Season Seven: "everything dies"

Overall Rating: 2.73 out of 4 (circa 2003)

Isn't it always the case that when you go back to watch episodes again, some are better than you initially thought them to be and some are just worse? I must admit that the summer of "post season seven" has been quite dark for me... I've encountered more that I've felt are worse rather than better. Combined with the nasty news regarding the possibilities for the upcoming year, quite frankly, I'm ready to leave it all behind. The only thing keeping me on board on a part-time basis this upcoming year is DD's part-time involvement. Otherwise, this fan is on a downward slide from a five year TXF high, let me tell you!

Worst / Best

Okay, so what were the highlights and lowlights of Season Seven? Easy pick for absolute worst is Fight Club but there actually are a few runners-up that - upon completion of that all-important repeat viewing - are almost as aggravating. Orison, Signs & Wonders, First Person Shooter and all things are all considerably harder on the nerves the second time around. (In other words, if I were doing the ratings now, I'd be downgrading the ratings of each of the above by one notch.) And by the way, I'm betting that if you watch Orison together with all things, you might just start wondering if indeed God is talking to Scully... at the very least you'll think that GA likes the idea.

I also encountered several so-so eps that really don't provide any subsequent viewing appeal: Theef, The Amazing Maleeni, and Brand X to name a few.

Best ep? I still have to go with The Goldberg Variation. Out of the three episodes that I gave "excellent" ratings to, GV was the one that had the convincing and interesting x-file component. It was also sweet, touching, and real in terms of characterization. It wasn't edgy in the way that many TXF episodes usually are, but I think the fact that I didn't miss the edginess says a lot. I'm still amazed that one and the same writer put out two such opposing episodes (in terms of quality) in a single season.

Most Disappointing / Most Surprising

Most disappointing ep is a little harder to pin down, because it's not often that I have such high expectations of any specific ep - basically, I just know better than to do that - that I get shattered by the reality of it being the pits. That said, this year's Orison and Closure were both a little disappointing for me. The former for the fact that it was simply not well executed as a follow-up to a very good episode and the latter for the fact that I had hoped for something less elusive and more conclusive. But all told, I was totally disappointed by the lack of believability in First Person Shooter, for all the eye candy appeal of that episode and for all the "talented" writers behind it. (Oh, and for anyone wondering about Fight Club, I wasn't disappointed by that ep, merely disgusted that it got made.)

Most surprising? Hollywood A.D., definitely. I was cringing on the sidelines as news came out that DD had indeed not been kidding when he said that he'd cast Leoni and Shandling in his episode. (And I have nothing against these people, it was just that I thought DD was once again making himself a bullseye target for the masses out there who have severe problems with every breath he takes and every word he utters. I have since come to the conclusion that he probably couldn't care less about those people.) Everything that I heard about the episode - and granted, I tried to hear as little as was possible - prepared me for the worst. And it turned out that I was very pleasantly surprised. Go figure.

Looking Towards S8

I have decided that I am not going to be revisiting any of the season eight episodes. (To be honest, I'm not even sure I have all of the ones that I originally saw still on VHS, so it may be a moot point, given that I don't have the DVDs.) Having gone through season seven and feeling that resistance again, I'm not in a good frame of mind to do a revisitation any justice. Maybe in future. Maybe never. Probably never. Unfortunately, I still think that TXF really got crazy after "I'm pregnant."

I'm not criticizing evolution and desire for change for a series that — to be fair — even CC thought would end after S7. (I have heard in the intervening years that it was FOX that issued an ultimatum for him to continue or it would continue without him.) People are generally resistant to change, but if it's good change, they eventually come around. What happened to The X-Files post S7 was not "good change". I think the creators tried to introduce good change and move forward. In general, John Doggett was a good character. It's just that they were so determined to keep viewers invested in past history (largely by reinventing it) that worlds just ended up colliding and it all turned into a sucking black hole — with emphasis on "sucking". That's my take on it. (Oh and by the way, be warned... I was consistently in an extremely bad mood when I wrote those original S8 reviews.)

For the record, once I get through what I have of S8, I intend to go back and re-watch all of the eps from S1 through S7 and add new commentary.

FICTION: Water's Edge

Overcoming the final boundaries of passion...

Okay, so WATER'S EDGE was just my way of concluding a "too many years long" courtship between Mulder and Scully. Funny thing about being a fanfic writer... at some point, you do end up caving to the masses. As I have said before, when I started the whole adventure by writing CROSSING LINES, it never occurred to me that I would end up here, with Mulder and Scully between the sheets.

But the whole "M&S finally do it" thing is not the only focus in this story. I wanted to cover quite a bit as I expected that the whole X-Files series was about to come to an end. In the spirit of what we saw in the first season of the show, I wanted to go back to exploring these characters as individuals. You know how back in the early days we got to "find out" things about Mulder and Scully? Not to say that we don't know them (and know them well) after seven seasons, but it occurred to me that we stopped getting details along the way, as they became wrapped up in their work to the exclusion of all else.

Basically, if they were to stop and look back on the past seven or eight years, what conclusions would they come to? The motel room dialogue in Requiem alluded to this. (Coincidentally enough, I had written this story — apart from the epilogue — before ever seeing that episode.)

Again as with ACCEPTANCE, the R-rated portion of this story is not here on this blog. The original version can be found on gossamer.org under the author listings for xgirl.

