Wine and an X-Phile Update

Just a brief post to update on what is going on. At first, I wasn’t really intending to post an update as I don’t think anyone would care enough for an update to be warranted but it just felt weird not to post something and explain what is going on with my X-Files reviews.

I’ve found that I need to admit defeat that I’ve been doing a bit too much between last month and this month, and that I need to step back on things. Currently, I’m in the middle of NaNoWriMo, and it is important to me to try to accomplish the challenge. Because of this, it means that I’m doing extra work every day and as this blog’s first focus is on Asian dramas and movies, I have found that if I want to keep up with posts on that and NaNoWriMo I have to let go of something. And that something right now falls onto the X-Files posts.

No worries, they will be coming back in December - maybe mid-month if I’m feeling too overwhelmed - but they will be starting back. They are just taking a break for now. I will also be moving them to Sundays. It’s something that I had thought of doing in the beginning but wanted to keep things so on theme and Fridays were the original day of the week the show aired that it made sense at the time, but it just didn’t fit with the way things work out with some of the other posts that I want to start working on. And that’s ok. I still want to do the reviews, though. It’s a long-time project that I’ve always wanted to do and I do have fun with them even if they are the oddballs out of my Asian entertainment bubble.

So if you were like the one person who actually read them, you are the true hero and I’m sorry they got pushed to the side for a bit.

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Wine and an X-Phile #01006: Shadows

“Do you know how difficult it is to fake your own death? Only one man has pulled it off. Elvis.”

Air Date: October 22, 1993
Directed by: Michael Katleman
Written by: Glen Morgan & James Wong

Filed Under: Monster of the Week

Synopsis:

After several deaths seem to be tied to the same person, Mulder and Scully head to Philadelphia to investigate.

Review:

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s really much wrong with this episode, sans it being a bit boring or predictable, but there’s something about it I don’t really like and couldn’t connect with the episode truly as much as I thought. I think maybe one of the reasons the episode doesn’t jive with me is that there are a lot of unnecessary unanswered questions, especially for an episode that isn’t supposed to be tied with any overarching plot. Why did we have to see the trio from the mysterious agency? They seemed to only be there because of the way that the duo was killed because it was so unusual and not necessarily because they were terrorists and potentially tied to the greater plot with the frim and their arms deals. It kind of felt weird and misplaced, and I guess one could say they were just there to throw you off of the ending, but there really was no need.

I do think it’s interesting we never truly get a sense of Howard Graves as a person. He’s pretty morally grey, even in ghost form, and only really looked out for Lauren - and in that, it seemed only because she was the age his late daughter would have been. He was pretty adamant about killing off anyone who got near her, whether good or bad or how it affect her innocence, and it made him pretty unpredictable which helped with the creepy factor. I think the added tie in that the firm had been doing things that were grounded in reality instead of helping some random experiment or abnormal substance was a good touch. I personally connect and am creeped out more by real-life horrors and terrible people who are that way without the help of paranormal things, and tieing the two together made that enjoyable.

The episode has some creepier moments, specifically the first scene of the episode when we see the two muggers getting killed in the beginning. It had a good slasher film quality to it and I think set up the episode nicely. The inconsistent anger of Graves, even when he was trying to tell Lauren how he died, made him unpredictable and kept up the mystique of who he was and kept the ending an ok surprise.

Extras:

The episode was inspired by the 1982 horror film, The Entity. Some of the filming of the effects that happened during the scene where the attackers come to get Lauren at her home took too long, and pushed the crew out of their noise curfew time:

All of a sudden this [naked] guy appeared on his porch across the street. He was screaming obscenities at the crew, telling us to go home, that we had no right to be there [....] We ignored him and continued filming. I was determined to get the day and get us out of there as quickly as possible. He blustered on for another minute or so, then gave up. We wrapped around 12:30 a.m. It was one of the most ridiculous on-location moments I can recall during my five years on The X-Files." (X Marks the Spot (On Location with The X-Files), pp. 36-37) (original source)

Favorite Prop(s):

I don’t know. The To-day / to-morrows plaque is just so memorable.

