REVIEW: "Syzygy", The X-Files, 1/26/96
munc...@netcom.com
may be found at my web site:
http://www.webcom.com/munchkyn
Spoilers ahead....you have been warned.
A Cosmic Realignment
by Sarah Stegall
copyright 1996 by Sarah Stegall
"Fair is foul and foul is fair."
--"Macbeth"
Sometimes the need to mess with our heads outweighs
common sense. "Syzygy", the January 26 episode of "The X-
Files", is a very funny misstep. It is clear from the
beginning, when Mulder and Scully drive into the town of
Comity ("comedy"), that writer Chris Carter intends this to
be a romp, a lighthearted faux X-File where we see every
defect exaggerated for effect. This is a classic technique
of comedy, dating back to Aristotle, whereby we laugh at
something precisely because it is out of character, out of
proportion, or out of context. By showing us a negative,
like a reversed photographic image, we come to appreciate
anew the qualities we find attractive in Mulder and Scully,
while having a harmless laugh at their all too human
foibles. Or at least, that is how the theory goes.
Mulder and Scully are called to the town of Comity by
the semi-hysterical Detective Angela White (Dana Wheeler-
Nicholson) to help her investigate a series of teen deaths.
Rumors of a Satanic cult have swept the town, whipping up a
panic in normally (we are told) placid townsfolk. The eye
of this storm centers on two over-mascaraed high school
seniors named Margi Kleinjan (Wendy Benson) and Terri
Roberts (Lisa Robin Kelly), who appear to possess abilities
not commonly found even in blonde cheerleaders. Using
telekinetic abilities apparently brought out by an imminent
astrological alignment (the 'syzygy' of the title), they
lure one boy to a death by hanging, crush a clumsy
basketball player under collapsing bleachers, and get rid of
a rival by slicing her to death with shards of a mirror.
Throughout all of this, Mulder and Scully increasingly snipe
at one another, finally erupting into outright quarelling.
Meanwhile, the planets inexorably advance towards a cosmic
re-alignment.
There are two ways to look at this episode: as a
single episode, independently of all others in the series,
or as part of a longer story arc. Considered these two
different ways it takes on different hues. As a stand-alone
piece, it is actually rather funny. If we had seen "Syzygy"
after almost any second season episode, it would have been a
riot. As the Weird Sisters of MacBeth, the literary
antecedents of Terri and Margi would say, "Fair is foul and
foul is fair". The world is turned upside down for our
amusement: birds fall from the sky, Scully gets bitchy, and
Mulder becomes an insensitive clod. Scully works off her
tensions with a cigarette, and the suave and urbane Fox
Mulder becomes an insecure and fumbling frat-boy bewildered
by Det. White's advances. Scully runs stop signs and Mulder
drinks Cheez Whiz mixed with vodka (oh, I know it was frozen
orange juice, but it *looked* like Cheez Whiz). The entire
episode is a Keystone Kops escapade, with Mulder and Scully
being shuttled frantically from one silly contrived scene to
another ("Quick! A mob has formed on the south side of
town!"). Within the thin premise of the astrological
conjunction, the events make some kind of distorted sense,
with the madness and confusion building to a cathartic
"shootout" in the police station, where all the guns fire at
once to a circus-music accompaniment. The joke culminates in
a classic X-Files non-explanation: "It *was* Satan!"
declares the high school principal (Garry Davey), and the
suddenly enlightened town responds with a choral "Ohhhh!".
The scene in the hallway, when the clock strikes midnight
and the world snaps back into focus, worked well for me:
the realignment of Mulder and Scully is made clear by their
unanimous "Put that gun down!", said side by side and nearly
cheek to cheek. Echoes of the syzygy linger, however, as
the two leave town bickering over Scully's driving, a minor
theme that proves no experience leaves us unchanged. As
such, then, "Syzygy" is a funny episode that reminds us that
Chris Carter started out writing comedy.
Unfortunately, it does *not* stand alone, and here is
where history works against it. Long term fans will see a
larger context for "Syzygy", one which incorporates Satanic
cults ("Die Hand Die Verletzt"), demonic teenagers wielding
powers out of their control ("D.P.O."), and aberrant
behavior between Mulder and Scully ("War of the Coprophages"
and, in a sense, nearly every episode in the third season).
Contrast is all in comedy, and if we had not seen these
elements before they would have been funnier here. More
importantly, the "temporary" dissolution of the bond between
our heroes would have been funny and fascinating if the
deteriorating relationship between the two throughout the
last few months had not already turned it into a sick joke.
Mulder sniping at Scully is not funny when he has been
insulting, ignoring, and trivializing her since September.
