What Bugged Me About the X-Files
Jesse
head with the Consortium, a RUTHLESS group of men who will kill anyone
standing in the way of their plans. He steals their files, breaks
into their facilities, and generally causes them all manner of
trouble. Yet this RUTHLESS group of men NEVER kills him. It takes
them NINE YEARS to find a way to bring him down (in "The Truth"). We
hear all sorts of garbage like "You know how important he is to the
equation" or "We can't turn one man's quest into a crusade." All of
this is complete nonsense. Why isn't he DEAD?
Consider: this group of people kills Bill Mulder because he *might*
tell his son the truth. They make TWO attempts on AD Skinner's life.
They kill the WMM because he disagrees with their decision in the
movie. They murder Kurzweil to shut him up. They have each
sacrificed a family member to the Project. CSM shoots his own son and
subjects him to horrible medical experiments. They murder X and Deep
Throat, each a member of the conspiracy, and they attempt--twice--to
kill Krycek. They try to kill Scully. All this, but they let Mulder
live for NINE YEARS?
I know that in "Anasazi" CSM claims that he has protected Mulder. And
I know he has friends on the Hill. But support in Congress can't
possibly protect him from being murdered--after all, the Consortium
killed Melissa Scully (by accident) and then completely covered it up.
And we've seen instances where the Consortium tried to kill Mulder.
2. THE LEAKY CONSPIRACY: I've heard of leaks in top-secret projects,
but the Consortium is the worst of them all. In 9 seasons they have 4
high-level informers (Deep Throat, Senator Matheson, Mr. X, Marita
Covarrubias). Not just that, but think of all the "fringe" Consortium
people who have volunteered information: Skinner, Krychek, Klemper,
Luis Cardinal, the NSA guy from "731"....doesn't ANYONE keep their
mouths shut? The problem is that the motivations of the informants
are never really explored. For example, why would Klemper furnish M&S
*any* information that would implicate him in illegal human
experiments? But he does! And don't forget WMM and his timely
revelations.
This is really an example of "Spock Syndrome." (This is where the
writers have a character or characters that are used to supply logical
leaps or pieces of information when the writers can't find a rational
way for the main characters to discover this info on their own.) CC
and his writers often resort to illogical informants to give M&S the
info they need.
Unfortunately, this tactic is frustrating. I'm as big of a fan of the
"piece-by-piece" investigations as anyone else. But the X-Files'
continual use of informants ruins this method. For instance, it would
be one thing if it took them 5 seasons because they were slowly
unearthing clues and very rarely had any kind of guidance. But Mulder
was able to speak with Deep Throat, X, Matheson, and Covarrubias at
will. The only reason it took him so long to figure anything out is
because the writers REPEATEDLY had those characters deny him
information, using statements like "Some secrets should remain secret"
or "Don't unlock doors you're not ready to go through." The
informants leaked information a little at a time (when doing so suited
the writers), and it was this writing tool that stretched the search
out so long. As I mentioned, though, the informants' motivation
wasn't ever disclosed beyond "wanting the truth to come out," so their
continually denying Mulder answers just came across as bad
writing--and very frustrating.
3. GEOGRAPHICAL MISTAKES: Honestly, do we need to make towns and
cities up? Why? It just detracts from the realism of the show. The
same is true of government agencies: why say Ellens Air Base (which
does not exist) in Idaho? Why not Mountain Home Air Force Base? And
roads: why say I-90 when it doesn't even run through the state that
M&S are in? Is it too hard to look at a map and pick the right
interstate? (I'm not saying that we actually have to shoot a scene in
Blue River, OR, but couldn't we say Blue River instead of the made-up
Bellefleur?)
4. THE CREATORS' ARROGANCE: CC wrote his finale "The Truth" based on
his supposition that "all the relevant questions [had] been answered."
Yeah. That's why every fan website has a different interpretation of
the Mythology. That's why BBS's are full of people debating what the
complete story is. That's why Frank Spotnitz claimed in an interview
that he had reviewed a number of fan sites and that their explanations
were not always correct. That's why people still don't fully
understand who those FACELESS REBELS are! And when fewer than 1 in 5
X-philes found "The Truth" to be a completely satisfactory conclusion,
word comes down that the next movie will be a MOTW special!! With all
that we now know, does CC & Co. think that we love their writing
talents so much that we don't care what the actual content is?
