Cool News
HERC Peeks Into Tonight's X-FILES!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
X-FILES 8.17 FAQ
WHAT’S IT CALLED?
“Epedocles.”
WHAT WOULD YOU TITLE THIS EPISODE?
“Fired.”
WHO’S REPSONSIBLE?
Teleplay is credited to longtime series contributor (and former “Harsh Realm” story editor) Greg Walker.
WHAT DOES TV GUIDE SAY?
“Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) asks Mulder for help after a disturbing experience at the site of a New Orleans double-murder case that she says involves Doggett.”
THE BIG NEWS?
We learn Doggett, like Agent Reyes, has psychic powers.
DOES MULDER STILL SPORT EVIDENCE OF HIS ALIEN FACE-PIERCING?
Nary a blemish.
ANY SIGN OF THE ALIEN-CONTROLLED ADAM BALDWIN DUDE?
Not this week.
HOW ARE MULDER AND DOGGETT GETTING ON THESE DAYS?
Poorly. When Doggett catches Mulder looking into Doggett’s past, Doggett grabs Mulder by the lapels, mashes him into a cement wall and begins screaming at him as loud as he possibly can. (Scully later encourages Mulder to help Doggett: “He’s worth the effort, Mulder.”)
WOULD ONE DESCRIBE MULDER AND DOGGETT AS CHUMMY BY EPISODE’S END?
No. But they eventually prove themselves capable of having a civil conversation.
WHAT’S IN THE TEASER?
A lot. A man gets fired from his job. As he wanders, dazed, out of his former workplace, he sees a police chase end in a fiery crash. Someone, consumed in flames, exits one of the crashed cars and calmly merges into the just-fired guy. The just-fired guy returns to work and shoots the two bosses who just fired him.
WHAT ISN’T TV GUIDE TELLING US?
In the first act, a very pregnant Scully is rushed to the hospital with abdominal pains. We learn much later that she had a partial abruption: the placenta was beginning to tear itself away from the uterine wall. (She’s back home by episode’s end.)
WHAT IS REYES’ “DISTURBING EXPERIENCE”?
When Reyes arrives on the crime scene, she has a vision: one of the bodies seems to turn into the kind of corpse one might find inside a building gutted by fire.
HOW DOES REYES LINK DOGGETT TO THE NEW MURDERS?
Reyes had a vision of a charred body once before: when she found the body of Doggett’s son. Doggett was with the NYPD at the time. Reyes and Doggett worked the case together. They never found the killer. The kicker is: Doggett at the time said he had the same vision, but has convinced himself over the years that he never saw what he saw.
WHAT DOES MULDER LEARN JUST BEFORE DOGGETT ACCOSTS HIM?
The flame guy (the one who merged with fired-guy in the teaser) was a suspect in the murder of Doggett’s son!
WHAT’S GOOD?
We finally learn why Doggett’s skepticism is so insanely persistant. Doggett asks a hospitalized Scully what turned her from a non-believer to a Mulderish believer-type. Says Scully: “I realized it was me. That I was afraid. Afraid to believe. Why do you ask?” Replies Doggett: “Some other time.” But Doggett later makes an admission to Reyes: “I got to believe that I did everything I could to save him [Doggett’s son]. To get him back safe. To not let him down. I got to believe I did everything humanly possible, because if I can’t believe that, then these other possibilities that you talk about, that Mulder talks about, that Agent Scully talks about, if they’re real, that’s something else I could have done to save my son.”
WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD?
The case may strike some as a watered-down crib from “The Hidden.” Mulder’s wisecracks (or Mulderisms, if you must) may strike some as poorly crafted and occasionally inappropriate to the story’s tone.
HERC’S RATING FOR “X-FILES” 8.17?
***
The Hercules T. Strong Rating System:
**** better than most motion pictures
*** actually worth your valuable time
** as horrible as most stuff on TV
* makes you quietly pray for bulletins
You’re not the source of me.
-
+ Expand All
-
the sopranos, instead. at least it's not quite as far along in its decline.
-
and is now landing on the opposite ramp! An impressive jump by our formerly well-written TV show.
-
X-files made it half-way across the tank and smacked into the retaining wall on the other side...
The show could still work, but it has to dump both Mulder and Scully - their stories have been told and there's nothing left to do with them... Carter must know this, so that's why he is moving in Doggett and the Reyes into place - that is if the show is renewed. -
I have been watching good ol' x files since the beginning, and I do still enjoy it, but at this point would not cry too much if they finally wrapped it up and finished it. Buffy has overtaken it in the area of dramatics, and frankly, for about two months now, I have become VERY hooked on CSI. I find the investigations and science involved much more intriguing than what x-files has offered for awhile now, and CSI has no lumbering, out of control mythology to get in the way of good pure detective work. Besides that, all the actors on CSI seem actually interested in their work, unlike wanna-be movie star Duchovny (Evolution, anyone? Blech.) Yeah, I know Uber-hack Bruckheimer is behind it, but for some reason it still works, and works well. Highly reccomended if you have not seen it!
