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DMANN Investigates Tonight's X-FILES!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
The reasonably clever premise of tonight’s “X-Files” asks what would happen if a fan of Mulder & Scully’s work (essentially a surrogate for the show’s more rabid fans) realized her life’s dream and actually got assigned to the X-Files.
If you’re watching “The Sopranos” tonight, try to flip over to Fox for the last five minutes, wherein the X-Files “fan” gets to amusingly pummel Mulder and Scully with questions about the plot holes in 1998’s “X-Files” movie: “When you went to Antarctica to save Agent Scully from being taken by that spaceship, and you ran out of gas in your Snowcat, how did you get back?”
Here’s Dmann:
X Files 5/6/01 : “Alone”
Now this is the kind of X-files episode I like. Tight, well crafted, suspenseful, and not so focused on the “Big Bad” (to steal a Buffy term). Its just too bad that Scully (Gillian Anderson) can’t do anything except act as an expository lab technician. Ah well, at least they give her a nice moment with both Mulder (David Duchovny) and Doggett (Robert Patrick)
Then again, Mulder doesn’t really see much of the action in this episode either. The lions share of the real action belongs to Dogget and Agent Harrison (Jolie Jenkins), a first time field agent who is rather enthusiastic about the X-files, having been the accountant who processed Murder’s expense reports for all these years. There’s a few genuinely funny moments associated with this, including her asking Mulder and Scully how they got back from the Antarctic station, something that I actually wondered as well! Alas, Agent Harrison won’t be seen again, if she were on Star Trek, she would be wearing a red shirt.
The plot is pretty standard, classic killer monster in the woods, with a Mad Scientist twist, nothing too fancy. The tension rises, the mystery presents itself, Dogget and Harrison get stuck in a scary dungeon, lose their sight, and finally Mulder rescues them in a climax scene that has genuine tension, even on the small screen. Plot and story wise, everything just clicks, and works together to give a pretty damn entertaining episode.
Now, as far as the ongoing story goes, nothing really spectacular happens. Scully starts her maternity leave, and then goes back to work about 3 seconds later, so that’s same old same old. She lets Doggett know how much she appreciates him as a Partner. The dynamic with Mulder no longer at the FBI could work, if he were to come back next season. It might be interesting to have him working on his own, without the FBI resources behind him. Then again, from what I understand, Duchovny wont be back, so that’s not really an issue.
I give “Alone” three and a half out of five stars, it would have earned another half star if they had found something more inventive for Scully to do besides talk on a cell phone from the morgue.
This one would actually be worth taping, and watching after the Sopranos.
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A good episode with Duchovny
He's been pissing me off, I'm glad Doggett gets to see the action, Rob Patrick deserves to have a good role like this, he's earned it (Even if he doesn't have a "real" last name) -
Dig, dag, darnit. I hate the premise of tonight's episode, monster ep's just turn me off completely, but I love how the supporting character brings up unresolved issues in past episodes tonight. I've always wanted to write myself into the show and ask them questions that were never adequately answered. "So Scully, you were infected with the alien virus by a bee sting, and somehow you managed to travel for hundreds of miles without noticing that one of those bee's took the trip with you?" Anyway, I guess I'll have to record tonight's episode and watch it tomorrow, non-myth ep or not.
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was a major plothole....I didnt buy that one at all!
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They really lost some steam from the earlier years, but T-1000 is keeping it real. They need to stop doing the advertisements with David in them saying "AN ALL NEW X-FILES STARRING DAVID Duchovnay(sp?)!" It kinda belittles the rest of the cast, and david is starting to seem like susann sommers in three's company. Taking the front line.
go to my website at http://www.popculturepit.com/TaoofJoe/index.shtml, and feel free to tell me how much you hate it -
May 06, 2001 2:50:52 PM CDT
Duchovny has to come back next season to help out raisng his and
by monkey_king
"If I don't make it back, tell the kid I went down swingin'" - Fox Mulder from last weeks episode.
Further proof he IS playing Daddy to Scully's unborn 'miracle' child. -
I don't get it. Didn't this guy "leave" the show? Wasn't he to pursue an acting career on the big screen? Tsk tsk. Too bad he didn't call David Caruso before turning in his two week notice. Did it not hit him until AFTER he left X-Files that he doesn't have a shread of acting talent? Now he's back as if he never left. I think Seinfeld had an episode like this where George quit and then tried to sneak back in. Man, I miss that show.
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That was hilarious...when agent Harrison asked how Mulder got back after the Snow CAT ran out of gas. I think someone in a Talk Back here mentioned that little plot hole.
