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matt_zimmerAlso reviews for the latest episodes of Smallville, Heroes, TMNT: Back to the Sewer, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad.
Heroes "Chapter Three: One of Us, One of Them"
I proclaim all episodes of this show from henceforth to be taking place in the show's Post-Shark Jump Phase. Last week was inexcusable and the show will never be as good as it used to be.
This week drops us off at last week's excruciating cliffhanger but once that is taken care of the episode proceeds to improve on last week's double dud-fest. The first right thing the episode does is give us some closure on Micah (the charming Noah Gray-Cabey who if I had my druthers would be a regular again). I love that kid and he along with Molly (who is still disappointingly absent) are probably the most likable characters on the show.
I also like that Hiro and Ando's lame schemes actually got them into serious trouble this week. I think they are going to be involved with the Company soon.
Speaking of the Company how funny was it that HRG was partnered with Sylar? It was just as big of a disaster as could have been predicted but there were some truly funny scenes with Zachary Quinto being surprisingly deft at comedy.
I also appreciated that they didn't keep Peter trapped in that body because we didn't need another season of him seperated from Nathan and I was afraid they were going to do that. Bummed they killed off Francis Capra's character but at least he got a scene with Veronica Mars last week.
All in all, it was an enjoyable episode. The first scene however was so bad that I have to knock some serious marks off because of it. ***1/2.
Smallville "Plastique"
Last week relieved some of my concerns about the direction of the series now that Lex has left but this week raised them right back again. I think the fact that Oliver wasn't in the episode at all was a bummer. I think the show is working best now whenever it features the Justice League. The Clark and Lois at the Daily Planet stuff is okay but without Clark sneaking out to become Superman it's as if the entire enterprise is "Superman minus the exciting parts". I still think they need to hook up Clark and Chloe even if it's only for a few episodes but it looks like they're going to marry her off. The fire brat was annoying. This episode was okay but I think this show needed to sigh off the air a season ago. ***.
TMNT: Back To the Sewer "Something Wicked"
The Turtles in cyberspace aspect of the season is WAAAAAAYYY too gimmicky for my tastes but at least they are working up towards trying to get Splinter back. If they have a specific goal in mind to save him I think it will be easier on the audience to go along with him being missing. Good explanation for what happened to the Viral Shredder too. I think the episode's biggest problem was the fact that they tried to do Tron scenes with such a low budget and limited animation. I didn't really notice the dip in quality until then and they probably would have been better off not drawing attention to it. ***1/2.
The Simpsons "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes"
A mixed bag. The Marge working at the erotic bakery didn't go anywhere and was kind of toothless since we were never allowed to see any of the cakes but Homer teaming up with Flanders was a lot of fun. I especially love how they hired Joe Mantengna to grunt and "oof" for Fat Tony even though he didn't have a single line of dialogue. ***1/2.
King of the Hill "Dia-bill-ic Shock"
I was all set to be annoyed at this episode due to it's premise (although I liked the mean and snarky doctor) but the episode shocked me by pulling an EXTREMELY satisfying ending for all parties concerned. That was no small trick considering the conflicts the episode set up with Bill mistakenly believing he couldn't walk but the episode STILL thoroughly earned that happy ending. ****.
Family Guy "Love Blacktually"
I think the entire point of this episode was to see if Cleveland could carry an entire half hour by himself and it did okay by that standard. But it didn't really have any memorable jokes (outside of Cleveland's "It's rainin' b****es"). And Stewie's sexual infatuation with Brian isn't funny, it's creepy. The writers need to learn when to leave a gag well enough alone. **1/2.
American Dad "1600 Candles"
New opening title for American Dad. I have to say I preferred the old one, if only because they had a different newspaper joke every week. We'll have to see if this new one will change in the coming weeks.
I wasn't too crazy about the rest of the episode but dang, the ending got me. It's like I was waiting for everything to pull together and they pulled a perfect capper that was part Sixteen Candles, part Forrest Gump. Family Guy could take a lesson in storytelling from this show since even a relatively weak outing like this one is still pretty satisfying. ***1/2.
The X-Files: The Complete Sixth Season
This is the season of the X-Files where the show's production moved from Vancouver to Los Angelos and as a result not only were the visuals quite a bit sunnier, so was the show itself. A lot of fans took exception to the number of silly episodes this year but with very few examples (the misguided The Rain King comes to mind) I think they worked.