MSR:

There were just so many times they just had to be close to each other.

Rating:

3/5. I know that I said I hated it, but on a whole the episode is fine. I think it’s a good one to rewatch only after having not seen it for a while. I usually end up watching these episodes a couple of times, and when writing the post but Hulu was down when I started to write and found that even when it was accessible again I had no real want to watch it.

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Wine and an X-Phile #01005: The Jersey Devil

“Unlike you Mulder, I’d like to have a life.”

Air Date: October 8, 1993
Directed by: Joe Napolitano
Written by: Chris Carter

Filed Under: Monster of the Week

Synopsis:

Mulder and Scully go to New Jersey to investigate the news of a body that was dismembered details that resemble a case from the 40’s that Mulder thinks could be the work of the Jersey Devil.

Review:

This episode is honestly not one of my favorites of the season. It’s kind of messy and I don’t think the ending worked as well as it could. I can understand why Carter wrote it the way he did, it just wasn’t as interesting and I don't think his want for the Jersey Devil to be perceived as the “missing link” instead of the focus on the creature, which doesn’t really translate in any sort of entertainment sense. I also think that using a cryptoid that is a fairly known one probably wasn’t the best choice for this because he inherently came in with the audience (who knows of the creature’s lore) already thinking it was going to go one way when it went the other. I also felt the need to make Mulder so infatuated with the creature came out as forced and seemed to only be placed into the story as a way to parallel Scully’s story line when it didn’t need to.

I do think that the focus on Scully outside of the office and Mulder was the most interesting and entertaining aspect. Not just because we got to see Scully’s fancy date outfit, but we get more of a sense of how working on the X-Files has been limiting her and taking away her free time - which is something we already see and know that affects Mulder to his detriment. In that respect it is vital, especially at the point we are in the season and with a need to still focus more on who Scully is outside of being with Mulder. Out of the two Scully is the one who would have a life, and not showing that wouldn’t work with her character. Yes, she is falling more into becoming wrapped up in the cases with Mulder, but she is still new to the unit and work. It’s a nice perspective to see her in.

I do think an interesting plot point in the episode is Scully bringing Mulder to the anthropologist. It’s a small thing, and I’m fairly certain the intention of the scene is to hone in on Carter’s want to focus the monster on its evolutional impact and so bringing Mulder there is to have that dialogue, but it’s one of those things that just solidify the reasons why I like Scully. She doesn’t believe in the Jersey Devil, yet she is open and respectful enough to bring Mulder to someone who does, a scientist. Scully may spend every episode questioning everything she sees, but she does still want to give all the cases the same respect.

Extras:

While the episode eluded to real-life reports of the Jersey Devil, Carter based the episode after an essay by E.O. Wilson.

Favorite Prop(s):

Of course I was going to pick this awesome drawing. Although sometimes props is the one who finds and takes care of getting animals and their handlers, so I could have also picked her godson’s dog that was eating the cake at the party. But this drawing is so great. Spitting image.

MSR:

Why do they always have to lean in so close to each other. It’s just so consistent. I also like Scully’s “He’s a jerk. He’s not a jerk.” line when she was talking to her friend at her godson’s party. But really, the defining moment of the episode is that Scully chose Mulder over Rob.

Rating:

2.5/5. Not my favorite and I felt that in Carter’s want to see the Jersey Devil in a new light, we missed out on some fun creature antics we could have had.

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-01004: Conduit

“Do you believe the voice? I want to believe.”

Air Date: October 1, 1993
Directed by: Daniel Sackheim
Written by: Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon

Filed Under: Monster of the Week

Synopsis:

After a teen girl goes missing in Iowa whose mother believes has been abducted by aliens, Mulder and Scully investigate while Mulder tries to find more clues that may tie with his sister’s abduction.

Review:

While the episode is technically regarded as a Monster of the Week episode, I’d argue that it leans more into the mythology especially as we start to learn in later seasons how connected his sister’s abduction is in relation with the overarching mythology. We get more of a look at how deeply the abduction has affected him and his work and starts to solidify some of Scully’s understanding that goes past knowing the basic storyline. One of the biggest things that I thought the story did right was how the central story with Ruby and her mother mirrors that of Samantha and Mulder. Mulder sees so much of the investigation that resonates with his story and connects with the investigation because of it. You can see his desperation to find answers because of the possibility of it being a clue to him reuniting with her.

