SLEEPLESS Episode 4 Season 2 of The X-Files

They cut out a piece of my brain…

Synopsis: Mulder teams up with Krycek to investigate a mysterious death and the pair uncovers a top secret military experiment and a man who has not slept for 24 years.

Sleepless represents the first Howard Gordon script without co-writer Alex Gansa and the finale instalment of season 2‘s early three strong grouping of MoW episodes. Just as we saw in the previous episode Blood, the science bit could only be viewed as incredible however it makes for a fun 45 minute paranormal outing, which includes the U.S government’s penchant for human testing and general disregard for life and a menacing and unpredictable killer as well as a premiere performance from the reconnoitring untrustworthy Alex Krycek and the mysterious Mr X.

First that science bit. It is all obviously tongue in cheek, to sit here and pick holes in it would be no different than being that person, who whilst watching a magicians card trick states ‘that’s not magic’ neither an endearing quality nor a beneficial one. The only thing you should do is sit back and enjoy the show ladies and gentlemen. The idea that the government was experimenting on its own troops in Vietnam to create a super soldier is actually a quite credible one and a continuation of the themes found in Deep Throat, Eve, Young at Heart, Erlenmeyer Flask and Blood and represents a just cause for Mulder to fight for.

The X-Files episodes which centred on government testing of their own troops and civilians almost always allowed for the antagonist of the story a chance of redemption as an indication to their own victimisation. Corporal Augustus ‘Preacher’ Cole is no different in fact all he wants to do is go to sleep but not without taking down his old murdering squad colleagues before he does. I feel uneasy that Mulder is so quick to sympathise with a man capable of murdering defenceless men, women and children and who also instigated two cops to shoot one and other leaving one in a coma and the other presumably dead. Mulder’s sympathy may possibly be a shroud to cover his true selfish intentions of wanting to take his man alive as hard evidence, proof to the fact that the U.S government are as underhand and callous as he says they are and thus gives more reason to the re-opening of The X-Files. Be that as it may Cole’s actions are still inexcusable and Mulders ability to simply brush over these facts irks me a little.

You will recognise war vet Cole although some may not know from where, he is played by veteran actor Tony Todd whose distinct deep reverberating voice and threatening appearance has made him somewhat of a genre favourite amongst scare fans and one of his earliest screen outings was the haunting Vietnam masterpiece Platoon, a combination of the two guises works ever so well here. Todd dose brilliantly with what screen time he is permitted. His scene in the Brooklyn apartment in which he has the Vietnam victims made up of women and children shoot dead his ex-marine comrade is chillingly conspicuous.

Sleepless sees Mr X unveil himself to Mulder for the first time. The new informant hands over a report to Mulder to help with the case. Mr X’s motivations will always remain clouded. Deep Throats intentions were seen a pure and selfless and a way of atonement for past misgivings whilst the intentions of Mr X will never be so black and white, his affirmation of the fact that he will never sacrifice his life for the information he has, dispels the idea of a crusader for truth and portrays a more narcissistic character (although in hindsight we do know differently). Mr X’s admission of having known Deep Throat personally and of his duty to Mulder and The X-Files may go some way to explaining his new position of informant, that’s just one we‘re allowed to work out for ourselves.

There is another arguably even more important character introduction in this episode. Special FBI agent and rat for the syndicate Alex Krycek makes his first appearance on The X-Files. After a rough start his all too eager to please attitude eventual begins to break down Mulder’s proverbial wall constructed of ‘trust no one’ mortar and come on admit it he fooled you as well. Krycek gave The X-Files so many twist and turns and the inception of this character was pure brilliance as was the casting of Nicholas Lea who was not only suited to the role but also gave nothing less than 100%.

Although Kryceks introduction holds high significance you may notice my establishment of the character has purposely been down played as I don’t think what the Krycek character represents to the franchise as a whole should take away from Tony Todd whose performance elevates this episode from a basic standalone MoW to a much greater one.

Musings:

• I clocked Scully’s screen time at around the 2 minute mark all of which was spent devoted to Mulder, no real point to this musings except that I hadn’t mentioned her name at all during the review.
• The parallels between Blood and Sleepless are so glaring that it seems weird that they would be played back to back. Perhaps to reiterate the point of Mulders contempt for a government that runs tests on its own people without their consent or well-being in mind. The suicide by cop ending which sees Mulder trying to salvage the situation also mimics blood and maybe a good precursor to his negotiation skills in the build-up to the following episode Duane Barry.
• See what happens when you remove Gansa from the equation. Sci-Fi and the paranormal just arn't his strong points.

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THE HOST Episode 2 Season 2

I wouldn’t like to meet the Russian that had to pass this tapeworm!

Synopsis: After being given a disgusting assignment, Mulder begins to believe that his position at the Bureau is becoming untenable yet there is a lot more to the case than first meets the eye.

Time to turn the repulse-meter to maximum and I mean maximum. This mutated tape worm is without doubt the most disgusting creature ever conceived by Chris Carter and The X-Files team and this memorable creature holds a special place in many X-Philes hearts, she has even been affectionately named Flukey among The X-Philes faithful. It has been said that Gillian Anderson herself named The Host as the most disgusting X-Files episode she ever had the privilege to work on.

Flukey, happy to lie in wait in human excrement, has a face only a mother could love which is most probably why she is the proud owner of an asexual reproductive system and her method of incubating her parasitic offspring is tantamount to rape. I label Flukey as being feminine and reframe from using the name flukeman because she has to be one or the other and she reminds me of my mother-in-law. I will never forget the first sight of Flukey trapped in the transparent pipe at the sewage plant; excuse me if you think I am being too sympathetic here but she looked scared and confused as if she was trying to figure out who these people were and who she was.  We can assume that as a genetic mutation by radiation that Flukey is the only one of her kind and that her own existence is just as baffling to her as it is to anyone else, just like my mother-in-law.

