"Existence"

"I'm the one who kept you alive, praying you'd win somehow."
Originally Aired 5/20/01

The previous episode, "Essence", had me once again pumped up for The X-Files. It showed there were still mysteries left to be unraveled in this series, such as the Syndicate's work continuing without them and how it related to Scully. The re-emergence of Krycek was also exciting, which is actually what served as my introduction to the character way back in 2008. Here in "Existence", Krycek is clearly out for himself only, as he avoids the rampaging Billy Miles, then holds Mulder at gunpoint in another tense parking garage scene. I feel like every crucial moment in the history of the series has taken place in a darkened, empty parking garage, and if it didn't take place in one, then it's not worth mentioning.

On one hand I feel sorry that the character of Krycek was practically killed in cold-blood by Skinner. It seems more like he should have died as a result of one of his betrayals, possibly even back in Season 6 when the Faceless Aliens were lighting Syndicate members on fire with their caddle prod sticks. Yet, with David Duchovny leaving the series following this episode, it's fitting that his nemesis should exit with him. It seemed like they never fully committed to making him a true formidable foe for Mulder anyways, since Season 6 shifted to gears to make him more of an enemy of Skinner instead, after he had gained some form of upper-hand over the Assistant FBI Director through the use of the nanobot device. Perhaps leaving Krycek for dead with a bullet in his head is just payback for Krycek leading Mulder to his possible death in the woods in last season's finale.

Yet there are other characters in this final hour of Season 8, such as Agent Reyes, whose "whale song" is even worse in hindsight. I just feel like they weren't even trying with this character at all. She's basically the 'Phoebe Buffay' of The X-Files, if she were played by one of the least interesting actresses they could find. Maybe this 'new age' character made more sense from the 1990's state-of-mind, but in the 21st century, it hasn't aged well at all.

Doggett is once again the most interesting aspect of the episode. He knows from the get-go he's being played by his former buddy Knowle Rohrer and doesn't budge at all in giving out the secret location of Scully's hiding spot. He even gets a cool parking garage scene of his own, when his former FBI Agent buddy-turned Super Soldier hangs onto the side of his SUV and is taken for a wild ride. Following the episode's climax, Doggett even calls out his boss and tells Kersh that he's under investigation, which left me mega pumped for Season 9 back when I first saw this scene. While I am fully aware now how Season 9 ended, Doggett and Kersh on-screen together is always a great moment. Even Doggett and Rohrer, played by Adam Baldwin, have a great scene together that is full of necessary exposition. They lay out the entire conspiracy behind this current season for anyone who was still slightly confused as to what's really going on- Scully's abduction in Season 2 was a military operation to install a chip, which has now become active, triggering her pregnancy. She was part of the Syndicate's experiments, while Billy Miles is part of the alien colonists' experiments, which they see Scully's baby as a threat because he would be immune to them as a true human-alien hybrid. What I still don't get 8 years later is why the Soldiers just suddenly back away and let the baby live?

The best sequence of the entire episode for me as a viewer and also a fan of Doggett, is the scene with his 'heart to heart' with Mulder, coincidentally is also in a parking garage. I think Fox may have saved a lot of money by using the same parking garage over and over again this season. Over the years so many characters have asked "HOW FAR WOULD MULDER GO?", which is practically the same exact quote from 4 or 5 different characters. Even Scully asked Mulder why he's still searching for answers two years ago in the Season 6 finale. This time, it's actually Doggett who turns the tables and asks Mulder when his search will end. For this entire season, Agent Doggett has been on the receiving end of Scully's advice, and this moment with Mulder seems to be a defining moment for the guy I once called "Dick Doggett." He asks, "How long until the next Billy Miles rears his head? The next threat? The next phantom? When will it end?" Mulder, the selfish jerk that he is, just smirks and says "maybe it doesn't." Maybe he really should have been abducted for good so he wasn't ruining more lives and getting even more people killed. As one of my good friends always says, "Mulder is the worst." Now *I* believe.

While this is a somewhat weak ending for Season 8, I really enjoyed the second half of this season's episodes as they were all given a sense of purpose. Everything was driven toward the birth of Scully's baby, which brought back Krycek, introduced new enemies in the form of alien replicants, and also closed the door on the Syndicate's mysterious experiments. Nearly all of my favorite episodes are found in the second half of the season, though the first half did offer plenty of scares and a greater focus on eerie cases of the week.

Top 5 of Season 8
1. Via Negativa
2. Vienen
3. Three Words
4. Essence
5. Empedocles

"Essence"

"Hey, look who's back."
Originally Aired 5/13/01

I had recently been exchanging messages with a friend about nearing the end of The X-Files, that I couldn't believe I only had one season left, and he laughed that I should quit before the series finale. "Can't do it anymore, too burned out" were his exact words, which actually seemed to be true now as I'm not even finished with the 8th season! I was already losing interest during the opening moments of this episode as Scully was finally having her baby shower, following her never-ending pregnancy. I'm not nearly as annoyed with stretching out the pregnancy for the length of the entire season as I am with creating the illusion that Scully has friends. I had thought it had long been established that neither Mulder nor Scully had much of a life outside of their work on the X-Files.

Throughout this entire season there has been two separate stories, one with Scully's pregnancy and the second being the coming invasion of "super soldiers." Cult leader Absalom attempted to use Doggett to thwart the efforts of the soldiers, which later ended with Doggett's mysterious friend being revealed as one of them. Billy Miles was also returned from his abduction and transformed into one of these soldiers. "Essence" is an attempt to merge both of these stories into one and Chris Carter actually does an impressive job of tying these two threads together, in a blending of present storylines with past conspiracies. It became apparent when Billy Miles showed up and whacked one of the doctors who was trying to create alien babies.

