X-Files 5/12/02 (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

I really enjoyed this episode of the X-Files.

Basically you have this guy (calls himself Oliver Martin after the cousin who was jinxed on the Brady Bunch show) who can create something he craves in real life, a loving family, and he uses the Brady Brunch as his shelter within his mind, but his psychokinetic power allows him to create what amounts to a holodeck, but with tangible effects in the real world.

2 young guys (one being David Faustino - Bud Bundy on "Married With Children") are killed by Oliver when they break into his house and Oliver literally ejected them out of the house through the roof and are killed upon impact.

Scully tracks down the doctor (Dr. Reets) who saw this man as a patient 30 years ago, and Dr. Reets helps the X-Files gang in calming Oliver down. Doggest takes Reets to talk to Oliver and picks the lock after seeing the Brady Bunch inside the house as he peeps through the windows.

Doggett confronts Oliver inside the house, and Oliver somewhat spares Doggett by launching him thorugh the upstairs ceiling and keeping him upsidedown in the attic where Doggett is stuck on the main attic beam of the house. Reets talks Oliver into calming himself so he can let go of Doggett, which he does, and Doggett comes crashing down with a few bruises on the ol' noggin.

Reets convinces Oliver to let the FBI take him from California to FBI HQ in Virginia for further testing and help.

As a demonstration of Oliver's powers, he levitates Skinner in Skinner's office and flips him around just for kicks. This was done in the presence of Doggett, Reyes, Scully with a huge grin on her face, Reets, Oliver, and a FBI physics expert. Shortly afterwards Oliver has a seizure and is hospitalized.

While Oliver represents validation for the all the work that Scully and Mulder did on the X-Files, the use of Oliver's power is eating himself up inside. Doggett figures out that Oliver only uses his power since he's lonely, and that Reets could be his only family (his power faded as he became happier with Reets in his life, but consequently Reets interest in the boy waned, so he left Oliver as a patient 30 years ago). Reets agrees to take in Oliver to save his life. Doing so robs Scully of the validation for the X-Files. But it was the right thing to do for Oliver.

This episode advanced, albeit with little steps, that Doggett and Reyes are coming together as a couple (it was a nice touch when Reyes holds Doggett's hand in the hospital as they watch Reets take in Oliver as a son to become a part of his family and to keep him happy), and that Doggett is getting the hang of the X-Files, ready to accept what he sees and not reject X-File-like explanation/phenomena to explain strange events. Scully is still without the proof she needs, but realized that love is a strong bond and happiness is worth more than any explanation/demonstration of repeatable X-File phenomena.

Next up: the 2 hour series finale with Duchovny back as Mulder.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

My questions:
Why was the F.B.I. involved in this case so early, since it's not an interstate case? The police had apparently not connected the bits of tile roofing around the landing site of the body with the roof of the Martin character, even though Faustino's character had given them the lead of where they should look. Is the F.B.I. called into every local unsolved murder case? What are the criteria here? Just that the victim landed on a car roof? If so, the Bureau would be mighty busier around the country.
The protagonists seem here too easy to dismiss that two persons have been killed, even after they conclude the Oliver Martin character has somehow done it (albeit perhaps unintentionally). What would the law say? "This man killed two people, we're bringing 'im in for study"?
The comedy was weak, but I usually expect that from The X-Files (although this episode comes from Vince Gilligan, who also scripted the wonderful "Bad Blood" episode).
Patrick Sun wrote:

I think that's pretty pathetic, especially coming from one of the series's best writers.
Speaking of "pathetic", anyone else notice how often The X-Files's wonderful otherworldly music score has lately been replaced with dreck like the absolute syrup that accompanied most of this episode?
Shucks, didn't get my one last good monster episode this season. And Gilligan, of all people, would've been the one to write it. Instead, this!

 

[Mike St.Louis]

Not a bad episode. Vince Gilligan is one of the best X writers.

I would have liked to see this episode last year or the year before. With only one episode left was it really necessary to waste it on a stand alone that doesn't answer any questions?

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Why was the F.B.I. involved in this case so early, since it's not an interstate case?