That was hilarious. -
Duh, Mulder was touring the FBI offices because he wanted to get in the building.
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I think it was good to have her here..."voice of the fans"
of course they didn't answer the question...sheesh. Chris Carter best explain it before the series ends. I'm interested in seeing Dogget carry this show. he doesn't care about mythology, he just wants to get the job done -
But he was also the co-writer of the X-Files movie, which makes for an illuminating moment when Harrison asks that question.
Spotnitz signals quite directly that he is aware of the plot hole that is supposedly there. If I'm not mistaken, he's also saying that people should get over it, by having Mulder and Scully get stuck on what they think is important: whether or not the spaceship was real!
Some people don't understand the stringent limits of time that apply to TV or Film stories.
Of course, I should be fair and note that leaving out the means by which they got out of Antarctica would be jarring for some, and whenever possible, such leaps should be avoided whenever it's possible.
The thing is, though, by the time that situation arises, the important parts of the story have already happened. Would it be comforting to some if we saw Mulder steal a snowcat from nearby, or the two of them get rescued by some survey plane sent to see what the living fuck was going on there, it isn't entirely necessary to the progression of events as they occurred. It really has no substantial bearing on the themes or dynamics of the story.
Point is, we know the agents weren't going to become part of the Wilkes Land area glaciers. They passed the test. The duty of the writer after that point is to get it over with, to put it bluntly. Two scenes later, true to form, they're out of there.
As for the episode itself, I got a kick out of Agent Harrison's naivete. I just got a kick out of seeing him have to deal with this fresh-faced youngster who talks like Mulder, minus the detective work genius he always mustered to justify his way-out theories. -
Gillian and David were good for the X-Files. they brought a nice aura to the show, until they got "too big" for it. Now, they are both bored with the show, and it's reflected in their acting, especially David's (because he hopes Evolution does well, so he'll be a respected actor and make more movies like Don't Tell Mom, the babysitter's dead 2, and Beethoven's 4th.) Robert Patrick has been to the movies, and he knows how it works in the biz. I think he is breathing much needed life into the X-Files, because he is seemingly unaffected by his co-star's egos. Mitch Pileggi is still good, because he is also remaining constant with his ego. On Friday's Lone Gunmen, he certainly wasn't afraid to act his balls off by making fun of himself (or rather, turning in a fine performance of how that other guy would act.) So please don't be attached to the characters of Mulder and Scully, the actors aren't attached anymore, why should you be?
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then its obvious you haven't watched any good episodes in quite awhile if you think this way.
My suggestion is to go watch
Clyde Bruchman's Final Repose, Pusher, The Host, Squeeze, Revelations, Beyond The Sea, The Unnatural, Small Potatoes, and countless others then go back and watch anything from Season 8.
Then maybe you'll be able to differentiate between crap from quality.
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ah well, i hated her with the passion of a thousand suns. i hope duchovny doesn't come back, his arrogance has destroyed his character. scully/doggett/(maybe) reyes would be nice.
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raingirl, this season hasn't been that bad. i'll be the first to admit it pales in comparasion to seasons 1 thru 4, sure, but its 1000% better than (shudder) last year's season 7, and even the last half of 6.
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Was anybody else amused by seeing Scully packing up Queeqeg's dog tag? I was so happy when the little yapping rat got eaten. It was a pleasant surprise to be reminded of its death.
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OMG YES...I was so amused to see that dog's messed up tag. (sigh)
Back when the X-Files didn't need a blood transfusion -
I think, in the annals of TV Geek history, people will talk about the "good" seasons of X-Files being seasons 1-4 and then add season 8 to the list. However, it is of course problematic to lump together "seasons" of a show, when every year has its good eps and bad eps. (Heck, I thought there were several great shows in season 7...which was otherwise the low point.) But season eight has been pretty consistantly good. There weren't any really bad eps, and there have been a number of great ones (the one with the cult of slug-worshippers, the backwards "Memento"-ish episode with Joe Morton). And ever since Mulder returned in the episode "This is Not Happening!" The show has been on one heck of a roll--heck, even in the good ol' days there weren't this many great eps in a row! Last weeks ep on the oil rig and now tonight's continuity-heavy installment makes it seem like they might just be wrapping up loose ends for the end of the show...maybe, possibly, I hope? And why bash Duchovny? Egotistical or not, he was right--the show should come to an end. By leaving he's helping facilitate that. I really hope Fox has the good sense NOT to let this show keep going without Scully and Mulder (Jeez, I can't believe I even have to write that!) but by the same token, I would like to see Doggett be a part of any new movies or what have you. And heck, Reyes can stick around too. I'm feeling generous.