-
*sigh* I just don't get people on this site. It's like they're not happy if they are not bashing something they supposedly 'enjoy' Case in point is the X-Files...people complain about the lumbering mythology of the series..the mythology is what makes the show! And then they bash Duchovny for trying to have a movie career? I mean come on, cut the guy a break. I personally am looking forward to Evolution as much as Planet of the Apes and Mummy 2. And Bruckheimer, with the exception of a few movies, is one of the finest producers in Hollywood methinks...he gives the people what they want. Back to the X-Files though, I am still 100% behind the show...it hasn't slipped continuouly into trashville like Star Trek has over the past few years (would it be so hard for them to update the production value a TAD? Christ...alien worlds look as realistic now as they did in 1968) I'm rambling now, so lest I put my foot in my mouth like so many talkbackers do, I'm just going to sign off.
-
The guy who gets fired from his job, Jay Underwood I think is his name, played Johnny Storm in the awful and unreleased Fantastic Four movie. I wonder if it was a coincidence that he was cast as the character who merges with the guy on fire. And was that just a cameo of Denise Crosby as the Doctor or are we gonna see her again. Speaking of guest stars, I don't care how pissed off Chris Carter is with Duchovney, Agent Mulder needed an episode focused on just him when he came back. Now he seems to be just along for the ride.
-
Apr 22, 2001 7:24:16 PM CDT
Chip from Not Quite Human!! Or the boy from The Boy Who Could F
by milktoast
Yeah, Underwood rocks. Well, no, he doesn't. Neither does Luis Guzman, not to be a dick because really everybody rocks, right? Right? Life rocks, doesn't it? I mean, doesn't it. Aw. That maudlin Lethal Weapon guitar riff just went off in my ear. I, I gotta go.
-
I am a casual watcher of the X-Files. I don't watch all the time. I really only enjoy the mythology episodes, but they haven't really done anything REALLY exciting with the mythology since the season right after the movie (which was my favorite season so far). In other words, there have bee no BIG killer breakthroughs in the over-all alien colonization story. We keep hearing that the invasion has begun, but see very few signs in the newer episodes. I think that this lack of resolution hurts this show more than anything. I came out of the movie expecting to see a BIG alien invasion. Instead, we got a crappy resolution to Mulder's sister story, and then he got kidnapped to go make movies. Doggett has been the best thing on the X-Files this year. Any how, I just want some kind of resolution to the big story of the aliens. Even if the aliens eventually give up with the "possibilty" of a return in the future, leaving movie stories wide open. Tonight's episode seemed really contrived and was only saved by the tension between Mulder and Doggett. The Reyes character was pretty annoying and her persistence made little sense. Doesn't she have superiors to answer to? She flies to DC based on her "vision"? And how did she get to the connection with "evil" in the world? Really dumb and thoughtless. This shows how the non-mythology shows have become just throw aways with huge plot holes. I give it 1 star, just because I liked seeing Doggett slam Mulder into the wall.
-
The sky is falling!!!
Well no, chicken little, it's not falling, but someone grab the rock salt because HELL just bloody well froze over.
And I tend to agree with Herc (another bad sign) - the ep was a clear three, and Mulder's so-called witticisms were out of place for the most part. Scully got the biggest laugh in the episode.
Unfortunately most of DD's lines were phoned in. However, for all those complaining about how tired the series is, the last few episodes have shown how well this "tired" series can perform against most of the utter crap circling the drain that is TV-Land. Robert Patrick's performance in this episode was outstanding - for less than half the price of DD's. Gillian Anderson was her usual strong self. The effects in those one were stellar considering the TV budget, even if it is the high XF budget. If Buffy could get the kind of effects performance for its money, well... -
That whole "evil as a disease" business is a bit of medieval Christian theology that seems to make its way far too often into the sci-fi/horror genre. I'll bet more than a few students at more than a few colleges have done research papers on science fiction as religious/political proppaganda. There's certainly ample research material available out there.
-
After following it from its pilot episode, gaining love for the characters and the ongoing story, it dawned on me last year that there never was any real plan. There were never going to be any resolutions (none that satisfied their audience, anyway), and that Carter's just twiddling his thumbs here until the Next Big Thing comes along (maybe third time's the charm.) X-Files fans deserve the ending they've been clamouring for all these years! Mulder REALLY finds his sister! Mulder confronts the CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN in one last, grand showdown! Mulder actually plays some kind of pivotal role in the ALIEN INVASION, maybe even playing some part in STOPPING IT. Don't let it go out like this! The talents involved in this show have lifted it to incredible heights in the past because of their passion for this material. It seems the ball's being dropped here at the end due to simple lack of interest. I'm not sure if I have any hope for the remaining episodes. I've heard rumours of the CSM returning (HOPE!), but Mulder's character is seems to be treading water until he's written out completely. I like Robert Patrick and Annabelle Gish and I believe they have good chemistry and could actually carry things on, but hell - we want to see Mulder COME FULL CIRCLE. We've followed him all this way and he's just going to float out of it like it was some big goof? Ugh. Maybe Scully's baby will have some plot ideas.
