"My Struggle II"

Aired 2/22/16

When this X-Files "6-episode" mini-series was announced in the spring of 2015, I thought it was just that, a mini-series to wrap up the conspiracy. As the time counted down closer and closer to the re-launch, I possibly read too much. At first I wanted to avoid spoilers, except after it was announced the Smoking Man was returning, I had to know how that could be! His character was engulfed in flames by a missile when last seen in Season 9, so I assumed it had to be through flashbacks. Then I discovered who was returning on the production side, as well as more familiar on-screen faces. I even learned this was ending on a cliffhanger at the end of the 6th episode. My grandma likened it to being prepared a feast, then having it taken away from you just after it's served. For a perfect example of how to end a science fiction show on a cliffhanger, I look to Fringe, especially Season 3. Those guys weren't sure if they would be returning for another season, so they closed the door on the current storyline, only leaving a hint of what's to come. Carter did the opposite, perhaps to stir up the fans so they'd demand a swift return?

I feel like ending it the way this mini-series did, now properly titled Season 10, is a risk that Chris Carter shouldn't have taken. When the series wrapped for the first time back in 2002, they had hoped to launch a series of movies, which never happened until the lone sequel in 2008. Nothing was in the works until 2015, almost 7 years later. I just wonder how many chances Chris Carter will receive? I'd have just thrown all of my eggs into one basket, went full-tilt, and delivered a conspiracy-heavy string of episodes. It certainly seemed like Chris Carter had enough threads of the mythology for a full 6 episodes, only it was condensed to 2. This make room for other writers to return and add their own personal touches, which is actually something that was lacking in the previous movie, I Want To Believe. So if this does get a Season 11 sooner rather than later, I hope the supporting writers are shuffled around, giving all of the alumni a chance to return.

I've only talked about the conclusion. As for the actual 40-some odd minutes that preceded it, there was much that I did enjoy, including the Smoking Man's return. While he was briefly teased in "My Struggle", here he receives plenty of screen time in both the past and the present. My question of how he survived yet another "death" was answered, through an injection of alien DNA that was a major focal point in this episode. Former X-Files investigator Monica Reyes is summoned by Smoking Man's minions and she is offered a chance to join him, so she too will receive this alien DNA in return for lighting his smokes. Seems like a fair trade. It's actually the best use of Monica in the entire season (and some odd episodes) she appeared in, since I cannot recall other "evil" agents aligned with him having any sort of motivation for doing so. Krycek, Marita, and Diana Fowley were already under his thumb in secret when they first appeared. Both Krycek and Marita were responsible for one of his "deaths" and Fowley turned on him, only to be killed off-screen. So I can assume that Monica will suffer a similar fate now that she's spilled the beans to Scully about his plot to wipe out humanity like a Bond villain.

The Smoking Man's make-up effects are pretty cool too, as he still has his neck hole, but now he has a detachable nose piece. Maybe he should be renamed Mr. Potato Head, and next time he'll attach a bright clown nose onto his face. The best of all was the close-up on his two fingers, motioning for a cigarette, all while confined to a hospital bed. That finger rubbing scene oozed creepiness.

Like many installments of the mythology, Mulder and Scully are separated. Mulder is searching for answers from the Smoking Man, while Scully teams up with the new kids on the block, spending most of that time with Einstein. What a lousy name. I really liked how this episode ramped up the suspense as the victims of a plague begin to line up at Scully's hospital, with Tad O'Malley popping in for reports that this incident is NOT confined to the Washington D.C. area. His pop-in reports reminded me a lot of Orson Welles' War Of The Worlds broadcast, and I like how O'Malley is increasingly becoming infected until he likely keeled over too. I'm not sure if O'Malley is a modern version of Mulder's informant character or his new tech friend to replace the deceased Lone Gunmen character. Either way, I like Joel McHale as O'Malley, since he brings a modern feel to this 1990's show that seems desperate to be relevant throughout Season 10.