I'm sorry, but this really makes me laugh. For nine seasons now, how often has F.B.I. protocol, realsim and even basic common sense been ignored? It isn't important to the show. Honestly, I love this series (probably my all time favorite) but complaints like this are completely irrelevant. You can have those questions/problems if you want, but I have to wonder why you expect things to change at the eleventh hour?

Overall, it was a fun episode, that would have been better served being placed earlier in the season. As the penultimate X-Files show, it seemed a little out of place. I'm not entirely sure why they haven't used the last four or five episodes to tie up some loose ends gradually (which in all fairness they have done in very small baby-steps, whether you like the results or not). If they truly intend to answer as many questions as they seem to be promising, it is going to be one crowded 2-hour show next week.

 

[Frank Anderson]

Total bummer for me. Series is winding down and I guess they are going to tie up everything in the last 2 hour show. Once they got the word that it was being canceled all stand alone episodes should have been canceled and they should have started writing for the big finale. At least the last 4 or 5 episodes. As a stand alone episode it was interesting but stupid at the same time. I found it funny that "Oliver Martin" had no problem killing the first two people. But when he did the same thing to Doggett he couldn't get him through the roof.

And of course just when they can get their proof they write this pathetic side story of Martin will die if he continues to use his powers. Luckily I only have to suffer through two more hours of this series. I am strongly looking forward to next week but I have a feeling it will be crap also (I really hope not). When this series started I thought it was one of the best things on TV. It's to bad it went down hill so badly.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Was the irony of having Doggett & Reyes investigate "Cousin Oliver" lost on everyone here? There are certain parallels in terms of fan response that can't be ignored.
Regards,

 

[Ryan Spaight]

Ken,

Thanks for mentioning that. I was in hysterics when Reyes was describing Cousin Oliver as an annoying character added in the last season of the series. I also liked Doggett's comment at the end about turning off the TV and getting a life.

Overall, I thought it was a good penultimate episode. Next week we'll have the big Muldermania two-hour thing with (judging from the previews) lots of helicopters and explosions and yelling. Which I can't wait for. But, this was a quieter thing, more about the show itself than the increasingly nonsensical mytharc, and much better for it.

Ryan

 

[Chuck Parker]

I don't know, I kind of liked it. It certainly wasn't the best of the last nine years, or even season nine. It kind of felt right at this point. Light, with a bit of the referential (the irony of investigating "cousin oliver" was not lost to me) humor they've been using for the last two years or so. We've had the same thing with Agent "how'd you guys get back from Antarctica" Harrison. This was just a bit more subtle. I thought it was a nice touch.

As for FBI procedure, they've been flagrantly violating those particular rules for years, so it wasn't a big problem for me. Still, this one was a bit more flagrant than both.

finally - was I the only one who noticed some "brady-esque" themes in Mark Snow's incidental music this week? The signature melody wasn't there, but there were just enough cues to strongly suggest it (at least to me) without having to pay Sherwood Schartz any more royalty fees.

can't wait 'til next week - though I don't expect to get all the questions answered. Again, that probably wouldn't be any fun - how can you speculate if you know everything?

-chuck

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Some of us aren't as attunded to the self-referentiality of these things as others (nor yet to Brady Bunch trivia). I, for one, am always concerned with the story, not some writer's metacommentary on the audience. It's a "turn-off".

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Some of us aren't as attunded to the self-referentiality of these things as others (nor yet to Brady Bunch trivia). I, for one, am always concerned with the story, not some writer's metacommentary on the audience. It's a "turn-off".

Fair enough, but as Ryan pointed out, they did provide a no-more-awkward-than-necessary explanation of the Brady Brunch reference after Reyes hit the web-site so that all an X-Files fan had to do was recognize how it applied to their own show.
Regards,

 

[Mike Graham]

With the exception of last week's "Release" and January's "John Doe", this was the best of episode of Season 9. Episodes solely written by Gilligan have been lacking for the past two years, and I'm extremely happy he was given the chance to write and direct before the series takes its final bow next week.

The mythology installments this year have been atrocious, and I think I'm the only who was glad that the last 4 episodes weren't spent on super soldiers and Scully's baby. Both of these plotlines are terrible, and being completely forgotten the next week is fine by me.

