The Truth
Vol 1 Issue 8
January 26, 2001
Musings From the Editor’s Desktop
Hello to everyone out there in X-File land. It’s me, your faithful editor, here to deliver you the greatest X-Files newsletter on the web, The Truth. Welcome to our eighth issue! Yes, we are here and we won’t go away. Even if dwarves(excuse me-little people) crawl up our asses and take over our bodies. Yes, Badlaa was quite a strange episode to watch. In fact, we have two writers this week that take a look at the episode and what they thought of it. Also, I wrote a little something extra to add on to the usual shenanigans that go on here. I reviewed the demo version of the newest X-Files game. Read about it in the News, then check out my review. We also have Chapter 2 of Paper Saints, a great fanfic by Jill Selby! Also, keep checking back to our website (www.oocities.org/xanderfrohike) because soon there will be archives of every issue of The Truth that has hit your e-mailboxes. And if you tell your friends to check it out, they can see what we can offer to them weekly before they subscribe. OK…on with the Truth! I’ll shut up now.
In this week's issue:
NEWS
REVIEW OF PATHOGEN UNKNOWN
REVIEW OF BADLAA
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE OF BADLAA
SHIPPER'S CORNER
SNOGGER COLUMN
FANFIC-"Paper Saints" Pt 2
CLOSING NOTES
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X-PHILE NEWS YOU CAN USE
~brought to you by X-Treme X-Phile~
http://xtremexfiles.50megs.com
-X-Files media mania seems to be hitting the newstands, cyber and retail this week. I recommend, if you haven't already, put the Sci-Fi Wire & Cinescape sites in your favorites folder, they are a large source of news. And, a shameless plug for my XF site...if you have yet to visit it, pls do! New spoilers have been added this week!-
A New X-Files Face To Come
(off of Sci-Fi Wire [www.scifi.com/scifiwire.com] )
The second half of The X-Files current season will reveal more about the character of Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and introduce a new character, played by Annabeth Gish, executive producer Frank Spotnitz told the Horror Online Web site. "You'll see more unfold about his character--who he is and where he came from," Spotnitz told the site.
Spotnitz added, "We sort of hinted at that in one episode that we saw, when he took out a picture of a little boy, and we didn't know what that meant to him. But now we're going to find more about him and people he knows. And we're going to meet this new agent, named Monica Reyes and played by Annabeth Gish, in episode 14, who has some history with Doggett. For us, it's exciting, because it's new things to play with, and it changes the dynamic of the show."
Gish's character will change the balance of the show, Spotnitz said. "She, like Doggett, is completely unlike anybody we've seen on The X-Files before. We'd never had somebody like Doggett, a kind of a working-class cop, before. And Annabeth is also a completely different element on the show. Reyes smiles, laughs and is a little off-center; there's a slightly neurotic
quality to her. She's an FBI agent from the New Orleans field office; I'd say she's more a believer than a skeptic. So when you have Mulder, Scully, Doggett and Reyes, you've got two and two, if you will--if you still count Scully as a skeptic. While Scully believes in a lot of things, I still think she approaches things from that side of the world, as a scientist."
Fox Fined For X-Files Death
(taken from Sci-Fi Wire)
Cal/OSHA, California's occupational safety and health watchdog agency, fined 20th Century Fox Television more than $41,000 in fines for a fatal accident last year on the set of The X-Files, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The accident--in which scaffolding came into contact with high-power lines--killed one worker and injured six others. In assessing the fines, Cal/OSHA determined that Fox had committed three "serious" safety violations, including allowing employees to work near high-voltage lines without taking steps to guard against the danger and failure to properly secure the scaffolding, the trade paper reported.
The agency also determined that Fox committed a general safety violation by not having a "written code of safe practices posted at the job site." Fox has 15 days to challenge the ruling, but a Fox spokesman declined to tell the Reporter whether it would appeal or pay the fine.
