Latest / Death by Multimedia / Revisiting The X Files Episode 10

Transcript

Revisiting The X Files Episode 10 · Death by Multimedia

0:20
Music. Good day everyone and welcome
0:51
back for episode 10 of Revisiting The X-Files, where
0:56
each episode I will be working my way through the 11 series, 2
1:00
movies, and several books that make up The X-Files.
1:03
And there will be others as well.
1:05
But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, shall we?
1:09
For those of you who are returning for this next episode,
1:12
thanks again for being here. And if you're a first time
1:15
listener, I hope that this is not only enjoyable for you to
1:18
listen to, but perhaps piques your interest in a once a great
1:22
TV show. The format here is that I'll be
1:26
working my way through the entire show and several other
1:29
media as we go, and for the most part we'll cover 5 episodes of
1:33
the series in each podcast episode.
1:37
But firstly, I'll go through the feedback on the last episode,
1:41
which in this case is not much because as episode 9 went to
1:48
air, I got some belated feedback on episode 8 from 1 of this
1:52
podcast's biggest supporters, Michael from Melbourne, and he
1:56
said strong start to series 2. I think host is my favorite out
2:01
of this bunch of five. One of the first really weird
2:05
monster Epps I recall. The next bunch of five has
2:08
Ascension, which introduced me to Nick Cave.
2:11
Thanks for another entertaining episode, Bill.
2:14
My pleasure Michael. He then added in regards to
2:17
episode 9 as indicated from your scores.
2:21
A bit of a mixed bag in this lot of five, with Ascension being
2:24
the clear favorite, which started my love of Nick Cave's
2:28
music. There he is again.
2:30
The next 5 are also a mixed bag in my honest opinion before we
2:34
start a strong run to the finish of season 2.
2:38
And I think that is very, very accurate as we are about to
2:42
discover. So thanks to everyone who
2:44
listens to the podcast and those that have offered their
2:47
thoughts. And if you'd like to leave your
2:49
own thoughts on anything to do with this podcast, I'll give you
2:53
all the contact details at the end of the episode.
2:56
But for now, let's trudge on through season 2 as we reach the
3:00
middle ground of the season where we meet some interesting
3:04
and strange characters along the way.
3:13
So let's kick it all off with Season 2 Episode 11, titled
3:18
Excelsis Day, which was written by Paul Brown and directed by
3:23
Stephen Surjick, who would go on to work on such projects as the
3:27
film Wayne's World 2, the Marvel television series Daredevil and
3:32
The Punisher, and the Netflix series The Umbrella Academy and
3:36
The Witcher. So he goes on to some fairly big
3:39
stuff after this. The episode opens with some
3:43
banter from the beginning, with Scully utilizing the video
3:46
player in their office and Mulder immediately saying that
3:50
the video that was in there was for instructional purposes only
3:54
and Scully saying yes. I just put it in the drawer with
3:57
the other instructional videos. A lovely start.
4:00
Nothing like a bit of porn for old poor old Mulder.
4:04
So our intrepid agents are off to the Excelsis Day Nursing
4:08
Home, where one of the nurses, Michelle Carter's, claims she
4:12
was attacked and raped by an invisible entity, though she
4:16
names one of the Alzheimer's patients in the ward.
4:19
Patients, Bill. Not patients.
4:21
Patients. Alzheimer's patients.
4:24
There we go, Hal as the culprit, although it is plainly obvious
4:29
that Hal could no more get out of bed on his own, let alone do
4:33
what she has claimed that he did.
4:36
Mulder and Scully turn up to investigate, and despite the
4:39
obvious injuries, most seem to be unsympathetic to Michelle's
4:43
situation, including the residents and the doctors
4:47
themselves. It's Scully who decides there
4:50
might be a connection between the rape and the Alzheimer's
4:53
patients and their treatment, and she convinces Molda to stay
4:57
on. They see a remarkable clarity in
5:01
the patients, which their doctor attributes to his own new
5:05
medication scheme, but it is obvious again that this is not
5:09
what he is proposing. But it's the mysterious orderly
5:12
who offers his own pills, made-up of a herbal remedy, that
5:16
are doing the trick. The pills, while giving these
5:20
patients a return to their previous cognitive features,
5:24
also gives them the ability to see the spirits of the facility,
5:27
spirits that seem aggressive and angry.
5:32
All of the residents are pressuring the orderly Gung to
5:35
give them more of his pills. And Stan, one of the residents,
5:39
discovers his stash and steals all of it.
5:43
From here the story goes wild Hell overdoses and dies and the
5:48
blood work comes back to show that he has high levels of a
5:51
toxin that has killed him in his blood.
5:53
A toxin that is eventually discovered is being administered
5:57
through the pills that Gang or Gong Sorry has been giving the
6:01
residents. When he is questioned, he
6:04
explains the herbs in small doses help the patients but more
6:09
than that will kill them. He also explains that the
6:12
spirits of the institution are angry and they are unhappy with
6:15
how the elderly are being treated, which had led to
6:19
Michelle's attack and also the falling death of an orderly who
6:23
had been chasing Stan at one point in the episode.