When Darlene Morris refuses to investigate more about her daughter’s disappearance, you can see the desperation in Mulder as he tries to convince her, mostly because Ruby may hold some clues as to where Samantha is and it’s a devastating blow for Mulder to be cut off like that. We already know that Scully knows the basic story behind what happened, but this event prompts Scully to dive a bit deeper into the file and the tapes of Mulder’s hypnosis because she understands the need to learn more. The ending scene with Mulder at the church enforces his pain and his want to understand what is going on and believe that everything will be fine and that he will find Samantha, but has started to finally lose hope. In a way, Scully learning more and Mulder starting to lose faith in finding Samantha further push the audience to understand the differences in the way that they choose to believe in faith. Scully’s religious faith hasn’t been discussed at depth yet and we still have at least an episode or two before the discussion begins, but this is the beginning of that. The series plays with faith in a lot of ways, and this is one of the times they flip the narrative of Mulder the believer, and Scully the skeptic.

I also wanted to quickly bring up another issue that the episode deals with. Whether intentional or not, the episode highlights some major problems with law enforcement and missing persons cases that is still a problem almost thirty years later. Ruby is seen as a nuisance and immoral and because of this, the sheriff is unwilling to care or spend much time on her disappearance. He spends most of the episode making snide remarks or just shrugging off evidence that could lead to her being found. Her mother has to constantly hound investigators and make noise for anyone to listen to her. We see this a lot in society, specifically with troubled females, and how detrimental it is in recovery. The episode also pushes the problem one step further with the mother’s background with UFO sightings. She is already seen as mentally unwell, and not many believe her.

Extras:

Daniel Sackheim was last seen as director for the episode Deep Throat, and Gansa and Gordon will show up a few more times this season as a writing team. I noticed when I was going through my screenshots a goof on the tabloid clipping. The one that was attached to the file Scully is given at the beginning of the episode says Desiree, and the one Mulder uses for his projector has her correct name, Darlene.

This isn’t any sort of extra or Easter Egg as this happened a good 7 years after this episode aired, but I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the scene where Scully encounters the wolves, and not mention her role as the voice of Moro, the white wolf spirit, in the English dub of my favorite Ghibli film, Princess Mononoke. If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly suggest you do. The dub is actually one of the better ones that I’ve seen (and no, it’s not my favorite because of her. It’s just an added bonus).

Favorite Prop(s):

Based on last week’s post and my favorite prop being a newspaper…are you sensing a theme? I just love paper props, I can’t help it. I might have to do an entire post on them at this rate. I remember the first time I watched this episode and how amazing it was to see the reveal of this. Especially at that time when graphics were new and we didn’t have access to so many easy editing software, this just seemed really cool.

MSR:

Not many moments in this episode as Scully’s main role is to be more of a silent support for Mulder and to hold him back from letting the investigation take him over. It really highlights their support for each other.

Rating:

4/5. This episode is one of my favorites of the alien episodes, and a top favorite of the season. It’s creepy but also heartbreaking and shows us more of a vulnerable side of Mudler. “Rubaaaay” will forever be etched in my brain.

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-01003: Squeeze

“Is there any way I can get it off my fingers quickly without betraying my cool exterior?"

Air Date: September 24, 1993
Directed by: Harry Longstreet
Written by: Glen Morgan & James Wong

Filed Under: Monster of the Week

Synopsis:

A former academy classmate of Scully’s asks her and Mulder to help with a serial killer case that has proven to be strange with the lack of clues. The investigation leads to a century-old killer who can squeeze his body through narrow areas to attack without trace.

