THE FIELD WHERE I DIED * SANGUINARIUM
MUSINGS OF A CIGARETTE SMOKING MAN * PAPER HEARTS * TUNGUSKA
Directed by Rob Bowman. Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong.
RATING: *1/2
Mulder and Scully are part of a raid on the land of a cult called the Church Of The Seven Stars, led by zealot Vernon Ephesian (Michael Massee). The bureau believe that Ephesian and his followers have a stash of illegal weapons, and are considered a potentially large danger. However, after storming their compound, the FBI are unable to locate the weapons. In trying to build a case against Ephesian, they interview his followers in hope of learning where he stashed his weapons. One of them is a 25 year old woman, Melissa Riedal, (Kristen Cloke), who seems to have a split personality disorder, and under hypnosis she reveals past life experiences, which also bring up a strange sense of deja vu for Mulder.
Morgan and Wong's second script of the season is nowhere near the league of their first, but give them credit for trying something completely different (although both deal with country sieges). This is a low-key, FX-less and character driven piece, but it isn't a particularly good one. It moves at a snails-pace, and doesn't have a real payoff. The whole show just feels like it's built around several key scenes involving Mulder and Melissa. The basic cult scenario is very obvious and rather half-assed. The character of Ephesian is another Jim Jones-ish wacko who isn't given enough screen time to establish a third dimension. Considering he's the reason for the whole FBI operation, he doesn't appear to be a particularly crucial aspect of the show. Also underbaked is the reason for Mulder and Scully's presence to begin with. Skinner has a throwaway line about Ephesian having supernatural beliefs, thus our heroes involvement.
The outcome is the predictable cult fate you see on TV dramas and actual newscasts. The episode is not a total loss...Duchovny gives a terrific performance, especially in his own hypnosis scene. It's understandable that he received his Emmy first nomination for this season. Even better is Cloke, who's Emmy-caliber herself. This talented actress previously appeared on Wong and Morgan's series Space, and later worked with them on Millennium, The Others and the theatrical Final Destination. Cloke is convincingly screwed up yet sympathetic, and handles the scripts requirements well. Although you could argue she goes over the top as the male alter ego Sidney. The whole past-life stuff is doesn't quite come together. What's more, it doesn't really seem to have a point...which pretty much sums up this episode.
Despite the good performances, and a nice reference to the great X-Files hour 'The Host', this one doesn't work.
Glen Morgan on 'The Field Where I Died': "It's my favorite episode. I was so pleased with the way it came out. For personal reasons, that show means everything to me. I don't believe in past lives per se, but I believe in this life. You know, a position to say, 'Jeez, my life is shit,' or 'It's not happening to me.' And then something happens where you're kind of reborn. That's what the episode means to me."
Directed by Kim Manners. Written by Valerie Mayhew and Vivian Mayhew.
RATING: **
A hospital is under siege from a series of murders, performed by no less than respected resident doctors. When one doctor claims he was demonically possessed after he commits one nasty murder during surgery, Scully and Mulder are on the scene. Scully suspects the doctor's sleeping pill addiction was behind his unusual behavior, but Mulder finds evidence of occult activities going on. An obvious suspect is a nurse who dabbles with witchcraft (Mars Attacks' O-Lan Jones), but eventually, all signs point to a notorious doctor who has his own supernatural agenda.
'Sanguinarium' is ultimately a minor entry for the season, but does scores points for gore and shocks. The scenes of surgery-turned-butchery are chilling, and add a real eerie atmosphere to the episode. In fact, the one image that stayed with me for ages after first seeing the episode is a demon-influenced doctor slicing and dicing in the opening. Another effective moment is when another seemingly-possessed doc is rather violently using a surgerical laser on a patient. Manners direction shakes the episode to life in those aforementioned sequences, and the makeup of Toby Lindala is outstanding, including some nasty Face/Off-ish stuff. Unfortunately, the script by non-X staffers Valerie and Vivian Mayhew isn't really that hot. It kind of drags along, with some truly slow patches and obvious red herrings, plus the old cover-up-the-past/revenge stuff. Ultimately, the viewer may come away feeling like the extreme gore are there just to take attention away from the script's problems. There are a few humorous moments allowed for...including Mulder pondering how he would look with a nose job!
Viscerally robust, yet dramatically hollow, 'Sanguinarium' ends up running in place.
Directed by James Wong. Written by Glen Morgan.
RATING: ****
The Cigarette Smoking Man (or Cancer Man, it you will) has targeted Lone Gunmen Frohike for assassination as he's apparently learned everything about the mysterious figures past. As CSM is waiting to perform the hit, he reflects on his past, from his army days as a youth through his involvement with the conspiracy. We see how he fitted into the murders of JFK and Martin Luthor King, and the killing of an captured alien alongside Deep Throat (the always-welcome Jerry Hardin), and learn of his unexpected love of novel writing.
'Musings…'is an exceptional installment that forgoes traditional X-Files storytelling techniques with an episodic series of flashbacks that changes mood and style each time (including a curious and ironic take off of Forrest Gump). The show be seen as a fascinating study of one of the shows key characters, but can also be seen as a witty satire of American history and culture. Numerous references to historical events, figures and trends are thrown at the audiences, and the story asks us to consider CSM had involvement in many major recent historical events. That said, Wong and Morgan clearly don’t want us to necessarily believe what we’re seeing. Sure, the stuff about aliens is perfectly in sink with the ongoing conspiracy story, but stuff like rigging the Superbowl and Academy Awards are just too goofy to take seriously. What’s more, the story actually contradicts itself at several points, which is, I assume, what Wong and Morgan intended. It also goes against The X-Files timeline of events (such as the pilot). This doesn’t seem like sloppy writing at all; it’s more like brilliant nose-tweaking.