Scully's alleged sexual jealousy has no punch to it when we
have seen little or no evidence in the 'serious' episodes
that Mulder is anything more than a nuisance to her. The
erosion of this partnership began in "Paper Clip", and is no
longer a laughing matter. Will next week's episode show us
Mulder and Scully at swords' points with one another, as it
logically should? That, too, could be an interesting
dramatic twist, but it dare not be allowed to fester
forever. I know that Chris Carter is dead set against a
romance between his main characters, but if this is his
attempt to forestall it, it is like burning down the barn to
get rid of the rats. At this rate, Mulder and Scully will no
longer be speaking to one another by season end, which won't
matter because no one will be watching.
Carter has said that this episode will "change the
dynamics" of Mulder and Scully's relationship. If this is a
permanent change, he is risking the entire series. He has,
over two years, built up a sexual tension between his main
characters. This tease keeps the tension simmering,
providing continuity between episodes and satisfying our
need for personal involvement with the main characters. A
television audience, like anyone viewing a work of art,
brings expectations with it. Not all of them may be met--
that, too, is part of the challenge and attraction of art.
But we must have *some* of our hopes in "The X-Files" met.
If we cannot get closure on Samantha's abduction, on the
alien/government conspiracy, on the personal tragedies which
have haunted our heroes, we must have at least the thrill
generated by two sexy and intelligent people to draw us
back. But if this final dramatic hook is lost, we have
nothing left but a 'monster of the week' series that will
die as swiftly as "Amazing Stories". We need the tease.
There were some real gems in "Syzygy" which should not
be overlooked in our greater concern for the direction of
the series. Denalda Williams' Madame Zerinka, the astrologer
who trusts the government even less than Fox Mulder does, is
hilarious. The hapless town pediatrician, whose only sin is
a lousy taste in lingerie, is a cute send-up. Wendy Benson
and Lisa Robin Kelly turn in exquisitely cartoonish
performances as the terror twins Margi and Terri. Their
characterizations are as flat and two-dimensional as they
should be for these two vapid Valley Girls. I know *I* went
to high school with cheerleaders like this, and always
suspected them of selling their souls to the Devil.
Reminded again of MacBeth, I kept thinking of them as
prototypes for those three witches who meddle in men's lives
for no greater reason than spite and mischief, turning
nonsense ryhmes into potent spells: "Double, double toil
and trouble" becomes "One Bloody Mary, Two Bloody Mary...".
I can see these two Stepford Wives in the making, a couple
of gin-soaked decades further on, seducing the paper boy
("Hate him, wouldn't want to date him") and plotting the
demise of their rivals in the Junior League. Carter casts
Terri and Margi as latter day incarnations of the two
teenagers from Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", whose
hysterical accusations based on malice and pique launched
the Salem witch hunts of 1692 that resulted in the deaths of
twenty of their neighbors.
Many of the jokes in "Syzygy" were predictable, but
that does not make them unfunny. I still laughed at the
argument over adjusting the car seat. Scully's smoking
caught me by surprise, and Mulder's fumbling encounter with
the semi-crazed Detective White was a hoot. Some of the
lines were priceless: "I don't even think she's a blonde."
I'll be laughing at the "mystery of the horny beast" for a
while. It's clear that Carter still knows where all the
buttons are and how to push them. "Syzygy" had all the
ingredients for a real fruitcake of an episode, but it
lacked two essential ingredients: contrast and timing.
Taken in and of itself, "Syzygy" was laugh-out-loud funny.
"War of the Coprophages" was clever, but too busy mocking
our heroes to be funny. In "Syzygy", when we laugh at
Mulder and Scully, we are laughing at fellow human beings,
as confused and inept as we are. That's the charm of this
episode, despite its flawed context. It is still too much
comedy for one season, and I wanted to give it only three
sunflower seeds, but was persuaded otherwise by my mother, a
far better qualified critic than I am. Thus, against the
tide of current opinion, I give this episode as it stands
four out of five sunflower seeds.
Am I crazy? Don't ask me.
****************************************************************
Sarah Stegall*http://www.webcom.com/munchkyn*munc...@netcom.com
I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather,
not screaming in terror like his passengers...
****************************************************************
Jodi Berls
>
It is clear from the
>beginning, when Mulder and Scully drive into the town of
>Comity ("comedy"),
Sigh. It's going to be hard to be respectful in a case like this, where
the reviewer clearly didn't go to the trouble of looking up a word she
didn't know and drew inferences therefrom... There is nothing in the
definition of "comity" that links it to comedy.