6:29
You must believe me, I didn't kill him.
6:32
But it's your mushroom crop isn't?
6:34
It yes. Well, who else would have buried
6:37
him there? Why were you growing them?
6:41
For medicinal purposes, were you?
6:43
Feeding them to the residents here.
6:45
Yes, only in small amounts. Why?
6:51
Because it makes them feel better.
6:54
It makes them feel better or it. Kills them?
6:57
No, exactly. What kind of mushrooms?
6:59
Are they? It's from my prefecture.
7:03
In my country they've been used for centuries.
7:07
For what purpose? In my country, our customs are
7:11
different. You're not in your country now.
7:15
You're hired. Here to care for these.
7:17
People under our guidelines. Where I come from, many
7:21
generations live under one roof. As children, our grandparents
7:26
live with us. We feel the duty to take care of
7:29
them. It isn't like that in this
7:32
country. We respect our old people as we
7:37
respect our ancestors. We don't send them away to die
7:41
like stand in hell. These people are given excellent
7:45
medical care. But they're not treated with
7:48
respect. Hell's family never came to
7:51
visit him once, and the orderlies treat the residents
7:57
worse than dogs. No one is mistreated here.
8:01
You're not here to see. All right, John, who killed the
8:05
orderly who buried him in that room?
8:09
Something has gone very wrong. The mushrooms we take to speak
8:16
with the dead, to see our ancestors in the spirit world.
8:22
The spirit in this place is very angry and the souls that died
8:27
here continue to suffer, and now they have been awakened.
8:34
Are you saying that a spirit killed this man, Upshaw?
8:39
Yes, they've taken revenge for their mistreatment.
8:45
Dorothy, another of the residents, is often shooing away
8:48
the spirits as she can see them as a result of Gong's medicinal
8:52
remedy and as can the other residents as he's shown by the
8:56
wall sized mural painted with the spirits of the facility
9:00
shown in full view and also in full anger, and Scully can also
9:05
feel their presence around her. When Stan overdoses and begins
9:10
convulsions, the spirits attack Michelle again, locking her and
9:13
Molder in the bathroom that soon fills with water and it looks
9:17
like our intrepid duo are just about done for the dinner.
9:21
It isn't until Stan is sedated that the hold of the spirits is
9:25
loosened and they are both able to escape.
9:29
Gong is taken into immigration and with the pills gone, the
9:33
residents return to their former state of severe Alzheimer's.
9:38
The spirits are also quietened as a result of not having the
9:40
mediums to bring them to prominence.
9:44
Now, anyone who saw the 1990 movie Awakenings with Robin
9:48
Williams and Robert De Niro will have a feel for the mainstream
9:52
storyline of this episode, though of course it is ramped up
9:56
in true X-Files fashion with the introduction of the spirits of
9:59
the building being brought to bear on the staff.
10:03
And there are some famous faces in the cast as well.
10:06
Terrell Rothery, who played Michelle, went on to star in
10:10
Stargate SG-1 for most of its run.
10:14
SAB Shimono, who played Goong, was a well known actor in movies
10:18
and television, and Frances Bay, who played Dorothy, is perhaps
10:22
best known as Happy Gilmore's grandmother in the movie of the
10:25
same name. As to the episode itself, it was
10:30
interesting enough without being a real edge of your suit
10:33
thriller. We had a fair idea of what was
10:36
going on from the beginning, which probably stymied any great
10:39
tension for us. We had another scenario here
10:42
where Scully was pushing to investigate further and Mulder
10:46
was happy to walk away early on, but once we had the possibility
10:50
of Spirits creating a ruckus, he was back on board immediately.
10:55
So there's not a lot more to discern from this episode.
10:59
I think it's an above average episode, probably a 3.5 out of
11:04
five in the scheme of things. You won't be clasping your hands
11:08
together at the end and exclaiming how great a ride the
11:10
episode was, but it does satisfy most of the criteria you want
11:15
when it comes to passing 45 minutes with The X-Files.
11:24
So let's move on to Season 2, episode 12, which is called
11:28
Aubrey, and it's written by Sarah B Chano and directed by
11:32
Rob Bowman. And while this is an interesting
11:36
concept, it feels as though the story tried too hard to
11:40
incorporate the human side of the tale, with Scully bonding
11:45
with Detective Morrow over women's issues than delving into
11:49
the actual mystery unfolding before us.
11:53
And I accept that that may appear to be a comment that
11:56
could be considered slightly sexist when it comes to the
11:59
story at hand. But it is the separating of the
12:03
two parts of the story and making them both move in an
12:05
equal speed that is my major problem with the episode.
12:09
It feels as though the parts where Scully and BJ speak more
12:14
about morning sickness and and the affair going on and whose
12:18
baby that she is carrying where it really gets bogged down.