7ABX22 - Requiem [REVISITED]

Summary

Turns out we don't have to organize a requiem for CC's creativity after all. Despite what we saw two weeks ago, his heart hasn't left the show, at least not with this outing. For a "throw everyone into this hour, we may not have another chance to come back" effort, this was a tightly paced episode, full of passion and spirit and a slightly heavy-hearted reminder that life is ever-changing. I will forgive the consistent error throughout that M&S have only been together for as long as we have been watching the series (their original 1992 visitation of Oregon is actually eight years ago, not seven), but regardless of actual numbers, it must have been an eye-opener for them to return and find new lives, growth, and relative normality. And what have the past seven or eight years been to them? Have they enjoyed any such simplicity as picking a life partner, settling down and starting a family? No, they've more or less been eliminated from playing that game. Or have they? If I have any bone to pick with this one, it's this whole pregnancy thing. Whether this baby is a normal (presumably Mulder) baby — in which case, did she have an egg left somewhere in her system that they didn't take or did CSM orchestrate some act of "putting back"?? — or whether they play it up to be some other type of baby, I don't see a future where Mom and Pop Scully and Mulder head off to big screen adventures while leaving baby at home. Whatever it turns out to be, it's gotta go, despite the potentially horrifying angst that would cause. That's just my opinion.

I like to think of this as my last glimpse
of Fox Mulder before everything
got sucked into Bizarro World

It's a bittersweet moment to get to this episode and I have to admit — for the benefit of anyone who's been following this blog (outside of bots) — that that is the reason for my recent span of inactivity. I was not looking forward to revisiting this one. The further I ventured into the final episodes of S7, the more I felt a discomfort creeping over me. Taking part in this 20th anniversary rewatch has been surprisingly pleasant, but arriving upon this "fork in the road", I began to feel the uprising of that old familiar lament of "why, oh why did it need to go there"...

There being, of course, the baby thing. (No, I never got over that and what I eventually saw/found out in S8 merely added to my despair over how low CC and his cronies could go.) I cannot watch this episode without thinking of the last few minutes that totally turned my TXF world into Bizarro World.

That said, I will add some random thoughts to this review...

Auditor dude asks for confirmation that Mulder's sister's abduction and the alien government conspiracy have been resolved. Mulder replies, "Nothing has been resolved, exactly." (So Mulder thinks that Closure was a crock, too, huh?)

Are we to believe that Mulder later wallops this auditor with the crazy name? And that Scully finds it funny that he did so? Talk about these two having come a long way.

What is up with wedding bands on men who are not married? Billy Miles says he is divorced but is still wearing his ring. Was that all for the benefit of Scully to think that he was married?

The motel scene still brings me to tears. Because what Mulder says is so true, for the both of them. There is so much more that they both need to do with their lives, either together or apart, but this — the daily grind of the X-Files and what it's taken from them personally — needs to stop. I thought that it was wonderful dialogue that should have had some permanent meaning.

The mythology part of this episode was subpar, thus my downgrading of the rating on his episode. The whole idea of Marita going to Tunisia to get Krycek (and at this point I don't even remember how Krycek may have gotten himself imprisoned) on the orders of a CSM who looks in no shape to give orders was just not believable. All that talk of "singular opportunities" and "hold the proof"... meh.

In the end, Mulder is done in by his propensity to stick his hand in where it doesn't belong.

Best or Worst Moment

In the style of Redux II, CC gave us some wonderfully tender moments between Mulder and Scully. As soon as Mulder uttered his first line of "It's not worth it, Scully", I felt my vision blurring. (Maybe it was Mark Snow's music; first time in a long time I've found myself paying attention to it.) I actually haven't had too many moments in this series where I've felt such emotion, especially in a scene that wasn't meant to be particularly distressing. Nice sendoff, CC. And Mulder — we'll be missin' ya like crazy. Come back soon.

Original Rating: * * * *
Revised Rating: * * *

7ABX21 - Je Souhaite

Summary

"I'm all right, don't nobody worry about me" — Kenny Loggins describes Mulder perfectly as he sits back with his Cheshire Cat smile. That aside, I must admit to being torn about rating this one. I had issues about the topic being treated so lightly with stereotypically stupid supporting characters, especially as it might be the second last TXF ep to appear on regular TV and I'm getting increasingly antsy about going out on a high note. Decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, however, since it hit a few significant high points, most notably the final scene of Jen sitting back and watching the world go by as she has a coffee. The concept of appreciating the simple things in life is a favourite theme of mine. (By the way, as a supporting character, I liked her. And I totally agree with her perception of people being stupid because I've been saying that for ages and I haven't even had the advantage of her five hundred years on this earth. However, most people aren't stupid in the way that these brothers were, and that's where I had a bit of a problem with the characterization.) For me, the main trouble with this ep was that wish-making really isn't a totally frivolous activity (suspension of disbelief notwithstanding). For example, it's hard to believe that with the possibility of any type of wish being granted that Mulder wouldn't have wanted a final moment with his mother, or, quite frankly, to have his mother or his sister be alive again. Was there something in that type of wish that wouldn't have been altruistic enough? Maybe it should have been made clear that Jen didn't have the power to bring back the dead - I certainly could have done without the scene where Dumb and Dumber were reunited. Overall, while most of the laughs were fine, I just thought the subject matter deserved a less cavalier treatment. It would have made for a stronger ep, quite possibly along the lines of Monday.

Best or Worst Moment

About time Mulder goes "Ohh!" in aggravation when Scully decides to backtrack YET AGAIN on what she might have seen as being anything other than "what it was". Give it up, lady, you've seen too much to stay a skeptic. As was opined a couple of eps ago, "You're crazy for not believing what he believes."

Original Rating: * * *

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: *

7ABX19 - Brand X

Summary

So, ex-Harsh Realm writers are now infiltrating... All in all this one was suitably icky. (When I saw that glass of bloody water, it brought back strong memories of Poltergeist II, even though the guys here had nothing on Craig T. Nelson who eventually had to cough up something roughly the size of a cow.) I appreciated the originality of the story itself, but the telling of it was decidedly "off". The pacing was odd; too slow at the beginning and then seemingly not enough time to give the ending a decent treatment. But can someone tell me why this guy Weaver was continually being given the Brand X cigarettes?? I mean, I didn't quite understand if all the company bigwigs knew the full implications of the effect of the smoke — although Voss certainly seemed to indicate that he knew by recoiling when Weaver threatened to light up in front of him. But if they knew, why did they keep giving them to this guy?? I don't buy the idea that it was to keep him from squealing because they already had that problem in a bigger and more credible way in the person of Scobie. Oh and I hated the last scene with the allusion to a Cigarette Smoking Mulder. How the hell much nicotine did they give him anyway and why wouldn't they foresee this nasty side effect?? Moreover, if he bought a pack coming in to work after two weeks on his own, what's to say that he hasn't been smoking up a storm during his recuperation? That was just silly. (And yes, it barely takes a grade five education to "get" the connection to the whole Darth Vader thing, but I don't even want to go there.)

