"Tithonus"

"Want to know what L.H. Rice's birthday is? April 4, 1849. I'm not good at math but I'm figuring that's a lot of candles on the cake."
 Originally Aired 1/24/99

In this episode Scully is reluctantly partnered with another FBI agent who's name is Payton Ritter. I'm too lazy to check but he looks like the guy on Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place who wasn't named Ryan Reynolds. (Funny Trivia Fact- Ryan Reynolds appeared on an X-Files episode in Season 3.) "Tithonus" follows a similar pattern to Mulder's forced partnership with Alex Krycek four years ago in "Sleepless", though this is without any Syndicate shenanigans. Scully partnering with a young, go-getter agent is something that I had actually wanted to see happen last season, only with Mulder being forced to work with Jeffrey Spender. I think this scenario actually works better in the context of Season 6 since it's another way to drive a wedge between Mulder and Scully, pushing Mulder further away from his work.

This episode deals with death, specifically the curse of being unable to die and how it takes a toll on someone. I've seen a similar theme in other works like The Highlander, an early 90's vampire series titled Forever Knight, an episode of the original Twilight Zone called "Long Live Walter Jameson", even death taking a toll on someone was part of an earlier X-Files episode by Darin Morgan called "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose." Living forever could be a blessing and also a curse. You could witness new technological advances and also many historical events; though its also a lonely existence since you'd out-live your loved ones.

Even though Scully isn't the believer that Mulder is, she actually morphs into his role quite well, as she breaks away from her partner to investigate Alfred Fellig, the suspect in question, on her own. She forms somewhat of a bond with him when they have a discussion on life and death in his apartment. Fellig keeps trying to capture death so that he can actually die, and he does this through photographs making this episode a weird hybrid of X-Files episodes. Vince Gilligan is revisiting photographs from his own episode "Unruhe", and the already mentioned episodes "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Sleepless." I normally refrain from posting spoilers in my movie reviews and X-Files reviews, though that could be silly when you consider that this episode is now fifteen years old. Yet the spoiler is that this episode also reminded me of "Sleepless" when Agent Ritter shoots Fellig. His shooting Fellig, a man who cannot die, causes Scully to take the bullet as well and making Fellig's prophecy come true. However, Fellig has a change of heart and actually sacrifices his own life for that of Agent Scully's. Possibly that was his plan when he took her phone, so that he could be able to capture death for himself. It's a funny coincidence that a character would sacrifice their life for another in this season when the same thing happened on an episode of Millennium during this same year. In fact, that episode titled "Borrowed Time" aired just one week prior to this episode.

While this was a good episode, I feel like it had a lot to live up to. Many fans seem to have a strong fondness for this episode, and knowing that Scully played a major role, I wanted to enjoy it as well. At the moment maybe I am not able to see past its connection with other episodes, but I'm sure my enjoyment will increase over time; which seems to be the case with many episodes. Following this first time viewing of "Tithonus", I now have only 4 brand new episodes remaining for this season: "Two Fathers", "One Son", "Milagro", and "Three Of A Kind", which is another Scully-centric episode. Overall for the remainder of the series, I am left with 19 new episodes left, the bulk of those being in Season 7. Sad times indeed.

One last interesting fact about "Tithonus" is that Mulder mentions the last name of "Ermentrout" while on the phone. I know that Vince Gilligan always makes reference to his significant other named Holly in all of his works, though I'm not that much of an avid fan to spot when and where they are. I'm just going to guess this is another of his many references, one that he would later use in Breaking Bad.

"S.R. 819"

"That was the second opinion. The first was unsolicited. A phone call at the hospital, a scrambled voice telling him he had 24 hours to live."
Originally Aired 1/17/99

John Shiban is one of the core X-Files writers that I never took as seriously as the others. Several of the episodes that his name is attached to also share credit with Vince Gilligan, so it's hard to tell where John's contribution begins and ends. It wasn't until his Fifth Season episode "The Pine Bluff Variant" that I began to look at him differently. It was a highlight among many great episodes that season, with this particular episode feeling like a spy thriller involving chemical weapons and a bank heist.