Review:

It’s our first proper Monster of the Week! And our first introduction to one of the best writing team duos, Glen Morgan and James Wong. As a creature feature lover, the MOTWs have always been my favorite of the episodes. While I do think The X-Files does some good storylines that are fun when connected with the greater conspiracy arc, these types of episodes with weird creatures are always just fun and a little spooky - right up my alley. I had forgotten how creepy this show really got and it really honed in on why I still look back on the series in fondness. I’ve talked about this previously on the blog and elsewhere but I’m not one to get scared, so my judgment of what is truly is scary and what isn’t is non-existent, but this episode starts us off spooky from the very beginning showing Tooms from the sewer grate, his eyes really the only thing you can see.

The episode focused on Mulder’s outcast (and spooky) status within other members of the FBI. Up until this point we’ve only heard these stories in passing and never got a true sense of how the rest of the agents felt about him and it was an interesting insight. The episode also focuses more on the dynamic of the relationship between Mulder and Scully and how it’s already starting to strengthen and solidify. While Scully doesn’t believe everything that Mulder does, she does back him up throughout multiple parts of this episode despite not believing what Tooms is and knowing Colton for a lot longer than Mulder. When Colton calls off the stakeout, she’s angry and vowes to back him up against the bureau.

It also is the begining of Mulder truly believing in Scully’s skill outside of her medical status. Up until this point, the show has focused on Mulder being a good agent and profiler (which is probably the main reason he’s allowed to keep on the X-Files Project, because they can’t afford to lose him as an agent), but we haven’t gotten to see that in Scully outside of her medical skills. When they are at the first initial stakeout, one that Scully has profiled the perpetrator to be at, Mulder doubts he will be there and questions Scully’s profile. When Tooms is caught, you can see Mulder’s shift in his view of Scully. I don’t think Mulder thought of her less before this point, but I do feel that Mulder being forced to have been regulated to the basement and partnerless has clouded his judgement because he has to constantly put up a defense knowing that the person he’s around could be there to spy on him, find him weird, or not be there for him for long and he wasn’t expecting someone to be his match. It’s a small point, but I think it’s a greater defining point for the series in showing Scully as an equal. And with it being only the third episode not just for Mulder, but the viewers.

Or maybe it’s just Mulder falling in love with her. Either way works.

Another plot I really loved during the episode was the juxtaposition of Colton and Frank Briggs, the retired police officer who worked on the original cases involving Tooms. It is established fairly early on in the episode that Colton is only there to ‘win’ solving the challenging case, using other people on his way to the top. He really only called Scully to help him on the sidelines, and maybe make an ally for later on as he continues to climb the ladder as well as potentially using Mulder’s known profiling skills. Briggs is saddened by the case, and after decades of it not having been solved and the families not having answers, it has affected him. Briggs also mirrors Mulder in a way, as we’ll see a little bit more in the next episode, Conduit. Mulder’s pursuit for solving cases is based on his own personal story of being a victim that has yet to be given answers. He is in the unique position to understand what the people in these cases have to deal with. Colton stopping the investigation is the same as Briggs being regulated to a desk job after the murders started again. The officers who stop Briggs from trying to solve the case could be seen as the reason Tooms continued to kill, just as Colton stopping Mulder’s stakeout could be seen as effectively allowing Tooms to almost kill Scully.

A lot of the episode is focused on the creepiness of Tooms in the way that he moves and the way that no area is safe, and I think it portrays that uneasiness well. The thought of knowing that no matter how safe you have made your own space and it still not being enough is a horrific thought. I think the added elements of focusing on Tooms as a serial killer also add to this uneasiness, as he is then viewed as a home intruder - a real and tangible threat to everyone watching. I think that’s also why this episode in particular is always labeled as one of the scariest episodes. It combines not only the fake monsters, but the real ones as well.

Extras:

Morgan and Wong were inspired by Jack the Ripper and Richard Ramirez actions, specifically Ramirez who despite his size was entering homes through the small window in the shower. The episode had some issues with production, as the director and the duo clashed on the direction the show was being taken. Because of this, and Carter’s respect for their work and dedication on the episode, they were able to follow up the story with the later episode in the season, Tooms.

