forward, Anderson too). I might be the minority (although I don’t think that is the case anymore) but I really enjoyed how the show ploughed on with Doggett and Reyes at the reins. What a breath of fresh air they turned out to be. Reyes is greeted by suspicion by both Scully and Skinner and even Mark Snow punctuates her first appearance with an ominous sting. She goes on what she knows but tries to stay open to extreme possibilities. Reyes doesn’t not believe in aliens, which is going to come in handy when she is assigned to The X-Files. A black sheep in law enforcement with certain spiritual notions, in basic terms she is Mulder albeit with a much stronger connection to the Earth (both spiritually and socially) than he ever had. She looks longingly at a packet of cigarettes and it is only an encounter with an alien spacecraft that prevents her from lighting up (now there’s a sentence I never thought I would write about an X-File episode).
Trust No-1: Whether it was just a dream or a psychic link between Scully and Mulder, the insinuation seems to be that Mulder has been pinned to that chair in the alien spacecraft since the beginning of the season (about three-four months now); tortured, bruised and wan.
The Good: It is amazing that a show could not only last eight seasons so successfully after the departure of one of it’s two main characters and that it could take in it’s eighth season elements from the pilot episode all those years ago and innovate them to make the show more gripping than ever. The return of Teresa Hosey is portent of doom for Scully who is still hanging out for the return of her partner and lover. Alien abductions aren’t about inflated bellies anymore, since the fallout of the conspiracy arc they have been rough housing their abductees and the Teresa’s messed up body is the result of the sort of torture we saw Mulder undergoing in the first two episodes of the season. A small mention for Judd Tritcher in the very sweet role of Ritchie Szalay, a boy from Oregon who is following the trail of the aliens because his boyfriend was abducted in Requiem. After his godawful, pretentious scenes with the Smoking Man in previous seasons of The X-Files you might have thought that the return of Jeremiah Smith would be a bad thing but Carter and Spotnitz take a look at where the character went wrong before and iron out all his wrinkles in This Is Not Happening. The focus is on his healing powers, rather than his cod-religious portents of the future. I like the fact that Scully believes this is the work of aliens and Doggett and Reyes pump for the more reasonable UFO cult idea and when the dust clears away on the wreckage of this episode it turns out they are all right.
Moment to Watch Out For: The last thing any of us was expecting was for Scully to find Mulder again and to be cradling his corpse when she did so. It’s a shocking conclusion that gave me goosebumps all over and her final scream of anxiety at the loss of the only help for Mulder is a powerful end to the episode.
Result: Gripping stuff and another mythology episode in season eight that kicks some serious ass, This Is Not Happening serves all of it’s characters extremely well whilst introducing a fresh element into the series and giving one portion of the audience what they have been screaming out for since the beginning of the year. But brilliantly it does none of those things in the way that you might expect. After Per Manum you might expect that Scully and Doggett to be on an even footing now but their antagonism comes to a head in this episode and they almost part company. Monica Reyes is our idiosyncratic new regular but she comes with a handful of neuroses and flaws that make her a little too quirky for her own good, but she mostly salvaged by Annabeth Gish’s sublime performance anyway. And Mulder comes back to Earth with a bang in an episode that is all about building up his return to the show but Carter and Spotnitz save their cruellest trick until last as Scully is finally reunited with her partner only to find that he is dead. What an emotional ride this is and how delicately all the character interactions are handled. The amount of effort that has gone into plotting out the character arcs this seasons and ensuring there is plenty of follow through and rewards to the patient viewer is extraordinary – there really isn’t another season of The X-Files like it in that respect. Nothing is cloudy or indistinct like the mythology of the previous seasons, it is a clearly told story with plenty of emotionally sincere beats. There is almost no need for a plot to This Is Not Happening because the characters and their journeys are creating self-perpetuating storylines and the only standalone elements to this is the sudden diversion to the doomsday cult but the focus soon turns back to Mulder. With the inclusion of Reyes, The X-Files is practically an ensemble show now (Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Doggett, Reyes) and given this is a show that has always found its strength from a core relationship of two it is strange how satisfying the shift to a larger group of characters is. Weirdly enough the only part of this episode that didn’t work for me was the repeated use of the phrase ‘this is not happening’ because it seemed to be shoehorned into a script awkwardly simply to justify the title (three times we hear it in the pre-titles sequence). Apart from that colour me impressed at another arc piece that proves to be a stellar hour of drama in it’s own right. Impressive: 9/10
What’s it about: Mulder’s dead…no wait he’s alive. What’s
going on?
Closed Mind: ‘Fish while they’re biting, John…’ With
Kersh is smiling at you when you walk in the door, run a mile because something
is clearly very wrong with the world. In this case Doggett is being recommended
for advancement and receiving merits for his part in finding Agent Mulder,
praise and reward that he feels he doesn’t deserve. He clearly doesn’t want to
be manoeuvred into any position, even if that means sticking to the X-Files a
little longer. With no Mulder, the department might be shut down without him.
You would think that with Mulder back the focus would be on him again but the
show seems to be more about Doggett than ever, which is something that pleases
me greatly. The final scene emphasises Doggett as a third wheel in the X-Files
team. Scully clings onto Mulder and weeps and catches Doggett’s eye in the
doorway just as he walks away and leaves them to it. How this is going to play
out is anyone’s guess but it is sure going to be interesting finding out.
Assistant Director: Another massive role for Skinner,
another terrific opportunity to see how effortlessly Mitch Pileggi has been
absorbed into the ensemble. I wondered if the whole Krychek/pain device
plotline had vanished into obscurity but it makes an entirely unexpected return
in Deadalive. The veins that bulge out of Skinner’s skin are a great prompt
that rat boy is nearby and waiting to take advantage of events. The difference
between Skinner here and in earlier seasons is that we understand exactly why
he behaves how he does. In previous years when the character being treated as
part ally/part enemy we would never have been privy to the scene between him
and Krychek, we would have only have seen him turning off Mulder’s life support
and get the explanation afterwards. Clearly that was the wrong approach because
knowing what makes him tick, understanding that he is killing Mulder to save
Scully’s baby makes the moment all the more powerful.
Ugh: People should no better than to suggest that corpses
come back to life and start blabbing about how they died because that is just
tempting fate. As a Doctor does here with the pickled and scarred body of Billy
Miles. The make up for Mulder’s ashen, decaying corpse is really very nasty, a
far cry from the handsome man David Duchovny is. If the mythology episodes are
going to continue (this is the third interlinked episode in a row with a fourth
on its way) then Carter & Spotnitz are determined to remind the audience of
what this show is about and include a genuinely grisly sequence when Billy
Miles wakes from his coma, heads to the nearest shower and sheds his crusty,
scarred flesh in as bloody a fashion as possible. It really turned my stomach.
Pre Titles Sequence: Well that was unexpected. When Mulder
was returned dead at the end of This Is Not Happening I was expecting some
instant miracle to occur in order to bring him back to the land of the living
but instead the writers plunge onwards with the idea that Mulder is no longer
with us. Even going to the lengths of pulling together all the assembled
regulars that are still with us and putting on a beautiful, snow caressed
funeral service for him in a graveyard. Doggett gripping onto Krychek’s face
and hanging on outside of his motor as rat boy ploughs through a host of
stationary cars in the hospital car park is a fantastically exciting set piece.
Result: Deadalive manages to mix old mythology
(Krychek) and new (Billy Miles) with equal aplomb whilst dealing with the
fallout of Mulder’s death and resurrection and the situation of where Doggett
belongs. It is a remarkably packed episode and it is to the credit of Carter
& Spotnitz that it never feels rushed and unwieldy. I’ve changed my mind
about season eight, it might be my favourite season of The X-Files now because
it is the one where I can see the maximum amount of effort from the creative
team being injected into the show for the utmost rewards. The Scully/Doggett
interaction reaches its zenith in this episode with the two of them managing to
butt heads in some gorgeously scripted exchanges and admit how much they care
for each other as well. It has been a fantastic relationship to chart but this
is the beginning of the end before Mulder and Reyes step in to distract the
pair of them from each other. Mulder’s return isn’t handled at all the way I
thought it would be and is all the better for it, I thought he would be greeted
with fanfare and instead the writers go down the route that he could be a
potential alien assassin. Suspicion and mistrust seems to be the watchwords
surrounding his homecoming. Skinner continues to get a larger slice of the pie
and Mitch Pileggi’s involvement in season eight cannot be faulted, he is
responsible for binding the regulars into an ensemble and the character is such
a reliable, beautifully acted presence. Add to all this some grotesque
sequences that remind that this show can still repulse, fascinating
participation from Kersh and you have a substantial, hugely entertaining
installment of an ever improving year. Season eight shows how good the X-Files
mythology episodes could have been had they been less obscure and tightly
focused on Mulder and Scully. This is how good the show could have been all
along: 9/10
What’s it about: Mulder continues to play the bad boy…but he
can’t get away with it anymore.
Closed Mind: ‘The only thing that is impressive about my
work on the X-Files is that I know what’s going on half the time…’ Kersh is
very cleverly using Doggett’s success rate since he has been assigned to the
department as a reason to deny Mulder access to the X-Files again. Apparently
he and Scully have had more arrest on percentage than Mulder and Scully in over
years – ouch. It’s also another method of setting them all at each others
throats which is only to the benefit of the drama of the show. I certainly
wouldn’t want things to return to the lackadaisical mood of season seven now
Mulder is back in residence. Kersh manuveres Doggett into the unenviable
position of telling Mulder that he is no longer assigned to the unit he
created. Double ouch. He’s being manipulated by Kersh and Knowle Rohrer in very
different ways and it is only starting to become clear just how badly his
actions are being pre-meditated and he doesn’t like the position that it puts
him in. Perhaps Mulder is right that Doggett is working against him, but it is
entirely against his will. As soon as he realises this he attempts to rectify
matters but Mulder’s faith in him has been crushed. He confronts Knowle and
informs him he will not be used as his puppet but his informant reveals that
the truth that he is trying to point him towards is all laid out in the X-Files.
It would appear he still has a lot of work to do down in that basement office,
especially now Mulder is no longer welcome in the building.
Trust No-1: The look on Mulder’s face as he remembers the
terrible torture he suffered at the hands of the aliens is that of a man who
has searched the skies for their existence only to get spat in the face for his
efforts. He’s a broken man. Considering he has undergone a miraculous recovery
from death, a feat only otherwise achieved by Jesus, he looks about as thrilled
by the motion as a man who has just been told that he has to pay up all the
rent and bills he has missed since he has been missing. What is unusual is how
Mulder walks through the show that used to be all about him like a ghost, like
a stranger who doesn’t quite belong there anymore because the show has moved on
without him. He doesn’t know where he fits in anymore. Mulder is his own worst
nightmare sometimes (that’s why we love him) and he only feels like getting
back to work when he is told that he isn’t allowed to. He hangs around his
office waiting to meet and wind up Agent Doggett against the advice of Scully
and Skinner. He cannot be said to be undeserved of the punishment he receives
at the end of this episode.
The Good: Judson Scott is a veteran of science fiction
performances but gives one of his best (and certainly most intense) in The
X-Files as the religious prophet Absalom. Whilst he was a side issue in This Is
Not Happening and Deadalive, he comes into his own in Three Words, escaping
from prison, seeking out Doggett and putting him in a situation where his life
is in terrible danger if he doesn’t do everything that Absalom tells him.