This episode could have easily relied upon Flukey to make it a big hit and that would have been fine by me yet Chris Carter’s spices things up with some added ingredients. Mulder is back from his close encounter, back to his surveillance detail and thus back to his morbid disposition, threatening to leave The F.B.I in hope that he can pursue his investigations into the paranormal along a different path. He draws this conclusion after being what he considers to be ‘jerked around’ by Skinner and the F.B.I by his sewage based assignment. So it is funny that it is this assignment that gives Mulder hope of a continuation of The X-Files or at least investigating the paranormal, a notion vindicated both by Skinners admittance that The X-Files was shut down somewhat prematurely and also by the emergence of a mysterious ‘friend’ at the F.B.I. The ‘friend’ we later find out to be informant Mr X or simply just X. I can only draw the conclusion that Mr X had a hand in Skinner presenting Mulder with the case in an effort to re-establish the importance of The X-Files.

What gives this episode its piece of individuality is that Flukey is caught very early on, not only that, she represents hard evidence of the paranormal and proves Mulders doubters that he isn’t away with the fairies, in-fact this giant mutated Fluke worm is worthy of a Noble prize! So it seems strange that the reaction it receives seem so downplayed and I can’t help but smile at the idea that Flukey is to be treated at a psychiatric hospital, no wonder she looks so confused.

This popular MoW is utterly disgusting and brilliant in equal measures and made famous by the evasive Fluke worm.

Musings:

• Mulder and Scully appear more relaxed with one another after their exploits in Little Green Men, as if the relationship is settling from the adjustments of being partners to being friends.
• The heavy Fluke suite took so long to put on and remove that future X-Files writer Darin Morgan apparently wore it for 20hrs straight. Chris Carter joked that the wearing of the suite should be a rite of passage for any budding X-Files writer.
• Flukey got cut in half and she survived, sure she is a worm after all but don’t forget about its offspring from the sewage worker that escaped down the shower waste. New Jersey certainly did have a problem on its hands. I wonder if the sewage workers felt comfortable with re-entering the sewers.
• Who would I least like to find coming out my toilet, Tooms or Flukey? Errr……Flukey! 

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TOOMS Episode 21 Season 1 of The X-Files

Brilliance and Bile 10/10

Synopsis: A court deems the stretchy contortionist Victor Eugene Tooms safe to be released back into the public, Mulder however deems otherwise.

In my last post, Darkness Falls, I touched upon the notion that inspired characters and casting make up the foundations of success for the first season of The X-Files. Enter Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Skinner, acting superior to agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.  As a body to report to, Skinner offered The X-Files an additional dimension, a new barrier to break down with new avenues to explore and an eventual formidable ally. Pileggi’s powerful character’s share in the first season may only be accredited to three scenes however his inclusion throughout all nine seasons of The X-Files and both films bellow his legendary status. This monopoly on the franchise is bettered by no one other than Mulder and Scully and his characters development is tantamount to the growing success of the series.

Skinner’s presence in this episode is primarily to question the practices that Mulder and Scully use to get result with a clear view to closing The X-Files. He conjects that Mulder has a detrimental effect on those that work closely with him i.e. Scully and that Mulder’s conduct is fuelled by stress brought about by his emotional involvement with The X-Files cases and asks in an apparent sincere manor that he steps back from The X-Files. Skinner’s early innocents dictate that his faith be place with the Cigarette Smoking Man however his mounting involvement with The X-Files will eventually lead him to become the equivalent of a good luck charm complete with muscle and an a whole lot of attitude.

This episode is all about change; new meeting old and I cannot give enough praise to Doug Hutchinson’s reprisal of his role as the predatory slim ball Eugene Victor Tooms. This is early 90’s Doug, a small fish in a big pond with little to note on his C.V. playing a role opposite the television pin up boy of the decade. Unadulterated determination to the character could only be born out of an obsession to make it as an actor. Tooms is given much more screen time than in Squeeze and the decision is validated by Doug’s fight for his place in the show tooth and nail, depicting a Tooms hungrier, smarter and more disgusting than before, his underlying menace seeps out past every crooked smile.

The episode in parts plays out like ‘a day in life of’ for Victor Eugene Tooms. We see him at work, stalking his prey and his methods which can only be described as thinking outside of the box. He shows some dry wit when he is told that the new room he will be staying in is small… ‘I’m sure you’ll be able to squeeze in’ Tooms replies ‘I’m sure’. We learn that he enjoys the taste of rotting rodents as he licks the glove used to pick up a dead rat and that he is unperturbed by the thought of travelling through a sewer pipe and gaining access to a property through a toilet pan. His odd behaviour adds humour to the character to the point of feeling pity and perhaps empathy, it is easy to forget that Tooms never asked to be this way and that putting all our eggs in the Mulder basket can blind us to that fact.

Tooms is a worthy adversary for Mulder. His ability to evade capture by out smarting him is something that vexes Mulder and jabs his ego. A personality trait Mulder displays on numerous occasions across the series, ‘Young at Heart’ and 'Pusher' just to examples. This trait is by no means a shortfall, more of a characteristic better described as a quality. It drives Mulder on to apprehend his suspects.

In short Tooms was dead before he ever left that courtroom and that smug smirk aimed at Mulder on leaving the court room is at fault for the excruciating pain in which the death happened. I’m not saying Mulders a murder but perhaps his latest ordeal with Barnett has gone someway to prompting a reaction.

Mulder is unmistakably aggravated by the courts rejection of the implausible truth he presents and of the release of Tooms from the psychiatric prison, biting at Scully’s doubting of his actions and methods in a stern voice he says ‘Look, Scully, if you're resistant because you don't believe, I'll respect that. But if you're resistant because of some bureaucratic pressure, they've not only reeled you in. They've already skinned you.’ In short you are either with me or with them, an ultimatum that Scully agrees with by ignoring Skinners plea to use methods that act by the book. Mulder later snaps at Scully during a stake out as it becomes apparent Tooms journey under his skin has gained mileage. This is one unhappy Fox.

Needless to say agents Mulder and Scully discover Tooms layer, an escalator pit located in the spot of his old hibernating patch. Mulder ventures down the narrow corridor beneath the escalator to find Tooms bile bonded nest. A woken naked Tooms chases Mulder back up the corridor. Mulder’s narrow escape equals Tooms demise as Mulder activates the elevator tearing him to shreds. This ending is one of the most memorable sequences in X-Files history and cause of a particular recurring nightmare of mine when I was young.