-
A Mad ABout You Reference on a what is supposed to be a paranormal show.
This show has lost everything that made it special to begin with.
No wonder its considered a joke. -
I still think if I'd never heard of the XF and just started watching now I'd be impressed (and not just by the production values). Anyway I guess that's hypothetical, and as it stands it just seems to be pissing away. BTW does anyone read Herc's "reviews"? If you're gonna watch the show in a few hours it's a total spoiler, and after the show, well you've just seen it, you don't need it summarized (unless you weren't paying attention)
-
I love Doggett. In fact, I think that Doggett was the most interesting (and charismatic) performance last night. After all of this hype over Mulder's return, Robert Patrick has been acting circles around him. I also thought that Duchovny was forcing his performance. It just felt artificial.
Reyes is the most annoying character to appear in X-files in years. I can't stand her. She's like some FBI flower-child. Yeah, she's got this psychic power, but then she starts her little hippy feel-good speeches and I just want to throw up. When Jay Underwood's sister clocked her with the fire extinguisher, I cheered with joy! "Finish her off", I cried, "Smash her head in!" But no such luck. Maybe next week?
A side note..... my roommate is Jay Underwood's cousin, so I spent last night watching X-files and hearing these amusing and embarrassing anecdotes about Jay. Now THAT'S entertainment! -
Did anyone see the trailer for next week? Dogget and Mulder get stuck on an oil rig together, so of course, the Black Oil virus comes along. Ah, but which Black Oil virus is this? The "mutated" one from the movie? Hell, no. We get the original version again, the one that supposedly composed of real oil, takes control of the host, and gives them the ability to turn anyone in a 100 yard radius into a Crispy Critter(TM). WTF is with that?
-
So, Doggett saw his son's body as a burnt corpse, and whenever he visited Scully, he saw visions. Does that make him "psychic?" I dunno. I assumed because of the nature of the case (having to do with his son), that he was able to see some kind of visions, but I doubt it's something that is going to be happening to him normally. Remember when Scully's father died in "Beyond the Sea," she saw him sitting in her living room right before her mother called to say that he died. Does that make her psychic? (Well, some people think so. . .) Scully has also showed signs of being sensitive to religious-related phenomenon (anyone remember the episode with the Seraphin?), but that never really played out. I don't expect to see a psychic Doggett again.
On another topic: Was anyone else weirded out by seeing an obviously middle-aged Denise Crosby when the "fired-guy" (his name was Jed something . . .) died? I remember Denise as Tasha Yar, and that a good number of years ago, when she was much younger. It just seemed weird to see her again, being so old. Not bad, just weird.
One final opinion: While I like the stories on the X-Files (at least part of the time), my favorite part of the show has always been the character interaction (that and the mythology). Mulder and Scully's relationship always fascinated me. I'm not sure I could continue to watch this show if the featured players were Scully and Doggett. I'm hoping this season will end of Mulder and Scully riding off into the sunset (preferably together). If Doggett and Reyes are the X-Files agents next season, and both Mulder and Scully are gone for good, I will at least try a couple of episodes before I decided to stay or go. I don't think I could bring myself to watch Scully without Mulder, though. -
that I actually tend to agree with. This ep had some great moments but it just didn't quite add up. Still better than most garbage on TV, though. I finally got my hands on the Season 2 DVDs though--cheap--and WHOOOOOOO that's some good stuff. The Duane Barry eps? The first appearance of the shape-shifters? Yeahhhh come on! Some of those season 2 episodes are up there with the best series TV ever done. The show isn't hitting those high marks anymore, but it's still in the same general area and Robert Patrick is doing MVP-caliber work. I think they should do one more season and then go to the movies.
-
Hey!
You have some problem with the Milwaukee Bucks? They have more depth than any other current team.
Although the ego's of the big three have cost them games from time to time. I also happen to still enjoy my doses of the X-Files. I do think its time to wrap it up if they want to save a movie franchise but next to West Wing and The Sopranos its the best thing on T.V. -
I just had to add that.
-
You know, it's weird. While I enjoyed the episode (Empedocles) I gotta' say that I enjoyed Three Words WAY more, and it got a wors review... I know it's a matter of taste, and I did really like Doggett's confrontation against Mulder in the newest episode, but I don't know. I would pobably still give this episode a *** ratin, but I would've given Three Words ****. But I guess that's just subjective. I also hope that the next few episodes are as good as they've been saying.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 439 total posts 165 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 144 total posts 142 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 153 total posts 138 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 55 total posts 47 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 196 total posts 45 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 60 total posts 36 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 127 total posts 36 posts
- I am The Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day! No, I’m the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day! -- 35 total posts 35 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 513 total posts 29 posts
- The Sensorties Revisit The Friday Docback (And Still Smell)!! DOCTOR WHO Story #7 Again, The Coming Of Season/Series 7, And More!! -- 117 total posts 26 posts