In a scene that gave me a momentary feeling of deja vu, Mulder showed up at Doggett's house and instructed him into flip the television to a newscast. It reminded me a lot of Season 1's finale, "The Erlenmeyer Flask", when Deep Throat gave Mulder a late night tip to watch the local news. I like Mulder in this pseudo role of Deep Throat to Agent Doggett. The lab filled with these little aliens in jars is kind of like "The Erlenmeyer Flask" too, when Scully recovered the fetus, only this is multiplied for extra creepy effect. It's hard to fully compare this to past mythology installments where Mulder was battling the clock to find a cure for Scully's cancer or racing against an actual ticking timebomb aboard a train, because Billy Miles attacking doctors almost feels like a low-grade version of the alien bounty hunter. However, the bromance of Mulder and Doggett continues to grow and it's refreshing to see Mulder have an ally for more than a single episode. If you recall, Krycek appeared to be an ally but was revealed as a spy of the Smoking Man by the end of that very episode. Then Jeffrey Spender was quickly killed off the moment he joined Team Mulder.

During the course of these 8 years of watching The X-Files in order, I'd often wondered what happened to all of these men and women working for the Syndicate. We know they employed "men in black" like Krycek and even X to carry out the dirty work of assassinations and sneaky things like that, but what about all of the doctors and scientists? There were experiments on bees, cloning, hybrids, and creating a vaccine to the black oil. I feel like while the Smoking Man was in charge of the men in black, perhaps the Well-Manicured Man was possibly in charge of overseeing several experiments. And now that the Syndicate has been burnt to a crisp going on two years, did the doctors keep working? Did the checks stop coming? Finally, I get my answers! While I did remember Billy Miles' rampage in this episode, I guess in the 8 years since I last watched "Essence" I apparently forgot one key scene. The nurse who was going to assist Scully at home as a nanny was actually revealed as an undercover agent of the project doctors. She shares vital information with Team Mulder that though the men in charge had been long deceased, the doctors continued their work in creating alien baby hybrids. BOOM. My mind was completely blown away that Carter actually came through on a two-year long story and connected everything, although I should be fully aware by now that's his m.o.

Before that revelation by Scully's nurse named Lizzy, I was even thinking that this episode was starting to feel a little like a retread of "One Son." Billy Miles was essentially wiping out the remaining traces of the doctors' experiments, much like the Faceless Aliens were destroying the Syndicate members and ending their union with the colonists. Now it makes even more sense why it appeared to be a retread. It wasn't a retread, it was more that Carter was finally closing the book on the entire Syndicate storyline for good. Compared to past mythology two-part bonanzas that brought back members of the Mulder family, Syndicate baddies, and aliens, "Essence" was lighter on characters but made up for it with an emphasis on action and surprises. "Essence" stands as a satisfying latter-day X-Files episode. Bring on the season finale, which is odd to say, given my stance on this episode during the lame baby shower.

"Alone"

"You re-gifted."
Originally Aired 5/6/01

As Season 8 nears its finale, "Alone" holds the distinction of being the final standalone episode starring David Duchovny. That is until this year, when FOX re-launched The X-Files as a 6-episode "event" series. Even if that fact is now erased, "Alone" is also known for being the first episode directed by long-time series writer, Frank Spotnitz. He's also contributed a few other spooky scripts this season, including "The Gift" and "Via Negativa", but this marks his first attempt at a comedic episode. While I think he did a great job in some aspects, it didn't provide enough humor or enough scares to call it a "classic."

I've only watched this episode once before, back in 2008, and I recall having a strong dislike for it's attempts at being funny. However, 8 years later, that "light-hearted" tone would be the reason why I enjoyed it. What seemed "nerdy" before, now feels endearing. Much of the comedic moments come from Doggett's new partner, Leyla Harrison, who isn't really an FBI agent; she's an accountant. It reminded me a little of the Dirty Harry sequel, The Enforcer, when grizzled detective Callahan is paired with a young cop. I felt that this "gimmick" could have continued longer with Doggett getting a new partner every week in the same way that Spinal Tap goes through drummers. My other idea was that Season 9 should have been Doggett going solo on his X-Files investigations, with Scully aiding him and performing autopsies, much like Mulder in the early portion of Season One. As I was typing this, I dreamt up another scenario for Season 9 where Doggett is actually partnered with Agent Emma Hollis from X-Files' sister series, Millennium. Hollis would be able to bring similar expertise to the cases as Reyes, yet she'd already have a built in character that they could expand on. That concludes my fan-fic portion of this review; moving on.

"Alone" doesn't offer many "classic" X-Files scares, but there is a bit of an atmosphere that is unique to this episode. I liked the use of music and camera angles when Doggett is investigating a creepy old house and the grounds surrounding it. They even added a reference to last season with a book titled The Sixth Extinction, which fits well with all of the dialogue referencing past X-Files investigations. Doggett's repeated descent down a well was fun, too. The poor guy has spent all season being vomited up by a creature, sent on a mission into a humid subway tunnel, held hostage by Absalom, and now he's knocked down a well. He's now The X-Files' personal pin cushion.