Favorite Prop(s):

One of my favorite graphic props to work on has always been newspapers. I don’t know if it’s because I can zone out and just focus on the creation of a repetitive object, or that the prop itself is an interesting one. Newspapers aren’t generally thought about, they are mostly used as something for the actor to hold in their hands but it can contain so much information. It can tell of a further plot, or clue into when and where the drama is set without saying a word. It was prop I created frequently, and have always appreciated how impactful it truly can be. The newspaper in the episode is obviously used in the most known way - as the nest that Tooms creates - but it also is the reason we learn that Briggs can finally start to heal.

MSR:

I don’t like to give “boy rescues girl who’s perfectly capable but randomly isn’t so the boy can become the hero” tropes attention, but this episode I may have to give an exception tp. Mulder rushing to save Scully is great, but I personally love how it shows them working together, physically, to fight off the intruder. They truly work well together. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Mulder and Scully’s library date looking at the microfiche as it works perfectly with my favorite prop. Just a couple of love birds watching the pages fly by.

Rating:

4/5 wine glasses. Squeeze has the unintended problem of being a little bit of a harder rewatch because of what has happened with the actor playing Tooms, Doug Hutchison (who is very much more spooky than a being that can squeeze itself in tight spots), and so the rewatch wasn’t as a good as it could have been. Despite that, it still lives up as a pretty solid first Monster of the Week and reliving the story of the monster I always think of when I look at a/c vents was fun. It was also the perfect episode to ring in the spooky season.

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-01002: Deep Throat

“Let’s just say this case has a distinct smell to it. A certain paranormal bouquet.”

Air Date: September 17, 1993
Directed by: Daniel Sackheim
Written by: Chris Carter

Filed Under: Mythology

I would be a terrible fan not to take a second to mention Gillian Anderson’s Emmy win for The Crown (her first Emmy was for The X-Files back in 1997). While I haven’t watched the show, I’m sure it’s wonderful and she’s always deserving of the praise she gets for her acting. And her dress! With the tiny penises! All I ever wanted to be was Gillian Anderson when I grew up and still do.

Synopsis:

Mulder and Scully travel to Ellens Air Base in Southwest Idaho to investigate the disappearances of test pilots at the base and uncover secrets about special aircraft and experiments being conducted by the military. In his pursuit of information for the investigation, Mulder meets a secretive informant.

Review:

Here we are at the second episode and already being dumped with a slew of information, a lot of what sets up for continuing storylines for the rest of the series. We also are introduced to a major reoccuring character who is tied to not only what the government has been hiding but also Mulder’s family secrets: Deep Throat! This is a major episode in the general mythology of the show, and while I respect that…it isn’t one of my favorite episodes. Monster of the Week will forever and always have my heart, I love the creepy and spooky. Conspiracies aren’t generally my thing. But I think one of the reasons why this specific episode just didn’t click with me is that I feel like a lot of this information is rushed. Not necessarily within the episode, but where we are in the series. I mean we’re only in the second episode and we are getting major confirmations about UFO testings and government (and military) coverups.

I also felt like the episode was competing with two different stories: the test pilots and Mulder’s UFO search. Neither work that well with each other. The pilots get regulated to the back for most of the episode as almost an afterthought and only serve as the purpose to get Mulder and Scully there. I understand that the only reason Mulder wants to take the case is for the reason to get to see the air craft and have a purpose to be there, I just feel like we still should have spent a bit more time on the case itself. The episode does show how much Mulder is willing to do to find the truth even to the determinate of his health, and it foreshadows some of the further issues with Mulder’s insistence creating an unsafe environment for not just him, but Scully as well. But maybe dial that back a bit during this episode so we can talk more about weird air craft test pilots who pluck their hair to use in fishing lures, you know? We breeze past so many things and then all of a sudden the missing pilot is back, then he’s weird, and then normal.

I do respect what the episode does to set up Deep Throat’s character, and do think that it worked well to have it introduce how influential and connected he really is. We spend several episodes wondering if he’s truly there to help and why, but I don’t think they drag it out unnecessarily and this episode kind of helps that along. We get to see Deep Throat in more of his morally grey role and not a villain. The foreshadowing from Deep Throat about how this all has been something much more deeper than Mulder can and will ever know is so much more impactful now after seeing the full series and knowing how things play out with Mulder’s father and his part in the greater conspiracies and coverups. While I don’t know if it was intentional at the time they wrote this episode as a story arc they knew they were going to incorporate, it’s fun that the show does eventually play that out.