Best or Worst Moment

The worst — prolonged — moment was seeing Skinner stand there with his gun on Weaver. The best moment otherwise was Mulder's return comment to the legal eagles regarding not violating the FBI's confidentiality. I think I've been encountering these same types of folks in my RL life recently.

Original Rating: * *

7ABX18 - Hollywood A.D.

Summary

In a season where change is a good thing, it was a relief to get something like this, a throwback to Darin Morgan's off-beat treatments with a satirical bent and snappy writing. DD even knows how to write bad stuff "well"! I know that this one isn't going to get the mass approval that The Unnatural may have gotten, but I'm glad that I was able to enjoy this. (I read a comment from someone who stated that DD must have had a lot of "help" in writing TU because this one was so far off the mark. Well, I don't see how one can miss the same sharp dialogue that pervades both episodes. Whether or not one likes both is, of course, determined by personal taste, but to me, the consistency of the writing behind them is indisputable.) As in TU, I love how distinctly the other characters are fleshed out — when they speak, you know what individual inflections to expect; the dialogue is not interchangeable the way it is sometimes in a lesser writer's hands. By the way, I think it's funny how some fans are so expert at knowing M&S and Skinner that they claim they were "out of character" in the hilarious bathtub scene. None of these three would ever be able to enjoy a simple human pleasure like taking a bubble bath in a ritzy hotel, right? They're professional and business-like ALL THE TIME, right? I think it's safe to say that we have not ever received a lot of background into what these people do off-duty to make any sort of assumptions as to what is or is not in character for them. Oh well. I've already read some vitriolic comments regarding "worst ep ever". This was so intentionally tongue-in-cheek, that for anyone to take it so seriously that they seem to be frothing at the mouth about it makes me want to laugh even more... and I'm already laughed out.

Best or Worst Moment

Before I forget, thank you, David, for restoring my faith in the Mulder/Scully relationship. I thought it was dead in the water a few weeks ago, but now I think that I can go back to considering that she might just love the guy after all. Best moment? The Shandling/Mulder exchange regarding which side he dresses on, because I was so engrossed in their conversation that I completely missed the "Scully running" demonstration in the background! A close second would have to be Mulder's follow-up to Skinner's "It's still me, Mulder" when he couldn't get the phone line to switch properly. Rather than being the least bit embarrassed or horrified or whatever, he merely reconnected to Scully properly and repeated his original line.

Original Rating: * * * *

FICTION: Truths Revealed

Does death extinguish passion and bury the truth forever — or is it a whole lot more complicated than that?

TRUTHS REVEALED was an attempt to fill in some of the blanks in the history behind Mulder and Diana Fowley. The TXF creators seem to enjoy trotting out "people with history", but they don't seem to be too good about providing detail.

To me, the Fowley character is the second worst conceived of the "secondary characters" that were introduced to the show up to the end of S7. (The worst, if you care to know my opinion, was Jeffrey Spender.) Even one-off guys like Reggie Purdue and Jerry Lamana in S1 were better creations than "the foul one".

Be that as it may, it was my mission while I was winding up my fanfic "career" to insert as much realism as possible into the lives of Mulder and Scully as they took their baby steps towards a real relationship. And in a real relationship with someone like Dana Scully, there was simply no way that the matter of Diana Fowley would have just been swept aside and forgotten just because she conveniently died.

In another sense, I was also somewhat sympathetic to poor Diana by the time of her death. It was again the thought of "I'm not bad, I'm just written that way."

This story is just an exploration of how else she could have been written.

7ABX17 - all things [REVISITED]

Summary

One thought kept nagging at me as I watched this episode, "Do FBI agents have to undergo annual psych reviews?" I think Scully is overdue for hers.... Having recently read a lot of descriptions of Fox Mulder (Return to Me promos) as being "dour, unsmiling and moody", it occurred to me that I've never found Mulder to be that way, but Dana Scully has sure turned into this person. So was this episode to tell me that Gillian Anderson thinks so too and likes her that way?? No one was too likeable in this outing, least of all Scully. (By the way, are we to believe that an FBI pathologist knows more than the resident cardiologist regarding the best way to take care of a heart patient? And what kind of hospital is this where someone goes into cardiac arrest and a visitor takes over the revival process? I don't care that she's a doctor; that was just stupid.) Whatever went on between Scully and her "nth mentor that she fell for and slept with" I just didn't get, except that this man was at least partly responsible for making her as hard-nosed about science as she's been all these years. As for the "slow down and smell the roses" message, well, it wasn't all that convincing. I don't think Scully will change one iota after this — it's the nature of the show for the characters not to change, so why have them take these elaborate walks down these intricately decorated halls of life? And the bit about fate and how/why things are as they are or are meant to be? See Monday and Field Trip. So what good thing do I have to say about this ep? I respect the overall effort enough to give it an "average" rating, but God help me, let there not be an eighth season where we'll see more eps from the cast...

Did this lead to sex? I don't think so.

I'll admit, I am in a better frame of mind this many years later that I can view this episode with a little more tolerance, but let me say this: 1) it was not an x-file, 2) it played out like an overly ambitious vanity project, and 3) it was just a very unlikely story, period.

I was hemming my other half's pants when I thought to put this on and perhaps kill two birds with one stone. It didn't turn out that well (although the pants were fine), because unlike other TXF eps that I can "listen to" and still follow, this one seemed like all one big mess of odd music and incessant tapping.

