Season 1 DVD Thoughts

[Unbound I]

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Season 1 as I go
through the DVD set. The first season got the ball rolling, but like many debut
seasons it’s a bit uneven. There are some powerful highs (“Beyond The
Sea,” “Ice” and “Conduit” spring to mind), but also some real lows
(nothing lower than the abysmal “Space”) and it’s clear at times that
David and Gillian and the writers aren’t as comfortable with Mulder and
Scully as they would soon become. But the series delivered the goods in many
ways and when it concluded it was clear this show was very good and its
potential was unlimited. What Season 2 proved was “The X-Files” was
something truly special.
Dean Haglund specifically credits the online fans, posting on
alt.tv.x-files, with the show’s early success. As someone who came joined
online fandom later in the game, I am a bit jealous thinking about what those
early days posting about the show must’ve been like and the online community
that was being formed at that time. That must’ve been something.
Great description of Scully from Howard Gordon: “So in a way, Dana Scully
is us, the people who don’t believe in things that go bump in the night.”
And an even better one from Glen Morgan about Mulder: “Mulder’s insane.”
<g>
“Sorry, nobody down here but the FBI’s most unwanted.” And with that
line in “Pilot,” the ride began the likes of which I have never seen before
on television - and may never see again. How naive is Scully; she actually
tries to make a joke with the CSM. Silly, silly girl. Having Mulder stuck in
the basement was an inspired creative decision by Carter. Not only did it free
up Mulder and Scully to avoid the day-to-day mechanisms of being “normal”
FBI agents, but it was the perfect metaphor for Mulder’s life and his
life’s work. Out of sight, out of mind. Scully is a “medical doctor.”
There it is in the first episode. “Do you believe in the existence of
extraterrestrials?” Something tells me if David could go back and do it all
over again, he’d play that line *much* differently. Hey it’s Ethan,
Scully’s boyfriend. What a stiff. Take a good look at that metallic implant,
Scully, you’re going to be seeing many more of them in the years to come.
Although I prefer Morgan and Wong’s version of Samantha’s abduction in
“Little Green Men,” would it have killed them to at least reference why it
differed from what Carter wrote here? At the end, as the CSM places the
metallic implant in a box in the Pentagon basement, the true scope of the
conspiracy Mulder is confronting becomes apparent. It is much greater than even
he could possibly realize.
And away we go ...
It’s a testament to 1013's writing and Jerry Hardin’s acting ability
that Deep Throat became such a memorable character despite only being on the
series in its first season. He’s introduced for the first time in “Deep
Throat” and the episode is sensational. The final scene between Mulder and
Deep Throat on the track is truly memorable and his closing comment, “Mr.
Mulder, *they’ve* been here for a long, long time” provided a powerful
foundation the series utilized effectively from that point forward. Speaking of
memorable, Scully’s skirt in the first scene with Mulder is also ...
memorable. Nice legs Dana. <g> Quick instance of memorable characterization: In
the diner, Mulder pays $20 for a photo of a possible UFO causing Scully to lean
over and whisper, “Sucker.” Mulder turns the photo around to get a map to
an Air Force base Scully can’t find on a map. In that moment, we see Scully
the skeptic and Mulder the believer using his beliefs to find a possible
greater truth. Nicely done. Mulder bonding with stoners (including one Seth
Green). Somehow that seems appropriate. Having been born and raised in
Wisconsin, I can safely say that not all Packers fans are as absent-minded as
Col. Budahas. Some yes, but not all. Hey, it’s the first Mulder ditch. Better
get used to it, Scully.
“Squeeze,” the Morgan and Wong masterpiece that proved the series
could be about so much more than one man chasing after little green men. It’s
also the episode where Scully’s loyalties are first put to the test.
Ridiculed for being “Mrs. Spooky,” she makes her choice to stand alongside
Mulder regardless of any personal or professional consequences. It is a pivotal
decision and one that began to truly cement the foundation the Mulder-Scully
dynamic was built upon. She clearly does “respect the journey” and that was
always at the heart of their relationship. “Do you think I’m spooky?”