It was stated before that this alien DNA wrinkle in the mythology may be a way to clean the slate and "reboot" the mythology but I still believe it has it's roots in the old conspiracy tales. The Smoking Man and his Syndicate pals were revealed to have an "alliance" of sorts with alien colonists that were going to reclaim planet Earth. It was never stated how they were going to survive an apocalypse, just that one day they would be spared as part of the plan, though the Syndicate worked against them in secret. I feel like these alien DNA injections were their way of surviving, leaving the Smoking Man to inject whomever he saw fit to continue the human race with him. The episode ends with a UFO overhead and I feel like it's the alien colonists returning to finish the job. If this UFO was zooming to the rescue of the FBI agents on the bridge, then why would it blow up Svetta in the premiere? I guess we will find out in 5 years. See ya then.

"Per Manum"

"I'm in the dark pretty much my entire time on The X-Files."
Originally Aired 2/18/01

Scully has been mysteriously pregnant since the conclusion of last season and this is the first episode to make it the focus of an entire hour. "Per Manum" opens with a freaky sequence of a woman giving birth to an alien baby. It's really intense because the doctors seem to know what's going on yet the pregnant woman was clearly in the dark about what has been growing inside of her for 9 months. I'd compare it to the scene in The Fly, where Gena Davis gave birth to a mutant maggot baby. I also like the use of the woman's point of view being out of focus, so we don't know what she gave birth to either until it's finally revealed, yet we hear an alien shriek. Even the baby alien creature is a cool prop since it's mouth is clearly moving as it cries. The little snot plunger thing makes me laugh, though.

The husband of the lady who gave birth to the alien shares his story with a skeptical Scully, while Doggett actually believes it in an interesting twist. Apparently he's still been reading every X-Files investigation case file, as was stated back in the episode "Patience", and tells Scully that the man named Duffy shared a story that sounds similar to her's- abduction, being diagnosed with cancer, and a miraculous recovery. On past seasons of The X-Files, Mulder and Scully would quite frequently split up into two separate investigations, mostly in these mythology tales. This time it is clear that Scully is filling the role of Mulder and she conducts a secret investigation unknown to her partner. Meanwhile Doggett looks into the background of this shady Duffy character. There's even a third thread woven into this episode, which features a returning David Duchovny in flashback sequences with Scully remembering past conversations with Mulder that callback to Season 4's "Memento Mori." With having three separate stories within one episode you'd think it would be a mess, yet "Per Manum" has allows each story to have equal time and never feels rushed.

I've always been intrigued by the happenings of the Syndicate, since as viewers we only saw the meetings held in the creepy boardroom with the Smoking Man and the Elders, but there had to be so many levels of this conspiracy. There were the Elders at the top, the men in black underneath them like X who worked for the Smoking Man, also cloning doctors that we saw in "Memento Mori", then later the doctors working on the hybrid project in "Two Fathers", but I'm sure it had to go deeper than that. And what happened after the Syndicate was burned alive by the aliens, did these doctors just stop working on their evil experiments? I feel like this episode finally gets us up to speed on what's been happening since Season 6, that several of these doctors have possibly continued their work on alien-human hybrids. The grey-haired doctor from the alien baby birth sequence has always looked eerily like Donnie Pfaster to me. And revisiting this episode after so many years away, I still recall laughing at Doggett's pronunciation of the doctor's name as "Paren-TAY", while Scully says "Paren-TEE." It's the small things that make me laugh.

Speaking of Doggett, he's seemingly dropped the "dickish" side of his character, now transforming into 'Concerned Citizen Doggett.' He's been left out of the loop on this whole pregnancy, so I understand his frustration and I like the development of his character in this episode. I watched Season 8 way back in 2007 across a single weekend, Memorial Day in fact, and I believe this was a watershed moment for Doggett and when I began to really like the character. I also recall this not only being a turning point for Doggett, but for the entire season, because until now it was almost entirely standalone episodes. From here it becomes a string of mythology episodes as it builds into the series finale. A new character is also introduced, as Doggett turns to a friend for help, who would be special guest star Adam Baldwin in the role of Knowle Rohrer. I met Adam in 2013 and I was surprised he correctly spelled that name on my X-Files poster.

