X-Files Rerun "Miracle Man"

"A few thousand grasshoppers does not constitute a plague."
Originally Aired 3/18/1994

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

I assume the inspiration for this episode came from the surplus of televangelists that populated tv channels back when The X-Files debuted. It feels more like a parody of them once you see the people rejoicing in the reverend's tent and hear all of Mulder's comments about Elvis and Woodstock. Other than those comments from Mulder, I can't say this episode is a particularly exciting one.

This case is brought to Mulder and Scully when a faith healer's powers may be killing rather than saving. It is known that Scully is Catholic, yet Mulder is the one who believes in Samuel's powers, then he has a vision or two of a young girl that represents his missing sister. I could actually do without that part of the episode. Felt a bit shoe-horned into the episode. And then there's of course the token law enforcer standing in the way. His grudge with the reverend and his son was a bit contrived. I guess it would have made more sense to me if the reverend was presented as more of a crook but they really didn't get into much of his personality at all. He's just a victim that seemed caught in the middle.

I can't say this is a poor episode, because its not, it's just not all that thrilling. Maybe I would've liked it more if those kinks were worked out in the story. The acting is fine and Mulder's one-liners are enough to outweigh the bad.