X-Files Episode Guide: Grotesque

Written by Howard Gordon

Directed by Kim Manners

The concept of going inside the head of a killer in order to catch one is far from a new one. In the years that followed The X-Files, dozens of series would come forth, using it as a central theme---- Carter himself would make the concept at the crux of his series Millennium. And there are very few twists and turns that can come from it even if you do it right. But twists are hardly what Gordon has in mind for the center of this episode ---- as close  as the series would ever come to looking right into the abyss of insanity.

In later series, Gordon would demonstrate his strength with more grounded series such as Homeland, dealing with the modest terrors that can come through life. In what can only be described as the pinnacle of his work on X-Files, he gives the first signs that he is ready to stare into darker territory than the usual supernatural revenge fare we've come to expect. He does a decent job of trying to fake us out at first, with Mostow's claiming that he has been possessed by a spirit of evil. He does a good job by making him seem like such a little man with great delusion that we almost want to believe that there is something far darker working through him.

The tendency of this series to introduce characters from our heroes past was one that we thought had petered out in Season 2, and  we're at first expecting more of the same  Bill Patterson, Mulder's first mentor when he joined VICAP. But we clearly see that for the first time, this isn't just being used to buoy up a weaker plotline. Rather its to show just how brilliant a student Mulder was when he first joined the Bureau, and to see just where he might end up being without other forces intervening. It's hard to see in the dislike the two seem to have for each other, but its clear that this is the work of some part of Mulder who wants Patterson, and some part of Patterson that needs Mulder. Kurtwood Smith, still two years away from his most famous role on That 70s Show,  gives one of the more frightening portrayals of his career, arrogant at first, but slowly slipping into desperation the more attacks take place, until the end when he seems more buried in darkness and insanity he seemed above in the first episode.

Duchovny gives what is arguably his finest performance on the series to date, as he finds himself sinking into the madness from a job he is obviously brilliant at but clearly never wanted to revisit. The scenes in Mostow's studio are among the most frightening of the season, not so much for what we see there but rather for the extreme anxiety that begins to plague him the further into the killer's mind he gets. The scenes where Mulder finally corners Mostow in a cell and begins to beat him, needing to know that something supernatural is behind this, to get out of the darkness.  The pattern of having our two agents at each other's throats continues in this episode, but here Scully, despite her fears for her partners sanity---- far more dangerous than they have been at any point in their hunt for the paranormal--- ends up saving Mulder simply by being there. It's her presence that ends up saving Mulder--- and the fact that Patterson doesn't have a similar balance that dooms him.

What's also noteworthy is how brilliantly the technical aspects of the episode help contribute to the mood. The lighting is particularly bad here, but in addition to the shadows are a large number of blues and reds, expert work by cinematographer John Bartley, who received an Emmy nomination for his work in this episode. The editing is also extremely well handled, and Mark Snow's brilliant score, for once more haunting then eerie

One could argue that technically speaking, like Irresistible the previous season, this episode isn't an X-File at all, but this is part of its power. Grotesque is far more frightening than some monster-of-the-week because it reminds that sometimes the worst monsters are the ones that are inside us, lurking just below the surface. The central characters know this all too well, but only one of them comes out the other side.  This is a highpoint both for Gordon, who would never try something quite this shade of dark again. The series would but rarely traffic nearly as efficiently, or as simply. But maybe that's for the best. There are some doors its not worth opening more than once.

My score: 5 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Syzygy

Written by Chris Carter

Directed by Rob Bowman

Perhaps the biggest flaw with Syzygy is one of scheduling---- having two comic themed episodes right after each other would come as a moment of discord that had not yet become known for doing comedies. Then, of course, there's the comparison of writers--- Darin Morgan makes everything seem smooth and effortless while, sad to say, Chris Carter has a way of belaboring a joke. This maybe the reason for this episode's not exactly stellar reputation. But measured strictly on it's own merits, this is a very well done and often hysterical episode.

Dealing with Satanists always seems to rub our heroes the wrong way --- we've certainly seen how badly they regarded things when they actually had to deal with Satan (Die Hand Die Verlezt) but then again, that's most of the joke about this episode --- and may be a big part of why it's hard to take. Mulder and Scully are snappish and standoffish to each other for the entire episode, and while they've been at loggerheads for the last few weeks, to actually have it made part of the fun may have been an offense a lot of fans were not willing to take. But when this 'cosmic G-spot' seems to be having the effect of making our heroes so pissed at each other---- and acting out of character in other ways--- Mulder's drinking! Scully's smoking!--- it's understandable that many people didn't get the point. Maybe they just thought it was sloppy writing--- after all, this is a sin that Carter will fall prey to in later seasons.