Duchovny Evolves In New Role
(Sci-Fi Wire & Cinescape coverage)
David Duchovny--star of Ivan Reitman's upcoming SF comedy film Evolution--told the Eon magazine Web site that the movie is actually a stretch from his usual duties on The X-Files. "It's different, and that's why I wanted to do it, because it's a totally different performance
style for me," Duchovny told Eon. "I was looking for something different to do. The fact that there were aliens in it was kind of a drawback, but it's just a superficial coincidence."
Duchovny plays a discharged Army medic who joins Orlando Jones and Julianne Moore to deal with a meteorite that crashes to Earth with microbes that evolve at an accelerated rate. "Comedy's challenging, because there's really only one criteria, and that's if people laugh or not," Duchovny said. "Drama--people like it a little or they like it a lot, but you don't
have to cry to like it. In comedy, if people aren't laughing, it's not successful, so you're really putting your ass on the line."
Duchovny said he's not worried about being typecast in SF roles. "Who's going to do that?" he said. "Is the great casting director in the sky going, 'Hmm? Did The X-Files, and now he's done this. That's all he can do!'"
Evolution is set for a summer release.
X-Files in 3-D
(Excerpted from Advertising Age)
"Fox.com is putting the finishing touches on a 3-D interactive game, "The X-Files' Pathogen Unknown" that will launch in time for the February ratings sweeps. WildTangent's Web Driver technology is the foundation for the Web-based role-playing game, which will be featured on Fox.com, as an added attraction to its X-Files site (www.thexfiles.com). The game, which may be downloaded and played at www.thexfiles.com, will be released in monthly episodes starting in February; a 10-minute preview is posted on the site."
---------------------------
REVIEW OF PATHOGEN UNKNOWN
By the editor (xanderfrohike@yahoo.com)
"Pathogen Unknown" is the new game on the X-Files Official Site that you read about in the news. Well, your favorite editor read it, too, and immediately went and checked it out! After the fun I had playing the first game on my PC and the Playstation, I had to check this one out. After going to the site, I immediately found the page it was on. It asked me what year I was born and then it let me in.
You can download this beta version in three different ways, depending on what bandwidth you preferred. I was on a slow computer(network at an elementary school-lol), but I wanted all the game could give me, so I chose High. It took a while to download, but eventually I was with my PDA once again, reviewing the case. One side note and that is your PDA is equipped
with a game boy-like game, "Attack of Uranus"(lol), that you could play while the real game was downloading. It did take forever, but I think it was because of my PC at work.
The game starts with you in your FBI office, faced with some files to review so you can prepare to face a man holding his boss hostage at gunpoint. You review some information about SETI and the mad genius working with them to decipher alien signals and off you go to
the scene of the crime, where you are forced to hostage-negotiate with the man. If you beat that, you go back to your apartment to find a message on your computer saying that some men will be visiting you. You turn around and…it’s the Lone Gunmen! All ready to hype their new series! Just kidding. It is the boys though and the demo version of the game ends there.
I enjoyed the game, although it did have some things in it that bothered me. First off, it’s 3-D, not cinematic, which was the coolest thing about the first game. I liked talking to the real actors while investigating the disappearance of Mulder and Scully. I had the most fun pissing off AD Skinner(was that just me?). Also, the game just basically sets you on a direct path from the office to the crime scene to the apartment. I couldn’t wander around too much. And
finally, can someone tell me how to turn the damn flashlight off!! lol But, really, I did like the game and recommend all die-hard X-Philes to check it out. I just hope when the full version comes out, it offers a lot more.
----------------
BADLAA
"A mystic smuggles himself out of India and plagues two families in suburban Washington D.C."
