The X Files is coming back! (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

Wait, that was the same actor? I didn't get that at all. Well done, I guess.

The great Vancouver actress Karin Konoval. She was also Mother Peacock in the legendary 'Home' episode. Knowing the XF casting practices, I'd guess that she also played another role on the series or the second movie too.

EDIT: Looking at the IMDB, she was also in 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose' as a fortune teller. She also played Maurice the ape (via mocap) in the recent Planet Of The Apes trilogy and has been in about every TV show ever shot in Vancouver.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Here's a recap of the last episode that has many insights I was too lazy or ignorant to pick up on, including the fact the motel they were out is named after a biblical character Rachel, who was infertile, but ultimately had two sons, the second of whom was responsible for her death. Foreshadowing by Carter?

Anyway, it's a good read, particularly of the Mulder/Sculley interactions, his post-coital comment (I missed) about 'dimming her afterglow' and the plot point trick of the hangman game where the "UL" is in both their names.

I've gotta pay more attention next time. Carter's not as lazy a writer as we sometimes imagine.

http://ew.com/recap/the-x-files-season-11-episode-3/

 

[Sam Favate]

That was the most fun and best-written episode of the X-Files in 20+ years. More than just a silly riff on the premise of the show, this touched on everything the show has been about and commented on current events, all while honoring X-Files' predecessors like The Twilight Zone. Easily the best episode of the modern seasons, and one of the best Darin Morgan episodes ever. This alone made the current season worthwhile.

 

[Matt Hough]

It was a crazy, imaginative way of dealing with today's "fake news" phenomenon while simultaneously honoring and satirizing The X Files. Remarkably entertaining episode.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

So, Darin Morgan continues to be the only thing making NuX Files watchable?

I can see that.

Too bad they couldn't get Vince Gilligan back for an episode so we would've had two watchable episodes in the season.

 

[TravisR]

Absolutely top notch episode. The opening was a great riff on The Twilight Zone (using Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up and a little bit of The Howling Man and To Serve Man) and it featured Darin Morgan favorites Alex Diakun as the counter clerk and Dan Zukovic as the customer.

Dr. They up on the Washington Monument for the capacity crowd at the inauguration was priceless.

For those watching too close, the montage where they cut Reggie into old episodes used a line of dialogue from the episode Unusual Suspects where Mulder talked to Reggie Purdue (his then-boss) on the phone rather than Reggie Something. Also, Reggie shot this episode's writer/director Darin Morgan since Morgan also played the shapeshifting Eddie Van Blundht in the episode Small Potatoes.

Young Mulder watching The Twilight Zone was pretty much like young me watching The Twilight Zone. It's a toss up of which of us is more handsome.

Standards and practices must be in the toilet at Fox since there was a Nixon sign up in the junk shop that read "They can't lick our Dick... NIXON". And considering they've used the word twice now, I wonder if the Fox censor even knows what a 'taint' is.

 

[David Weicker]

It was great seeing Angel. Kept waiting for him to call Mulder ‘Jimmy’

 

[MarkMel]

That was entertaining!

 

[Christian T Lee]

Such a refreshing and fun episode, felt like I was watching something from season 4 or 5.

Lots of fun, actually I found the last 3 episodes quite enjoyable with only the first episode being a miss-step.

Feels good to look forward to the X-Files again

 

[Malcolm R]

. And considering they've used the word twice now, I wonder if the Fox censor even knows what a 'taint' is.

They've used it on Family Guy, too, so Fox must not have an issue with it. I can't believe they got Gillian Anderson to say the phrase, "...tastes like leprechaun taint." Maybe that's why she wants out. Either that, or because Reggie called her "sugar boobs."

The clips from old episodes also show how much older David Duchovny looks today compared to the rest of the cast.

You're free to explore Uranus...all you want.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Late to the party, but it was a hell of a party. Who else but Darin Morgan can get away with completely fucking with the whole premise of the show in every meta way possible like that?

Loved all The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits shout outs and references visual or otherwise. (When Mulder first appeared in silhouette wearing the Sasquatch outfit, I first thought it was a creature costume from "Nightmare at 37,000 Feet.")

Loved seeing Stuart Margolin again, although it took me about 10 minutes into him talking to realize that was Angel (must have missed opening credits).