But everybody in Comity is acting out of control--- with the exception of one of episode's solid gags, Madame Zelinka, the astrologer who sees herself more as a businesswoman, and who seems prepared even to let the federal government be on the hook rather then just tell Mulder what he needs to know. People who normally stand as solid citizens are so out of character that they're forming mobs and cross-dressing and otherwise acting like the world's coming to an end.  Of course, the bigger fun is having the villains of the piece be two young teenage girls who happen to have the same birthday, and who look like they've decided to rip off Clueless to the point that they can't even see how ludicrous they are. On the other hand, this may be the best handling of teenagers that The X-Files  will give us, which may say less for the writers than it does for this episode.

And of course, there's the fact that there's another woman in the mix, and poor Detective White is nowhere near as entertaining as last week's model. Say what you will about Bambi, but at least she was smart and competent. In all honesty, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson is one of the weakest thing about the episode--- she tries to be a force of rationality one minute, the next she's swigging down vodka and trying to mount Mulder in a motel room. Hate her, wouldn't want to date her.

Admittedly, some people were just sort of unhappy that our heroes were so mean to each other-----frankly, a lot of these issues were things that have to have been boiling beneath the surface for the two of them, some of them just for comic effect (I always wonder why Mulder did all the driving) some far more serious (Mulder does leave his partner behind so often, usually to his detriment that you wonder why it took a planetary alignment to make her admit it). Some of the better dialogue comes from this, including his dialogue about perfume. Oh Mulder, you should've known better.  And it's another handful of garbled prose to greet us at the end of the episode, but at least Carter has the sense to puncture as well as make sure that it's not quite our last line of dialogue.

It's not a perfect episode by any means--- I 'm glad Carter showed us a clip of the Keystone Kops, but I have no idea what kind of hidden meaning there was at the end of every channel. And leaving the show open ended about what's going to happen to Terri and Margi, considering all the carnage they've wrought on this town doesn't seem like the right note. But there are so many good things about it---- the way Carter feeds on the discontent that's been bubbling between the characters and turns it into comedy, makes it a noteworthy and amusing episode in its own right, even if you don't think Satan had anything to do with it. Sure, it's definitely fine.

My score: 4 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: War of the Coprophages

Written by Darin Morgan

Directed by Kim Manners

It's always difficult for any X-phile to decide which is their favorite Darin Morgan episode; it's like forcing a mother to say which of her four children, each equally literate, talented and humorous, she considers her favorite. But if I was ever forced to, I would have to say that this episode is by far the most entertaining. It doesn't have the same depth of subject as Clyde Bruckman, or as many great one-liners as Humbug, or try to do as much as--- well, we'll get there soon enough, but what it does is perhaps come up with the most marvelous combination of subject matter, tongue-in-cheek reference to the mythology, and outstanding technical aspects that make for an incredible hour of television.

Morgan's first two episode basically looked at Mulder and Scully from the outside, comparing to them to the bizarre oddities around them. This one is more inclined to look inward as it does outward, and as it does, it basically rips apart the mythology as well as some of the more brilliant aspects of the agents themselves. Our heroes can't get out of the way of work even on the weekends, and despite what Scully told us once, she doesn't have a life. Her weekend is spent cleaning her gun, bathing her dog (who we last saw in the last Darin Morgan helmed episode) and reading, all the while waiting for Mulder to get back to her. Mulder in the meantime heads down to a small town in Massachusetts that basically seems to be filled with attacks by cockroaches. In one of the more exquisite running gags, Mulder keeps calling for Scully's assistance, but every time he calls her she has a scientific explanation for everything, and for once, all of the logical reasons behind the suspicious deaths during out to be the correct one. Our heroes spend almost the entire episode separated, but the conversations they have on the phones are some the of the most brilliant ones ever written, varying personal experiences with deflating bon mot--- until Mulder encounters a government employment entomologist with the unlikely name of Bambi, and then Mulder can't blow Scully off fast enough. Scully has no problem diagnosing suspicious deaths across state lines, but have a fellow smart pretty face dare to rival her, and she can't wait to drive on scene

And of course, what makes the episode even funnier is how Mulder finds himself investigating an alien invasion that flies squarely in the face of everything he's seen. (When the Sheriff almost as a joke brings up killer bees as part of a larger conspiracy, I bet Morgan never thought that Carter would take it seriously.) The way that he deals with this new knowledge, and the way that Dr. Berenbaum and the Dr. Ivanov tell him there theories on alien life with a look that is equal part agony and resignation is hysterically funny. Of course, all of this may be perfectly straight-forward, as once again the entire show closes with no proof one way or the other. But for once, the ambiguity is part of the point, and part of the fun. As the deaths by cockroach spread, and the media tends whips the town into a frenzy, the hysteria may be in fact part of a larger theme that was explored in Nisei/731--- that behind all of the alien talk, there may be something harder and more human behind all this. Indeed, Mulder's presence may help bring the kind of cover the  government is looking for.