Tooms is an abundant feast of scares and humour, refined plot lines and commendable series development and whose only competition for season one best MoW is EVE. I think Tooms just squeezes out in-front. 10/10

Musings: 

• This episode gave me a mutual respect of my toilet, a caution later validated by season two episode The Host. 
• You can see Tooms bum in the escalator chase scene! Hutchison came up with the idea to get completely naked, and I make him right. 
• C.S.M muttering the three little words ‘course I do’ in endorsement of the phenomenon contained in The X-Files. His first words are telling in that he is a believer. 
• Tooms return signals the first of three MoW sequels. Can you name the other two? 

DARKNESS FALLS Episode 20 Season 1 of The X-Files

Great Buzz 8/10

Synopsis: Mulder and Scully turn prey to ancient carnivorous insect when an investigation into the disappearance of 30 loggers in Olympic National Forest turns into a fight for survival.

The success of The X-Files in its fledgling season was no fluke. The majority of episodes were made up from a recipe of inspired casting, creative paranormal focused plot lines, subtle comedic undertones, solid production values and of course scares and it was this cocktail that established the shows core fan base that it still prevalent today. There are of course exceptions to the rule, flops if you will and guilty pleasures if you won’t. Inconsistency in value from one episode to another is a possibility for the first season of any show as they test the waters, but for a show which very essences is built upon the paranormal I would say it becomes an occupational hazard.

Darkness Falls is a great exhibit of the strength season one had to offer, an unassuming episode that keeps our interest from start to finish. The opening teaser sets the tone, 30 brawny plaid shirted lumber jacks scared witless, scream as they flee hopelessly through the dense boundless woodlands of the Olympic National Forest, Washington State. This vast forest is an ideal setting for this X-File. It is natural and wonderful to behold and at the same time mysterious and dangerous, the peaceful solitude turns into remote isolation and with the threat of darkness comes a sensation of helplessness and intense claustrophobia similar to that of Ice. Man versus nature is obviously the theme and Carter warns us there can only be one winner although ultimately it is the U.S Government.

There is understated comic relief in place throughout the episode, not meant as detraction from the moody ambience but rather a ploy to loll us into a sense of security. The relaxed opening scene between Mulder and Scully in the familiar warmth of the X-Files office acts to divert our attentions away from the horrors that lay in wait. This shroud of blissful ignorance soon disperses as the agents make their way deeper into the woods and we learn that this field trip is going to be no picnic.

The supporting cast all give solid believable performances which helps amalgamate the episode. The agents enlist the help of park ranger Larry Moore as chaperone to the logging site and are accompanied by Steve Humphreys, head of security for the logging company responsible for the missing men. All round good guy Moore is played by Duchovnys’ close friend and scientologist defector Jason Beghe who pulls of the strong outdoorsman man’s man role very convincingly. Humphrey although seemingly pleasant shows overzealous contempt for the eco warriors in an attempt to deflect attention away from his companies’ reckless and illegal logging methods. Doug Spinney plays the logger’s antagonist whose magnanimous nature directly opposes that of Humphreys’ which entertains malevolent undertones.

Spinney in affect sacrifices himself to save agents Mulders and Scully and park ranger Moore and in doing so vindicates Mulders actions of allowing him to leave their base camp along with the car battery, a decision that perplexed Scully, Moore and everyone who has ever watched Darkness Falls it even had Mulder doubting his own decision making. Who are we though to question Mulders choices? Admit it you felt a little guilty.

There are so many factors that make Darkness Falls’ re-watchable and it is always a pleasure to revisit this strong MoW. 8/10

Musings:

• What do you call a camel with three humps?
• Apparently Chris Carters inspiration for this episode came from a tree-ring dating course he took back in his college days. I suppose Darkness Falls justifies his omission from simply dating girls back in his college days.
• The awful microscope affect used is completely allowable because the episode pulls its weight with the aspects that really matter.
• As a foursome of three guys’ one girl, our agents, park ranger and logger man stumble across a cocoon half way up a tree. They decided to send ‘the women’ up in the harness to retrieve the icky insect webbed corpse, very brave guys and very funny. 
• This is one of the few MoW that isn't left open-ended  

Miracle Man Episode 18 Season 1 of The X-Files

Beware false prophets 7/10 

Synopsis: Samuel a supposed miracle healer is tried for murder, Mulder believes in more than just the boy’s innocence.

With the paranormal, evolution and/or aliens the ever present subject matter of The X-Files, it is inevitable conflict and amity with religion developed on a regular basis. Miracle Man represents season ones first and only head on foray into religion. That is if you are wiling to except that ‘The Kindred’ from episode Gender Bender are not a religious sect.

Christianity is first in the firing line, or maybe more the false prophets that exploit the faith instilled in people who are made vulnerable by their lame limbs, old age or prevalent mourning. There are religious television channels that run all day that film these false prophets placing their hands on members of their congregations and ‘heal’ them of their physical and mental burdens using the power given to them by God. If you can’t tell I’m sceptical, although this boy Samuel, he has me believing.

I watched with my very own eyes this young boy put his hands upon a dead man, a man burned alive minutes before in a fiery car crash, I watched as he asked this man to rise, rise up and heal using the power of faith and the power of God. I saw that man rise from the ashes as if he were Lazarus himself.

Make no bones about it this boy is the real deal, and if we are to believe the blatant New Testament imagery he is also the second coming of Jesus. While running the risk of patronising you I shall lazily list these metaphors:

• He performed Miracles.
• He was arrested and wrongly accused.
• He was beaten to death whilst in the ‘crucifixion’ pose.
• He forgave the man that had him killed.
• He rose from the dead and disappeared.
• He drank beer and got into fights.

