The X-Files Love Month

This episode is notable mainly for being Vince Gilligan's first script. I liked the dialogue between Mulder and Scully, although the rest of the characters are a little thin and the premise is absurd. Tony Shalhoub was fine as Dr. Banton, the Human Black Hole. It's always nice to see X make an appearance. And, as we know, Gilligan did improve.



Writer: Vince Gilligan
Director: James Contner
Originally aired: May 5, 1995

Synopsis:
A police officer who was a student of Scully's from Quantico asks her to consult, unofficially, on a missing person's case.

Most Memorable Quote:
SCULLY: Having a little fun?
MULDER: What are you talking about?
SCULLY: Spontaneous human combustion?
MULDER: I have over a dozen case files of human bodies reduced to ash without any attendant burning or melting. Rapid oxidation without heat.
SCULLY: Let's just forget for the moment that there's no scientific theory to support it.
MULDER: (flippantly) Okay.

Links:
Transcript
Autumn Tysko
The A.V. Club

Fanfiction:
None that I can recommend.

This is Darin Morgan's maiden voyage as a writer for The X-Files. He previously appeared in season two in "The Host" as Flukeman. I haven't watched it yet (hey, being a mod is a busy job) so let's see what I remember. Well, Scully eats a cricket. They exhume a potato. Mulder looks hot. It's the first episode conceived to be humorous, as opposed to having a quip or two.


Writer: Darin Morgan
Director: Kim Manners
Originally aired: March 31, 1995

Synopsis: Mulder and Scully travel to the small town of Gibsonton, Florida to investigate the latest of a series of mysterious attacks, which occurred throughout the US over the past 28 years. They begin by attending the funeral of the most recent victim, who was a member of a community of former side-show performers.

Most Memorable Quote:
Mulder: Tell me, have you done much circus work in your life?
Mr. Nutt: And what makes you think I've ever spectated a circus? Much less been enslaved by one?
Mulder: I know that many of the citizens here are former circus hands, and I just thought that...
Mr. Nutt: You thought that because I am a person of short stature, that the only career I could procure for myself would be one confined to the so-called 'Big Top'. You took one quick look at me, and decided that you could deduce my entire life. Never would it have occurred to you that a person of my height could have possibly obtained a degree in Hotel Management.
Mulder: I'm sorry. I meant no offence.
Mr. Nutt: Well then why should I take offence? Just because it's human nature to make instantaneous judgments of others based solely upon their physical appearances? Why I've done the same thing to you, for example. I've taken in your all-American features, your dour demeanor, your unimaginative necktie design, and concluded that you work for the government; an FBI agent... but do you see the tragedy here? I have mistakenly reduced you to a stereotype. A caricature, instead of regarding you as a specific, unique individual.
Mulder: But I am an FBI agent.

Links:
Not Just a Fluke: How Darin Morgan Saved The X-Files
TWOP Recap
The 10 Funniest X-Files Episodes
Sarah Stegall
Transcript

Fanfiction: Alas, no. Let's go write some!

Text re-posted from last summer's xf_book_club mini-re-watch.

It's another damned Scully-in-jeopardy, Mulder to the rescue story, redeemed by Scully saving Mulder at the end WITH SCIENCE. SCIENCE WINS.

I truly love the ending, and the hostage exchange scene on the bridge is very tightly written. I remember being on the edge of my seat the first time I watched.


Writer: Frank Spotnitz
Director: Rob Bowman
Originally aired: February 17, 1995

Synopsis:
Where do I start?
Cliffhanger resolution: the Alien Bounty Hunter takes Scully hostage and forces Mulder to trade her for his sister, who turns out not to be his sister after all. He has a confrontation with his father. He finds and loses more Samantha clones. "X" gives him the coordinates for the Alien Bounty Hunter's downed UFO in the Arctic Sea, and Mulder takes off in search of his sister again. Scully chases after him. Again.

Most Memorable Quote:
X: You wanted to see me?
MULDER: How was the opera?
X: Wonderful, I've never slept better. I don't like these hasty public meetings, Agent Mulder.
MULDER: I'm sorry. I need your help.
X: It's over. The fat lady is singing.
Also this scene: Favorite Scully Moments

Links:
Transcript
the m0vie blog
Musings of an X-Phile
Sarah Stegall

Fanfiction:
Yes but No.

Continuing in Hollywood's long-standing tradition of misrepresenting Vodou as evil and having ties to Satanism, "Fresh Bones" manages to hit every cultural cliché in the books, from the walking dead to black cats are evil spirits.

Apart from that, it was grisly, slow-moving, and implied that the US government would participate in a cover-up of the systematic maltreatment of a refugee population. Of course they would, but what does that have to do with the X-Files? The puzzle pieces sure didn't fit together by the end in this episode.



Writer: Howard Gordon
Director: Rob Bowman
Originally aired: February 3, 1995

Synopsis: At the request of a Marine widow, Mulder and Scully investigate the suicides of two Marines whose company had been tasked with policing a Haitian refugee center in North Carolina.