But in the end, I didn't hate it as much as I did when I first saw it. It was still weird, but it was a first effort for GA and I'm sure she learned a lot from it. I have heard her speak about the experience since and she did reveal that it was a lot more work than she had anticipated... hmmm, maybe that's why most first-time directors tend not to make themselves the central character of their works.

Best or Worst Moment

The opening scene after the credits was strangely reminiscent of DD's ep last season, albeit at the opposite end of the temperature scale. Which in itself is not bad — the beginning of Never Again was just that and it was no less effective. This time, however, I really wanted Mulder to say, "Look, Scully, when you figure out what it is you want out of life, you call me. Maybe I'll still care." Harsh? I don't know. I'm sorta late coming into this "What's up with Scully?" psychoanalysis, but I must admit it's getting hard to ignore. If she didn't want to be there on a Saturday, she could have stayed home and taken her bath or whatever. What's with the bitchy victimized martyr treatment? The way this scene played out took away from whatever enjoyment I may have gotten from the closing scene. (And as for the veiled implication that they may have had sex — I don't think so, but honestly? I'd be totally appalled, under the circumstances. After this episode, I'd almost question why Mulder ever wants to spend more than five minutes with her.)

Original Rating: * *
Revised Rating: * *

7ABX16 - Chimera

Summary

What a relief not to feel overly critical of this one! David Amann finally comes up with one that breaks out of the subpar category for me. In the fashion of this season's earlier Rush ep, he doesn't much like to explain the real nature of the situations that he creates, but I could accept this one better than the "let's pour concrete into the cave" denouement of the former outing. It was a successful MOTW, and that says something given how these must be terribly difficult to write at this point in the show. In fact, I really didn't have too many problems with this one — didn't even miss Scully. The other characters were interesting enough (even in their stereotypes, but at least it wasn't the Agua Mala style of stereotyping) that I cared about their outcomes. The only thing I wondered about was the motivation of the Sheriff to find himself drawn to two such different women. It's fine that we're not privy to whatever has caused the marriage to go sour (obviously he doesn't care for her amazing efficiency) and I personally know people who are as warped as she is to want to preserve a relationship at whatever cost, but the fact of the husband sleeping with the wife's best friend as well as this rough-looking chick from the wrong side of the tracks seemed more for the sake of throwing the viewer off than a convincing reality that I could buy.

Best or Worst Moment

Outside of the obvious "shipper" moment (and it seems like there's now one of these in nearly every episode: people who tell either Mulder or Scully that love will conquer all), this was another of those eps where I was left with memorable images rather than whole moments. There were those admittedly fascinating shots of Mulder chewing gum and eating bacon(!)... the inexplicably unshaved face, the slightly self-conscious way in which he arrived to the breakfast table, and — wonderfully funny — during the conversation with Skinner, "No, really, what did I do?"

Original Rating: * * *

FICTION: Just Breathe

Sometimes the easiest things in life are still learned the hard way...

Who would have thought that the very unlikely story (dreamed up by William B. Davis) of a dirty old man lusting after a young woman would result in my creation of JUST BREATHE? But that's exactly what happened. Were it not for En Ami, this story would not exist.

Dana Scully once told Mulder that "without the FBI, personal interest is all that I have... and if you take that away, then there is no reason for me to continue". Think of that line when you consider that very powerful scene in Mulder's apartment towards the end of Mr. Davis' episode. Mulder is framed in a doorway, tall, perhaps overbearing. Scully is sitting down, perhaps as low as she can possibly be. She looks up at him, but he doesn't look at her. The disk that she risked her life to get turns out to be nothing.

I have read many interpretations of Mulder's refusal to meet Scully's eyes in this scene. I've read that he was pouting, that he was pissed off, that he was hurt, etc. He could be all of those things at once, but I have a more complex take on it that I explore in this post-ep story.

I'd also like to point out for the record — for those who are of the opinion that Mulder had no right being "whatever" in this scene when he has ditched Scully numerous times in the past with no word at all — that this was not about a mere "ditch". Mulder and Scully from season one or even season four are not the same individuals to one another as they are in season seven. When Mulder says, "the only thing I can't figure out is why you're still alive", it's very telling.

7ABX15 - En Ami

Summary

A good ep in general because it was a character-driven story; a different flavor. But then I hear CC's voice saying that this is a plot driven show and believe me, this plot had some severe holes in it. That said, it was still a compelling story that held my attention for at least three quarters of the way. But then when you get a scene where an expert sniper has someone in his sight for several seconds — on two separate occasions at that — and he doesn't get his shot, you get pissed off at the unnecessary manipulation. Or at least I do. Other plot holes? Well, that crony of CSM's must have moonlighted back in the '60s as a CONTROL agent because unless he was in that mailbox when Scully dropped her envelope, there was no way that he could have had it in his hands fifteen seconds later. (What was even the point of that? Surely the mail system couldn't have delivered it to Mulder quick enough for him to care?) Was she drugged or wasn't she? And if she was, how? Did she finally accept a spiked lifesaver from him? Couldn't CSM have found an easier way to "intercept" Scully's email than to have access to her laptop? (The boys said that the deleted messages were on her hard drive; it's not like he was doing his magic remotely.) Oh, and were those extreme closeups of Scully's chest really necessary?

Best or Worst Moment

With the season fast winding up, the show seems to be driving M&S apart more than bringing them together, despite Doctor CGB's astute statement regarding Scully's attraction to powerful men, etc., etc. (By the way, who are these "men"? Surely not Ed Jerse and Philip Padgett... or does Mulder constitute "men" in the plural because he's just that good??) Anyway, my pick for best moment was that silent scene in Mulder's apartment when they're doing the scan on the disk to find out that it's empty. Scully looks up at Mulder standing in the doorway but he won't return her forlorn gaze. I wouldn't be surprised if these two decide to call it quits as partners at the end of the "season". I think they've gotten to the point where their working relationship is preventing them from going forward personally. How's that for a potential series ender??