The writers cleverly used Samuel divine powers to reignite the interest in the story line surrounding Mulders abducted sister. First Samuel envisages Samantha’s abduction he then shows visions of Samantha to Mulder. This not only gave Mulder reason to belief in Samuels’s powers and thus find the real suspect but also re-opened the book on Fox’s hunt for his sister for the first time since episode Conduit.

With Miracle Man following E.B.E, an episode that really kicked started the alien conspiracy mythology, there was a lot to get excited about and it was no coincidence that household ratings went in to ascendency following them.

With the exception of the first episode Pilot, this is the first episode that leaves you guessing on the suspect. I’m not saying that it is or is not difficult to figure out (I didn’t have a clue), what I am saying is that we normally know who the perpetrator is before we are treated to Mark Snow’s eerie score. This will become a more established template for future MoW episodes as we watch The X-Files evolve.

An enjoyable episode that offers up a surprise killer and small amount of early Samanthology. 7/10

Musings;

• Mulder already knows of the Reverend Calvin Hartley and of his son Samuel’s healing powers before Scully show him the case. He doesn’t explain why, perhaps he read about it in The Lone Gunman or maybe he previously looked into seeing Samuel about his sister. Or maybe he just saw him on the GOD Channel.
• Scully refers to her catholic faith saying that ‘God never lets the Devil still the show’ Reference to Sully’s faith is few and far between in the first season but are later established frequently.
• I found the trail of food left on the roof to the ventilation shaft for the locus is hilarious. They are insects not Hansel and Gretel.
• Vance went a little far with the Locus thing as it left a paper trail back to him, not that it mattered in the end.
• Best quote undoubtedly goes to Mulder ‘Remember, the boy did rise from the dead. That kind of thing happens only once or twice every two thousand years or so.’
• Sheriff Daniels wrongly persecuted Samuels and had him beaten to death in his cell. He then got arrested and most probably imprisoned, leaving his paralysed wife to a life of solitude and himself to a life behind bars with criminals he would of helped to send there. What was this guy’s motivation or am I missing out on some New Testament imagery????

E.B.E Episode 17 Season 1 of The X-Files

The Foundations of a Phenomenon  10/10

Synopsis: A secret government agency transports a downed U.F.O and Alien across America, can agents Mulder and Scully track it down and what ‘truths’ are they to believe along the way?

E.B.E represents a leap in The X-Files universe. It plots a course for the truth that will map out an entire franchise. This is where it all begins. Of course we have been offered glimpses of the government’s seemingly reckless actions and the callous way in which it covers the truth, however  E.B.E looks closer, exposes more and for the first time offers us answers that maybe we never thought were coming. Fuelled by snippets of conspiracy laid down in earlier episode, E.B.E rises up as the maiden episode of nine seasons of mythology.

E.B.E offers us an up close and personal look at Deep Throat and the reasons for his role as informant.  Deep Throat has been a concrete source of Mulder, showing him where to look and assisting him in solving cases. There seems to be a mutual respect between the two men, I would even go as far as to say Mulder admired the man. The events of E.B.E. cast doubts over the validity of this trust. With Mulder confronting Deep Throat for the first time and then launching a tirade aimed at the ethical practise of his work, a tirade that Deep Throat can defend himself against.

Deep Throat reads like a book in this episode we learn what makes him tick. The information he offers has always been concrete, yet we find him also deceiving Mulder. Like a tactician he plans his truths and lies like a chess game, a distinct characteristic of the government conspirators seen throughout the X-Files. During the meeting at the shark tank he defends his deceit by saying ‘a lie Mr Mulder, is most convincingly hidden between to truths’ One of the most iconic lines in X-Files history.

Most importantly we learn of Deep Throats intentions. He explains to Mulder that after watching him for years, with enthuses put on years, he choose Mulder as the one to trust. Deep Throat needed someone to expose certain government conspiracy. In his role he has carried out heinous and brutal acts against man, nature and biological entities (We discover that Deep Throat implemented the act of exterminating biological entities) and is of the thinking that Mulder can expose the government for what it really is.

E.B.E is the first episode in which we see direct attempts by government agencies to interfere with the X-Files. Firstly with the bug found in Scully’s pen and the bug found in Mulders apartment. Then two men that follow the agents on route to the airport, in a brilliant sequence in which Mulder and Scully evade the cronies. And lastly the feigned alien rescue mission that depicts the lengths in which the conspirators would go to halt Mulders hunt for the truth.

E.B.E offers us more than the beginning of a conspiracy trail that will lead on for 10 years. It reunites Agents Mulder and Scully. Not since ‘Space’ has David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson shared this much screen time and it shows, big time, for their ability to act with one another has metamorphosed into something quite wonderful and it hits home in one magnificent episode. The only way I can think of describing it is seeing a child for the second time after a three year interlude. The screen presence they share has simply grown.

They bounce of one another so effortlessly; the opening scene that they share investigating the report of the U.F.O sighting from the previous nights is one of my favourites from the whole program. Scully offers up her most rationale theories as Mulder humours her, brilliant.

Of course the duo have to share a moment of truth and that comes with Scully telling Mulder that he is too determined to believe Deep Throat, and that there are people out there willing to use his blinding beliefs as a way of deceiving him. Which is fair after all, how far would Mulder get if he never had Scully there to rein him in once in a while?

We also have our first instalment of everybody’s favourite conspiracy theorists The Lone Gunman. The trio are introduced to us in their very clean well lit office, is it there dealings with agent Mulder that drives them to a more underground feel later on?

They share information on anything with Mulder freely so they obviously trust him and he can complicity trust them in return, a stark contrast to any shady government agents Mulder is used to dealing with.

Langley and Byres spout off conspiracies on the JFK assassination and the leader of the Russian Social Democrats to Mulder and all he can muster is a shrug or funny remark.

They trio don’t take up much screen time in E.B.E but do have a significant part to play in this episode, and of course grow in stature as The X-Files grow. They not only offer assistance to Mulder and Scullys campaign for the truth they also offer banter that is worth its weight in entertainment value. Love these guys.

E.B.E, The foundations of a phenomenon 10/10

Musing;

• If I have learnt anything from Sci-Fi it is don’t randomly shoot at spaceships.

