“560,000 people a day call my office on the porcelain telephone.”
Originally Aired 9/23/94
In the premiere of Season Two, “Little Green Men”, Mulder was tipped off to alien activity by a senator, and this week he’s given a case that’s similar to his work on The X-Files when an unidentified body is found in the sewer. Mulder takes the case to Scully for her medical expertise, and he also finds out he has an anonymous friend within the FBI. I like how there is more at work here than just a monster of the week, as Mulder continues his rocky relationship with his boss, Assistant Director Skinner; he continues his secret relationship with Scully; and now he finds out about a new relationship, a secret admirer.
There is even something new I’ve picked up on this time, which is the episode has a geographic discrepancy. A Russian ship that had hazardous leftovers from Chernobyl is floating off the Eastern coastline of the United States, yet I thought Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from her backyard in Alaska, which is on the opposite side of the country. Possibly Sarah Palin doesn’t know her geography, Chris Carter doesn’t know his, or perhaps I’m not well-versed on history and don’t know that the Jersey Shore was a historical dumping site for radioactive waste. I guess that explains Snookie and her pals.
I’m such an X-Files nerd and I don’t take this job of reviewing episodes lightly, which is why I’ve discovered another interesting fact about this episode. When the FBI concludes that they must take this Flukeman into custody, I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen on any television show, yet a split second later something dawned on me. One of my favorite X-Files lines is from a first season episode, where Mulder says, “that’s one of the luxuries to hunting down aliens and genetic mutants, you rarely get to press charges.” This must be one of those rare occasions he was talking about it!
“The Host” remains one of my favorite episodes, not just because these new facts add an entertaining element. This is a top-notch episode of the series with a creative creature and creepy visuals that the series is known for. The final scene even reminds me of those Friday the 13th movies that slowly zoom in on Crystal Lake and Jason’s watery grave, and then he suddenly blinks! The most important fact is that Port-a-potties have never been the same again.
I adore this episode and I loved what you wrote about the final scene. That image of the Flukeman emerging from the water creeped me out for days when I was eleven years old.
ReplyDeleteA true classic indeed and quite possibly one of the most brilliant and iconic pieces of television horror of the 90s. That shower scene is historic.
You know what, though, I never actually stopped to think about what the Russian boat was doing in New Jersey either until I read your review.
Yay! I guess my reviews are good for something. I've said before I watch episodes at least twice before I sit down to write a review, so when I saw something about a Russian ship in the magazine, I had to go back and check where the episode was taking place. Wouldn't it have to sail all the way around South America and up the Atlantic Ocean to New Jersey? Seemed excessive to me. Heh.
DeleteWell, who knows, maybe there's a whole prequel/untold story to this one that we don't know about. Maybe the crew of the ship had just come back from South America and Dmitri got it on with some of the local ladies there and thus explains why he gets all the rough treatment that he does in the teaser from his crew mates.
ReplyDeleteLOL. Maybe they got lost; guess they wouldn't have a GPS on Russian freighters in the mid 90's.
DeleteThat is a funny point about why a Russian salvage ship would be anywhere near the New Jersey coastline. I guess you could look at it this way, if they set off from Russia this would have taken them a LOONG time... long enough for the initial Flukeman to fully develop...
ReplyDeleteAlso, the fact that you first watched this episode (and the show in general) in your senior English class is nuts! I had a history professor who made us watch 'Roots' for like a month at one point, but never got to see anything this cool.
We even watched The Goonies, too!
DeleteWhat?! This is me jealous.
DeleteI guess thats because I was in "General" English, not "Enriched" or "Academic", so they treated us like idiots. We watched Goonies on the two days before Christmas break in Junior year and surprisingly half of the class hadn't watched it. Then again in Senior year, half of that English class hadn't watched it before either. They were deprived youth, never knowing the joys of The Goonies until high school.
DeleteIf only my English teachers could see me now, blogging away on the internet. ;)