I'd have to say that I really enjoyed this show. As you all know I have not spoken too favorably of the last few shows, and I was not exactly looking forward to these last few weeks, leading up until Mulder return. This story was original and well done. Scully and Doggett's characters seem to grow stronger every week. When she shot the mystic, that she saw as Trevor, you could feel the pain and shock that she felt. Even though Doggett isn't really a believer, I think that he is starting to realize that there are things that sometimes can't be explained. I am very happy how they have been playing out their relationship though. Instead of trying to replace Mulder, they have definitely made Doggett to be more of a challenger of Scully's opinions and beliefs. And for the first time in a few weeks, Scully actually made mention of Mulder again. I was starting to believe that the whole thing with him was completely forgotten about. This was also the last new episode until THE GIFT which airs 2/4. Things should be real interesting from here on out.
---------------------------------
BADLAA
-another perspective by Michael Marek
http://www.usd.edu/~mmarek/xf
The main things that should be remembered about the January 21 episode of The X-Files, "Badlaa," are not the details of the plot, but rather what we learn about Dana Scully.
Agent Doggett is right -- Scully has come up with come pretty far-out ideas in recent weeks, regardless of whether they turned out to be true or not. Many of us have been saying "that's not OUR Scully." One of the foundations of her character is her reliance on science -- that no
matter how fantastic the truth is, it still has a basis in science that can be understood, given proper study.
On the other hand, in recent weeks she has embraced several concepts that cannot be explained by science, such as people living backwards in time. Her new attitudes are not impossible for the viewer to understand. She HAS seen lots of things over the years and knows that sometimes the easy scientific explanations don't fit the bill. One way to look at this is that Scully has been on an emotional journey over the past eight years. As a character, she has changed a lot. In some ways it's kind of a joke pulled on the character by the producers, giving her the role of throwing out the fantastic ideas.
With "Badlaa," however, we find that it is not so much of an emotional journey for Scully as it is a reaction to grief and to her personal loss of Mulder. She is FORCING herself to come up with fantastic ideas and to not close her mind. In fact, the emotional center of her universe
is gone and the cases of The X-Files are all she has to hold on to.
But also in "Badlaa," Scully realizes that she cannot make herself be Mulder. It's not the way her mind works, to her great regret. THAT'S our Scully.
Here's what *should* happen in following episodes:
Scully, concluding that the wild-eyed believer role doesn't work for her, makes her emotional way back to become a centrist. She believes that science can explain everything, if you can collect the right data. On the other hand, she admits that there are many strange things out
there that defy easy explanation.
The new female character takes on the "spooky" role, throwing out the wacko ideas Mulder usually does, to the extend that Mulder himself is not available.
Doggett remains the one with the fairly dullard imagination. To a certain extent, he replaces Skinner's character in this capacity. In many ways Skinner and Doggett are similar characters. Neither is very willing to explore the fantastic. Skinner also is more centrist now, of course, and can be used in scripts where Scully needs additional centrist support.
It was Sherlock Holmes who said something to the effect that, "when you have eliminated the impossible, what remains, no matter how improbable, is the truth." Such is the case with most of The X-Files cases. Scully, Doggett and all of the others involved need to embrace this
concept, and get on with business.
------------------------------------
SHIPPERS CORNER
"all things"
http://www.insidethex.co.uk/transcrp/scrp717.htm
(MULDER's apartment. MULDER and SCULLY are sitting close together on the sofa. Two half-drunk mugs of tea are on the coffee table. SCULLY, drowsy, has her shoeless, stocking feet propped up on the table. They have been talking a while.)
MULDER: I just find it hard to believe.
SCULLY: What part?
MULDER: The part where I go away for two days and your whole life changes.
SCULLY: Mmm, I didn't say my whole life changed.
MULDER: You speaking to God in a Buddhist temple. God speaking back.
SCULLY: Mmm, and I didn't say that God spoke back. I said that I had some kind of a vision.
MULDER: Well, for you, that's like saying you're having David Crosby's baby.
(SCULLY smiles and looks thoughtful.)
MULDER: What is it?
SCULLY: I once considered spending my whole life with this man. What I would have missed.