5. THE ABUNDANCE OF MOTW EPISODES: A lot of X-philes I know found
the Mythology to be extremely engrossing, but we felt that it was
often hastily developed, with M&S traveling all over the world in just
one episode. The extent of the mythology combined with the relatively
small amount of airtime it was shown in required that either Mulder
make illogical, "highly intuitive" leaps to move the plot along OR
that help come from a source that shouldn't be giving that help (see
#2 above). If this had been a three- or four-season show, it would
have been more understandable. BUT the show lasted NINE SEASONS and
had a MOVIE in the middle! Yet, in all 9 seasons, the story is told
in about 75 episodes, or just under 3.5 seasons. Why didn't they
increase the number of Mythology episodes and allow the story to be
developed in a more logical manner?
Take the Cigarette-Smoking Man for instance. This man was always my
favorite character. All the way back to "Pilot", we *knew* something
was up with him. Even in his first scene, when Blevins assigns Scully
to the X-Files, the camera focuses on him at times to let us know he
will be significant. We see quite a bit of him after this episode;
most of what we see does NOT have M&S present. So while WE know he's
up to something, they shouldn't. Having never scene the "Duane
Barry"/"Ascenion"/"One Breath" series when it first aired, I was
surprised to see Mulder know exactly who he was and know that he was
evil in "Anasazi." I determined that they must have been introduced
in the missed episodes. Then I find out that he learns about him in
ONE scene, in "Ascenion," when he sees the cigarette butts in Krycek's
ashtray. That's it! From that ONE scene, Mulder knows that CSM is
the man in charge of the conspiracy. It would have been much more
satisfying, for instance, to devote an episode to seeing M&S learn of
CSM's involvement. Lord knows there were enough slots in the second
season that could have been filled with such an episode.
6. CELL PHONES AND CONVERSATIONS: Throughout the series, M&S talk
freely over cell phones, landlines, and in their homes and offices.
But in the second episode of the series ("Deep Throat"), we see that
"someone" is tapping Mulder's home phone. Nine episodes later
("Fallen Angel") we learn that the CIA can tap into cellular pathways
and monitor cell phone conversations. Eight episodes after that
("E.B.E.") we see that "someone" has bugged Mulder's apartment.
Despite all this evidence presented early on, M&S continue to talk
freely between themselves--despite the fact that "someone" may be
listening.
7. ALIENS AND BLACK OIL: CC never bothered to clarify the races of
aliens or the reason for different types of black oil. We see the
classic gray aliens and their larval stage (in the movie), we see the
alien clones in "Colony"/"End Game," we see the bounty hunter and
Jeremiah Smith's race, we see the race that produced the fetus in
"Erlenmeyer Flask," we see the different types of hybrids and clones,
etc. But when is it ever sorted out? Who is working for who, and who
is fighting each other? Same with the black oil: there's the type
that 'body-jumps' in "Piper Maru"/"Apocrypha," the type that makes
people comatose in "Tunguska"/"Terma," and the type seen in the movie?
Why 3 types? Why was this never explained.
8. EVERYTHING AFTER "THE END": This show began with a relatively
simple premise: Mulder searching for why his sister was taken, and
trying to uncover the proof of alien existence and the coverup. When
the episode "The End" aired, that was literally The End of the setup.
After this everything we've seen changes. The nature of Colonization
changes. The black oil changes. The Syndicate's involvement changes.
Now that isn't a bad thing, if it's done well. But....in "Two
Fathers"/"One Son", the entire Syndicate (save CSM) is destroyed and
The Project comes to an end. Next season, in "Sein und
Zeit"/"Closure" the mystery of Samantha is solved (in a highly
unsatisfactory way). And, in "Requiem," the CSM is thought to be
killed. That's it. BAM! In the space of FIVE episodes, aired over
the course of a season and a half, the ENTIRE premise of the show is
abolished. Therefore, there is nothing left to do but air a
completely different show, and that is where they went wrong. New
agents? A "new" conspiracy? The worthless supersoldier plot? Come
on.
9. THE TRUTH...IF YOU CAN PIECE IT TOGETHER: Over the span of 9
seasons, the truth is fleshed out. The problem is, the pieces come
from about six different puzzles! They don't go together very well.
For the first few seasons, we're told it's a "government conspiracy,"
yet it's revealed that the Syndicate was formed in 1973, after which
the Project ceased to be under the control of the gov't. We're told
that Samantha lives, but we learn that she died in 1987. We're told
Mulder is "vital to the equation," but he's a nuisance and a danger to
the Project. In the movie, the WMM says he was ordered to kill
Mulder, but Strughold said earlier that they couldn't kill him. We're
told that the CSM was born in 1940, but he was in his twenties when he
interviewed a sailor in 1953. We're told he didn't smoke till after
JFK's assassination, but we see him smoking in 1953. X displays a
complete disregard for human life and even tries to shoot Mulder, but
then he risks his life to warn Scully of the danger to Mulder's
mom....See, it just goes on and on. No constant characterizations, no
cohesive plot.