Classic Duchovny delivery. By the way, Mulder playing touchy-feely with
Scully’s necklace sure was pretty forward. Something tells me Mulder wasn’t
just being territorial about an X-File there. <g> Ummm, how did Colton know
Mulder’s home phone number. Now there’s an X-File.
In S1, there were two episodes in particular that I believe were defining
moments for the lead characters. For Scully, it was “Beyond The Sea” and
for Mulder it was “Conduit.” In “Conduit,” we not only bear witness to
Ruby Morris’ abduction and its impact on her little brother, but we see the
parallels with Mulder’s own life and his sister’s abduction. The depths of
despair Mulder feels for the loss of his sister truly manifests itself for the
first time. No longer is her abduction a part of his character makeup; we see
how clearly it has defined him and how the door to his past is one he simply
cannot close. David is brilliant throughout the episode and at the end as
Scully listens to Mulder’s regression experience and Mulder sits weeping in a
church, we feel the emptiness in his life and the door he continually walks
through but remains eternally closed. The final words we hear come from Mulder
under hypnosis and they encapsulate everything he has become and everything
that gives his life meaning: “I want to believe.”
“The Jersey Devil.” It’s been years since I’ve watched this episode
and now I remember why. It’s not exactly memorable. Here are the highlights:
Mulder’s porn habit is first referenced; Scully has a date (told ya Ethan was
a stiff), but - GASP! - prefers Mulder’s company. And then there’s ummm
.... ummmm ... ummmm ... OK, Scully’s quip near the end (“Keep that up
Mulder and I’ll hurt you like the beast woman”) is cute. When’s the next
episode on?
When I was little, I used to imagine I could become invisible. I used to
imagine being the most incredible super hero the world had ever seen. After
all, who could stop me, I was invisible. I’d right all wrongs and stop all
evildoers. I think that’s why I’ve always enjoyed “Shadows” so much. It
took me back to that moment in time as a child and I could relate to Howard
Graves’ motivation in this episode. The bad news for Graves was he had to die
to turn this childhood fantasy of mine into his reality as he became Lauren
Kyte’s otherworldly guardian angel. Unexplained electrical discharges? That
sounds more like a rather nasty hygiene problem than a poltergeist, Mulder. Hey
it’s Morgan and Wong’s first Elvis reference with Mulder. Bet David sure
loved that. :) You know, I really like “Shadows,” but couldn’t Graves’
ghost rip apart Dorland’s office sooner to point out where the hidden
evidence was located? Of course, that means we wouldn’t have had an episode
now wouldn’t it?
“Ghost in the Machine.” Is this the episode David said he watched while
stoned one night and feared he’d never work again? I’d actually think an
illegal substance might help one stomach this episode. It’s the
personification of dull. On the bright side, it did lead to arguably the most
memorable blooper in the series’ history. Thanks Gillian. <g>
“Ice” is another Morgan and Wong masterpiece. It’s “The Thing”
meets “The X-Files” with the results proving yet again in S1 that “The
X-Files” could be about so much more than UFOs. Stuck in an Alaskan science
station, the entire episode resonates a deep feeling of terror, paranoia and
claustrophobia. With an alien parasite on the loose and invading anything it
can, no one is safe and no one is immune. Mulder and Scully are even forced to
question their trust in one another. With guns drawn on one another, questions
arise about whether they are really who they say they are. The episode is pure
brilliance. Morgan and Wong even get in a mention of their love for the San
Diego Chargers. Scully looks pretty good in plaid. I thought it was important
to say that. Gotta love Mulder, even in the middle of a tense situation he’s
not short on quips coming up with a classic here (“Before anyone passes
judgment, may I remind you we are in the Arctic.”). Nice “Bosom Buddies”
calendar in the room Scully takes at night. Did I mention Scully looks hot in
plaid? “I don’t trust them. I want to trust you.” That entire scene in
the closet is beyond intense - especially when Mulder grabs Scully from behind
to inspect her for parasitic infection.