Scully giving up her baby was a poorly written resolution. Hasn't this character suffered enough? First, she's abducted, develops an incurable cancer years later that's cured at the 11th hour, finds she has a lost alien clone daughter who ends up dying, has her own partner abducted, after which she finds out she's pregnant. Now, Mulder finally returns for a few weeks, but promptly leaves, fearing for his life. Throughout her pregnancy, the baby could possibly be considered alien or super human, which he's actually cured of, which results in him being given up for adoption. Ergh! Sadly, this great series still has to be treated like a franchise, so a baby is a bad plotline to confine yourself with when the producers want another movie to make.

These last two episodes symbolize, in one form or another, what made the series such a stand out: dark, spooky character studies and hilarious parodies of the genre. No matter how the finale plays out next Sunday, I believe the strength of the first seasons will more then compensate for the weakness of the last seasons in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

I've never been a huge fan of The X-Files, but I have been watching most episodes this season.

Surely the hardcore X-fans deserved better than this ridiculous episode for the second to last episode!!!!

This was one of the worst hours of television I've seen in a while...and I watch V.I.P.!

By the way, which are the best X-Files seasons? I promised a friend that I'd pay attention to the DVD sets eventually, and now that the show is nearly over with, I suppose it's a good time.

(Next week's finale does look pretty cool!)

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Scott Weinberg wrote:

I think you will find there was a whole thread devoted to posing and getting an answer to that question. It was still up in the tv section of the forum just last week. If you do a search I think you will find it rather easily.

 

[Andres Munoz]

Unbelievable. The second to last episode and they come up with this.

The episode as a stand alone was a bit corny. But the fact that they saved it for last made it worse! They're wrapping up NINE years of a series that has hard core fans, that has given some of television's best moments, and this is what they come up with?

God I really hope this show goes out with a bang during the 2 hour series finale. Please let these past 9 years mean something.

 

[Marvin Richardson]

I can't wait until this series is over so I can stop hearing people complaining about how bad the show is, how they're screwing the fans, and how it hasn't been any good since season 4.

 

[Craig S]

Amen, Marvin.

 

[Michael Reuben]

I can't wait until this series is over so I can stop hearing people complaining

Don't worry, they'll find something else to complain about.
M.

 

[Jason Borchers]

episode and they come up with this.

My sentiments exactly. I thought the final five episodes (advertised together as the "Endgame") were going to be a continuous story, which would have really given them a lot of time to resolve the series in a satisfying way.
So far, we've had one episode that was slightly connected to the "mythology," and three stand-alone episodes which either a) tied up things that didn't need to be tied up (Lone Gunmen, Doggett's son) or b) didn't tie up anything at all (like last night).
What a waste. :frowning:

 

[Marvin Richardson]

Oh, the irony.

As an X-File fan from day one, I've enjoyed the last three weeks quite a bit. The episodes have been better than anything this year or last. Individual character studies like this weeks episode were always the show's strong suit in my opinion. Hopefully any movie they make will be a stand-alone, and not have anything to do with the hopelessly convoluted and confusing mytharc shows. All of my favorite episodes (Squeeze, Home, Leonard Betts, Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space', War of the Corporphages, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose) haven't had much to do with the mythology. Not that I didn't like some of that, too. In the first probably 5 years it was good, but then it got harder to follow.

So this fan at least, didn't feel screwed by the show in its final weeks, despite the fact that it is now in vogue to bitch about the X-Files.

 

[Will_B]

I enjoyed this one a lot.

Why was it the second to last episode? Because the message was you need to find love in the real world, not in a television show. Hint hint. They even had some lines of dialogue to that effect at the end. As such it was an appropriate farewell to the series' non-story-arc shows.

It was good fun to have a Bundy in the Brady house.

And about the nitpick: Doggert or whatever his name is survived the trip through the ceiling because he went feet first (thanks to his grabbing that doorknob) and by chance his feet "landed" on the center beam. He wasn't spared - he could just as easily have been killed if he'd gone up head first.

The mythology probably won't be wrapped up because they lost track of it several seasons ago.