12:22
They are integral factors of the story as we move through the
12:25
episode, but the episode gets bogged down too long at the
12:28
start as a result, in my opinion.
12:32
Anyway. Terry O'quinn stars here as well
12:35
as Lieutenant Tillman, the man who's having the affair with his
12:38
colleague Detective Morrow. Now, O'quinn famously played the
12:42
role of John Locke in Lost well after this time, but he's still
12:47
good here in this role. But we're once again left
12:51
thinking that fooling around with a work colleague and
12:55
getting her pregnant as a result is a really bad idea.
13:00
And that's going to get a lot worse because the pregnancy has
13:03
triggered something within Murrow, who suddenly starts
13:07
having visions of murders from the past and begins to wind up
13:11
discovering old bodies that have been lost for 50 years.
13:16
And her explanations for finding them are unfortunately not
13:20
taking in the FBI agents assigned to the case, which is,
13:24
of course, Mulder and Scully. Protected Morrow, Exactly how
13:32
did you discover the remains? I witnessed a dog.
13:35
Digging in the ground I. Proceeded to investigate and
13:38
found the grave site. Well, the initial police report
13:41
states that you couldn't explain your actions at the time.
13:45
It was late. I was a bit shocked by my
13:47
discovery. I'm afraid I didn't clearly
13:50
articulate exactly what happened for my initial report.
13:54
What were you doing in the woods at that hour?
13:56
My vehicle was experiencing engine.
13:59
Failure. You left your car.
14:03
Over there, Sir. Did you say that's 4 or 500
14:08
yards? Yes, Sir.
14:12
So from that distance you could see a dog digging in this field
14:15
at night. She was taking a shortcut
14:19
through the woods to reach her phone.
14:20
The path LED her through the field.
14:23
Well, the report says she phoned in from the Motel Black just up
14:25
the road there. That's not a very shortcut.
14:29
Seems like you're more interested in how the missing
14:31
agent was found than in how he got here in the 1st place.
14:35
You don't suspect her, do you? No, no, not at all.
14:39
I would just like to ask Detective Mara a few more
14:41
questions. All right.
14:44
Have you ever, have you ever had any clairvoyant experiences,
14:49
premonitions, visions, precognitive dreams, things like
14:52
that? What the hell kind of question
14:55
is that? Dreams, yeah.
14:59
Look, Agent Mulder, I don't mean to be rude, but we have a lot to
15:02
do. If you have any further
15:04
questions, specifically pertaining to your investigation
15:07
of this crime, please feel free to call.
15:09
Come on, VJ. But Scully does pick up very
15:18
early on that she is pregnant and that it is the result of an
15:21
affair, as a good investigator should.
15:24
So well done Dana Scully. Away from the old murders, a new
15:29
one suddenly occurs with the same MO, the word sister slashed
15:33
across her chest and all of this eventually leads to Harry
15:37
Coakley, now a frail old man who was jailed for raping a woman
15:42
and slashing the word sister on her chest 50 years previous.
15:47
BJ then wakes up and finds that she has been attacked and had
15:50
the same thing carved into her chest and although through a
15:55
dream she then discovers the other missing body from 1942 of
16:00
the other policemen involved. So despite being obviously
16:04
unable to perpetrate the new murder, everyone suddenly starts
16:09
investigating Coakley and he is arrested.
16:14
Now finally, after about half an hour into the show of a 45
16:19
minute show, we start to see some movement on the story and
16:22
things rapidly start to occur. When Mulder and Scully
16:25
questioned Linda, the woman that Coakley raped and disfigured
16:28
back in 1942, they discovered that she had produced a child
16:33
from that rape, which she had given up for adoption, and that
16:38
child ended up being BJ's father, thus meaning that
16:42
Coakley is her grandfather now. Moldo speculates that BJ is now
16:48
the murderer in the present and is being driven by genetic
16:52
memories that have skipped a generation.
16:55
Now that's a Longbow to draw that everything that Coakley had
16:59
done up to the point that BJ's father had been conceived had
17:03
been genetically printed into his cells and was now being
17:07
awakened in his daughter. Sorry, his granddaughter.
17:11
Well, we're just going to run with that because that's what
17:14
the story is. This leaves BJ to return to
17:18
attack Linda and finish what Coakley hadn't been able to
17:21
finish 50 years before. But then she is scared off once
17:24
she sees the sister carved into her chest and her own, and that
17:28
her own facial features are taking on Coakley's.
17:32
Instead, she decides to return to kill Coakley before Mulder
17:36
arrives to find her. And then she decides, well, I'm
17:38
going to take him out too. And she's only paused by the
17:42
voice of her partner who has arrived with Scully.
17:45
And once Coakley dies from his injuries, she appears released
17:50
from the madness trying to drive and kill.
17:53
The end of the episode posits that perhaps BJ's pregnancy had
17:57
triggered these dreams and hallucinations within her, which
18:01
leads her to try and self abort her child as the episode
18:05
concludes. So I suggested earlier the story
18:10
here is actually a reasonable one, I just don't think they
18:15
have partitioned it off perfectly.
