As every good chemistry student knows, all chemical equations must be balanced. This is also true of "The X-Files." When you take the experience of a seasoned horrormeister such as Stephen King, mix it into a series created by a television genius like Chris Carter, and add the superb acting ability of two remarkable thespians such as Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, the product is sure to reach the expected output. And if you're lucky, you might just get a little excess.

I found "Chinga" to be like many episodes all wrapped up into one. When I first read the synopsis of this episode, the thought that entered my mind was, "This girl sounds a heck of a lot like Pusher!" Just like Bobby Modell, she could apparently will her victims to harm themselves. The way this particular story was set up reminded me a lot of "War of the Coprophages" as well. But instead of Mulder phoning home to Scully asking her advice about strange cockroach deaths, their roles where reversed, and Mulder became the stay at home (or work, which is his primary home anyway) character. Thrown into this mix was a plot not too dissimilar to It, the classic horror tale by Stephen King. In "Chinga" he took another seemingly harmless character, a lovely porcelain doll, and turned it into a nightmare.

Unlike It, however, I didn't find "Chinga" all that scary. Gory, yes (every time Polly's mother hit herself in the head with the hammer I cringed in repulsion) but not terribly scary. I believe the reason behind this was that the story lacked suspense. There were lots of crimes committed in this episode, ample amount of deaths, but all that driving from crime scene to crime scene was beginning to give me highway hypnosis. I expected what was going to happen before it happened because the story laid out a road map for me to follow. Polly's mom sees the ghost of someone about to die, and they die. Polly's mom sees another ghost and then they die. How terribly unpredictable. :-P This might have worked better if Mr. King had varied the death stories slightly, or left some survivors, but simply knowing someone is going to die and seeing that act carried through is not very frightening. Not knowing what is going to happen, or who is going to die, that's where fear comes into play.

As usual, the best part of this whole episode was the interplay between Mulder and Scully. Who could not laugh when Mulder, in reply to Scully's extensive knowledge on witchcraft, burst out, "Marry me!" or as Scully hung up the phone on Mulder a third time, her eyes rolling. These silly interactions made the show entertaining and fun, sometimes even bordering on silly. I didn't mind this, though, because it kept the show interesting. At one point I seriously thought that Mulder was tap dancing as he bounced his basketball while on the phone with Scully. But at least those tapity taps were a bit less offensive then the noises she heard while Mulder was watching...uh..."World's Deadliest Swarms." Sure. Fine. Whatever. We believe you Mulder. ;-)

"Oh God, I mean it's amazing what I can accomplish without incessant meddling or questioning into everything I do."

[clunk]

Poor Mulder. He has NO life. This episode made it painfully obvious how much Mulder needs Scully. While she went on a nice vacation to Maine for the weekend, he stayed behind at the J. Edgar Hoover building, phoning her, sharpening all of his pencils, and waiting for her to come home. It was nice to see Scully actually enjoying herself for once, and getting a chance to relax a bit (But where did she get that Maine t-shirt? Talk about a fashion faux pas.) that deed seems out of Mulder's reach. Even when Scully really needs and wants a vacation (her Christmas one was a kind of a downer), she is the one who gets embroiled in a murder case, while Mulder, who'd probably rather be in the field, is stuck at home with only pencils and porn stars for company. Poor Scully...

This episode was also interesting for the switch of belief between Mulder and Scully. Usually a die-hard sceptic, Scully now seems more willing to look for extreme possibilities when working on a case. But after "Redux II", Mulder's not so sure what to believe. This gradual switch of belief has slowly been happening over the course of this season. In "Christmas Carol" Scully believed her dead sister was speaking to her beyond the grave, yet one week prior, Mulder admitted that he wasn't sure if he believed in aliens anymore. This switch was accentuated in "Chinga." Mulder didn't truly believe in a talking, evil doll, thinking it to akin to Chuckie, and was more likely to make fun of the idea then instigate it himself. Scully, on the other hand, was the one who came up with the demon doll theory. Such a change from the rookie who proclaimed that the only thing she found fantastical was the notion that there were answers beyond the realm of science. It goes to show what a few years with Spooky Mulder will do to you.

"You mean like Chuckie?"
"Yeah, kinda like that."

The guest cast "The X-Files" presented this week was a mixed bag. The police chief, played by Larry Musser, was fairly believable, although his Maine accent could have used a little work. This is his fourth appearance on "The X-Files." You may remember him from an episode with a similar writing style...actually, I was quite surprised Scully didn't recognize the bleeping detective. The young girl who played Polly was effective, an air of eeriness always surrounding her, but I found the woman who played her mother, Susannah Hoffman, to be less than believable. Not only that, but she was stuck with a character who was incredibly stupid. Didn't Melissa realize the doll was the force behind all this evil doing? If so, why didn't she stop it? When a doll starts talking, you know something's got to be wrong.

On the topic of Miss Chinga, I have one question - why didn't anyone smash her? They must have figured out what she was doing, so why didn't they rip her from little Polly's arms and crack her head wide open with a hammer? What, they didn't want to harm a perfectly good doll, though it just happened to be wiping out the entire local population? Even Scully had to ask nicely for the doll when two feet away from her it was murdering a girl's mother in front of Polly's eyes. Rip the stupid thing away from her! Although, I must give her credit for the method of disposal she used when the doll was finally in her possession. A hammer or well placed heel probably would have done the trick, but she'd rather throw it in the microwave and set it on 'doll flambee'. You go girl!

This episode was good. I wasn't as scared by it as I originally thought I would be, but this was amply made up for by the strong acting shown by both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, and their wonderful interactions. Still, I have to admit after watching "Chinga", I'll never be able to listen to the Hokey-Pokey again without cringing, or stop my pace from quickening as I pass any doll store.

"I want to play!"