Because he talks of alien takeovers and sacred foresight he comes across as the
sort of deathly serious nut job that is capable of anything (‘You and I are
going to become overnight sensations!’). Another cute appearance by the
Lone Gunmen in season eight with the hug between Frohike and Mulder possibly
the loveliest moment in an episode packed with mistrust. There is a real warmth
to the scenes between the old timers (Mulder, Scully & the Lone Gunmen)
from this show that has been practically absent in the cold (but riveting)
season eight. Like Per Manum, the writers pull off a massive coup by revealing
that this whole plot has been a set up from the start and Doggett has been the
unknowing victim that he delivered Mulder into the hands of his enemies. There
are several excellently paced action sequences in Three Words that Tony Wharmby
handles with great aplomb. Doggett being led like a lamb to slaughter into the
census database and almost being shot in the head for his troubles is one such
example. Mulder making it into the census database intercut with Doggett trying
to make it in to help him and the Gunmen hanging about cutting the security
procedures makes for a glorious ten minute thriller sequence that ends with
them being pursued by an armed security force. Unfortunately it looks like
Doggett has turned up to stop Mulder just as he has happened upon the census
information that could blow this thing wide open – Three Words has been well
structured enough so both men on different sides of the argument can be seen to
be perfectly credible in their opinions.
Pre Titles Sequence: Leaping the fence of the White House
with a disc entitled Fight the Future might be a way of getting the President’s
attention…but probably not the right sort of attention. It’s a gripping
pre-titles sequence all the same for attempting to pull this off on primetime
television. I have to admit I couldn’t tell whether they filmed at the real
White House or not but certainly appeared to be authentic to me. How could you
think this kind of behaviour is anything but a terrorist attack?
What’s it about: A spread of evil from one person to another
a possible link to the death of John Doggett’s son…
Closed Mind: ‘He’s worth the effort, Mulder…’ Only on
this show could you consider dropping the title ‘Agent’ as a term of endearment
as Scully does to Doggett. He’s explosively angry at the thought of Reyes and
(especially) Mulder looking into the case of his sons murder and finds himself
withdrawing to Scully’s bedside for some advice. He has to believe that he did
everything possible to find his son and if there was some paranormal angle that
he was too closed minded to explore then he wouldn’t be able to live with
himself. The writers pretty much acknowledge how Luke’s death is going to be
solved in that scene because there was no way they were ever going to put such
an honourable character through that kind of torture. The truth is Doggett did
see some kind of apparition at the scene of his sons death but it could just
have easily have been his mind playing tricks during a inexplicably stressful
moment. It is easily dismissible.
New Ager: ‘You just keep shooting until you hit
something, don’t you?’ Reyes is trying to be quirky again from the off but
fortunately these forced tics are disposed of very quickly and this is a highly
engaging second visit for the new age investigator before her assignment to the
series full time at the series two part finale. With Mulder stripped of the
X-Files, Scully about to take some personal time to have her baby and Doggett
hardly reaching out for paranormal assignments, the writers needed to find a
new avenues to bring cases to light and Reyes is the perfect outlet. She sniffs
out X-Files where nobody else is looking. Mulder always used to have strong
intuition and beliefs about cases but with Reyes it seems to be something more
personal than that, she has visions and feels an emotional connection to an
investigation which draws her in. It makes a little bit more spooky and fascinating
and it will be interesting to see how the show explores this gift. Working the
case when they found Doggett’s son dead was the hardest she ever had to face
and she cannot imagine what it was like for John. Mulder grins at Reyes when
she tries to manipulate him into helping her, acknowledging that she would say
anything to pique his interest. They are kindred spirits. And that’s why
ultimately a Mulder/Reyes show would never work. It’s fun here to have two
engaging, like minded individuals working an X-Files (it is the opposite of the
first half of the season where you had two sceptics in the office) but long
term this show has a sceptic believer formula that works and helps generate a
great deal of character drama amongst the suspense. That’s why it has to be
about Doggett and Reyes. I like how Reyes for all her understanding of people
and karma and all that shit, she can still mess up terribly when trying to
force people to confront things that they would rather not.
The Good: Potter is clearly an old timer who isn’t down with
the kidz and their styles in music…which is what amusingly leads him to believe
that Jeb is dabbling in the black arts when he is in fact simply a fan of
Marilyn Manson. Boggle at the cinematography
and direction that takes Doggett from the hospital where Scully is resting to
the scene of sons murder in the blink of an eye. Sometimes I need reminding
just how gorgeous this show looks. Director Barry K. Thomas cleverly mirrors
the staging of the discovering of Luke Doggett with the discovering of another
corpse later in the episode, helping to make a visual connection between the
two cases and make the most mundane of scenes (discovering a body is tenapenny
on The X-Files) have a much deeper meaning. Involving children in a murder scene
is always a dangerous business but Thomas handles the drama of Jeb’s murder in
front of his screaming niece with consummate skill. Tasha Yar in The X-Files? I
never saw that coming! To cut from the gooey goodness (in all the best ways) of
Mulder and Scully sharing pizza and gifts to Doggett still darkly haunted by
the ambiguous nature of his sons death sees a show at the height of it’s
powers, switching tone with absolute confidence.
Pre Titles Sequence: I have a vivid recollection of this set
piece wowing me when I first watched the episode. I was grateful after such a
wealth of arc material and character development to get back to something
standalone and it looked as though Greg Walker was determined that it was going
to happen in explosive style. Everything about this pre-title sequence works a
treat, it explains the premise of the episode without having to utter a word,
instead using vivid images to get the ideas across. Jeb is fired from his job
and witnesses a spectacular explosion as two cars collide on the street and a
flaming wraith steps from the carnage, attracted by his anger and consumes him.
The worst work scenario imaginable then occurs with Jeb walking back into the
office that he has been dismissed from and gunning down the man responsible in
front of his heartless secretary (who was sitting in on the interview looking
quite smug). Big, bold and shocking, this is The X-Files at it’s very best. I
would also like to compliment Mark Snow’s score during the teaser (and the
episode) because it really stresses the drama and the excitement of the spread
of pure evil from one individual to another.
What’s it about: The black oil is back…
Trust No-1: Mulder is playing with fire now he has been
stripped of the X-Files by turning up unannounced and trying to force Agent
Doggett to investigate cases that he feels need his attention. It would only
take a word from Doggett to have him flung from the building and it is only
because he respects Mulder that he doesn’t do so. It’s with some amusement that
he hands Doggett the phone in the X-Files office, maintaining some level of
control. Mulder is willing to take a fall for the X-Files, to be kicked out of
the FBI so that the work continues even if that means with Doggett in charge.
He recognises that Doggett is all the credibility that the X-Files has left and
he has to get out of the way in order to maintain that. It’s a very logical
reason for him to step aside and far less showy and dramatic than I was
imagining should the day ever come. I’m impressed.
Sinister AD: Kersh is starting to have more of a presence as
the season progresses, becoming aware of Skinner’s silence when it comes to the
activities of both Mulder and Scully. Somehow James Pickens, Jnr has a way of
making every line sound like he wants to cave your skull in with a spade whilst
managing to keep his cool. There is something tangibly sinister about this
character and at the same time I can’t help but wonder if he is a friend to the
X-Files office as well. I find him fascinating.
The Good: Being able to shoot in and around a real oil rig
makes all the difference to the aesthetic to this episode and the gorgeous
flyover shots taken by a helicopter are the sort that belong in a big budget
feature film. It is a credit to the set designers on this show that it was
filmed on an oil refinery, an oil platform and on specially created sets and I
couldn’t tell you when the latter are in play. Despite Mulder’s best efforts,
the only reason that Kersh sanctions this investigation is because
bureaucratically his hands are tied and he has to be seen to be protecting
America’s interests when it comes to a rich new oil seam. The shot of the
refinery back lit by a blood red sun is stunning. In order to pass the torch
between Mulder and Doggett they have to be placed in danger in order to work
together. I don’t think there is any way these two would have come to some kind
of mutual consensus otherwise.
Pre Titles Sequence: I love a good old fashioned base under
siege story (a term I coin a lot for Doctor Who but it originated long before
then) and so the way this sequence plays out with an isolated setting (an oil
rig) with communications cut off in the most dramatic way imaginable pleased me
greatly. All we need is for our heroes to arrive, get trapped and realise that
something has taken over the base personnel and we are in for a great ride…
What’s it about: Is this the last mutant in the series?
Closed Mind: Doggett manages to hold Harrison’s hand
throughout this case without ever patronizing her nor questioning her
credentials, despite the fact that he knows he has been handed something of a
worthless gun to fire if the shit hits the fan. He even has to remind her to
take the safety of her gun in a tense moment. Blinded and working for two,
Doggett makes it all the way up to the top of a tunnel that leads to the garden
before his hand is trodden on and he falls right back into the pit again. How
much pain can one man suffer in a year? No wonder my sympathies are always with
him. Doggett offering his gift from Mulder and Scully to Harrison is gorgeous
and is this character all over, generous to a fault.
Lovely Leyla: What a gorgeous character this is, if entirely
useless for the most part. Leyla Harrison reminds me of Jo Grant from the
Doctor Who universe, a cute as hell, sassy and almost entirely hopeless
character who stumbles into the life of the shows lead when their previous,
fully qualified companion has just left. Harrison gets by on her relentless
enthusiasm and love for the X-Files and she was such a hit with the viewers
that she was asked back in season nine for a return visit, despite the fact
that she was only supposed to be a one off character to fill the gap before
Agent Reyes joined the show full time. Her ‘I’m your new partner!’ even
mirrors Jo’s ‘I’m your new assistant!’ in Terror of the Autons. She is
trying so hard to impress with her knowledge of former X-Files that she comes
across as an avid groupie of the show who is thrilled at the opportunity to
walk on set and take part in an episode at times. It’s really rather endearing
when it could have been irritating as hell, almost entirely down to Jolie
Jenkins’ warm performance. For a placeholder character, Harrison is a very
memorable one. How can you not love this character when she is trying to recall
all manner of X-Files continuity to help with their dire emergency and she
looks at him with those big eyes and asks ‘you think I’m pretty foolish,
don’t you?’
Ugh: I love how the creatures slithering, shivering sounds
mimics Hannibal Lecteur in one of his most famous scenes.
The Bad: Mulder ‘wandering away from his tour’ doesn’t
work for me. He needs to be shown the door because the writers are having to
think up ridiculous excuses to keep him involved and get him in and out of the
Bureau. Like Empedocles and Vienen, the central plot of the episode feels
perfunctory compared to everything else that is going on and the explanation of
how the monster of the week came to be could almost be excised for all of its
importance. There was a time when this sort of thing would bother me greatly
but The X-Files has done something extraordinary in it’s eighth season, it has
introduced an ensemble to the show that has mean that even during the episodes
with lesser plots there are still a wealth of goodies to be unearthed,
character wise. If only Carter had realised this years ago we could have been
spared an awful lot of dreary standalones. How on Earth does Leyla know that
the Stites is the creature? Womens intuition? There is no way she could have
figured that out with the evidence given but Frank Spotnitz needs the plot
wrapped up (there is only four minutes to go) and so a leap was required.
Pre Titles Sequence: Not bad when it comes to atmosphere and
appetite whetting because it is clearly a return of a monster of the week
(which we haven’t seen for ages) but there is nothing especially memorable to
make this teaser stand out from the pack. Except the microwavable peas and
carrots, they are just grim. The creature sliding into view is subtle enough
that you might miss it but prepare to leap away from the screen as it pounces
right out at you.