Mulder and Scully also get closer this season as the year starts off with them off of the X-Files. The year also introduced A.D. Kersh (the delightfully prickly James Pickens Jr.. The season is best known for hitting us with the two-parter called "Full Disclosure" which answered a whole bunch of questions, not the least of which was the Cigarette-Smoking Man's name. It was a little too late (the big revelations should have come during the previous summer's movie) but it was cool none-the-less.
Best episodes of the season are the experimental single-camera-shot real-time episode (Triangle), the humorous body swapping two parter (Dreamland/ Dreamland II), the cool outing that explains a lot about Scully's immortality (Tithonus), the watershed Full Disclosure two parter which dropped bombshell after bombshell (Two Fathers/ One Son), and David Duchovy's writing/ directing debit about an alien baseball player (The Unnatural).
Worst episodes include the complete misfire The Rain King, the take-it-or-leave-it S.R. 819, the boring Trevor and the annoying Milagro. Season Overall: ****.
The Beginning: Good premiere but not perfect. I think the episode's biggest problem is that it would be kind of hard to follow if you hadn't seen the movie that took place between this and last season's finale. This is also A.D. Kersh's first episode and I like him more than I probably should. ***1/2.
Drive: This was fun. Bryan Cranston (Malcolm In the Middle) does a great turn as the desperate anti-Semitic redneck, Mr. Crump and I love how Mulder barely puts up with him. Lots of cool gory effects too so props for that. By the way, I really appreciate Kersh now more than I did when the show was originally on the air. Yes, he's kind of mean and frustrating but he has a REALLY wry and deadpan sense of humor while he's taking Mulder and Scully down a peg. ****.
Triangle: Die Wahrheit Ist Irgendwo Da Drauben (German for The Truth Is Somewhere Out There). A lot of fun for shippers (Mulder kisses Scully and Scully kisses Skinner) and an unusually experiemental romp. It's sort of The X-Files version of 24 if 24 were shot entirely in oners. Yeah, it's kind of the poor man's Post-Modern Prometheus but it's still pretty darn enjoyable. Best bit was when the Nazi Skinner turns out to be an American sympathizer which echoes his role on the series perfectly. Also enjoyed the Wizard of Oz nod at the end. This one is also notable for being the first true widescreen episode of the show instead of the fake ones we've been putting up with on the DVDs since season five that merely cut off the tops and bottoms of the screen rather than being the way it was truly shot. ****1/2.
Dreamland: Finally! A FUNNY two-parter! Micheal McKean is SO great as Morris Fletcher that it's easy to see why they brought him back multiple times both on this show and The Lone Gunmen. I love Fletcher and Mulder adjusting to each other's lives especially since Mulder did so badly adjusting to Fletcher's. Awesome! ****1/2.
Dreamland II: I love this episode. The conclusion is both hysterical and even moving in places. I really like How Fletcher lives Mulder's life better than he did and that Mulder could only completely mess up Fletcher's life in return. My favorite scenes are Morris delightedly taunting the Lone Gunmen, Morris reconnecting with his wife and the touching scene where Scully and Mulder realize that they probably won't ever see each other again. And just when you get mad that the episode pulls a total retcon at the end, you realize Mulder still has Fletcher's waterbed! Excellent! ****1/2.
How The Ghosts Stole Christmas: I think the series is at it's weakest when it delves into Mulder and Scully's romantic feelings for each other. Their 'ship is so great for fans BECAUSE they don't spend a lot of time discussing and it just IS. So I was pleasantly surprised by this episode in which Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin who play ghosts who manage to psychoanalyne Mulder and Scully's feelings for each other and their trust without making it seem like a cliche. And this is a whopping FOUR funny/ light-hearted episodes in a row, a first for the series. ****.
Terms of Endearment: Oooh, this one is disturbing. It's one of those episodes that's hard to describe in one sentence but I'll give it a try: Brisco County is a demonic, Big Love abortionist. See? That don't roll off the tongue. Loved the twist ending too. Plus, did I mention Bruce Campbell is in it? I did? Well, I can't mention it enough. ****.