18:18
There is too much gap between reveals within the episode and a
18:21
lot comes in a rush towards the end.
18:24
If the reveal of information had been better utilized, had been
18:27
released in a way that meant the episode's momentum continued to
18:32
roll rather than stall in a couple of places like I felt it
18:35
did, then this would have been a far better episode to watch.
18:40
In the end it underutilized Terrio Quinn and perhaps over
18:45
formatted in regards to the affair rather than what was
18:49
happening to BJ and why. Instead of ignoring that for the
18:53
most part until the rush at the very end.
18:56
For me it was a missed opportunity to make something
18:59
really terrific that got bogged down in the script.
19:03
So for me, the best I can offer this episode is 3 out of five.
19:14
From one disappointing episode to another in Season 2's episode
19:19
13 titled Irresistible, written by Chris Carter and directed by
19:26
David Nutter. So with these two on board, this
19:30
should have been an episode that is absolutely worth watching.
19:33
We've seen exactly what these two can do in the past in season
19:36
1 and the first half of season 2, so this should have been
19:39
fantastic. And you know what?
19:42
It has its interesting moments because it is a completely
19:46
different from anything else we have seen on this show before.
19:50
Because this basically isn't an X-Files episode at all.
19:54
It's a Law and Order episode without the Dong Dong sounds.
19:59
It throws in a couple of things at the start to get you
20:02
interested, to make you think that we've got an interesting
20:05
X-Files episode coming up. But they are a false facade and
20:09
I'm not completely sure if that's a good thing or a bad
20:13
thing. So we have Mulder and Scully who
20:16
are called out to Minneapolis by FBI Agent Box, who believes this
20:20
is what FBI Agent Box believes. He believes that the desecration
20:24
of grave sites. Is a variant of extraterrestrial
20:27
cattle mutilation, which Mulder immediately rules out, which
20:33
surprises Scully as to why he took the case if he knew before
20:37
he'd even turned up that this wasn't UFO related.
20:40
And then he shows her the tickets to the NFL game that's
20:44
on in town that he'd bought and he was going to go take Scully
20:47
to the football the next day. Nice one Mulder, great ploy to
20:51
get free work travel to watch a game of footy.
20:55
I had to call from Minneapolis PD saying they wanted the FB I
20:58
to come out and take a look. Everything slightly freak is
21:02
like that's the drill call Moe box.
21:05
As if I'm. Tight with all the nut cases in
21:07
town. So I shoot on down here to see
21:10
what's the what, and I'll be damned if I'm not knocked on my
21:14
butt by what they show me. 22 years.
21:17
I've never seen anything like it.
21:19
I get one look at the corpse and I'm on the phone with my pal
21:22
Andy Schneider down at the Mutual UFO Network.
21:25
You know Andy. No, don't.
21:27
Well, he knows you. What?
21:29
What'd you call? Move on.
21:31
I wanted to see if there'd been much UFO activity in the area.
21:35
You think this grave was unearthed by aliens?
21:37
Agent Bumps. Because it has all the tell tale
21:39
signs, don't you think? I mean, according to the
21:42
literature. Literature.
21:44
You know, the way the hair and nails have been cut away, sort
21:47
of like they do in cattle mutilation.
21:53
I hate to disappoint you, Agent Box.
21:56
It just doesn't look like the work of aliens to me.
21:59
Oh, how can you be sure? I've seen this kind of thing
22:01
before when I worked at Violent Crimes.
22:03
Whoever dug this up probably used a backhoe.
22:06
If you take a cast to the ground in the area, you'll probably
22:09
find fresh new tracks leading from here to a garage nearby.
22:11
I think yeah, he may work here, but it's not likely though.
22:14
He's probably worked at a Mortuary or a cemetery at one
22:17
time or another. Probably even been busted, but
22:19
you won't find any record of that.
22:21
Has to be bad for business when those kind of stories get around
22:24
you're. Saying some humans been doing
22:26
this. If you want to call him that,
22:30
you OK still? Yeah.
22:32
I've read about cases of desecrating the dead before.
22:35
This is the first time I've seen it.
22:36
Nothing can prepare you for it. It's almost unimaginable.
22:40
Why did they do it? Well, some people collect salt
22:43
and pepper shakers. That is, just collect dead
22:46
things, fingernails and hair. No one quite knows why though.
22:49
I've never really understood salt and pepper shakers myself.
22:55
Unfortunately, his footy watching doesn't come to pass
22:58
because two more bodies are discovered.
23:00
Unlucky Fox. And so we come to know Donny
23:04
Faster, who Molda believes is a death fetishist who takes hair
23:09
and fingers from dead bodies. And Molda believes he will soon
23:14
find that this isn't enough and he will move up to murder, which
23:18
quickly he is proven correct. Meanwhile, Scully's having a
23:23
tough time dealing with this case, something that is very
23:27
unscully like. And as the case moves on around
23:30
her with Mulder and Bock picking up more clues, we see Scully
23:35
suffering from a form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
23:39
And in reality, this is what the episode is about.
