X-Files Rerun "Young at Heart"

"Man, this is...this is the land of the free!"
Originally Aired 2/11/94

"This is where you pucker up and kiss my ass!" Oh wait, wrong episode!

Rewatching Season One has opened my eyes to how enjoyable it is. There are a few clunkers in the first half of the season but the show really found its groove around the time of "Eve" and "Beyond the Sea." It could also be that after watching the fourth season and now revisiting the past, its fun to actually see Mulder and Scully doing some real investigating.

This time around Mulder is called to a case by his former mentor, Reggie Purdue, when a convicted killer is suspected to be up to his old tricks. Its not just a cat and mouse game with the killer, John Barnett, as the case soon turns to the typical sci fi that we're used to. But that's not all; we even get to see a neat lizard hand! The way this episode keeps adding layers, you'd almost think it would fall apart under its own weight, but its really an entertaining hour. Though to be honest, some moments I thought were similar to episodes from earlier this year, but that might be just me confusing the episodes since I haven't watched "Young at Heart" in years. I think what I like best about this episode are the phone calls between Mulder and Barnett, who sounds like a creepy serial killer hippie. Another good moment is when Scully is typing up her report, then intense music kicks in when she suspects someone is inside her apartment.

This episode could even be considered a mythology thriller since that part of the series wasn't fully formed yet. Deep Throat makes an appearance and warns Mulder that the government wants research that the villain has, which would've been fun to follow-up in a later episode. Lots of these early X-Files episodes end in similar fashion, yet at least Mulder gets to make up for the "mistake" he made the last time he saw Barnett.