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-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-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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