23:44
Her abduction by Dwayne Barry and those events around it are
23:47
finally catching up with her, that she has tried to separate
23:51
that from her work. But now it is all coming home to
23:54
roost. This becomes even more
23:57
circumspect when Faster decides that she is to be his next
24:01
victim and he kidnaps her and takes her to his late mother's
24:05
abandoned house. Yes, there is a fair bit of
24:08
psycho channelling through this episode.
24:11
In the script and the performance through the episode,
24:15
Mulder and Bock have slowly pieced together that Faster is
24:18
their man, and once it is confirmed Scully is kidnapped,
24:22
they find the house and break in to save the situation and arrest
24:26
Faster. And in perhaps the most poignant
24:31
scene to close the episode, Scully insists Demola that she
24:36
is OK, that everything that's happened she's still OK with.
24:40
But almost immediately she collapses into his arms and
24:44
breaks down completely, showing us that she is in fact not all
24:49
right, and that all of this build up over the time period
24:53
has affected her far more mentally and physically and
24:57
emotionally than she was ever allowing herself to realise or
25:02
allow anyone else to realise. And it becomes a significant
25:06
point of her character's mental state and well-being and where
25:10
she finds herself just 18 months into The X-Files on screen that
25:15
there's been so much that has gone on that she has now gotten
25:18
to this point. Everything else, well, it's a
25:23
weird episode. As I've made mention, there is
25:26
no paranormal part of the story. If you ignore the two scenes
25:30
where Faster appears to shape shift into a devil form in the
25:34
opening scene and then in front of Scully as she's being
25:37
attacked at the end. Now both of those moments could
25:40
reveal A deeper part to the character of Faster or the
25:43
episode itself, but in the long run it is just an FBI case and
25:48
not an X file. It explores a serial fetishist
25:53
and the team try to track him down before he can strike again,
25:57
which they do Case solved. Is that all there is?
26:02
Well, spoiler alert, the character of Faster does appear
26:06
again in Season 7, so we'll just leave that question at obeyance,
26:11
shall we? Bruce Wheats, I think is the way
26:15
he pronounces his last name, who is better known from Hill Street
26:19
Blues is great as Agent Box, while Nick Chinland is suitably
26:24
creepy and magnificent in the role of Faster.
26:28
But, and yes, the butt was coming, the episode just doesn't
26:33
engage me. I'm not against Mueller and
26:36
Scully being shown to just investigate a normal crime, as
26:40
long as it's engaging. And I don't think this is
26:43
despite the obvious use of the script to address Scully's
26:46
mental state and to introduce a character who seems smart enough
26:50
to create a problem for the agents.
26:53
If I want Law and Order, I need the Brigant Vincent d'onofrio to
26:58
be on screen giving us his amazing detecting skills.
27:03
This probably deserves more than two out of five, but for an
27:06
X-Files episode that is as good as I can give it.
27:10
Because I'm sure David Nutter and Chris Carter would burn me
27:14
if they ever listened to this podcast and they heard me give
27:17
it just two out of five. But to be honest, that's the
27:21
best I can do. Season 2 episode 14 is titled De
27:30
Hand de Violets, Pretty sure that's How You pronounce it,
27:34
which is written by Glenn Morgan and James Wong and is directed
27:38
by Kim Manners. And the title translates from
27:41
German as The Hand That Wounds. And this was the final episode
27:46
written by Morgan and Wong before they left the series for
27:49
a bucket load of cash to produce a new TV series for Fox called
27:53
Space Above and Beyond that lasted one season.
27:59
Oh well. It was seriously a shame to lose
28:02
their writing talents on this show, especially at this time.
28:06
But as we all know, nature abhors a vacuum and their
28:09
departure allowed some other great writers to come in and
28:12
share their vision of the show. Now, the opening scene here is
28:18
actually very clever. The school board meeting
28:20
discussing various issues to do with the school and just talking
28:23
about normal stuff before we suddenly go into the satanic
28:27
prayer to conclude the meeting, which then blows open the
28:30
episode from that point with the death of a student in the woods
28:34
through what looks like a satanic ritual and the gloves
28:39
are off. How did this happen, why did it
28:42
happen, and more importantly, who did it?
28:46
It's a good thing Moeller and Scully are called in to check it
28:48
out. Checking the scene, the police
28:51
officer begins to talk about strange goings on, about heavy
28:55
metal music being the devil's music and Moulder stating after
28:59
he moves on. Better hide your Megadeth
29:02
albums. Gold from our riders and Fox
29:05
Moulder. A great quote that is brought up
29:08
often in The X-Files mythology by those of us who listen to
29:12
Megadeth a lot. Better yet, when toads fall from
29:16
the sky. Scully exclaims.
29:19
Toads just fell from the sky moulder.
29:21
To which he replies, maybe their parachutes didn't open.
29:26
They say this area is used for witches ceremonies.