MULDER: I don't think you can know. I mean, how many different lives would we be leading if we made different choices. We... We don't know.
SCULLY: What if there was only one choice and all the other ones were wrong? And there were signs along the way to pay attention to.
MULDER: Mmm. And all the... choices would then lead to this very moment. One wrong turn, and... we wouldn't be sitting here together. Well, that says a lot. That says a lot, a lot, a lot. That's probably more than we should be getting into at this late hour.
(MULDER looks down at SCULLY. She has fallen asleep against his shoulder. Music begins again. In slow motion, he tenderly brushes a strand of hair out of her face, then gazes at her a moment. He pulls his Indian blanket over her and carefully tucks it around her. Camera pans around to the fish tank with it's bouncing UFO decoration as MULDER gets up off the couch. The rhythmic song "The Sky is Broken" continues playing. The camera pans down under the fish tank to a small figurine of Buddha on the shelf below.)
-------------------------------------------
SNOGGER COLUMN
by: ~ddga4ever~ <ddga4ever@edsamail.com.ph>
First and foremost I wanted to say 'Happy Chinese New Year' to all of
you. It's the year of the snake and for the people who born under the
year of Horse, Rooster, Dragon are very lucky this year.
The latest Snog news is from my good friend, Laia. I've heard a rumor that David and Gillian were seen behind the their trailers and he had a ring and was on his knees. This other source said that GA and DD were going to announce when they would get married-either this year or next May. Later throughout this week I heard another rumor that their precise wedding will be May 1st.
Just as I said in the previous issue, most of us snoggers are really looking forward to a wedding announcement on May 1st.
According to Wacojacko...this snog news came from my good friend Agent
Extremis...
David and Tea are really getting their divorce and last Christmas DD
proposed a marriage to GA.
I emailed my ol' pal Agent Extremis to see if this source is true. According to her, it's just a rumor...HEY! You can't say that a rumor is true or not. Some rumors are true...Well who knows?! but I'm strongly believe that Agent Extremis' sources are very reliable.
Snogger Quote of the Week:
"I enjoyed this episode," says Gillian. "I got a big kick out of sitting next to David and doing all the little things to pretend we were married. I also liked calling him 'Poopyhead'." (Arcadia)
*Comments, Suggestions, or if you wanna share something, just email me at ddga4ever@edsamail.com.ph or ddga4ever@pinoyxphiles.com-1.net*
Site Check:
Visit my site at http://www.pinoyxphiles.com-1.net and you can have the
chance to win my site award and be a member. Pardon me if some links are not yet available I'm still working on with them.
-------------------------------------------------
PAPER SAINTS by Jill Selby (jillselby@yahoo.com)
Archiving Note: Do not archive at Gossamer. All other archives,
please ask permission.
Disclaimer: Characters from the X-Files are the property of Ten
Thirteen Productions and the Fox Television Network. All others
are the author's creation. Any similarity to any person, living
or dead, is purely coincidental. No infringement is intended.
Classification: XRA/MSR
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None
Timeline: Post-movie
Notes and thanks from the author will appear at the end of the
story.
Feedback is always appreciated.
part 2/15
No man as extraordinarily perceptive as Fox Mulder could be this
clueless. Not even on his worst day. So why was every subtle
dismissal she sent being rewritten as an invitation?
She crossed her legs. He caressed her knee. She brushed his
hand away like a piece of lint. He captured her by the wrist and
brought her hand to his lips for a gentlemanly kiss.
"Mulder, stop that." Scully was secretly pleased with the
irritated growl she incorporated into her voice. If Mulder
detected even the faintest trace of amusement, he would never
tire of this ridiculous game.
"Stop what?" The words were breathed into her ear, spelled out
in the touch of his fingers as they brushed through her hair,
underlined by kisses and nibbles on her earlobe.
The next growl she attempted came out less threatening and more
encouraging. "We talked about this. We agreed not to...."
