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Revisiting The X Files Episode 12 · Death by Multimedia

0:22
None. Good day everyone, and welcome
0:50
back for episode 12 of Revisiting The X-Files, where
0:56
each episode I'll be working my way through the 11 series, 2
0:59
movies, and several books that make up The X-Files.
1:04
And yes, there has been quite a hiatus since our last episode,
1:08
for which I do apologize. It's been a busy time here
1:12
within the Metal Cabin Podcasting Network, which also
1:15
included some well deserved holiday time.
1:18
So unfortunately some of my podcasting has been put on the
1:22
back burner for a little while. However, we're back now and all
1:27
set to check out the exciting conclusion to series 2 of this
1:31
wonderful science fiction series.
1:34
For those of you returning for this next episode, once again,
1:37
thanks for being here. And if you're a first time
1:40
listener, well, I hope that it's not only enjoyable for you to
1:43
listen to, but perhaps piques your interest once again in a
1:47
great TV show. The format here is that I'll be
1:50
working my way through the entire show and several other
1:53
media as we go, and for the most part, we'll cover 5 episodes of
1:58
the series in each podcast episode.
2:01
Now, usually this is the point of the episode where I'll go
2:04
back through our listener feedback because that is
2:06
something that I appreciate on these episodes of the podcast.
2:10
However, despite the fact that I know we've had comments from
2:14
regular listeners in Michael from Melbourne and Jeff from
2:17
Florida, they are from so long ago that I have misplaced where
2:21
they're at. So apologies to those two
2:24
gentlemen and I promise I will do better for the next episode.
2:29
So, without any further ado, let's get back into revisiting
2:34
The X-Files. So let's take a look at episode
2:42
21 from Series 2, which is titled The Kalisari.
2:46
This was written by Sarah Chano and directed by Mike Vajar, both
2:51
their first credits on The X-Files.
2:54
Now apparently the episode was based largely on an idea that
2:57
Chris Carter had had about a garage door opener hanging and
3:02
was taken on by Sarah when she was writing this.
3:05
Christine Wills, who played the part of Agent Kosef, reprises
3:09
her role from an earlier episode, which was from
3:12
Irresistible for those of you who remember that episode from a
3:16
podcast a couple of episodes ago.
3:19
So here on the Kalisari we see a family that has all the
3:23
hallmarks of being a cursed family.
3:26
The opening scene of the episode sets things up nicely where we
3:29
have the snotty nosed brat son Charlie who gets a bit
3:33
persnickety because his youngest brother Teddy loses his balloon
3:37
and his father takes his to appease the younger brother.
3:41
That balloon escapes again and leads Charlie off in front of
3:46
the kids sized train, which suddenly has its brakes fail and
3:51
Charlie gets taken out in what in real life would have been a
3:54
horrible scene. But that's OK, because Charlie
3:58
shows no emotion about losing his little brother in such a
4:01
tragic way, and he really does have a distinctively Damien from
4:07
the Omen look about him, and I wonder if that was deliberate.
4:11
No matter. Mulder has his interest piqued
4:14
when he sees video footage of the incident from three months
4:17
later and the balloon actually pulling itself against the wind.
4:22
Mulder suspects Poltergeist, but Scully, as ever, is unsure.
4:28
Someone who is sure is Grandma Golda, who seems to know what is
4:32
going on. Superstitions rule her life when
4:36
Charlie's dad Steve doesn't actually believe in, but he
4:40
probably wishes he had soon after when he gets caught in the
4:44
automatic garage door and finds himself strangled to death.
4:49
When will these people learn? Golda tries to enlist some
4:53
Calisari Mystics, but they then get turfed out, which in the end
4:58
costs Golda her life as well. Did you talk to Charlie?
5:02
He. Says he doesn't remember
5:04
anything. Now, the coroner's preliminary
5:07
report states that she died of a heart attack.
5:09
But those wounds molder. I swear it looked like her eyes
5:12
were picked out. Well, there was more ash on the
5:14
floor beneath the old woman's body.
5:15
And look at this. What is it?
5:17
It's. Mugwort.
5:19
I think it's a ceremonial herb, You.
5:22
Think this was a ritual? Killing.
5:24
No, the reverse swastika on the window and the red string around
5:27
Charles wrist, those protective devices.