However, the ending felt a little abrupt, when Mulder came to Doggett's rescue. The bad guy just lets Mulder into the tunnel where he's been keeping Doggett and his partner, with Mulder just strolling in, while the door appears to lock behind him. D'oh! You'd think Mulder would be smarter than that since he was the one who deduced the creepy homeowner was hiding something in the first place. The wacky ending aside, I still enjoyed this episode of The X-Files, and it feels like the writer Frank Spotnitz is as much of a fan of the series as its viewers. Leyla Harrison's references to past cases is what I find myself doing while watching many episodes of not just The X-Files, but other movies and television shows. It definitely is not the worst episode of the season as I had previously believed and I'm glad I was able to view it with this new perspective. Only two episodes remain in Season 8, the two-part finale, "Essence" and "Existence", which I'm sad is coming to an end.

"Vienen"

"And you'd love to help but you left your lightsaber at home."
(Originally Aired 4/29/01)

In this week's episode we have more of the Doggett-Mulder duo, "As The X-Files Turns", or in this case, Die Hard on a oil rig. Doggett is sent by Kersh to quickly investigate the death of a worker on an oil rig, which was a case that Mulder was looking into, so naturally he shows up and beats Doggett to the punch. Meanwhile, Scully and Skinner remain on land to perform an autopsy on that oil worker.

Scully told Mulder that this isn't like old times, except it is, with the two of them investigating the same case from different locations. It also feels like the old days, when the agents face resistance from an oil company executive, much like when Mulder and Scully encountered a local police officer who resented their investigation. To give it even more of that old feeling of nostalgia, the episode's villain is the black oil, last seen in the movie Fight The Future. Season 5 would be it's last series appearance, when the Syndicate attempted to create a vaccine in "The Red and The Black." This was actually the first episode I had watched with the oil, so I wasn't aware of how differently it acts in each appearance. The version in "Vienen" is more like it's original incarnation, which was also found under the sea, and would take over a person's body and irradiate anyone who got in it's way.

 
Revisiting this for the first time in 8 years, it feels slightly less exciting than I remembered. Possibly it's because Mulder has done so much in the past to skate on thin ice at the FBI, that this can't be what gets him dismissed for good by Kersh. On the other hand, Kersh now has another guy in the X-Files that he can manipulate to take the fall, making Mulder expendable. This also feels slightly less exciting because most scenes feature Doggett and Mulder walking around the oil rig; I guess they had to make the most of the oil rig they had rented. The set piece of the oil rig also gives it an old school X-Files environment, too. I was reminded of the early years where they created paranoia by isolating Mulder and Scully in a remote location in episodes like "Ice" and "Darkness Falls."

I love how Season 8 appears to be the "Year of the B-Players", with the best episodes of this season coming from unlikely writers. First was David Amann's "Invocation", which attempted to provide a backstory for Agent Doggett and the mystery surrounding his son. Frequent mythology co-conspirator Frank Spotnitz provided the script for "Via Negativa", which featured Doggett's descent into madness when investigating a creepy cult leader. Last week's was Greg Walker's "Empedocles", again centering the episode's mystery around Doggett's past, and now this episode's Doggett-Mulder bromance aboard an oil rig was written by Steven Maeda. "Vienen" is also noteworthy among the series' mythology because it's one of the very few to have not been written by either Carter, Spotnitz, nor the duos of Morgan-Wong and Gordon-Gansa. I feel like these writers were given the spotlight this season because Vince Gilligan and John Shiban were tied up with the Lone Gunmen spin-off, though their absence adds to the unique atmosphere that is Season 8.

Only one standalone episode remains before the season ending two-parter, with "Alone" being another script from Frank Spotnitz. I'm curious how well it has aged since I recall hating it the first time around. "Vienen" remains strong, still among the best that Season 8 had to offer.

"Empedocles"

"I saw Elvis in a potato chip once."
Originally Aired 4/22/01

There is a lot going on in this hour of The X-Files, much more character development than your average case-of-the-week episode, especially with "Empedocles" featuring four FBI agents. Technically Mulder is no longer allowed to investigate X-Files cases, so I'm not sure how he still has access to the basement office, let alone free to roam the hallways of the J. Edgar Hoover Building. Maybe he had a spare key made for such occasions, though I really wonder about the security at the FBI. Krycek always seems to have access, too.

Scully has a lighter load as she appears to be on maternity leave, though her role in this episode was not any less essential. Throughout this season she has offered advice to Doggett on their cases together, since she was once in his shoes as the "skeptic." This time Doggett actually comes to her, as the episode's case could have a link back to the mystery surrounding his son's abduction. Their brief moment together is the highlight of this episode as Doggett shows some cracks in his crusty exterior, asking Scully how she became a believer. It segues into a beautifully eerie scene with Doggett appearing in a field, as everyone else around him is in slow motion, which appears throughout the episode and finally reveals the moment when he discovered his son. Doggett later explains to Monica Reyes that he tried to do everything he could to find his son, and if a paranormal link is actually true, that means he didn't explore every possibility in his search. Some fans have said Doggett was merely a replacement character, either replacing Mulder as the person with a mysterious abduction that still haunts him or as a replacement for Scully's skeptic character. This episode strongly disproves either critique of the John Doggett character, as he is neither. While he is strongly skeptical of the paranormal, he approaches it from a different angle than our other characters; he's more like the previous non-believer, Agent Jeffrey Spender.