The Rain King: Sits at keyboard. Ponders. ... ... I think this episode is probably the biggest misstep the series has ever taken or would ever take. It's not the worst episode of the series. Far from it. But I am going to be giving it a super-low grade, not because it's bad per se but because it just ISN'T an episode of The X-Files and doesn't follow ANY of the rules set up in the series. A lot of fans have BIG problems with the show's comedic episodes and I personally think they usually need to get a sense of humor. But this one... Each episode of this show deals with Mulder and Scully (and later Doggett and Reyes) investigating a crime of supernatural origins. Oftentimes the culprit skates because they are either monsters or demons or they are killed. Very rarely are they taken into custody much less stay in it. But there is NO crime here. There's absolutely no reason for Mulder and Scully to show up except to play matchmaker for Victoria Jackson and the sad-sack weatherman. It plays like a decent episode of Quantum Leap (which is paradoxaly one of the most underrated AND overrated shows in television history). Jose Chung's From Outer Space, Humbug, The Post-Modern Prometheus, Small Potatoes, they were all unusually funny and/or light-hearted, but they felt like episodes of The X-Files because they all followed the rules the show set up, and while definitely tweaking some of the show's elements, they never outright violated them. Here they do. BIG TIME. Mulder and Scully just AREN'T the types of characters who sit around discussing relationships with each other, much less their own with complete strangers, and seeing them do this just feels WRONG on so many levels. If this episode had been made for CBS's America's Night of Television I wouldn't have had a problem with it. But it's The X-Files, supposedly one of TV's edgiest shows. So, yeah... This is just wrong. 0.
S.R. 819: You saw it was Krycek coming a mile away but the series at least had the decency to not bill Nicholas Lea until the end credits. I didn't care for this one. I didn't understand the point and in my mind the series never paid off Krycek holding Skinner's life in his hands in any meaningful way. **.
Tithonus: This episode is non-stop cool from start to finish. I LOVE how this episode finally addresses a throwaway line from Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose i.e. when Scully asks Bruckman how she dies he says she doesn't. It's ambiguous but what I (and others) got from THIS episode is that Fellig transferred his power of immortality to Scully when he finally died so she wouldn't. Ever. I seem to recall watching the rest of the series with this in mind thinking that now she is completely safe from being killed off. Yeah, that takes away some of the tension of the show but if Chris Carter decides to be a jerk about it in the future he can retcon this awesome episode in the next movie. I just don't think he ever will. *****.
Two Fathers: The first of the "Full Disclosure" two-parter is really exciting and drops a huge amount of bombshells on the audience. I love the gradual reformation of Jeffrey Spender and think it's one of the series' better twists. I liked the rebel alien infiltrating the Consortium too. We also learn the Cigarette-Smoking Man's name (C.G.B. Spender) for the first time. *****.
One Son: Not gonna lie. The second part of "Full Disclosure" is proof positive that the mythology is too complicated for it's own good. You didn't even realize it until they laid it all out for you to see in this episode. That said, the episode is really great just for the revelation that Jeffrey Spender (whom the audience was taught to hate) turns into a True Believer and one of Fox Mulder's fiercest defenders at the end. That's just perfect on SO many levels especially since the audience already liked his mother. It was also great seeing Marita Covarubbias again and the make-up artists did the impossible and made Laurie Holden as unattractive as the part demanded. And it a GREAT twist to have the entire Syndicate (with the exception of CSM and Krycek) killed off by the alien rebels. Yeah, maybe "Full Disclosure" at this point is too little, too late but the episode is still awesome. ****1/2.
Agua Mala: Cool monster episode with a lot of familiar "that guy" TV faces. I love Darin MacGavin as Arthur Dales and I wish he had appeared more but this is his last episode (the show features his "brother" also named Arthur Dales in the episode The Unnatural later in the season). ***1/2.
Monday: I am not as enamoured of this episode as the geeks on Buffy were. I hate Groundhog Day episodes on sci-fi shows. The only Groundhog Day story I actually liked was the Bill Murray movie. That said, the episode does two things right: it casts Northern Exposure's Darren Burrows against type as the bank robber Bernard and pays off Mulder's waterbed from Dreamland. I love Mulder's obvious confusion about where it came from and his stubborn refusal to discuss the matter further with anybody. Perfect. ***.
