We Interrupt This Season...
Fox decided to kick off sweeps month not with a new X Files episode, but with some catch-up work. The timing seems odd, since the next two episodes - penned by horror and science fiction legends Stephen King and William Gibson - are not part of the mythology arc. Indeed, the entire special seemed geared at getting recent fans up to speed on past events. And while it was fun seeing previews from the movie, it seemed a little premature.
Highlights: some cut footage from previous episodes, including Scully with a boyfriend in the pilot, the introduction of her brother Bill last season, and a lovely moment between Scully and her daughter Emily from this season's "Christmas Carol." It's interesting that all these deleted scenes were Scully's, because the whole special emphasized Mulder to a degree that really got on my nerves. William B. Davis speculated on whether his character is Mulder's father, the Lone Gunmen define themselves as Mulder's cohorts, even David Duchovny defines Scully as the woman who makes Mulder human. Considering that Gillian Anderson's the one winning the Emmys and that most of last season's arc - the cancer and cloned babies themes - were about Scully, this seems patently unfair.
The summary of the mythology and the recurring characters was a lot of fun, particularly the montage of Krycek action sequences and the pieces on the various informants (Deep Throat, X, Marita Covarrubias) who have advanced the story. Chris Carter talks about bees, black oil, and babies, but unfortunately nothing about the real political implications of the series, which used to be much more directly critical of our government's treatment of immigrants, death row inmates, and various conspiracies which have nothing to do with space aliens or global threats. It seems that much of the movie will be about a plague - at least, that's what Martin Landau's character said - but that clip might just be an attempt to divert us.
There were a couple of bloopers, mostly the actors cracking up at inappropriate moments (nothing like the real bloopers, which I've seen, where Mulder accuses Scully of frigidity and Skinner's secretary is auditioning to be a White House intern under his desk). And there were a couple of tantalizing clips for relationshippers. Anyone needing a refresher course on The X Files probably did well by this special, but for people who've watched since the third season or before, it was probably all old hat.
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