Milagro = Worst Episode Ever
ey...@mcia.com
Padgett's writing, clearly, was supposed to be crappy and overblown.
He's never sold anything. He's a self-absorbed wanna-be, like a lot of
wanna-bees out there. I don't think it was so much _what_ he was
writing about Scully but that he was writing about her at all that both
repelled and fascinated her.
Mara
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com
"Milagro". In my opinion, this was, by far, the worst X-Files episode ever.
It's possibly the worst thing I have ever seen on TV.
If you liked this episode, stop here. I'm not writing this for you. I'm not
trying to change anyone's opinion about this episode. If you liked it, good,
there are plenty of threads on the newsgroup about how good it was.
I am writing this review to comfort those of you who found "Milagro" to be
offensively bad; you who are reading all the shiny happy reviews of the
episode and screaming, "NO! It sucked! Doesn't anyone else SEE that?" You who
wanted your hour back after watching this episode of the show you usually
enjoy so much: this review is for you.
I emphasize: if you liked "Milagro", you will hate this review. Please don't
write to me about how much you liked it, or how wrong I am. I am expressing my
opinion in this public forum. I will not email you and try to sway you from
your views. Please do me the same courtesy.
If you haven't seen the episode, there are spoilers of several different
varieties in this post.
Okay, are we square?
On to "Milagro".
First, the character of the writer. His voiceovers are incredibly wordy and
pretentious. When he uttered the line that Scully "tucked a Titian strand of
hair behind her ear", I laughed out loud, thinking that maybe Carter was
parodying the worst excesses of X-Files fan fiction. But no, we were
apparently supposed to take the writer seriously, despite the ludicrous
self-importance of his prose and his exchange in the jail cell with Mulder
("Jungians would say the characters that choose the author"? Give me a break.
No one outside of a high school litmag talks like this about their own
writing.)
Let's break down a block of his writing. "She was a marshall of cold facts,
quick to organize, connect, shuffle, reorder and synthesize their relative
hard values into discrete categories." Passive voice is always an English
teacher no- no. Show, don't tell. And what's with the infinitive overload?
Writing is not merely the art of piling words on top of one another, but of
choosing the RIGHT words and using them sparingly. "Organize, connect,
shuffle, reorder and synthesize" is too many words to accomplish too little
meaning, by anyone's standards; merely "organize" would convey exactly the
same message.
"To be thought of as simply a beautiful woman was bridling, unthinkable." To
be thought of was unthinkable? Not just unthinkable, but bridling too. So she
was bridled by the unthinkable thought of being thought of. Huh.
"But she was beautiful, fatally. Stunningly prepossessing." 'Prepossessing'
is just a roundabout word for 'attractive', so she's not only beautiful,
fatally, she's stunningly attractive, which is not only redundant, fatally,
but a stunningly ostentatious word choice.
"Yet the compensatory respect she commanded only deepened the yearnings of
her heart." Yet the compensatory respect she commanded only deepened the
yearnings of her heart? COMPENSATORY FOR WHAT? COMMANDED HOW? These fifty-cent
words make assumptions about the situation that have not been expressed to the
reader/viewer. And 'yearnings' is a bodice-ripper word, to be used in other
contexts with _extreme_ caution, wary of the connotations. Any writer who
refers to the "yearnings" of his character's "heart" is just begging for a
critical comeuppance, the likes of which I can only begin to deliver.
The fact that Padgett refers to a character in his novel only as "The
Stranger" (all caps, yet!) is another hefty clue that the man is a terrible
writer. Are we, in fact, supposed to regard Padgett as a hack with no talent
and large delusions of grandeur? If the episode is supposed to give us that
impression, then why are we subjected to long tracts from Padgett's godawful
manuscript? Why don't Mulder and Scully acknowledge that his writing is
wretched? I fear that Carter wrote it all with a straight face-- a harrowing
thought. Much scarier than any of the ideas or images presented in the episode
itself.
Not only is the writing of this character bad, but the actor playing him
does nothing to pull off any of his preposterous dialogue. He merely mouths
it, as though he has no idea what twaddle is passing his lips. His intensity
is forced and creepy. At no point was I fooled into thinking that Scully
would find him worth a second look for any reason other than suspicion.
Neither does Scully or anyone else in the episode point out that the writer
is, in fact, stalking Scully. As a law enforcement officer all too familiar
with aberrant behavior, Scully would be a LOT more cautious in dealing with
the Padgett than she is shown behaving. She would KNOW that many killers
stalk their victims before murdering them. Padgett's behavior-- observing
Scully so closely that he knew the dates of her parking stickers, moving into
Mulder's building to be close to her-- is the behavior of a stalker, NOT
merely a writer, an admirer, or even a behavioral psychologist. Scully
pooh-poohs his actions as mere "audacity", but in fact, she would know that
this behavior indicates that Padgett is potentially very dangerous and
perhaps deadly.
Why on earth would Scully argue to set Padgett free? He's an entirely
reasonable suspect, and his stalking of her suggests an unbalanced mind.
Perhaps Scully acts in this peculiar fashion because everything Padgett writes
comes true.
Uh-- how? At no point is any explanation, paranormal or otherwise, advanced
for Padgett's connection to the killings. Mulder mentions psychic surgery as
the method of the murders, but no theory is advanced to account for the fact
that Padgett writes out events that subsequently occur in the episode. And if
he IS writing things that come true, then what's the deal with his love scene
with Scully-- which never happens?
But the mediocrity doesn't end there. What the hell is up with Mulder
drawing his gun and charging into Padgett's apartment _for_no_reason_ other
than suspecting that Scully is there, and pointing his gun around(!),
violating the writer's civil rights like there's no tomorrow? Let me point
out that an FBI agent must have probable cause and/or a search warrant to
enter another person's apartment, even if that agent is the star of a TV
show. Likewise, Mulder suddenly chases down and violently tackles a man
wearing a hooded sweatshirt in the cemetary because he fits Padgett's
description of the murderer. A law enforcement officer would be reprimanded &
perhaps censured for this kind of sloppy physical assault on a bystander
(chased down because his _clothes_ match a description given by a _suspect_).
Finally, Mulder breaks into the mailboxes in his apartment building to read
Padgett's mail. Why? To get his name? Why not just call the damn landlord? To
get dirt on the writer? Is that worth violating Padgett's fourth amendment
rights and risking prosecution for the felony of interfering with US mail?
The "solution" to the episode is consummately unsatisfying, even by the low
standards of the episode itself. Padgett's 'character', the two-years-dead
doctor, shows up and talks with him about his story. The doctor points out
that he has no motive for all these killings, a small acknowledgement of the
poor storytelling at work in this episode. The writer admits that he was only
writing about Scully to give himself a chance to fantasize about meeting her,
which is just plain icky. The doctor replies that, well then, the only way
the story can end is with Scully's death. Then we see that the doctor does
not show up on surveillance cameras. (Surveillance cameras, I should note,
that are manned only by Mulder and Scully, contrary to any realistic law
enforcement surveillance of a potentially dangerous murder suspect ever
conducted in the history of mankind.) Nevertheless, the doctor is apparently
a material entity, since he is able to attack Scully and cause Karo syrup to
spurt from her torso, although she doesn't actually seem to be harmed.
And how about that attack? Mulder sees Padgett going off-camera and pursues
him. Scully stays behind because she... took off her shoes, while being one
of the only two agents monitoring the activity of a potential murderer. So
she has to put her shoes back on while Mulder, sans backup, chases the
possible serial killer. Huh. That gives the doctor his chance to try his
heart-removal hat trick on her, still sans a motive, but apparently okay with
that, after his tete-a-tete with his creator.
Finally, we see that the writer has burned his story and torn his own heart
out of his chest in the basement, thus causing his creation, the doctor, to
vanish. The finale is as arbitrary as everything that came before. But
examine the last voiceover for a second: "Even as The Stranger felt compelled
to commit his final words to paper, he did it knowing it must never be read."
Knowing as he does by now that the events of his novel are inexplicably
happening in real life, WHY does Padgett FINISH the novel with Scully's death
AND THEN destroy his manuscript? He apparently didn't want to kill her, since
he burned the novel and killed himself to prevent it, yet he wrote it out
anyway. Or are we to assume that Padgett merely killed himself because he
could "see inside his own emptiness" at last, and didn't care if Scully lived
or died? It doesn't really bear thinking about, since ultimately, it makes no
more sense than any of the other senseless events of this teleplay.
So, "Milagro" in sum:
* Both Mulder and Scully act out of character. Not merely out of character
for Mulder and Scully, but out of character for FBI agents, and in the case
of Mulder charging gun-first into Padgett's apartment for no readily obvious
reason, out of character for reasonable human beings. * The central
character, Padgett, is an awful hack writer, a stalker, and a charmless
individual. Yet we're forced to spend most of the episode listening to
voiceovers of his terrible writing, or listening to him talk, or watching
him posture around his apartment pretending to be A Writer. * Beating hearts
are pulled out of a succession of victims by an unknown killer for no
reason; we are given no reason to care and no reason to be scared. The
crimes are blatant, and thus boring; nothing is implied, nothing left to the
imagination. Here's a beating heart, pulled from a human chest in an
implausible fashion that we won't bother to try to explain at all. Scary,
huh? * The events of this episode don't make any sense. Padgett writes, and
some of what he writes occurs exactly the way he wrote it. No cause or
explanation for this is ever advanced, and when he is informed that the
things in his novel have actually occurred, Padgett does not react at all.