Arcadia: This episode's concept is completely insane but it's straightforward and horrifying enough that you completely buy it anyways. Talk about conformity gone mad. Yeesh. Loved Abraham Benrubi as Big Mike and Mulder and Scully's routine of being Rob and Laura Petrie is VERY funny. Now, Woman, get me a sam'mich! ****1/2.
Alpha: The good: Andrew J. Robinson as Detweiller. GREAT villain and it's always good to see Garak getting work. The bad: I think this episode completely mischaracterizes Scully. Yeah, I can buy that she's jealous of that weird lady crushing on Mulder but the way she goes about expressing that is all wrong and totally off-base for the strong woman character she is. It's SO obvious a man wrote the line where Scully talks about women being predators too. Aside from being a ridiculous assertion on it's face (and a completely off-the-wall analogy to the situation) no WAY Scully would ever say something like that. **1/2.
Trevor: Kind of a pedestrian outing involving a convict who walks through walls trying to get his son back. Not much to recommend. **.
Milagro: Annoying episode. Scully should know better. *1/2.
The Unnatural: In the Big Inning. I truly believe this is the last perfect episode of the X-Files. It did a few other great ones before it ended but David Duchovny's debut solo writing/ directing gig is the last episode of the series that completely wowed me. It's just so great. I miss Darin MacGavin as Arthur Dales but M. Emmit Walsh does a fine job filling in as his brother also named Arthur Dales. And Jesse L. Martin (Law and Order, Ally McBeal) is perfect as Josh Exley the alien who loved baseball so much he became human when he died. Absolutely beautiful episode. *****.
Three of a Kind: The second Lone Gunmen-centered episode is really enjoyable because it adds great drama along with the lighter moments. I love the doomed romance between Susanne Modeski and Byers and am really disappointed this is the last we'd see of her. They deserved a happy ending together. Leave it to Chris Carter in his terminal ninth season idiocy to moronically kill the trio off. This episode also has a great comedic turn by Gillian Anderson and a too-cool cameo by Morris Fletcher (Micheal McKean). Look for a Pre-Enterprise John Billingsly as the evil nerd Timmy. ****.
Field Trip: This was okay. I liked the killed fungus aspect but the virtual world it created is old hat in sci-fi circles. Hey, look it's The Office/ Angel's David "Skip" Denman sans make-up or beard! Cool! **1/2.
Biogenesis: Cool opening and closing scenes can't disguise the fact that as season ending cliffhangers go, not much important happened. Yes, the concept of human life coming from aliens potentially could have completely revolutionized the show but since I've seen the rest of the series I know it didn't. Still, good to see Albert Hosteen again even though he spent all of his scenes unconscious. ***1/2.
Deleted Scenes: Tithonus: The scenes involving Fellig are cool but I didn't get anything from the extra scene with Scully and Ritter. ****.
Deleted Scenes: Two Fathers: The scene between Cancer Man and Krycek was great and I think it's a shame that it wasn't in the episode but the scene where CSM checks in on Cassandra is unnecessary. ***1/2.
Deleted Scenes: One Son: Cassandra's operation was cool but it's Jeffrey Spender swearing to bring down his father and the conspiracy to Diana Fowley that makes this deleted scene a great find. ****1/2.
Deleted Scene: Arcadia: I actually really like this scene (you begin to see the tension between Schroeder and Gene) but I'm not going to lose sleep over the episode losing it. ***1/2.
Alternate Ending: Alpha: The X-Files has a tendency to go overboard with lack of closure and open endings and I think this one was probably going too far. It's one thing to do it for an episode with potential for a sequel but seeing these things attached to mediocre episodes that you know they'll never bother with again is always irksome. **1/2.
Deleted Scene: Milagro: This scene should have been in the episode especially since the annoying Padgett isn't in it. ***.
Deleted Scene and Alternate Performances: The Unnatural: Darin MacGavin actually reprised his role as Arthur Dales originally and it's a darn shame that he never was able to finish his scenes for whatever reason. M. Emmit Walsh was good but it's at the very end (in the last deleted scene) that MacGavin REALLY shined. I see why they deleted it since Walsh's performance wasn't quite up to snuff, at least not compared to what MacGavin originally delivered. *****.
Deleted Scene: Biogenesis: This needed to be in the episode. It was Floyd Red Crow Westerman's only speaking part and if they were going to bother bringing back a character as cool as Albert Hosteen they owed him this. ****1/2.