“Mr. Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time.” - Deep Throat

Extras:

This is not Daniel Sackheim’s only directing credit for the series, as he’s also worked on a handful of episodes. He also worked as consulting producer for 23 episodes of the series as well as working as a director or producer on a slew of great series such as: Lovecraft Country, True Detective, and The Americans. This episode also marks the first episode of the wonderful and amazing Mark Snow as composer. The scenes where Mulder infiltrates the air base were shot at a real US air base. We also see more of the number Easter Eggs with Scully’s report being #DF101356.

Favorite Prop(s):

Not much goes on this episode to really have a favorite prop, so this week we are focusing on a set. I love a good diner scene, especially in The X-Files and especially one with UFO sightings printed out for purchase. The show is no stranger to these types of places, and it’s always fun when one shows up. And the picture that Mulder eventually buys is still ingrained into my brain as the iconic look of an UFO.

MSR:

Should I do this? I don’t know. Maybe? I guess I will. Because I am me and a deep and long time shipper we’re adding a new section second episode in that highlights some good MSR moments. There were just so many good ones in this episode that I had to share some of them, and I know there will be more in future that I’ll want to highlight so might as well make them their own section. They truly loved each other from the very beginning. My personal favorites of the episode is the first scene at the bar and the lovebirds watching the lights of the air show. Sigh.

Rating:

3.5/5 wine glasses. While I don’t think the central story was fleshed out and felt like filler, I do respect the importance of this episode for the general lore of the show. I’ll also give a 1/2 point to the appearance of stoner Seth Green.

I realized last week that I didn’t really explain my rating scale, and that might be something that should be known. I kind of don’t like ratings because they can vary from person to person and what I think is important and that can impact a rating might not necessarily reflect what you would.

To help out I’ve made a handy chart that’s very much on theme:

5 - My glass is still full it was so good.
4 - Good binge, finished the glass but it took the full episode.
3 - Average, mostly a reason to drink wine. I went up to refill at least once without pausing.
2 - More wine, please. Nevermind, just bring the bottle over here.
1 - At least there was wine?

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-01001: Pilot

“The answers are there, you just have to know where to look.”

Air Date: September 10, 1993
Directed by: Robert Mandel
Written by: Chris Carter

Filed Under: Mythology/Monster of the Week

Synopsis:

Scully is assigned to work on the X-Files project and to report what is going on with the project and what is happening during investigations. Mulder and Scully’s first investigation takes them to Bellflower Oregon to try to find the truth the unexplained deaths and disappearances behind graduates from the same high school class.

Review:

I think one of the things that I found most engaging about this first episode is that right off the bat we are in the story, there isn’t much time spent setting up what’s going on. I suppose the intention was to mirror the journey that Scully takes, as she is immediately given this position right out of medical school and then thrown into her first case without much of a hesitation nor real guidance or acclamation. I really enjoyed that we didn’t spend much time on the setup and really got into what the show would end up essentially being about: Mulder and Scully’s great relationship and the weird cases they had to investigate with the government constantly trying to cover it all up. It’s actually a good summary of the entire series in that respect and you get a good glimpse of the journey you are going to take before it even happened.

I don’t think I ever truly grasped how many things in the episode so clearly define who the characters are and their relationship with each other from the get-go. From little things like Mulder taking the time to read her thesis before her coming, with the knowledge that she would probably not stay for long like the rest, to asking her point blank about aliens knowing that the instant he said that she could be out. Even just knowing what position she was actually hired for, and why she was placed with him, and still not hesitating to include her the minute she stepped foot into that office. From day one they just clicked, you know? And sure, it could have been his “initiation” for her, but to me it’s because he had already felt something more with her that he was willing to include and listen to her side. He was also desperate for a partner to share things with and he chose to trust her.