We're left with a string of impossible deaths, perhaps caused by psychic
surgery, maybe committed by Padgett's character, who doesn't show up on
cameras but can be seen by Scully, and is able to attack and bloody Scully--
yet he vanishes when Padgett dies/the novel burns.
This is poor dramaturgy by any standard. Why should I care about Padgett, a
bad writer with no furniture who stalks a pretty FBI agent? Why should I care
about the pretty FBI agent, who is acting seriously wonky herself, for no
reason made clear in the story? Why should I care about the pretty FBI
agent's partner, who barges into his neighbors' apartment with a gun just
because he thinks she _might_ be in there, breaks into the writer's mailbox,
and tackles a hapless employee at a cemetary?
No sympathetic characters, nothing interesting going on in the 'plot', just
lots and lots of pretentious prosody in droning voiceovers. From now on, when
I see that an episode is "Written by Chris Carter", I'm not tuning in. The
guy can _create_ a damn fine show. Make no mistake, I was once an
enthusiastic fan of The X-Files. But considering his excrutiatingly poor
teleplays for "Syzygy", the first two episodes of Millenium, and "Milagro",
I'm better off avoiding the scripts that come directly from Chris Carter's
pen.
--
Summer
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Cls2crazy
~Cls2crazy~ :)
"Did you really think that you could call up the Devil and ask him to
behave?"....Mulder
QFFI Mag1
responses were all from shippers. But the worst episode ever--worse than the
Killer Kitties? Come on!
Magician ("longs to see")
Hattie54
> I'm stunned by all the positivity about last night's X-Files episode,
>"Milagro". In my opinion, this was, by far, the worst X-Files episode ever.
>It's possibly the worst thing I have ever seen on TV.
>
like best of all ??
Harriet
Amazon Woman
but I coudln't put my finger on all the reasons why. You summed it up pretty
well, though; thanks for putting some of my thoughts in words.
> "NO! It sucked! Doesn't anyone else SEE that?" You who
> wanted your hour back after watching this episode of the show you usually
> enjoy so much: this review is for you.
I have to wonder if a lot of people liked this episode only because it
attempted to move a step in the forward directions with the Mulder-Scully
relationship. If so, it's kind of sad; I want to see M&S together as much as
the next person, but this ep was just BAD, MSR not withstanding.
> I laughed out loud, thinking that maybe Carter was
> parodying the worst excesses of X-Files fan fiction.
YES!!! I actually SAID to my husband as we were watching, "It looks like CC's
been reading too much fan fiction." And bad fanfic, at that. Some of that
dialogue was too much! Come on!
> At no point was I fooled into thinking that Scully
> would find him worth a second look for any reason other than suspicion.
Another "YES!" Why the heck would Scully even be remotely interested in him,
regardless of being "flattered?" Jeez! He wasn't good looking (that facial
hair MUST go), he was creepy, and he was STALKING her, as you said. This was
a major thorn in my side with this ep and Scully's behavior.
> But the mediocrity doesn't end there. What the hell is up with Mulder
> drawing his gun and charging into Padgett's apartment _for_no_reason_ other
> than suspecting that Scully is there, and pointing his gun around(!),
> violating the writer's civil rights like there's no tomorrow?
Let me point out with this observation--Mulder never really thinks about
things. I have to say, this I don't think is totally out of character for
him. It was a bit extreme, sure, but Mulder's always a bit extreme, IMO.
> Nevertheless, the doctor is apparently
> a material entity, since he is able to attack Scully and cause Karo syrup to
> spurt from her torso, although she doesn't actually seem to be harmed.
What WAS up with that? was her heart half hanging out of her chest? Where
did all the blood come from if she wasn't hurt? This was totally unresolved.
My summation for this ep was that somebody (Chris Carter, I guess) was trying
to put forward some sort of statement about Mulder & Scully's relationship,
and show Scully in a different light, but through crappy dialogue, weak
characters, and bad characteraziation he utterly failed. This episode was
impossible to get involved in--and thus like--because there was NOTHING to
get involved in. The storyline was totally underdeveloped. The "new light"
they may have been attempting to shed on Scully was lost because of her
totally unbelieveable behavior. And, let's face it--if they need a whole ep
to tell us "Hey, I think Scully's in love with Mulder," and NOTHING else,
something's wrong. Isn't the relationship btwn M&S a foregone premise of the
entire show?
In short: you did a great job of summing up Milagro. I just had to add my
$.02 (which consisted mostly of redundant "YES!"s, but oh well). While I
don't think it's the WORST episode ever, it definitely ranks right up there.
D.G. Porter
>
> I'm stunned by all the positivity about last night's X-Files episode,
> "Milagro". In my opinion, this was, by far, the worst X-Files episode ever.
> It's possibly the worst thing I have ever seen on TV.
Why don't you:
a) Stop watching the show?
b) Stop watching TV altogether?
c) Get over it?
d) Intercourse yourself?
e) all of the above.
I am realy getting sick and tired of the whiners. Your favorite TV
entertainment explores something really dark and "spooky" and all you
can do is complain. Just fucking unplug your sets.
You didn't like "Arcadia," you didn't like "Alpha," you don't like this,
you don't like that, the Mytharc isn't making it for you, blah blah
blah. Hey, folks, there are other shows for you, they're called
"Melrose Place" and "90210." I'm sure they'd make you feel a lot
better.
Meanwhile, I'm going to have another cup of coffee and REALLY get myself
pissed off.
Comsig2
enjoying all of season six. I get the feeling that the hatred from some people
regarding season six is not so much the comedic episodes but the exploration of
the M&S relationship. Some people just hate anything having to do with -ick-
emotions and all of that lovey-dovey stuff. They'd rather see straightforward
shoot-em-ups and MOTWs without the emotional entanglements. But the negativity
of the season six haters is incredible to me. If they'd ease up a bit they
might just enjoy the eps. Not every single episode can be "Anazasi." And hey,
if "Anazasi" was from season six, I have the feeling there would still be a
bunch of naysayers picking it apart as "the worst episode ever." Heaven knows
why, but I'm sure they'd find a reason.
----David S.
"My work here is done... Have a nice day."
--Mulder, "Dreamland"
Now Showing: X-Files Stick Figure Theater! http://members.theglobe.com/satinas/
is the URL for extremely crude animated X-Files!
Comsig2
wrote:
>I am realy getting sick and tired of the whiners. Your favorite TV
>entertainment explores something really dark and "spooky" and all you
>can do is complain. Just fucking unplug your sets.
AMEN!! I'm glad somebody said it. Yeah, yeah, I know this is a forum where
everybody is free to state their opinion, but geez if the show is bringin' ya
that much pain, find something new to watch. Maybe you'll be happier with UPN.
Deborah A Tinsley
failed at the end.
--
Deborah
"One day I learned that science was not true.
I do not recall the day, but I recall the moment..
The God of the twentieth century was no longer God."
Kosko
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote in article
<7fhkpn$9ir$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
> I'm stunned by all the positivity about last night's X-Files episode,
>
> First, the character of the writer. His voiceovers are incredibly wordy
and
> pretentious. When he uttered the line that Scully "tucked a Titian strand
of
> hair behind her ear", I laughed out loud, thinking that maybe Carter was
> parodying the worst excesses of X-Files fan fiction. But no, we were
> apparently supposed to take the writer seriously, despite the ludicrous
> self-importance of his prose and his exchange in the jail cell with
Mulder
> ("Jungians would say the characters that choose the author"? Give me a
break.
> No one outside of a high school litmag talks like this about their own
> writing.)
snip
L Truong
good reason. I think it was b/c at that moment, in his own apt, Mulder
found the clues in the newpaper ads, saw that the killer was finding couples
through the personals and that was how the victims were chosen, and wanted
to nail Padgett immediately.
Laura Starzynski
liked Milagro, which I did, but I also feel that I must respond to some of the
points that you made where I feel you made errors. This is my opinion and not a
personal attack.
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> I emphasize: if you liked "Milagro", you will hate this review. Please don't
> write to me about how much you liked it, or how wrong I am. I am expressing my
> opinion in this public forum. I will not email you and try to sway you from
> your views. Please do me the same courtesy.
So I am responding in this same public forum.
> First, the character of the writer. His voiceovers are incredibly wordy and
> pretentious. When he uttered the line that Scully "tucked a Titian strand of
> hair behind her ear"
> Why don't Mulder and Scully acknowledge that his writing is
> wretched?
My response to your "he is a bad writer" is that there is no accounting for
taste. Some writers who I find almost offensive in their writing style and
material are lauded by the masses. Perhaps Phillip was hoping for mass appeal of
his novel, a best-seller, rather than winning literary acclaim or positive reviews
from critics. Don't forget the huge market for historical romances, people will
eat up fifty cent words and unlikely situations.
>
>
> Not only is the writing of this character bad, but the actor playing him
> does nothing to pull off any of his preposterous dialogue. He merely mouths
> it, as though he has no idea what twaddle is passing his lips. His intensity
> is forced and creepy. At no point was I fooled into thinking that Scully
> would find him worth a second look for any reason other than suspicion.