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I think prankster works for Alvin Kersh, lol
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As far as stand alone/non-mytharc episodes go, this is one of the best ones this season. I really liked Agent Harrison (not so much that I hope she has a long-standing role but I liked her a lot for this ep.) But I just wish that they'd either END THE SERIES, or SOMEHOW get Duchovny back for just... even half... of ONE MORE FREAKING season, and END IT THERE, so MAYBE, just MAYBE they'll finally do another movie like they've talked about doing for years and years. And it couldn't POSSIBLY be anywhere NEAR as cool without Mulder AND Scully. Scully would probably be there anyway though... Whatever.
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Though it might not have been popular with a lot of people on this board, I think of the X-Files as I did of Northern Exposure..
NX was a show, that while it involved a larger group of people, at its core, it was about one mans journey. It was the town of Cicily as seen through his eyes, and how it effected him.
When the Rob Morrow left, they tried to keep the series alive, but it was a total mess, i couldnt stand to watch, luckily, the last episode with his character was a fitting, though not completely fulfilling, final episode.
I feel that the X-Files, is at its core, about Muldars journey, and we see the X-Files through his eyes... thats what added the depth that i loved to the series. Without that it starts to have a lot more in common with Kolchak The Night Stalker than not.
Though dont get me wrong, I loved The Night Stalker. It's just that the X-files is so much more.
I wish both shows had just paid whatever to the actors in order to get them to do one last season to wrap things up nice and tight, and not put the series on life support.
Of course, your milage may vary....
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GET A FUCKING JOB! "Sopranos" is the best show on tv. Well written, well directed, well acted stories. Others will say, "West Wing" and that's okay too. But, "X-Files" has run its course. "IT'S OVER JOHNNY! IT'S OVER!"
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Hey, uh raingirl? While those episodes you mentioned were all good (except I wasn't CRAZY about "The Unnatural") they're in the past. Stop making comparisons to fucking old episodes. They're finished. One reason that those shows were good is because the show was still FRESH, NEW and EXCITING. Now it's getting on in years, and beginning to show it's age. So don't expect that. That way if an episode comes along that matches that quality it will be a pleasant surprise. Stop going into things withhigh expectations, you'llenjoy yourself more. And when they can pull out an episode like tonights, and hell, most of the recent episodes as compared to say, season 7 or something, then you should be HAPPY.
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That they haven't mentioned anything about how there were only 2 more episodes of David Duchovny's Mulder? I'm wondering if he WILL be sticking around for a few episodes next season. I thought tonight's episode was pretty decent. I liked the jarring introduction of a field agent's worst nightmare in Agent Harrison ("I used to process Mulder and Scully's travel expenses") C'mon people, if that isn't hilarity, I don't know what is! The whole monster out in the woods thing was old hat and has been played out many a times (didn't they already do that to Doggett this season?). And what was the reason that it attacked the old man and the caretaker (what did his father ask him to do outside anyways?). Isn't that a little suspect to be killing people on your own property? Anyway, one wonders if these little plot holes were only fabrications by the writer to poke holes at fanboy geeks attempting to answer EVERY QUESTION IMAGINABLE in a series/movie. It reminds me of the Poochie the Dog episode on The Simpsons where Comic Book Guy is asking the voice of Itchy and Scratchy about some plot hole on the show. Funny stuff. I also liked Agent Harrison's knowledge of every episode/scenario of Mulder and Scully's career. I half expected her to bust out at Doggett "Oh, and I loved you in that robot movie!". Later.
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I'm not 100% certain, but I think my X-Files viewing habits have waxed and waned pretty much along the seasonal lines outlined in previous posts. The problem these last few seasons hasn't been actors--it's been writers. In the early seasons, they had an amazing stable of writers, all of whom could be depended on to write good, solid, inventive episodes. In the last three or four seasons, those writers (as with many good television shows) have gone off to write shows and movies of their own. When you then bring in new writers, they already see the show as set-in-stone formula, when it doesn't necessarily need to be. Can the show be reinvented? Possibly, but it means letting go of the past. A good example of this would be ER, which sucked big time last season and is pretty darned good this season, in large part because the mostly new writers have figured out what they can do well with the characters they have that they could never have done with the characters that have left. (This is particularly true with Maura Tierney's Abby Lockhart, which is a great character and a great performance.) I haven't watched X-Files regularly this season, but from the eps I've seen John Doggett is a great character. His skepticism is not Scully's skepticism, since it's based on investigative common sense not science and cannot be taken apart in the same ways that hers was. Scully could always say "There is a scientific explanation that I just haven't formulated yet"; scientists know that the senses can lie. But what does Doggett have besides his senses? Only his gut. Watching him undergo a characteristically slow paradigm shift could be quite interesting. The only way it's going to happen, though, is if Mulder and Scully go off to raise lil Kal-El on their own with minimal guest appearances. I wouldn't mind Monica Reyes that much as a partner, since she's New Agey rather than Area 51-ish. The full reinvention COULD be interesting to watch. Two minor points (and damn that lack of paragraph breaks): (1) I really like what they're doing with Duchovny--impending fatherhood apparently has the same effect on Fox Mulder that it had on David Addison; (2) to my dying day, I will never understand the impulse to praise one show at the expense of another. To say X-Files is good does not require saying that Buffy is bad. In both cases, the creators work carefully and intelligently but for demonstrably different results. To slightly paraphrase Northrop Frye, "Criticism has no business reacting against things, but should strive for greater and greater appreciation and broadness of taste." (And no that does not mean everything is byoo-ti-ful in its own way--it does mean disdain and invidious comparison are not clear signs of elevated taste.)