Result: Whilst they are all good in their own right,
the episodes that sit between Three Words and Essence can’t help but feel a
little bit like the after party from the main event. The mythology episodes in
season eight are so strong that it leaves the standalones feeling somewhat
insignificant and that is a massive reversal from the norm. Since there isn’t a
terrific amount of substance to the monster of the week plot beyond ‘Doggett
and Harrison discover a monster and are captured by it’ in the script written
by Frank Spotnitz, he decides to direct the hell out of it to make the
experience worthwhile. There are some very impressive shots in Alone and
coupled with Mark Snow’s most playful score of the season it feels an awful lot
like the lighter, more easily accessible episodes of old. That’s almost
mandatory since this is the last standalone adventure to feature Mulder. Alone
isn’t a fantastic X-File in it’s own right, it is the peripheral elements that
make it so damned entertaining. Jolie Jenkins makes an instant impression as
the ditzy but eager Leyla Harrison and forms a great rapport with Robert
Patrick, Scully is given an enjoyable subplot where she has to come to terms
with the fact that she isn’t working on the X-Files anymore, Mulder gets to
save the day one last time and the creature itself is a pretty nasty piece of
design work. It’s a perky piece, enlivened by it’s ensemble cast and confident
direction and it concludes with a gorgeous scene that acknowledges the past
whilst looking to the future: 8/10
Essence written by Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners
What’s it about: Scully is close to term and everybody wants
a cut of the event…
Via Negativa written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Tony
Wharmby
Brains’n’Beauty: The phone call between Scully and Doggett
after the titles is much more gentle than we are used to from this pair so perhaps
they are getting used to each other. Although she still isn’t letting him in on
her pregnancy.
Sinister DD: Kersh has one of those faces that no matter
what news you bring to him he always looks disappointed. He always seems like a
man not to trifle with, too, or he will take hold of your career, crush it and
toss it in the waste paper bin.
Pre Titles Sequence: A spectacularly nasty opening, and an
unforgettable one. A police officer falls asleep on surveillance and once woken
up by his replacement discover the dead bodies of the entire cult group with
bloody holes gouged out of their foreheads. Tony Wharmby’s direction is the
vital key, the episode already feels morbidly hallucinatory at this stage. Like
we have walked in on somebody’s nightmare. The axe swings right at the camera,
the audience the next victim on Tipet’s list.
Moment to Watch Out For: This is televised horror at the top
of its game, especially during the eerie nightmare sequences which take place
in absolute silence but tell a terrorizing story through hallucinatory
imagery. I’m telling you those FBI
corridors have never felt so oppressive. The final set piece of Doggett walking
into Scully’s apartment and almost murdering her with an cruel pulsing light
only allowing us glimpses of his progress is extraordinarily well directed and
lit. That’ll teach her to keep secrets from him.
Result: ‘I’m not sure I’m awake…’ Perhaps if the
storytelling had been this good last year David Duchovny wouldn’t have been in
such a hurry to leave. Or perhaps the storytelling is so good because he did
decide to leave and there are a wealth of possibilities to be explored with a
new character like Doggett and a terrific actor like Robert Patrick. As I’ve
pointed out elsewhere in this review the camera simply loves his haunted
expression and he manages to capture the horror of a man who is pushed to the
limit, having all of his boundaries pressed beyond imagination (which he is in
fairly short supply of). If you thought your nightmares might come true you
would be afraid to fall asleep…it’s the Nightmare on Elm Street
apprehension all over again and it’s to Frank Spotnitz’s credit that at no
point does this feel like a rip off. By the end of the episode he has pulled
off the impressive feat of confusing the viewer so that we (along with Doggett)
aren’t certain what is real and what is hallucinatory and Tony Wharmby’s
stunning direction takes us on a deliriously uncomfortable journey to the
unforgettable climax where he murder Scully. It is hard to pull off that
mixture of normality and phantasm that plagues the worst of nightmares, to have
everything appear normal and yet stress a sense of wrongness but Wharmby is
more than up to the task. The last time The X-Files was this dark and
nightmarish it was season three’s Grotesque and if this isn’t quite as strong
as that installment it is still one of the most impressive horror episodes to
have been filmed for many, many seasons on this show. Like all the worst
nightmares, the terror remains unresolved: 9/10
Salvage written by Jeffrey Bell and directed by Rod Hardy
Brains’n’Beauty: This is mid period of season eight where Scully and Doggett have developed a way of communicating and working together and do some good work. It’s the ‘before Mulder returns’ part of the year, after which Scully decides to give up the work the focus on her baby.
Closed Mind: Doggett tells Scully that he hates to ruin her
crazy theories with beautiful facts…but I don’t think that is true at all.
Doggett briefly mentions some of the terrifying sights that he saw during the
war and contrasting his behaviour against Ray’s since returning to the real
world goes to show how men react to intense stress in very different ways. He
has a very black and white view of people that he may have to try and break if
he is going to get by in The X-Files because people do not fit the sort of
profiles that they do in regular police cases.
The Good: A man shaped hole left in a car, footprints
concaved into the tarmac…Robert Patrick must feel as though he is back at work
on Terminator II. Nora is a wonderfully flawed character played with
relish by Jennifer Parsons, a woman convinced that her husbands experiences in
the Gulf War have scarred him beyond recognition and looking to put the blame
where it belongs. We have become something a blame culture, what she needs to
sit down and consider is that Ray chose to go and fight in that war and
accepted everything that was going t be thrown at him before he did. I’m not
trying to insult all those men who return from war scarred psychologically (it
is often the worst form of disfigurement because you can’t see it)
because it must be horrendous to step back into your old life and find yourself
a stranger and detached from everybody you love but ultimately you do have to
face the responsibility of agreeing to fight in the first place and face the
horrors that have made you this way. Nobody has ever pretended that war is
anything less than hell and if you choose to stare into the face of hell…well
then you have to expect consequences. The salvage yard is light and shot so
well it feels like a graveyard of bones rather than spare parts and old cars
and cycles. It also feels like another nod to Terminator, the first film
of the franchise which opened in a very similar setting. With a mechanical man
you can do fun things like blow his arm off and have it twitch back to life
independent of the body. Whilst it isn’t the most sophisticated of
characterisation, I rather liked the relationship that wasn’t built up between
Ray and Larina at the halfway house.
She’s one of those characters that manages to be sympathetic without
patronising people because the simple fact is she has been in a violent place
herself in the past. Larina is genuinely concerned about Ray despite being a
little scared off him but he does nothing but shut her out. It’s sad that she
should ultimately die at his hands but it does allow him the recognition that
he is too dangerous to be around people. So bizarre seeing Ayre Gross in a
dramatic role after his quirky, sitcom turns in Ellen. I enjoyed the
conceit of Ray catching up with Dr Puvogel being a trap set up by Doggett and
Scully and Ray’s violent method of escaping confinement, it is the first time
since the pre-titles that the episode manages to truly surprise. A four inch
thick wall punched out of shape as though it were made from putty, even Doggett
admits that if Ray gets free he isn’t sure if they are going to be able to stop
him. Hardy’s direction really is a cut above, isn’t it? How cool is the shot of
Scully and Doggett bleached in red light as the camera pulls away from their
horrified faces through a hole that Ray has punched in the wall. The make up
for Ray’s metallic condition is incredible, like a terrifying hybrid of flesh
and metal eating away at his flesh. It’s great that Ray is such a fundamentally
good man despite his experiences in the Gulf and his newfound metallic curse
that he cannot murder a man in front of his child. We don’t need to have the
moment explained, it stands for itself through the characters reactions.
Pre Titles Sequence: Things that leapt out at me from the
opening sequence; it’s nice to see show trying to be heartfelt again with its
guest characters, Delario has suspicion coming off him in waves despite trying
to comfort Nora, the effects sequence of the car caving into Ray in slow motion
was well worth the time and money because it looks incredible and the hand
suddenly reaching through the windscreen to grab at Delario’s face is a
excellent shock moment. Stylish, shocking and rather marvellous.
Orchestra: Imagine if Mark Snow had gone for a
cod-Terminator inspired score for this episode? It might have given it the kick
up the ass that it desperately needs at times.
Badlaa written by John Shiban and directed by Tony Wharmby
Brains’n’Beauty: Gillian Anderson has been asked to some
pretty grim things during her time on this show but I bet even she blanched at
the thought of having to poke around up the ass of a morbidly obese corpse.
Attempting to account for a 30-odd pound discrepancy in a morbidly obese man,
Scully at least has the decency to look apologetic when suggesting that he was
accommodated by something much smaller. It’s a theory that requires a level of
openness that Doggett isn’t comfortable with…but to be fair to him it is an
idea that nobody would feel entirely comfortable with, not even Mulder. No
matter how sure she is of her convictions, when the fakir is in the guise of a
little boy Scully falters at pulling the trigger. What if she had been wrong?
She’s left traumatised by the fact that she managed to fire a gun at a child.
She tries to justify it by suggesting Mulder would have been able to see
through the deception and that she has to do the work that he isn’t there to do
any more. But clearly she doubts herself otherwise she wouldn’t be quite so
haunted by her actions. She’s upset because she cannot approach the work with
an open mind like he can, she’s trying her hardest to continue his work in his
name but she doesn’t know if she capable of it.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘So basically you’re saying that nobody
knows anything?’ ‘I guess that’s why it’s in your inbox.’
‘In my experience dead man don’t tip, Agent Scully.’
‘I try to keep an open mind but it tends to shut my eyes.’
The Good: You have to admire the ambition of this series and
how it is willing to have an international flavour, doubling Carolina for India
and just about getting away with it. Deep Roy is the only actor that I can
think to connect The X-Files, Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, The
Neverending Story and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (as well
as a mass of other credits). He’s one of the ultimate guest performers in
television and film because of his diminutive stature and cold, staring eyes
and has played an array of nasties and heroes alike. Trust The X-Files to give
him the role of mute Indian fakir who can crawl up peoples bottoms but if there
is a challenging role for a pocket-sized person I could think of no-one finer
for the job. And his eyes really do bore into your soul. The X-Files is
something of an ensemble show these days so it means that characters like
Skinner, the Lone Gunmen and Chuck can turn up frequently without any need to
explain who they are. I love his Indian vacation footage with the insanely
hippyish hair. Shiban goes down the obvious route of having one child being
bullied by another, which is par for the course for his often clichéd characterisation.
So imagine my surprise when the bullies turns out to be reasonable and they are
working together by the end of the episode. The squeaky wheels of the fakirs
trolley is fine indication that you are being followed and there is something
rather spooky about somebody that is relentlessly coming after that is so
infirmed and slow. No matter how far you run that squeak will always catch up
with you eventually.
Pre Titles Sequence: I’m pleased that we don’t actually see
somebody shit out Deep Roy, but the implication is there sure enough. Visually
this is quite a subtle teaser but conceptually it takes you to a vomit-inducing
place.
Moment to Watch Out For: Few scenes are met with a greater
sense of anticipation than of the one where Scully cuts open a mans bloated
stomach (she suggests the dramatic inflation might be gas!) and it starts
writhing as the occupant uses his sticky, bloody hand to push his way through
the incision. It’s horrible, and that’s something the show hasn’t been for a
good while so good on John Shiban for reminding us how grotesque The X-Files
can be on occasion. Although I have to say the fakir makes his escape exit from
the mans digestive system pretty fast given that Scully only has her back
turned for a second.
Orchestra: It’s been a while since Mark Snow has been able
to create a more exotic, tribal score for the series and, whilst sparse, this
is one of his better examples.