5:29
Protection against what? I don't know, but I think the
5:32
old woman knew the family was in trouble and those men were here
5:35
doing a ritual to help her. When Charlie is interviewed by
5:42
Agent Kosef about the intern, he swears that it wasn't him, but
5:47
it was Michael. It was Michael, and it's at this
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point that his mother reveals that Charlie is a twin whose
5:55
brother was stillborn but was still named Michael when he came
5:59
out. But Charlie had never been told
6:03
this by his parents. They wanted to keep it a secret
6:06
from him. So curiouser and curiouser,
6:11
Mulder asks the Mystics for help and they say that only a ritual
6:15
of separation can help. So Mulder goes with them and
6:19
with Charlie, while Scully heads off to find Maggie, who has been
6:23
taken home by the manifestation of Michael, who is posing as
6:28
Charlie. But mother Maggie, she knows
6:31
what's happening and she is up for the fight.
6:34
I mean, he's taken her son, her husband and her mother, all
6:40
while she sat around and ignored her mother's warnings.
6:43
So now it's on and while she is battling Michael, Scully has
6:49
also arrived and he's under attack as well.
6:52
Mulder on the other hand is drawn in to help restrain
6:55
Charlie during the separation and he's warned by the clerics
6:59
to look away. So it doesn't recognize you
7:03
Scully. Cops are beating again and is
7:05
about to meet her fate when Michael disappears.
7:09
The ceremony has been a success and Michael is gone, so Mum at
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least has one part of her family remaining.
7:18
And the episode closes with the clerics saying to Mulder you
7:21
must be careful, it knows you now.
7:24
Which is a comforting thing for Mulder to carry with him.
7:28
But then he's got a few paranormal and alien things that
7:32
also know him. So this episode draws heavily
7:36
off the feeling of The Exorcist and The Omen, both of which are
7:41
at the top of the tree when it comes to horror films involving
7:44
the occult. And there's a lot of terrific
7:47
stuff in this episode that comes from those shared storylines.
7:51
Perhaps the main problem here is that for ATV episode of 42
7:55
minutes, there is too much to squeeze into that time frame.
8:00
Perhaps it could have been A2 parter and allowed each part of
8:04
the story to come out in a more interesting pace.
8:08
But then again, perhaps it would then feel over long for the
8:11
storyline that perhaps they would stretch out everything a
8:14
little bit too much. It's just that the deaths feel a
8:17
bit rushed, and Maggie's complete separation from what is
8:22
happening until finally she and Charlie are the only two left
8:25
seems a little bit surreal even for The X-Files.
8:29
And the episode has almost nothing of our two intrepid
8:33
agents. The story more or less carries
8:35
through without their input, and they barely influence the way
8:39
events pan out. They're just there for the ride,
8:42
standing to the side and watching everything happening
8:44
around them. Still, I think it's still a good
8:48
enough episode. There is enough tension there to
8:50
keep you interested, even though you know the good guys will be
8:55
OK. So for me, I'd say that this is
8:58
a four out of five episode, a reasonable assessment of the
9:01
episode, if you will. And so we go on to episode 22 of
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Season 2, which is titled F Emasculata.
9:15
It was written by the pairing of Chris Carter and Howard Gordon
9:19
and directed by Rob Bowman. So let me say this from the
9:23
outset. There are plot holes and they
9:26
abound in this episode which work against the good moments
9:29
that are offered within. So we start off with the the
9:33
obvious benefactor of the episode who lasts the whole one
9:37
minute, which is the unfortunate Robert Torrance.
9:40
I mean, he's out there and he's in the wilderness and honestly,
9:45
let's face it, don't play with deceased animals ever, but
9:51
especially ones that have pulsing sores on them.
9:54
Because it just seems like this is an obvious thing that is
9:57
going to come back and bite you in the ass.
10:00
And as it does, exactly what happens.
10:03
Postule smashed and Robert Torrance dead.
10:07
Meanwhile, amazingly coincidentally, a prison inmate
10:11
named Robert Torrance is sent an infected leg of meat which, when
10:16
he checks it out, has these pulsing saws on it, and then
10:21
they explode in his face. And hey, he ties a violent,
10:25
terrible death a day later. Now, how could this possibly
10:29
have happened? What is even more extraordinary
10:33
is that two other inmates are forced to clean out his room
10:36
after he has passed, but at the same time they plan an escape
10:41
from the jail, which somehow just goes off without a hitch.
10:45
Now who would have thought, but they were in the laundry basket
10:50
with that infected material. Now that cannot be good.
10:55
Mulder and Scully of course are called in to help with the
10:58
manhunt, but they find that the prisoner suddenly is also in
11:01
quarantine lockdown, so that seems odd.
11:05
So the agents split up. Scully is staying to try and
11:08
discover what is happening at the jail and Molder joins the
11:11
manhunt for the two prisoners who have escaped.