I agree with you here, I thought he looked like a sleaze, but I also thought he
acted the part with the appropriate intensity of someone who considers himself a
tortured artist.
> Neither does Scully or anyone else in the episode point out that the writer
> is, in fact, stalking Scully. As a law enforcement officer all too familiar
> with aberrant behavior, Scully would be a LOT more cautious in dealing with
> the Padgett than she is shown behaving. She would KNOW that many killers
> stalk their victims before murdering them. Padgett's behavior-- observing
> Scully so closely that he knew the dates of her parking stickers, moving into
> Mulder's building to be close to her-- is the behavior of a stalker, NOT
> merely a writer, an admirer, or even a behavioral psychologist. Scully
> pooh-poohs his actions as mere "audacity", but in fact, she would know that
> this behavior indicates that Padgett is potentially very dangerous and
> perhaps deadly.
Again, I agree that Scully SHOULD HAVE been more careful about her contact with
him, but the only time she ever actively sought him out was to tell him that she
was not interested in his advances. She probably figured (and rightly so) that
she could take care of herself and could easily whip his skinny butt. However,
she is lonely and not used to someone she could consider dating (as in a
non-office romance) being so "taken with" her. I cringed when she stayed for
coffee in his appartment and went into his bedroom, but I did not see it as being
out of character for her. She should have been smarter, but she wasn't. She is
human. I also think she set him free because she didn't honestly think he killed
anyone. Stalking an unrequited love is very different than killing strangers.
> Uh-- how? At no point is any explanation, paranormal or otherwise, advanced
> for Padgett's connection to the killings. Mulder mentions psychic surgery as
> the method of the murders, but no theory is advanced to account for the fact
> that Padgett writes out events that subsequently occur in the episode. And if
> he IS writing things that come true, then what's the deal with his love scene
> with Scully-- which never happens?
I think you missed the point of this part of the story. Padgett, like Mulder,
observes and predicts behavior. Padgett predicted that Scully would be so
intrigued by him that she would have to see him again-- because she was aroused.
Scully was intrigued and curious, so she went to him. Padgett then imagined a
steamy love scene between him and Scully, but had not observed the behavior that
would make him think otherwise which he later acknowledges as his mistake. So if
it could not end with Scully and him together, he felt the only suitable ending
would be for her to die. The paranormal aspect of this episode was that Padgett's
characterization of The Stranger was so good and precise that the creation came to
life to do the evil deeds in the book. Unlikely--yes, but it was what made this
X-Files.
> A law enforcement officer would be reprimanded &
> perhaps censured for this kind of sloppy physical assault on a bystander
> (chased down because his _clothes_ match a description given by a _suspect_).
>
Police often chase down suspects with matching clothing in several cases. I agree
that this is weak, though and one of the problems I had with this episode. Was
the kid supposed to be the killer or did that Brazilian doctor dump the body in
the truck. I would have to say the latter, and the kid in the jacket didn't
realize it.
> Nevertheless, the doctor is apparently
> a material entity, since he is able to attack Scully and cause Karo syrup to
> spurt from her torso, although she doesn't actually seem to be harmed.
I actually think that she was harmed. She was gouged at, but not to a fatal
extent.
> And how about that attack? Mulder sees Padgett going off-camera and pursues
> him. Scully stays behind because she... took off her shoes, while being one
> of the only two agents monitoring the activity of a potential murderer. So
> she has to put her shoes back on while Mulder, sans backup, chases the
> possible serial killer. Huh. That gives the doctor his chance to try his
> heart-removal hat trick on her, still sans a motive, but apparently okay with
> that, after his tete-a-tete with his creator.
Yes, this is a plot device to separate the agents so Mulder could confront Padgett
and Scully could get attacked. All shows have them and I didn't mind this at all.
> . From now on, when
> I see that an episode is "Written by Chris Carter", I'm not tuning in. The
> guy can _create_ a damn fine show. Make no mistake, I was once an
> enthusiastic fan of The X-Files. But considering his excrutiatingly poor
> teleplays for "Syzygy", the first two episodes of Millenium, and "Milagro",
> I'm better off avoiding the scripts that come directly from Chris Carter's
> pen.
Fine, you do that, but I think that you would be missing out on great television.
LS
Steven Weller
It might also have been that he could hear wht was going on through the
convenient vent. He knew Scully was on her way over, he was going
through the newspapers looking for information, or maybe had already
found it and was just waiting for her to show up, and he heard the
unusual sounds of conversation from next door - unusual be because
the writer never had guests and lived inside his head. So hearing
voices would catch his attention, he'd listen more closely, and when
he heard Scully chatting with the killer (and sounding more than a litte
nervous about it) he burst in, fearing the worst.
--
Life Continues, Despite
Evidence to the Contrary,
Steven
Paul Wartenberg
: A lot of posts are wondering why Mulder rushed in Padgett's apartment for no
: good reason. I think it was b/c at that moment, in his own apt, Mulder
: found the clues in the newpaper ads, saw that the killer was finding couples
: through the personals and that was how the victims were chosen, and wanted
: to nail Padgett immediately.
Actually, he rushed in to keep Scully from spilling that coffee
on Padgett's Persian rug...
--
Paul Wartenberg ----------------------- | --Chat channels-----
z004...@bc.seflin.org ---------------- | --Undernet, #seflin-
-----or vill...@gate.net ------------- | --Chatnet, #obsse---
http://members.icanect.net/~village6 | --you will know me--
-----X-Files 'Shipper Archives--------- | --As roguelib-------
Deborah A Tinsley
Steven Weller <az...@lafn.org> wrote in article
<1999Apr20.1...@lafn.org>...
the way he tore through the manuscript, throwing it on the floor like
trash. That's no way to handle evidence. He didn't seem his cool collected
self.
Plus, by the time he broke in, the fact that this guy had approached
Scully had been working on him. I loved that little sizing up session in
the elevator. Padgett knew that Mulder knew and Mulder probably suspected
that Padgett knew he knew. (don't you just love convoluted sentences like
that!).
Deborah
P.S. Love the header: Mulder bursted
Hattie54
>entertainment explores something really dark and "spooky" and all you
>can do is complain. Just fucking unplug your sets.
>
>you don't like that, the Mytharc isn't making it for you, blah blah
>blah. Hey, folks, there are other shows for you, they're called
>"Melrose Place" and "90210." I'm sure they'd make you feel a lot
>better.
>
! <G>
Harriet
Deborah A Tinsley
<7fikts$a5f$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
> I have to wonder if a lot of people liked this episode only because it
> attempted to move a step in the forward directions with the Mulder-Scully
> relationship. If so, it's kind of sad; I want to see M&S together as much
as
> the next person, but this ep was just BAD, MSR not withstanding.
Are you joking? Haven't you read any of the long thoughtful posts about
this piece? Okay, you don't like it but does that mean anyone who does like
it is, as you say, 'sad'?
> > I laughed out loud, thinking that maybe Carter was
> > parodying the worst excesses of X-Files fan fiction.
>
> YES!!! I actually SAID to my husband as we were watching, "It looks like
CC's
> been reading too much fan fiction." And bad fanfic, at that. Some of
that
> dialogue was too much! Come on!
The point was that Padgett was a bad writer, not just because of his prose
but because he violated the integrity of his characters. That's why it all
went sour for him.
> > At no point was I fooled into thinking that Scully
> > would find him worth a second look for any reason other than suspicion.
>
> Another "YES!" Why the heck would Scully even be remotely interested in
him,
> regardless of being "flattered?" Jeez! He wasn't good looking (that
facial
> hair MUST go), he was creepy, and he was STALKING her, as you said. This
was
> a major thorn in my side with this ep and Scully's behavior.
So you think Scully would only find good looking men interesting? How
shallow do you think she is? She was intrigued and why of it depends on
which side of the he controlled her/he imagined her debate you are on. Did
he draw her into his apartment by writing it or did her natural curiosity
bring her to his door? She certainly wasn't afraid of him. I don't think he
was that creepy, but Scully wouldn't let that stop her.
> > But the mediocrity doesn't end there. What the hell is up with Mulder
> > drawing his gun and charging into Padgett's apartment _for_no_reason_
other
> > than suspecting that Scully is there, and pointing his gun around(!),
> > violating the writer's civil rights like there's no tomorrow?
>
> Let me point out with this observation--Mulder never really thinks about
> things. I have to say, this I don't think is totally out of character
for
> him. It was a bit extreme, sure, but Mulder's always a bit extreme,
IMO.
Mulder goes into Padgett's apartment because 1) earlier on he told Scully
he thought the Milagro was from the killer and 2) he makes the connection
between the murders and the singles ads in the D.C. Muse. He goes in on a
hunch and when he sees the murders described in Padgett's book he makes his
collar. Oh, and he was jealous <g>.
snip
Deborah
Zawilski
In fact, there's a contest run by some group (forget exactly who) every year
for the worst prose written that year. I think this guy would be a
shoo-in.
I was getting mighty sick of the long, corny voiceovers. The end of the
episode wasn't too bad, but it was rather cliche, I thought. Was I the only
one yelling, "Let him burn the damn thing, Mulder, before it's too late!!!
I.Z.
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message
<7fhkpn$9ir$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
> I'm stunned by all the positivity about last night's X-Files episode,
>"Milagro". In my opinion, this was, by far, the worst X-Files episode ever.