Shiban contributes another thriller episode with "S.R. 819", which is the type of episode I have been begging for since the start of the Sixth Season. Skinner returns for only his third appearance this season, Krycek appears for the first time since "The End", and Mulder's former contact in the Senate, Senator Matheson, makes his first appearance since Season 3. Another notable aspect of "S.R. 819" is that its the first "Skinner-centric" episode since Season 4's "Zero Sum."

I like the return to gunfire and shadowy parking decks since it feels like The X-Files of days gone by, but I also like how this episode features Skinner with a varicose vein face; which follows in the series' tradition of great visual effects. When I was much younger I noticed that my grandfather had bulgy, purple veins like that on his legs and it was somewhat disturbing. There was even a gag on the Ren & Stimpy cartoon where kids had "stick-on" varicose veins so they could sneak into adult movies. It takes on a whole new level of creepiness when Skinner's body is covered in these throbbing, pulsating veins which lead to him nearly dying of a heart attack. Its a great effort from the make-up department and also Mitch Pileggi for enduring the likely lengthy process of applying it.

I've watched this a few times before writing this review yet I'm not entirely sure what is the purpose of this episode. Was it to make it seem believable that even Walter Skinner is now "expendable" and just how lost Mulder and Scully really are without the X-Files? It's like kicking a man when he's down, rubbing salt in someone's wounds, and other cliched phrases. Possibly the purpose of "S.R. 819" was to bring Skinner back into the fold since he's been on the fringes with Mulder and Scully now reporting to another Assistant Director. Krycek is also a man on the fringes, a fact I even pointed out when Agent Jeffrey Spender was brought into the series and seemed to fill his previous role as a tool of the Cigarette-Smoking Man. Krycek was briefly an associate of the Well-Manicured Man but even that ended abruptly, leaving Krycek without a purpose in the series. Is he still part of the Syndicate conspiracy? Possibly this is giving Krycek a new conspiracy within the series and it brought both Skinner and himself back into the fold. I like the possibilities of where this could go; why is Krycek using Skinner? Is it to serve the Syndicate or to serve his own interests?

This episode also proves that other writers are worthy of contributing to the mythology besides Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz. Without Morgan, Wong, and Howard Gordon, its been the sole work of those two head writers for the past season and half of tv. I'd like to see more from Shiban in this role, and even Vince Gilligan too, though I know it doesn't happen in hindsight. The nanobytes conspiracy doesn't seem to go anywhere after this, though I can't judge this episode based on what happens (or doesnt' happen) in future episodes. In my opinion I would have liked to see Senator Matheson become the villain, or at least take on more of a presence within the series following the dissolution of the Syndicate, though it wasn't to be.

"The Rain King"

"My Irish Aunt Olive has more Cherokee in her than Daryl Mootz."
Originally Aired 1/10/99

Writing these reviews is typically a long process for me; longer if the episode is a drag. That's not entirely true for "The Rain King." It's not a bad episode, and it's one I appreciate now after going in order, more so than I did back in 2008. It's a process because I like to watch the episode once through, then again while writing the review, and most times a third time is needed to pick up a quote or two that I'd want to highlight. This episode took about 4 or 5 run-throughs because I wasn't quite satisfied with what I wanted to say.

Then it hit me like a lightning bolt! This episode is just like Back to the Future, well....without the future. Picture it. Mulder is playing the part of Marty McFly. Scully is Doc Brown since she doesn't want him to get involved, just like Doc warned against doing anything to alter the course of events; plus she's a doctor. Now as always, Mulder gets involved and he's trying to help the local weatherman woo Sheila, which is just like George and his "density" Lorraine. Instead, things get complicated when Sheila falls for Mulder, and then her ex-fiancee is jealous causing Mulder to restrain him. It was right in front of Sheila, exactly like the confrontation with Biff at the school dance. Only in this episode its not a dance, it's a high school reunion; and no guitar solo from Mulder.