Evidently there was a nerve ending in the neck, right below the
ear, which was connected to the memory center of the brain,
because as her partner began to nuzzle that particular spot,
Scully found she couldn't quite recall any agreements they'd
made. Certainly none that prohibited displays of affection while
traveling by plane.
In truth, this was all so new it would have been presumptuous to
start imposing too many guidelines. What they were undertaking
was a grand and dangerous experiment, one they'd put off for
years and now approached with no small amount of trepidation. She
revised the thought as she intercepted the hand making a slow,
stealthy trek up her thigh. *She* was approaching this new aspect
of their relationship with caution. Mulder, for all his
reluctance to make the first move, had not hesitated to keep
moving once he'd overcome his inertia.
One of them had to be the rational one -- the one willing to
question the wisdom of mixing personal with professional, the one
who could pull them back from the edge before things got too
intense, the one who could undo everything before everything came
undone. Mulder didn't make it easy for her, not that he ever
had, but lately he'd found interesting new ways to drive her out
of her mind. Like now, by doing nothing more than resting his
forehead against her temple, fingering the clasp of her necklace,
and making her want him so badly she was seriously considering
testing the airline's promise of increased leg room in business
class.
"You and I are going to have a serious talk after this case is
over, Scully."
He was so close he probably didn't see her smile, but it filtered
into her voice. "Talk, Mulder?"
"There might be some word-like noises exchanged."
"Okay. After this case is over. I think maybe it's time
we...talked."
He brought his hand to her cheek and turned her face to his,
meeting her halfway for a brief, chaste kiss. "Whenever you're
ready, Scully. But I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward
to having that conversation with you."
____________
"Agent Scully, it's a pleasure to meet you. I wish we had more
time to get acquainted, but we just got word there's been another
murder. We're not sure if it's related to the Oliver case at
all, but the circumstances are just so damned strange that the
St. Charles PD gave us a call for a consult. I thought you'd
want to take a look for yourself. I'd offer you a cup of coffee,
but we'd better head over to the crime scene before the local
guys clear out."
If the FBI ever required a textbook example of the model agent,
they could take a photograph of Sheila Solomon. She was
impeccably dressed in muted beiges and browns with hair so
shortly-cropped it was virtually muss-proof and makeup applied
with such skill it seemed she wore none at all. She was
confidence and professionalism made manifest in a 6-foot-tall
black woman.
She'd quickly demonstrated a firm grasp of the case, and had no
less firm a grip on the hand of the agent who was to be her new
supervisor. As first impressions went, hers had been flawless
except for one little mistake. She was shaking the hand of the
wrong agent.
Scully took a step forward and extended her hand. "You must be
Agent Solomon. I'm Dana Scully."
There was something perversely wonderful about the scene
unfolding before Mulder. Even as Scully introduced him to Agent
Solomon, Sheila was still mindlessly shaking his hand, no doubt
using all her mental resources to search for a graceful recovery
from her faux pas.
She tried laughing it off but her chuckle was a bit too forced
and made more conspicuous by the fact that Scully wasn't
laughing. There was no reprimand in Scully's tone as the women
made their introductions, but she did not dismiss the agent's
error. Their conversation was nothing more than the obligatory
discussion of office arrangements and vehicle requisitions, but
Scully was sending the woman a clear message: "We'll start
fresh, but don't overlook me again."
Others seemed more than willing to blend into the scenery.
Solomon motioned to a man who was standing quietly a few feet
behind her. "This is Agent Abbott. He's also been assigned to
the case."
Whereas Sheila Solomon's sense of personal style was dramatic in
its understatement, Nelson Abbott was someone who was clearly
going against his own nature in order to impress. Like a little
boy whose mother dressed him for church and then made him stand
still so as not to get scuffed or dirty, Abbott was clearly
uncomfortable in his suit and tie. He fidgeted. He tugged at
his starchy collar. He looked at his shoes. And other than a
quiet "hello," he let Sheila do the talking.