>It's possibly the worst thing I have ever seen on TV.
>
>
> First, the character of the writer. His voiceovers are incredibly wordy
and
>pretentious. When he uttered the line that Scully "tucked a Titian strand
of
>hair behind her ear", I laughed out loud, thinking that maybe Carter was
>parodying the worst excesses of X-Files fan fiction. But no, we were
>apparently supposed to take the writer seriously, despite the ludicrous
>self-importance of his prose and his exchange in the jail cell with Mulder
>("Jungians would say the characters that choose the author"? Give me a
break.
>No one outside of a high school litmag talks like this about their own
>writing.)
>
>--
Akakan
Comsig2 <com...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19990420123124...@ng38.aol.com>...
>Some people just hate anything having to do with -ick-
> emotions and all of that lovey-dovey stuff.
Some people just hate anything to do with -ick- logic, meaning, continuity,
depth, eerie atmospherics, suspense, fear, intelligence and all of that
brainy stuff. <giggle smurf, tee hee>
Akakan
D.G. Porter
> Why don't you:
> a) Stop watching the show?
> b) Stop watching TV altogether?
> c) Get over it?
> d) Intercourse yourself?
> e) all of the above.
Why don't you
1) stop reading the newsgroup
2) stop polluting hyperspace with your <snort> "opinions"
3) stop breathing
> I am realy getting sick and tired of the whiners.
What a coincidence. I am really getting sick and tired of the fascists.
> Meanwhile, I'm going to have another cup of coffee and REALLY get myself
> pissed off.
Pour it on your crotch.
lynx mulderite
>
> Steven Weller <az...@lafn.org> wrote in article
> <1999Apr20.1...@lafn.org>...
> >
> > It might also have been that he could hear wht was going on through the
> > convenient vent. He knew Scully was on her way over, he was going
> > through the newspapers looking for information, or maybe had already
> > found it and was just waiting for her to show up, and he heard the
> > unusual sounds of conversation from next door - unusual be because
> > the writer never had guests and lived inside his head. So hearing
> > voices would catch his attention, he'd listen more closely, and when
> > he heard Scully chatting with the killer (and sounding more than a litte
> > nervous about it) he burst in, fearing the worst.
> > --
> > Life Continues, Despite
> > Evidence to the Contrary,
> >
> > Steven
Hmmm. Didn't Mulder seem surprised to find Scully in there? I don't
think he'd heard her. He'd just come to the conclusion that PP was the
killer - so he came in to arrest him.
> I was a little suspicious myself about him bursting in with gun drawn and
> the way he tore through the manuscript, throwing it on the floor like
> trash. That's no way to handle evidence. He didn't seem his cool collected
> self.
>
> Plus, by the time he broke in, the fact that this guy had approached
> Scully had been working on him. I loved that little sizing up session in
> the elevator. Padgett knew that Mulder knew and Mulder probably suspected
> that Padgett knew he knew. (don't you just love convoluted sentences like
> that!).
>
> Deborah
>
> P.S. Love the header: Mulder bursted
--
lynx
mulderite HPotMMs FEB
"But you *believed* me..."
Goo Bee Goo Bee Do
c.morgan
>
> From now on, when
> I see that an episode is "Written by Chris Carter", I'm not tuning in. The
> guy can _create_ a damn fine show. Make no mistake, I was once an
> enthusiastic fan of The X-Files. But considering his excrutiatingly poor
> teleplays for "Syzygy", the first two episodes of Millenium, and "Milagro",
> I'm better off avoiding the scripts that come directly from Chris Carter's
> pen.
>
The man wrote Post Modern Prometheus and Anasazi (with an assist from
DD). Doesn't that make up for any other failings? ;)
By the way, if you thing Milagro was the worst ever, just be sure to
tune in to FX tonight at 11...
Connie
(who LIKED Syzygy, damn it!)
Sally Kamholtz
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>
> Let's break down a block of his writing. "She was a marshall of cold facts,
> quick to organize, connect, shuffle, reorder and synthesize their relative
> hard values into discrete categories." Passive voice is always an English
> teacher no- no. Show, don't tell. And what's with the infinitive overload?
> Writing is not merely the art of piling words on top of one another, but of
> choosing the RIGHT words and using them sparingly. "Organize, connect,
> shuffle, reorder and synthesize" is too many words to accomplish too little
> meaning, by anyone's standards; merely "organize" would convey exactly the
> same message.
I hate to unmask myself as an English teacher, but, sweetie, that isn't the
passive voice. And "organize," "shuffle," "reorder," "and "synthesize" are not
synonymous. That is to say, they don't mean exactly the same thing.
> "But she was beautiful, fatally. Stunningly prepossessing." 'Prepossessing'
> is just a roundabout word for 'attractive', so she's not only beautiful,
> fatally, she's stunningly attractive, which is not only redundant, fatally,
> but a stunningly ostentatious word choice.
Prepossessing does not mean attractive.
You need to sharpen your criticical instrument. I don't care if you liked it or
not, but if you are going to criticize the writing, you need to master your own.
> The fact that Padgett refers to a character in his novel only as "The
> Stranger" (all caps, yet!) is another hefty clue that the man is a terrible
> writer.
I shudder to think what "hefty due" might mean.
Sally K
XFW #1111 and ggg manqué
Sean Carroll
>
> > I am realy getting sick and tired of the whiners.
>
> What a coincidence. I am really getting sick and tired of the fascists.
And I am really getting sick and tired of the arguments and lack of
intelligent discussion.
--
--Sean
http://freecenter.digiweb.com/science_fiction/Pendrell_Jr/index.html
"Nothing happens in contradiction to nature. Only in contradiction to
what we know of it." --Dana Scully
-----------== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News ==----------
http://www.newsfeeds.com/ The Largest Usenet Servers in the World!
---------== Over 72,000 Groups, Plus Dedicated Binaries Servers ==--------
Sean Carroll
>
> Even if I am the ONLY NoRomo who like Milagro,
You're not.
fiendis...@my-dejanews.com
for me. Still, you have to admit it was at least bad in an unusual way... And
thus, for me, better than the average MOTW snore-a-thon.
Miles
--
DON'T FORGET THE NIGHT IN 308
mopsee
Guys, guys! Sit down. Have some tea. Will cammomile do? ;P
First of all, let me say that I do not at all agree with I_am_summer that
Milagro was a bad ep. I thought it was wonderful, beyond words even. It
touched my heart. (Ouch! Sounds painful, doesn't it?)
Second, I, too, am very annoyed and sometimes offended by people who come on
this newsgroup to talk about how 1) TXF sucks in general, or even by 2) the
people who claim they have not liked a single Season Six ep. There comes a
point where you have to say to these people(as you guys did) "Turn the
channel! I hear NYPD Blue shows naked butts!"
However, and with all due respect, the original poster in this thread did not
strike me as one of these two types of people. She said, first of all, that
she believes Milagro to be the worst X-Files episode ever (perhaps even the
worst thing she ever saw on TV). Hyperbole? Probably. But note that her
statement implied that she's seen better, it's just that she's bitterly
disappointed with this one. Strike her from Category 1 of posters I despise
(those who claim TXF sucks in general).
As for turning the channel, she plainly stated:
"From now on, when I see that an episode is "Written by Chris Carter", I'm not
tuning in."
Fine. Her choice. Her loss probably, too, but again, her choice. I am
guessing that she enjoys shows written by the other writers, then, which means
she probably enjoyed at least a few of the shows from Season Six. Strike her
from Category 2 (people who whine they haven't liked a single ep this season.
Turn the Channel!!!!!! Find another NG!!!!!)
To sum, I guess what I'm saying is that with the little I know about her, she
doesn't seem that bad. She's a fan with a negative opinion of Milagro,
that's all. She stated her opinions in an at least semi-intelligent manner
(semi because she did seem a bit prone to histrionics), and I kept reading it
because I found the depth and passion of her disappointment amusing, frankly.
Give her a break until she proves she's not worthy of it.
Can't We All Just Get Along????? <sob>
So how's the tea? Feeling better? ;P
Keep in mind that I meant no disrespect whatsoever. Just doing my little bit
to create Peace on Earth, and all that la-dee-da....
Mopsee~~
(who's *probably* too trusting)
--
^_^Omega ATXF Female (and proud of it!)^_^
Jen
qffi...@aol.com (QFFI Mag1) opined pensively:
>Hey, I wasn't really happy with "Milagro," and suspect that the positive
>responses were all from shippers.
Wrong. I loved Milagro. I'm also a NoRomo. I leaned on the fence
for a while, but I've decided I'm quite happy enjoying life on the no
romance for Mulder and Scully side of the yard.
Even if I am the ONLY NoRomo who like Milagro, your suspicion is
proven incorrect.
Jen
--
XFW1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happiness is not a potato...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boondoggler
> By the way, if you thing Milagro was the worst ever, just be sure to
> tune in to FX tonight at 11...
>
> Connie
> (who LIKED Syzygy, damn it!)
You wouldn't know Syzygy from Schizogeny.
--
Boondoggler
XFW #1114
Perry Moss
ran over and broke in on Scully and Padget? I thought perhaps something in
that had prompted the Mulder to rush in.
PJ
Steven Weller wrote in message <1999Apr20.1...@lafn.org>...