I can’t believe I watched “Space” in its entirety again. I deserve
combat pay. I’m not kidding.
Ignore for a moment the aliens we encounter in “Fallen Angel” are never
referenced again and let’s focus on all the good stuff. Uh oh, Mulder’s
ditching Scully again, chasing after a possible crashed UFO. And look who
happens to be his cell mate after he’s locked up by the Army boys: Max Fenig.
Quirky and long-suffering (gotta love the origin of “Trust No One” coming
from Max), he’s the ultimate UFO addict who’s also a big fan of the famous
(or would that be infamous) Fox Mulder and “the enigmatic Agent Scully.”
How many times has Mulder heard “You just made the worst mistake of your
life, Agent Mulder.” Somebody ought to put that on Mulder’s tombstone when
he finally kicks. It’s the first time someone’s threatened to shut down The
X-Files too. Sheesh, it’s only Season 1 and already that sounds like a hollow
threat to Mulder. “Agent Scully’s a medical doctor.” “No, she’s a
vet. Tell her to neuter that collie. STAT!” This is a tight, well-written
story which gives us the first glimpse of the pain and torture abductees
experience throughout their lives. In many respects, Max Fenig is a precursor
to what would come later and be even more terrifying with Duane Barry.
Those twin girls in “Eve” sure are creepy. There’s just something
creepy about any little girl who can annunciate the word “exsanguinate”
perfectly. They’re not quite as creepy as Eve 6, however. I really dig those
yellow teeth. That’s an important dental tip, girls. Don’t forget to brush
after every meal.
Watching “Fire” and realizing it was Carter’s test to see if Amanda
Pays could be a replacement for Gillian after S1, what jumps out at me is how
little chemistry there is between Pays and Duchovny. And that’s surprising
since David tends to bring out the best in everyone he works with. But playing
former lovers, there’s no spark (no pun intended) between Mulder and Green
whatsoever. She comes off as drab and out of place and he looks bored. One can
only wonder what might have happened had Morgan and Wong not written “Beyond
The Sea” as a vehicle to prove both Scully and Gillian belonged on the series
and Carter had replaced Gillian with Pays. In all likelihood, the series would
have died instantaneously. This episode? It’s about a guy who can create
fire. Mulder’s afraid of fire and he did it with Green on Sherlock Holmes’
tomb or something. Oh and Scully gets jealous. Yawn.
“Beyond The Sea” was Morgan and Wong’s attempt to showcase Gillian and
Scully and they succeeded by producing a true XF classic. In one of the rare
instances, we see Scully become the believer and Mulder the disbeliever as they
confront death row inmate Luthor Lee Boggs (superbly portrayed by Brad Dourif),
who may have a connection to a serial killer on the loose as well as the great
beyond - including one with Scully’s now-deceased father. By tying a personal
element into a powerful X-File, Morgan and Wong not only provided a brilliant
showcase for Scully’s characterization, but it opened the door for Gillian to
delve more deeply into her character (we see a Scully who constantly has longed
for her father’s approval, a theme that would be played out numerous times as
the series progressed) and bring her to light even more in a compelling manner.
As Scully says to Mulder at the end, she doesn‘t need to have heard the words
her father’s ghost spoke to her. She was his daughter, she would always know
the words and they would remain in her heart forever. And with six brief words,
so much about her character is revealed – “I’m afraid. I’m afraid to
believe.” In a word, this episode is brilliant. It also features another
reference to Mulder’s porn habit, but boy does Mulder’s “How are you
Dana?” just feel wrong or what? She’s Scully and he’s Mulder, that’s
just the way it should always be. He just called her Dana again. In a word ...
ewwww. Uh oh, Mulder’s been shot; I wonder if he’s gonna make it. Hey, if
he doesn’t maybe Fox can get Kevin Sorbo to take over. <g> Interesting
sidenote: Morgan and Wong gave up their script fee for the episode to meet
Dourif’s salary demands so he would appear in the episode.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the first sex scene on “The X-Files.”