Most Memorable Quote:
Scully: Mulder, voodoo only works by instilling fear among its believers. You saw the way Bauvais tried to intimidate me. The power of suggestion is considerable, I'll admit... But this is no more magic than a pair of fuzzy dice.

Links:
Transcript
Musings of an X-Phile
Monster of the Week

Fanfiction:
No.

First, let me wish a Happy Birthday to Fox William Mulder who turned 53 today.

In honor of his birthday, my Top Five Mulder Moments from Season Two.

5. The climatic scene from "Blood." After racing to the top of the clock tower where the crazed postal worker, Edward Funsch, has been firing rounds down into the crowd, Mulder disarms and takes him into custody without having to resort to violence himself. Mulder accomplishes this by reminding Funsch that if he shoots Mulder there will be a lot of blood.



( Four More Mulder Moments )

What are your favorite Mulder moments--any season, any episode?

The re-watch resumes tomorrow with "Aubrey."

I find I have nothing new to add so here is my post from last year.

I kind of hated this episode the first time I saw it. Here's why. During the scene where Mulder is holding a gun to the Cigarette Smoking Man's head and threatening to blow his brains out, I found myself chanting, "Kill him. Kill him. KILL HIM!" But Mulder doesn't do it. I held that against Mulder and the writers for a long time. Spender is evil. He deserves to die.

Then a friend explained that the episode is about Mulder turning away from the Darkness, away from his despair and self-blame, away from his loneliness, from the hopelessness of the past few months. At Melissa's urging, Mulder goes back to Scully's bedside. He can't tell Scully how he feels—maybe those feelings are too overwhelming—so he tells her instead that he's there for her.

Sometimes the only thing we can offer in the face of suffering is our presence.



Writer: Glen Morgan, James Wong
Director: R.W. Goodwin
Originally aired: November 11, 1994 (in the US)

Synopsis: Her mother has got the gravestone already picked out when suddenly out of nowhere, Scully mysteriously reappears in the ER of a DC hospital. Comatose and on a ventilator, with a biological poison in her bloodstream, according to the doctor attending her, Scully is dying. The Lonegunmen reluctantly agree. Despite Mulder's objections, Melissa and Mrs. Scully agree to follow the terms of Scully's living will, and remove her from life support.

Most Memorable Quote:
MULDER: I feel, Scully...that you believe...you’re not ready to go. And you’ve always had the strength of your beliefs. I don’t know if my being here...will help bring you back. But I’m here.
(He sits back in his chair and stares at her solemnly. The clock reads 8:17. Wendy starts to sob.)

Links:
One Breath transcript
Autumn Tysko's review.
Sarah Stegall's review.
Nina of Den of Geek offers her Top 10 X-Files episodes. Don't you love it that everyone has a list?

Fanfiction:
Cannibals and Chlorine by Gina Rain. Mulder suffers separation anxiety after Scully's abduction and return. Also at Gossamer.
October Skies by Oracle. Post-ep, kinda. Mulder and Scully go to a Halloween party. It's adorable. I rec it every chance I get.

Since this is the only episode we are doing that deals with Scully's abduction and its aftermath, i.e. the cancer arc and the creation of Emily, I'm throwing in all the fics here. Well, not all of them, but a couple of major ones, because they should be celebrated, too.

Iolokus by mustangsally78 and rivkat. Summary: Painted across the barren and desolate reaches of Texas, the shadows of the Project put additional pressure on Scully and Mulder's already fragile relationship. After a hostage crisis raises more questions about the Project's breeding program, Scully begins her own investigation, leaving Mulder to choose between saving her and saving himself. Finally, the investigation leads to tragedy and Mulder and Scully find that more questions have been asked than answered. Brilliant and angry, an unforgettable story. All the warnings.

Arizona Highways by fialka. Summary: Visions of Melissa lead Our Heroes on a case confirming the existence of a series of Emilys. But does Melissa really have a message, or is it all in Scully's head? Set post Two Fathers/One Son, so technically a season six fic. But I'm not doing season six, so it goes right here. This is my desert island story, people. I would pay someone to turn this into a podfic. I'm not kidding.

And one more, my favorite cancer arc fic.
Isometry by syntax6. Summary: The story of a man, a woman and their lucky pickle. Season 4 cancer era. Rated NC-17.

This is a hard question for me. When you love a character the way I love Scully, the temptation is to throw up my hands and say all of them. Because it's true: I love every minute of The X-Files—when she's on screen. With Mulder, without Mulder—it really doesn't matter. I have a Tumblr tag that sums it up pretty well: #Her Everything.

But if I am forced to choose, the moments I appreciate most are when she gets to use her scientific knowledge to solve cases and save lives. I love Scientist Scully and Investigator Scully and Skeptical Scully. Okay, Kickass Scully is good, too. However, I have to be honest: the episodes of The X-Files that I love best are those where scientific rationalism wins the day. I only wish 1013 had seen fit to provide a few more of them.


screencaps by tree

( More Scully from End Game under the cut )

What's your favorite Scully moment or episode?

The re-watch resumes tomorrow with "One Breath."