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com
"c.morgan" <ma...@herald.infi.net> wrote:
> i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> >
> > From now on, when
> > I see that an episode is "Written by Chris Carter", I'm not tuning in.
> The man wrote Post Modern Prometheus and Anasazi (with an assist from
> DD). Doesn't that make up for any other failings? ;)
I didn't care for PMP either (gasp), I thought it was too 'cute' to really
be enjoyable. However, yeah, it amazes me that the same man who created this
great premise, these wonderful characters, and thrilling episodes like the
pilot, "Deep Throat", "Fire", "The Erlenmeyer Flask", "Irresistable",
"Anasazi", and so on and so on-- this same man has written some of the worst,
most ponderous crap I've seen on television in eps like "Syzygy", the first
two Milleniums, and "Milagro". I also think he's the one who penned Scully's
awful diary entries in "Memento Mori". I know lots of people loved that, but
to me, her diaries were just as wordy and pompous as Padgett's voiceovers in
Milagro.
A lot of people call that kind of writing 'philosophical' (which may be a
good description, since Hegel wasn't exactly a master of economical prose
either). But 'philosophical' in this sense is used to mean 'lots of big words
and abstractions'. You (general all-purpose you, no one specifically) may call
this 'philosophical'; I call it poor writing.
I don't understand why Carter's work went from sublime to ridiculous (in my
eyes), but I've had enough and from now on I will avoid his scripts (his solo
scripts; I'm not cutting myself out of the mythology yet) and I'll just try to
enjoy his creations when they are in the hands of other writers.
> By the way, if you thing Milagro was the worst ever, just be sure to
> tune in to FX tonight at 11...
Well, I've seen them all, and some were the _height_ of what can be
accomplished on the small screen, and some weren't really that great, but I
didn't mind because I like watching Mulder and Scully do their thing, even if
they're trapped in a lame MOTW plot. But wow, I really really really wanted to
erase Milagro from my brain. Criticizing it made me feel better about the
situation, so thanks for hearing me out.
--
Summer
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com
kamh...@fuse.net wrote:
> i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> > "But she was beautiful, fatally. Stunningly prepossessing."
'Prepossessing'
> > is just a roundabout word for 'attractive', so she's not only beautiful,
> > fatally, she's stunningly attractive, which is not only redundant, fatally,
> > but a stunningly ostentatious word choice.
>
> Prepossessing does not mean attractive.
You got me on "she was", it's not passive voice, but "was" is a dead little
verb nonetheless.
As for 'prepossessing', check your dictionary. I did. New Webster's.
Prepossessing means 'making a good first impression; attractive'.
DeaconBlues
dissapointed, I'm glad to see I wasn't the only one who hated
"Milagro."
I just posted a follow up to my Sunday night post in which I
expressed my dislike of the episode. It seems that everyone who liked
"Milagro" thinks that everyone who didn't like it hates relationship
episodes and MOTW's. Mulder and Scully's relationship is my favorite
part of the show. I'm a shipper. And my top ten list is filled with
MOTW's. My favorite episodes are mostly the ones "with - ick -
emotions." "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is my all time favorite.
How much of the conspiracy was in that one?
What the "Milagro" lover's don't understand is that the reason
most of us didn't like it was because it was poorly done. You
expressed that very well, thank you. As for me, bring on the
emontional stuff - just do it right.
I will go against your wishes and try to sway you on one
point: I hope you will watch the ones penned by Chris Carter. I
still think he's a talented writer. He just had an off night.
Kevin
-------------------------------------------
| My inner child is a juvenile delinquent |
-------------------------------------------
Remove the NO from my address for replies
i_am_...@my-dejanews.com
mopsee <elia...@my-dejanews.com> wrote:
For the record, my review of "Milagro" was my first post on a.t.x. in well
over three years.
However, I have been an enthusiastic fan and supporter of The X-Files since
late 1994. I reviewed and promoted XF fanfic on a.t.x.c.; I wrote fanfic
myself. (Much of it was very bad, though I hope not quite Padgett-level.) I
held parties at my college which drew 20-30 people at a time together to
watch The X-Files. I promoted the show in my college newspaper. I wrote both
positive and negative reviews of various episodes from the third season which
appeared in this forum. I ran two different X-Files mailing lists.
So, I'm not critizing "Milagro" here just to rain on the a.t.x. parade. And
as for whining about the sixth season-- that wasn't me, I haven't been posting
here about season six at all. (For the record, I have enjoyed several of this
season's episodes.) I think XF has provided some of TV's best hours. But I
found "Milagro" profoundly disappointing, and I offered my point of view
_specifically_ as balm for fellow X-Philes who also disliked the episode.
I want to thank you, Mopsee. You didn't agree with my point of view, but
you actually read what I wrote and were kind enough to defend my right to
voice my opinion in this public forum. (Though frankly folks, my right to
voice my opinion should not have to be defended.) Mopsee, I really appreciate
that you spoke up in favor of my review even though you disagreed with it
completely. It reminds me that Usenet forums and the XF fan community can be
rewarding, after all.
Andy Guess
matter how much MSR content there was.
-Andy
mopsee <elia...@my-dejanews.com> wrote in message
news:7fjd72$vi0$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com...
> "From now on, when I see that an episode is "Written by Chris Carter", I'm
not
> tuning in."
>
philboyd
"Akakan" <NOSPAM...@ziplink.net> wrote:
<snippity-do-da>
> > Meanwhile, I'm going to have another cup of coffee and REALLY get myself
> > pissed off.
>
> Pour it on your crotch.
Now his crotch is gonna be up all night!
--
"To look into my face is to look into the face...of EVIL! Yes, I am a
man possessed by many demons. Polite demons that would open the door
for a lady carrying too many parcels, but demons nonetheless!" -- KITH
storml...@hotmail.com
"Perry Moss" <pmo...@home.com> wrote:
> Wasn't Mulder reading through a newspaper or something of Padget's before he
> ran over and broke in on Scully and Padget? I thought perhaps something in
> that had prompted the Mulder to rush in.
>
> PJ
I think that's partially correct, but watch that scene again. After looking
at Padgett's phone bill, Mulder mutters "Mr. Popularity", and gazes at the
vent. Then he lies back on the couch for a moment before perusing the
newspapers. I think the director was trying to tell us something. Plus, the
clues in the newspaper weren't sufficient to cause him to break into an
apartment in a panic and wave his gun around. A knock and an interrogation
would have been more appropriate. To me, the only thing that could have
caused his panic was the fact that Scully was in there with a murder suspect,
and worse, getting cozy with a murder suspect. Jealousy and concern are the
more reasonable motives for his actions. IMO.
Hester
pagan chick
c.morgan
>
> c.morgan <ma...@herald.infi.net> wrote:
>
> > By the way, if you thing Milagro was the worst ever, just be sure to
> > tune in to FX tonight at 11...
> >
> > (who LIKED Syzygy, damn it!)
>
> You wouldn't know Syzygy from Schizogeny.
>
> --
Damn, I KNEW I should've copyrighted that phrase! Say, can we get that
on a T-shirt?
Connie
c.morgan
>
> In article <371D25...@herald.infi.net>,
>
> I didn't care for PMP either (gasp), I thought it was too 'cute' to really
> be enjoyable. However, yeah, it amazes me that the same man who created this
> great premise, these wonderful characters, and thrilling episodes like the
> pilot, "Deep Throat", "Fire", "The Erlenmeyer Flask", "Irresistable",
> "Anasazi", and so on and so on-- this same man has written some of the worst,
> most ponderous crap I've seen on television in eps like "Syzygy", the first
> two Milleniums, and "Milagro". I also think he's the one who penned Scully's
> awful diary entries in "Memento Mori". I know lots of people loved that, but
> to me, her diaries were just as wordy and pompous as Padgett's voiceovers in
> Milagro.
>
>
> eyes), but I've had enough and from now on I will avoid his scripts (his solo
> scripts; I'm not cutting myself out of the mythology yet) and I'll just try to
> enjoy his creations when they are in the hands of other writers.
It's funny, I think the overwritten, somewhat highhanded voiceovers
appeal to me, and not necessarily because they're good. I love the "I
feel time like a heartbeat" thing from Memento Mori, and I don't think
it's because it's brilliant writing. It's X Files writing. It's like all
those speeches in the first seasons, with Mulder yelling things nobody
would really say ("No one has jurisdiction over the truth!"). Or the
voiceover at the beginning of Little Green Men. I LOVE 'em. In PMP when
Mulder starts going on about Victor Frankenstein prefiguring the post
modern prometheus, I think it's great, because the writing style is
peculiarly XF. So in a way I agree with you - yeah, some of 'em ARE
pompous. But I think in a sense they always have been that way, and even
when the pomposity level skyrockets I just roll my eyes and go with it.
> > By the way, if you thing Milagro was the worst ever, just be sure to
> > tune in to FX tonight at 11...
>
> Well, I've seen them all, and some were the _height_ of what can be
> accomplished on the small screen, and some weren't really that great, but I
> didn't mind because I like watching Mulder and Scully do their thing, even if
> they're trapped in a lame MOTW plot. But wow, I really really really wanted to
> erase Milagro from my brain. Criticizing it made me feel better about the
> situation, so thanks for hearing me out.
