X-Files Rerun "The Jersey Devil"

Aired 10/8/93

When I'm watching this episode, I feel the same way too, buddy.

I have been reviewing Season One episodes because I want to have everything archived over here and also because I feel my early reviews are very poorly written. However there still isn't much to say about this episode that I didn't say three years ago, so I'm just going to copy and paste my original review from Live Journal.

Just the same as last week, this episode seems to be more about the agents themselves than the actual case file. When they're prevented from investigating what Mulder thinks is the Jersey Devil, he decides to stick around town and investigate on his own. Scully goes back to D.C. for her god son's birthday party and meets some dude. It contrasts between the two, showing Mulder's life is the X-Files and how obsessive he is, while to Scully it is just a job. Scully goes on a date but Mulder ends up spending a night in the pokey. Her date Ralph even says to her, "having kids changes everything", but he forgot to mention that includes your tv show too. I think it was good character development here showing the differences between Mulder and Scully, yet at the same time I think this episode spawned the shippers. At the end Scully decides that for now she'd rather stick with Mulder and the X-Files, giving up having a social life.

This is only the third or fourth time I've watched this episode and I never noticed it before, but when Mulder is in the casino making a phone call, he's actually standing in front of a green screen. Another notable thing is that Mulder gave his hotel key to a bum. I think that could be why he was audited in "Requiem"; the dude must've racked up a huge room service bill that went unpaid for the next 7 years.

Okay, so there is something new I noticed! I called her date Ralph but his name is Rod. As if Scully would date a "Ralph" anyways, she deserves more credit than that.

X-Files Rerun "Conduit"

Aired 10/1/93

Four episodes in and three of them are alien-related, however this one takes a different approach. Rather than government cover-ups, this is a more personal story that Mulder becomes attached to because it relates to his sister's disappearance when they were kids. It brings out a side of Mulder that they barely scratched the surface of back in "Deep Throat."

To me the case feels a lot like something you'd see on Unsolved Mysteries. A woman had a close encounter with a UFO as a girl scout and now nearly 30 years later her daughter is thought to be abducted by aliens, with her son having some type of link to the occurrence. I was never a fan of this episode until recently, mostly because of some unintentional humor. The way the mother cries out for her daughter at the start of the episode, "Ruuuuuuu-BAY", makes me laugh as well as any mention of Lake Okobogee.

The episode does feel severely dated as being purely 90's "based on true story" events, yet I can't dismiss it as being a weak episode. The emotional side of the episode I mentioned before which strikes a raw nerve with Mulder is what makes it worth watching again. The case nearly pushes him over the deep end and shows us just how his sister's disappearance has altered his whole life. The partnership with Scully continues to strengthen because she tries to snap him out of it. She was supposed to talk him out of taking the case, but now he's pissing off the government again, so maybe she feels a bit responsible for that.

I'm not sure if it was intentional but when I re-watched "Conduit" this time, the episode reminded me a lot of Twin Peaks. The subplot with Ruby's boyfriend who was cheating on her and got the girl pregnant, the setting with the lake surrounded by woods, weird bikers, and just the general "feel" of the episode felt inspired by Twin Peaks. That's not a bad thing, though.

X-Files Rerun "Squeeze"

Originally Aired 9/24/93
Originally Reviewed 9/25/08

Here it is, the first standalone thriller of the series, and my all-time favorite from that category of episodes. Its just as good as it was the first time, or even the fifth time. I believe while it was hinted in the pilot that Mulder has a reputation in the FBI, this episode is the first time he's actually given the "Spooky" Mulder nickname. It should come as no surprise since he's just as offbeat as in the Pilot. After being asked if he thinks its the work of little green men, Mulder quickly corrects them by saying they're grey. Here's his full line, "Grey. You said green men. A Reticulan's skin tone is actually grey. They're notorious for their extraction of terrestrial human livers. Due to iron depletion in the Reticulan galaxy."