• Frohike’s love affair with Scully begins here, calling her ‘hot’. When Scully later remarks that the Lone Gunman’s beliefs are implausible Mulder says ‘I think it’s plausible that you’re hot’ Oh so he has noticed.

• How do Mulder and Deep Throat know where to meet, have I missed something?

• I hope there was some spaceship on board that truck or that’s one obese alien 2000ibs!

• Names of the U.F.olygist agencies Mulder lists include NICAP, Max Fenigs group.

• Five and a half minutes in Mulder mentions our favorite lake for the second time this Season 'Lake Okobogee'' 

YOUNG AT HEART Episode 16 Season 1

YOUNG AT HEART Episode 16 Season 1

Redemption 9/10

Synopsis: A murderer who dies whilst serving life imprisonment returns for revenge against the man that sent him there.

I was taught by my English teacher that a story must comprise of a beginning a middle and an end. What Chris Carter taught me was a story must be rich in depth and meaning, that you must have a protagonist with strong unwavering ideologies and indomitable methods and yet the mortality to question his own actions and the ability to redeem those actions and grow before our eyes. His antagonist’s motives must be comprehensible and yet his methods must remain unpredictable. The reader or in this case watcher must care about the people they meet along the way and revel in the alluring mystery as it unravels before them.

Mulder’s back story grows deeper in Young at Heart and as a result the character flourishes. We meet Agent Reggie Purdue whom Mulder considers a friend and one of the only people within the Bureau he finds worthy of trust. The pair appeared to share a warm relationship. They met whilst working in the violent crime division. Mulder playfully toys with Reggie chanting his name when they meet at the jewellery store crime scene, the first place of which a clue is left to signify John Barnett’s involvement to the surprise of agent Mulder who believed him to be dead.

Barnett, the man whom we discover has left Mulder fighting inner demons. Mulder blames himself for the death of a fellow FBI agent shot during a stand-off with Barnett. The empathy he shows towards the family of the dead agent clearly present when he notes that the man’s child is now an all-star football player, Mulder must have been watching over them due to what he perceives as his accountability. Mulder will later go on to blame himself for Purdues death claiming he should have shot Barnett when he had the chance.

Mulder appears to have met his match in the figure of Barnett. A man who knows how to enter Mulders head and push all the right buttons. The two spa throughout the episode, not in the conventional manner but via a deadly game of cat and mouse. Barnett calculated supply of clues lures Mulder closer. It would seem inevitable that the two should be draw together into a similar situation they found themselves in before, with Barnett taking a hostage and Mulder forced to make a decision with his weapon drawn. Mulder seeks for redemption, it is this incentive that drove him to Barnett and drove him to pulling the trigger. With a clean shot he puts his man down.

Barnett’s rejuvenate abilities were down to the experimental Dr Joe Ridley. Ridley had no compassion and saw his progaria patients as little more than lab rats and a great opportunity on which to perform his experiments. He was an outcast in the medical profession compounded by the loss of his medical licence for illegally performing experiments on live human test subjects. This is when the government employed Ridley to continue his work, allowing him to use prisoners as live test subjects. He confess all to Mulder and Scully, he is terminally ill and seeking his own forgiveness.

The government had known of Barnett’s existence and that he was the only successful candidate of Ripley’s treatment. Mulder meets with Deep Throat for answers. Deep Throat explains to Mulder that the government has been bargaining with Barnett for Dr Ripley’s stolen research. He tells Mulder that they need Barnett alive as his information could change the course of mankind, another interesting angle in a plot with more than just a middle, beginning and end.

Scully play her part to. Seamlessly gathering information and acting upon it. She ascertains that the account of Barnett’s death was suspicious and looking further into it discover of Dr Ridley and his work. She also finds a finger print belonging to Barnett on her answering machine that leads the agents to the theatre where he would shoot agent Scully and in turn be shoot by agent Mulder.

Young at Heart is a strong episode that draws parallels with the entire series and Chris Carters involvement in the script is ever-present. Now that’s good story telling 9/10

Musings;

Mulder shoots and kills his man in the end. He was driven to it and not offered much choice. Killing is not something Mulder takes lightly.

I never realised the man that tries to gather information from the dying Barnett was the Cigarette Smoking Man. I caught the name William B. Davis in the end credits, his first appearance since the pilot. I love discovering new information on re-watches.

Mulder seems to have the admiration of the bureaus handwriting specialist known to us only as Anderson.

Barnett is not the only one to use Fox Mulders name as a pun to describe a hunt. Fast forward to season 5 episode ‘Kitsunegari’, which means Fox hunt in Japanese.

LAZARUS Episode 15 Season 1 of The X-Files

And stay dead 2/10

Synopsis: An FBI agent and a bank robber are gunned down at the scene. The robber dies while the FBI agent is revived however Mulder suspects the agent of not being who he appears to be.

Raising of Lazarus is a biblical story of a miracle performed by Jesus in which he raises Lazarus of Bethany from the dead. Unfortunately the story on offer here is less than divine and plainly insipid.

If you were a bank robber shot whilst on the job and in death you were given a second chance what would do? Would you catalogue your mistakes and misgivings in your first life and act upon them in a way of redemption in your second learning to appreciate that the error of your ways may be related directly to your untimely demise and perhaps learn to change them?

Or would you clumsily hunt down your ex-husband murdering, FBI fugitive, double crossing wife and once finding her abduct a federal agent?

My point being that at the very least you would keenly prevent attention being draw to yourself. This is not for bank robber Warren Dupree, who spends no time what so ever on considering his options. I am not going to pretend that The X-Files is always believable, after all it is Science Fiction, but it is when palpable human behaviour is so blatantly disregarded that I find myself rolling my eyes.  I see little reason to look further into this MOW impractical behaviour. Well maybe I could say he was driven by passion which is the only argument but really? Yawn. It seems like lazy storytelling to me.