Hey, I enjoy reading opinions other than my own. I remember reading the
ng after Ghosts and being horrified by how many people liked an episode
I found stupid and boring and out of context (might've made sense 3
years ago, but not now.) I wanted to sit down and pound out a lengthy
diatribe about how dreadful it was, and I didn't. I probably should
have but I hated it so much I couldn't be rational. Your statements,
though I don't agree with 'em, were certainly well thought out.
Connie
MFLuder848
clues in the newspaper weren't sufficient to cause him to break into an
apartment in a panic and wave his gun around. A knock and an interrogation
would have been more appropriate.>>
For a normal investigator, they weren't. But they were for Mulder. I think he
was a bit jealous, a bit on the defensive, and was VERY suspicous of Padgett.
So, he took basically almost anything he could find and acted on impulse.
>>To me, the only thing that could have
caused his panic was the fact that Scully was in there with a murder suspect,
and worse, getting cozy with a murder suspect. Jealousy and concern are the
more reasonable motives for his actions. IMO.>>
Lest he had been listening in on them, he wouldn't have even known her to be in
the apartment with Padgett.
GregSerl
>From: i_am_...@my-dejanews.com
> I'm stunned by all the positivity about last night's X-Files episode,
>"Milagro". In my opinion, this was, by far, the worst X-Files episode ever.
I've reached the point where I can't honestly guess what episodes will be
generally loved or hated anymore. Right after seeing this episode I was tempted
to post something similar to your post. I found the episode to be equal parts
mind-numbing, boring and the characterization so bad, I kept expecting a reason
to be given. A "cheat" like Syzygy: the planets were in alignment and that
meant it was *designed* to suck.
This does get my vote as the worst episode of the entire series. The killer
kitty episode, like a few other weak or poorly executed MOTW entries, was just
embarrassing. Milagro, on the other hand, was insulting. It does answer the
age-old question about how to "arouse" Scully. Just make it plain that you're a
stalker and she'll stand there passively listening to a line of spew that would
have a sane woman calling the police looking into restraining orders.
> First, the character of the writer. His voice-overs are incredibly wordy and
>pretentious.
I've always felt that if Chris Carter got powerful and "untouchable" enough,
he'd do an entire episode in verbose, pretentious, convoluted voice-over
exposition. This episode gave me my answer.
>When he uttered the line that Scully "tucked a Titian strand of
>hair behind her ear", I laughed out loud, thinking that maybe Carter was
>parodying the worst excesses of X-Files fan fiction.
Whether Carter's voice-over dialog is mouthed by Gillian Anderson, David
Duchovny or a guest star, it not only doesn't sound like stuff real people
would think, it doesn't sound like stuff Mulder or Scully would think. At least
not as worded. Is Carter the one who had Mulder "thinking" the word
"hurly-burly"? What's next, higgledy-piggledy?
>But no, we were
>apparently supposed to take the writer seriously, despite the ludicrous
>self-importance of his prose and his exchange in the jail cell with Mulder
>("Jungians would say the characters that choose the author"? Give me a break.
So far I've seen two factions on this (both are factions that love the episode)
One insisting the writer was *supposed* to be a hack, and the other claiming
"his words touched me" and therefore, unless "touched by a hack" (a new CBS
show no doubt) they felt he was supposed to be a great writer, or more
specifically, his "novel" about Scully and "the stranger" was finally a great
work amongst his failures.
>And what's with the infinitive overload?
I've seen Carter's "laundry list" approach to infinite infinitives often. I've
seen it in fanfic too, but I can't honestly tell you which came first.
> "To be thought of as simply a beautiful woman was bridling, unthinkable." To
>be thought of was unthinkable?
Okay, you made me laugh out loud with that one <g> It might be the discarded
verse from The Impossible Dream--"to not think the unthinkable bridling
thought"
>" Yet the compensatory respect she commanded only deepened the
>yearnings of her heart? COMPENSATORY FOR WHAT? COMMANDED HOW?
Well, that's a toughie. She obviously commands little respect, compensatory or
otherwise if she still doesn't rate a desk! <g>
>Any writer who
>refers to the "yearnings" of his character's "heart" is just begging for a
>critical comeuppance, the likes of which I can only begin to deliver.
Which brings up something that I wondered. Since this "yearning heart" hack
hadn't sold anything, where did his money for rent, furniture from Spartans R
Us and the ability to pay utility bills or even buy reams of paper to deface
come from?
>The fact that Padgett refers to a character in his novel only as "The
>Stranger" (all caps, yet!) is another hefty clue that the man is a terrible
>writer
Or it indicates his novel is being written by a screenwriter where the
character names are usually written in all caps MULDER (CONT'D) <g> The hack
was clearly Chris Carter.
>Are we, in fact, supposed to regard Padgett as a hack with no talent
>and large delusions of grandeur? If the episode is supposed to give us that
>impression, then why are we subjected to long tracts from Padgett's godawful
>manuscript?
The writer is a hack, but what is unclear is whether we were to perceive him as
such. The imbecilic conversation in the cell indicated that even when he
wasn't writing, he literally *spoke* like a hack. However, since neither
Mulder or Scully, who *both* read pages of his prose, made *no* comment about
how laughingly bad his writing was, makes me think we were supposed to believe
the writer wasn't a hack.
>I fear that Carter wrote it all with a straight face-- a harrowing
>thought. Much scarier than any of the ideas or images presented in the
>episode
>itself.
I'm afraid you're right. Carter likely did write this with a straight face. The
problem is, he's the "big boss" regardless of who the show-runner is, and that
means, even tactfully, no one tells him when he's become excessive.
>Not only is the writing of this character bad, but the actor playing him
>does nothing to pull off any of his preposterous dialogue. He merely mouths
>it, as though he has no idea what twaddle is passing his lips
He probably had no idea what he was saying <g> Maybe he was an actor who
needed "what's my motivation" and the director probably couldn't help him out
there other than "you do your own take on it" (because I have no idea what
you're supposed to feel with this drivel)
>Neither does Scully or anyone else in the episode point out that the writer
>is, in fact, stalking Scully.
Yes, that floored me. The man was a stalker and told Scully all about it, yet
she stood there like a wooden doll and sopped it all up.
>As a law enforcement officer all too familiar
>with aberrant behavior, Scully would be a LOT more cautious in dealing with
>the Padgett than she is shown behaving.
That's what my family kept yelling. "What's the matter with Scully? Can't she
see this guy is a nut job stalker?"
> Uh-- how? At no point is any explanation, paranormal or otherwise, advanced
>for Padgett's connection to the killings.
It's not only that, but because some of it came true and some did not, then
most anything he wrote or presumed could be thrown into doubt.
>"Even as The Stranger felt compelled
>to commit his final words to paper, he did it knowing it must never be read."
>Knowing as he does by now that the events of his novel are inexplicably
>happening in real life, WHY does Padgett FINISH the novel with Scully's death
>AND THEN destroy his manuscript?
I got the feeling the writer was Chris Carter, and the metaphoric ending was,
"Mulder and Scully will get together romantically over my dead body" <g>
>I'm better off avoiding the scripts that come directly from Chris Carter's
>pen.
I got a scary feeling at one point that Carter made a bet that he could write
the most unremittingly bad episode, with the most deadpan, singularly pathetic
"villain" and a laughably bad "monster plot" and yet have the episode lauded
and loved by applying a tiny fistful of shipper chow. Ambiguous shipper chow at
that. "Scully's already in love" With who? Or, considering this is the X-Files,
with what?
Hackboy seemed to leap to this conclusion because Scully put a restraining hand
on Mulder, because Mulder was going to..what exactly? Punch Hackboy? Yell at
him in more convoluted prose? Hackboy apparently had a much more pathetic love
life than Scully if he translated "restraining hand movement" into "Scully's
already in love"!! <g>
Next week at least looks good
SkaBuddy
1. Newspaper clues
2. Jealousey
3. Possably heard noises
4. Drugs still in his system? (remember how he freaked on Skinner, maybe the
stuff was still affecting him causing him to over-react and barge in like he
did)....
just my thoughts.
SkaBuddy
Paul Wartenberg <z004...@bc.seflin.org> wrote in message
news:7fih5u$n...@nntp.seflin.org...
> L Truong (tho...@synrevoice.com) wrote:
> : A lot of posts are wondering why Mulder rushed in Padgett's apartment
for no
> : good reason. I think it was b/c at that moment, in his own apt, Mulder
> : found the clues in the newpaper ads, saw that the killer was finding
couples
> : through the personals and that was how the victims were chosen, and
wanted
> : to nail Padgett immediately.
>
> Actually, he rushed in to keep Scully from spilling that coffee
> on Padgett's Persian rug...
>
>
> --
> Paul Wartenberg ----------------------- | --Chat channels-----
> z004...@bc.seflin.org ---------------- | --Undernet, #seflin-
> -----or vill...@gate.net ------------- | --Chatnet, #obsse---
> http://members.icanect.net/~village6 | --you will know me--
> -----X-Files 'Shipper Archives--------- | --As roguelib-------
emy...@my-dejanews.com
things without taking offense:)
I didn't like Milagro, I love the show for the Mulder /Scully/
Lone gunmen (wish they were on MORE)/ Skinner /CSM /Scully's Mom /
Mulder's Mom/ Mulder's Dad (is he dead or NOT?)/ Mulder's sister
(and or clones thereof)/relationships, the characters, and interesting
plots too....but it's the characters that truly make it interesting
for me. I was disappointed with Milagro probably more so because I
was looking forward to it so much, and expect more from the xfiles than
from most shows. The relationship between M&S seemed icky in this
one, I'd kinda like them to be closer, but not necessarily all out
fall in love.....but they didn't seem like themselves, which I didn't
like. The usual caring and respect seemed missing, maybe because the
writer's didn't treat them with much respect either.