Result: What a shame that Surekill and Badlaa should spoil
an otherwise unbroken run of good to great episodes in season eight. Whilst it
sports a grotesquely stomach turning premise and some lovely interaction
between Scully and Doggett, Badlaa doesn’t quite hold together as well as it
should, like so many of John Shiban’s solo episodes. The pace is flaccid and
the characterisation of the guest characters fails to raise much interest,
especially the central villain who mutely squeaks from one scene to the next
without any personality of offer. Badlaa wants to have it’s cake and eat it,
throwing an especially nasty idea at the audience but only wanting to expose it
in a few scant (if memorably vivid) scenes and the rest of the time goes for a
far too subtle approach. If I were writing this episode I would have gone nuts
with the idea and turned it into the most morbidly sick and tasteless of
installments, at least the show could be said to have the strength of its
convictions and it would be remembered for that reason rather than being
largely forgotten amongst the wealth of far more worthy season eight episodes.
Countering that is the continuing saga of Scully and Doggett which would
elevate any episode and whilst he is quite pig-headed in this episode, there is
never a point when it is portrayed as being unreasonably so given what he has
been presented with by Scully. As an X-Files it is fairly average all told (and
how that can be the case given the disgusting subject matter), but Badlaa is
elevated by a number of eye watering moments of grotesque horror. It’s the kind
of episode that the next time you are bloated you hope that you aren’t going to
shit out an Indian fakir: 6/10
The Gift written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners
The Gift written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners
Closed Mind: Frank Spotnitz manages to get under the skin of
this character better than any other writer and throughout season eight manages
to plot his development in a very clear cut but fascinating fashion. To cut
from Mulder to Doggett investigating the same case makes a connection between
the two characters without them ever having to meet during the episode. To
bring the focus back onto Mulder means that the show gets back to it’s season
long mission and serves to remind us of the reason why Doggett was brought onto
The X-Files in the first place. I like the fact that Doggett questions Mulder’s
actions and intentions, he doesn’t know the character the way we do and so
wouldn’t automatically assume that everything he does is altruistic (even
better, Mulder’s actions are seen to be selfishly motivated in The Gift).
Skinner suggests that he is only working so hard built a narrative to Mulder’s
disappearance because it will be a way out of the X-Files for him. Doggett cuts
through his insinuations with a simple admission that he is just trying to find
the truth. Something that Agent Mulder was very keen on too, and it rather sums
Doggett up in a beautifully simple manner. In The Gift, Doggett has to be the
protector of a creature that is the living embodiment of the paranormal that he
usually fights against. He is the guardian of a secret that needs to be put to
rest. How anybody can continue to object to this character when he takes a
bullet for the creature is beyond me? He is effectively killed and buried alive
in this episode – what more suffering can this man be made to endure before an
unforgiving audience is convinced to accept him? To be fair after The Gift,
Doggett’s success (and by the end of the season he is a huge success) is down
purely to his strength of character. That is his triumph. Doggett is
fundamentally changed because of his experiences in this episode – how could he
not be when he was murdered and resurrected? Patrick has that haunted look down
pat and he deploys it to great effect in the last scene.
Assistant Director: What’s interesting about Skinner’s
involvement in this episode is that his tagline is ‘Fox Mulder wouldn’t do
this…’ but the emphasis of the series has shifted so much against him that
it isn’t a case that Doggett has to prove that he did but rather than Skinner
has to prove that he didn’t. Skinner gives Doggett some great advice at
the climax to not write the report that will open up a whole can of worms but
instead to accept that they know what happened and that that is satisfying
enough.
Ugh: Vomit is my least favourite substance that can be
exploited in a horror tale and Spotnitz ensures there are plenty of moments
where the creature is seen wretching spasmodically. It’s quite unpleasant and
almost encouraged me to head to the toilet bowl myself.
The Good: Lot’s of mysteries are built in early (Mulder’s
homicidal actions, the nature of the creature) that Doggett has to try and
unravel a year after the events. It is nice that there is a built in reason
that attracts Doggett to this case (his search for Mulder) rather than having
to resort to searching The Enquirer or have a newspaper clipping shoved
under the basement door. I always enjoy stories that have dual narratives in
different time periods where one directly effects the other and Frank Spotnitz
has cleverly written a piece where both storylines play off each other and feed
separate clues to build an overall picture of what is going on. I’ve heard many
comments that it was a nightmare to try and recreate the same atmosphere of
darkness in California that was so readily available in Vancouver hence the
lightness of tone and direction the show took in its sixth and seventh seasons.
However they have seemed to have found their groove in series eight because
this might just be the darkest year yet, not just in terms of storytelling
(with outstandingly grim horror tales such as Roadrunners and Via Negativa) but
also in terms of mood. Watch out for the sequence where the cars pull up
outside the house in the woods with the townsfolk calling out the creature, it
is shrouded in mist and shadows and drenched in a thick atmosphere of dread.
When Doggett heads down into the caves armed with a gun and a torchlight is
another phenomenally atmospheric scene. Hungry managed to put a sympathetic
spin on a mutant of the week very successfully but that had the bonus of a
committed performance and the entire focus being made squarely on Rob and his
addiction. The Gift manages exactly the same innovation but does so even more
impressively it is achieved purely through the storytelling, the creature being
treated so abominably and behaving so unselfishly that your heart bleeds for
its suffering. Isn’t it great how gently the sequences with the creature doing
it’s business are played, Kim Manners managing to generate an atmosphere of
terror (the slavering creature coming out of the mist, opening its mouth
obscenely and consuming her) and beauty (a naked woman, the gentle music) at
the same time (not an easy combination). Watch out for a very nice turn from
Caroline Lagerfelt as ‘Rustic Woman’ (couldn’t they have found a better name
for her than this?). The shot of the creature weeping, crippled by the diseases
it has been forced to consume, is heartbreaking. Ultimately the people of this
town (including law enforcement) want to continue exploiting the soul eater
because it can relieve the suffering of their loved ones, not giving a damn
about the fact that that suffering will simply be transferred to somebody who
is already living a pained existence. It says rather a lot about the human
condition and the moral objections we are will to put aside to protect our
loved ones. The creature taking away Doggett’s death is the only way this
episode could have ended and it provides some welcome relief for a man who was
being mistreated appallingly.
The Bad: Don’t get me wrong, I really like the unusual
concept of a man that can consume disease and as a result leaves the victim
clean but it adds to the tumours and deformities of the creature. It’s an idea
so good that I’m surprised it has never been tried before (I have seen it
attempted since). However I’m not sure I buy the idea that this creature
literally eats the entire person and then vomits them back out clean. We get to
see the vomit laid out in the shape of a person that somehow re-forms back into
their image in a perfectly detailed model of their former self without their
previous affliction. It’s just weird. How does vomit retain such detail and how
does it shape back into skin/blood/bone/etc?
Pre Titles Sequence: I remember when I first watched The
Gift and being genuinely surprised that Mulder turned up during the pre-titles
sequence. The show had just begun to establish itself with Scully and Doggett
and it felt a little too soon for Duchovny to return and remind his devoted
fans of what they were missing out. What surprised me the most was my
disappointment at his appearance, it was clear to me that Robert Patrick was a
more than acceptable (I would say preferable) substitute and I was really
enjoying the new lease of life the show was having without him. On this
re-watch it is far less irritating because I know how the season plays and that
Duchovny doesn’t step back into the show and take over from Patrick. As a
result this set piece works a lot better and is one that convinces you that
this is happening now rather than a flashback to previous events before Mulder
was abducted. What could possibly make Mulder walk into somebody’s house and
shoot down a mutant creature in cold blood? This would have made a terrific
start to an episode before Duchovny left the show and has lashings of
atmosphere.
Fashion Statement: Robert Patrick, naked and glistening with
vomit. Somehow he makes that look hot.
Orchestra: Snow focuses on a shrill and uncompromising
instrument in this score that cut rights through you like a knife. It is
discordant, which might be making a statement about the horror, but also quite
unpleasantly piercing at times.
Result: My one serious objection concerns the method in
which the creature consumes the diseases and manages to re-form them (as well
as being gross, I simply don’t understand how the vomit method works) but apart
from that this is season eight doing what it does best again, focussing on character,
performance and mood. This isn’t quite a small town with a nasty secret tale
(because only a few people are in the know and the rest want to abuse the
creature horribly) nor a Mulder is guilty of murder tale (because the
pre-credits sequence is proven to be a cheat and his actions, whilst
self-motivated, are reasonable) nor a monster of the week tale (because the
monster is anything but). I love how it refuses to conform to any of the norms
and instead goes for the morality tale jugular, forcing the audience to look at
how far we would go to cure ourselves of a terrible disease and how badly we
treated the infirmed when they repulse our senses. A story that is built out of
flashbacks and contemporary scenes, the two parts of the narrative feeding each
other and building a comprehensive picture of the overall story. The last ten
minutes are excellent, the episode leading to the phenomenal shock where
Doggett is shot dead and buried and very neat solution to the creatures
continued existence. Ultimately Mulder’s presence in this episode is minimal,
this is another installment that deals with Doggett’s clash with the paranormal
but it does serve to cleverly retcon an awkward revelation that has plagued the
series ever since the opener (Mulder’s brain condition). Such was my interest
in the nature of this story and how it played out I didn’t notice Scully’s
absence whatsoever until it was pointed out at the climax: 8/10
Medusa written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Richard Compton
Medusa written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by Richard Compton
Brains’n’Beauty: It is interesting to note that Scully and
Doggett are now firmly established as a strong investigative unit in their last
proper story together where they need to fulfil that role. They have had their
ups and downs throughout season eight and the show has been so much more
interesting for it but now is the time where they have to show that the journey
has been worth it and hw better to establish that in an episode where
communications is key to one of their survival. When she informs Doggett that
she needs eyes and ears down in the tunnels there is a softness to her tone
that hasn’t been there before. Because of his perseverance and willingness to
taken whatever she throws at him, Scully has started to respect him…perhaps
even like him. She’s watching his back on the screens as he is down in the dark
getting her answers. Scully is described as being an expert in equivocal death,
which gets a laugh. There is something rather satisfying about watching Scully
butt heads with an authority figure and ripping through the red tape and
driving the investigation forwards. When Scully angrily informs Karras that if
he sent her partner down there knowing that they would be in danger, it is a
real indictment of how she and Doggett have built a firm relationship. She’s
never referred to him as her partner before. Scully is genuinely panicked at
the climax when he flings himself into danger to save the passengers on board
the racing subway train and is visibly relieved to hear that he is alright.
Back at the beginning of the season I don’t think she would have cared if he
was hurt or not. Love the awkward look between them as Doggett vanishes behind
the curtain to get changed. Watch how Gillian Anderson plays the last scene –
Scully is still trying to resist getting too cosy with Doggett but he has
pretty much worn all her defences down by now.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Agent Scully needs some data…’ – it’s
all in Robert Patrick’s delivery.
‘She said a lot of people might be taking cabs home
tonight.’
Ugh: All you need when trapped down in some dark and dank
tunnels is to have a man with his face half eaten off coming at out of the shadows.
When we finally get a good look at his face it is a genuinely horrific make up
job of exposed bone and peeled back lips.
The Bad: Scully stopping a potential cover up of bodies (F.
Emasculata), a group of people confined and at each others throats (Ice), a
water based foe (Agua Mala)…Medusa happily reminds me of plenty of old X-File episodes
but I rather think that was the point of this installment. It just goes to show
that the setting (and the race against time element) is everything because it
is the environment that gives this an entirely different tone and pace. Lt.
Bianco is a little too argumentative and paranoid perhaps, but given the fact
that he has been infected by Medusa it isn’t an unreasonable reaction. Whilst
it has been set up by his appearances earlier in the episode, the sudden reveal
that a child has been crawling around in the subway system and that he just
happens to be the solution to the whole scenario (a childs sweat glands work
differently to an adults) is a little too convenient for the story.