So with Scully on leave, and Mulder's position at the FBI in limbo, that leaves only two agents- Doggett and Reyes, who brings a case she is consulting on to Mulder's attention. I really like this dynamic with Mulder assuming the role of "mentor", almost sliding into Deep Throat's shoes. Mulder is still able to throw in his classic wisecracks and the tension between Doggett and Mulder is carried over from the previous episode. I feel like they should have done everything within their power to keep Duchovny from leaving the series so the Mulder-Doggett dynamic could continue as regular partners. It's kind of like a tv drama version of the old WWF wrinkle of "tag team partners who hate each other". Monica Reyes still does nothing for me as a character on this series. She feels like a really awkward version of Mulder, maybe even like Phoebe Buffay from Friends. The opening scene where she is asked if a case has a Satanic link because of Marilyn Manson CDs is awkward dialogue and doesn't do the character any favors either.

While I actually like the mysterious X-File case this week, which appears to be a thread of evil that is passed on from person to person at their most vulnerable moments, it seems a little under-developed. Maybe that's because I can't take "Bug" from Uncle Buck seriously as a "villain." I keep picturing him as the guy who's afraid of John Candy's character in that movie. Although the X-Files crew did excellent make-up effects when "Bug" tears skin from his face and reveals lava underneath; pretty creepy. It doesn't matter if that part of the plot isn't given enough time though, because it was mainly there to get Doggett to question his disbelief in the paranormal. This is exactly what the writers should have been doing sooner in the season, because now we only have 4 episodes remaining but there is so much more that could have been done with Doggett-Mulder. I recall this being one of the stronger episodes from Season 8 from when I first watched it, and after viewing it again, it is among the strongest of the entire run of episodes filmed in California. Not only is Doggett's background explored, but they also remembered Mulder's background as a criminal profiler. Bravo to writer Greg Walker!

Actually, excuse me, the best part of this episode was actually a few recurring moments with a sassy black nurse at the hospital. She tells Mulder and Doggett that it's "immediate family only", then later she scolds Doggett while he's visiting Scully. She appears a third time even, telling the agents again that it's family only. Such sass! Give that lady a raise.

"Three Words"

"For a guy who was in a coffin not too long ago, I think I'm doing pretty damn good."
Originally Aired 4/8/01

For the 8th season of The X-Files, David Duchovny was contracted to appear in 12 of the 21 episodes. So far we've seen Mulder in a flashback or two, in his alien fetish chair, as a disguise of the Alien Bounty Hunter, and he's also played dead. In "Three Words", David finally gets to play Fox Mulder alive and well, which marks his 7th appearance overall this season. Halfway through his contracted amount and he's finally able to play Mulder in the way we all know and love seems like it might not be the best use of that contract.

Whether it was the best use of Duchovny or not, I really enjoyed everything about this episode, from the performances to the action. Mulder tells Scully he's not sure where he fits in and this show could've been pretty crowded with three lead actors and guest stars galore, along with the amount of stories it's trying to weave together. The first is the continuation of the mystery surrounding the returned abductees, and it seems a database has gathered information on all of these people, including Mulder and Billy Miles. Mulder investigates and brings along the Gunmen, giving that trio some action in the field in a scene reminiscent of the Mission Impossible films.

Doggett has an investigation of his own though its not of his own freewill. The creepy Absalom from the previous episodes has broken out of jail and he abducts Doggett because he wants to expose the government database too. I'm not sure his plan to break into that government facility would have been very successful, since the computer password was not revealed until much later in the episode. I'm really going to miss Absalom as he was a whole different kind of creepy compared to the Syndicate. He wasn't really a typical villain since he was actually trying to expose the secrets behind the experiments on the abductees, he just had a flair for the dramatic that ended in his death, like the guy who jumped over the White House fence in the episode's opening.

We also learn that not only is Doggett being used as as a fall guy at the FBI, he's also being used by his own friend Knowle Rohrer, played by Adam Baldwin. When we first saw Doggett, he was a golden boy at the FBI and was chummy with his fellows agents, but now all he has is that lonely basement office. He should have listened to Scully's warning and got out before it was too late. I'm not sure what's a worse punishment- being exiled to work in the basement office or being the boss of those who work in that basement? It's also interesting to note how Mulder was given an informant character named Deep Throat (and later X) and his rival was a former FBI agent. Now Doggett has an informant who is also being set up to be his rival. Even more people are shunning Doggett. Poor guy. Although with Rohrer as a new wave of villains with these bumpy neck spikes, and Absalom knowing how to detect them, it would have been a better use of the characters had they been able to come face to face. Perhaps Rohrer was one of the people at Absalom's UFO cult camp, so Rohrer kills him after he informs Mulder of their neck spikes.

The most interesting aspect of this episode is that Mulder is actually on the outside looking in, so he was right when he said he didn't know how he fit in. For 7 seasons the show was through Mulder's eyes and we saw every wrinkle in the conspiracy unfold as he discovered them. In this 8th season, til now it has been mostly Scully's journey as she searched for Mulder and was forced to work with a new partner. However this episode seems to be slowly passing the torch off to Robert Patrick's John Doggett. I used an example before that Doggett is like taking a character like Snake Plissken and placing him into a horror movie, but after viewing the conspiracies in "Three Words", I see Doggett closer to Roger Thornhill in North By Northwest. He's a regular guy that gets mixed up in a conspiracy in classic Hitchcock-style. Scully informed Mulder that Doggett was above reproach, which we know is true since he returned to government facility to save Mulder in the episode's climax, after he realized he unknowingly set up Mulder with the classified information.

Five episodes remain in Season 8, which isn't nearly enough screen time for the "friendship" between Doggett and Mulder to grow. I really enjoy their anti-bromance and it's nice to see Mulder interact with someone he clearly doesn't like, much like those scenes with Agent Spender in Seasons 5 and 6. I'm putting "Three Words" near the top of Season 8's collection of episodes.