Original Rating: * * *

7ABX14 - Theef [REVISITED]

Summary

A strong showing of a good old-fashioned X-File with nice interaction between our two heroes. It was suitably creepy and well-paced. The occult theme wasn't a hard sell. I really liked the explanation that the guy at work here was "charmed", though. It made it more reassuring and believable in the sense that this is not something that the average Joe can just pick up and wreak havoc with...! I felt genuine sympathy for the doctor and could understand what motivated Peattie. (And I've also decided that being a landlady in the TXF world is equivalent to wearing the red sweaters of security on ST... eek!) On the negative side, I had a bit of trouble with the fact that while our backwoods country bumpkin didn't seem to understand the concept of microwave popcorn, he had no trouble actually using the machine. (I don't know about you, but I've met more than a few confusing microwave ovens in my time.) I also found the climax a bit contrived; it seemed so easy and convenient for the bad guy that he probably should have succeeded. But then where would we be next week? (Speaking of where we'll be, I still don't get why the writers keep sending our pair out to California, as there didn't seem to be much to this story that required any specific locale, but... anyway.)

A variation of "thoughtography"?

Here's what I liked about this: the premise of the story. In fact, I really liked the premise, right down to the moment at the end where Scully has doubts about how "right" her choice would have been as opposed to what Peattie may or may not have been able to do for his daughter. Powerful stuff to consider.

Here's what I didn't like (and what I couldn't buy from a TXF standpoint): the circumstances — particularly of M&S even getting this case before the blood had seemingly dried — and the timing of everything thereafter.

I still don't get the writers' need to situate so many friggin' stories this season out in California. Last week, the boys apparently called M&S out to fight the virtual fight in silicon valley, but this appeared to be a legit case. However, it was early in the morning when the good doctor's father-in-law was found hanging (1:48 am PST; 4:48 am in DC). I had assumed that our agents would normally be assigned out of town work by Skinner, but maybe not. In any case, Mulder — via whatever "x-file alert" means that he has working for him — is out there on the west coast with Scully PRONTO. (I'm not saying it's physically impossible since they are flying east to west, but it's still extremely fast, no? You'd think local PD would mull it over before calling out the feds.)

Anyway, the timing and some of the circumstances of the other events that occur are also difficult to believe. Some are small things, like Peattie literally disappearing after speaking with Wieder. (He is a real man, right, not a ghost?) And like the fact that Wieder would already have a copy of that last snapshot of the family together, taken at best, a couple of nights ago. (Even if it was a digital camera, he would have had to get it printed during all of this drama... not likely.) But then the whole last five scenes or so are just incredible for their incredibility. Peattie manages to hex his landlady to death, the death is reported on the news, and he still has time to stake out and follow Scully out to a cabin in the Sequoia National Forest... where Scully tells Mulder that she didn't see anyone following them.

Like I said in my original comments, Peattie probably should have succeeded in his last attempt, given the ease of it all.

Best or Worst Moment

I just have to pick the sequence in the bedroom when Mulder shows Scully the dirt on the bed and leads her into the whole voodoo magic theory. Expecting her to pooh-pooh the idea as usual, she surprises him by acquiescing, thus lending support to his previous comment that she continually keeps him guessing. I suppose Mulder was wondering what he'd done to deserve that benefit of the doubt, huh??

Original Rating: * * *
Revised Rating: * *

7ABX13 - First Person Shooter [REVISITED]

Summary

Didn't like Kill Switch and in the end, I really didn't like this one any better. The final ten minutes made it worthy of a "Poor" rating. I'm giving it as high as "Average" because of the technical presentation — giving it high "repeat viewing value" — and because I had a weakness for the image of Mulder dressed in his VR finery. (Hell, is that any better or worse than the attitudes purported by the episode itself? I think not!) The writing was quite frankly bad in this ep, and I don't think I've ever accused TXF of that in even its worst episodes. In the end, this one failed for me because I just couldn't achieve that "willing suspension of disbelief". Every time I tried, something truly dumb in the script would snap me back to reality. Give me mothmen, werewolves, even aliens of the sort from Space, but God help me, I can't feel fear when the solution that would have prevented this whole episode from happening was as simple as pulling the plug out of the wall. If I were a total computer illiterate, maybe I could have bought it, but unfortunately I'm not. None of what happened made any sense. And about Ivan lamenting the fact that "it'll kill the whole program" — what? You don't keep backups? You, sir, are too stupid to be a computer geek.

Not only is this a bad ep, the game
that's featured here is just plain awful

In watching this again — particularly that very looong opening sequence which must be in the top three for all-time long teasers — I thought to myself, who wrote this crap? (Do geeks really call themselves geeks?) Oh, yeah, it was the Gibson/Maddox "reboot", and like most reboots, it was stunningly less impressive than the first.

Oh yeah, I hated this one. For being supposedly sci-fi gurus, this writing team bites. Dialogue was horrible (for everyone), characters were horrible, and everything — from premise to plot to resolution — was just plain DUMB. (Notice how I had to capitalize, bold and italicize that?)

Some random sample stupidity:

1) Ivan (when The Great Daryl Musashi goes running after completing Level One): "Look at him! He's not even waiting for the reset. He's going right for the kill." Y'know what, I think I silently cheered to myself when "the killer goddess" sliced this sphinx moments later.

2) Within seconds of seeing the Lone Gunmen stranded in the middle of the program that was running itself, Mulder managed to doff his suit and get all wired up in VR finery...

3) Ivan (to Scully, for the fact that she indicated "unknown" as the cause of death): "We are back in business. Baby, you are dope." Uh... I can see a geek named Retro as being small potatoes, but The Great Daryl Musashi ending up sans head isn't going to be problematic?

4) Scully (referring to the killer goddess): "She's input herself into the game. We have to download her." And what the hell would downloading her accomplish? So you can save a copy of her to your own computer??

5) Scully: "Hey, no fair picking on a girl." Really??

I actually started fast forwarding the DVD at this point. And thought seriously about giving the ep 0 stars...

