Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

This is the eighth and final episode in my rewatch of the eight X-Files episodes that Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz have called essential viewing for the movie: the Pilot, Beyond the Sea, The Host, Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, Memento Mori, Post Modern Prometheus, Bad Blood, and Milagro.

The plot set-up: Victims are being found with their hearts missing but no other cuts or incisions.

Teaser: We meet a writer with an obvious case of writer’s block. He goes into the bathroom, and that’s when you know something bad is going to happen. In XF-land, nothing good ever happens in the bathroom. He stares at his reflection before pulling out and contemplating his own still-beating heart.

As we find out later, the writer is Phillip Padgett, Mulder’s new next-door neighbor. The actor, John Hawkes, goes on to join Brad Dourif from “Beyond the Sea” on HBO’s Deadwood, a show I highly recommend.

“Milagro” is an interesting episode. At the surface, it’s very skeevy. It’s a story about a writer obsessed with and in love with Scully. We know it’s Chris Carter writing all this purple prose about his character Scully, even as the writer in the episode is doing it.

It, however, is also a story about how the writer doesn’t understand and actually completely misreads his characters. Padgett doesn’t know why his killer kills. Also, he’s so enamored with Scully that he moves into Mulder’s apartment building to get to know her. He starts writing his masterpiece novel with the intention of meeting her through it. He realizes later though, that what he thought he knew about her was not really so. And this breaks his heart.

I wonder if this is some sort of confession by Chris Carter. Did he realize, while in the process of writing her, that she (as her own entity) was someone different than who he had thought her to be? There’s a scene in this episode where Mulder and Padgett discuss whether the writer invents the characters or if the characters choose the writer.

But would this, a very thoughtful navel-gaze at the writing process, be enough for it to have been included in this “essential” set? I just don’t think so.

Connection to the movie? I think Chris Carter is trying to retro-con “Milagro” into being The Episode where Mulder and Scully first realized their mutual feelings. Strange, it’s never had that reputation before.

Tags: TV by Ms. SP
No Comments »

Just by chance, I caught Gillian Anderson’s appearance on The Tonight Show Tuesday night. Years ago, I was the owner of three VCRs and would have the XF cast’s scheduled appearances diagrammed and outlined in my planner. I’m thinking that I should start doing that again.

It was such fun to see her in an interview once more. During the rewatch of “Milagro,” I kept saying, “Oh, I forgot about this.” (That post will go live on Friday.) Of all the episodes in the set, I probably watched “Milagro” the least number of times. The same thing happened when I was watching Gillian Anderson on the talk show. I had completely forgotten just how goofy, joyful, and off-the-cuff she is.

Watching her, I now remember how dryly funny and whip-smart David Duchovny is in his talk show interviews. So I have found their appearance information and written it in my planner.

I have also been pointed to a great Salon.com article on the coolness of Scully. Everyone’s experience is unique, but Rebecca Traister covers many of the reasons why Special Agent Dana Scully was (and I hope is) just so awesome.

Tags: TV by Ms. SP
No Comments »

This is the seventh episode in my rewatch of the eight X-Files episodes that Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz have called essential viewing for the movie: the Pilot, Beyond the Sea, The Host, Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose, Memento Mori, Post Modern Prometheus, Bad Blood, and Milagro.

The plot set-up: Mulder and Scully go to Chaney, Texas, to investigate a series of cow and tourist exsanguinations.

Teaser: A kid goes running through a fog-filled forest. He’s chased by a mysterious figure who finally catches the kid and drives a stake into his heart. The reveal is that Mulder is the killer, and the vampire he thinks he’s destroyed has fake plastic vampire teeth inserts. It’s a great, dramatic, action-packed start. It makes you say, as Mulder did, “Oh, sh–”

When we come back after the commercial break, Mark Snow’s music tells us right off that not everything is going to be serious. When Mulder beats up the garbage can, we know something is up.

This episode is written by Vince Gilligan. Philes call him Uber!Vince. After Morgan and Wong (”Beyond the Sea“) left the show, and with Darin Morgan (”Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose“) being such a slow writer, the fans needed someone to step in as the go-to-guy. And Vince Gilligan sure stepped up. One of the major things that differentiated his scripts from the others’ is the amount of teamwork by Mulder and Scully. Usually at the end, both Mulder and Scully contributed to the success of, or at least to the resolution of, the case. And that’s what happens here in “Bad Blood.”

It’s almost pointless to write a review of this episode. It’s practically note perfect.

“Bad Blood” takes the he-said/she-said storytelling technique and applies it to Mulder and Scully trying to write a field report. We see Mulder staking the guy in the teaser. Now, each of the characters in turn will tell us how they got to that point. The only negative thing I would say about the episode is that Mulder comes off goofier than Scully. So I wouldn’t say that it is a 50/50 representation of the partnership.

And the episode is funny. No, really funny. Not just humorous or amusing. Funny—all the way through—except for one really scary part.

Connections to the movie? I would say the partnership dynamic. It’s revealing that in her version, Mulder kind of steamrolls her and considers her a tool to further the investigation. He even forgets her name in his excitement to keep going. It’s also revealing that in his version, he’s a little afraid of her. But through it all, there’s a trust and a reliance to this very deep partnership. Go, Uber!Vince!

Notables:

• Luke Wilson plays Sheriff Hartwell, who is either smoking hot or not depending on who is telling the story at that point.
• You can see Arlene Pileggi, the wife of Mitch Pileggi (Skinner), in the role of Arlene, Skinner’s assistant. Arlene Pileggi was already Gillian Anderson’s stand-in on the series when she met her future husband.

For as many times as I’ve seen this episode, I’ve never caught this gaff. When Mulder is breaking down a wooden chair in preparation for going after the vampire, someone’s hand enters the shot to lay a ready-made stake on top of the pile so Mulder can grab it and run off.

Tags: TV by Ms. SP
No Comments »