11:14
Scully soon discovers this is far more dangerous than first
11:18
imagined. The prison population is
11:20
infected with this contagion, but her every step to discover
11:24
what has happened of course is thwarted.
11:27
Dr. Osborne, who is overseeing this, then gets infected himself
11:30
from a blowout, which he knows is fatal, and as they're working
11:36
together, he informs Scully that it is Pink Pharmaceuticals who
11:40
is behind the contagion, introducing it to a secure
11:44
population as an experiment. Which is what?
11:47
Agile is a terrific spot to do that.
11:49
Which is fine, of course, until two men escape on the outside.
11:54
The manhunt becomes a bit like Smokey and the Bandit, to be
11:58
honest, with the CDC and police arriving just too late at every
12:02
turn to nail down these convicts.
12:05
Our good old boys have unsurprisingly headed for home,
12:09
but when they arrive, 1 is already badly sick and the other
12:13
one seems to be already heading that way too.
12:16
Scully tells Mulder what's going on and that the escapees have to
12:20
be found or this contagion will spread like wildfire.
12:24
So the pressure is suddenly on. Eventually, of course, they
12:28
catch up with those at the house, but one has already died,
12:33
one has escaped, and the girlfriend is now infected.
12:37
So, you know, good news all round.
12:40
So Mulder decides to confront Skinner about this assignment,
12:43
which leads to another wonderful office scene back at the FBI.
12:48
Come. In.
12:52
Thank you for seeing me at this late hour, Sir.
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What is it, Agent Mullen? This case we've been assigned, I
12:57
believe we've been misled, possibly deceived, deceived,
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whoever originated the case. What is the accusation, Agent
13:05
Mullen? That Agent Skelly and I were
13:14
sent on this manhunt without knowledge of the existence or
13:17
nature of a contagion. What is the exact nature?
13:20
Of the contagion. It's deadly.
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It kills within 36 hours. One escaped convict was
13:26
infected. He's dead now.
13:28
The other man may be infected. He's on the loose.
13:30
Does anyone know how it's communicated?
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Whether it's a virus or bacteria?
13:34
We. Just know that over a dozen men
13:35
have died from it and it appears to be highly contagious.
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And you don't know much. Change your mind.
13:40
Why weren't we told the? Truth.
13:41
We didn't know the truth, but we knew we'd only have slowed you
13:44
down. But innocent people could be
13:46
infected. What you knew could have.
13:47
Prevented that. Wow. 1988 there was an outbreak
13:51
of hemorrhagic fever in Sacramento, CA.
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The truth would have caused panic.
13:57
Panic would have cost lives. They controlled the disease by
14:00
controlling the information. You can't protect the public by
14:03
lying to them. It's done every day.
14:06
I won't be a party to it. How about you?
14:14
You're a party to it already. How many people are being
14:19
infected while you stand here not doing your job?
14:22
1020? What's the truth, Agent Mulder?
14:35
And yes, The X-Files is made better by these scenes where we
14:40
not only see Mulder unhinged before dragging himself back, we
14:45
see Skinner moving between his position as assistant director
14:49
to pseudo friend and colleague who is trying to help Mulder.
14:54
And of course there's the always inflammatory presence of the
14:58
Smoking Man. This is followed by another
15:01
superb scene between Mulder and Scully again, where they square
15:04
off against each other with their own frustrations and
15:07
battles going on before the obvious care the two have for
15:11
each other professionally and personally comes back to the
15:14
fore. It's a really excellently
15:16
written scene, but even better performed by all four of those
15:21
in those two scenes, and it's easily the best part of the
15:25
episode. So Mulder tracks the last
15:28
escapade down to the bus station and holds him on the bus, hoping
15:33
to take him alive and cajoling him to come with him peacefully
15:37
as he realizes that he needs him alive for evidence and proof of
15:40
what has happened. But of course, he's taken out by
15:44
a sniper and that opportunity is gone.
15:48
And of course, we eventually discover that the parcel is
15:50
explained away as a mistaken identity because of the two at
15:55
the top of the episode who have the same name, which clears
15:58
everyone of any wrongdoing. Just the dozens of people who
16:02
have died horribly would like a better outcome.
16:06
So apart from the scenes in Skinner's office, this feels
16:11
like a throwaway episode. The tension that is dramatically
16:14
thrown at us isn't very real, and with the agents working
16:18
apart again for the whole episode, it loses some of the
16:21
enjoyment you get from when they work together.
16:24
It's an episode in a holding pattern.
16:27
It's circular, it's got what the conspiracy required without any
16:32
extra bodies like the previous episode.