Of course, all of this assumes you're taking the episode seriously, when it actuality it's swarming with good jokes.  And many of them are the work of the director and cinematographer instead. The shots of cockroaches crawling over a dead body in the teaser. A rogue insect scuttling down the sink. A robotic model of an insect scuttling by, and sweeping away the subtitles as it goes. The bugs eyes view when Mulder catches an insect. The subtle gag that the powder Scully uses to deflea her dog, and the major bug spray are made by the same company. And of course, the most remarkable shot, when a cockroach appears to actually be crawling over the screen.. Not to mention  all of the marvelous throwaway gags including the Alt-fuel slogan 'Waste is a terrible thing to waste." This is Morgan writ large and small. As well as the numerous brilliant in-jokes referring to sci-fi movies and real life people. (Star Trek: The Next Generation could get the actual Stephen Hawking. The X-Files settled for a pisstake, and in my opinion, they so got the better deal.) Not to mention the fact that this an episode where our heroes find themselves covered with exploding manure. And Mulder's perfect  line when he's hit.

There is nothing about War of the Coprophages that doesn't sing. Even the pontification that the characters often spot is very nicely punctured throughout the episode. It's never done more perfectly than the last scene where Mulder sums up  through Morgan's words. It's a rare gift that makes you wish Morgan had stuck around with the show at least a little longer. Given his insight into the mundane, he might have been able to be a voice that grounded writers like Spotnitz  and Carter, into realizing: 'if you're going to have long stretches of voiceovers, at least make them funny as well as profound.' Unfortunately, no one took him up on it.

Frankly, there are no real flaws in this episode. Superbly written, directed, acted and edited, it is one of the standout episodes of the series. But for Darin Morgan, it was literally just another day at the office. With each episode, he set the bar higher for what the show could do. And as each succeeding episode proves, he could throw pretty far.

My score: 5 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Revelations

Written by Kim Newton

Directed by David Nutter

This is a very different episode, and I wish I could find a way to like it more. There are some radically new ideas in presentation and style, and the fact that it's one of a handful of episodes written by a woman, which is something to be applauded. But it falls into a pattern of episodes that deal with religion, and it deals with it in a way that is, unfortunately, becoming typical for the way The X-Files approaches it.

It's daring, especially in the way the episodes are being done, to present a story which has Scully the believer and Mulder the skeptic. And the idea that Scully would start to believe a series of religion based killing---- the murders of eleven false stigmatic, in order to focus on the real one that the killer is after. And there's also the interesting idea that Scully, for once, is the chosen one and her partner. But to do it in such a ham-fisted fashion is incredibly  frustrating. There's the fact that Scully, who as she admits at the end of the episode, has drifted away from the church, somehow manages to pick up on every small religious detail in the episode that impossibly explains every thing that happens to Kevin Kryder---- not just his scars, but also the way that she remembers the saints that are involved. And if she, like the prophecy says, is supposed to protect Kevin, well, she does a pretty crappy job of it  She only arrives to save Kevin after his mother and Owen Jarvis are killed, Kevin is literally abducted by Simon Gates under her nose, and Kevin is the one who manages to push Gates into the paper mesher--- her total help amounts to pulling him to safety after all this is over. I'm frankly amazed the kid wants to have anything to do with her after the last few days.

One can almost forgive Mulder for being so doubtful of organized religion, given his past experiences, but here, when he tries to play the rational one, it comes across as acting bull-headed. It's small wonder that Scully calls him out on this as being able to believe in aliens but not miracles---- frankly by this point he has  it coming. But it doesn't help matters by having every other kind of religious figure in this episode either a fraud or something of a deluded maniac. And while its very hard to come to a paranormal explanation as to why this is happening, its even harder to come to one as to how Simon Gates and Owen Jarvis have the abilities they have. Certainly, there's no paranormal explanation coming from Mulder, which makes one wonder how he gets involved in these kind of things in the first place.

Gillian Anderson, as always, gives a very good performance, particularly in the last scene where she goes to confession for the first time in six years. One can certainly see her struggling throughout the entire episode, and one really wishes that she could find it deserving of a more deserving story. But unfortunately, as would be the case of so many other religious episodes on the series (and, to a larger extent, broadcast TV in the 1990s) can not find a real way to deal with religion that satisfies anybody. Scully's beliefs seemed badly written, and Mulder's complains start to sound extremely tired.  Mainly, its because the series tends to deal with religion passively, and real religion is anything but. The writers (and invariably in these episodes, they are writers who never write for the series again.) don't seem fit to make the distinction, and as a result we get a weaker show.