So, I didn't like this one, I hope ones in future are better.
I liked some this season, maybe some that other people hated.
Loved the one where Mulder and Scully (even though it was in the
past and not REALLY Scully) actually kissed, thought it was one of
the best because of the way it was shot and the intensity of the
characters. Somebody else might think it was a big waste of time.
That's okay, it's only because we have, mostly, come to care about
the show or characters, or gotten interested for one reason or another
that anyone even is writting here, or bothers to say what they felt
about any of it.
That's my opinion today anyway (happen to feel peaceful at the moment :)
From Emy
Debbie Faison
wrote:
>
>
>i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>
>>
>> Let's break down a block of his writing. "She was a marshall of cold facts,
>> quick to organize, connect, shuffle, reorder and synthesize their relative
>> hard values into discrete categories." Passive voice is always an English
>> teacher no- no. Show, don't tell. And what's with the infinitive overload?
>> Writing is not merely the art of piling words on top of one another, but of
>> choosing the RIGHT words and using them sparingly. "Organize, connect,
>> shuffle, reorder and synthesize" is too many words to accomplish too little
>> meaning, by anyone's standards; merely "organize" would convey exactly the
>> same message.
>
>I hate to unmask myself as an English teacher, but, sweetie, that isn't the
>passive voice. And "organize," "shuffle," "reorder," "and "synthesize" are not
>synonymous. That is to say, they don't mean exactly the same thing.
>
>> "But she was beautiful, fatally. Stunningly prepossessing." 'Prepossessing'
>> is just a roundabout word for 'attractive', so she's not only beautiful,
>> fatally, she's stunningly attractive, which is not only redundant, fatally,
>> but a stunningly ostentatious word choice.
>
>Prepossessing does not mean attractive.
>
>You need to sharpen your criticical instrument. I don't care if you liked it or
>not, but if you are going to criticize the writing, you need to master your own.
>
>> The fact that Padgett refers to a character in his novel only as "The
>> Stranger" (all caps, yet!) is another hefty clue that the man is a terrible
>> writer.
>
Yeah, he's a terrible writer. He admitted that all his work
were failures. He was supposed to be a bad writer but the episode was
a good one, imo. :-)
Debbie
M: "...He put the whammy on him."
S: "Please explain to me the scientific nature of the whammy."
"Pusher" 2/23/96
ICQ UIN 4221893
Akakan
GregSerl <greg...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19990421154755...@ng-cc1.aol.com>...
> Whether Carter's voice-over dialog is mouthed by Gillian Anderson, David
> Duchovny or a guest star, it not only doesn't sound like stuff real
people
> would think, it doesn't sound like stuff Mulder or Scully would think.
See, I think this used to be charming, when it came out of Mulder's or
Scully's mouth. It was part of their characterization. They were verbose,
as you might well expect from an educated government employee. That, I
could forgive.
"Milagro's" voice-overs were ridiculous, perhaps in part because they were
delivered by someone without DD and GA's experience in force-fitting CC's
writing into the spoken word.
> So far I've seen two factions on this (both are factions that love the
episode)
> One insisting the writer was *supposed* to be a hack
This hilarious notion -- that this was Padgett's writing and not CC's --
demonstrates what sad, absurd lengths the show's apologists will go to.
> Which brings up something that I wondered. Since this "yearning heart"
hack
> hadn't sold anything, where did his money for rent, furniture from
Spartans R
> Us and the ability to pay utility bills or even buy reams of paper to
deface
> come from?
Volume.
Steven Weller
SkaBuddy wrote:
>>My thoughts on the reasons for the "bursting"...
1. Newspaper clues
2. Jealousey
3. Possably heard noises
4. Drugs still in his system? (remember how he freaked on Skinner, maybe the
stuff was still affecting him causing him to over-react and barge in like he
did)....
just my thoughts.<<
My thoughts on the same topic:
1. Newspaper clues were enough to walk over and make an arrest, but not to
bust down the door.
2. Jealous of what?
3. The most likely of all plausible explanations. We already know that you
can hear from one apartment to the next, via the vent. All Padget has done
so far is type - not even a TV in the place. So the voices that Padget can
hear so plainly from Mulder's apartment should carry just as well the other
way. For the first time, Mulder hears voices coming from the apartment of
the man he suspects of being the killer. He listens a little closer, and
hears Scullys voice. He responds.
4. Maybe not so much...
and
5. Bad writing. They wanted a 'Mulder kicks in the door' scene more than
they had reason for one, so they just put one in for the effect (knowing
that the fans would turn whatever handsprings necessary to justify it).
Akakan
Sally Kamholtz <kamh...@fuse.net> wrote in article
<371D37F0...@fuse.net>...
>
> i_am_...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> > Let's break down a block of his writing. "She was a marshall of cold
facts,
> > quick to organize, connect, shuffle, reorder and synthesize their
relative
> > hard values into discrete categories."
> that isn't the passive voice
You're right, and I personally don't mind the succession of verbs, either.
But what the hell does it mean, on any level? I can accept Scully as a
marshal of facts, quick to organize, shuffle and reorder. Synthesize?
Sounds more like Mulder; Scully *analyzes*.
But what on earth could the rest of the sentence possibly mean? What are
"relative hard values?" The opposite of "absolute soft values?"
And when you synthesize, you don't put things in discrete categories; you
do exactly the opposite -- you put things together.
It's gibberish, total gibberish, written just to sound smart.
And please, it's not Padgett's work, it's Carter's. The show is full of
these deformed soliloquies, and they're all Carter's.
> > "But she was beautiful, fatally. Stunningly prepossessing."
'Prepossessing'
> > is just a roundabout word for 'attractive', so she's not only
beautiful,
> > fatally, she's stunningly attractive, which is not only redundant,
fatally,
> > but a stunningly ostentatious word choice.
>
> Prepossessing does not mean attractive.
Well, Merriam-Websters disagrees:
Main Entry: pre搆os新ess搏ng
Function: adjective
Date: 1642
1 archaic : creating prejudice
2 : tending to create a favorable impression : ATTRACTIVE
However, again I find fault with this passage for other reasons.
In Padgett's writing, we understand we are hearing Scully's own thoughts,
or perhaps Padgett's thoughts grafted onto hers. Has Scully ever struck you
as a woman who thought a great deal about her looks? Do we really believe
Scully's deepest worry is that she is just too beautiful to be taken
seriously? Did she adopt a cold, medical demeanor to compensate for her
obscene gorgeousness? Please.
This isn't just an awkward writer. It's a writer that doesn't understand
his own character. And his name is Carter.
Lynn Levy
When Padgett's lamp first burns out, he says, "Imagine that." When the
replacement bulb burns out, he repeats himself: "Imagine that." I
kindof heard the second instance as being a suggestion to Scully.
I'm in the camp that he did influence her being in the apartment by
writing it (there *are* heartless bodies in the morgue, so that seems to
me to be pretty good evidence of some kind of power in him) but that he
really wanted to elicit some honest emotion from her once he got her
there, which is why the last words typed were "How will it end?"
So, my interpretation was that within his sphere of influence, he's
sharing his gift of bringing imagination to reality with Scully, because
he really wants to know what she's thinking and feeling.
And what she's thinking is "I shouldn't be here. I wish Mulder were here."
She conjures him, in a sense, which is what draws him into the
apartment. There's really not much else to bring him in, and given the
look of surprise on his face when he sees her there, I don't think he
heard her through the vent.
Just my .02. Thanks for listening,
Lynn
Steven Weller wrote:
>
> SkaBuddy wrote:
>
> >>My thoughts on the reasons for the "bursting"...
>
[ snip ]
> and
>
> 5. Bad writing. They wanted a 'Mulder kicks in the door' scene more than
> they had reason for one, so they just put one in for the effect (knowing
> that the fans would turn whatever handsprings necessary to justify it).
> --
> Life Continues, Despite
> Evidence to the Contrary,
>
> Steven
--
===============
Go outside. The graphics are incredible!
===============
storml...@hotmail.com
> And what she's thinking is "I shouldn't be here. I wish Mulder were here."
>
> She conjures him, in a sense, which is what draws him into the
> apartment. There's really not much else to bring him in, and given the
> look of surprise on his face when he sees her there, I don't think he
> heard her through the vent.
>
> Just my .02. Thanks for listening,
> Lynn
Good thoughts, Lynn. Interesting idea. But watch that scene again. When
Mulder bursts in and Scully says, "Mulder!" he answers, "Scully." Listen to
his tone of voice. He doesn't say "Scully?" as in "What are you doing here?"
but "Scully" as in "I thought you were in here."