Loved Sculley saying 'leprechaun taint,' and yes, she totally enjoyed rolling that off her tongue.

Loved the 50s alien on the hover board communicating telepathically and channeling absurdist racist nonsense like the biggest asshole in the entire Universe.

And did anyone else think for a second the answer book he handed Mulder was going to have the title "To Serve Man."?

And now that they got THAT out of their system, we now return your television set to you... until next time when we reach from the inner mind and memory of Darin Morgan to... well, you know.... a regular episode.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

And here's a good interview with Darin Morgan on the episode and his experiences with the show.

http://uproxx.com/sepinwall/the-x-f...ad-sweat-recap-darin-morgan-interview-review/

 

[Sam Favate]

I thought tonight's James Wong episode was a real winner. It was spooky, interesting, loosely tied to the mythology, and even touching in places. Nice work.

 

[Matt Hough]

And then there was Dr. Marvin Candle (a Lost reference).

Yep, enjoyable episode. Loved that Scully and Mulder realized it was William at the end.

 

[TravisR]

Solid episode. I'm very happy that they're keeping the mythology alive rather than just tabling it all until the finale.

A month or so ago, Supernatural also used those old wrecked boats and I remember thinking "Man, I can't believe that The X-Files didn't use that location." Man, Vancouver is the best looking place to shoot spooky shows.

Scully definitely should remember 'Dr. Masamoto' because Hiro Kanagawa is a long time 103 favorite. He's been in a number of previous XF episodes and a few episodes of Millennium and The Lone Gunmen.

For the sharp eyed Breaking Bad fan, the cop investigating the murder/suicide also played Declan in BB (the guy that Walt says "Say my name" "Heisenberg" "You're goddamn right.").

I loved the classic reveal of the CSM in Skinner's office.

Looking forward to the apparent Skinner-heavy episode next week.

...and even touching in places.

Yeah, they gave Anderson a nice scene to shine dramatically.

 

[Sam Favate]

Yeah, they gave Anderson a nice scene to shine dramatically.

Yes, there was that, as well as the ending, in which William talks to her, which I thought was quite nice.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Catching up late again (I have to wait for my son and fellow fan to watch when he comes home from college on weekends), but felt this was another great episode in what is already a terrifically rewarding season (with the exception of the opener).

Anderson did a great job and you got the feeling her morgue monologue, not to be too cynical, was her Emmy episode submission. But it was very moving. And I'm okay with the mythology on this episode introducing their son with the hybrid ability to hypnotically project altered personas. My wife thought he was a shape-shifter, but it's not that at all. The give-away was in the opening credits text ending on the "You will see what we want you to see." Not to get too Outer Limits about the we are controlling transmission theme.

I also find myself surprised (happily) that they are still shooting the series around Vancouver. I wonder why. They finished the original series sticking closer to home in L.A. and you would think Duchovny and Anderson would have preferred just shooting around Los Angeles this time around, but there they are in the great Northwest, where the landscape is refreshingly different than anything around Southern California and offers so many more striking possibilities for locations, such as this abandoned ferry.

I wonder if it was Carter's edict that they shoot up there and use some of the same crew that was still in that area from the original shoot?

And why aren't more people in the forum watching or commenting on the show this time around? It makes me wonder what the actual ratings for the show are now, not that it really matters for bringing us another season if Anderson's not aboard.

Oh, and I loved the shoutout to Edgar Cayce.

 

[Malcolm R]

Live ratings are not good, and it does not gain much from delayed DVR viewing.

Most episodes are around 0.9 to 1.1 in the 18-49 demographic, with around 3.5 to 4 million viewers. This past week it came in 4th in its timeslot, behind a repeat episode of The Goldbergs in the first half hour and basically tied with a repeat of Speechless in the second half hour (The Amazing Race and The Blacklist were the top two shows in the hour).

I don't think Fox would bring it back again given the current ratings, especially if Anderson is really done with the show, unless there is significant revenue being generated by streaming, syndication, or disc sales.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yes, this season would seem to be the end of the line for the show in this incarnation. Perhaps in ten or twenty years, it might get a reboot a la MacGyver or numerous efforts to revive The Twilight Zone, but I think this is it with the original collaborators.

 

[TravisR]

With William in play, they have the ability to give a happy ending to M&S.