"How The Ghosts Stole Christmas"

"What's waiting for us? More loneliness! And then 365 more shopping days till even more loneliness!"
Originally Aired 12/13/98

Don't give this man a gun or he'll make googly eyes.

With so many high concept episodes in a row, there had to be one that was a miss, and unfortunately it's "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas." However I don't think it's a waste of an hour of The X-Files. Other than the season premiere, this season has been about stretching outside of the series' formula, so I appreciate the effort. "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas" has several concepts- first, its a "bottle" episode, which is an episode that utilizes minimal sets. In this case, Mulder convinces Scully to investigate a haunted house with him. Other than the opening and closing of the episode, it's mostly set in the house's large library. That brings us to concept number two, which is a Christmas episode, and also the second season in a row to feature this holiday.

Besides the minimal sets, there are also a minimal amount of actors; only David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and it's two guest stars, Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner. In order for the episode to work, it actually depended on the casting, and Tomlin and Asner make for a great pair of spooks. Instead of the typical ghostly activities like rattling chains, walking through walls, and levitating objects, these two ghosts actually try to get under the skin of Mulder and Scully by using psychology. It's another way for the writers to examine the relationship of Mulder and Scully, as the ghosts separate the two so they can turn the agents against each other. That's where the episode fails; well, partly fails. The dialogue from Chris Carter seems overly wordy and long-winded, but maybe that's the point, since the ghosts bicker over their methods of haunting their guests. I felt the best part is not Mulder and Scully being tormented by ghosts, rather it's an unseen participant in this episode, the music of Mark Snow. This is by far his best work, which reminds me of classic horror movies that would feature the Wolf-Man or the Invisible Man, while also being as light as the comedy within the episode.

The ghosts accusing Mulder of being lonely actually shows continuity between this season's standalone episodes. Last week, when Mulder was inside the body of Morris Fletcher and separated from Scully, he wasn't just fighting to get back to his body, but also Agent Scully. We already know his whole life is investigating X-Files cases which has now been taken away from him from the FBI, so all he has is convincing her to join him on stake outs and wild trips to Area 51. Scully isn't going anywhere though, since shes had numerous opportunities to leave yet remains by his side, so Mulder has nothing to fear. How many people would show up at their co-worker's door after midnight on a holiday?

"Dreamland II"

"Hey, Grandma Top Gun, will you please shut the hell up!"
Originally Aired 12/6/98

If last week's episode was "Small Potatoes" turned up to 11, this episode plays like a combination of "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'" and "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" yet feels like an original creation on its own. I felt like "Dreamland II" is a showcase for the comedic talents of Michael McKean as it pokes fun at his character of Morris Fletcher, a "Man in Black" stationed at Area 51, or even many of the Men in Black featured throughout the years on this series. Its even more obvious when you consider his line to Scully after his failed seduction, "You think being a 'Man in Black' is all voodoo mind control? You should see the paperwork." Not only does Morris Fletcher fail at seducing Scully, he also has a hilarious encounter with the Lone Gunmen, and he seems intent to stay in his new "life" as Fox Mulder. The scene with Morris insulting the Gunmen by telling them their publication just prints phony conspiracies that he came up with while on the toliet is hilarious, especially his revelation that Saddam Hussein is just an actor hired by our government. Its just like a twist seen in the recent Iron Man sequel.

Meanwhile, David Duchovny as Mulder, still in the body of Morris Fletcher, plays the role of straight man for most of this episode as he tries to undo the damage he's done to Morris' life and get back to his own. As Morris' portion of the episode pokes fun at the Men in Black, Mulder finally meets his mysterious informant and that revelation appeared to spoof all of the alien encounters we've seen on the series, even the scene in "Redux" when Kritschgau spills the beans of the military-industrial complex to Agent Mulder. Mulder's source just oversees test flights at Area 51, which is just a cover story for aliens, and he doesn't even know if they really exist. All of the pilots and military personnel we've seen over the years, dating back to "Deep Throat", probably are just like the General in this episode; they only know the role they're supposed to play and are nothing more than a cog in the giant, government wheel. So everyone is just a puppet of The Syndicate? Spooky.

