X-Files Rerun "3"

"Don't you want to live forever?"
"Not if drawstring pants come back into style."
Originally Aired 11/4/94

The X-Files Pilot premiered on the FOX Network on September 10, 1993. In a week will be the twentieth anniversary of that date, so this seemed like a good time as any to get back into the groove of writing. However my excitement quickly deflated once I realized where I had left off; "3." I honestly did not even watch this episode completely four years ago; each time I tried I would always fall asleep, so I wrote a quick review and moved on. Today, in honor of the 20th anniversary, I have finally bitten the bullet.

Many movies have a unique quality due to their director, the editor, and the cinematographer having a vision for what will be seen on screen. However television shows typically look the same throughout the course of the series due to a formula, despite having a different director each week. The X-Files quickly found its formula because of its setting in Canada and also a preference for darkness. "3" occurs just when the series was finding its groove, so its sticks out as a sore thumb to me; some could look at it as being unique. Instead I think it looks and even feels more like an episode from a syndicated series like Forever Knight or Silk Stalkings. Perhaps its just lacking the Mulder-Scully dynamic; its off balance without her. Yet Scully was the main focus of "Never Again" (it had just a few scenes with Mulder) and two flashback episodes in Season 5 lacked her completely, and none of those episodes felt like they didn't belong. Perhaps they took the opportunity to try something new since they knew Gillian Anderson would be absent for an entire episode. Mulder being alone on an "X File" does make me wonder what it was like for him investigating cases before he had a partner. Was he always getting beaten up for peeking into windows at night?

There is one part that I do enjoy about this episode though. Vampire mythology seems to change with each new tale, as some leave parts out or add new wrinkles to the legend. Mulder is questioning one of the suspects whom he believes to be a vampire and the scene is completely flooded with red light because the suspect is sensitive to light. Later, when he is thrown into a jail cell, the sunlight moves closer towards him and he screams for the guards to close the windows. Nobody listens and he is soon burnt to a crisp. It looked as painful as it sounded! At least they got one thing right about vampires and he didn't sparkle in that jail cell. And now that I have finally survived all of "3", I'm never going back again. SCULLY!!!