Best or Worst Moment

There were so many candidates for worst moment that I won't even go there. But where to find a best moment?? I suppose the only semblance of intelligent conversation has to get the nod. The sequence where Mulder and Scully talk about the merits of indulging in "shooting the crap out of everything" after her autopsy was interesting and brought back some nice memories of past conversations between these two.

Original Rating: * *
Revised Rating: *

7ABX12 - X-Cops

Summary

Let me first say that the way the storyline wrapped up was disappointing, but I have to base my views today on how this show continues to take chances and do something different this deep into its run. I thought it was an adventurous move that mainly succeeded. It was entertaining, realistic for a COPS outing, and Mulder and Scully were portrayed consistently as the type of people that we would suppose them to be in that sort of situation. I can always trust Vince Gilligan to know how to "write" M&S, even though I'm having trouble with his forays into "monster-land" this season. We've seen this one before, in both TXF and ST. I'm starting to wonder if everything at this point is in danger of being rehash? If it is, then we need more variety — like this episode — to effectively camouflage it. As a final thought, perhaps M&S should consider moving out to the California office, what with the amount of time they've spent out on the west coast over the past little while...

Best or Worst Moment

I liked the sequence where M&S are heading up the walk — back to Steve and Edie's I believe — and Mulder's doing some background narrative for the cameraman. Scully says, "Are you talking to me?" By this time, like it or not, they have both "settled" into the routine of having someone follow them while they work.

Original Rating: * * *

FICTION: Acceptance

Coping with loss sometimes involves tearing down walls in a big way...

ACCEPTANCE came out of my following spoilers about upcoming TXF episodes during S7, specifically, Sein Und Zeit and the apparent suicide of Teena Mulder. (MulderAngst? How could I not??)

I didn't like the news regarding the nebulous elimination of the last of Mulder's family, but thought that fic-wise, I could definitely make use of the circumstances to drive forward the relationship that Mulder and Scully are nurturing, in my Crossing Lines timeline.

If Mulder and Scully had acknowledged their relationship shortly after the events of the first movie, then it was my belief that they had become a little "entangled" by circumstances around the time of Season Seven. I think that both parties would have been a little disenchanted with how things were not quite moving along as smoothly as they might have hoped. Throw in some mental anguish with regards to Mulder's mother and then his sister and this is what I pictured happening.

With this story, I was definitely going where I hadn't ventured before. And it's really an example of one of those odd things about being a writer and having readers provide feedback in that it ultimately changes or affects how your stories evolve. I certainly hadn't anticipated writing about M&S in this type of situation. Interestingly enough, though, once I had a few people urge me to let our heroes have some physical relief, it wasn't difficult to conjure up. To paraphrase Phillip Padgett, it just sort of came to me.

By the way, the version I have linked to above is stripped of its R-rated content, which leaves it much less than what it was meant to be. (You can find the original version on gossamer.org if you search for xgirl under the author listings).

7ABX11 - Closure [REVISITED]

Summary

Again, I feel guilty about not elevating this rating to an "Excellent" because I really think that the performances and the writing and the whole production itself really deserves it. So what's holding me back? I didn't think this provided closure — for Mulder or for myself. If this episode and the previous could somehow exist on their own outside of the X-Files world as we know it, I would have no trouble saying that it was tremendously well done and deserving of the highest accolades (despite the spiritual bent which I constantly have trouble with, but then that's just me). Within the X-Files world, however, I feel cheated and misled by the creators after my years of loyalty. To me, this is not the end of the Samantha thing, but maybe that's all CC wants to give us. How unfortunate.

Is this "holding the proof"?

I recently read that CC thought that with the possibility of S7 being the end of the series, he needed the show to resolve the mystery of Samantha. And he wanted it to be done sooner rather than later (i.e. before the S7 finale). I have no qualms about that, but to me, SUZ/Closure is proof that CC didn't have a clear idea about how to wind up this VERY IMPORTANT PLOT THREAD from the start. It's obvious he made it up late in the game, and in my opinion — while the execution was somewhat stylish and his team definitely showed up to play for him — he fumbled it badly where it mattered. I have a hard time rating this, simply because it deserves a big fat zero as an ending for Samantha. But for its production and for the performances, I can't give it a zero. (Just to make it easy, I'm not going to change the rating.)

While Mulder was very Mulder-like in SUZ, I wasn't as sure of his character in this one... as in his reactions to and acceptance of what was presented. Then again, we can explain it by saying that these are the reactions of a very world-weary man who has suspected for a long time that his sister is probably dead and who is now reeling from his mother's unexpected suicide. He wants to believe. He admits that he wants "it" to be over. In the same way as he wanted to believe in Paper Hearts, maybe this resolution appealed to him on some strange level simply because this chase has exacted a toll on him that he no longer wants to pay. And I get that. Not sure that it will necessarily have a lasting effect, but for the moment, I get it.

And now for some things that I didn't get.

This Harold Piller guy — he comes on screen and tells us the story about the "walk ins" and subsequently leads our heroes in a séance in which he says, "they'll come to you if you're ready to see". You would think that all of this would make him out to be a "believer", and yet, at the end of the hour, he is pushing back harder than Scully that there's no way that his son is dead/with the walk ins/travelling in starlight. Why the disconnect between the theory that he so obviously understands and believes in, and his acceptance of it for his own son?

I found the CGBS connection extremely thin and contrived. First of all, who signs legal documents that way? Second of all, apparently no one (not even Mulder?) thought that burned out trash can was worth looking through before Scully found it? Third of all, how lucky was it for that particular piece not to be damaged among all of that completely charred stuff? Fourth of all, for what reason does it matter to Mr. Spender that M&S are looking for Samantha that he would show up at Scully's apartment to tell her to stop looking?

I could have done without the beyond the grave visitations by Ma Mulder. I don't get why she is portrayed as being so "helpful" in death. God help me, woman, why oh why did you have to kill yourself without telling your son what you needed to tell him??? (And again, it just fails from a story-telling standpoint... no one murdered her. She chose the time of her death. This two-parter just makes her seem cold and callous, and that is so unnecessary.)