It's a shame because there are lots of things to admire if not love about the episode. Kevin Zegers, who was about to begin a very impressive career as a child and then adult actor, gives a convincing performance as Kevin. Sam Bottoms and Kenneth Welsh are both very convincing as men at the poles of religion, Bottoms as the institutionalized father, whose belief in his son's abilities may only be the work of anti-psychotic; Welsh as the mad killer who seems determined to kill him. And it's fascinating to see R. Lee Ermey in the teaser, making a rare appearance as someone who isn't military. The strengths of the performances almost overwhelm the lack of subtlety in the writing

Ultimately, Revelations isn't much better than your run-of-the mill X-Files. The performances carry the day here, but it doesn't change the fact that for once, there isn't a lot to support them   The question raised in the final words--- if God's speaking, is anyone listening' is an intriguing one, but as a concept, its a lot less interesting then 'The truth is out there'. The fact that the episode can't seize on the obvious link between them is just symptomatic of a larger problem here.

My score: 3 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: 731

Written by Frank Spotnitz

Directed by Rob Bowman

731 is by far one of the most satisfying mythology episodes, and not for the reasons that you might suspect. If anything, it deals not with any of the aspects of the mythology that we will come to know and, frankly, kind of hate. We see only glimpses of the traditional characters associated with it --- the Cigarette-Smoking Man comes on for only a cameo at the end, and, though his role is critical, X's appearance is something of a bookend. But this episode is angrier than most of the others mainly because it deals with some of the horrors that we're only hinted at in the series opening.

For one thing, there's the confinement issues. Almost all of Mulder's sequences take place on a train, which means that none of the principals have anywhere to run. He spends much of the first half of the episode trying to find out what's on the boxcar that was added in the last episode. When he finally gets there, he finds his life is in danger not only from a shadowy assassin (I'm not calling him the Red-Haired Man because he doesn't have red hair) but from what is on the car, a ticking bomb. Mulder puts his life on the line again, based on the idea that his interpretation of the mythology is correct and Scully's is not. Scully believes that what is on the train car is the product of a human experimentation, and if she is right,  the bomb will dispose of the evidence when it explodes. Mulder believes what is on the car is an alien, and if he is right, the powers that be will have to show up to get it, and save his life in the process. It says something as to how well the episode is written, that we don't get a clear idea as to who's interpretation prevailed. Yes, someone came to rescue Mulder at the last minute (literally), but the fact is Mulder's life was basically up in the air. It may have been a moment of redemption for X, who clearly had a choice to save him, but we're still not clear whose orders he was acting under, and whose priorities were at stake.

All of this makes for suspenseful and intense viewing, but that's almost a relief when we get to the sequences Scully goes through, at what is fundamentally a concentration camp on American soil. The opening sequence is frankly one of the most horrifying the series would ever do, not just for what we see, but for what is implied in the behavior of the soldiers carrying out the execution. When Scully encounters the survivors of the massacre, what is going on is fundamentally far more frightening then the government merely lying about the existence of aliens.  The discussions of what's going on between  Scully and the Elder (one can only assume that John Neville had other things on his plate that prevented him from appearing) is even more appalling than what was being discussed in Paper Clip, mainly because we actually see the results. The government is conspiring to keep its citizens in the dark about something far more mundane--- if one wants to considering the horrible tests that Zama and his fellow Japanese have been committing as 'mundane'.   And considering some of the things that our government has lied to us about before (and since), its small wonder that Scully finds it far more believable. When Scully tells Mulder that there's no such thing as an alien abduction, it brings a whole new level of creepiness to this.

The only real problem with 731 is one that would only become a problem in retrospect. No one knew how long the series was going to last. Had they been willing to take the line that they drew in this episode, and follow it all the way to the end (and God knows they even gave it a possibility in later seasons), it would have been a perfect way to launch the conspiracy as something even more frightening then it was. Instead, the show went in the other direction, and when it did its next mythology episode, the series decided to concentrate on the UFO Mulder was trying to chase in the last episode, and go in a completely different direction. The end result would be to completely contradict some of the brilliant images that are on display here. It's frustrating, but it doesn't effectively diminish a lot of what is on display here

And the fact of the matter is, there is a lot to admire ---- the guest cast is some of the strongest that it  would be for the third season. Stephen McHattie, finally given a chance and a character to work with, gives a memorable performance as the assassin, so much so that one almost wishes he had survived to match wits with them another day. Steven Williams gives a very edgy performance as he is pulled into conflict against Scully, casually ignoring her pleas for help, and easily turning away the gun at his head. And Brendan Beiser begins to demonstrate some of the abilities that made him so charming to us (and to Mulder and Scully) as well as a lovely little sequence where he demonstrates he has a crush on her.

Nisei/731 is by far one of the better two-parters, and one wishes that Spotnitz, who would be one of the major writers of the mythology episodes to follow, would've taken the lessons from it---- fewer UFOs, twists on the mythology, and few recurring characters. But then again, if he'd done that, it wouldn't be The X-Files, would it?

My score: 4.5 stars.

Good Place, Great Laughs

You wouldn't think that a series that takes place in heaven could manage to be not only entertaining, but one of the funniest series that NBC has done in quite some time. But that's exactly what you get with The Good Place, a series that may be the funniest show to deal with death since the still incredibly missed Pushing Daisies.