"Deadalive"

"All aboard."
Originally Aired 4/1/01

While many fans of The X-Files were losing interest in the series during this time, Season 8 seems to have more of a focus on storytelling through it's mythology arc than previous seasons, with the intertwining of Scully's mysterious pregnancy and the disappearance of Mulder. One of those storylines appeared to meet it's end in the last episode, "This Is Not Happening", when Agent Mulder was returned following his abduction. The opening moments of "Deadalive" revealed several cracks in the direction this arc with Mulder has taken, as he's been dead and buried for three months, with the funeral being the worst scene I've ever watched in this series. Chris Carter has always lacked in trying to create tender moments between his characters and that cemetery scene between Scully and Skinner was truly laughably bad.

I was ready to declare this series as dead as Fox Mulder. However the episode seemed to have steered the ship away from crashing when it focused more on the drama surrounding Agent Doggett. With the investigation into Mulder's disappearance ending in his apparent death, Director Kersh moves for Doggett to be re-assigned off the X-Files division. That's what Doggett has wanted since the season premiere, "Within", yet he's seemingly had a change of heart. If he's reassigned and Scully takes maternity leave, Doggett comes to the realization that the X-Files office will be closed for good. Shaking his "Dick Doggett" image as the season has progressed, Doggett has firmly placed himself on "Team Mulder" with his decision to stay, scoring another one for the good guys.

Doggett has been introduced to the Lone Gunmen, and also worked closely with his superior, AD Skinner, and in "Deadalive" he's introduced to another character, the shady Alex Krycek. Doggett's introduction to Krycek was also my own introduction to him too, as Season 8 was the first season I had watched in order following several standalones seen in reruns. I liked his mysterious appearance as he seemingly holds Mulder's fate in his hands, giving Skinner a life or death choice to make. The parking lot scene between Krycek and Doggett is the best parking garage scene since X called Mulder his "tool" back in "One Breath." Although I can't recall many parking garage scenes in the years since then. If Doggett hadn't already chosen sides, then his attempt at standing up to Krycek firmly places him on Team Mulder.

Speaking of "One Breath", this episode feels a lot like that one, only flipping the scenario so that now Doggett, Scully, and even Skinner are working to save Mulder's life. Not only do these episodes share a lot of hospital scenes, but Doggett's decision on whether to be reassigned echoes Mulder's own decision to resign from the X-Files. Just like Mulder confronted the mysterious Smoking Man for answers on Scully, Doggett even questions another cryptic character, Absalom. Judson Scott has portrayed villains before but here he's excellently creepy and I wish he was being set up as more of a conspirator this season, than just a vessel for the Doggett character. 

The best scene of all in "Deadalive" isn't the conversation between Doggett and Absalom, nor is it the return of Krycek, it was a scene with Billy Miles, who also returned following Season 7's "Requiem." Billy is returned under likely 100 pounds of make-up and prosthetics, which looked super gruesome as he laid in a hospital bed on life support. Back when I first watched this episode as part of a weekend-long binge of Season 8, I was really impressed with the scene of Billy shedding his skin in the shower. It still holds up as a creepy effect, with his "flesh" dropping off and oozing into the shower drain. Just as Billy and Mulder were both resurrected in this hour of television, there still appears to be life left in The X-Files.

"This Is Not Happening"

"You ever hear of an alien in Nikes?"
Originally Aired 2/25/01

In previous mythology installments, they'd always bring back the role call of guest stars and make these two-parters jam-packed with characters. By mid-Season 8 a great many of these characters are long since deceased, so now the guest star credits is left with only supporting characters from last year's "Requiem" episode. It's really slim pickens at this point. It is a nice way to return to the events of "Requiem" though, with abductees being mysteriously returned, giving Scully hope that Mulder may be next.

The idea of a "UFO cult" being introduced is a bit silly. What I recall from the late 90's around the time of this episode being written is that people would join these cults, and then everyone would kill themselves in order to join a "mothership" that would take them to the after-life. Instead, what happens in "This Is Not Happening" is the opposite. Dead bodies are discovered, then taken to a compound where they are restored to full health, and after that they just kinda hang around with each other in the woods. Seems like while they're brought back life, they're left mute because none of them speak when questioned by Scully. This is also a way to re-introduce a character from Season 3, the shape-shifting Jeremiah Smith. Scully recognized his face from a video tape and explains that he has the power to heal, yet I can't recall her sharing any scenes with him prior to this. I guess her becoming a full-fledged believer this season means she is now fully embracing her role as Mulder, so she too makes quick leaps in beliefs.

Along with the returning Jeremiah Smith, two new characters are introduced as well, cult leader Absalom and FBI Agent Monica Reyes. I believe Absalom hangs around briefly, while Reyes will stick around for the rest of the series' run. It's now apparent that both are introduced to serve Doggett's character and further his beliefs. This really doesn't do the character of Monica Reyes any favors though. She is instantly presented as a "fruitcake" and even Scully quips that it feels like a therapy session, with Skinner rolling his eyes in the background. The scene she shared with Doggett at a hospital is the opposite; she comforts him when the case reminds him of what happened when he discovered his abducted son. Here she seems to stand on her own as a character and not just a "Mulder-wannabe" when she's on-screen with Scully. However I quickly realized she's not a "wannabe." Mulder's character echoed the sentiments and conspiracies stemming from the events of JFK's assassination, Watergate, and Vietnam, with Carter tapping into those feelings. Now, Reyes seems to be closer to the feelings from the 90's, such as the new-agey trend of Americans adopting Buddhism and being "spiritual"; kind of like Gillian Anderson and how she created her own episode, "All Things." I'll bet Reyes even wears a mood ring, were they ever to show a close-up on her hands.