So let me summarize the whole "walk ins, old souls looking for homes and starlight stuff"... someone has a vision/premonition of a child dead, but that turns out not to be the case, at least for a few more minutes, from what I can ascertain. The explanation this episode puts forward is that these walk ins (travelling around in starlight) grab these children to take them away from whatever it is that is about to make them dead. However — and here's the rub, as the saying goes — to those of us left behind in the corporeal world, these children are just as dead. Why are we supposed to believe that the original vision of the child being dead is somehow a premonition of a "worse" death? Dead is dead. Without a body, you would never be able to convince me that this child had a "more pleasant death"... if there is such a thing.

When the end of this episode rolled up, I was reminded of a scene from Poltergeist. Carol Anne has just buried her pet bird when she looks up at her mom, her face bright and enthusiastic, and asks, "Can I get a goldfish now?" I imagined Mulder turning to Scully and saying, "Hey, what say we come back out here next week to hunt a werewolf? [And do a guest shot on COPS?]"

Only on The X-Files does life "reset" like that...

Picayune Peculiarities

Just what is this April Air Force Base that is decommissioned and yet is so heavily guarded? And of course, you just know when someone tells you explicitly that there's nothing to see that there must be something to see...

Speaking of seeing, when the camera panned down at the sidewalk, I didn't see nice glowing lights around the place where Samantha and Jeffrey made their hand prints. And yet both Mulder and later Scully see it quite clearly in the dark without it being pointed out to them.

Lastly, we've seen Mulder several times circa 1989. At no time did he ever have such a bad "Ray Barone" haircut!

Best or Worst Moment

These two episodes (which I managed to see back to back due to my having been on vacation when they aired) have been a stupendous showcase for DD. I've marveled at how much he's continued to improve as an actor, with the result that any number of moments from these two eps could be highlighted as memorable. I have a soft spot for the coffee shop diary reading scene. He applied just the right amount of agonized control and GA responded magnificently in providing the same without benefit of too many lines. The result was one of the great all-time Mulder/Scully moments of the series.

I want to highlight Mulder's little moment with Samantha in the middle of that "ghost field". Very nicely performed by two people who have no history together.

If anyone is interested in how I think the Samantha Mulder story played out, check out The Sum of My Tomorrows.

Original Rating: * * *

7ABX10 - Sein Und Zeit [REVISITED]

Summary

Is this one of the great all-time TXF episodes? Despite the strong performances from all and the interesting plot, I couldn't answer yes and therefore I feel slightly guilty at giving this ep a "Good" when I was anticipating giving it an "Excellent". (Mind you, as a February sweeps mythology two-parter, we have seen worse, so I was very pleased with this outing.) Nothing like an episode like this to remind us that the X-Files — no matter what has developed over the past seven seasons — is still centered on the character of Fox Mulder and his personal journey. I've always been able to feel his pain, but that pain has never been brought so much to the forefront as in this ep, which held so much hope and yet contained so much despair. I'm not sure I understand why the creators felt that this ambiguous ending for Mrs. Mulder was necessary, but I certainly hope it's the last of the tragedies for Mulder in this series.

Lots and lots of graves

"My sister was taken by aliens." Turns out she was actually taken by "walk ins"... a concept remarkable only for the fact that it is even harder to accept than the alien theory. Talk about achieving the impossible!

I hate how this episode makes me feel. During a re-watch that takes place almost fourteen years after it originally aired, I am struck by the raw emotions I have about it. Not in the sense of "wow, what an achievement" but in the sense of "wow, you've wasted my bloody time". This is an episode highlighted by excellent performances all around and even by some great writing (as paradoxical as that might sound considering other comments that I am about to make), but the end result is just a shiny paint job on a lemon of a story.

First of all, harkening back to the "keep it real" concept that John Shiban talked about back in Pine Bluff Variant... does the FBI really operate this way? A kidnapping takes place in Sacramento, California and an Assistant Director in DC assembles a team of agents from DC to fly out and investigate? Then those agents commute back and forth as though they are taking a city bus? (Why does that matter to me? It just does. Because why the hell couldn't they have placed this story in Baltimore, or Annapolis, or in any number of places within driving distance of DC? It wouldn't have made a whit of difference and I wouldn't have wasted an entire paragraph complaining about it.) I mean, as "royally pissed" as Skinner was that he didn't receive his noon hour report, he decides to send Scully out to the west coast... perhaps to coax a report out of Mulder?

So what kind of a mother (or person) is Teena Mulder?

We have two plot points involving Mrs. Mulder: 1) she is touched by something in the story of Amber Lynn's kidnapping and decides to call her son (who, by his reaction to the phone call, doesn't hear from her that often), and 2) she has been diagnosed with a terminal case of Paget's Carcinoma, a disease which Scully describes as "horribly disfiguring". Well, a Google search comes up with this little item about the fact that this might well be a breast cancer. And not to dismiss breast cancer by any stretch of the imagination, but I can sit here and name any number of other diseases that might cause me to kill myself before that one.

Once again, it's sloppy story telling, because if you're going to kill a lead character's only remaining direct relative, you better have a good reason. It would have made more sense for Mrs. Mulder to get trampled by an invisible elephant.

Then there is the matter of her message to Fox: "I'd hoped you'd call upon your return"? Upon your return? Who talks like that? "There are so many emotions in me I wouldn't know where to start... so much that I've left unsaid for reasons I hope one day you'll understand." But if not, so sorry, you didn't call me back, so too late for you. I'm going to off myself now and you'll just have to suffer the consequences of not knowing WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH YOUR MOTHER for the rest of your life! Just another mystery you'll have to add to that pile of questions that you want answers for...

And of course, the thing that really burns me is that CC&FS probably didn't know what they wanted Ma Mulder to explain. So she didn't.