Moment to Watch Out For: The scene that sums Medusa up best
for me is the climactic moment when the trains have been set in motion and
Doggett has no time at all to prevent hundreds of people from being infected
and killed as the tin box rushes towards him and the Medusa organism. It is
breathlessly exciting, dynamically scored and directed with a real sense of
pace. It’s not a clever or deep solution but it’s one that drags you helplessly
into the action because it is executed so well.
Fashion Statement: Robert Patrick is quite the beefcake in
his black combats and survival gear.
Result: One of the best examples of The X-Files knocking out a mini movie of the week, Medusa is a fast paced and engaging action piece with plenty of atmosphere and excitement. It is exactly what season eight needs at this point. Doctor Who recently had a story returned to its archives that told a similarly claustrophobic and atmosphere driven tale set down in a artificially built underground system and if there is one thing that the two adventures both prove is that it is a wonderful setting to tell a edgy terror-driven story in. This is the sort of story that could happily snuggle into any season and is executed with a great deal of panache from the dramatic direction to the impressive set design right through to Mark Snow’s atmosphere generating score. If you still don’t like Doggett at the end of this episode as he flings himself into danger at every turn to get Scully the answers that she needs then you’re a moron. One thing that really pleases me about Medusa is that it is one of the most plausible X-File stories ever written because a contamination of water polluted with a dangerous organism into the subway system is something that is not out of the realms of possibility. Richard Compton only directed two episodes of The X-Files but did a fine job with both of them and it is crying shame that he wasn’t available to helm more in the remaining season and a half. He understands that half the battle with this show is it’s atmosphere and he cranks it up to eleven in Medusa. 45 minutes of adrenaline fuelled television that drags you into the subway system and leaves you at the mercy of several dangers and a race against time narrative that could see a massive loss of life. I was helpless to resist: 8/10
Result: One of the best examples of The X-Files knocking out a mini movie of the week, Medusa is a fast paced and engaging action piece with plenty of atmosphere and excitement. It is exactly what season eight needs at this point. Doctor Who recently had a story returned to its archives that told a similarly claustrophobic and atmosphere driven tale set down in a artificially built underground system and if there is one thing that the two adventures both prove is that it is a wonderful setting to tell a edgy terror-driven story in. This is the sort of story that could happily snuggle into any season and is executed with a great deal of panache from the dramatic direction to the impressive set design right through to Mark Snow’s atmosphere generating score. If you still don’t like Doggett at the end of this episode as he flings himself into danger at every turn to get Scully the answers that she needs then you’re a moron. One thing that really pleases me about Medusa is that it is one of the most plausible X-File stories ever written because a contamination of water polluted with a dangerous organism into the subway system is something that is not out of the realms of possibility. Richard Compton only directed two episodes of The X-Files but did a fine job with both of them and it is crying shame that he wasn’t available to helm more in the remaining season and a half. He understands that half the battle with this show is it’s atmosphere and he cranks it up to eleven in Medusa. 45 minutes of adrenaline fuelled television that drags you into the subway system and leaves you at the mercy of several dangers and a race against time narrative that could see a massive loss of life. I was helpless to resist: 8/10
Per Manum written by Frank Spotnitz & Chris Carter and
directed by Kim Manners
Brains’n’Beauty: It is fascinating to watch Duffy tell his
story to both Scully and Doggett because they are both coming at it from such
different angles. Scully has lived through a lot of what he is talking about
(cancer, tests) and would go on to fear what Duffy openly admits (that his baby
was an alien) whereas Doggett wasn’t around for the first seven seasons of the
show and sits there with one eye arched, respectful but not believing a word.
And why would you? Anybody would have the same reaction if they hadn’t
experienced all this science fiction themselves. When Doggett reminds her that
Duffy is reeling off her story, she turns on him in an accusatory fashion as
though he has been prying into her personal affairs. And there was me thinking
that some trust had built between them. These moments of tension between
Anderson and Patrick are so good that I’m quite sad that we are about to reach
a stage where they trust each other implicitly. There was an unseen storyline
during season seven (unseen until now that is…) where Scully discusses her
fears about not being able to give birth and not giving up on the hope that one
day she will have a child. Talk of alien babies, the shock of the disfigured
infants in jars; Scully is starting to panic that something might be wrong with
her own child. It is her damn evasiveness that is keeping a wedge between her
and Doggett and I was screaming for her to tell him the truth about her
pregnancy when she informed him she was taking a leave of absence. It is
getting beyond a joke now.
‘…and go through the donor procedure’ ‘At that part I’m a
pro.’
‘So I’m The X-Files now? Just me?’ says Agent Doggett. I
laughed for about a minute. Also ‘I’m in the dark pretty much most of my time
on the X-Files, Joe’ felt like it was meant solely for me.
‘Never give up on a miracle.’
Ugh: Carter and Spotnitz have caught something genuinely
sinister and unnerving here because there is something pure and natural about
bringing life into the world and so to twist that into something horrific gives
them a simple springboard in which to write a powerful drama. There’s a great
shock ten minutes into this episode where Scully rushes to hide and finds her
way into a storage room which contains grotesque parodies of babies pickled in
jars, hundreds of them. All deformed and misshapen. It’s quite a sick image.
The thought of dissecting any baby to say what makes it tick, even an alien
one, is discomforting and I’m pleased we only get to see it in the reflection
in the surgeons goggles. Both alien births take place with her person viewing
under anaesthetic so it can be a little fuzzy about the details. Perhaps
showing the grisly details would be a step too far for this show…and maybe a
tad too b movie.
Pre Titles Sequence: One of the most unnerving teasers
because it features a helpless pregnant woman at the mercy of Doctor’s who
clearly have something more to hide than potential malpractice. As soon as her
husband is out of the delivery room they lock the door, drug her to the
eyeballs and drag something decidedly unearthly from her womb. Close on a
bloody and screaming alien child. Freaky as hell.
Fashion Statement: I wondered why Scully’s hair was wilder
and less disciplined this week (it is a look that quite suits her), it is
because her hair is one of the pointers to which section of the story we are
watching, the flashback or the present day.
This Is Not Happening written by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners
Brains’n’Beauty: Scully gets a taste of her own medicine at the beginning of this episode; being called into work and kept in the dark by Doggett until Skinner is available to reveal the possible link between the return of Teresa and Mulder. Isn’t Scully wonderfully grumpy this season? I think she has barely cracked a smile. It’s not something I would recommend in every show (and Anderson has such a lovely smile that it would be nice to see it every now and again) but her character was becoming so fatuous and childish in season seven, almost a parody of who she was in the first three seasons, that it is great to get back to basics and give Anderson some challenging material again. When she confronts Agent Reyes about her involvement in the case I wanted her replacement to tell her to get over herself. Watch Anderson’s restrained anger as Scully questions Absalom, she is a woman right on the edge and any provocation could set her off.
Assistant Director: The gorgeous interaction between Scully and Skinner continues, the two of them holding out hope that they are going to find Mulder alive and well but not kidding themselves that things aren’t looking good in that direction.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Did you ever hear of an alien in Nike’s?’
‘What if he’s dead?’
Pre Titles Sequence: Immediately gripping and then extremely unfortunate for the character, the teaser pretty much sums up the episode at large. Can you imagine having absolute proof of an alien spacecraft visiting the Earth and forgetting to wind up your camera so you lack any visual proof? And stumbling across a battered and bruised abductee with no proof of where she came from is going to take some explaining. Pretty much anything directed by Kim Manners these days is worth watching (since the departure of Rob Bowman he is the in-house director) but his work on season eight is particularly special.
Orchestra: Snow returns to the Scully’s theme that played such an effective part in Within/Without and Per Manum. It has such a sense of longing and tragedy to it and yet is beautiful in it’s right too and stresses Scully’s pain in a very moving way throughout This Is Not Happening. Taken as a whole this is one of Snow’s most accomplished scores (take a step back and consider the music that he has created for this show and consider the enormity of that statement). The achingly sad music yet optimistic music that accompanies Jeremiah’s healing of Teresa broke my heart whilst the astonishing piece at the climax when Scully finally catches up with Mulder might just be my favourite moment of the series musically. It is precisely the sort of epic, moving and exciting composition that I imagine would have accompanied a real life alien invasion on this show. It is unforgettable and delivers the climax with a real punch of emotion.
Deadalive written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz and
directed by Tony Wharmby
Brains’n’Beauty: Scully tells Doggett that he doesn’t owe
her anything by supporting the X-Files and trying to keep the department open
when she goes on maternity leave but she is clearly still very touched by the
gesture. She tells him to get out while she can or he may never get out at
all…advice she wishes she had been given all those years ago. In a very symbolic
gesture, Doggett stands in her way when she tries to pass him and get to Mulder
and she stresses that she needs to see him in whatever condition. If you fail
to be moved by Scully weeping into Mulder’s chest as he lies in a comatose and
bruised state in a hospital bed then I fear your blood may not be pumping
around your body. We have been here before so many times in seasons 1-7 but
this time it feels different because it is a moment that has been promised for
over half a season and is finely played by Anderson when it comes. No words are
even necessary. Having Scully criticize
Doggett for not believing in the paranormal even when it is staring him right
in the face is gloriously ironic given it took her seven years and an
overwhelming amount of proof to wear down her scientific objections. She
expects him to undergo the same transformation in a few months. It is so
wonderful to see Scully smiling again during the final scene where Mulder wakes
up. I was starting to suspect she had forgotten how.
Trust No-1: Who would have ever thought that the absence of
a character would have made them far more interesting than they ever were when
they were part of a series?
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Apart from a certain enviable post
mortem tumescence this man is unremarkable…’
‘Agent Doggett, however I felt about you when we first met,
you changed my opinion with the quality of your character and of your work. Now
I thankful to no you and I am thankful of your concern…’ – hurrah!
‘It’s going to be awful crowded down in that X-Files
office…’
The Good: This episode lives up to it’s title and has great
fun resurrecting apparently dead people from the past. Bully Miles is proving
to be quite the lynchpin of the show in it’s later years, given focus when
Mulder was abducted and when he was returned. His resurrection gives hope that
Mulder might still be alive after his funeral and adds a touch of doubt to his
homecoming – if Billy has returned as a programmed killing machine does that
mean Mulder is too? Was this what the aliens had planned all along? What Mulder
needs is vaccine that stops this process from happening…which is a skilful way
to bring Krychek into the action and his control device over Skinner. The
thought of Mulder, Scully and Doggett all working together on the X-Files makes
my heart sing…imagine the fireworks! Although in realistic terms it does signal
the end of one of the characters because it is not a situation that would work
in the long term. I remember feeling disheartened at the thought that it was
probably Doggett that would go because he is the third wheel, the piece of the
puzzle that doesn’t fit (but a piece in the series that fits beautifully
because of it). How things actually panned out surprised and delighted me.
Moment to Watch Out For: Tying beautifully into the
suggestions that were made in Per Manum, Krychek informs his victim that Scully
cannot be allowed to have her baby and that he must be the one to kill it. Now
we have an absorbing plotline going forwards – is there something amiss with
the baby? What a dreadful dilemma for Skinner to be in, kill Mulder or kill
Scully’s baby…or face the consequences at the end of Krychek’s pain device.
There is so much going on at this point but I had a handle over all of it
because it is tied into the characters and their feelings and explained in a
crystal clear fashion. Why couldn’t the show have always have been as
comprehensible and as interesting as this?
Fashion Statement: Scully’s pregnancy is really showing now
but this takes place three months after This Is Not Happening so that is
understandable. This marks the beginning of the end of her time on The X-Files.