Talking was something at which Sheila excelled. She was
articulate and informative, but good God, did the woman ever stop
for a breath?
"... so with all that evidence, the case was rock solid. Jury
selection's been going on for a week and the trial was set to
start on Monday. Randall Palmer was under maximum security and
kept isolated from the other prisoners for his own protection.
You know as well as I do that prisoners don't play nice with
child molesters. Somehow the guy disappears from his cell early
this morning and is found thirty minutes later by the director of
the Pollywog Preschool."
"And?" Mulder, sensing they were getting to the good part of the
story, urged the woman on, with no further concern for her
pulmonary health.
The story had to wait, however, while the agents went through
some silent maneuvering for the power positions in the car.
Sheila was the self-elected driver; since she was clutching the
keys with such proprietary relish, it seemed wise not to
challenge her. Agent Abbott, shuffling along behind the others,
likely would have ridden in the trunk if asked; he took his place
in the back seat without complaint.
In a world where ergonomic-correctness was the only
consideration, front seat privileges would go to the tallest. But
when the Agent-in-Charge is the woman with whom you spend your
days, and hopefully soon, your nights, personal comfort takes a
back seat. Literally.
By the time Mulder had compacted himself into the seat, Sheila
had resumed her breathless exposition. "... the officer I
talked to said they'd leave the body up for us to take a look at.
Said we probably wouldn't believe it unless we saw it. They're
not even sure what's holding the guy up, why the skin didn't just
rip away and let him fall, but no one is real anxious to
extricate the body. One rookie actually passed out at the
scene." She glanced back over her shoulder. "You're not
squeamish, are you Agent Mulder?"
"Me? There was that time I watched 'Suddenly Susan' right after
I ate, but no, not normally."
"That's good, because otherwise you might want to stay in the
car."
Solomon paused, and Mulder sensed it was less for dramatic effect
than to give them time to prepare for what she was going to say
next.
"When they found Randall Harper, he'd been nailed to the ceiling
by his testicles."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I read a magazine article last week, all about the importance of
self-esteem and learning to love your flaws. By the way, did you
know you can buy flesh-colored pieces of plastic to stick in your
bra to give you cleavage? I guess they figured if the article
didn't make you feel better, you could call the 800 number in the
advertisement and get yourself some plastic boobs.
So, say I spend $19.95 to fill my bra and my new voluptuous look
snags me a date with Mr. Right. What's he going to think when I
peel off my clothes and my breasts peel off with them?
You can't change who you are.
I heard that a thousand times growing up, but it took me a long
time to believe it. A long time and a lot of painful
experiences. There was that awful near-poisoning when I tried to
paint my teeth. The Summer of Green Hair.
After way too many of those incidents, it finally began to sink
in. I'm never going to be beautiful by traditional standards.
Okay, not by any standards.
I'm never going to be a great artist or an exalted composer or a
world-class ballerina. I won't be setting any records at the
next Olympics. My brain will not be preserved in a jar after my
death so future generations can unlock the secret of my genius.
I laughed when Trent told me we were going to be a real-life
superheroes. I envisioned coming in to work wearing long-johns
and boots, with a big "S" emblazoned across my plastic-enhanced
chest.
Trent told me we're going to save the world. I told him we have
to finish updating the card catalog first. He told me I lacked
vision. I told him he was delusional.
Then he handed me this journal and told me to start taking notes.
I would be his scribe, his faithful companion, his sidekick, and
soon we would be something we'd never in our wildest dreams
imagined we could be.
I have to admit he was right about that part, because before
this, I never imagined myself as a murderer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End "Paper Saints" part 2/15
----------------------------------------
CLOSING NOTES
Quite an interesting newsletter this week! I must congratulate my writers! (canned applause) Thanks for reading! Catch you all next week! The Truth is out there!!