3X18 - Teso Dos Bichos

Summary

The famous "killer kitties" episode... one of Mr. Shiban's early attempts has been the subject of ridicule in many fan circles. The problem is, since I don't have strongly negative feelings about this one (as I have with, say, Fight Club), it's difficult to say anything about it. The main premise with the cats could never have been made to work because — as everyone who has seen the show has noted — they simply aren't scary. The other part of the story — about the implications of disturbing or unearthing buried artifacts — could have had potential in another setting, even though it wouldn't have been the most original of ideas.

Even Mulder and Scully seem unimpressed
by this x-file

Okay, so maybe this one holds the record for the longest teaser; it went over five minutes. But overall, I don’t really have much good to say about this ep, as it did not impress me at all, at all.

Seriously though, enough of the dark for dark’s sake; this crazy technique is driving me buggy during my re-watch. Why does Scully enter Bilac’s house and not turn on any lights? At the same time as she is doing her flashlight investigation, Mulder and the museum guard are also running around at the museum with flashlights. Neither place is experiencing power problems as we can see in subsequent scenes. And when Mulder and Scully are in the restroom wondering why there is water all over the place, the only lights that are on are the bulbs over the sinks. Why not turn on all the lights so that you can see whatever gruesome thing is lurking in the toilets??

In the end, this was a most unsatisfying episode, and not just because of the old complaint that cats just aren’t scary. (Like we didn’t sort of learn this a long time ago from that other “dumb cat episode” [Catspaw] from Star Trek.) The other parts of the story just didn’t get developed or resolved in any meaningful way. It was like, this happened, then this happened — maybe as a result of a curse — and then all this happened but we don’t have any good evidence or explanation. And I know that many x-files end up in the unresolved/unexplained pile, but this one seemed destined for that pile as a result of subpar story-telling.

Mulder says “Go with it, Scully” twice during this hour and I gotta say, I couldn’t “go with it”.

On the other hand, I loved his statement of, “Personally, if someone digs me up in a thousand years, I hope there's a curse on them too.” Was he having a really spooky premonition, maybe, of what happens to him oh, five years down the road?

Picayune Peculiarities

Just two questions... Why does Mulder keep standing there under the tree — even turning his face upwards — after he realizes blood is dripping from above? Later in the museum restroom, when the toilet lids are having a dance party, why does Mona decide to lift up a lid to see what is happening? In all that ruckus, I’d be outta there!

Best or Worst Moment

What can I say — the absolutely laughable scene where Scully does battle with the stuffed cat is practically the only sequence that I can remember from this episode. Hey, maybe that was one of those defining worst moments in TXF history. I think I remember GA saying something along those same lines.

Original Rating: *
Revised Rating: *