It’s also what made me click with the drama. You didn’t have to get me with the subject material. The creepy and spooky thing that they had going was already an instant sell. I really hate the trope that most of these crime/medical shows do where they introduce characters and we have to spend all that annoying time with them getting used to each other in this “enemies to co-workers” game. We don’t have to spend that exhaustion with Mulder and Scully. They just fell into place from the very beginning, allowing us to vibe with their relationship and focus on the wacky stories. There’s an instant trust. He even goes as far as being comfortable enough with her to tell his sister’s story within days of knowing her. Scully shows that she can match him at all points. She takes the time to listen to what he has to say, and even when things are bat shit crazy (like doing an autopsy on an ape that was found in a graveyard) she does so with care and the want to find the truth and to help the victims.

Yes, The X-Files is aliens and monsters and weird unexplained things, but in the end it’s mostly character driven and driven by the relationship between Mulder and Scully and we get to see that very clearly in this fist episode. David and Gillian make this show what it is and from day one bounced off each other in a way that was - and still is - captivating. They don’t feel awkward when they are on screen together, they just fit and I think that was what set this episode apart as a pilot, the exploration of their relationship.

I did feel that the execution of the central story got a bit muddled at times, and that’s mostly to do with the amount of things that happen in such a short time that overloads the information given. It is a bit too much, especially for a pilot and one that was doing something different. I think the show falters on this a bit, as it is both a character driven and plot driven show and those are competing for time. I would have liked for them to have tightened up the story with Billy Miles a bit more, or maybe focus more on the mysterious spots that kept appearing. It’s a lot of weird things thrown into the show at once and no answers are provided, nor enough time was spent.

This episode was also the only one with the title screen “The following story is inspired by actual documented accounts”. Chris Carter used bits and pieces from real documented abduction cases in the episode, most notably the implant and the marks, but with the lack of any of these sorts of things common knowledge they became buried in the plot and were not given enough time to explain why they were so important. I like and appreciate that the nod is there and do respect the want to have the story come from a place of research and truth, I just feel that maybe some of our unanswered questions and confusion would have been alleviated if the time went to other points in the story.

Extras:

This is the only episode where the whistle intro is not used. Carter still had some issues with what they had and they were still tweaking it after the episode aired. We also get the first introduction to one of the most known Easter Eggs in the series, specific time readings. 11:21 when Mulder calls Scully (11/21 being Carter’s wife’s birthday and will be heavily used from now on), and during the autopsy scene the time is 10:56, a nod to Carter’s birthday (10/13/56).

Favorite Prop(s):

I thought it would be fun to point out my favorite prop from each of the episodes. Props are my thing (in non-pandemic times) and it just feels like a very me thing to do. This episode had a lot of contenders, but in the end it has to go to the mammalian corpse that was found in Ray Soames’ casket. It’s weird and creepy and was not expected, but also it just looks like it was a fun prop to create.

Another honorable mention goes to the nose bleed scene, which I remember very clearly the head of makeup talking about it on a behind the scenes video and in some of the books about all the logistics and problems it faced since they wanted it to be a practical effect. It would later help me out in my job in props with the knowledge of how to do those things onstage. Not only is The X-Files entertaining, but also an educational experience that helped me on the job.

Rating:

4.5/5 wine glasses. A solid start to the series, and an episode I can watch over and over (and obviously have considering I know pretty much the entire thing by heart). It makes me reminisce about my enjoyment of the series as a whole, and we get enough bits and pieces that indicate what future episodes will hold that it makes me excited. While there were some issues with the plot and story pacing, the setup for the characters and the essence of the show was spot on from the beginning.

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Wine and an X-Phile #X-525652

I'm nothing if not absurd and weird and unpredictable, especially with this blog, and starting today I’m going to be adding a new element to that will become a regular Friday thing. The date just worked out a little too well to start now and I just jumped at the chance. 28 years ago a show premiered that is very near and dear to my heart, and while I wasn’t around for the very start of it (being a 9-year-old), I did watch it from very early on. It is the single television series that has stayed with me for most of my life. One that I love dearly and have always saved a place for it even after all these years. September 10,1993 the first episode of The X-Files premiered on Fox.