The series takes place around a woman named Eleanor after she died, we learn, being crushed by a parade of shopping carts. She meets a man named Michael, the Architect of The Good Place (Ted Danson, continuing his career renaissance) who tells her that she was a good person, and has come to her specially engineered heaven with 361 other good people in a utopia that looks rather like one of those suburbs that was the founding area for Weeds. It's a nice place, with lots of frozen yogurt stands, an assistant named Janet willing to tell you everything you need to know, and you are paired up with your soulmate. There's just one tiny problem: Eleanor isn't supposed to be here.

Everyone thinks that Eleanor was a human rights activist who worked out of Africa. This Eleanor worked for telemarketing company selling drugs to senior citizens. What is more, when we see flashbacks of her life, it is clear is several small ways as well as big ones, she was a loathsome character.(Because she's played by Kirsten Bell, though, part of us likes her anyway.) This comes as a huge shock to her soulmate Chibi, a professor who spent his life studying ethics. It is also clearly doing something to undermine the sanctity of the Good Place, considering that sinkholes are appearing everywhere, and shrimp are attacking citizen. It is also clear that this was not the only mistake; in the last episode, we learned that one of Eleanor's neighbor, a Tibetan Monk who had taken a vow of silence, was actually Jason Mendoza, a Miami DJ, who wasn't much nicer than Eleanor was. This all becomes much clearer when we learn that this was Michael's first ever job for his 'bosses'. Somehow, it seems fitting that heaven operates much as a bureaucracy as everywhere else.

This is by far one of the most radical ideas for a comedy series, and one could see things going wrong if this confection just touched ground once. Indeed, some of the jokes, like swearing being prohibited (the phrase "What the fork? " comes up repeatedly). What makes the series work well in addition to the situation is that it takes the characters seriously. Eleanor may not want to exposed, but all the flaws in her character on Earth are present here: she seems to despise her neighbor Taheani, who despite the fact she is a charming, good person who deserves to be her, is the kind of woman who would get on your nerves anywhere, especially for eternity. But what she's trying to do is prove that she can fit in here., even though it goes against everything she was on Earth. To meet any person trying to change is a novel concept on TV; to meet on her a comedy is even more remarkable. Add to this all the wonderful throwaway lines about the bad place (every president except Lincoln is there),the delightful human aspects of the eternal, especially the Architect (Ted Danson is playing a likeable character. Who'd have thunk?) It's not clear yet where this will land as a much watched sitcom, but in concept and execution, its one of the more dazzling series so far this year.

My score:4.25 stars.

Don't Mess With This Mom: Speechless Review

Ever since Modern Family debuted in 2009, ABC slowly but surely has been creating a lineup of some of the most funny family sitcoms than they have since TGIF. And strangely enough, some of the best of them have been centered around some of the better comic actresses  playing some of the most brilliant mother figures: Patricia Heaton's trying to stay afloat Sue Heck on The Middle, Constance Wu's constantly pushing tiger mom on Fresh off the Boat, and Wendi McLendon-McCovey's nudging 80s mom on The Goldbergs.

To this team of mothers-you-don't-want-to-F-with comes Minnie Driver's Maya Dimeo on the dark but still funny Speechless. She's played some unconventional mothers before on cult series like The Riches and About A Boy, but rarely has she mined such anger for her role in this very unconventional comedy. Maya is a mother with three children, but the one who is the focus of her life is JJ, a budding teenager with cerebral palsy, who can neither speak nor walk, and who is nearly as angry as his mother - but not for the same reason. Only able to communicate by a 'helper' who reads a message board in front of him, JJ wants to explore the world - which is something Maya does not want him to do. In her scorched earth policy, she has moved her family around the country looking for a way to help JJ - usually at the expense of Dylan and Ray, the other teenage children, who are having their own growing pains, and just want to stop moving.

Now, they've arrived in a school that seems perfect, Maya nevertheless devastates the world around her. The spirit of inclusion that she wants for her son doesn't satisfy her, so she starts arguments often just to fight - the poor head of the school (Marin Hinkle, finally back on TV in a role worthy of her) doesn't have a prayer of standing up to her. But right now, her other children are trying to find their own way to break free - Ray wants to find happiness with his first crush, and Dylan wants to find a space for herself in this little box of a suburb.

In the wrong hands, this comedy could be seen as offensive. But its one of the funnier series so far to debut this season. And it seems a lot more grounded in the way it treats a person with a physical disability than any other series with the exception of Breaking Bad.  JJ is very particular about who he wants as his 'voice', mocking one of as a Disney Princess, and bonding with the school janitor, Kenneth, an African-American who bonds with him, considering he may be the only black man in this community. Their scenes together where he treats JJ like a man in a way that his mother has been struggling with is surprising emotional without being mawkish. It's very revealing that part of the series is dealing with how Maya is going to have to let go of her son as he tries to grow up - which she isn't prepared to do.

