Directed and Written by Chris Carter.
RATING: **
Prison inmate "Neech" Manley is executed in the electric chair, but soon after a number of the dead man's enemies start turning up dead. Each of the victims names are included on a list written by the late prisoner, who vowed to return after his death and get his revenge. Mulder and Scully must uncover the truth about why Manley created such a list, and what is actually being covered up by the warden (J.T. Walsh). Modest, uninspired episode marks the return of Carter to the directors chair, but he doesn't make nowhere as much out of it as he with season two's 'Duane Barry'. His script covers the old killer-from-beyond-the-grave angle that the shows already done a half dozen times, and it just isn't exciting this time out. In fact, it's obvious and flat, and reminds me somewhat of last season's 'Fresh Bones' in several ways. There's not a single character that really hits any third dimension.
Luckily, Carter's direction is a little better. He actually received a Directors Guild Of America nomination for it, though the episode is certainly not THAT good. Carter generates some atmosphere in the prison scenes through well placed shadows and good art direction. Another bonus is the eerie sound design and Mark Snow's score. Unfortunately, none of these fine elements, nor the late, great character actor J. T. Walsh, can help make 'The List' anything but an unmemorable entry.
Directed by David Nutter. Written by Jeffrey Vlaming.
RATING: ***
Mulder and Scully are in Cleveland to work with local police, headed by Detective Cross
(James Handy), in investigating the body of a woman found in a car whose body is bizarrely
decomposed. The corpse is actually reduced to little more than liquid and rubbery bone once
it’s taken to the morgue. Mulder soon connects the death to several others that occurred
recently in another city, and that the victims met their unknown attacker through the personal
ads. This time, however, the killer, calling himself Virgil Incanto (Timothy Carhart) is
using internet chat rooms to meet lonely women, and killing them in order to feed on their
body fat to keep himself alive.
Also giving a fine, understated performance is veteran character actor Handy (Arachnophobia), who, alas, vanishes before too long. Also of note is young Aloka McLean, who plays a frightened young blind girl who’s mother was just murdered by the villain. Nutter again shows what gifted director he is, managing to keep track of the surprisingly large collection of characters (mostly female) and still throwing suspense at us on a regular basis. The makeup effects is great too, and extremely gooey.
Directed by Rob Bowman. Written by John Shiban.
RATING: ***
Scully and Mulder are on the case at a military hospital, where a resident of the psychiatric ward, Lt. Colonel Victor Stans (Don Thompson), claims he was saved from a trio of suicide attempts to by a ghost. Stans, a Gulf War vet, had also seen his family die recently. And he's not only one; other vets of the same conflict in the hospital have been through the same thing, and things hint towards a Gulf War cover up situation. The one behind the current troubles isn't a phantom, but the work of a bitter amputee patient with psychic abilities (Ian Tracey).
'The Walk' is a show that doesn’t really give us much in the way of creative plotting or characterisation, but still emerges as a solid piece of work thanks to a number of other factors. The acting is good, with a blistering, intense performance by Tracey as Rappo, who uses his powers of out-of-body projection (the origins of which are never explained) to terrorise those he believes deserve to experience loss and pain. The actor (who’s many credits include Stakeout and the TV series The Commish, which produced an endless stream of X-Files veterans) in real life does have all his limbs, yet the show does a superb job of making him appear as if he is amputee. Chilling stuff.
Also scoring points is Thompson, as the sad, horribly burnt Stans and Thomas Kopache as General Callahan, who is Rappo’s latest target. Willie Garson, who return as a different character in season seven’s 'The Goldberg Variation', appears here as a weak willed lackey of Rappo. There’s some excellent visual touches here, including the swimming pool attack on a female captain (Nancy Sorel) and the shocking murder of Callahan’s young son in his sandpit. John S. Bartley’s cinematography is also top-tip throughout, especially in the aforementioned pool sequence, and in the tense conclusion.
Bleak and downbeat, 'The Walk' is a worthwhile effort.
Directed by Kim Manners. Written by Charles Grant Craig.
RATING: **1/2
Fifteen year old Amy Jacobs (Jewel Staite) has been abducted from her home, and traces of her blood are found. The agents find help from a local lady named Lucy Householder (Tracey Ellis), who apparently has the gift of stigmata, who was kidnapped herself years ago by the same man who now has Amy. Following Lucy's psychic visions, Mulder and Scully lead the manhunt before Amy can be harmed.
'Oubliette' is a show that ultimately doesn’t stand out as one of the season’s most exciting or imaginative, yet manages to work to a certain extent. The basic scenario of the kidnapped girl has been seen an endless amount of times before and since, and doesn’t seem particularly intriguing. Another quibble is the casting of Michael Chieffo as the obsessive villain, Carl Wade (credited as JOHN Wade on the official X site). With his offbeat looks and unblinking stare, he is creepy, but also incredibly cliched. One of the reasons Timothy Carhart was so effective in 2Shy was because he was goodlooking and charismatic.
That said, there are good qualities here. Ellis gives a fine performance as the weary, terrified Lucy, who has lived with the horror of what was done to her years ago, and is now coming to terms with her strange connection with Wade and his young victim. She reluctantly forms a rapport with Mulder, who obviously relates to the case because of the disappearance of his own sister. Duchovny is in good form here, lowkey and avoiding hysterics that he could have fallen into. The ending is touching and profound, with more good work by Duchouny.
Directed by David Nutter. Written by Chris Carter, Howard Gordon and Frank Spotnitz.
RATING: ***
Mulder shows Scully a video tape he purchased that appears to contain an alien autopsy. Of course, Scully believes it's a fake like "the one aired on the Fox network", but the tape also shows the scientists being attacked by a squad of heavily armed soliders. When the agents arrive at the home of the man selling the tapes, they find him dead, seemingly at the hands of a Japanese enforcer. However, Skinner informs them the suspect has diplomatic immunity and has to be released. Mulder believes the alien body is legit, and being transported across the country in a train. Meanwhile, Scully follows up other leads, and ends up meeting a group of multiple abductees who say they remember her from the time she was taken.
'Nisei' is a good, solid episode that would have been excellent if there was a little less Mulder sneaking around, spying on boats and trains. It’s paced rather slowly, but it’s never boring. There’s not much tension here, but the script drops us a piece of information here and there which carries us along, and more importantly, sets the scene for the awesome second part of the story. One problem I have (and not just with this episode) is the way Mulder and/or Scully show up to a location just in time for them to see a villain or key event, such as the murder of the guy selling the video tape. For the stories sake, it makes sense, but, logically, it seems cheap.
Although Mulder’s developments don’t hit the mark, Scully’s subplot is very intriguing. Her discovery of the inductees group effectively draws the crucial events of season two back into play, and the grim, prolonged fate of it’s members sets up the emotionally shattering events of season four. Key guest performers are only on screen fleetingly, including Stephen McHattie (known for his recurring TV gigs on Beauty & The Beast and Seinfeld) as a mysterious, cold blooded operative who comes into his own in the second part. The reappearance of Raymond J. Barry as Senator Matheson is welcome, as is the presences of Skinner, The Gunmen and Mr. X. Minor, recurring character Agent Pendrell (Brendan Beiser) also pops up.
Although not a particularly memorable conspiracy yarn, 'Nisei' works well as a spring board for the thrilling conclusion.
Won an Emmy for sound editing, series and sound mixing, drama.
THE TRUTH IS DOWN HERE