Billy Miles walking around in the buff – don’t mind if I do. When Doggett looks
furiously angry and starts towards Krychek…I just want to bang his brains
out.
Three Words written by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz and
directed by Tony Wharmby
Brains’n’Beauty: Scully tries to explain how hard it has
been for her coping without him, first at the site of his disappearance, then
having to work with somebody else and then after finding him dead and having to
accept that he will never be a part of her life anymore. No wonder she is more
chilled out in Three Words than we have seen her in a long time. It has been a
real acting challenge for Anderson to convey such a sense of loss over a
prolonged period of time whilst still driving the show and staying firmly in
character but she has risen to the challenge magnificently and given some of
her most striking performances as a result. Scully is very quick to jump to
Doggett’s defence when Mulder starts to criticize and after all the hoops he
jumped through to prove his loyalty to her I am pleased that she took this
stand. We needed to go through the evolution of their relationship to reach
this stage because if Scully wasn’t behind Doggett one hundred percent, despite
Mulder’s insistence that he is a bad guy, then the argument for his continued
work on the X-Files would fall flat.
Sinister AD: Fundamentally Kersh is a good man who is only
trying to do the best by the FBI which is why it makes it quite interesting
that Carter & Spotnitz always try and paint as something of a villain, just
as they did with the Smoking Man. Whilst he is often seen to be working against
the X-Files, there are moments when we are privy to him working behind the
scenes to aid them so it appears that much of his bluster and anger is all an
act for someone’s benefit. It doesn’t stop my buttocks clenching every time he
smiles though. He’s so often coming down on Mulder, Scully, Doggett and
Skinner’s ass that it feels as if something is very wrong with the world when
he looks happy.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Problem? You occupy an office that used
to be devoted to finding the truth and now you’re busy burying it’ – oh Mulder
you are so wrong.
‘You know it’s not fair. You’ve been dead for six months and
you still look better than me’ ‘Oh Melvyn, I’d be a whole lot happier to see if
you’d just take your hands off my ass.’
‘Come on guys, I’m on autopilot here…’ is not a line you
should give David Duchovny under any circumstances.
Moment to Watch Out For: The long overdue meeting between
Mulder and Doggett goes about as badly as can be imagined with the man who has
been looking for him for over six months smiling and looking to shake his hand
and the man who is angry that he has been superseded shoving him back down into
a chair and accusing him of deliberately having Absalom murdered. If you have
been paying attention to Three Words then Mulder’s accusations are senseless
and it is another point against his characters return and in favour of having
him stripped from The X-Files. I think in this situation his judgement is
severely flawed and he is punished accordingly. What I like is how Mulder is
ultimately proven right about Doggett’s involvement but is so wide of the mark
about him being aware of the fact that his reaction is something of a joke.
Mythology: ‘The invasion has begun…they’re already here.’
Are we kick starting a brand new conspiracy/invasion of the Earth arc in Three
Words? With a man attempting to warn the President and the escape of Absalom
something is bubbling to surface and only Mulder seems to be the only person
who can see it. The information that proves that ‘they’ are already among us is
in the census information and now Doggett is privy to that knowledge. The
information that the hacker was trying to get to the President were the names
of people the Federal government is tracking using the US census who have a
certain genetic profile. Information about people who have been targeted
because of their genetic profile for alien abduction and replacement by
facsimiles – tying this up with the previous two episodes rather neatly.
Result: Probably the most important episode of the last two
and a half seasons, Three Words is the episode that sees Mulder sacked from the
FBI and the beginning of the end of his involvement on the X-Files. If people
thought that his return to the show was going to herald a new era of Mulder and
Scully and paranormal cases…well let’s just say they were always going to be
heartily disappointed. For those of us who thought the show was chugging along
rather well without him and didn’t want a shake up in the status quo (which to
the writers credit is the less likely scenario) were the happy bunnies. Three
Words is the fourth excellent conspiracy episode in a row and each one has
worked so well because despite the gripping running storylines they have been
diverse, individual episodes in their own right. Per Manum was a sensitive
character drama, This Is Not Happening a tragic teaser for Mulder’s return,
Deadalive turned out to be a rather grisly race and against time and they top
of this nourishing tetrology with Three Words, an adrenaline fuelled conspiracy
tale. In tone, pace and content each piece of this mythology anchor in the
middle of season eight has felt unique and riveting in its own right. The
umbrella theme that ties all these episodes together is Mulder and his return
to the show. Whereas the first two thirds have been about the developing
relationship between Scully and Doggett, now the shift moves onto the even more
antagonistic and resentful relationship between Doggett and Mulder (especially
on the latters part) and the sparks that fly are fantastic to watch. Carter and
Spotnitz needed to remove Mulder from The X-Files completely and found a way of
achieving that seems entirely plausible and in character. He basically behaves
like a massive ass (whilst being fundamentally right in his approach), which
was precisely how he has always been portrayed but now we have Doggett to
contrast him against to show how well the office can be run without all the
backchat and breaking of the rules. The ambition of Three Words is to tell the
audience that the show has genuinely moved on, even with Mulder’s return, and
things will never go back to being how they were. It achieves that with some
considerable aplomb. It has been ages since this show was anything other than
excellent, surely it has to drop the ball at some point: 9/10
Empedocles written by Greg Walker and directed by Barry K.
Thomas
Brains’n’Beauty: Gorgeous scenes between Scully and Mulder
who are like to cuddly old spare parts hanging around waiting to be shuffled
off and the new kids brought in full time. Had these moments been phoned in I
might have been a little more critical but they are so warmly played and
scripted and in the wake of so much coldness and gravity in the first part of
the season it comes as a real relief.
Mulder giving Scully an old family keepsake in the form of a cuddly toy
for her baby makes go all wibbly. The scene between Scully and Doggett in the
hospital is vital because it explains in no uncertain terms (a miracle for this
show but something that has been pleasingly ironed out in season eight) why
Scully has allowed herself to explore the possibility of the paranormal. She
was too afraid to believe in things outside of her ordered, calm, rational
world but there came a point where she couldn’t object any more without looking
as though she was perverting the facts to fit her views. Scully likes Reyes
because they are nothing at all alike – I am so pleased that they didn’t go
down the route of these two biting and scratching at each other. Their
interaction in season nine is one of it’s better features. Mulder gave Scully
courage to believe, let’s hope that Reyes and can do the same trick for
Doggett.
Trust No-1: Mulder blows hot (his intense feelings for
Scully) and cold (his indifference towards Doggett) but overall Empedocles is
one of the few episodes in season eight where Mulder feels like he is back and
he has a purpose. Mulder can scoff at Reyes and her less than subtle tactics
because he has been there and done that and licked the wounds for his troubles.
There is no man who can empathise more with where she is coming from at the
start of this odyssey of hers.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Correct me if I’m wrong but you just
said you were waiting for the pizza man to jump in the shower…’
‘Nice package!’
‘I’m not really a good test for questions like that, I’ll
believe almost anything.’
‘The pisser is you may never know’ – The X-Files at least
acknowledges it’s ambiguous finales these days…but the Doggett storyline is
going be picked up later and given a worthwhile conclusion.
Ugh: Plenty of effort and money went into the sequence where
Jeb rips strips of flesh from his face to reveal the glowing, shifting evil
beneath and I’m pleased because it is one of those iconic X-Files images that
lingers in your mind long after you have finished watching. It also leaves you
asking ‘how they hell did they do that?’
The Bad: The ‘spread of evil’ storyline has great potential
which is squandered in an episode packed with too many goodies. Surely Reyes
would have suffered brain damage from that clout to the head from a fire
extinguisher she receives?
Moment to Watch Out For: After showing a remarkable amount
of restraint throughout the first half of season eight where Scully tested his
patience time and again, Doggett finally blows his top at the man he was sent
to find when it appears he is looking into the investigation of his sons
murder. Robert Patrick is extraordinarily frightening and vicious and despite
being a much shorter man looks as though he could kick the shit out of Mulder
if he was riled enough. It is nice to see some of that early edge being
injected back into the character and even when Reyes tries to calm him down his
eyes blaze with an intense anger rarely seen on this show. It’s a great scene and
promise more fireworks in future episodes. Patrick has danger in his eyes
throughout this episode and I like it.
Result: This is such a step up from Surekill earlier in the
season that you have to wonder if Chris Carter didn’t sit Greg Walker down and explain
that he was going to have to up his game a bit. Congratulations, it was a major
success. Doggett has received an awful lot of exposure of late and it is to the
credit of Carter & Spotnitz and the fantastic work of Robert Patrick that
no matter how compelling his character arc is, I always want more. Invocation
and This Is Not Happening suggested a tragedy was waiting to be unearthed in
his past and now is the time for those wounds to be opened with great results.
Barry K. Thomas has been a First Assistant Director on the show since the
middle of season six and helped to give so many episodes since an extra polish
and it breaks my heart to think that this is his only time solely in the
directors chair because the way he executes Empedocles approaches the avant-garde.
My one complaint would be that the a and b and c stories do not blend together
well and whilst there is plenty of stirring material surrounding Scully’s
impending pregnancy, Jeb’s spread of evil and the mystery of Doggett’s dead son
the three storylines never connect in a way that would cohere the whole piece.
Storylines a and c are both given appropriate exposure later which leaves the
Jeb plot lacking the time to be fully realised. However with performances this
strong, more outstanding character development and such riveting execution
there is no way I could reasonably call this episode anything other than a
success, albeit a minor step down from the previous four installments: 8/10
Vienen written by Steven Maeda and directed by Rod Hardy
Vienen written by Steven Maeda and directed by Rod Hardy
Brains’n’Beauty: Scully is working around the clock to try
and find enough evidence to save Agent Doggett’s life. However her suggestion
that Skinner requests an evacuation of the oil rig with unsubstantiated and
meagre evidence is pushing it a bit.
Closed Mind: Doggett is right to question Mulder’s
criticisms of his character and work ethic because he considers the new
incumbent of the X-Files office a rookie and thinks that anything that doesn’t
fit in his narrow field of vision might as well not exist. He can’t quite bring
himself to defy Mulder despite being pushed to the limit because he knows, deep
down, that if he asks him to quarantine the oil rig then it is for a very good
reason. Amusingly, Doggett smears some oil on his finger and asks Mulder when
it is going to kick in.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘When he gets old enough tell the kid I
went down swinging.’
‘I’m not sure it’s in all oil’ ‘Well that’s a relief because
only 90% of the planet is dependant on the stuff.’
Ugh: It comes a little late into the episode but the first
instance of the black oil being vomited out of one man onto the face of another
is well worth waiting for. If the idea of this sounds now nasty, the execution
is even worse.
The Bad: I know the critics appreciated the return of the
black oil because it was a nostalgic reminder of mythology episodes gone by but
what I think they fail to remember is that it was convoluted plot thread that
was never dealt with in a significantly detailed manner. The black oil was
Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz coming up with a grisly idea and running with
it without adequately explaining what it was all about until the audience was
already lost. The idea of a body jumping viscous fluid is great but when you
start talking about harvested bees to transmit the infection it becomes even
more unnecessarily complicated. However Two Fathers/One Son did a phenomenal
job of explaining all of this away and tying up the mythology in a big bow so
the show could move on. So why are re-visiting it now? Season seven took the
opportunity to kick start a brand new style of mythology episode, one less
reliant on set pieces and machismo and more character based conceptual drama.
It also tied up some long overdue character threads (explaining Samantha’s
disappearance, the Smoking Man’s departure). Season eight has featured the best
batch of mythology episodes the show has ever produced within one season
because it is a self contained story that has been entirely character led and
full of great twists and turns. The individual episodes have been terrific too.