That doesn't even sound like an episode of The X-Files at all. It's more like a romantic comedy with Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. I guess that reference is as dated as The X-Files; it's more like Katherine Heigl and Chris Pine. Anyways, what makes this an "X-Files" case is because of the unusual weather in Kroner, Kansas. There have been showers of flower petals, hail that resembles hearts, and a guy named Daryl Mootz is trumpeted as the titular "Rain King." The one gripe that I do have with this episode is not with the episode itself, rather with it's placement in the season. I think it should have been moved before last week's "Terms of Endearment" since it fits all of the preceding episodes, like "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas", that tease a romantic relationship between Mulder and Scully. Unless the producers wanted to break up that pattern and throw something in the middle to break the streak. However in hindsight, I'd have even held off on this episode for a month, and aired it in February since the beginning teaser took place on Valentine's Day. That's not really a fair complaint since it's not the fault of the writer, director, nor the actors involved. Yet with the amount of episodes that either poke fun at Mulder and Scully or show how much they need each other, you would think that this season ends with them coming to that realization about each other. I'm inching closer to the half-way point, with several unseen episodes (like next week's "S.R. 819" and the two-part, mega, mythology story) remaining, so possibly more events will unfold in that direction.

"The Rain King", like many episodes, seems to have improved with age. While it's very silly and one of the gags is very dated, I do enjoy that the writers this season were thinking outside of the box and presenting episodes in different ways.

X-Files Rerun "Red Museum"

Originally Aired 12/9/94

 

Do I really have to review this one too? It's hard to remember why I loved Season Two so much when so much of it is a chore to sit through. Well, maybe that's being dramatic since only three out of ten episodes from this season have been bad, which is a pretty good average. "Red Museum" is just really bizarre, but not in a good, campy way.

This is supposed to be an installment of the series' mythology but I think they could have left it out. I read it was done as a way to salvage an idea that was vetoed which could have been a crossover episode with Picket Fences; that was a series airing on CBS, produced by David Kelley. Instead what happens is it appears that kids are being injected with beef hormones, or perhaps its alien beef DNA, which is then linked to Purity Control from Season One's "Erlenmeyer Flask." That seems like a flimsy excuse for a familiar government assassin to show up, just to tie up a loose end from that particular episode. I'm not really sure what all of this is supposed to mean.

In between the drugged kids and the assassin's appearance, we are introduced to a vegan cult (where the episode gets its title of "Red Museum.") This particular cult wear white robes with red turbans and are led by Mark Ralston, who has went from blasting aliens in Aliens to being a cult leader; I guess a man's gotta pay the bills. During a ceremony by the Red Museum, one of their members speaks of the dawning of the Age of Aquarius and I was really hoping Mulder would have made a reference to that song by The Fifth Dimension. Just anything to save this episode somehow.

If you thought this episode couldn't get any more bizarre, there is also a peeping tom who peeks through a hole in the wall at a house. On the other side of the wall, the side from which he peeks, is full of video tapes that he's likely recorded from his peep sessions. Once he's apprehended, Mulder and Scully discover that the house was originally used as a daycare center, putting his peeping on a different plateau of creepiness.

Possibly to balance out the perversion, a kind old man offered Mulder and Scully a ride out to his grandfather's farm, which is how the growth hormone angle was revealed. Though I am sure that was the most uncomfortable car ride I've ever seen.

X-Files Rerun "Firewalker"

"Look, I know what you're thinking, but you have to get past that. We both do. I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere."
Originally Aired 11/18/94

"Eww, what's that thing popping out of his neck?!"

I feel like much of what I have to say about this episode is exactly the same thing I said in 2010. Possibly the only things I can add to it four years later would be that I didn't realize Shawnee Smith is that old, and that I've noticed Brad Whitford in more acting roles.