The numbers for this series have been more encouraging for any ABC comedy since black-ish, which makes a certain amount of sense considering that it is, like that series in dealing with the more personal issues. And considering how good Driver is, it might not be too early to put her in talk for this years Emmys. It's still working the kinks out, but considering that ABC just gave it a full season, there's reason for faith.

My score: 4 stars.

This Is Great: This is Us Review

Paradoxically, I have been a little dismayed by the turn in NBC's fortunes. Sure, they may be No. 2 in the ratings, but when they were in fourth place, they seemed more willing to take risks and try series that were bold and daring (Friday Night Lights & 30 Rock were their most prominent examples of this, and even failures like Awake showed ambition) Now, they seem to be back worshipping at the alter of Dick Wolf, and its showed in their last couple years of original programming.

Which is one of the reasons their most recent burst of original programming shows more boldness than they have in awhile. This is Us doesn't play like a series that you typically get on broadcast channels. No crimes are involved. No superheroes. No overly ambitious serialized plots. Instead, we have a series that shows us some real human beings dealing with issues that actual people can relate to. Admittedly, there have been some bizarre twists so far, but they've actually been more endearing than anything else, because involve people, not just storytelling.

The series involves two parallel stories: Jack (Milo Ventimigilia, playing a human being for once) and Rebecca (Mandy Moore) are a married couple. On Jack's 36th birthday, Rebecca gives birth to triplets. It's a high risk pregnancy, and Rebecca loses one of the babies. In the parallel story, Kevin (Justin Hartley) a TV heartthrob in one of those terrible comedies (that one could see NBC producing just a few years ago) has a blow up on set at the awfulness of his show, and tries to quit. His sister Kate (Chrissy Metz, a true charmer) has been struggling with her weight for awhile, and joins Overeaters Anonymous, where she meets a 'fat friend', who seems compassionate. And happily married attorney Randall (Sterling K. Brown, light years removed from Christopher Darden) just found out who his birth father, a drug addict who abandoned him at a fire station was, and confronted him, only to learn he's dying, and invited into his home. The big twist of the pilot was that all of these people were related: Jack and Rebecca are the birth parents of Kevin and Kate (in 1980) and they adopted Randall. It was one of the few twists where I didn't feel cheated later on, because it was more about character than anything else.

It seems like Jack and Rebecca were good parents, but we can already see warning signs - Jack clearly has a drinking problem, and Randall has never gotten along as well with Kevin then his sister. Indeed, another revelation came at the end of last night's episode, where it revealed that in the present, Rebecca is now married to Jack's best friend. But this is one of the first series in a long time that I became emotionally invested in the characters, not because of the plot twists. All the actors are very good in their roles, especially Brown and Metz, and the guest cast can be extremely interesting (Katey Segal and Brad Garrett showed up last night).  It has the potential to be the most emotionally arresting drama NBC has created since Parenthood debuted, and that worries me. Because is a series that opened fairly big, with 10 million plus viewers. It's been awhile since a series that was a straight drama held that kind of audience, even with a hit like The Voice as its lead in. The old NBC would've kept it around for six season; I don't know what the new NBC will do with it. Please show understanding.

My score:4.5 stars.

Masters of Sex Season 4 Review

One of the more interesting series that has been on TV over the last few seasons has been Masters of Sex, a fictionalized story on the lives and careers of world renowned sex researchers William Masters and Virginia Johnson. It has always been less showy (dramatically, the sex scenes are among the most explicit on TV) than some of Showtime's other performers, and always had one of the better supporting casts in the history of the medium. The series has always taken more risks than some of the other series on its network, and, paradoxically, as the series goes into Season 4, that has been working against.

Masters and Johnson were ahead of their times in the 1950s, and as long as the series stayed there, one could check some of their appalling behavior as part of the sacrifice of being scientific groundbreakers. But as the series enters the 1960s (and later, this season the 1970s) the more behind the times their research seems to be, and the more unprepared they seem to be to change at all. At the end of Season 3, the creators seemed to realize this, and blew up the series at the episodes end by having Bill finally confess to Virginia (and more stunningly, to his wife, Libby, whose revelation that she had known for years was one of the most shocking moments in TV last year), only to learn that she was planning to marry Dan Logan, the married man who wooed last year.

Now, as Season 4 begins, everything in Masters' and Johnson's life has been destroyed. Bill (Michael Sheen) is undergoing a divorce, he is under criminal prosecution for a solicitation charge that was incurred last season, he has been drinking so heavily that he has been forced to attend AA meetings (typically, he refuses to admit he's an alcoholic) and his professional career is in shambles. Virginia (Lizzy Caplan) is still claiming she is married to Dan, but as we learned in the second episode, she left him at the altar. She has sleeping around fairly consistently, her daughter has left her home for her father, and though she wants to continue your her career on her own, she finds that she has become linked so inexorably with Bill that they can't be apart. They can't stand to be around each other, but for the sake of their work, they find that they have no choice but to stay together.