16:35
I remember enjoying this a hell of a lot more back when I first
16:38
watched it than I do today, which given the writers, is
16:42
actually unusual. We have two well known guest
16:47
stars, Charles Martin Smith and Dean Norris, both of who
16:50
probably weren't as well known then but have become more well
16:52
known now, and they both guest star with good but small roles.
16:57
But overall, 2 1/2 out of 5 is probably the best I could offer
17:01
this episode. It's another of the weaker
17:04
points of Series 2. Now it's time to check out one
17:14
of the truly great episodes with episode 23 of season 2 titled
17:20
Soft Light. It is written by one of the
17:23
legends of the series, Vince Gilligan, his first writing
17:26
credit, and is directed by James A Cotner.
17:30
And this episode is carried by the brilliant Tony Shalu, who
17:34
plays the title character of Banton, a scientist who has been
17:38
meddling with dark matter, which, after an accident in the
17:42
lab, has turned his shadow into the ultimate killing machine,
17:46
disposing of anybody who happens to walk on it.
17:50
Our intrepid agents are called in by yet another former
17:53
colleague looking to advance themselves in the workplace and
17:56
believing that utilizing their knowledge will give them a kick
17:59
start to a higher plane. And that's always turned out so
18:04
well in the past, hasn't it? This time it is one of Scully's
18:09
former students calling them in to look at a missing persons
18:12
case where a scorched earth is all that remains at the last
18:16
place they were seeing in their apartment.
18:19
Mulder initially is intrigued of possible cases of spontaneous
18:23
combustion, but he soon changes his tune when they discover
18:26
Banton and his background and his suspicions grow.
18:31
He and Scully track him down after other instances of
18:34
disappearing burn patches as he hides in Plainview at the train
18:39
station in areas where there is very little light.
18:42
And when they track him down, Banton tells them both not to
18:46
step on his shadow, and Mulder now realizes what is happening
18:50
and instead shoots out the lights, which allows them to
18:53
escort him to a facility. And during their questioning,
18:58
Banton explains that the deaths were accidents, the result of
19:01
his own accident in the lab that has transformed his shadow's
19:05
molecular structure and it now acts like a black hole.
19:08
And as a result, shadow government agencies, no pun
19:12
intended, now want him for their own purposes.
19:17
The problem is that the police believe he is a murderer and now
19:21
that they have their man, they want Mulder and Scully to be
19:24
dismissed and that they can lock down this case.
19:28
Mulder's last words to Scully's student detective rhyme are soft
19:32
light. He needs soft light.
19:36
Mulder instead decides to call in X to help get Doctor Benton
19:40
out, but X is less than an avid about having been exposed to
19:45
Skinner and Scully, who now know who he is.
19:48
As we saw in the episode End Game, X claims to have no
19:53
interest in Benton and tells Mulder not to contact him again.
19:57
But of course, the next thing we know is we see X and his cohorts
20:01
trying to kidnap Banton, which goes about as well as you would
20:05
expect. X backs off and Banton escapes,
20:09
heading back to his particle accelerator to destroy himself
20:13
and his shadow. Along the way, the intrepid
20:16
detective Ryan tries to stop him.
20:19
She should have listened to Mulder because unfortunately for
20:22
her, her fate is then sealed in a shadow world.
20:27
Puns. The concluding chapter is a
20:30
cacophony of backstabbing. Banton discovers that his mate
20:34
Chris has been working with the government all along, and
20:37
instead of turning on the accelerator with Banton trapped,
20:40
he leaves him in that room ready for collection.
20:44
But one of the rules in The X-Files is you shouldn't make a
20:47
phone call to your contacts, because generally that means
20:50
it's your own end. Which is exactly what happens
20:54
here, as Chris is shot while attempting his phone call and we
20:58
see X come out of the shadows and reach for the controls as
21:02
Banton looks on. By the time Mulder and Scully
21:05
show up, the body has been zapped by the particle
21:08
accelerator and vaporized. Mulder realizes X has betrayed
21:14
him and demands to meet again with him.
21:19
I thought you had agreed not to contact me again about this?
21:22
You lied to me about about Chester Ray Bannon.
21:26
You knew who he was, and you used me to lead you to him.
21:30
You were the one who contacted me, agent.
21:32
I won't be your stalking horse or the governments.
21:35
You seem to be mistaken about the amount of control you
21:38
exercise over this arrangement. You killed Doctor Bannon.
21:43
Have you lost your mind? A nurse at the hospital
21:45
identified you. A young detective is dead
21:48
because of you. Who do you answer to?
21:55
Despite my loyalty to my predecessor, I've never made you
21:59
any promises. I promise me something right
22:03
now. Promise me this will be our last
22:06
meeting. We're finished.