The lack in character depth does bother me somewhat although it is not all bad and as you know I am not one to kick an episode whilst it is down. It’s a fun story, having the mind of a criminal jump to that of FBI agent Jack Willis a man whom he’d been hunted by for two years. Dupree recklessly gets up close and personal with the FBI. A little more focus on his interactions around other FBI agents and inside the FBI headquarters could have added a touch of sophistication to this episode. Regrettably it wasn’t to be as I believe this would have made for a more invested storyline.  Mulder was the only one within the FBI suspicious enough of Willis’ new behaviour to show enough concern. Which is odd really given the common knowledge that Willis inexplicably cut the finger off a corpse in a scene that makes me wince, and yet still manages to pass a physical and perhaps more surprisingly a psychological exam.

Believe me I am not intentionally ripping holes in this episode it is just inescapable.

I will move on. Another small portion of Dana Scully’s past was offered up to us. Her relationship with FBI Jack Willis was confirmed to be more than just friendship when Scully revealed to Mulder that the two had dated for almost a year. It seems Scully has a habit of mixing work and pleasure and this time with a man she appears very incompatible with. We also learn of her birthday, February 23^rd, but not the year.

I’m sorry if my take on this episode conflicts greatly with your views on it. There just aren’t enough redeeming features on show.  As much as I dislike low scoring I have to be realistic. A lowly 2/10 and a big look forward to the next episode Young at Heart.

Musings;

The biblical story of Lazarus will again be the source of inspiration in season 7 episode HOLLYWOOD A.D.

Scully has the inconvenient habit of being abducted which begins and certainly does not end with this episode.

We know Mulder has at least one colleague within the bureau apart from Scully that defends him, agent Bruskin.

GENDER BENDER Episode 14 Season 1 of The X-Files

GENDER BENDER Episode 14 Season 1 of The X-Files

Remember Gender Bender? 5/10

Synopsis: Several deaths that occur after sexual intercourse lead Mulder and Scully to investigate an Amish like community known as the Kindred.

I have a strange affiliation to Gender Bender and no it is not what you’re thinking. 18 years ago I remember sitting round my Grandma’s house watching GB with my dad, mum, Nan and sister. I remember where I was sat where they were sat, I remember it like I remember yesterday. The reason I remember that night so vividly is because we sat and enjoyed the show together, The X-Files brought us all together. It was a show we all could enjoy watching.

One thing that drew me to GB when I was younger was the Amish influence. I had no idea that there were groups that had wilfully detached themselves from modern society for hundreds of years. I could remember thinking to myself that I would not be able to live without my Super Nintendo or Power Rangers for one week let alone a lifetime.

You must realise I was eight years old but even so, many adults of the time knew next to little about these sects. Today it’s a different story; we have films, documentaries and even reality television show based on their way of living. They no longer seem alien to us.

1994 however was a different time; their existence was alien to the general population. Here the writers play on that but maybe missed a trick. I found the back story missing and in place it found sex scenes, they may have tied into the story but really were unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong I like a sex scene as much as the next red blooded male but if the producers ideas of sexing up the show where having a women that was really a man or vice-versa, changing sexes right after the doing wild thing then they are clearly mistaken. Unless it is me who is mistaken?

If only they substituted the sex story line parts of this episode with more mystery surrounding the ‘Kindred’ and the farm on which they lived. The farm was a marvellously atmospheric setting and could have played host to a real spooky episode.

I see that maybe the writers were looking to show the contrast between the two different worlds but it was hardly done in an imaginative or thought provoking way.

All we were left with were horny transsexual chick and dude magnet aliens that for some reason travelled across time and space just to settle down into an Amish way of life and ban themselves from the fruits of the forbidden tree without any explanation what so ever. Somehow I don’t think this is the ‘truth’ Mulder had been expecting to find.

I do like to draw some of my own conclusions from each episode but come on not all of them!

Other noteworthy episode points include:

Scully’s disbelief that a person would have sex with perfect stranger, such a prude. Scully’s Profile of the killer: indeterminate height, weight, sex, unarmed but extremely attractive. A funny prude no less.

Enter player Nicholas Lea. Before his appearance in the next season as Alex Krycek he had a role in this episode having, sex with brother Martin.

The pathetic attempt at a crop circle at the end. They didn't have to call in experts but jeez guys that was rubbish!

When questioned on the possibility that the show might be met with disapproval from Amish communities Chris Carter simply stated that he was not worried as the Amish do not watch television. Hahaha

This episode is flawed and feels incomplete but it is a fun ride and bring back fond memories for me, I could never say I dislike it or skip it during a Season watching marathon. 5/10 for me. 

Beyond the Sea Episode 13 Season 1 of The X-Files

Beyond the Sea Episode 13 Season 1 of The X-Files

Ground breaking 10/10

Synopsis: The agents are hunting down a kidnapper; Scully’s scepticism is put to the test when their only help comes in the guise of a death row inmate claiming psychic abilities who is looking for a pardon.

Beyond the sea raised the bar. The template set the standard that took The X-Files from an unassuming paranormal cop show to a celebrated worldwide phenomenon. An episode so rich in thought and feeling that can extend to nearly all that watch. Most of us have lost somebody. I myself have recently lost a friend and found comfort in what Scully learns.

This episode focuses squarely on Dana Scully, so much so that the writers had to hospitalise Mulder. This allowed Scully to open her mind to the possibilities of paranormal phenomenon, for the first time on an X-File she had no one off which to bounce her conflicting ideas. She alone must walk the line between the realms of distinct possibility and unconceivable probability. It is a lesson in growth for our sceptic agent. Can she let her guard down and allow herself to believe?

I like to think Scully’s mind has already been open to the possibilities of the paranormal. I don’t think her father’s silent spirit would have been able to reach out to her if she hadn’t, in a scene that I find as chilling as any other. We see what we allow ourselves to see and perhaps she is too stubborn to admit that she believes, why? Does it conflict with her work as a doctor, would it jeopardise her career within the bureau or more to the point would it bring further unrest to her father who has already casts doubts over her choice of career path?

Scully returns to work on the day of her father’s funeral. Mulder asks Scully how she is, calling her Dana for the first time which is something that resonates with her. After all she has not come to work looking for sympathy. She politely answers him then immediately turns the conversation towards the case the pair will be working on.