What makes this so frustrating as series to watch is that despite all the change around them, neither have taken any steps towards trying to change. Bill doesn't think that he's got any problems. Virginia is only interested in her professional career at the cost of everything else. They are only willing to work together by taking on other doctors (one of whom is played by Betty Gilpin) but when they learn that they're married and have been lying to them, neither of them seem to even notice the hypocrisy. In a decade devoted to change, Masters and Johnson, the pioneers, still can't, and its very frustrating for the viewer.

The series, however, still has many performances to treasure. Topmost of these is Caitlin Fitzgerald as Libby. Of all the characters on the series, she has shown the most growth, and with each succeeding season she becomes more fascinating. When her marriage implodes, Bill is devastated.. Libby is furious. The most mesmerizing scene so far this year came after Bill delivered a long meandering monologue in which he tried to engage Libby confessing his sin. After nearly two minutes of silence, she finally said: "Let's call it even" and then told her husband about her infidelities, something that shook Bill to his core in a way nothing has so far. Also very good was Niecy Nash as the head of the AA meeting Bill is court ordered to attend, and who seems to have a better equilibrium than almost anybody we've had on the show. (We still have yet to see Beau Bridges or Allison Janney, the two standouts in this series, appear three episodes in, but there's still time.)

It's now clear that Masters of Sex is not one of the great series ever made. It's probably not even close to one of the great series that Showtime has ever aired. But it still has some of the most stunning performances and well drawn characters on TV right now. The Emmy voters may never get around to giving it the recognition it deserves, but it is entitled to more critical response. Find the time to see it. I have a feeling the series run is counting down.

My score: 4 stars.

Homicide Episode Guide: Three Men And Adena

A confession (since this is the place for them) . The first time that I saw this episode, I didn’t like it much. I didn’t like it  because it was too claustrophobic, because none of the other characters were here, but mainly because I found the ending unsatisfactory. Ironically those are the exact same reasons that this is such a brilliant episode. Part of the problem was that I was only 17, probably not old enough to appreciate the intricacies of the show.  Part of it was because I didn’t know the show that well yet. Whatever the reason, I didn’t watch all the way through again until nearly two years after I saw it the first time. And now of course I understand why people who write about the show called it ‘the quintessential Homicide’

            For fifty three minutes of the hour, we see only one setting--- the box—and we have only three characters---- Tim Bayliss, Frank Pembleton, and  Risley Tucker, or  as we have known him up until that point, the Araber. (Until this episode I had never heard of these nomadic fruit and vegetable peddlers; perhaps they are native only to Baltimore.) The detectives believe that Tucker  is the man who killed Adena Watson. But there isn’t enough direct evidence. Only a confession will end this case. And time is a factor--- if they don’t get it in twelve hours, the court will throw it out.

 So we watch these three men talk. Except they are not alone in the room. Something else--- the spirit of Adena, for lack of a better term is there. Bayliss and Pembleton do their best to keep it in there. Watching the two of them work is one of the most exceptional achievement s that the writers would ever produce. At its bare bones, it is nothing more than a  variation of the ‘good cop, bad cop’ scenarios that we have seen on other TV shows. Pembleton is warm, cordial even pleasant to Tucker, while Bayliss unrelentingly questions him on the facts and inconsistencies that have developed in the Araber’s story trying desperately to cause a crack in this man’s façade. This goes on for half the episode. Then about halfway through comes an exceptional sequence. In it Bayliss and Pembleton begin to speak in precise  rhythm drilling in to the Araber’s head what they know--- that he killed her.. It is an almost musical moment--- but it only lasts for two or three minutes. And then something that I had not seen before on TV, and only a few times since happens. Tucker, who has been presenting a rhythm of his own, variations of the same theme that he did not kill Adena , fires back. He attacks Pembleton in a very effective manner saying ‘you don’t like n----ers like me.’ Calling him a Pretender, a 500. And he attacks Bayliss by calling him something that we know this detective fears--- that for all his energy and beliefs, he is nothing more than an amateur.  Moses Gunn who plays Tucker (in his last performance; he would die nine months after the episode was filmed) gives an exceptional performance. You have to work real hard to keep up with Braugher and Secor, but Gunn does so outstandingly.

            On any other television show up to that point,  the episode would have ended with the Araber breaking down and confessing. Even if the networks had permitted a show to center on the same story for nearly five weeks would  have ended with a successful resolution. It doesn’t happen. Not only does Risley Tucker not break, his defense remain almost completely impenetrable.  There is a moment about halfway through the episode where we think that maybe, just maybe, he will break. But it passes and the wall of denial that he has built up, despite all the cracks that the detectives have made or tried to make, never breaks. Even more stunning then this is what the audience feels about Tucker’s guilt. We think that he is the killer, but the man never gives a hint one way or the other that he killed her. Especially telling is how the two detectives leave that final interrogation. In a rare moment of comfort, Pembleton tells Bayliss that he emerged from the interrogation sure that Tucker killed Adena. Bayliss responds by saying that now he is no longer sure that this is true.