Robert Patrick is the best part of this episode and the majority of this season thus far. Here, his character of Doggett is a bit more subdued than previous episodes, less dickish than normal. I feel like that's why Reyes was introduced this way, as Doggett gets to play one way with Scully and another with Reyes. Isn't that how Mulder was originally? He appeared "spooky" around everyone else, while Scully was able to see who he really is. Doggett isn't a believer but I like how he does buy into the alien stories enough to suit his real-world theory- its's like he'll only dip his toes in the water but if you mention that Alien Bounty Hunter again, he's outta here.

"This Is Not Happening" doesn't do much for me, and I much preferred the way The X-Files returned to the conspiracy in last week's "Per Manum". Although it seems that previous seasons only had one conspiracy involving the Syndicate, Season 8 has two mysteries being woven- the mysterious pregnancy of Scully and the abduction of Mulder. Never did I think I would ever enjoy the baby subplot more than Mulder's arc.

"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.

"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.

"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.

"Badlaa"

"This whole thing didn't make any sense."
Originally Aired 1/21/01

Just when I thought the series' well had run dry for quips and one-liners, Agent Doggett saved the day in the nick of time, just at the very end of the episode. Doggett told Scully, "This whole thing didn't make any sense." I'm not too sure what to make of this week's episode either. Why couldn't the show have done something else on my birthday, anything but the episode called "Badlaa". Actually, had the episodes aired in the order in which they were filmed, then the 10th episode produced would've been last week's "Salvage." Instead it was shuffled around, likely so that David's first appearance back would coincide with February sweeps. Season 8 had nearly every episode filmed out of order, possibly to accommodate for David Duchovny's limited schedule as well.

As it is, "Badlaa" aired on my birthday in 2001, which is an episode known for it's "villain" that travels on a creaky, wheelie cart. He also has another mode of transportation, which is the ability to crawl inside of men's buttholes, so fans have affectionately referred to him as "the butt genie." I liked that term, it makes me giggle, but it's such a strange concept even for The X-Files. Judging it solely on "the butt genie" is doing it a disservice, though, and you'd be overlooking it's creepy moments and visuals.

However, the little guy possibly crawled into his last butthole, and wasn't able to make it out in time before his human vessel was taken to the local morgue. Scully was set to perform an "unofficial operation", when she saw a hand emerge! Oh man, that certainly is a classic X-Files visual, even better than the uber-creepy creature she had in her body in "Roadrunners" at the start of this season. X-Files + body horror = a winning combination. Not only does the butt genie have an interesting mode of transportation, he also has mystical powers that allow him to create illusions. That ability tricks people into seeing someone else rather than the actual small man on his wheelie cart, which he chooses to disguise himself as a janitor at a junior high school. The origin of the wheelie cart man also brings back a very underutilized guest star, which is Bill Dow as "Chuck Burks." Normally Mulder visits Chuck when a case involves something of a religious nature. I think Mulder called him in on the "Biogenesis" alien spacecraft artifact case, then recently in "Hollywood A.D." with the Lazarus Bowl mystery. Chuck actually gets three separate scenes this time around, which is nice that he's utilized more, yet I really liked how Doggett shot him down in typical "Dick Doggett"-style. Chuck calls them 'siddhi mystics', and since this one used buttholes to travel, so rather than a "butt genie" I decided to call him a "shitty mystic." Butt...shit... oh man, I'm so juvenile. I doubt that will carry over to fandom, though.

Something that I almost overlooked was Scully's storyline within the episode. In each standalone case this season she's had a moment or two where she talks to Doggett in an attempt to open his mind to the paranormal and freaky X-Files occurrences. I think it was starting to weigh on her, dealing with the loss of Mulder and still trying to solve these cases while pregnant, and here she suffers a mini-crisis. I think "Badlaa" does a better job of summing up her struggle with being a "believer" than the previous 8 episodes. Job well done for writer John Shiban, whose work is usually overshadowed by Vince Gilligan, Howard Gordon, and Chris Carter. Also job well done for Gillian Anderson, who is reminding me once again why she earned her Best Actress Emmy and Golden Globes awards for the early seasons.

"Salvage"

"Certainly for any ordinary man."
Originally Aired 1/14/01

I think the worst part of David Duchovny's absence from the series has been the lack of humorous quotes to highlight each episode in these reviews. Instead, I've tried to select a line of dialogue that could best sum up each episode's investigation, but these last two have been exceptionally difficult.

While the series' humor has been lacking, I do like the return to these darker "X-File" cases. Season 6 was riding on a creative high, with Vince Gilligan contributing to 7 scripts, as many as series' creator Chris Carter. All of their episodes pushed the series to it's limits and beyond, and one such episode has quickly become an all-time favorite of mine, that featured Mulder swapping bodies with a Man in Black from Area 51. Even David Duchovny joined the fun and wrote an episode about baseball that was set in the 1940's. However that creative high seemed short-lived. The 7th season suffered from a lack of direction, with one episode being slap-stick comedy, and next week's featuring a snake-charming cult. Revisiting Season 8 for the first time since 2008, I appreciate the focus on this style of storytelling.