29:29
They. Well, everybody, anybody who
29:31
lives around here knows about the things going on in this
29:33
town. They say there are people who
29:35
control things. Any evidence to substantiate
29:37
those rumours? Share votes.
29:40
Whites and Scully look at the body.
29:41
The eyes and heart have been cut up.
29:44
Many homicides involve victim desecration.
29:47
I know he and his friends listen to devil music.
29:50
Good night, Chicago died. You know what I mean?
29:53
Heavy metal bands that influence.
29:54
Kids, does Jerry Stevens or his friends ever witness
29:58
participating in witchcraft? No more.
30:02
We're always. This stump here is supposed to
30:06
be the ceremonial altar. What do you think I?
30:11
Think with a few turquoise chips, a picture of John Wayne,
30:14
and three cans of shellac. It'll make a pretty nice coffee
30:16
table. We see all that wax.
30:19
Someone's been burning candles in there.
30:23
Any idea who Jerry Stevens was with out here?
30:26
Oh, we assumed he was alone. Well most people don't set out
30:29
to drink 26 packs by themselves. I also found this.
30:34
There's some purple ink on the edge, like a library
30:36
identification stamp. And the end of the title says in
30:39
America. I'm surprised your people
30:41
overlooked it. I'm sorry, I I got to apologize
30:44
here. You're you're right.
30:46
I admit, we're a little rattled here.
30:48
That's why I called the FBI. This may involve A deeper
30:52
conspiracy. See, I grew up around here.
30:55
Ever since I was a kid, I heard stories.
30:59
This is a weird area. It has a strange air that I
31:03
could chalk up to imagination. Till today.
31:08
I'll have my staff start checking libraries for you.
31:10
Agents Kelly. Better hide your Megadeth
31:16
albums. Theories like that are why I
31:18
can't take them seriously. The homicide did have a
31:21
ceremonial presentation, the manner in which the body was
31:24
displayed. Oh, I got the impression you
31:26
didn't believe in either. I didn't want to incite his
31:29
already clearly aggravated imagination, but there's a weird
31:32
feel to this place and maybe there's some truth to those
31:34
rumors. I love The X-Files when Mulder
31:37
throws in these humorous quotes. It's what makes this show so
31:41
good. But yes, there is a bit going on
31:45
and we eventually discover that those who are with the mutilated
31:49
teenager in the woods give their version of events and the town
31:53
and the teachers all suggest that their dabbling with the
31:56
dark arts has let loose a demonic force with their ritual.
32:01
The faculty members who were seen to be doing their own
32:03
satanic chant at the start of the episode believe outside
32:07
forces are at work, except for one who believes it is one of
32:11
his own circles members. He thinks this even more when
32:15
his stepdaughter Shannon firstly freaks out believing the pig
32:19
feeders she's dissecting has come to life, and then confesses
32:23
to Mulder and Scully about the faculty and their rituals, which
32:26
also involved her having given birth several times and those
32:30
being used in their rituals. This thing culminates in Shannon
32:35
slashing her own wrists and dying when she tries to take her
32:39
exam. So this is all family kid
32:42
friendly stuff here on today's episode and it really is very
32:47
much a step up for The X-Files with what we're seeing here.
32:52
By now we've worked out that the real culprit of course in all of
32:55
this is relief teacher Mrs. Paddock, who is a real piece of
33:00
work, friendly and helpful face to face, but a real satanic
33:04
bitch in the background. And although it isn't strictly
33:07
specified in the episode, it feels as though Missus Paddock
33:12
has arrived in town because those who followed this sex
33:16
beliefs have been a little bit slack in recent times.
33:20
And she slash it is here to clean up the mess.
33:26
With Shannon's death, her father spills the beans to Mulder on
33:28
what his group has been up to. But when Mulder is called away
33:32
by Scully, he handcuffs him to the basement and tells him I'll
33:37
be back. Ho ho ho, that's no good.
33:41
But no, he won't be because the giant Anaconda arrives on site
33:45
and consumes him. Yummy.
33:49
But I mean, why does Mulder handcuff him in the basement?
33:54
Does he really think he's going to run away?
33:56
It just seems like a rookie move from someone who should know
34:00
better, who should know that something's going to happen, and
34:04
giving this guy the opportunity to escape would have been the
34:07
better option anyway. It wasn't Sculley who called, of
34:11
course. It was Mrs. Paddock, who seems
34:13
to be working her way through those in that group.
34:17
And unfortunately for our intrepid agents, they somehow
34:20
find themselves caught by the remaining cultists again.
34:25
I mean, they get caught every single bloody episode it feels
34:30
like. Aren't these guys supposed to be
34:32
smart FBI agents Anyway, Caught by the cultists?
34:36
Sorry, I'm getting a bit over the top here.
34:38
Who decided to make a sacrifice to make up for their lack of
34:41
faith in recent times. Unfortunately for them, Mrs.
34:45
Paddock is there to atone and to complete the circle by taking
34:49
them out as Mulder and Scully watch on.