Heroes "Chapter Three: One of Us, One of Them"
I proclaim all episodes of this show from henceforth to be taking place in the show's Post-Shark Jump Phase. Last week was inexcusable and the show will never be as good as it used to be.
This week drops us off at last week's excruciating cliffhanger but once that is taken care of the episode proceeds to improve on last week's double dud-fest. The first right thing the episode does is give us some closure on Micah (the charming Noah Gray-Cabey who if I had my druthers would be a regular again). I love that kid and he along with Molly (who is still disappointingly absent) are probably the most likable characters on the show.
I also like that Hiro and Ando's lame schemes actually got them into serious trouble this week. I think they are going to be involved with the Company soon.
Speaking of the Company how funny was it that HRG was partnered with Sylar? It was just as big of a disaster as could have been predicted but there were some truly funny scenes with Zachary Quinto being surprisingly deft at comedy.
I also appreciated that they didn't keep Peter trapped in that body because we didn't need another season of him seperated from Nathan and I was afraid they were going to do that. Bummed they killed off Francis Capra's character but at least he got a scene with Veronica Mars last week.
All in all, it was an enjoyable episode. The first scene however was so bad that I have to knock some serious marks off because of it. ***1/2.
Smallville "Plastique"
Last week relieved some of my concerns about the direction of the series now that Lex has left but this week raised them right back again. I think the fact that Oliver wasn't in the episode at all was a bummer. I think the show is working best now whenever it features the Justice League. The Clark and Lois at the Daily Planet stuff is okay but without Clark sneaking out to become Superman it's as if the entire enterprise is "Superman minus the exciting parts". I still think they need to hook up Clark and Chloe even if it's only for a few episodes but it looks like they're going to marry her off. The fire brat was annoying. This episode was okay but I think this show needed to sigh off the air a season ago. ***.
TMNT: Back To the Sewer "Something Wicked"
The Turtles in cyberspace aspect of the season is WAAAAAAYYY too gimmicky for my tastes but at least they are working up towards trying to get Splinter back. If they have a specific goal in mind to save him I think it will be easier on the audience to go along with him being missing. Good explanation for what happened to the Viral Shredder too. I think the episode's biggest problem was the fact that they tried to do Tron scenes with such a low budget and limited animation. I didn't really notice the dip in quality until then and they probably would have been better off not drawing attention to it. ***1/2.
The Simpsons "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes"
A mixed bag. The Marge working at the erotic bakery didn't go anywhere and was kind of toothless since we were never allowed to see any of the cakes but Homer teaming up with Flanders was a lot of fun. I especially love how they hired Joe Mantengna to grunt and "oof" for Fat Tony even though he didn't have a single line of dialogue. ***1/2.
King of the Hill "Dia-bill-ic Shock"
I was all set to be annoyed at this episode due to it's premise (although I liked the mean and snarky doctor) but the episode shocked me by pulling an EXTREMELY satisfying ending for all parties concerned. That was no small trick considering the conflicts the episode set up with Bill mistakenly believing he couldn't walk but the episode STILL thoroughly earned that happy ending. ****.
Family Guy "Love Blacktually"
I think the entire point of this episode was to see if Cleveland could carry an entire half hour by himself and it did okay by that standard. But it didn't really have any memorable jokes (outside of Cleveland's "It's rainin' b****es"). And Stewie's sexual infatuation with Brian isn't funny, it's creepy. The writers need to learn when to leave a gag well enough alone. **1/2.
American Dad "1600 Candles"
New opening title for American Dad. I have to say I preferred the old one, if only because they had a different newspaper joke every week. We'll have to see if this new one will change in the coming weeks.
I wasn't too crazy about the rest of the episode but dang, the ending got me. It's like I was waiting for everything to pull together and they pulled a perfect capper that was part Sixteen Candles, part Forrest Gump. Family Guy could take a lesson in storytelling from this show since even a relatively weak outing like this one is still pretty satisfying. ***1/2.
The X-Files: The Complete Sixth Season
This is the season of the X-Files where the show's production moved from Vancouver to Los Angelos and as a result not only were the visuals quite a bit sunnier, so was the show itself. A lot of fans took exception to the number of silly episodes this year but with very few examples (the misguided The Rain King comes to mind) I think they worked.