The joke culminates in
>a classic X-Files non-explanation: "It *was* Satan!"
>declares the high school principal (Garry Davey), and the
>suddenly enlightened town responds with a choral "Ohhhh!".
Big difference between "Ohhhh!" and what they actually said -- "Amen."
Like I said before, you're reviewing these things, but you're not really
watching them.
Jodi Berls
jbe...@ix.netcom.com
munc...@netcom.com
Jodi Berls <jbe...@popd.ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>munc...@netcom.com wrote:
>>
> It is clear from the
>>beginning, when Mulder and Scully drive into the town of
>>Comity ("comedy"),
>
>the reviewer clearly didn't go to the trouble of looking up a word she
>didn't know and drew inferences therefrom... There is nothing in the
>definition of "comity" that links it to comedy.
I am perfectly aware of the definition of "comity", the principal one
being "An atmosphere of social harmony", in and of itself a joke on
the town. I was making reference to the *pronunciation* of the word, which
is a pun on "comedy". Carter has stuck in a very clever double meaning
here, referring both to the internal story (extreme disharmony in the
town) and to the external audience (which will pronounce "comity" very
close to "comedy"). I am hardly the first person on the Net to notice
this, as a brief read through the rest of a.t.x might have shown you.
> The joke culminates in
>>a classic X-Files non-explanation: "It *was* Satan!"
>>declares the high school principal (Garry Davey), and the
>>suddenly enlightened town responds with a choral "Ohhhh!".
>
>Big difference between "Ohhhh!" and what they actually said -- "Amen."
On the contrary. I watched this episode in the editing room at Ten
Thirteen Productions two weeks ago, *before* the music was added. The
editors ran it back for me for confirmation. I can state without fear of
contradiction by the editing staff that the townspeople chorused "Ohhhh".
It was very funny, almost like a room full of gullible four year olds
answering a kindergarten teacher. If it was masked by the music, possibly
you misunderstood it.
>Like I said before, you're reviewing these things, but you're not really
>watching them.
I am watching them, perhaps even more closely than some of my readers.
Sorry to disappoint you, but maybe these answers will raise your respect
for me.
Mike Quigley
>On the contrary. I watched this episode in the editing room at Ten
>Thirteen Productions two weeks ago, *before* the music was added. The
>editors ran it back for me for confirmation. I can state without fear of
>contradiction by the editing staff that the townspeople chorused "Ohhhh".
>It was very funny, almost like a room full of gullible four year olds
>answering a kindergarten teacher. If it was masked by the music, possibly
>you misunderstood it.
Since you are privy to such things, can we assume in the future there is a
slight "conflict of interest" in your reviews?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check my home page -- http://web20.mindlink.net/a4369/mq.htm -- XF related
interviews plus info about dubs of TV appearances by GA and DD and more!
Julia Kosatka
Ah, you saw my post. :-) I couldn't resist. :-) I was going to send you
a copy, but I got sidetracked (I should put that on my head stone :-).
Julia Kosatka University of Houston
SFLAaE/BS, PSEB, DDEB, HLLL
"Keep your friends close... but keep your enemies closer."
- Deep Throat, The X-Files
Brian Kroeker
> I gotta agree with Mike here. If Sarah is writing these articles
> officially for Fox, and sitting in on editing sessions (which I myself
> doubt), she should *not* be writing and releasing reviews of the show.
> When I worked for MGM, I had to give up my job as a movie reviewer at a
> local paper--it is indeed conflict of interest...
>
> nic
If she were selling the reviews while concealing some special arrangement I
would agree, but if she is just writing for her own and our entertainment
then I disagree. Lots of professional reviewers get special screenings,
sometimes before editting is complete. I seriously doubt she is writing
or working for Fox or Ten Thirteen. But even if she is, all the better,
it gives us insights we wouldn't otherwise get. As long as she fully
discloses any relationship, I say keep writing Sarah. If she says Chris
is paying her to write reviews (and Sarah, I KNOW this isn't true) the
reader can draw his own conclusions. Heck, if Chris, David and Gillian
want to post reviews here that would be great too!
Sarah paid me to write this.
No she didn't. That was a joke.
Brian, available to write glowing reviews for 10k per star.
Julia Kosatka
> munc...@netcom.com wrote:
>
> >On the contrary. I watched this episode in the editing room at Ten
> >Thirteen Productions two weeks ago, *before* the music was added. The
> >editors ran it back for me for confirmation. I can state without fear of
> >contradiction by the editing staff that the townspeople chorused "Ohhhh".
> >It was very funny, almost like a room full of gullible four year olds
> >answering a kindergarten teacher. If it was masked by the music, possibly
> >you misunderstood it.