Sorry, it’s not between Mulder and Scully. Instead, it’s “Gender
Bender” or 1013's not-so-subtle pro-safe sex and monogamy message.
“Unarmed, but extremely attractive.” Good one, Scully. There’s Brother
Andrew workin his Kindred mojo on Scully. Damn, I wish I could pull that trick
on her – well minus the black hat and the hip waders. “Brother Martin. I
called him Marty.” Gee, that’s a ... ummm ... clever ... nickname. By the
way, I’m sure there’s a psychiatrist who would have a field day with Scully
vomiting after nearly having sex for the first time on the show. Me? I’ll
pass on that and just say hey to Nic Lea. Only he’s not Krycek. Not yet. Wow,
good looping job Mulder. You spoke while being unconscious after being knocked
silly by Brother Martin ... errr I mean Marty.
You know, looking at Ethan in the “Pilot” and Jack Willis in
“Lazurus,” I’m thinking Scully has pretty weak taste in men. Maybe she
should give Brother Andrew another shot.
Have you ever noticed when a character recalls something from the past they
always view the scene outside of their own bodies? In “Young at Heart,”
Mulder recalls a moment from his past when he’s on the witness stand
testifying against convicted killer John Barnett. But instead of viewing the
proceedings through his own eyes, he sees them through ours. I’ve just always
found that a bit ... spooky. It also interested me more than anything that
happens in this extremely ordinary revenge tale.
“E.B.E.” is another Morgan and Wong masterpiece from Season 1 and the
issue of trust is played out once again. This time the loyalties of Deep Throat
come into question as he deceives Mulder with a fake UFO photograph and steers
them toward a bogus UFO encounter. “A lie Mr. Mulder is convincingly hidden
between two truths.” he tells Mulder. That right there sums up much of what
TXF was always built on. Later, he tells Mulder he once killed an alien
(something that is later referenced further in Morgan and Wong’s Season 4
“Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man”) and his mission with Mulder is one of
personal atonement. In addition, it’s the introduction of The Lone Gunmen.
Frohike’s right, Mulder, it’s not “remotely plausible” that Scully his
hot. She is hot. <g> Nice in-joke with Mulder’s phony security pass name
being “Tom Braidwood.” And as Deep Throat departs at the end, Mulder is
once again left empty-handed, surrounded by lies and truths and unable to
determine one from the other. He has become the ultimate pawn in a much
larger-scale game.
“Miracle Man.”
That’s all I have to say about it.
No really, that’s it. Honest. I mean it.
One of the beauties of “The X-Files” was it rarely told traditional
monster stories. But there were occasions when the series did venture into
standard horror fare. “3" was the show’s take on vampires in Season 2 and
“Shapes” took us into werewolf territory in Season 1. But unlike “3,”
which effectively wove Mulder’s lost sense of self into the storyline,
“Shapes” is pretty standard stuff and provides a strong reason why the
writers were wise to avoid such stories. The werewolves in “Shapes” pale in
comparison to the more unique “monsters” the series devised. There is
nothing unique offered here, nothing to differentiate this werewolf story from
hundreds of others. And because of that, “Shapes” slips away after being
viewed, leaving little lasting impression. It is ordinary on a series that
presented so many “monsters” that were anything but.
“Darkness Falls,” on the other hand also presents creatures that kill
at night, but this time Chris Carter takes Mulder and Scully into the forest
with far more engaging results. Killer bugs lying dormant in trees suddenly
awakened and developing a hunger for humans. While not on the same creative
level of “Ice,” “Darkness Falls” does do a good job of establishing a
claustrophobic atmosphere as Mulder, Scully and friends are kept inside a
logger’s cabin, unable to exit at night for fear of being taken alive by the
bugs that are waiting in the forest with only a dying generator keeping them
alive. Oh, good job fixing the dead radio, Mulder. The Professor on
“Gilligan’s Island” would be proud. Now see if you can make a boat that
will float.