I’ve wanted to do some sort of passion project with The X-Files for a really long time. Start a podcast or something, I just never sat down and did it. I think a bit of that was because of life and school, and over the past years my attention on the Asian entertainment world. Not just watching things, but starting this blog, and eventually starting the podcast. I focused my work elsewhere and kind of put this in the back of my head. The series never left, I just kind of gave up on doing something specific with it. But the world is all sorts of messed up right now, and I’m just as messed up and what perfect time to dive into something that’s just going to make me happy. Relive those days of being surrounded by the fandom and consuming the product, remembering bits and pieces that my brain has let go of cause I’m not a teenager watching them in a row. I’m an adult. When I saw that this year September 10th would be back on a Friday - the day that it premiered back in 1993 - I just knew that I had to do something.

Do you remember back when Geocities was a thing? Like mid/late-90’s? My first official website was an X-Files website. I remember very clearly sitting at the computer figuring out the layout of each page, and what was going where. My friend Michelle helping. I had a page that was titled YKYAXPW: You Know You’re An X-Phile When. I taped episodes, was active on message boards. I obsessively checked smartania.com/Church of X. I saved every magazine article that even slightly mentioned the show. I have a numbered Fossil watch still in it’s test tube display. I bought all the books, both the lexicons and the fictional works. I was there every Friday (and then Sunday) night religiously. Time stopped at 10:13 and 11:21.

X-Files was such a huge part of my life, and it still is. I’ve done re-watches in the past, so it isn’t something I have completely let go. I’m sure if you follow my Twitter or the podcast you’ve heard about me mention it. I was present for the last two season reboots, watching them as soon as they aired, have bought the books that have come out since then, and kept up with what Gillian and David were doing. It’s always just tucked away in my pocket and it’s now time to take it out. I haven’t properly sat down and watched the series in full in a number of years. The last time I really remember a dedicated full watch (with movies) was back in 2016 before the 10th season, and a proper re-watch has been a long time coming. Why not add another element to my watch by reviewing the episodes on the blog?

I’ll be starting reviews next week. One of the things that I personally like when I’m looking for X-Files content is a look at the series as a whole, and not confined to non-spoiler talk and observations. The reviews will focus on that. Obviously it’s been a while since I’ve done a re-watch so I won’t remember every connection, but I hope that the reviews will dive into what I remember: extra tid-bits, fun facts, how the episodes tie with later revelations on the mythology, and all the fun that is part of the lore both onscreen and off. While I loved the whole of The X-Files, what I loved most about being part of the fandom was those fun extra things and insight that was huge with the show. Chris Carter and the rest of producers and writers working on the show were really big on Easter Eggs, and there are loads of them that aren’t just one-offs and carry through the entire series.

While I intend to go pretty much in order, I might end up bouncing around. I made a specific page where I’ll keep things updated to see what episodes I’ve reviewed so far. I might also do other posts. I mentioned I have books, so I could do a review or maybe a top ten list. Mostly for fun, but also so I’m not tied to a review every week, especially since I’m still going to be working on my other posts for this blog. Which brings me to that point, I’m not changing this blog into a strictly X-Files blog. I’m still going to be doing a lot of the other things that I already do, just adding this as another thing. I know that it seems weird that I’m doing posts on Asian entertainment stuff…and then X-Files, but it’s the type of person I am, and I’ve always wanted the blog to reflect me more than anything else - and this is a part of me.

In a perfect world I’d go through all of the reviews by the time the show turns 30 in 2023. While a re-watch before that is entirely possible, I don’t think I can churn out reviews that fast and kind of don’t want to. So for now, this is a one episode a week (save the weeks I end up doing a non-review post) thing. It might change with how I’m feeling, or time commitments, but that’s my plan for right now.

So, if you are already a reader of the blog, I hope maybe some of you are also fans of the show and will have fun with these. Or if you are a new reader who already has a love of the show and have stumbled upon this I hope that you have fun reliving The X-Files with me.

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