A teenage couple have been abducted by a killer believed to be replicating a crime he committed exactly a year previous, if the killer stays true to form the agent have exactly five days to find the teenagers before they are killed. The only lead they have is Luther Lee Bogs, a death row inmate with only one week before he is put to death. Bogs believes he has a psychic ability which will allow him to help the agents find the couple and the killer, in exchange for his life of course. Mulder is perceptibly sceptical about Bogs claim.

After Mulder has filled in Scully on Bogs and the case he leaves the room. I noticed Mulder owns a NICAP hat identical to the one worn by Max Fenig in the episode Fallen Angel. It is sitting on the coat stand and you can clearly see it when Mulder retrieves his jacket. I love the fact I can re-watch the series over and over and still find new bits to fascinate me.

With Mulder gone Scully hastily moves over to the X-Files cabinets and removes a document entitled VISIONARY ENCOUNTERS W/ THE DEAD. She instantly puts it back and slams the cabinet closed. Scully’s emotions are labouring here yet she remains stubborn. In the Next act a priest scatters Scully’s father’s ashes out at sea whilst Bobby Darlin’s Beyond the Sea plays out. Scully turns to her mother to asks her if her father was proud of her knowing that he had wanted her to go into medicine and not the FBI, and I presume for chasing monsters. Her mother replies simply ‘He was your father’.  This is a telling scene as we further explore the toil Scully is going through.

The agents interview Luther Lee Bogs. Bogs is clearly a scared man and desperate to prove his abilities to Mulder, it is the only way of saving his own life. I feel bogs could channel the emotions of the kidnapped couple without the need to touch an item of their clothing. Touching the clothing was for show and had more to do with humouring Mulder into believing his powers as he didn’t want to reveal his true connection to the kidnapper. A plan which backfired, well in the case of Mulder at least. Maybe Mulder was trying too hard to dispel Bogs claims and so found them too easy to dismiss.  Scully, having recently lost someone was easier for Bogs to reach. As she left the room he began to sing Beyond the Sea. She turns back to be confronted with another vision of her father. Bogs then says did you get my message Starbuck. These are all signs towards the paranormal ability of Bogs that Scully can surly not refute.

Scully happens across the area of which Bogs describes in his channelling. Scully finds the bracelet belonging to one of the kidnap victims and the coat hanger the killer used to whip them with. Do not be fooled into believing that finding this crime scene was a coincidence simply applied to allow the story to continue. Bogs can see the past the present and the future in his channelling and he asserted it in such a way that it could lead Scully. She saw what she allowed herself to see.

Mulder is upset by Scully’s gung-ho attitude in the acceptance of Bog authentication, which can only be viewed as hypocritical on the part of the FBI’s principal advocate for paranormal phenomenon. He is also upset that Scully lied in her report that it was paranormal phenomenon that lead her to the crime scene which it more understandable, but just goes to show Scully is not yet ready to commit herself to any other realms of possibility then that of science.

Mulders scepticism almost gets him killed. Following Bogs direct instructions to a boat house the agents Mulder and Scully and fellow FBI agents find the one of the kidnap victims gagged and bound. Whilst Scully tends to the victim, Mulder and other FBI sweep the surrounding area. Mulder in pursuit of the perpetrator is shot by a white cross. He was warned by Bogs to stay away from the white cross, a warning he disregarded. Was he shot because he didn’t see the cross or he didn’t want to see it? Maybe he never saw because he wouldn’t allow himself to see.

The killer is positively ID as Lucas Jackson Henry. It transpires that Henry was thought to have been partner to Bogs in a list of crimes although it was never proven. Scully’s internal conflicting beliefs rage on. Confronting Bogs Scully screams raw emotion at him angry that he had set her and her partner up or maybe more angry at herself for lowering her guard. She shuts her eyes and covers her ears shouting ‘no I don’t believe you!’. Bogs soon brings Scully back round to believing when he tells her of a story from her past that only she could have possibly known. At first she dismisses this as a story from any kid’s life but she is lying to herself still and she knows it. Teary she then requests to speak with her father; she wants to know what it was her father was trying to tell her after he had died. Bogs appears to hold back from channelling him and requests a deal.

Unable to broker a deal for Bogs life Scully lies to him to get the information. Bogs reveals that Henry and the last victim can be found at a condemned brewery. This, Scully believes compounds Bogs lies and concedes him to being a fraud. She questions Bogs on it and confronts him about being a liar in what is my favourite moment from the episode;

SCULLY: Luther, if you really were psychic...

BOGGS: I would have known you lied. That there never was a deal. I know you tried.

Wow just as Scully and us as viewers thought we had him! Just before Scully leaves the room Bogs warns her to stay away from the devil.

Scully and fellow FBI agents reach Henry as he was about to smash a hatchet into the skull of the remaining kidnap victim. Scully fires one shot to the torso of the axe wilding Henry who then runs. Scully gives chase. Henry sprints across a wooden platform next to which is a painting on the wall of a devil. Scully, heeding the advice of Bogs stops in her tracks. The platform is rotten and Henry falls through to his death.

Scully believes. She admits it to a man facing death yet cannot face it herself. Bogs offers her father’s message but she declines.

She knows what in death her father’s words would be. They are simply ‘I am proud of you’ I found this thought so moving, so true and so comforting.

I have other thoughts on this episode away from what we learn about Scully. I believe that Bogs was given his gift in order to redeem himself from the devil. He was given a second chance; the week prior to his death he prevented three deaths. The scene when he was walking to the gas chamber is remarkably brilliant and spooky.

Blogs ability to channel Henry and his victims came from his contact with Henry in previous crimes that the two were paired up on. A fact he had no intention of letting Mulder know, hence the Nicks jersey fiasco.

I cannot rate this episode any lower than a 10/10. The depth it added to Scullys character allowed her to become a main stay in show and in turn help cement The X-Files in television history for ever.

FALLEN ANGEL Episode 10 Season 1 of The X-Files

Max Power 8/10

Synopsis: Mulders attempt to infiltrate a U.F.O crash landing cover up is thwarted by the military leading to a chance meeting with an eccentric UFO fanatic with a history of past abductions.