“The X-Files” only attempted a sequel three times to one of its famous
“monsters.” It’s generally agreed the Season 5 “Pusher” sequel
(“Kitsunegari”) failed badly; while the Season 7 sequel to
“Irresistible” (“Orison”) was met with mixed reviews though I enjoyed
it quite a bit. However, what the one sequel that the majority of fans believe
not only worked, but in many ways surpassed its predecessor was Season 1's
“Tooms.” Morgan and Wong wisely refrain from parroting the memorable
“Squeeze,” but rather place Eugene Victor Tooms on the loose again, hungry
for one more human liver and pitting him squarely against Mulder, weaving a
personal element into the episode that raises the stakes even more. The episode
also introduces Assistant Director Walter Skinner for the first time - yet
another memorable Morgan and Wong creation. So why does the prosecution lawyer
look embarrassed when Mulder’s telling the court his theory about Tooms?
Didn’t he know what Mulder was going to say? That guy obviously doesn’t
watch a lot of Court TV. Oh and how can the court just let Tooms goo? C’mon,
take a look at him. He practically screams Creepy. Scully calling Mulder,
“Fox,” sure does sound wrong, doesn’t it? “I even made my parents call
me Mulder.” Somebody forgot to tell Bill that in “Colony.” Just in case
anyone had any doubts about where Morgan and Wong would ever stand on the idea
of a Mulder-Scully romance: “If there’s an ice tea in that bag, it could be
love.” “Must be fate, Mulder. Root beer.” Anyone wanna bet on the odds
Morgan and Wong would’ve deviated from that line had they remained on the
series for a large part of its duration? Yeah, I thought not.
Hey it’s Janice from “Friends” playing a cop in “Born Again.”
She’s also one of David’s former girlfriends and would also play a key role
in helping David pick one of the key musical elements in “The Unnatural”
five years later. Mulder sure didn’t care for the psychiatrist calling
hypnosis “unreliable,” did he? “Why is it still so hard for you to
believe?” Mulder, if you’re frustrated with Scully now let’s see how you
feel after dealing with this for another six years. And some FBI agent you are,
couldn’t you tell Scully looks pregnant?
Call me twisted, but one of my favorite parts of “Roland” is the chalk
outline of the second scientist who is killed. Check out the fragments that are
outlined to show how his head was shattered after being covered in liquid
nitrogen. I kinda get a kick out of that. :D I also like how Scully says she
has two brothers. In Season 2, we see both of them in a flashback (“One
Breath”), but only one of them shows up when she is dying in Season 5. I’m
starting to think she only had one brother, but Bill was such a gigantic pain
in the ass she imagined him he was two people.
“The Erlenmeyer Flask” starts with a bang (a car chase) and ends with a
literal bang - when Deep Throat is killed. In between, Carter helped the
“mytharc” which didn’t really exist until that point beyond the
conspiracy angle, take on a greater shape with ideas about cloning, alien DNA
and alien-human hybrids beginning to materialize. Having the Zeus Storage
facility housed on “Pandora Street” was inspired. Like that mythological
tale, the answers Mulder seeks are locked away in a symbolical box that, when
opened, could have far-ranging consequences for all of mankind. But it’s the
shocking moment at the end when Deep Throat is killed that leaves the greatest
impression. Although a secondary character, this story decision by Carter
proved no one was truly safe and upped the stakes for Mulder and Scully even
further. It was an inspired creative decision and proved “The X-Files”
truly would be a television force to be reckoned with.

Unbound I
Check out my book about The X-Files at
http://www.trafford.com/robots/02-0625.html