Hester
pagan chick
storml...@hotmail.com
I'll state this again; prior to the scene where he bursts into Padgett's
apartment, the director makes a point of having Mulder look at the vent, the
same vent Padgett used to spy on Mulder and Scully. Maybe the director was a
little too subtle in this regard, but I don't think he would have included
such a shot if he weren't trying to tell us that Mulder was at least thinking
about using the vent the way Padgett did. I think the director assumed that
when Mulder broke in, WE would assume that he did so because he'd been
listening to the goings-on with Padgett and Scully through that same vent.
Just my .02.
Lynn Levy
) and you're right about the inflection. Right about the shot of the
vent from Mulder's apt. too. But you know what's so cool about this
episode is that both theories can actually work quite well together.
From the time Scully knocks on Padgett's door to the time Mulder bursts
in, there's definitely a fair amount of elapsed time. The sounds of
typing would have ceased long enough for Padgett to make coffee, long
enough for Mulder to go through a big stack of newspapers. Long enough
for Mulder to have formulated whatever suspicions sent him next door.
So why _that moment_? Check the look on Padgett's face. He really does
seem to be trying to read what Scully is thinking. Both of their facial
expressions work really well with the idea that she's thinking about
Mulder right then.
I'm not 100% convinced that Mulder's inflection indicates that he knew
she was there, or just that he's clamped down on giving away any
indication of how he feels about discovering her there.
Golly, this is fun. Can I come over and play with you guys more?
Lynn
storml...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> In article <371E7CFB...@home.com>,
> lyn...@home.com wrote:
> > I had kindof an idea that I haven't yet seen anyone else posit...
>
> > And what she's thinking is "I shouldn't be here. I wish Mulder were here."
> >
> > She conjures him, in a sense, which is what draws him into the
> > apartment. There's really not much else to bring him in, and given the
> > look of surprise on his face when he sees her there, I don't think he
> > heard her through the vent.
> >
> > Just my .02. Thanks for listening,
> > Lynn
>
> Good thoughts, Lynn. Interesting idea. But watch that scene again. When
> Mulder bursts in and Scully says, "Mulder!" he answers, "Scully." Listen to
> his tone of voice. He doesn't say "Scully?" as in "What are you doing here?"
> but "Scully" as in "I thought you were in here."
>
> Hester
> pagan chick
>
> -----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
--
Sally Kamholtz
Right before I read the preceding post, I had changed a truly frightening
diaper. So it was on my mind. And the letter spacing on my news reader is a
little tight. Oh, well-....I was just trying out my bitchy-wings.
I remain
pleased to have received your attention in this matter,
though suffering mightily from the pollen drifting from THE TREES,
Sally K
XFW #1111, ggg, another SOLAB
Tara Charnow wrote:
> On Tue, 20 Apr 1999 22:29:05 -0400, Sally Kamholtz <kamh...@fuse.net>
> wrote:
>
> >>I shudder to think what "hefty due" might mean.
>
> Um...I think it's time to get those eyes checked.
>
> --
> Tara-----Super!Bitch
> HFS FEB XFW#35
Debra Reynolds
VerlindaH wrote:
> Yeah, I thought Mulder was genuinely shocked to find Scully in Padgett's
> apartment--from what she had told him about Padgett staring at her in the
> elevator, I'm sure Mulder didn't expect to find her there.
I took him to be shocked to see her sitting on Padgett's bed, of all things. I
think he fully expected to find her in the apartment, though.
DebR
VerlindaH
>From: jenn...@ucr.campuscwix.net (Jen)
>
>On 20 Apr 1999 11:25:19 GMT, in alt.tv.x-files the esteemed
>qffi...@aol.com (QFFI Mag1) opined pensively:
>
>>Hey, I wasn't really happy with "Milagro," and suspect that the positive
>>responses were all from shippers.
>
>Wrong. I loved Milagro. I'm also a NoRomo. I leaned on the fence
>for a while, but I've decided I'm quite happy enjoying life on the no
>romance for Mulder and Scully side of the yard.
>
>Even if I am the ONLY NoRomo who like Milagro, your suspicion is
>proven incorrect.
>
>Jen
>--
>XFW1
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Happiness is not a potato...
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>No, Jen, esteemed fellow Xeminarian and XFW # 1--you're *not* the only noromo
who loved "Milagro"--I did too. So Magician's theory is disproved at least
twice.
VerlindaH
XFW # 925, WotF
Xeminar, Class of '99
MBC Agent
>
>
>
>
Jen
verl...@aol.com (VerlindaH) opined pensively:
>No, Jen, esteemed fellow Xeminarian and XFW # 1--you're *not* the only noromo
>who loved "Milagro"--I did too. So Magician's theory is disproved at least
>twice.
Verlinda, why did I think you were a 'Shipper? I guess you weren't in
the room with us (Kimba, Nancy, Pam, Dawn) when they all declared
themselves 'Shippers (during the episode of X2 that was on... the name
of which escapes me). Michelle and I were feeling quite outnumbered
then, and could have used your support. ;-)
VerlindaH
>From: lynx mulderite
> Steven Weller <az...@lafn.org> wrote in article
>> <1999Apr20.1...@lafn.org>...
>> >
>> > It might also have been that he could hear wht was going on through the
>> > convenient vent.
>He knew Scully was on her way over, he was going
>> > through the newspapers looking for information, or maybe had already
>> > found it and was just waiting for her to show up, and he heard the
>> > unusual sounds of conversation from next door - unusual be because
> the writer never had guests and lived inside his head. So hearing
>> > voices would catch his attention, he'd listen more closely, and when
> he heard Scully chatting with the killer (and sounding more than a litte
>> > nervous about it) he burst in, fearing the worst.
>> > --
>
>Hmmm. Didn't Mulder seem surprised to find Scully in there? I don't
>think he'd heard her. He'd just come to the conclusion that PP was the
>killer - so he came in to arrest him
Yeah, I thought Mulder was genuinely shocked to find Scully in Padgett's
apartment--from what she had told him about Padgett staring at her in the
elevator, I'm sure Mulder didn't expect to find her there.
VerlindaH
Chris 'Coz' Costello
>It's hard for me to imagine anyone disliking "Milagro."
That happens when you have an episode resonate really strongly with what
you think the show should be...I couldn't believe that anyone could
dislike "Kill Switch," but that episode had its share of naysayers
as well.
Later,
COZ (who didn't resonate with "Milagro" at *all*)
NP: Beck, _Mutations_
--
Chris 'Coz' Costello | http://www.enteract.com/~coz/ | c...@enteract.com
"H I P N E S S I S T R A N S I E N T...you've got to change
in order to be continually hip." - Vinnie Colaiuta
Chris 'Coz' Costello
>In article <371D25...@herald.infi.net>,
> "c.morgan" <ma...@herald.infi.net> wrote:
>> The man wrote Post Modern Prometheus and Anasazi (with an assist from
>> DD). Doesn't that make up for any other failings? ;)
>
> I didn't care for PMP either (gasp), I thought it was too 'cute' to really
>be enjoyable.
That's a relief...here I was thinking I would be the only one who's butt
Laura Cap would kick upon returning to the group and seeing me diss
this one, too.
Later,
COZ
NP: David Sylvian & Robert Fripp, _The First Day_
VerlindaH
>From: jenn...@ucr.campuscwix.net (Jen)
>
>On 23 Apr 1999 00:20:23 GMT, in alt.tv.x-files the esteemed
>verl...@aol.com (VerlindaH) opined pensively:
>
>>No, Jen, esteemed fellow Xeminarian and XFW # 1--you're *not* the only
>noromo
>>who loved "Milagro"--I did too. So Magician's theory is disproved
>at least
>>twice.
>
>Verlinda, why did I think you were a 'Shipper? I guess you weren't in
>the room with us (Kimba, Nancy, Pam, Dawn) when they all declared
>themselves 'Shippers (during the episode of X2 that was on... the name
>of which escapes me). Michelle and I were feeling quite outnumbered
>then, and could have used then, and could have used your support. ;-)
>
>Jen
>--
>XFW1
The Lone Gunman and I came in to your room (the one with the X in the
window--now explain that again, please) almost halfway through X2 but before
pizza, so I must have missed the great noromo/shipper debate. Consider
yourself supported!
VerlindaH
XFW # 925, WotF
Xeminar, Class of '99
MBC Agent
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alisoun
> >No, Jen, esteemed fellow Xeminarian and XFW # 1--you're *not* the only
noromo
> who loved "Milagro"--I did too. So Magician's theory is disproved at
least
> twice.
>
--
Alisoun
FEB, LOON, MM, CotHP, GABAL grrrrl
Slayerette-in-training
h e r b t i e h @ u s a . n e t
c.morgan
>
> <i_am_...@my-dejanews.com> had this to say:
> >In article <371D25...@herald.infi.net>,
> > "c.morgan" <ma...@herald.infi.net> wrote:
> >> The man wrote Post Modern Prometheus and Anasazi (with an assist from
> >> DD). Doesn't that make up for any other failings? ;)
> >
> > I didn't care for PMP either (gasp), I thought it was too 'cute' to really
> >be enjoyable.
>
> That's a relief...here I was thinking I would be the only one who's butt
> Laura Cap would kick upon returning to the group and seeing me diss
> this one, too.
Obviously I am going to have to be Laura Cap's deputy and start some
unauthorized butt-kicking around here til she gets back...dis PMP!?!?!
How dare you dis the Twinkly One's masterpiece!!?!?
Connie
getting out her cowboy boots for some kickin'