I think "Per Manum" is a fantastic episode that improved through a rewatch or two, though it's not without a gripe or two. My main gripe with this episode, or actually the season as a whole, is that Scully's pregnancy was written out of thin air. It was briefly hinted at that Scully and Mulder were much closer than partners and friends, but nothing of her wanting a baby seemed to be clear either. Now through these flashbacks they've attempted to rewrite this pregnancy in reverse, as we learn Mulder told her she was left barren, so Scully sought fertilization treatments to become pregnant. I don't mind it so much, because "Per Manum" has injected the paranoia into the series that's been long gone since Scully's cancer arc was wrapped up in early Season 5.

"Babylon"

"Is this what you want Agent Mulder, your 'woo woo paranormal'?"
Aired 2/15/16

 

My fandom isn't the same as most X-Files fans, or in some circles are referred to as, "X-Philes." I came late to the party, after the series had already ended its run back in 2002. Its been fun experiencing new episodes on TV, and now I have a new wrinkle to add to my own fandom, which is "Babylon." I just happened to be surfing the web as this episode was leaked days before it's airdate, whether intentional or accidental. Myself and thousands of other fans were treated to a sneak preview before it vanished from Hulu within the hour. I even signed up for a free trial of Hulu just to watch this episode!

However, out of ten seasons of television and two feature films, this was the most bizarre installment of them all. "Babylon" began with a terrorist bombing of an art gallery, almost like one of those "ripped from the headlines" episodes of Law & Order. Mulder and Scully then meet their doppelgangers (unlike the doppelgangers in "Fight Club"), who inform them that one of the bombers is still alive, although unconscious. They pair off in wacky, unlikely duos, with Mulder and Not-Scully trying to communicate with the bomber through a wild and wacky mushroom-induced hallucination. Did I already say how wacky that is? Well, it is. David Duchovny definitely excels in comedic roles, much like he did in the middle years of the series when they fully embraced comedy; "Dreamland" always springs to mind. I liked that Mulder's hallucination was a way to work in the deceased Lone Gunmen characters, especially after seeing a behind the scenes clip where the trio were wearing ten-gallon hats. The hallucination also featured Skinner and the Cigarette-Smoking Man, although his appearance was slightly disturbing to me. I believe David would be fantastic on Dancing With The Stars but this was not X-Files.

Once Mulder's bad trip wore off, the episode was right back to it's serious tone dealing with an act of terrorism. "Babylon" was giving me whiplash with that back and forth shifting. I think perhaps this episode was just chock full of country songs and current pop songs that it was hard to look beyond that and enjoy the episode for what it was trying to accomplish. The X-Files rarely used contemporary music outside of its score created by Mark Snow, except for a few examples such as Cher and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Perhaps Chris Carter didn't know what he was trying to accomplish though, which can make for a bad viewing experience.

The X-Files never touched on social events either, unlike what it did here in "Babylon". While I do enjoy those moments when the series would link WWII planes with UFOs, those are radically different from trying to make your episode into an "After School Special." During the opening moments, I thought maybe I was supposed to relate to the Muslim kid, because I too like to check out females and eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. But then he turned out to be a suicide bomber, which I can't relate to that at all. The investigation is wrapped up when his mom shows up and says she never raised a son to be a killer. The Dawson's Creek-styled ending was out of character, too, with all of the characters reflecting on the episode's events over a pop song playing in the background; just a real mish-mashing of ideas. I think Chris Carter is like I am at times- I have a lot of ideas swirling in my head, but the end result isn't quite what I intended to say.

Mitch Pileggi is looking an awful lot like Sean Connery in The Last Crusade.

I will say this about "Babylon", that what it does get right are those moments between the central characters of Mulder and Scully, which has returned to the series after that initial premiere episode. Mulder's quick wit and David Duchovny's comedic timing are in top form here and throughout these "standalone" cases. I suppose that's been the journey of Mulder throughout this mini-series, as he became depressed and drove a wedge between himself and Scully in his years away from the FBI, but now he's regained that old Mulder spirit. But if I hear more of "Honky Tonk Ba-Donk-A-Donk" during The X-Files, that space ship better beam me up too, cause I'm out.