What’s most amazing about this show is that it generates sympathy for CSM, even after we learn of the shocking things he has (or may not have) done; his love for pulp fiction writing and desire to be published is a wonderful touch, and it’s with shocking easy that we feel for him as we do during the highs and lows of his hobby. Davis himself does a fantastic job during scenes such as these, and this shows that The X-Files doesn’t need Duchovny or Anderson to carry it every week (both have vocal appearances, and Anderson appears in a flashback scene from the pilot). Chris Owens appears as the young CSM (played by Craig Warkentoin in the third season episode 'Apocrypha') a role in would play again later, before landing the crucial part of Jeffrey Spender in the fifth year. Also worth watching out for is Dan Zukovic, in a small part as an early conspiracy member. The actor went on to make unforgettable appearances in Darin Morgan's brilliant Millennium episodes 'Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me', and 'Jose Chungs Doomsday Defense'. This is one episode that's pretty much impossible to describe, but can still be summed up in one word: Excellent.
Wong received a well-deserved Emmy nomination for his directing.
Read more about this episode here
Directed by Rob Bowman. Written by Vince Gilligan.
RATING: ***1/2
Mulder has been having a recurring dream in which he sees a light leading to a murdered child. He believes this is dream is connected to a mass child killer he put away years ago, John Lee Roche (Tom Noonan), and there may be more victim buried somewhere. Our heroes visit the imprisoned Roche, and Mulder learns that the killer may be responsible for the disappearance of his sister, Samantha. As Mulder begins to become obsessed with Roche and his cryptical comments, Scully fears that her partner is falling prey to the serial killer's potentially lethal mind games.
From the eerie opening to the tense finale, 'Paper Hearts' is one of the season highlights. Everyone delivers the goods, including Duchovny, in a riveting, touching performance. It's to the show's credit that it takes the story of the disappearance of Mulder's sister, which is familiar to all the fans, and takes into new areas. What's more...they're believable areas, and the idea of Samantha meeting her end at the hands of Roche is rational (not to mention unsettling). Noonan, who played the killer in the excellent Silence Of The Lambs predecessor Manhunter, is exceptional as Roche, making him chilling, without any of those goddamn serial killer cliches audiences have come to expect. He works because he's the kind of character who you pass on the street and not think he's evil. Duchovny excels here, much like Anderson does later in the season, as Mulder is forced to re-examine the one defining event of his life...his personal crusade.
Duchovny could easily have overplayed...gone from hysteria, but instead keeps it quieter. The frustration and sorrow is under the surface, with a few moments of exception. Gilligan's script and Bowman's direction are topnotch, producing an air tight mixture of emotion and thrills. The show is not exactly done at a break-neck pace...in fact, it's fairly slow and thoughtful, but the slow burn towards the showdown is terrific. And although when it's all said and done, the Samantha saga isn't resolved, it has offered intriguing and logical scenarios.
Received an Emmy nomination for Mark Snow's score.
Vince Gilligan on 'Paper Hearts': "I had this idea I thought would be fun to tell, which sort of turned the whole mythos on its ear...was Mulder's sister abducted by aliens or was it something much more mundane and horrifying, with no chance of her still being alive? I went in and pitched it to Chris, and he said, 'Go ahead'."
Directed by Kim Manners. Written by Frank Spotnitz and Chris Carter.
RATING: ***
A man carrying a pair of canisters containing the mysterious black oil at an airport starts the ball rolling in this crucial conspiracy 2-parter. Mulder, Scully and fellow FBI agents bust a militia group who have possession of high explosives, and end up forming a kind of alliance with rogue operative Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea), who claims to be out to bust the conspiracy's schemes himself. After a little help from Marita Covarrubias, Mulder, with Krycek in tow, heads off to Russia to solve the mystery of the oil, and the rock he came from. Meanwhile, Scully and Skinner are left holding the bag as they have to face Congress to explain Mulders actions and disappearance.
Jam packed episode covers a lot of conspiracy ground, and makes for an exciting hour (minus the always deadening commercials). Although both chapters contain a lot of talky stuff involving our heroes in front of a panel of their superiors (a concept were given a number of times through the season), headed by a senator played by veteran character actor Fritz (Marathon Man) Weaver, there's plenty of action on display, including an uncharacteristic (for this series) FBI/terrorist gun battle. The return of the creepy black oil introduced in the previous season's 'Piper Maru' / 'Apocrypha' storyline is great, and, of course, is crucial to the major conspiracy events over the next several years. Spotnitz and Carter's script interestingly incorporates the title Russian location, the spot of a powerful blast that came from space...a topic I've been intrigued with since I was a kid.
The recurring cast is one of the best aspects of the show; John Neville again dominates the screen, and William B. Davis' CSM, Laurie Holden's Marita Covarrubias and Brendan Beiser's nice guy agent Pendrell make welcome appearances. But the best thing about this one is Krycek, who gets a ton of screen time, and finally gets knocked around, first by Mulder, and then by Skinner. It's fun watching him take a few lumps for a change, and Lea is terrific.
On the downside, the scenario becomes quite rushed once Mulder and Krycek arrive in the former Soviet Union; They're just there, explore for a few seconds, and then are easily captured. Both are woefully unprepared, which goes against their characters. Nevertheless, this is a fine, tense show, with one of the most disquieting final scenes ever done on The X-Files.
THE TRUTH IS DOWN HERE