34:52
By the time they've released themselves and rushed back to
34:55
the classroom, they find that Mrs. Paddock has gone with a
34:58
message on the chalkboard saying goodbye.
35:01
It's been nice working with you, which is a nice touch.
35:05
Which also acted as the final goodbye from the writers Morgan
35:10
and Wong as well. Now the episode itself is very
35:15
good. Susan Blomart is fabulous as the
35:18
evil Mrs. Paddock. Now, for anyone who watched the
35:21
Blacklist, she was also Mr. Kaplan in The Blacklist for
35:25
anyone who's watched that show as Redington's cleaner.
35:29
And she played that role so very well, and she plays this role
35:33
perfectly. She's happy to dispose of all
35:36
those she needed to and then move on.
35:39
And with the supernatural fuel throughout the episode, it
35:42
builds nicely with the right amount of tension to see just
35:46
where and who was going to be disposed of and who would
35:50
survive. It's filmed well, the blackouts
35:53
and the rain and storms all provide the right atmosphere for
35:56
the episode. And considering recent episodes,
36:00
it was great to get the season back on track here with this
36:03
monster of the week episode, it covers everything.
36:06
A bit of humor at the start, the terror and horror through the
36:09
middle, and the creepy conclusion that leaves the
36:12
episode solved but with questions still hanging in the
36:16
air. So I give this four out of five.
36:19
For me, I thought it was a really good one.
36:21
It's probably not quite in the top like 20% of X-Files
36:26
episodes, but it was a really nice change in mood and also in
36:32
quality for The X-Files in this particular part of the series.
36:42
Our final episode of this podcast episode is Season 2's
36:46
episode 15, titled Fresh Bones, written by Howard Gordon and
36:51
directed by Rob Bowman. And we're headed back into the
36:56
black magic and voodoo and ancient customs here, something
37:00
that doesn't always sit well with Scully.
37:03
Well, let's see how many times our intrepid duo can get caught
37:06
here. In this particular episode, what
37:10
is true is that it is not a happy time for Jack Mcalpin,
37:13
who's having some pretty fair hallucinations which cause him
37:17
to drive into a tree and apparently kill himself.
37:21
But he's the second guy who has committed suicide of troops
37:25
processing Haitian refugees nearby.
37:29
Mulder and Scully get the call from his wife when the military
37:31
decide not to investigate any further.
37:34
Now I wonder why that could be. Maybe it's because Jack isn't
37:39
dead at all. There's a lot happening with
37:42
voodoo symbols being found, a young boy on base selling Lucky
37:45
Charms and missing bodies in graves and morgues substituted
37:49
with animals. Lots for Mulder and Scully to
37:52
get their head around, and Colonel Wharton.
37:55
He looks like a good bloke. Nothing fishy going on there,
37:59
he's just a good old boy. So as we move through the
38:03
episode, we see the conspiracy deepen.
38:07
Something is going on, and it appears to have to do with
38:09
voodoo rituals. The refugees are apparently
38:13
being abused, and the Colonel is behind it.
38:17
In retaliation, one of the refugees, Bouvet, has decided to
38:21
take down his men 1 by 1, utilizing voodoo magic inherent
38:26
in his Haitian culture, and the standoff is causing problems.
38:32
Wharton knows of this magic, and he's decided he wants a piece of
38:36
the action and he'll do anything to get a hold of it.
38:40
But bugger me X's back. He's finally put his pissed off
38:46
behaviour behind him and suddenly he wants to help out.
38:50
What a guy. He lets Malden know that all of
38:53
this is going to go away courtesy of the military, that
38:56
it will be all drawn in house, and that he and Scully are on
38:59
borrowed time if they want to solve the crimes occurring.
39:07
I'm surprised to get your card, I'd assumed our last contact
39:13
would be our last. Why are you here?
39:18
Your investigation is faltering, Asian Mulder.
39:21
We've got a renegade Marine who may be violating every human
39:23
rights provision. These people have no rights.
39:27
In 24 hours, all access to Folkestone will be restricted to
39:31
military personnel. No press, no third party
39:35
monitoring. What about sculling me?
39:36
You'll be called back to Washington on a priority matter.
39:42
They're making the camp invisible.
39:45
Well, why? In case you haven't noticed,
39:47
Agent Mulder, the Statue of Liberty is on vacation.
39:51
The new mandate says if you're not a citizen, you'd better keep
39:55
out well. Why hold them up?
39:57
Why not just repatriate them? During our most recent
40:02
involvement in Haiti, 3 U.S. soldiers took their own lives.
40:06
Of those men, two were under Colonel Wharton's command.
40:09
He's saying the military's sanctioning Wharton's revenge.
40:13
These people are innocent civilians.
40:15
Some people in Congress might have a real problem with that by
40:18
the. Time they get a committee
40:19
together, it'll be as if none of this ever happened.