After the incredible run of shows from Per Manum to Three Words it feels a
little underwhelming to take such a massive back step and start harking back to
the black oil again. I’m not sure I buy the idea of being immune to the black
oil because of Indian descent. That smacks of a writer trying to get out of the
pickle that he has put himself in by pulling a scientific explanation out of
his pocket that is based on nothing tangible.
Moment to Watch Out For: The final ten minutes are very
exciting and build to an unforgettable crescendo when Mulder and Doggett leap
from an exploding oil rig into the sea in slow motion. A lot of money has been
poured into that shot and it really pays off. I remember when I first watched
it and I my overriding thought was that there is no other show on television
that has cornered the market so successfully in impressive visuals.
Result: ‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this was a
Mulder stunt…’ A bit of an odd one, this episode. It has all the elements
of a really great X-File but it fails to come together quite as it should. The
second half of the story is excellent, once the atmosphere of being trapped on
the rig at the mercy of the black oil kicks in but it takes an awful long time
to reach that point. Juxtaposing Mulder and Doggett again makes for some fiery
scenes but what really screams from Vienen is that Mulder has had his day and
needs to step aside. We have seen this dance of him flouting orders one too
many times for it to be interesting anymore. I’m pleased that for once his
actions have severe consequences and ones which the writers never go back and
undo in the future. Helping things immeasurably is Rod Hardy’s stunning,
feature film direction and the location work on a real life oil rig. Vienen looks
amazing and once the base under siege drama emerges it is a race against time
to reach the conclusion, which features an unforgettable effects shot. Way
above average but no classic (especially in the wake of so many great episodes),
this feels like a last gasp for both Mulder and the black oil, two elements
that have outstayed their welcome. Whilst I fully expected to feel that way
about the latter, the redundancy of Mulder really surprises (and thrills me).
It means that Doggett can now take centre stage and own the show. It’s a
development that has been plotted in a very sophisticated way and feels like a
natural development for the show: 7/10
Alone written and directed by Frank Spotnitz
Alone written and directed by Frank Spotnitz
Brains’n’Beauty: The opening scene where Scully tells
Doggett she is taking her maternity leave, smiles at him (a miracle!) and gives
him a gift feels very rewarding because we have gone on a journey and a half
with these characters to reach this point. It is wonderful to see Scully
acknowledging his patience and his loyalty because he has more than earned it.
What’s even better is when she breaks away from her hug you realise that there
never was going to be a sexual connection between these characters (which was
promoted between her and Mulder in the first episode), it is a relationship
built entirely of friendship and respect. Even if the rest of season eight had
been crap (it wasn’t), the Scully/Doggett relationship would have made it worth
watching. She can’t tell him whether she is coming back or not, she just smiles
enigmatically and moves on with her life. Walking away she feels like a
deserter and is worried that she has left Doggett to his fate, that you need
somebody to watch your back when working on the X-Files. She’ll relax when she
hears of Monica Reyes’ posting. Ultimately this is quite an important story for
Scully because she has to come to terms with the fact that she is too invested
in something important to be able to rush to Doggett’s rescue every five
minutes. That wont stop her trying though.
Trust No-1: Mulder is such a naughty bloke that you can’t
help but admire his gall whilst thinking that he is getting himself in more and
more trouble. He just doesn’t know when to quit. Impersonating Kersh is the
last single digit he could shove in the guys face and ensure that he never,
ever works with the FBI again. He loves playing dangerously and gets Doggett to
fire at him whilst the creature is attacking him. If he had been off by a
second he would have a bullet lodged in his cranium. It makes for a tense
conclusion when the camera takes an age to swing around and make sure he is
alright. That’s one way of disposing of the character, I suppose.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘This is not a liver eating mutant,
Agent Harrison.’
The Good: The realisation of the X-Files often makes itself
aware for being a cut above the norm in genre television. Direction such as the
rushing POV shots of the creature as it crawls walls and approaches its victims
exemplifies this. This is textbook example of taking a scene that we have seen
ad nauseum on this show (exploring a creepy house for nasties) and realising it
in such a way that it feels fresh and visually interesting. The trapdoor comes
as a completely surprise because I was too busy waiting for the monster to show
up. For an X-Files aficionado like myself there is a wealth of references to
previous episodes in Alone that serve as a reminder of the length and breadth
of this show, how long it was made for and the diversity of adventures within.
Not just direct references such as the coins stuck together or the mention of
Tooms or the movie but more subtle moments such as Mulder spitting out
sunflower seeds for the last time.
Moment to Watch Out For: The final scene really sweetens the
overall experience of watching this episode (I might have given it a 7
otherwise). Imagine coming face to face with your heroes? That’s what it is
like for Leyla as she gets to pal up to Mulder and Scully and ask them all
manner of questions about continuity errors in their adventures together, just
as any good fan girl would do. That Mulder/Scully chemistry is back as they
argue over what exactly occurred at the end of Fight the Future and Doggett
walks away from all three of them, his work done and off to greet the future
and a certain Monica Reyes.
Essence written by Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners
Brains’n’Beauty: Some lovely domestic scenes between Scully and
her mother reminds us that these are normal people with normal lives. Dana wont
tell her mom what the baby’s sex is so they are having a mixed gender themed
baby shower. You can always count on your mother interfering when there is a
baby on the way and Margaret wants Scully to take it easy and let a baby nurse
help carry the load…a decision that she may learn to regret. Sheila Larkin is
one of the unsung heroes of The X-Files and has been appearing in the show
since the first season, a naturalistic, committed performer whose character has
offered Scully a little stability in her life. Can you imagine the horror of
discovering that the baby nanny that you have inviting into your home might
very well be poisoning you? She is trying to have a baby and she cannot live
her life as the subject of some unending X-Files. Scully thought this was
something that wouldn’t be touched by her work but it would seem that her
miracle conception has some very sinister undertones.
Closed Mind: I rather like the notion of Doggett spending
his weekend cleaning his gun and watching racing, you know chilling out like a
real man. After the tension that has run its course between them, Mulder and
Doggett make for an engaging team and it is disappointing that we should be
denied any further interaction on the account that Duchovny is about to make
his exit. However in order for the show to survive (even for another season
only), only one of them can front it and at this stage of the game the only
plausible choice is the man who still has much more to give.
Trust No-1: Always use the contacts that you have, and
Mulder knows that because of his ties to the X-Files and Scully that Doggett
will pretty much do whatever he asks of him (with some perfunctory objections).
Scully pushes Mulder away when he starts questioning the work of her Doctor and
a potential threat to her baby but he insists it is only because he cares about
her and her child so much. They need to make sure that everything goes as
smoothly as possible, that there are no nasty surprises.
Assistant Director: I love the almost parental concern that
Skinner has for Scully and the awkward ‘who’s the father?’ scene he shares with
Mulder.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘The child she is carrying is very
special.’
‘This isn’t about the X-Files, Scully, it is only about
you.’
Ugh: Like Per Manum we are dealing with babies with birth
defects pickled in jars. That’s revolting by any standards but especially
undignifying for the dead infants. At first I thought Doggett looked suitably
appalled because he was coming face to face with these horrors until the camera
cut away to a decapitated head in a jar. Lovely. The beheadings are very nicely
done (can you describe decapitation as nice?), especially the impressive
handling of one murder that sees the prop head fall to the floor in the same
shot as the slicing. It’s seamlessly, shockingly handled. You should never say
lines like ‘you have to keep a cool head’, you’re just asking for
trouble.
The Good: Despite Per Manum and the danger that Scully
walked into, the suggestion that Scully’s baby is a sought after commodity only
really comes into play here and the first indication is Lizzy Gill tampering
with Scully’s medication. In fact I have been pleasantly surprised with how the
pregnancy plot has been quietly played until now and handled in a very clever,
characterful way. The opening two parter used the pregnancy as a way of driving
home how lonely Scully is without Mulder and how desperate she was to find him,
Roadrunners was all the more tense and exciting because of her condition and
the secret about the baby was used as a constant wedge between Scully and
Doggett with her only coming to accept him fully once she has (inadvertently)
revealed that she is going to be having a baby. She had to trust him first.
Since Mulder’s return it has been used a symbol of their union and the source
of great jokes and a reason to remove Scully from the action and to give Mulder
something to do since he was torn from his office for good. And now it is the
lynchpin of the finale, the event that the season has been building to and one
where all the characters that season eight has built into an impressive
ensemble can come together to ensure goes without a hitch. It has been a very
fruitful plot device but also responsible for some fascinating character work
too. All this without highlighting it too much and making the show too
domestic. It was a very profitable exercise. Who would have thought that Billy
Miles would make such an effective villain? A cute, slight young man who under
any other circumstances would look utterly inoffensive but thrown into the
right narrative light takes on a whole new level of menace. It’s the Terminator
nature of this character that is so thrilling and terrifying, how nothing will
stop him from reaching his objective of securing Scully and her baby no matter
what her friends throw at him. You can pump bullets into this guy, run him down
with a car and shove him in a dump truck and he’ll be back. A killer who walks
very calmly after his victim is much more frightening than one who is in a
dreadful hurry. Billy Miles knows he will catch up with her eventually. Mulder,
Scully and Doggett all hanging out in Scully’s kitchen and discussing the
danger to her baby – this is an attractive line up of regulars that I could
have seen running further. The twist that Lizzy has been trying improve
Scully’s health and the health of her baby rather than kill it comes as an even
greater shock and opens a whole new can of worms. Why precisely would these
people want to help the birth of her baby along? Is there something special
about it? The news is Scully is giving birth to a perfect human child but with
no human frailties, the holy grail of biological science. We don’t know if this
will be substantiated at this point but it sure gives Carter a further thread
to pick up on next season…should the baby be born.
The Bad: It seems a little churlish to criticize the
unexplained plot elements of a two part storyline and so I will wait until the
conclusion to see how they are dealt with. Needless to say we still don’t know
why the experiments were run to create the human babies out of alien DNA, why
Lizzy was trying to promote the birth of Scully’s child or why it seems so
important to so many.
Pre Titles Sequence: How could David Duchovny vanish from
the series without one last voiceover? I rather like the description of birth
as ‘essence turned into existence.’ What Carter is talking about here is
something that is hotly debated – the miracle of life or a biological
phenomenon? Throwing the light on Scully’s pregnancy so boldly is pretty much a
necessity at this stage.
Moment to Watch Out For: After thirty minutes worth of
suggestions that something might be wrong with Scully’s baby and that she might
be in danger the lights snap out in her apartment and it is a race against time
to get her to safety. The following sequence is one of the tensest and most
exciting action sequences in The X-Files because there is so much at stake. The
last person you would ever suspect of running down Billy Miles and protecting
Scully is Krychek, which makes the moment such a great surprise. Mulder,
Skinner and Doggett have to be desperate to leave Scully in his hands whilst
they head off to tackle Billy Miles. The music is superb during this sequence,
especially during Skinner’s rooftop stand off.
Fashion Statement: It’s not until you see him in civvies
that you realise just how well built John Doggett is. Those suits really do
iron out any muscle.
Mythology: ‘We were surprisingly successful with a clone
from a human egg and alien DNA. DNA that the government had since 1947. Alien
babies, birthed by human mothers desperate to conceive.’