"Medusa"

"I'm a good shot."
Originally Aired 2/11/01

At this point in the season, at the 10th "monster of the week" in a row and 12th episode overall, I was ready for a break from this type of story-telling. Give me Mulder, give me aliens, give me anything to sink my teeth into. I couldn't recall much from "Medusa" before I sat down to watch it, except that I have a doll of Agent John Doggett, who's decked out in tactical gear from this episode. Moments into "Medusa", I recalled the plot right away, and felt like it was a strong episode among Season 8's crop of stories.

Apparently some chemical or ooze is causing human flesh to disintegrate in the tunnels of the Boston Subway, so Doggett and Scully are called in as consultants because of their knowledge of weird happenings like that. I like how Doggett basically knows his role and shuts his mouth, saying "I'm with her", and lets Scully take charge. After ten cases together, Doggett is finally getting the hang of his role in The X-Files. I really like the scene where Doggett "suits up" with his crew, which is when we're introduced to several faces from television and film. Penny Johnson (from The Larry Sanders Show, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Castle) is a doctor with the CDC, except she mostly just looks at things in the subway and then yells to Agent Doggett. There's also a guy by the name of Brent Sexton, whom I can't recall from any specific roles, yet I know I've seen his face. He's usually in roles like this, where he's a sidekick or "heavy" and then gets killed. Another member of the group is actor Vyto Ruginis, playing the stereotypical tough guy Lieutenant who may or may not be Italian, and I know I've seen him in roles like that before, too. All four of them suit up in tactical gear and bring a lot of fire power into the subway, yet we sadly don't get to see any of that in use.

Meanwhile, Scully stays above ground in an elaborately decorated control center and also yells to Agent Doggett a lot. She's really annoyed by another familiar face, actor Ken Jenkins, who was a doctor on Scrubs. I usually confuse him with actor Philip Baker Hall for some reason. His character in "Medusa" is that of Chief Karras, who keeps reminding Scully that he's releasing the trains on time for the 5 o'clock commute, whether Doggett is out of the subway or not. Now I've said before that Doggett's hard boiled character in this world of the paranormal is like putting Snake Plissken into a horror movie, and "Medusa" is coincidentally the best example of that. Karras has placed a deadline on Doggett and Scully, much like Snake's 24 hour mission into New York City. He's also decked out in tactical gear, somewhat like Snake's leather and camo appearance. This episode also makes use of an incredibly elaborate subway that I assume is a set built just for this episode, heightening the action movie-like quality of the episode.

When the mystery is revealed, it's not quite as impressive as the build to that mystery, though I still enjoyed this episode quite a lot. Several X-Files tropes are present- local law enforcement standing in their way, giant flashlights in dark passageways, and also "annoyed Scully" makes an appearance. I love "annoyed Scully" so much and she always raises the bar for every episode she appears in. I assume "Medusa" won't be many X-Files fans' cup of tea, but I'm an action movie fan, and I enjoy this 40-minute attempt at being a blockbuster action movie of the 90's. It feels a little like that Daylight movie with Stallone (granted I only watched that once on tv over a decade ago) and that one movie with Penelope Ann Miller in the sewers (which I saw once on HBO even further back.) Doggett is on the clock and racing against time, Scully is barking orders and rushing around to find answers while watching on closed-circuit monitors, and I was entertained, so there. Bravo X-Files.

"Home Again"

"Back in the day Mulder I used to do stairs and in 3 inch heels."
Aired 2/8/16

This episode was definitely a mixed bag. I understand the writers' need to mix so many mythology elements in with these standalone cases due to the shortened length of the season, but this one didn't click, unlike "Founder's Mutation". That episode was a standalone case about genetically modified children which caused Mulder and Scully to each reflect on their own child, William, with both having their dreams becoming nightmares. This episode causes Mulder and Scully to again reflect on their grief over William, but it's on top of so much other drama, along with a shift in tone. I was left feeling like this episode didn't know what it wanted to be.

First, I'll start with the actual "X-File" itself. A large, spooky guy who rides around inside of a garbage truck is ripping various city officials in half. People refer to him as the "Band Aid Nose Man" which is a serious downgrade from past names like Crew Cut Man, Toothpick Man, Black-Haired Man, and even Red-Haired Man. I suppose a character like an Eye-Patch-Wearing Man isn't creepy enough for this series. This episode does have another "Man" character, known as Trash Man, and he's a pop artist that graffitis art around town and speaks for the homeless people of the downtown area. When I first saw homeless people on the street at the beginning of this episode, my first thought was, "I wonder if Mulder spends the night with them like he did in 'Jersey Devil'?"