>
> Since you are privy to such things, can we assume in the future there is a
> slight "conflict of interest" in your reviews?
Oh, yeah, ripping the guts out of CC's latest episode (is there *anything*
worse than mediocrity?) certainly does indicate a conflict of interest.
Get real. Sarah's a pro. She's not going to suddenly start fawning all
over CC and Co. She's going to keep doing what got her where she is....
writing in depth analyical reviews and callin' 'em like she sees 'em.
Julia Kosatka
> : munc...@netcom.com wrote:
> : >On the contrary. I watched this episode in the editing room at Ten
> : >Thirteen Productions two weeks ago, *before* the music was added. The
>
> : slight "conflict of interest" in your reviews?
>
> officially for Fox, and sitting in on editing sessions (which I myself
> doubt), she should *not* be writing and releasing reviews of the show.
> When I worked for MGM, I had to give up my job as a movie reviewer at a
> local paper--it is indeed conflict of interest...
Where on earth do people get the idea that Sarah's being paid for this?
If this were some official Fox thing, we'd be having to pay to see them,
either by buying a magazine or paying to see them on Delphi or AOL or
something. They wouldn't be being posted to News. Being present during
pre or post production of a show does *not* require employment by the
studio. Also, while I can understand why you would have had to have given
up your review *job*, Sarah isn't being paid *squat* by anyone to write
reviews. *IF* (and she's not) she were being paid by CC or Fox to write
reviews, it would hardly be a conflict of interest to write a review at
the request of your employer. Conflict of interest would only come into
play if you were working for two different entities.
EM Zaffarano
mascot, the goat, a tradtional symbol of unfettered lust. I think that,
if Mulder, Scully and the rest were freudian, that they were talking out
their ID. Everything was coming from the lowest primal, aggressive,
paranoid, lusty level. I found it pretty funny. Some have written that
the show was dumb, but think how the world would be if everyone said/did
exactly what was on their mind? I think we caught a glimpse in SYZ...
Darleen
nsim...@gpu3.srv.ualberta.ca (Nicola Simpson) wrote:
>Mike Quigley (Mr_Gi...@mindlink.net) wrote:
>: munc...@netcom.com wrote:
>
>: >On the contrary. I watched this episode in the editing room at Ten
>: >Thirteen Productions two weeks ago, *before* the music was added. The
>
>: Since you are privy to such things, can we assume in the future there is a
>: slight "conflict of interest" in your reviews?
>
>I gotta agree with Mike here. If Sarah is writing these articles
>officially for Fox, and sitting in on editing sessions (which I myself
>doubt), she should *not* be writing and releasing reviews of the show.
>When I worked for MGM, I had to give up my job as a movie reviewer at a
>local paper--it is indeed conflict of interest...
>
>nic
>nsim...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca
Well, for anyone who cares, my .02 is that if Sarah is not being paid but
is doing the reviews for her own pleasure...I don't see a conflict.
SAC
>Mike Quigley (Mr_Gi...@mindlink.net) wrote:
>: Since you are privy to such things, can we assume in the future there is a
>: slight "conflict of interest" in your reviews?
>
>I gotta agree with Mike here. If Sarah is writing these articles
>officially for Fox, and sitting in on editing sessions (which I myself
>doubt), she should *not* be writing and releasing reviews of the show.
Guys, we're getting a little too nasty here, don'cha think? This is
pretty much a free-speaking forum here (I think), so she can post
whatever she wants whether people think they're slanted or not (and
personally, I don't think they are).
The only REAL enjoyment I get out of a.t.x-f. is reading other
people's reviews of each XF episode; it's irrelevant to me should
people have reason to believe they're biased.
Plenty of people (myself included) enjoy reading her reviews, and
would be pretty peeved off if a few people endorsing police politics
make me forfeit this right.
I'm a grown-up. Implied affiliations and biases or not, I can make
such distinctions on my own, thank you. ;-)
>When I worked for MGM, I had to give up my job as a movie reviewer at a
>local paper--it is indeed conflict of interest...
Point made. And I guess I do acknowledge some 'conflict of interest'
there. Still, I don't think this really applies to a ng.
Regards,
SAC
sch...@io.org
Eric S. Smith: Left-Field Marshal
Darleen <ba...@wave.sheridan.wy.us> wrote:
>Well, for anyone who cares, my .02 is that if Sarah is not being paid but
>is doing the reviews for her own pleasure...I don't see a conflict.
It's not, after all, as though we have to agree with her. :) It's also
not the case that we're paying her, or anything, so who cares?
--Eric Smith