______________________________________________________________________________
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ChiaCow9
This is a good thing. The MOTWs and stand-alones were the best part of The
X-Files, while the mythology, being the main plotline, be sparodic, yet still
frequent. The format of the show is excellent.
Rybbs14
Take the Cigarette-Smoking Man for instance. This man was always my
favorite character. All the way back to "Pilot", we *knew* something
was up with him. Even in his first scene, when Blevins assigns Scully
to the X-Files, the camera focuses on him at times to let us know he
will be significant. We see quite a bit of him after this episode;
most of what we see does NOT have M&S present. So while WE know he's
up to something, they shouldn't. Having never scene the "Duane
Barry"/"Ascenion"/"One Breath" series when it first aired, I was
surprised to see Mulder know exactly who he was and know that he was
evil in "Anasazi." I determined that they must have been introduced
in the missed episodes. Then I find out that he learns about him in
ONE scene, in "Ascenion," when he sees the cigarette butts in Krycek's
ashtray. That's it! From that ONE scene, Mulder knows that CSM is
the man in charge of the conspiracy. It would have been much more
satisfying, for instance, to devote an episode to seeing M&S learn of
CSM's involvement. Lord knows there were enough slots in the second
season that could have been filled with such an episode.>
Mulder met CSM in Skinner's office in Little Green Men, the season 2 premiere.
I'm guessing that's where that's from. He also saw CSM in Skinner's office
during meetings about Scully's disappearance in the Duane Barry 3-parter.
Mox Fulder
[...]
> Mulder met CSM in Skinner's office in Little Green Men, the season 2 premiere.
> I'm guessing that's where that's from. He also saw CSM in Skinner's office
> during meetings about Scully's disappearance in the Duane Barry 3-parter.
uh...no.
--
Al Ruffinelli <alv...@accesscom.com>
http://www.turning-pages.com/xf/
http://www.turning-pages.com/xf101/
Rybbs14
Cool.
Curtis Wolf
remember on the TV show WKRP in Cincinnati, radio DJ Venus Flytrap revealed
that he was an Army deserter. This was odd since another episode revealed
that radio station owner had everyone at the station investigated and knew
intimate secrets about them such as Andy's early problem with bedwetting.
Incredibly, Venus' fugitive status somehow never came out in the
investigation. Some investigation!
We forget that this program is made up by many writers, directors and
producers. This is akin to a group of guys trying to explain their wild
bachelor party to their girlfriends and wives. There are bound to be
inconsistencies in the stories that the guys tell to their significant
others. It is hard enough for one person to keep track of his or her lies.
It is worse when a committee creates the lie.
Besides, they would not kill off Mulder since he was the star of the
show(Sorry, Gillian. But the show did lose something when he left!). This
fact is bound to lead to a few unlikely scenarios.
"Jesse" <tani...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3d41a...@corp-goliath.newsgroups.com...
Jesse
>You really should not expect consistency from a nine year TV show.
You should when they are trying to tell a consitent story. It's one
thing if it's a show of all standalone eps and a detail in one
conflicts with a detail in another. But when you contravene one of
your FOUNDING PREMISES (e.g., Samantha lives), something is wrong.
>
>Besides, they would not kill off Mulder since he was the star of the
>show(Sorry, Gillian. But the show did lose something when he left!). This
>fact is bound to lead to a few unlikely scenarios.
I know they CAN'T. But still...it makes the Syndicate look really bad
that they can't dispense with this man.
______________________________________________________________________________
Jesse
I agree that the MOTW's were GREAT. The "Squeeze"/"Tooms" episodes
were some of my favorite. My gripe is that with so many of them,
couldn't we have gotten rid of a FEW here and there and used the slots
to tell the Mythology in a more well-rounded manner?
Patrick Meaney
news:20020726232036...@mb-ma.aol.com...
I have to disagree. The format of the show was fine for the first year and a half.
After Scully got abducted however, it makes no sense for Mulder and Scully to
continually go after pointless cases, when they are so aware of the conspiracy. I
wouldn't have minded the MOTW's if Mulder and Scully were forced to pursue them, and
actively resisted. If they could have kept some of the mythology struggle in the
MOTW's, it would have been much more logical, instead of having everything important
confined to seven episodes a season. The show never did overarching plot lines well,
and that's what kept it from being even better.
--
Patrick
"I can't go to a bad movie by myself. What, am I gonna make sarcastic remarks to
strangers?"
-Jerry Seinfeld