The second part of this episode sees the brief return of Sheila Larken as Maggie Scully, mother of Dana Scully, who was last featured briefly in Season 9. Maggie has suffered a fatal heart attack, but before she dies, she mentions both Scully's younger brother Charlie as well as Scully's son William. The thread of William has been woven nicely into this mini-series and while I was never of fan of baby William, I am enjoying the way Mulder and Scully are reflecting on their son. Some portions of the fan community seem to chastise the decision to give William up for adoption, even to the point that the writers said it was in poor taste and apologized for it. The way I look at it is that Mulder and Scully live in constant danger of the Syndicate, a group that's had Scully abducted, killed Mulder's father and his mentors, and almost blew up Mulder in a train car. That's a rough life for a baby when your grandfather wants your own parents dead. Even Papa Mulder gave up his own daughter for what he thought was the greater good, I suppose it's the circle of life in the Mulder clan. I think Scully needs a reason to return to The X-Files more than just investigating spooky cases again, and finding William is that reason. Just like Mulder originally wanted to use The X-Files to find his missing sister, Scully is now using them to find her son. But the drama of William seems to overshadow the drama of losing Maggie Scully. It may have been best to leave the monster out of this episode.

I felt like "Home Again" wanted to have serious character drama, while having a spooky monster, and also include campy moments. The black homeless guy saying "Band Aid Nose Man" and pointing to a several stories high mural was about the campiest moment of unintentional comedy I've seen on the show in ages. Perhaps that name sounded better on paper than it did being spoken by the actors. The use of music over impending doom (and later death) felt a little wedged in here, too. My favorite scene was a neat editing trick where the garbage truck drives past the "Fox Presents" text, as if the text is within the episode, as opposed to the text being over the episode like typical credits. I guess I shouldn't fault director/writer Glen Morgan so much for including many X-Files tropes since he really is 'home again' and it's not too often in life that you get a second chance, or even a third.

"The Gift"

"You wearing pants Langly?"
Originally Aired 2/4/01

Yet another episode where Doggett's epilogue sums up my thoughts on the episode too, "I don't even know where to begin or how to explain it." My initial thought was that I liked "The Gift" in 2007 when I saw this for the first time, yet revisiting it now in the context of the series only leaves me confused. David Duchovny only has limited amount of screen time this season, roughly half of the episodes, so it seems odd they would use one of those appearances in a one-off episode, especially one about a monster.

The plot of "The Gift" is about Doggett trying to track down Mulder by retracing his steps just before he disappeared at the end of Season 7, so David's appearances as Mulder are limited to a few flashbacks to his final case. These are actually flashbacks to a case we've never seen before, which is because Mulder filed a false report so it never happened. If that sounds confusing, it's because it is- this episode appears to be changing the continuity of events in Season 7. Mulder's brain activity at the beginning of Season 7 was quickly written away and swept under the rug, while the Cigarette Smoking Man seemed to be suffering from the effects instead as he looked progressively sicker throughout the season. The Season 8 premiere, "Within", said that Mulder kept his own condition quiet, so now "The Gift" is trying explain exactly what happened. I can overlook what may appear to be continuity errors, or as some would call "retconning", because the show has a habit of referencing events several episodes, or even seasons, later.

The purpose of this episode is also to deepen the character of Agent John Doggett, who originally appeared to be a real dick upon his introduction in "Within" and "Without." Doggett is a guy who just wants to do his job, which is find Fox Mulder, and he has no opinion on the paranormal. I've likened him to taking a character like Snake Plissken and plopping him into the middle of a horror movie; he's a fish out of water. His experiences over these last few episodes are showing him that you can't do everything by the book, some things are better left unexplained, as Skinner tells him at the conclusion of the episode. I really enjoy their episodes together and any appearance by the Lone Gunmen is always welcome. Some could say Skinner and Doggett is retreading the same waters as the Mulder and Skinner friendship yet I think it's different. Skinner was a non-believer like Doggett is now and I feel like he's just trying to say, "look, I've been there before, this X-Files stuff is crazy...but it's true."