Mulder and Scully also get closer this season as the year starts off with them off of the X-Files. The year also introduced A.D. Kersh (the delightfully prickly James Pickens Jr.. The season is best known for hitting us with the two-parter called "Full Disclosure" which answered a whole bunch of questions, not the least of which was the Cigarette-Smoking Man's name. It was a little too late (the big revelations should have come during the previous summer's movie) but it was cool none-the-less.
Best episodes of the season are the experimental single-camera-shot real-time episode (Triangle), the humorous body swapping two parter (Dreamland/ Dreamland II), the cool outing that explains a lot about Scully's immortality (Tithonus), the watershed Full Disclosure two parter which dropped bombshell after bombshell (Two Fathers/ One Son), and David Duchovy's writing/ directing debit about an alien baseball player (The Unnatural).
Worst episodes include the complete misfire The Rain King, the take-it-or-leave-it S.R. 819, the boring Trevor and the annoying Milagro. Season Overall: ****.
The Beginning: Good premiere but not perfect. I think the episode's biggest problem is that it would be kind of hard to follow if you hadn't seen the movie that took place between this and last season's finale. This is also A.D. Kersh's first episode and I like him more than I probably should. ***1/2.
Drive: This was fun. Bryan Cranston (Malcolm In the Middle) does a great turn as the desperate anti-Semitic redneck, Mr. Crump and I love how Mulder barely puts up with him. Lots of cool gory effects too so props for that. By the way, I really appreciate Kersh now more than I did when the show was originally on the air. Yes, he's kind of mean and frustrating but he has a REALLY wry and deadpan sense of humor while he's taking Mulder and Scully down a peg. ****.
Triangle: Die Wahrheit Ist Irgendwo Da Drauben (German for The Truth Is Somewhere Out There). A lot of fun for shippers (Mulder kisses Scully and Scully kisses Skinner) and an unusually experiemental romp. It's sort of The X-Files version of 24 if 24 were shot entirely in oners. Yeah, it's kind of the poor man's Post-Modern Prometheus but it's still pretty darn enjoyable. Best bit was when the Nazi Skinner turns out to be an American sympathizer which echoes his role on the series perfectly. Also enjoyed the Wizard of Oz nod at the end. This one is also notable for being the first true widescreen episode of the show instead of the fake ones we've been putting up with on the DVDs since season five that merely cut off the tops and bottoms of the screen rather than being the way it was truly shot. ****1/2.
Dreamland: Finally! A FUNNY two-parter! Micheal McKean is SO great as Morris Fletcher that it's easy to see why they brought him back multiple times both on this show and The Lone Gunmen. I love Fletcher and Mulder adjusting to each other's lives especially since Mulder did so badly adjusting to Fletcher's. Awesome! ****1/2.
Dreamland II: I love this episode. The conclusion is both hysterical and even moving in places. I really like How Fletcher lives Mulder's life better than he did and that Mulder could only completely mess up Fletcher's life in return. My favorite scenes are Morris delightedly taunting the Lone Gunmen, Morris reconnecting with his wife and the touching scene where Scully and Mulder realize that they probably won't ever see each other again. And just when you get mad that the episode pulls a total retcon at the end, you realize Mulder still has Fletcher's waterbed! Excellent! ****1/2.
How The Ghosts Stole Christmas: I think the series is at it's weakest when it delves into Mulder and Scully's romantic feelings for each other. Their 'ship is so great for fans BECAUSE they don't spend a lot of time discussing and it just IS. So I was pleasantly surprised by this episode in which Ed Asner and Lily Tomlin who play ghosts who manage to psychoanalyne Mulder and Scully's feelings for each other and their trust without making it seem like a cliche. And this is a whopping FOUR funny/ light-hearted episodes in a row, a first for the series. ****.
Terms of Endearment: Oooh, this one is disturbing. It's one of those episodes that's hard to describe in one sentence but I'll give it a try: Brisco County is a demonic, Big Love abortionist. See? That don't roll off the tongue. Loved the twist ending too. Plus, did I mention Bruce Campbell is in it? I did? Well, I can't mention it enough. ****.