"Salvage" feels somewhat familiar though, reminding me of the 'villain on a path of destruction' scenario that occurred in Season 6's "Trevor." This time Ray Pearce is a victim of circumstance- he somehow was exposed to a metallic substance, died from that exposure, then was resurrected as a man with metallic blood, which is now consuming his entire body. Some scenes depicting this transformation remind me of sci-fi movies from the 1980's, the original Terminator and David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly. Ray looking in the mirror and plucking metal shards from his skin is eerily similar to when The Terminator is looking in the mirror at his exposed skeleton. Also Seth Brundle in The Fly had brittle hairs poking through his skin during the early phase of his transformation as well. New series director Rod Hary, whose first appearance was this season's "Roadrunners", is a fine choice to direct this installment. I feel like he could have been paying homage to those movies, creating a unique atmosphere for the episode, showing that he's a fine addition to this season, and the series overall. The Fly and The Terminator rank among my favorite movies, so I'm aware that skews my enjoyment of this episode compared to the casual X-Files fan.

Doggett and Scully enter the story just after Ray's resurrection, although I think this episode may have benefited more from showing the end of Ray's life as man. It could have built more sympathy for Ray, instead he's just like a Terminator actually, bulldozing through his former coworkers. Perhaps the episode could have began with his actual resurrection and the teaser ends with his body leaving the morgue. Although that's likely too similar to "Leonard Betts", which I just remembered is an earlier example of this style of villain.

While the story is familiar, I do like the visual effects of the metal consuming Ray's body and taking him over, both inside and out. There's even a glimmer of Ray's humanity that shines through at the climax, with "Salvage" ending in classic X-Files style. I do like a good tragic story.

"Surekill"

"It's time to be your own man Randall, it's time to think for yourself."
Originally Aired 1/7/01

My first X-Files episode was "The Host" in my senior year high school English class. It was odd because that sums up my entire experience of high school English right there- we watched tv shows and movies more than we actually read important works of fiction like most kids do. One time a teacher even read to us, a chapter from Of Mice and Men, followed by watching the movie. So forgive me if my knowledge of Of Mice and Men mostly comes from Looney Tunes, and the big lug who asked, "which way did he go, George?"

I mention Of Mice and Men because that's what this episode reminded me of, with it's triangle of characters formed between two men and a woman. One man is the brains, while the other is larger, stronger, and acts like more of a lackey. The woman comes between them and ruins their plans, schemes, dreams, whichever you should call it. However, this episode seems to flip that scenario slightly. It appears that this episode "Surekill" wants the female to be the one with the plan of running away to a better life and standing in her way are the brothers. Although this episode is a bit muddled and I'm not sure who is actually the sympathetic character here- the female, Tammy, who is stealing money which was originally stolen from drug dealers; or the brother, Randall, who's manipulated by by his brother Dwight into doing his dirty work. It;s hard to tell because I don't think the writer knew either. The female, Tammy, who works for Dwight and Randall, and is embezzling money, might almost be like a Jackie Brown-type character, in that she's justified in taking it since it was blood money from drugs. Maybe I'm just reading too much into the Jackie Brown reference since Dwight is played Michael Bowen, who was an FBI Agent in that movie as well.

The aspect of this episode that I do like is the X-Files element, which has one brother with seemingly x-ray vision that allows him to see through walls. That heightened ability meant that his twin brother's sight was negatively effected, rendering him "legally blind." Shooting through walls is pretty cool, and led to a few neat set pieces where a man's head splatters blood all over the inside of a jail cell, and another where a wall looked like swiss cheese from several bullet holes. Yet the other brother's disability seems to come and go. If he needs to use a lighter to see Tammy's eyes, then how could he see the answering machine blinking from across the room? Oh well. The X-Files never lets logic get in the way of a good visual.

While Season 8 has been a return to form and a focus more on the supernatural and horror movie-styled plots of the early seasons, I'm at a point now where I want some humor. Those early episodes had dark subject matter while the mood was somewhat lightened by a few choice one-liners from Agent Mulder. I do appreciate the growing team-work between Doggett and Scully but some humor would be welcome. I feel like that humor creeps back into the series eventually with the return of David Duchovny. For now, the team of Doggett and Scully is coming along nicely and their scene together when Scully suggests x-ray vision is another step on Doggett's path- he doesn't deny her theory and shoot it down as rudely as he did in their initial case. A good scene or two can't save this episode though and I doubt I'd revisit it until the next time I'm running through the series in order.

"Via Negativa"

"Everything seemed real...but then it was a dream. A dream that ended in their deaths."
Originally Aired 12/17/00

Earlier this season was an "evil" religious episode in which an isolated town worshiped a slug-like creature. Here we have another such episode, except this time those worshipers were already found slaughtered in the opening of "Via Negativa". I guess they should have chosen to worship Jesus instead, since he offers things like wine and holy water, not wounds to the forehead! This cult's leader was Anthony Tipet, who founded the cult after he served time for the "bludgeoning" death of his wife, and coincidentally many of the deaths in this episode are similar fates. Tipet and his cult were trying to find God through a higher plane, but it seems they found something much worse, as "Via Negativa" is explained by Skinner to be a plane of darkness.

If the evil cult already sounded familiar to you, well there are even more similarities to other episodes found in this episode. Season 4's "The Field Where I Died" featured a doomsday cult, a pack of rodents were used in Season 3's "Teso Dos Bichos", and death by dreams was even used back in Season 2's "Sleepless." Despite the similarities to previous episodes, I still felt "Via Negativa" had plenty to offer on it's own. Writer Frank Spotnitz has mostly contributed to mythology episodes with Chris Carter, and also teamed with John Shiban and Vince Gilligan, but this is his first solo script since Season 5's "Detour". I didn't even know I wanted another Frank episode until after I watched this, and now all I want is more Frank. For as good as this episode is at creating a creepy atmosphere and all of it's horror movie imagery, it's also a great way to throw Doggett into the deep end of X-Files territory. It's sink or swim, and there's no turning back for this guy now.