"The Gift" was likely viewed as a misfire in 2001 when it aired on FOX because many fans were rabid for the return of David Duchovny as Fox Mulder. They didn't want to see him in "flashbacks", instead they wanted him returned and investigating new cases alongside Scully. That isn't what they were given. Instead, "The Gift" had Doggett investigating a monster that restored people to life after vomiting them. Scully wasn't even present, either. That vomit monster seemed odd to me too, but I feel like when you're nearing 175 episodes of a series, you're somewhat limited on monster scenarios. The vomit monster is actually another in a long line of sympathetic creatures that aren't really "evil" and it fits the theme of "body horror" that the show loved to do so often. Maybe the actual "gift" here is like getting socks for Christmas- it's not something you really wanted but you'll take it anyway.

"Mulder and Scully Meet The Were-Monster"

"First thing we need to do though... check out of this motel."
Aired 2/1/16

When The X-Files revival was announced last spring, I was excited to learn that Chris Carter would reunite with a trio of writers that have not been involved with his series since 1997- brothers Darin and Glen Morgan, and writer/director James Wong. (Technically it could be 1998, since those 3 were all involved with sister series Millennium.) Those three men are collectively responsible for my absolute favorite episodes from both series- Glen Morgan & James Wong's "One Breath, and Darin Morgan's "Clyde Bruckman" and "Jose Chung" episodes of The X-Files; along with Morgan & Wong's "The Cure Of Frank Black" and Darin Morgan's "Jose Chung" episodes of Millennium. Thus far with this revival, both James Wong and Darin Morgan have stepped up to the plate, with both men knocking it out of the park.

Last week, James Wong contributed a dark episode about genetic mutations that also touched on the lives of Mulder and Scully, while this episode from Darin Morgan was a fantastic return to form for the series. Not only was it chock full of references for the keen fans, the episode used it's monster to poke fun at the every day lives of humans. What seem commonplace for us, like getting a job, are outrageous activities to this "were-man." Morgan summed up human existence in the span of one seven-minute segment of the series- get a job so you can have a mortgage, eat bad food, and then do it all over again the next day. The were-man was played exceptionally well by guest actor, Rhys Darby, whom I wish could be in every episode! I also noticed a returning guest actor, Alex Diakun, who was also in Morgan's first X-Files episode titled "Humbug" as well as the second movie.

"Mulder and Scully Meet The Were-Monster" actually had it's origin in 2005 as an unfilmed script for X-Files collaborator Frank Spotnitz's revival of the Night Stalker series. It was originally titled, "The M Word", and I came across the script when it was included as a DVD extra in text form. The plot remains mostly the same, with exception to Mulder and Scully now being the investigators, rather than the main characters on Night Stalker. In a twist of fate that could only happen in an "x-file", this script was not only filmed as part of this mini-series, but improves upon the original version. The many references to past episodes make this episode a treasure-trove and an "instant classic" among the series' greatest episodes. For starters, the pair of stoners returned from Season 3's "War of the Coprophages"; Mulder was seen in bed wearing a red speedo; Mulder also peered through the face of a fox that was hanging on the wall at a seedy motel; Scully referenced her old dog, Queeqeg; and later Scully referenced being immortal, which has always been a conversation point for longtime fans. Much like Darin Morgan's past episode "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'" that featured many gags I only noticed through rewatches, I'm sure I'll spot more visual gags later. In fact, I didn't even catch that a fast-food joint was named "Andy's" until a friend sent me a text about it.

Not only was this episode full of comedic moments, I also liked the way it was filmed during the night-time sequences. The title of "Mulder and Scully Meet The Were-Monster" seemed really silly to me, and I preferred the ambiguous original title, "The M Word." But after seeing it's campy atmosphere, the new title was a better fit. It was an obvious nod to the movies when Abbot and Costello met Frankenstein and other Hollywood movie monsters. Those night scenes featured an eerie, foggy atmosphere which looked a lot like the Creature From The Black Lagoon movies, too. With that said, now I'm off to go commit a murder.... I'm hungry for a burger.