40:30
And this comes to pass. All the ends begin to be tied
40:33
up. Dunham is killed, supposedly by
40:36
Mcalpin, who signs a confession. Wharton tells our agents that
40:42
Bouvet killed himself, so everything is fine and dandy.
40:47
But evidence offered by Mcalpin's wife leads the agents
40:50
to discover the missing body in Wharton's office, which then
40:54
sends them down to the graveyard where Bouvais was buried, and
40:59
Wharton is performing a voodoo ritual on the grave as Mulder
41:02
arrives. Scully, though, hasn't been well
41:06
since her hand was pricked by the thorn, and she waits in the
41:10
car. OK, so the scene where Scully is
41:14
strangled by the hand that emerges from the thorn cut in
41:18
her hand is bloody impressive and not just a little bit scary.
41:24
Great special effects are used here and classic horror film
41:28
vibes from Gillian Anderson. If Scully didn't believe in
41:31
voodoo before, she's sure bloody does now.
41:35
But thankfully Mulder has left his good luck charm in the car
41:39
and as soon as Scully can grab it, the evil is gone and she is
41:43
free from evil's hold. What luck for her, Not so great
41:49
for Mulder. Who is voodoo magic stabbed by
41:52
Wharton and suddenly he, Wharton that is, is confronted by
41:57
Beauvais who says he who does evil evil he will see and
42:03
Wharton gets taken down. Wharton is then pronounced dead
42:07
at the scene by Scully, who has now arrived on the scene and she
42:11
sees Bouvet is still dead in his coffin.
42:15
Our episode is then tied up with refugees being gathered together
42:18
for repatriation and Mulder and Scully are informed by Mcalpin
42:23
that their young benefactor who sold them their lucky charm had
42:27
been killed six weeks earlier in the riot.
42:31
Nice one, and the final scene of a very much alive Wharton being
42:36
buried alive in his coffin screaming is a great way to
42:41
finish off the episode. So to the episode itself, it
42:46
isn't bad. It is an above average episode,
42:50
giving both Mulder and Scully the chance to bounce off each
42:53
other. While we are often left in the
42:55
dark about who is alive and who is dead and what is real and
43:00
what is imagined and what is part of the cursing and what
43:04
isn't, It plays off a reasonable episode that could be utilized
43:08
in a Halloween scenario. As I said, the scene with Scully
43:13
in the car and the disembodied hand is absolutely brilliant,
43:17
and Gillian Anderson in particular showcases her great
43:21
acting skills here and that she could easily have been a high
43:25
quality scream queen herself. Daniel Benzali, who went on to
43:30
star in the court drama Murder 1, which I really enjoyed at the
43:34
time, is excellently menacing in this role and he gets the ending
43:39
that befitted his portrayal of the character.
43:43
So for me, beyond all of this, it's still OK.
43:47
It's still an above average episode and for me I think is
43:51
worthy of 3 1/2 out of five. So that's all from me for this
44:01
episode #10 gone, done, and dusted.
44:06
These five episodes were not ones that I remember with a
44:09
great deal of fondness, I must admit.
44:12
It was sort of a lull in the series after the magnificence of
44:15
some of those episodes that had already come, and also of what
44:20
would come after this. And I think that some of these
44:23
episodes could have been done much better with just a bit of
44:27
tweaking of the storyline. But that's what you get with
44:30
long running series. You get some absolute beauties
44:33
and you get some average fodder. And for the most part, these are
44:36
good, solid episodes, don't get me wrong.
44:39
They just don't ever climb into the unforgettable range.
44:44
So thanks for listening and for being a part of this.
44:47
If you'd like to get involved and give your thoughts on this
44:49
episode, there are a number of ways you can do it.
44:52
You can find me on X as metal Bill with the handle at real
44:56
metal Kevin. I'm on Blue sky as metal Bill
44:59
under at Metal Kevin dot B sky dot social.
45:03
You can leave a comment on the episode page on Spotify if
45:06
you're listening to this podcast on that streaming service.
45:10
Or if you want to check out my Patreon page, you can find that
45:13
at the creation of me, a lifetime retrospective.
45:17
You can go to the podcast there revisiting The X-Files and just
45:21
leave a comment on the page for this episode.
45:24
And as usual, if you know anyone who may be interested in going
45:28
on this journey with us, please pass on the episode to them and
45:31
let's get them all on board. All righty enough for me.
45:35
I can't wait to get into the next episode and relieve the
45:38
next set of episodes of season 2.
45:43
There are falling numbers for this podcast, but you know what?
45:45
I know most of you guys who are listening and I appreciate the
45:49
fact that you keep coming back. And this is a lot of fun for me
45:53
because I enjoy re watching The X-Files anyway.
45:55
So it's a given for me that I can easily do a podcast on each
46:00
time I watch these episodes. So it's no skin off my nose.
46:04
Like everyone, we'd all like more people to be listening to
46:07
us and and thinking that you're great, but sometimes you just
46:10
got to accept the fact that maybe the truth isn't actually
46:15
out there. Until next time, thanks for
46:17
listening and cheers. The.