22:09
You're choosing a dangerous time to go it alone, Agent Molda
22:15
Molda. I didn't kill him.
22:26
So it looks like case closed, except Molda notes that Chris
22:31
has not been found and then suspects the truth that it was
22:36
in fact Chris who they found in the particle accelerator.
22:40
And then the final scene shows X overlooking the experiments
22:43
being conducted on poor Banton. His life of suffering.
22:48
Now to continue Infinitum. So this is a ripping episode, a
22:54
monster of the week episode done right.
22:56
Tony Shalhoub is absolutely brilliant.
22:59
He plays the role of Banton perfectly as the exhausted, worn
23:04
out, paranoid and anxious person about anyone who gets too close
23:09
to him and that persona that obviously this person actually
23:13
would be. And he says, at these different
23:16
times, please, I'm warning you, I'm a dangerous man.
23:21
He makes this episode as awesome as it is.
23:24
And the script from Vince Gilligan is superb.
23:27
As I said, it was his first for The X-Files, and he actually
23:30
wrote this as a freelance writer.
23:33
But by the time the episode was completed, he was hired as a
23:36
permanent writer on the basis of it.
23:39
And look where this has gotten to him now from this point on,
23:42
the amazing shows that he's been involved in.
23:44
So this was his start and what a great episode to do it.
23:49
I also love the call back to Victor Toomes early on the
23:53
episode in a scene where they're looking around the apartment and
23:56
it is suggested that no one could have hid in a tight space
24:00
with Mulder saying you don't think anyone could squeeze
24:02
through there, you'd never know. And I thought that was just a
24:06
great way to bring that episode back in as well and that great
24:09
character from the series. But one of my only stumbling
24:13
blocks on the episode was how did they transport Benton around
24:17
without light to remove his shadow?
24:20
So Mulder and Scully getting him from the station where they
24:23
found him to the institution after finding him, X getting him
24:27
out of wherever he was to get to his new home.
24:31
It's just assumed off screen that that was a way and a way
24:34
that was found to actually have that occur, but it was never
24:37
actually explained. So in your mind, you start
24:40
thinking, how would they do it? What would they do?
24:43
Would they cover him? Would that shadow, would that,
24:45
would that shade over him? Would that actually be also a
24:48
black hole shadow? These questions were never
24:51
answered. So perhaps I understand the
24:54
writing side of it, that you'd actually just want to leave that
24:58
unsaid because actually trying to explain that would be very
25:01
difficult. But yeah, every time I watch
25:03
this episode, that's one of the things that bothers me.
25:07
Anyway, it's a great episode. It's an easy five out of five
25:10
for me and everyone should watch this.
25:18
And now we head into episode 24. This is titled Our Town, and
25:23
this episode is written by Frank Spotsnitz and directed by Rob
25:27
Bowman again. And this is a real roller
25:30
coaster. And suspicion, suspicion, I'll
25:33
say that properly. Suspicion flies between suspects
25:36
throughout, but also the reason behind what's happening in our
25:40
town becomes a little unglued. And it all begins with another
25:44
game of sexual cat and mouse that results in a death.
25:48
What a surprise. The X-Files law tells us that
25:52
old men chasing younger women does not seem to work.
25:57
Julie noted. And then, of course, sacrifice
26:00
is on again, so, you know, why not?
26:03
So it appears that everything in the tranquil setting of Dudley,
26:06
Arkansas revolves around the business of Chaco chicken.
26:11
But as we delve deeper, it becomes a bit more nefarious
26:14
than just a ritual killing. Because as we move through the
26:18
episode, we discover that not only are people getting murdered
26:22
in Dudley, always people who are passing through the town and not
26:26
actual residents, but they are being eaten by the good folk of
26:30
Dudley in a ceremony that promotes a fountain of youth.
26:34
Now this isn't immediately obvious, but the build to this
26:38
reveal is done really well. As Mulder and Scully start their
26:42
investigation, they discover that the man murdered is about
26:45
to recommend that Chaco Chicken be closed down for health
26:48
violations. Now he's dead, we're in the
26:51
clear. And then Paula, who happens to
26:53
be the granddaughter of the head of Chaco Chickens, goes a little
26:58
Cray Cray on the floor of the slaughterhouse and is shot by
27:01
the very helpful sheriff who is showing the agents around and
27:05
helping them with their investigations.
27:07
So now both dead people had complained of headaches prior to
27:11
their death. And the autopsy on Paula shows
27:14
that she was suffering from, and I've got no chance of
27:16
pronouncing this correctly, Creutzfeldt Jakob disease.