Child kidnappings and murders are horrendously difficult to process. Most of us cannot imagine the kind of human being that would be monstrous enough to do these horrible things. In the TXF world, of course Mulder tends to personalize such cases (as Scully accuses him of doing from hour one). But he demonstrates quite well in this episode — and this is where it is well written — that he has his wits about him all the time. Even when he dives into murky depths, he knows when it's time to resurface and when it's time to call it a day. He'll follow his amazing intuition but he knows when to pull back. As a story about Fox Mulder and what drives him and how he's grown over the years, this episode succeeds.

The bulk of this unfortunate tale of "what happened to Samantha" unfolds in the next part (Closure), but it is just more of the "souls are taken to protect them from harm and they are now physically dead but in a better place". Like I said at the top, it's actually a little less believable than the alien theory. It also leaves behind a whole lot of messy loose ends from literally years of many people encountering versions of Samantha at various ages who hadn't been taken and put into starlight.

Picayune Peculiarities

Is it just me or were those kids running from the car to the Santa Claus Village a little too thrilled? They looked much too old to be excited about Santa.

Skinner is outrun by a fat "Santa Claus"? Really? (Although it looked like Mitch was running with "baby steps" whereas when DD runs, he looks like he's galloping.) Of course, it was all for the purpose of gathering our crime fighters to what looks like a disturbing (and disturbingly obvious) burial ground.

Best or Worst Moment

I was totally "spoiled" for that now infamous "SUZ breakdown scene" and I must say that it played out exactly like I thought it would. (And it was marvelously done.) But I think I'll pick the "morning after" scene to be my best moment. I really don't think Skinner has any misconceptions about what might or might not be going on between these two. At some point at the end of all of this, I think he'd be one of the surprised ones if these two don't get together.

Original Rating: * * *
Revised Rating: * *

7ABX09 - Signs and Wonders [REVISITED]

Summary

What can I say — I really hated this one. Scheduling-wise, it really caught me at a bad time, as I am at the point of overdosing on religion-based eps right now. As someone has already said, why has The X-Files turned into Millennium? This one pushed all the wrong buttons so badly that it made me question whether I should go back and downscale my rating for the Millennium episode! I can't believe that an episode as strong as The Goldberg Variation managed to find its way out of Jeffrey Bell if this is the stuff that he's following up with... this one was just plain irritating. It brought to mind Die Hand Die Verletzt and I can't say that I was a fan of that one either. Let's just say that there are episodes where, twenty minutes in, I know I'm going to be in for a memorable ride and there are those — albeit few, Travelers comes to mind — where twenty minutes in, I feel like turning off my VCR. I disliked this so badly that I won't even bother going into all the reasons why. I know, I know, real reviewers can't get away with simply saying that they hated it "because" but no one's paying me to do this, so... ;-)

Not digging Mulder's new "style"

Oh, it's the "proud and fancy-free" episode where Mulder looks like he lost his luggage on the way to Blessing, Tennessee. (I briefly wondered if the costume guys wanted to mess with the online fans by dressing Mulder like a dork... or maybe they were just repaying DD for a practical joke that he played on them.) That said — and I didn't read my original comments above before re-watching this one — I didn't seem to hate it with the same passion as before. I went in recalling that it was a "religious" episode, but I kept an open mind. At the end of the hour, having had some curve balls thrown at me (since this was only the second time I have seen this one), it occurred to me that TXF has not often treated religion with any great respect.

I suppose it's the nature of the program; after all, we are talking about weird and unnatural stuff on the X-Files. And in that context, we have seen the nutbags, psychotics, and lunatics acting out the word of God many, many times on this show. In this case, the creators manage to convince the audience for the better part of the hour that those who appear moderate and modern in their approach to religion are the way to go... until we learn at the eleventh hour that they can be even more dangerous than the out and out extremists. Wow. That is sort of disturbing, isn't it? Even more disturbing than those truly disturbing scenes of Reverend O'Connor "preaching" to his congregation.

I do want to try to explain my original commentary for this episode. S7 was largely anticipated to be the end of the series given David Duchovny's announcement that he did not want to renew his contract beyond that time. Each hour of that season leading up to the end was — in my mind as a fan, anyway — a chance to prove how great a show TXF could be as it wound down. Each episode that did not achieve even "average greatness" started to grate on me and that's why my original assessment of this was so poor. Funny enough, however, when I read that I thought I should go back and downscale my rating for Millennium... what do you know? I did do that this time!

And this one will get a single uptick. Apart from all the snakes, it's still a far cry from being a memorable TXF episode. It's a "bad guy turns out to be not bad guy" plot, but I'm not wholly convinced that "not bad guy" is totally righteous, either. God wants you to put your money where your mouth is, indeed.

Best or Worst Moment

Best moment? Mulder lying in his hospital bed proclaiming himself to be "proud and fancy-free". (At least he was out of his silly looking clothes.) There. That's all I want to say about this episode.

Original Rating: *
Revised Rating: * *

7ABX08 - The Amazing Maleeni

Summary

This one made me laugh, but they weren't laughs of the Bad Blood kind, which to me is the epitome of an X-Files "comedy" episode. At the end of this one, I was left with the vague thought, "Well, that wasn't an x-file..." But I really didn't know if I was referring to an "x-file" in the sense that Mulder and Scully would refer to an x-file, or whether I was referring to an x-file as a long-time viewer of this weird and wonderful TV creation. It was an enjoyable hour of fluff, but I got the nagging feeling that I don't watch this show for its fluff value. I suppose when I get right down to it, it goes back to the fact that while something like Paper Hearts tops my list of episodes with which to introduce someone new to TXF, The Amazing Maleeni - even with nothing too terribly wrong with it - would likely wind up near the bottom of that list. (And as a final thought, what's so hard about that hand turning trick? As Mulder said, that's surely not the same as turning one's head right around!)

Best or Worst Moment

By the way, this one has very limited subsequent viewing appeal as I found out on sitting down with it a second time. I suppose the scenes with M&S amusing one another with their versions of magic were my highlights of the ep. Nice to see them actually smile and laugh and have fun with one another.

Original Rating: * *