Townsend, Wisconsin. A spaceship crashed in the woods, or as UFO reclamations expert Colonel Calvin Henderson puts it ‘confirmed Fallen Angel in sector 87’. Operation Falcon is put into action. An operation not only intent in the salvage and cover-up of the downed spacecraft, but also in the extermination of any and all extra-terrestrial life found at the wreckage site.

Mulder is loosely informed by Deep Throat that the quarantined area of a reported train crash in Townsend, Wisconsin was in fact a UFO crash site and that he had only 24hrnbefore all evidence was removed. That is all the information Mulder needs. Begin the defiant agents’ one man quest to uncover the truth. I love episodes where our two heroes go behind enemy lines as they normally always uncover something and this episode is no different. Mulder’s endeavour pays of and he is confronted by one hell of a spaceship and for the first time he remembers to bring a camera to collect photographic evidence. This preparation proves futile as he is soon caught by military personnel and dispossessed of is camera. He is brought in front of Colonel Henderson where his work on the X-Files is severely threatened, more on that later.

After the encounter with the Colonel, Mulder is placed in a holding cell which leads to his meeting with fellow detainee Max Fenig played by unknown Scott Bellis. I think this guy played the role superbly and I am not surprised he was given the opportunity to redeem his role in future episodes. He nailed the traits that one may expect of an obsessive loner. He had the equipment and knowledge to track U.F.O phenomena and mainly acted alone having little face to face contact with others and none with persons from outside the U.F.O fanatic circle. I could imagine that the investigative group he claims to be a part of N.I.C.A.P. consist of only a handful of awkward individuals. I think it is safe to say we have Scott Bellis to thank for the concept of the Lone Gunman. He demonstrated to the writers that informants to Mulder didn’t have to be shady two faced G-Men but could also be allies fighting for the same side. Mulder himself realises this. When he asks Max ‘What makes you so sure there is something out there’ Max replies ‘the same thing that makes you so sure’ Indicating that they both have encountered U.F.O phenomena and thus both want to get to the truth.

Scully’s comes to release Mulder from the holding pen not knowing the reasons for his actions. She rejects Mulder idea of a crashed U.F.O in belief of a highly classified story of a downed Libyan Fighter Jet carrying a nuclear pay load. A story Mulder dismisses as ‘a highly classified lie’. Scully has the attitude of a mother telling off her son, this may be due to the impending closure of the X-File brought about by Mulder’s exploits. Is she growing attached to department she works in or the partner she works with?

Scully regularly denounces Mulders theories throughout the episode I think in attempt by the writers to revert her back to her original purpose in the show. After all she may have been too willing to entertain Mulders wild notions of the paranormal in recent episodes and there is a need to re-establish her strong independent stance.

Meanwhile it is not enough that Colonel Henderson has to deal with an insubordinate FBI agent, he also has to track down and kill an extra-terrestrial capable of cloaking itself to its surroundings and destroying its adversaries using potent amounts of radiation. A task that it is fair to say he has no grasp on.

This alien creature is only interested in one thing, finding Max Fenig. It was recurring abductee Max that drew the craft to Townsend. He wasn’t aware of this or his previous abductions, He was only aware of blacking out and reawaking in strange places. It was Mulder noticing a scar behind Fenig’s ear that lead him to the conclusion that Fenig was an abductee, as that same scar came up in X-Files cases involving other abductees.  Another spaceship came down to Townsend to retrieve their fellow alien and Max Fenig disappears with them, for now.

Later back at FBI headquarters, agent Scully’s attempts to support Mulders actions appear to be in vein. The Office of Professional Responsibility Hearing run by Section Chief McGrath is not going well. Mulders turn defends his actions, but his evidence and field report are suppressed by conflicting reports from Colonel Henderson to which Mulder proclaims ‘How can I disprove lies that are stamped with an official
seal?.... You can deny all the things I've seen. All the things I've discovered, but not for much longer. Because too many others know what's happening out there. And no one, no government agency has jurisdiction over the truth.’

Although Mcgrath has Mulder banged to rights and makes the decision to disband the X-Files and probably remove Mulder from the bureau. The decision is overturned by Deep Throat. In a secret meeting between the two men Deep Throat explains his actions as keeping his friend close and enemies’ closer. This is the first time we see Deep Throat’s involvement away from Fox Mulder and he comes across as sinister and scheming and maybe more powerful then we previously thought.

Before I wrap this post up I just want to add a couple of my favourite bits from the episode.

·        Mulders reconnaissance mission, hanging on to the bottom of that truck.

·        The downed UFO and the fact that Mulder brought a camera.

·        That intrepid soul in search of a closer encounter that is Max Fenig

·        Scully: ‘we have a plane to catch in under an hour’ (It takes longer than an hour to get through security nowadays)

·        This little back and forth at the US Space Surveillance Centre;

CAPTAIN KORETZ: Sir I have flash traffic at 24-18. Repeated calls for ID go unanswered. And it’s not in the orbital or suborbital inventory.

MILITARY OFFICER: 24-18. Isn't that where...

CAPTAIN KORETZ: Same exact spot sir. Although I am reading a much larger craft his time.

MILITARY OFFICER: Meteor, Ms. Koretz.

CAPTAIN KORETZ: A much larger Meteor, sir. Hold on a second.(Putting hand to earpeice) We have a confirm. Whitmarsh Air Force Base is tracking...

MILITARY OFFICER: Where is it?

CAPTAIN KORETZ: Well, sir. The meteor, seems to be hovering over a small town in Eastern Wisconsin.

·        Various Mulder quotes; ‘a highly classifies lie.’ ‘Enigmatic Dr Scully.’ ‘You don’t seem to understand Scully, Max doesn’t believe he was abducted by aliens I believe he was.’  ‘no government agency has jurisdiction over the truth.’

I like this episode and could go on but maybe you can fill in the gaps or add your take, feel free to use the comment box below. For now I will leave you with my score 8/10

Thanks for reading.