27:21
That's the last time I'll be trying to attempt to say that
27:23
it's a rare and fatal illness that causes dementia, something
27:27
they also discovered that the murdered guy at the top of the
27:30
episode suffered from. The agents also discover that
27:34
Paula was listed as 47 years of age, though she looked as though
27:38
she was in her very early 20s. Then the discovery that 87
27:43
people have vanished within 200 miles of Dudley over the past 50
27:47
years becomes a little bit of a talking point.
27:51
They begin to put 2 and 27 together and they come up with a
27:55
theory that satisfies all of the requirements of the episode.
27:59
As Mulder says, I think the good people of Dudley have been
28:02
eating more than the chicken, that they are cannibals who are
28:06
eating humans to stay young. But unfortunately one of their
28:10
meals was a guy who suffered from a rare disease and that has
28:14
now been passed on to those that consumed him.
28:17
Hooray, well done Dudley, you guys are awesome.
28:21
I had Danny run a check on all missing persons last seen within
28:24
a 200 mile radius in Dudley. In the last 50 years, 87 people
28:30
have disappeared near here and judging from the forensic
28:33
evidence, I'd say the same person or persons was
28:36
responsible. It may have been the work of
28:39
some kind of a cult. Scalite I think that the good
28:44
people of Dudley have been eating more than just chicken.
28:49
You think these people were eaten?
28:51
Eat his bones. They've been polished at both
28:54
ends, suggesting they were bald in a pot.
28:57
Anthropologists use similar evidence to prove cannibalism
29:00
among the Oddsazi tribal in New Mexico.
29:05
Well then, Paula Gray may have contracted Kreutzfeldiaka by
29:08
eating George Kearns. And that could begin to explain
29:12
her youthful appearance. What?
29:14
Are you talking about? Some cannibalistic rituals are
29:17
enacted with the belief that they can prolong life.
29:19
Cannibalism is one thing, but increasing longevity by eating
29:21
human flesh? Well, think about it, Scully.
29:23
From vampirism to Catholicism, whether literally or
29:27
symbolically, the reward for eating flesh is eternal life.
29:30
I don't claim to know how it works, but we both saw Paula
29:32
Grey you. Never confirmed the date of
29:33
birth in her personnel. Films and the records at the
29:35
courthouse will tell us how old she really is and if anybody
29:38
else in Dudley is lying about their age.
29:44
So what's the solution? Well, Mulder decides to head
29:47
back to Old Manchaco's mansion, although Old Man is a lot older
29:51
than many would suspect, to do some investigative work while
29:55
Scully heads off to warn of further danger.
29:59
As per usual, Scully gets battered unconscious.
30:02
Seriously, this girl needs a full time bodyguard and taken
30:06
off to be eaten at the town's leisure.
30:09
Which is where Old Manchaco turns up and admonishes his
30:12
flock for eating one of their own.
30:14
Not Scully, obviously. He states quite clearly.
30:18
This isn't faith anymore, it's fear.
30:21
Once you turn on yourselves, it's over.
30:25
He is then promptly shot dead by the mysterious masked figure
30:28
that appeared at the start of the episode, who in turn is
30:31
killed by a late arriving Mulder just in the nick of time to save
30:35
Scully. The masked figure, of course, is
30:37
revealed to be the very helpful Sheriff Ahrens, while the
30:41
assembled Toad Town folks scatter to the four winds.
30:46
The plan is closed down, and Scully's narration at the end
30:49
reveals that 27 Dudley residents have now died to this very rare
30:53
disease. I think there's a moral in there
30:55
somewhere. This had the possibility of
30:58
being a very average episode, one that would take just the
31:02
idea of using cannibalism as a gag and creating an unworthy
31:06
story around it. Frank Spotnitz, in his first
31:09
standalone writing of an episode, has done a sterling job
31:13
here, creating characters that are well developed and all play
31:16
an important part in the entire episode.
31:20
It also allows Mulder and Scully to investigate and discover each
31:23
piece of the puzzle along the way, coming to their conclusions
31:27
that lead to the final examinations.
31:30
OK, maybe Scully needs to stop getting battered around the head
31:33
every episode, especially a woman who has only recently been
31:37
abducted by aliens, but otherwise the agents come
31:41
through in the end. So for me, this is a really
31:44
interesting story where the evil of the piece is actually the
31:48
town folk. Not monsters or paranormal
31:51
exponents or aliens, just everyday people in an everyday
31:55
town practicing something that's a little bit weird who have a
31:58
secret they want to keep. And to be honest, that's kind of
32:02
refreshing. So for me, this is a 4 1/2 out
32:05
of five episode. It's it's close enough to A5.
