The Grand X-Periment Day 8 Part 2

10/8/11...still


23) Jose Chung's From Outer Space- Season 3, Episode 20- Another non-mythology episode which could almost reveal important things underneath all the parody and comedy (but I wouldn't count on it). Charles Nelson Reilly (of Match Game fame) guest stars as Jose Chung, an author dedicated to writing "non-fiction science fiction." He interviews Scully and pieces together accounts from the residents of Klass County, Washington, regarding the abduction of two teenagers out on a date. There are aliens, men in black, UFOs and perhaps a subterranean homesick alien. Jesse Ventura and a very special guest are the Men In Black.

Seriously, the plot of this doesn't matter. It is more a chance for writer Darin Morgan to explore all the cliches of alien stories that the series never really goes into in the more serious episodes. The unreliable nature of hypnosis, the embarrassing incidents disguised as abductions, those who seek fame and wealth from their UFO sightings and those who just want to believe because they don't belong here on Earth themselves. Morgan also wrote the similarly excellent Clyde Bruckman episode from yesterday. At this point in the series, we have gotten to know our characters so well that we can start playing around with them a bit.

One of my favorite moments in the entire series comes when a young nerd boy is being questioned about an alien body he finds in a field. He lampoons some of the critical jabs at the leads by stating that Scully is a Man in Black trying to pass himself off as a woman and failing. Mulder is a mandroid due to his utter lack of emotions (except when he sees the alien corpse, at which time Duchovny lets out a YIP that is hilarious while remaining completely deadpan).

It is his incredibly dry, measured acting style that makes Duchovny a natural comedian. His guest appearances on the Larry Sanders Show are among my favorite episodes of the series. He reminds me a Leslie Nielson back in Airplane, just able to say the most ridiculous lines with an utterly straight face and sell them. I only begin questioning him as an actor when he has to emote (such as at his mother's bedside in the next episode). One off stories like this are great little showcases for the actors and really allow the show to blow off some steam between big, tense action set pieces.

24) Talitha Cumi- Season 3, Episode 24- As a note, please be aware that a tiny shred of mythology was revealed in episode 23 (Wetwired). It is all about a video tape that can make people more aggressive (giving Gillian Anderson a chance to play crazy go nuts like Duchovny did back in the Season 2 finale). At the end, we find out X is the right hand man of Cancer Man (or at least a trusted lieutenant) who must act as if he is trying to find the person in Cancer Man's crew leaking info to Mulder. Awkward.

So, this episode starts with a random nutjob shooting up a fast food restaurant only to have a calm guy lay hands on the injured and heal them. The details are that the guy seems to be one of another set of clones (like the ones killed off in Colony/End Game) who are targets for the alien Bounty Hunter (yay!). The juicy stuff comes from the revelation that Cancer Man used to do the hunka chunka with Mulder's mom. She has a stroke after fighting with CM. She tells Mulder where to find one of those stabby things for killing clones in their lake house. Mulder refuses to give it to X and the two of them beat the shit out of each other. By the end, Cancer Man has captured the healer clone, set him free after the clone heals him of...wait for it, cancer...and the alien bounty hunter has tracked healing clone to a remote meeting he was having with Mulder and Scully. Cliffhanger!

Most of this episode works just fine as another mythology episode but there is a really long conversation between Cancer Man and Healing Clone about the basis for authority over common people and the nature of faith versus fear. It comes off like a stoned dorm room conversation between two co-eds after a particularly intriguing lecture except that we don't know what the lecture is about. This is one of those conversations that is designed to make sense only after you know the details of the conspiracy, which we don't. So, it only makes sense in the vaguest possible way and just seems to kill time. Likewise, as big of a badass as X is, I get tired of seeing him scrap with our heroes. Now he has beaten up Skinner and Mulder, played rough with Scully and generally been a dick to everyone. I still like him better than Deep Throat but I enjoy him more when he takes action against the bad guys (like in 731).

As far as cliffhangers go, this is kind of weak. Season 1 ends with the X-Files closed, Mulder and Scully split up and Deep Throat dead. Season 2 ends with Mulder trapped in a firebombed train car loaded with alien bodies while Scully may be getting fired. Season 3 ends, with yet another clone being threatened by the Alien Bounty Hunter. Not a lot at stake that wasn't at stake in earlier episodes. This may be the beginning of the big let down.