7ABX20 - Fight Club [REVISITED]

Summary

Holy f***, this was bad! Made all the more unfortunate by the fact that I happen to find Kathy Griffin one of the most irritating actors ever. (Her guest stint on Seinfeld really started it for me. She is annoying like all hell.) I am so tempted to give this one less than zero because I was not set up in the least to care anything about what was said or done here. These people aren't identical twins but look exactly alike? They're not even alternate universe travellers? (Which might have been a neat explanation of the chaos they cause... I didn't much like the Alternative Factor episode of ST, but I didn't dislike it as much as I dislike this.) I didn't even find M&S's initial sequence amusing... it was just weird. Was the deal with bringing out Steve and Arlene to see if CC could sell the show without his two real stars, because this episode was also so M&S light that I wondered what I was watching at times. I can see why something that was written by CC would get made, period (regardless of how bad), but how on earth did this one get placed anywhere near sweeps period? I cringe at the thought of anyone watching this as anything other than a seasoned viewer. This one is — without a doubt — among the top three TXF bottom feeders of all time.

The mayhem ensues... but I can still see
Mulder in the crowd and he's not fighting.

I thought I would punish myself by watching this again. My dislike of Kathy Griffin has only grown over the years and in this rewatch it occurred to me just how bad she was in this. And to give her a double role — holy bleep, indeed.

So, third last episode of what could/should have been last season of TXF and this is what Chris Carter himself serves up on a platter. As I rewatched, I was reminded of Syzygy and how polarizing that episode was, but in no way was it as bad as this ep. There was truly nothing redeeming to be taken away from this, including supposedly clever dialogue such as Mulder saying "they are not romantically involved if that's what you're thinking", when he describes the nature of the history between the two beat-up FBI agents who looked like him and Scully.

This is definitely one of those episodes of TXF that I would file under "did not happen".

Picayune Peculiarities

I shouldn't even bother, but here goes.... Wasn't Froggy's Bar quick to get back up and running after the first incident with the gruesome twosome?

After one of them goes up to see Zupanic with the "you aren't answering your phone" accusation and then leaves, the other almost immediately knocks on his door. They wouldn't have bumped into each other? I guess one took the stairs while the other rode the elevator.

Best or Worst Moment

I laughed three times during this episode, which is definitely more than normal, but each time I wondered what sort of flavour CC was trying to aim for with it. The first time was when Mulder got sucked down into the manhole. (Just a good sight gag, that's all. Wonder if DD requested it as a way to "disappear" from this God-awful episode?) The second time was during Scully's interview with Damphousse when he gives her the "what makes you so special" jibe. The third was when I saw Scully's beat-up face at the end. By the time I saw Mulder's face, however, the scene had become truly appalling. And that was as good as this one ever got.

Original Rating: *
Revised Rating: *