The Rain King: Sits at keyboard. Ponders. ... ... I think this episode is probably the biggest misstep the series has ever taken or would ever take. It's not the worst episode of the series. Far from it. But I am going to be giving it a super-low grade, not because it's bad per se but because it just ISN'T an episode of The X-Files and doesn't follow ANY of the rules set up in the series. A lot of fans have BIG problems with the show's comedic episodes and I personally think they usually need to get a sense of humor. But this one... Each episode of this show deals with Mulder and Scully (and later Doggett and Reyes) investigating a crime of supernatural origins. Oftentimes the culprit skates because they are either monsters or demons or they are killed. Very rarely are they taken into custody much less stay in it. But there is NO crime here. There's absolutely no reason for Mulder and Scully to show up except to play matchmaker for Victoria Jackson and the sad-sack weatherman. It plays like a decent episode of Quantum Leap (which is paradoxaly one of the most underrated AND overrated shows in television history). Jose Chung's From Outer Space, Humbug, The Post-Modern Prometheus, Small Potatoes, they were all unusually funny and/or light-hearted, but they felt like episodes of The X-Files because they all followed the rules the show set up, and while definitely tweaking some of the show's elements, they never outright violated them. Here they do. BIG TIME. Mulder and Scully just AREN'T the types of characters who sit around discussing relationships with each other, much less their own with complete strangers, and seeing them do this just feels WRONG on so many levels. If this episode had been made for CBS's America's Night of Television I wouldn't have had a problem with it. But it's The X-Files, supposedly one of TV's edgiest shows. So, yeah... This is just wrong. 0.
S.R. 819: You saw it was Krycek coming a mile away but the series at least had the decency to not bill Nicholas Lea until the end credits. I didn't care for this one. I didn't understand the point and in my mind the series never paid off Krycek holding Skinner's life in his hands in any meaningful way. **.
Tithonus: This episode is non-stop cool from start to finish. I LOVE how this episode finally addresses a throwaway line from Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose i.e. when Scully asks Bruckman how she dies he says she doesn't. It's ambiguous but what I (and others) got from THIS episode is that Fellig transferred his power of immortality to Scully when he finally died so she wouldn't. Ever. I seem to recall watching the rest of the series with this in mind thinking that now she is completely safe from being killed off. Yeah, that takes away some of the tension of the show but if Chris Carter decides to be a jerk about it in the future he can retcon this awesome episode in the next movie. I just don't think he ever will. *****.
Two Fathers: The first of the "Full Disclosure" two-parter is really exciting and drops a huge amount of bombshells on the audience. I love the gradual reformation of Jeffrey Spender and think it's one of the series' better twists. I liked the rebel alien infiltrating the Consortium too. We also learn the Cigarette-Smoking Man's name (C.G.B. Spender) for the first time. *****.
One Son: Not gonna lie. The second part of "Full Disclosure" is proof positive that the mythology is too complicated for it's own good. You didn't even realize it until they laid it all out for you to see in this episode. That said, the episode is really great just for the revelation that Jeffrey Spender (whom the audience was taught to hate) turns into a True Believer and one of Fox Mulder's fiercest defenders at the end. That's just perfect on SO many levels especially since the audience already liked his mother. It was also great seeing Marita Covarubbias again and the make-up artists did the impossible and made Laurie Holden as unattractive as the part demanded. And it a GREAT twist to have the entire Syndicate (with the exception of CSM and Krycek) killed off by the alien rebels. Yeah, maybe "Full Disclosure" at this point is too little, too late but the episode is still awesome. ****1/2.
Agua Mala: Cool monster episode with a lot of familiar "that guy" TV faces. I love Darin MacGavin as Arthur Dales and I wish he had appeared more but this is his last episode (the show features his "brother" also named Arthur Dales in the episode The Unnatural later in the season). ***1/2.
Monday: I am not as enamoured of this episode as the geeks on Buffy were. I hate Groundhog Day episodes on sci-fi shows. The only Groundhog Day story I actually liked was the Bill Murray movie. That said, the episode does two things right: it casts Northern Exposure's Darren Burrows against type as the bank robber Bernard and pays off Mulder's waterbed from Dreamland. I love Mulder's obvious confusion about where it came from and his stubborn refusal to discuss the matter further with anybody. Perfect. ***.