"Firewalker" is just a very odd episode, not only because it's the first case with Scully following her abduction, but it has a bad feeling of "been there, done that." In this episode, Mulder and Scully are trapped inside of a remote area with a small crew of scientists; see also "Ice" and "Darkness Falls." I feel like it also borrows from an episode of the classic 1960's Outer Limits TV series called "The Mutant." Unlike this episode repeating earlier material, I don't mind that this episode borrows from an earlier series because it seems like many Season One episodes drew inspiration from sources like The Thing and The Silence of The Lambs. That particular episode featured a man commanding a research crew through fear, and "Firewalker" is similar, only it flips that episode by revealing that the man is actually in fear of his former crew. Unknown to them, they've been infected by a silicon-based spore, and now Mulder and Scully could be infected as well due to their close contact with the crew. The spore, or "throat penis" as I called in my original Facebook review, looks exactly like a penis popping out of the host's throat. It's strange.

The only interesting moments in the episode are a few appearances from that mysterious man, Daniel Trepkos, played by Brad Whitford, who you might recognize from such films as RoboCop 3 and The Cabin In The Woods. I feel like I just inadvertently did a "Troy McClure"-like introduction for him. He has a unique look- like he was nearly burned, his head is bandaged, and his clothes are tattered. In his first scene he snaps someone's neck, then later he sets a guy on fire with a flare.

Perhaps I didn't say more than I did in my original review, but hopefully after four years of writing reviews that I've actually phrased it better. Though I don't think you can really fault me for not adding anything new to my review of "Firewalker", since this episode didn't add anything new to the series.

"Terms of Endearment"

"Wayne Weinsider. He's a Czech national. Emigrated in 1994. He's also known as Bud Hasselhoff. Also known as Gordy Boytano."
Originally Aired 1/3/99

Similar to remembering to write dates on your check with the new year, I had to remember that this episode had aired in 1999. It's hard to believe that it's "1999" already, with only 3 years left on this journey through the series. At least I'm back in familiar territory now following a few weeks of high concept episodes, which featured ghosts and body swapping hijinx. I've watched "Terms of Endearment" once before, and though I recall Bruce Campbell in the lead guest starring role, that was back in 2007.

Bruce Campbell gives a fine performance as Wayne Weinsider, who's like most parents, in that he wants a normal, healthy baby. It just turns out that he's not a normal parent; he's a really a demon. It was a wise choice to have him portray a loving husband than your typical over-the-top demon, which is also opposite of many humorous characters he's known for in the Evil Dead series and The Adventures Brisco County, Jr.; that series coincidentally premiered on the same night as The X-Files back in 1993. While Bruce Campbell, David Duchovny, and even Chris Owens in his brief scene, are fun to watch, I think the problem with "Terms of Endearment" is it's tone. It's credited to a new writer to the series, David Amann, who also happens to provide the first script of the season from a non-regular writer/producer. The previous six episodes have been from the usual suspects- Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz. If you look back further into Season Five, the last few were also penned by them as well. Perhaps David Amann had big shoes to fill, stepping in as a new writer during The X-Files at it's peak.

"Terms of Endearment" begins as an episode that would feel at home in the earlier seasons, with a deformed infant and a nightmarish sequence with a demon, which is the kind of terrifying standalone that we haven't seen in some time. The episode reveals itself later on to be a dark comedy, with Wayne actually being a demon with multiple wives so that he can finally father a normal child. It seems to shift back to being a terrifying episode when Wayne attempts to kill one of those wives. It's as if each act shifts from one tone to the other. Despite that, there are several moments here to enjoy and I really appreciate the dark scenes around the Weinsider's creepy house. Even with the California setting, the series is still creating fine visuals so that the transition between locations isn't even noticeable. The special effects used to create the demon are effective and I like the use of what looks to be prosthetic make-up, which actually looks better than some monsters I've seen created on a movie's budget.

Any episode where a guy has an alias of "Gordy Boytano" is a welcome addition to the series. "Terms of Endearment" is worthy of it's place in the series, and though I said the frightening demon may have felt at home in an earlier season, the episode as a whole could only have worked in this season. It's just more proof how far this series has expanded it's scope and is continuing to do so.