32:08
It probably just needed something to kick it over to
32:11
that five, which it just doesn't quite have.
32:20
And so we finally arrived in no small part to my length of time
32:24
getting to record this episode, to the final chapter of Season 2
32:28
of The X-Files, episode 25 on the wonderfully scripted and
32:33
acted Anasazi. This was written by Chris
32:37
Carter, from a story by himself and David Duchovny, and is
32:41
directed by RW Goodwin. And we have now come full
32:46
circle. We are well and truly back into
32:49
the alien mythology arc with which offers us the chance to
32:52
study the characters of Mulder and Scully more fully under the
32:56
pressures of this ongoing storyline which does create some
33:00
friction for them along the way. And there is a lot going on
33:05
which is being squeezed into this one episode.
33:09
So let's try and list the story without taking up an hour
33:12
explaining the storyline of a 42 minute episode.
33:16
The Thinker, a computer hacker, hacks into the Department of
33:19
Justice and downloads secret files relating to
33:22
extraterrestrial existence. The Syndicate, our friendly
33:26
neighborhood secret society who control the world, purportedly
33:30
find out, but our good mate the Smoking Man insists it has all
33:35
been taken care of, which of course it hasn't.
33:39
Now our real good friends, the Lone Gunman, come to Malta and
33:43
tell him that the Thinker wants to meet up with him where he
33:46
will give him the disk with the files on it.
33:50
Now, despite his excitement, Molder discovers sorry that it
33:54
is encrypted. Bummer.
33:57
But Scully says the day, saying she believes it is in the Navajo
34:01
language and she takes the tape to investigate.
34:04
Which, as it turns out, it's a pretty good move.
34:08
Things have been going a bit screwy for Molder, though.
34:11
His neighbor had shot her husband earlier in the episode,
34:13
and now Mulder loses his cool in Skinner's office and attacks
34:17
him. Not cool, Fox, not cool.
34:21
And even more interestingly, The Smoking Man has visited Bill
34:24
Mulder to talk to him about his son.
34:32
Hello, Bill. What are you doing here?
34:37
I've come on some pressing business.
34:42
I agree that that was a long time ago, Bill.
34:45
There've been some unforeseen events.
34:51
No one was supposed to know. Who could have predicted the
34:55
future, Bill? That the computers you and I
34:59
only dreamed of would someday be home appliances capable of the
35:02
most technical espionage. The file should have been
35:05
destroyed. They should have, but they
35:07
weren't. Regret is an inevitable
35:10
consequence of life. How do you know my son has them?
35:17
The man who stole them has come forward.
35:21
Oh, God. As always, we maintain plausible
35:26
denial. The files are only as real as
35:29
their possible authentication. My name is in those files.
35:35
The files have been encrypted. Of course.
35:36
We have a certain luxury of time.
35:40
We endeavour to prevent that fact from ever coming to light.
35:46
Jordan. I'm him.
35:51
I've protected him this long, haven't I?
35:58
Your son has been Provident in the alliances that he's created.
36:01
The last thing we need is a martyr or crusade.
36:05
But if he should learn of my involvement.
36:11
You're your own man, Bill. You always have been.
36:16
But I strongly encourage you in that event to deny everything.
36:29
It's good to see you again though.
36:35
When Mulder arrives at his father's house, it appears that
36:37
for the first time his father is going to reveal to him the truth
36:42
about everything when he is shot dead by the great man himself,
36:48
Alex Krawcheck who is back once again.
36:51
The X-Files greatest anti hero has arrived to ruin the day once
36:55
again you beauty Alex. Now everything begins to move
37:00
even quicker, which is saying something on this episode.
37:03
Scully has made some progress with the files being directed to
37:07
a code talker, while Mulder discovers that our great mate
37:11
Alex Crycheck is outside his building and he then disarms and
37:15
prepares to kill him before Scully shoots him.
37:19
That's shoots Mulder to prevent it, and then Crycheck escapes
37:24
after that. So Mulder awakens in New Mexico
37:28
where Scully has taken him, and also tells him that the
37:32
building's water supply where he lived had been contaminated,
37:35
which explained his and his neighbor's spiraling behavior.
37:40
She then reveals that the tape has begun to be translated and
37:44
that her name and Dwayne Barry's name, the Great Dwayne Barry,
37:48
appear on it. Mulder is then shown to an old
37:52
abandoned boxcar that was referenced in the opening scene
37:55
of the episode, where he finds the bones and bodies of hundreds
37:59
of dead creatures, each with the smallpox of vax scars on their
38:03
arms. Get vaccinated, people.