Arcadia: This episode's concept is completely insane but it's straightforward and horrifying enough that you completely buy it anyways. Talk about conformity gone mad. Yeesh. Loved Abraham Benrubi as Big Mike and Mulder and Scully's routine of being Rob and Laura Petrie is VERY funny. Now, Woman, get me a sam'mich! ****1/2.
Alpha: The good: Andrew J. Robinson as Detweiller. GREAT villain and it's always good to see Garak getting work. The bad: I think this episode completely mischaracterizes Scully. Yeah, I can buy that she's jealous of that weird lady crushing on Mulder but the way she goes about expressing that is all wrong and totally off-base for the strong woman character she is. It's SO obvious a man wrote the line where Scully talks about women being predators too. Aside from being a ridiculous assertion on it's face (and a completely off-the-wall analogy to the situation) no WAY Scully would ever say something like that. **1/2.
Trevor: Kind of a pedestrian outing involving a convict who walks through walls trying to get his son back. Not much to recommend. **.
Milagro: Annoying episode. Scully should know better. *1/2.
The Unnatural: In the Big Inning. I truly believe this is the last perfect episode of the X-Files. It did a few other great ones before it ended but David Duchovny's debut solo writing/ directing gig is the last episode of the series that completely wowed me. It's just so great. I miss Darin MacGavin as Arthur Dales but M. Emmit Walsh does a fine job filling in as his brother also named Arthur Dales. And Jesse L. Martin (Law and Order, Ally McBeal) is perfect as Josh Exley the alien who loved baseball so much he became human when he died. Absolutely beautiful episode. *****.
Three of a Kind: The second Lone Gunmen-centered episode is really enjoyable because it adds great drama along with the lighter moments. I love the doomed romance between Susanne Modeski and Byers and am really disappointed this is the last we'd see of her. They deserved a happy ending together. Leave it to Chris Carter in his terminal ninth season idiocy to moronically kill the trio off. This episode also has a great comedic turn by Gillian Anderson and a too-cool cameo by Morris Fletcher (Micheal McKean). Look for a Pre-Enterprise John Billingsly as the evil nerd Timmy. ****.
Field Trip: This was okay. I liked the killed fungus aspect but the virtual world it created is old hat in sci-fi circles. Hey, look it's The Office/ Angel's David "Skip" Denman sans make-up or beard! Cool! **1/2.
Biogenesis: Cool opening and closing scenes can't disguise the fact that as season ending cliffhangers go, not much important happened. Yes, the concept of human life coming from aliens potentially could have completely revolutionized the show but since I've seen the rest of the series I know it didn't. Still, good to see Albert Hosteen again even though he spent all of his scenes unconscious. ***1/2.
Deleted Scenes: Tithonus: The scenes involving Fellig are cool but I didn't get anything from the extra scene with Scully and Ritter. ****.
Deleted Scenes: Two Fathers: The scene between Cancer Man and Krycek was great and I think it's a shame that it wasn't in the episode but the scene where CSM checks in on Cassandra is unnecessary. ***1/2.
Deleted Scenes: One Son: Cassandra's operation was cool but it's Jeffrey Spender swearing to bring down his father and the conspiracy to Diana Fowley that makes this deleted scene a great find. ****1/2.
Deleted Scene: Arcadia: I actually really like this scene (you begin to see the tension between Schroeder and Gene) but I'm not going to lose sleep over the episode losing it. ***1/2.
Alternate Ending: Alpha: The X-Files has a tendency to go overboard with lack of closure and open endings and I think this one was probably going too far. It's one thing to do it for an episode with potential for a sequel but seeing these things attached to mediocre episodes that you know they'll never bother with again is always irksome. **1/2.
Deleted Scene: Milagro: This scene should have been in the episode especially since the annoying Padgett isn't in it. ***.
Deleted Scene and Alternate Performances: The Unnatural: Darin MacGavin actually reprised his role as Arthur Dales originally and it's a darn shame that he never was able to finish his scenes for whatever reason. M. Emmit Walsh was good but it's at the very end (in the last deleted scene) that MacGavin REALLY shined. I see why they deleted it since Walsh's performance wasn't quite up to snuff, at least not compared to what MacGavin originally delivered. *****.
Deleted Scene: Biogenesis: This needed to be in the episode. It was Floyd Red Crow Westerman's only speaking part and if they were going to bother bringing back a character as cool as Albert Hosteen they owed him this. ****1/2.
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