Not only is this the first standalone episode, its also the first from my favorite X-Files writers, Glen Morgan & James Wong. I enjoy their work on the series the most because not only did they have creative cases for Mulder & Scully, but they added a new layer to the characters while supplying a healthy dose of humor to the series. Although I said they did have creative scripts, this one actually started a trend where they borrowed from other works. The villain in this episode, Eugene Tooms, hibernates for 30 years after consuming human livers. It felt very similar to the second Kolchak tv movie where that villain also hibernates after committing murders; yet I like how the X-Files team made it their own. One instance is what I call Toom's liver vision. As he's stalking his prey, they are in full color while the rest of the scene is greyed out. His eyes turn a creepy shade of yellow too.

This episode starts another trend for Season One, too. We get to know Mulder and/or Scully better through the use of a person from their past. This time Scully is introduced to the case because a colleague of her's is stumped by the lack of evidence, so he brings Scully onto the case, but its Mulder who cracks it in an unusual way. After he finds a fingerprint on an air vent, they match it with prints from previous murders and visit the detective from that case. It creates a chilling scene where the retired, old detective describes the murder scenes and it almost gives me goosebumps.

After two alien-related episodes, The X-Files proved they could tackle more than just flying saucers. They hit a home run with "Squeeze" and that's why its been my "go-to" episode for introducing the series to new people.

X-Files Rerun "Deep Throat"

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X-Files Rerun "Pilot"

Originally Aired 9/10/93
Original Review Posted on Livejournal 9/7/08

With Season 4 being on holiday break as well as myself having a break between semesters, I've decided to rewatch and review episodes from Season One. I originally posted most of my reviews on Livejournal but they are very rough and barely resemble something you would call a review. I also noticed when I started this in 2008, I watched them on Sundays the week each episode aired. Not only has my writing changed, I became more focused to following along with when each episode aired. Anyways....on with the show.

I cannot believe how well everyone involved perfectly executed their roles in The X-Files "Pilot" episode. Carter has Mulder being a little goofy yet he's as sharp as a tack, while Scully is more closed-minded than her partner and needs actual proof. However there is a moment where she gets caught up in the excitement after they discover Billy Miles' feet are dirty (ugh! how did that nurse not even know?!) but Mulder is quick to remind her what her role is in the investigation.

What deserves to be pointed out is Mulder's goofiness when he first meets Scully. "Do you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials?" "Spooky" Mulder really is the FBI's Most Unwanted and I'm sure he's just trying to rattle Scully a little to see if she's up to the challenge of investigating strange phenomenon with him. If you can handle his sense of humor, well, you can handle anything.

The actual look of The X-Files is excellent too. It does indeed feel more like a movie rather than just a television series. I can't say whether FOX gave them a healthy budget from the start but to me it appears they did with the wide range of sets on display here- they're shooting in a forest, on location in a cemetery, there's a scene on a plane, we see Mulder's office for the first time, not only that they're in a hospital and even set a hotel on fire. The special effects with the leaves, while done on a computer, look realistic to me.

Not only were Mulder and Scully well developed from the start, we also get a lot of seeds that are being planted. We learn about Mulder's sister who was abducted as a child, which he says he went through hypnosis to learn details. Later Billy Miles is in a therapy session with that same doctor. The Smoking Man is there and will later take on a much greater role, as well as Chief Blevins, who would return. Scully was assigned by them to "debunk" Mulder's work and file reports on him, and while I still wish they had kept her more at odds with Mulder for a little longer, I think it worked out much better that she quickly became his ally. Especially after noticing that scene where she finds the same sand sample on Billy's feet.

I'm not just saying this as a diehard X-Files fan, but also as a fan of great television, that this is the best pilot episode I have ever watched. Carter, Duchovny, Anderson, and the rest of the production crew got everything right from day one. The X-Files really was a magical "perfect storm" of television that I feel will never be duplicated.

One final question though, do all rental cars come with cans of spray paint in the trunk?

"Paper Hearts"

Aired December 15, 1996

Hey, the nose kinda looks like a heart, too!

Ever since I bought the complete series box set back in 2007, I've seen that image on the cover of Season 4 and always wondered which episode it was taken from. Its eerily similar to a scene from Season 3 of Millennium. This was my first time watching "Paper Hearts" and my thoughts on it are mixed.