With all of this going on over the course of "Dreamland I and II", it appears Scully could be left out of the fun but she isn't. Scully sees through Morris' seduction and has a wonderful scene later with Mulder where she tells him she'd kiss him if he wasn't so damn ugly. The highlight of the episode comes mid-way through, where we see Mulder and Joanne (Morris' wife) sharing a drink at a bar in the desert. The scene pans across the bar where the General is meeting with Mulder at a booth, who he doesn't realize is actually Morris Fletcher. Further complicating matters is that Scully is outside and Morris' coworker Jeff arrives as well, and this whole sequence plays out like scene straight out of a sitcom, or even a movie. It reminded me of some of the wacky contrivances on Frasier or Seinfeld in which the main characters are trying to sneak out of a tricky situation and go unnoticed, only for it to backfire on them. It's a brilliant scene by the writers at the peak of their powers, showcasing Gillian, David, and their amazing guest star Michael McKean. Bravo guys, and gals, "Dreamland II" is another excellent installment that truly shattered the"monster of the week" mold.

"Dreamland"

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Johnny Cash.”
Originally Aired 11/29/98

For as long as I have been a fan of The X-Files I have been very skeptical of the Sixth Season. This was the first year the series was filmed in sunny California, after the previous seasons were located in lush Vancouver. The change in location seemed to usher in a lighter tone for the series, with more of a focus on comedic episodes. On the heels of an intense Fifth Season and the feature film, this seemed like a bad move that could’ve cut short the mainstream success of the series. Last week’s “Triangle” was a fantasy episode taking inspiration from The Wizard of Oz, while “Dreamland” borrowed from Freaky Friday, and even earlier was the Speed-like episode titled “Drive.” All of these are not your typical hour of The X-Files.

Though “Dreamland” was amusing, as the episode moved along, I wondered why Mulder would so easily accept that he’s suddenly body-jumped into a Man in Black from Area 51. He doesn’t put up a fight or even call Scully until well after he’s inside of the Area 51 compound. I suppose this is no different than many conspiracy thrillers, which were much more enjoyable once you stop thinking and enjoy the ride. The point of this episode smacked me across the face when I remembered Scully’s conversation with Mulder from the beginning of the episode: “Don’t you ever just want to stop? Get out of the damn car? Settle down and live something approaching a normal life?” This is Mulder in that normal, suburban life, yet hilarity ensues when it clashes with his typical bachelor life of crashing on the sofa in front of adult movies. It’s like “Small Potatoes” turned up to 11, which coincidentally this episode co-stars Michael McKean of Spinal Tap fame. That’s actually a brilliant move on the part of the writers, which sees Vince Gilligan return to that concept from his earlier episode, and now includes the assistance of Frank Spotnitz and John Shiban. “Small Potatoes” featured David Duchovny portraying someone else in the guise of Fox Mulder, and this episode expands upon that concept with Michael McKean and Duchovny playing each other’s character.

The body swapping isn’t just limited to an FBI Agent and a Man in Black, but there’s also a man morphed with the floor of a gas station and a pilot who’s swapped with an elderly Native American woman. The best morphing is his co-pilot, who has become one with a large boulder. Despite all of these odd morphings, what I found funnier was that Morris Fletcher’s fellow Area 51 co-worker looked like a doppleganger of Agent Spender, who seemed to have an ulterior motive (guess I’ll find out for sure in Part 2.)

Hey! That's Mulder's reflection in the mirror, not Morris!

I can admit when I’m wrong about tv shows and movies, and boy, I was wrong about Season Six. This lighter turn for The X-Files is more than just about comedic episodes, it’s possibly the ballsiest move that I’ve witnessed from any television series! If Season Five was supposed to be the writers stretching the show’s format, they were still playing within the confines of the “case each week” mold. However Season Six has completely thrown that format out the window! Though “Drive” had Mulder discover the “X-File” via channel-surfing, these last two episodes haven’t had a case at all, or at the very least the thinnest hint of an investigation. An anonymous informant within Area 51 is just a MacGuffin in order for the body-swapping hijinx to begin; after that it’s purely a showcase for the comedic talents of David Duchovny and Michael McKean. I bet they didn’t even include anything in the script for the scene where McKean is playing Mulder’s reflection in the mirror, they just let those two actors loose to improvise their own routine. While “Dreamland” may not have made me laugh as much as previous episodes, this was certainly David Duchovny’s funniest performance and “Annoyed Scully” is always welcome.