Foreboding: The big event is yet to come…
Result: What I really like about Essence is how it starts of
like your usual overly complicated and grisly mythology episode (albeit a good
one) and soon becomes something much more powerful (and simple) as the plot
coheres on one character – Scully and her baby. The second half of Essence is
where all the gold lies as the ensemble that has been brought together so
successfully for season eight all comes together (including Kychek and Reyes)
to ensure that Scully and her baby are kept safe. It also promotes what I have
been banging on about ever since Per Manum and that is season eights exquisite
handling of it’s characters and the various arcs that have woven through the
episodes. I have seen some deft handling of Mulder and Scully before but their
characterisation has often been inconsistent in the hands of so many different
writers over the years (and the overall effect of the pair has depended
entirely on whether Duchovny and Anderson are engaged with a particular episode
or not). With Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz entirely committed to proving
that The X-Files deserved an eight year, it feels as though they have very
cleverly plotted out the season in advance so that each character goes on a
very satisfying journey. Introducing terrific new characters (Doggett and
Reyes), highlighting old favourites (Skinner, Kersh, Margaret Scully and the
Gunmen) and giving Scully in particular some of her finest and most challenging
material to date, season eight has been all about the impressive cast of
characters that this show has to offer. Of all of them Robert Patrick’s Doggett
deserves the most credit and I have been riveted by his journey from suspected
enemy to ultimate ally. Essence contains all the mangled plotting that polluted
many a mythology episode in the past but it is rooted in character and that
makes all the difference. It really makes me angry when people dismiss the last
two seasons of The X-Files, suggesting that show is running out of steam just
because Mulder is out of action for the most part. Season eight in particular
is phenomenal, it might just be the strongest overall collection of episodes
since the series began. Check out the last ten minutes of Essence and tell me
again that the show didn’t deserve to keep going. Compelling stuff: 9/10
Existence written by Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners
Existence written by Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners
What’s it about: Scully is about to pop and everybody wants
a piece of the baby…
Brains’n’Beauty: There’s a lovely chemistry between Scully and Reyes which bodes well for season
nine. One thing The X-Files has always shied away from in the past is
introducing any kind of female character that can come close to dominating
Scully so there has never really been the chance to pair Gillian Anderson up
with any female actress. It looks like they have been missing a trick because
they work so well together, with none of the rivalry you might expect. The
moment where Scully tells Reyes that she reminds her of her sister tells you
everything that you need to know with regards to what Carter was aiming for
with their relationship. They have thought this through well because under any
other circumstances Scully and Reyes might have been rivals but they both have
a male partner in waiting and instead of expending their energy fighting for
attention of Mulder/Doggett (like Scully and Fowley) they can enjoy each
other’s company and do some excellent work together. Please don’t think I am
saying that when you put two women together the only way you can get them to
interact is to have them fight over a man, but that does seem to be an
unlikable convention of television that crops up repeatedly, and on this show
too. I have to give Gillian Anderson her dues, she has the weight of thousands
of televised pregnancy scenes against her to try and do something different and
she succeeds through the intensity of her performance. Scully is determined to
fight to give birth and to protect her baby, surrounded by what she thinks is
hostile forces that have come to take him from her.
Closed Mind: Doesn’t it just feel so right that Doggett was
born in such an unworldly location? Where life is tough and you have to be a
real grafter to get by.
Trust No-1: Doggett asks Mulder where his quest for the
truth stops, a what point does he walk away from all this danger and just live
his life. It is a question that he cannot satisfactorily answer.
Rat Boy: By all accounts, Nick Lea was a bit fed up with
playing a character as obscure and who turned up as sporadically as Krychek.
Who can blame him? He has hardly been a consistent character or one who has
enjoyed natural development. He’s basically wheeled out whenever some mythology
backstory needs to be explained or when Carter feels like the fans need a fan
boy thrill. I think he was pretty patient to take the character to this point.
I maintain that his first episode is definitely his best, one where the
potential of the character (a blue eyed boy in the Smoking Man’s pocket) was
really exploited and everything in between has been either too violent, too
agenda driven (his homo-erotic advances Mulder) or too convoluted. His surprise
appearance in the previous episode was probably the best shock to involve the
character since the end of Sleepless and to give Carter his credit he gets a
terrific final scene in Existence, one that I have never forgotten since I
first watched it. But first one last confrontation between Krychek and Mulder,
a relationship that was borne out of duplicity and has been maintained due to
their mutual hatred and love of giving each other a battering. All the usual
tropes are there – Krychek calls him ‘brother’ and is waving a gun in his face,
Mulder accuses him of being a coward and a liar but the difference this time is
that this really is the end. That manages to salvage a great deal. And when the
moment comes it isn’t Mulder who gets the chance to pull the trigger and put
both Krychek and Lea out of their misery, it is Skinner. The man who this rat
of a traitor has been torturing, mentally and physically for the past couple of
years. It feels very satisfying to see him finally being put down like a dog
and final effects shot of the bullet coming at the audience in slow motion
captures the moment memorably. Probably the most punch the air way Krychek
could have been written out. And I especially like the way Mulder watches
Skinner commit murder but doesn’t revel in the moment but instead looks quite
shocked that the long held rivalry between him and Krychek is finally over.
Bravo.
New Ager: Reyes is terrified to deliver Scully’s baby and
has to suck down on a fag or two to pluck up the courage to get started.
Perhaps Carter felt that Reyes was coming across as a little too spaced out but
the ‘I feel energies’ angle was dropped when she became a regular. A shame,
because I rather like the idea of somebody a little kooky working in the
X-Files office. I don’t really buy the criticism that Reyes is a forced
eccentric, a character constructed out of idiosyncratic ticks and quirks…at
least until she started to imitate whale song. At that point I thought she
might have gone insane. Annabeth Gish’s warm and witty performance still shines
through, smoothing over any deficiencies in the writing.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘I’ve never delivered a baby’ ‘Well I’ve
never had one. That makes us both beginners.’
‘You investigate what I tell you…’ ‘And you put me on the
X-Files. That’s what I’m investigating.’
‘That doesn’t make him any less of a miracle.’
Ugh: Watch out for the spectacularly nasty moment where
Agent Reyes tosses a bucket of scalding water at Rebecca and leaves her face
burnt and blistered. Don’t get between this woman and the baby she is trying to
deliver.
The Good: Whoever thought the idea of the young and sweet
Billy Miles turning out to be the most advanced and unstoppable super soldier
deserves a clap on the back because this potentially ropey idea translates
extremely well on screen. Whether it is Zachary Ansley’s performance, the pacy
and dark direction or simply because Miles is such an inoffensive looking
character I couldn’t tell you (a combination of all three is the answer) but he
really does come across as a genuine threat, whether he is tossing Agent Reyes
about like a rag doll or he is bursting through a lift door and knocking
Skinner unconscious. Shelley Mack gives a convincing turn as the officer that
turns up at the abandoned town to aid with the protection of Scully’s baby.
Rebecca is hard edged, practical and full of surprises. Candlelit, rustic and
intimate, the late night scenes between Scully and Reyes in the spruced up
shack in Doggett’s home town are rather beautiful. It’s a lovely rural
location, contrasting against the usual office sets and underground car parks.
How brilliant to have scenes from Terminator playing out but this time with
Robert Patrick as the good guy. Agent Crane goes flying over the bonnet as
Doggett tries to take him out and seconds later he is clinging onto he side of
the vehicle and smashing the window in with his fist. These super soldiers know
nothing about loyalty, as soon as it appears that Agent Crane is of no further
use, Knowle Rohrer mows him down and then ploughs his car into a wall.
Spectacularly violent, these are phenomenal action sequences of the kind only
The X-Files can muster. Whilst I do think the religious metaphors are pushed
too far on this show at times, the Lone Gunmen showing up as the Three Wise Men
is too cute for words.
Pre Titles Sequence: Billy Miles turns up in a morgue as
hamburger after falling into a garbage crusher at the end of the last episode
and starts to regenerate thanks to the power of his metallic vertebrate. I know,
it sounds nuts but it is a an unshowy and quite way to begin what is a very
packed and mental episode.
Moment to Watch Out For: No more ridiculous excuses, Mulder
and Scully finally share a long, intimate kiss and show the audience what they
really think of each other. Warmly played by Duchovny and Anderson, this is the
apotheosis of their relationship. Everything feels like it is coming up
smelling of roses.
Mythology: ‘There was
a rumoured plan out of the Cold War, planned to create a super soldier. What
you’re chasing is a prototype and he’s after your partner Scully. You may not
be aware that she was part of a programme herself. Six years ago Agent Scully
was taken in a military operation staged as an abduction. They put a chip in
the back of her neck to monitor her. It was also used to make her pregnant with
the first organic version of that super soldier.’ So Scully is giving birth
to the perfect human being, one with no human frailties and who will grow up to
be the ultimate killing machine. Nothing in her life is ever simple, is it?
Actually I’m being a little unfair. This is The X-Files, not Melrose Place and
had the pregnancy passed by without any kind of paranormal angle it would have
felt very mundane, another soap opera element for its own sake. The idea that
Scully has something to fear about the birth of her impending child is rather
neat and I pretty much love how they handle the super baby next season (except
for the religion angle but we’ll get to that next year). For now let’s bask in
the idea that the baby that Scully has been pining for since season four might
turn out to be something very dangerous indeed. Very dangerous and much sought
after, and that gives the this last episode something worth fighting for.
Foreboding: Sinister happenings in the FBI building at the
dead of night involving Kersh. Doggett deservedly breaks the news to is
superior that his office is under investigation. What a satisfying moment, I
can’t wait to see how it is resolved.
Result: Packed with so many riches I am quite exhilarated
after watching it, Existence caps off a riveting eighth season of The X-Files
in great style. The first half of the episode sets things beautifully with
questions of infidelity at the FBI and Scully an Reyes setting up home out in
the sticks before the pace quickens exponentially in the second half and I was
left clinging for dear life as I was thrown from one incredible set piece to
another. At the heart of all of this is the coming together of the incredible
season eight ensemble to ensure that Scully’s baby is born safely, such a
lovely, simple idea and yet it is given a forbidding touch with the subtle
suggestions that the baby might not be quite as innocent as it appear. In the
shows eighth year the creators have managed to successfully reinvent the brand
just when it felt as though it had gone to the dogs, to introduce several new
central characters, to kick start a new mythology angle and to pull together
all the characters into an engaging ensemble. The Scully’s pregnancy/Mulder’s
abduction and fall from grace storylines that have played out this year have
provided a solid backbone to the season (something that season seven sorely
lacked) and the return of focus to the characters and their lives has proven
vital to its success. Robert Patrick’s Doggett is the standout star and he gets
to triumphantly walk away from season eight unencumbered by Mulder, with a
spanking new partner by his side and the satisfaction of having found his place
in the show. The future of the X-Files looks bright, at least for the time
being. Not forgetting Mulder and Scully as well, this incredible pair of
characters that have seen us through the first seven years of the show. Their
relationship is seen out in style two, with the pair of them acknowledging
their feelings and sharing a kiss whist holding their baby between them. It’s a
shame that Mulder would return at all because this would have made the perfect
final scene. A phenomenal end to the shows finest year: 10/10
Hey Joe,
ReplyDeleteGreat reviews, and it's nice to hear the perspective of a S8/9 admirer! Both a twisted standalone like "Redrum", and a Mulder-centric episode like "Three Words", really knock it out of the park for me.
But what has happened to poor "Surekill"? I don't necessarily blame you - if I had to "forget" to review a S8 episode, that would be toward the very top of the list, but did it just slip through the cracks?
Yeah, Surekill seems to have slipped me by! It's so forgettable that that is exactly what seems to have happened. What's odd is that I refer to it in another episode so I must have convinced myself that I have watched it! I'll get back to it sooner or later. I'm currently halfway through season nine.
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