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When I was a kiddo back in the mid-'70s I read a "giant-sized" Marvel reprint of the first Spider-Man vs. the Lizard story, and I was AMAZED at how much last night's X-Files resembled Web-Head's old adventure. Coincidence? I think not. That said, it was enjoyable hokum. I liked the bit about Agent Harris herself being an X-Files fangirl; and though I was disappointed she DIDN'T die like one of those nameless redshirts from the original Trek series, I'm glad they made it clear she won't be a regular part of the series.
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...And this show has gone on too long!! We have seen this story in some way or another before. They are rehashing now. I want what was once a great show to end so I can stop rolling my eyes.
This new agent they had was lackluster and I dont believe for a moment that some one that worked with their expenses would be transfered to the X-files. Whos next, the janitor? She might do ok in a dress store or something but I was totally unconvinced that she has what it took to work on the X-files.
I dont like the little lovey dovey moments between Mulder and Scully. This has turned into Moonlighting. I never thought they should "Get together" and if I remember right so did Carter. But along with his statement years ago that they series would no go beyong Season 5, he has reniged, taked the money and kept a product on the air longer than it should be just so Fox has a show left with a fan base.
End it and dont let us see another season of half-assed written episodes. I dont care about the mythology anymore or the black oil or Krycheck or.... -
I'm glad to see Agent Harrison gone, although to be honest, I'm not that crazy about Reyes. But I do agree with one of the earlier talkback posts that said the show can't continue with Scully but not Mulder or vice-versa. Scully and Doggett just do not work together. And I love Doggett! I think he is a great character, and you can see how badly R. Patrick wants this gig. He is great! A couple of weeks ago, when he bounced Mulders head off the corridor wall, screaming at Mulder to stay out of his business, that was awesome, and a hell of a lot more emotion than Duchovny has put forth in years. I wish Duchovny the best of luck after the X-Files, but am reminded of the short-lived movie careers of David Caruso and many others who "outgrew" the characters that made them famous. I'm not sure what I'll do without my weekly dose of Gillian Anderson though. That will be tough. Perhaps I'll run out and get the early seasons on DVD. It could work.
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It is also pretty clear that you do not watch Buffy. Maybe you should heed your own advice. Actually are you sure you are X files fan. You are one of the first one I have met that does not love "Buffy" Stupid people you call "Buffy's" fans. The only people who are stupid are the ones who give "Buffy" great complements like " its Clueless, with vampires" And of course the people who do not follow your advice, yourself included. When the show goes into reruns, I say "why don't you watch it, every single episode, weekly just like you suggested for the XD files. I can "guarantee" taht you would now consider yourself stupid for not have watching it sooner.
And one more thing, Every one knows that "Buffy" is actualy Scooby Doo, the X files, meets "heathers" not "Clueless. -
The Sopranos is ina league of its own.
Besides I, Claudius, its the only show I have watched where I hated to see an episode end.
X files needs to end--soon.
It cannot possibly survive another season though Patrick can carry his own show.
Note: Skinner's impression of Jimmy Bond was absolutely hilarious on last week's Lone Gunmen. :)
That antarctica bit was amusing--but pointless. Anything could have happened to get them back. Who cares. It would have been easy to say that some Norwegian helicopter happened to be flying by--chasing a dog for some funny reason--and they got a lift back that way.
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The character of Leyla Harrison is actually a tribute to a real person named Leyla Harrison. She was a pretty good fanfic writer who recently died after battling cancer. So, yes, the episode was a tribute to XF fans but it was also a special tribute to Leyla.
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