In fact, Doggett is on a clear descent into darkness throughout this episode, and it feels a lot like a few of the late 90's Hellraiser movie sequels. Two in particular feature a character who has come into contact with the deadly cube, the Lemarchand's box, and nothing is as it seems. Doggett meets a similar fate when he comes into contact with Tipet towards the end of this episode. Robert Patrick plays this paranoia to perfection, and it's his best performance yet in his short tenure as a lead on The X-Files. Mitch Pileggi gets more to do here as Walter Skinner fills the void left when Scully is off to have a doctor visit and he easily slides into the "believer" role. David Duchovny departing the series should have thrown the series out of whack without its believer-skeptic dynamic and all of the humor that it provided, yet it actually feels like a breath of fresh air without Davey. Robert has great scenes with Mitch Pileggi, James Pickens' Director Kersh character, and now the Lone Gunmen are thrown into the mix. I like how they just happen to be hanging out in the basement office when those conspiracy theorists should have a hard time making it through a security check-point; although they somehow had access to the FBI offices in last season's finale, "Requiem."

Along with Frank Spotnitz turning in a rare solo script, this episode also features first-time series director Tony Wharmby. Tony, along with the special effects artists and lighting staff, created such an eerie atmosphere that I think this might even crack my top ten episodes once again. I say "once again" because I had a few I would call favorites before I began to watch the series in order in 2008, but I scrapped that list and decided to start over. Most of my previous favorites remained firmly in the top ten, like "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "The Host", while a few new ones were made like "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man." I expected to not like "Via Negativa" as much when I finally made my way around to it, yet there was much to re-discover. The only sequence I could recall was the ending where Doggett is standing over Scully with an axe while there's a scary, purple, strobe effect. I only now realized after watching it for the 6th time in 3 days that Doggett is actually about to turn the axe on himself. What an ending!

"Redrum"

"If you don't remember, how can you be certain that you didn't?"
Originally Aired 12/10/00

This is an episode that I loved upon my first viewing of Season 8 years ago. I was drawn to this show because it felt like each story was much like The Twilight Zone, with a different creature or freaky happening every week, it's just that The X-Files had two people investigating those instances. The Twilight Zone's favorite scenario was to take everyday men and place them into extraordinary situations, like when Burgess Meredith portrayed a nerdy vacuum salesman who was suddenly given great strength by aliens. Another scenario was famously spoofed on Seinfeld:

Jerry: "You know, this is like that Twilight Zone where the guy wakes up and he's the same and everyone else is different."

Kramer: "Which one?"
Jerry: "They were all like that."

The X-Files would have many that ventured into Twilight Zone territory, especially in Season 6 where Mulder swapped bodies with a Man In Black from Area 51, and later when Mulder and Scully were stuck in a fatal time loop. "Redum" is much like that doomed fatal time loop episode, however it flipped the scenario. This time it's centered around a man who has been charged for the death of his wife, yet he's living the week in reverse, with Scully and Doggett acting as background characters. That man is guest actor Joe Morton, famous for his role in Terminator 2, which also starred The X-Files' Robert Patrick. Morton plays his role of "Martin Wells" convincingly as he lives each day of the week in reverse, leading up to the moment when his wife is murdered. The mystery isn't the why and how he's in the time loop, but instead, "Can he prevent his wife from being murdered?" In fact, it almost feels closer to being a freaky episode of Law & Order. The X-Files even had John Munch from Homicide: Life On The Street (and later Law & Order SVU) as a guest start in Season 5, so it might have been cool to see one of the many Law & Order judges presiding over the hearing to further the connection between these tv shows.

One of the best scenes occurs roughly half-way through when Martin explains to Scully and Doggett what is actually happening, and that he doesn't remember his wife being murdered because to him, it hasn't happened yet. Doggett refuses to believe and walks away, while Scully asks him why he thinks it's happening. I really like Scully a lot in these brief moments in this season, as she is walking the line between science and supernatural. The 7 years she's spent on X-Files cases has given her this sage-like knowledge. Martin is left wondering why this is happening, when Scully tells him maybe the answer is already inside of him. Young grasshopper Martin Wells isn't quite ready to snatch the pebble from Master Scully's hand just yet. When he does snatch the pebble, he realizes that he's responsible for his own situation and accepts the consequences of his actions, for better or worse.

Aside from Joe Morton guest-starring as Martin Wells, there's also another famous face present that I actually forgot about. Danny Trejo guest stars as the villain, who is probably the king of these types of villainous roles over the last 20 years, with appearances in Con-Air, Predators, Spy Kids, From Dusk Til Dawn, and even the starring role in Machete.

A minor notable moment worth mentioning about "Redrum" is that we see that Doggett is actually a homeowner. Mulder had an apartment, where we typically saw him sleeping on his couch or taping an "X" to his window. Scully has her own apartment, or maybe even a condo, I can't be sure. This could actually have been done to distance Doggett from Mulder and Scully since he was married before and had more of a stable life, such as owning a home, while Scully and especially Mulder have become too engrossed into their work to have any kind of life resembling normal. Or this could be just a fan "over-thinking" a minor detail like a house.

While some fans may be upset over the supporting appearances of Scully and Doggett, with "Redrum" centering the story around a guest character, I think "Redrum" is much like the great episodes of Seasons 5 and 6, which stretched the series beyond it's formula. This installment in Season 8 puts a darker spin on it, unlike those lighter episodes of previous seasons.