"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.