38:06
The episode then ends with The Smoking Man arriving by
38:09
helicopter and having been unable to locate Mulder even
38:13
though he knows he's there, he orders the boxcar sealed and its
38:16
contents burned notionally with Mulder trapped inside.
38:21
And Series 2 concludes with a cliffhanger that was one of the
38:25
most watched episodes to that time.
38:29
So this episode was one of the most incredibly frustrating and
38:35
anxiety driven moments of my life.
38:37
And I know that sounds a bit over the top, but here's the
38:40
deal with this episode. Back in those days in Australia
38:43
in 1995, all of the shows that came to us from the US were
38:48
delayed because the ratings period in the US stretched from
38:51
October through to May or something like that.
38:55
And in Australia, our ratings period went from February or
39:01
March through to November. So this episode aired in
39:05
Australia in November to complete series 2.
39:08
And because it was the cliffhanger, cliffhanger
39:10
episode, we knew we couldn't get to see that next episode for
39:13
about 3 months. But the answers had already been
39:18
aired in the US, they were about four or five episodes into
39:22
season 3. So the episodes and the answers,
39:25
the truth if you will, was already out there.
39:30
So this created an enormous reaction from Australian X-Files
39:33
fans who desperately wanted to see those episodes before a leak
39:37
of what had happened actually reached us.
39:40
And at least in these days there was no Internet for that to
39:42
occur. And to their credit, Fox in the
39:46
US obviously heard this because just before Christmas in
39:50
Australia, they released a VHS tape which had on it this
39:54
episode, Anasazi, along with the 1st 2 episodes of season 3, The
39:59
Blessing Way and Paper Clip, which completes the story and
40:03
ties up most of the loose ends from that episode that we've
40:07
just talked about. And so everyone bought it.
40:09
It was the biggest selling VHS tape that Christmas.
40:14
I bought it for myself. In fact, it's still here on my
40:17
shelves 30 years later. And I bought it for several
40:20
people as a present for Christmas.
40:23
So that at least allowed me some closure well before it actually
40:27
aired in Australia. And of course, my lovely wife
40:30
then said at the time, well, now what are you going to do?
40:34
You've watched that tape 20 times over, but now it's all out
40:37
there on TV, bless her, in her cotton socks.
40:41
So naive when it comes to some things.
40:44
So yes, a fascinating episode, one that had so much involved
40:48
that it was hard to keep track on one viewing.
40:51
But once I got that VHS tape and I watched it all a dozen times
40:55
and more, I got the hang of what was going on.
40:58
And watching this episode again this week, I found it just as
41:03
enthralling as I did 30 years ago for the anguish it caused me
41:07
on that first viewing. It must remain A5 out of five
41:10
episode. And there was a whole more lot
41:15
of awesome stuff yet to come. So that's all from me for this
41:24
episode, and Season 2 has finally come to its conclusion.
41:30
So to everyone who has stuck with it, thanks so much for your
41:33
patience in getting to this point.
41:35
And hopefully now we're into the new year and I can get back on
41:38
track and have my routine going and have these episodes out on a
41:42
regular basis. So this season, as it turns out,
41:46
is a mixed bag with these five episodes, let alone the whole
41:49
series. But mostly these five episodes
41:52
are on the good side of good. And on the next episode, I will
41:56
do my review over the entire season 2 and talk about how I
41:59
remember feeling about the series when I first watched it
42:02
30 years ago and how it has changed over the years in my
42:05
mind since then. So hopefully that's a
42:07
conversation that you will enjoy listening to as well and
42:10
thinking about yourself. So thanks for listening and for
42:14
being a part of this. Now, if you would like to get
42:16
involved and give your thoughts on this episode, there are a
42:20
number of ways you can do it. You can find me on X as metal
42:23
Bill with the handle at real metal Kevin.
42:27
I'm on blue sky as metal Bill as well at metal Kevin dot B sky
42:31
dot social. You can leave a comment on the
42:33
episode page on Spotify if you're listening to this podcast
42:37
on that streaming service. Or if you want to check out my
42:39
Patreon page, you can find that at the creation of me, a
42:43
Lifetime retrospective or just look up on Patreon at Real Metal
42:48
Kevin, go to the podcast Revisiting The X-Files and you
42:52
can leave a comment on the page for this episode or any of the
42:55
episodes there. And if you know anyone who may
42:58
be interested in going on this journey with us, please pass on
43:01
the episodes of them and let's get them on board.
43:04
All right, enough from me. Thank you for listening.
43:07
And we will return soon with the next episode of Revisiting The
43:12
X-Files, where the truth is out there.
43:16
Cheers.