It feels a lot like the recent "Tunguska/Terma" two-parter in that I need to sit back and relax to fully enjoy the episode. Its not that the story itself is bad, I felt its one of the best ideas for an episode, just the way in which it unfolds took me right of the story. Mulder's behavior would get him fired from the FBI but instead its probably okay in the end since he saved the day. His saving grace is that this is not a crime procedure series, so they don't get into details like that; we're here for the monsters and aliens, not people pressing charges! There are some other contrived moments, like when Mulder realizes where the bad guy is hiding, and that he just happens to be sitting there waiting for Mulder to find him.

However when a series is as great as The X-Files is, these details are easy to overlook. Mulder and Scully are excellent and well-developed characters, so when you get an episode that's personal to them, it becomes something special. Also the villain, John Lee Roche, played by Tom Noonan, has been one of the best so far this season. I knew he was playing a game with Mulder the whole time, as Mulder always wants to believe, yet it was presented in such a believable way. In past episodes we've learned Mulder had to be under hypnosis to remember details of his sister's abduction, so maybe this was something he forgot or blocked out. Like Scully deduced, its easy to assume Roche used the internet to discover details about Mulder, yet how did Roche know the vacuum would be that same model?

I think of this episode as being Mulder's version of "Beyond the Sea." Instead of a song and Scully seeing her father, we get Mulder's dreams. The filming of the dream sequences were excellent and showed how the series was on top of its game; this season seems to have the definitive look of Mulder and Scully, while Rob Bowman always has the best directed episodes. Its no wonder The X-Files was one of the most popular shows ever and coming up they'd receive the post-Super Bowl timeslot by FOX. So despite my mixed thoughts while watching this for the first time, "Paper Hearts" is one of the best (and the most tragic!) of the entire series. As if Season 4 wasn't already a bleak year...

"Terma"

Aired 12/1/96 (Part 2)

"You had WHAT in your nose?"

Like most second halves of these X-Files mythology events, we start with a scene that seems unrelated. An old lady is having an assisted suicide performed when the black cancer wiggles out of her nose. Also like every mythology episode, we have people zipping off to faraway places with such speed that would make Guinness Record holders blush. I always watch episodes I haven't seen before once through, then again while I'm writing my review. This gives me more time to really absorb everything. However I actually kept up with this the first time through, despite some silly nit-picking.

I think "Tunguska/Terma" feels like a leaner, and meaner, installment of the conspiracy. All of the players of the conspiracy are present (Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Well-Manicured Man, Smokey, and the returning Krycek), it adds new elements, beefs up the action, but still has a lot of the usual runaround. Is this a bad thing? No. I liked the increased paced and action. "Talitha Cumi/Herrenvolk" was a bit too heavy and left me feeling empty. I felt like this one did a much better job at answering the new questions that were presented. This time Chris Carter brings back the oil, which at first seemed just like a body-jumping version of E.T. The oozing thing just wanted to phone home. Awwwwww, how sweet. Here we got a new version of the oil (I'll say its the decaffeinated version), but also the purpose is explained. The Syndicate and Russians are racing to find a vaccine for it and I like how they keep tying this stuff to real-life events. The scientists in Operation Paper Clip and 731 are factual, as are "foo fighters", code talkers in "Anasazi", now we have the Cold War and the Gulf War being referenced.

Now I said I was able to keep up with the pace and followed along well enough, yet that doesn't mean parts didn't feel "funky." So Russians that were used as black oil test subjects were cutting their arms off as a way to prevent the spread of it, yet Mulder just had that stuff dumped into his mouth. It can still find a way into your body...or way out. I'll chalk it up to being typical X-Files style- cool visuals, like Krycek's arm being amputated. Chris Carter, you're forgiven.

Speaking of Krycek, he was played before in the past- almost blowed up in a car, then left for dead in a silo in Season 3. Now its his turn to have the upper-hand. He played Mulder so he could intercept a package for him. Krycek has a bull's eye on his back from both sides, so he had to earn Mulder's trust in order to use him to intercept that package. Then his back-up plan was using that retired Russian spy who could slip in undetected. Its still a bit fishy how he escaped the silo, but I can forgive that too since it was damn compelling television. I almost questioned how he could set up this whole game, then I remembered what he was doing in "Piper Maru." He was selling off Syndicate secrets to the French, so it appears he sold stuff to the Russians too.

One more thought- if all those guys at the gulag took off on horseback after Mulder, then who's left to guard the prisoners? JAIL BREAK!

And what about those damn bees??