So the investigation into Adena Watson’s death ends--- at least officially. For Tim Bayliss, however, this case will never go away. When he is finished collecting the evidence, he takes out a picture of Adena Watson and puts it on  his desk. It will stay there for almost the entire run of the series. The fact that it was never solved  will stay with him for the length of the series. And unlike some TV shows where no one remembers what happened a week ago, much less a year, this specter will haunt Bayliss for the entire series, and quite possibly the rest of his life.

‘Three Men and Adena’ was the only episode of ‘Homicide’ to win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing. For many TV shows, it would be nearly impossible to do anything more excellent. For ‘Homicide’ this was just the first of several episodes  that would leave the audience emotionally raw. It is not easy to watch this episode, but, like the participants, you will never forget it when you see it.

Rank by Fans: 2nd

Rating: 5 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Nisei

Written by Chris Carter, Howard Gordon & Frank Spotnitz

Directed by David Nutter

The show has been going into fairly dark territory so far in Season 3 --- even the most dazzling comedy had a  very black streak of melancholy. But even that can barely prepare for what's coming, especially when it comes to the mythology. There were certain overtones of evil experiences in Paper Clip that dared to paint the alien conspiracy with a more evil--- and far darker--- brush, by hinted that the aliens might be involved in something stretching back to the Nazis. Now in this two-parter, easily one of the best that the series would ever do, they link the mythology--- and by extension, our heroes with crimes that are still going on.

The continued joke is that the alien episodes are dividing our heroes physically, Mulder is going on all the action stuff, while Scully is dealing with the more benign scientific data. There's a certain pattern to it here, too. Mulder, chasing a lead on a video of an alien autopsy (the joke about the one on Fox, like so many hasn't aged well) ends of in a fight with a Japanese diplomat (where he demonstrates he has learned from the running gag of losing his weapon); Mulder brings the information to the Lone Gunmen, who point him towards a shipping yard in Virginia, which ends with our hero taking  a bath in the Atlantic, Mulder seeing a UFO which they seemed to have fished out of the Sea of Japan; Mulder chases a boxcar that has what he believes to be an alien on it, to the climax of the episode, where, after pointedly being warned by Scully not to get on the train, he jumps on it anyway, losing his phone in the process.  By this point, it's almost a joke, or it would be if it weren't for the fact that there's literally behind him, and for the first time in a while, we see who's doing the killing, though for a change it's no one we recognize.

But when we come back to Scully, hoping for some sanity, what we get is far more terrifying, and, from her point of view at least, incredibly revelatory. When she finds that the man who taped the alien autopsy is dead, she trails to a MUFON meeting in Allentown. When she gets there, she finds a group of women, all of who know her, and she doesn't recognize any of them. Scully has spent the better part of the season, trying to maintain that she has no idea what happened to her during her abduction. This facade becomes impossible to maintain, when she finds that all these women went through similar experiences, and all have the same mark upon them. The scene where they all remove jars containing the same implant that was removed from her at the start of the season is one of the most unsettling thing the series has shown us. It becomes horrifying when we learn that all of these woman have something else in common: they're all dying of cancer.

As if all of this wasn't awful enough, when Scully comes back to D.C. and finds Mulder looking through the  scientists that we saw get murdered in the teaser---- we learn that they were all Japanese war criminals, never tried for the horrible crimes they committed. And then Scully recognizes one of them, not just from the videotape, but from a memory that has just floated to the surface: she remembers being experimented on by them.

You'd think that an episode that was written by three very different writers would be a little more uneven than how it plays out. In fact, it's one of the better conspiracy episodes the show would ever do. For once in a Carter script, we are spared the purple verbalizing of its characters, and the revelations come not in dialogue but in visuals, and in the horrors that are being discussed. It's so well done that you almost wonder how the writers could come up with something this well-written, and not return to the pontificating that was the sole downside of the mythology that began the season.

Oh, its not perfect. For one thing, the writers don't quite seem to have a grip on using the extraneous characters. Skinner's two scenes don't seem to add much, other than perhaps to remind us that he's still on the show. And X's appearance seems so out of place (and he seems far more nervous than he usually is) that you wonder what he's really doing here. Furthermore, getting a hold of a brilliant actor like Robert Ito, and then not having him do anything at all does seem like a tremendous waste of energy on the casting directors part. On the other hand, The Lone Gunmen are used fairly well for something other than comic relief, and we meet the utterly winning Agent Pendrell, affectionately known by fans as Labboy, who is obviously a precursor of other winning techs that will show up in series like Alias and 24. And Raymond J. Barry again distinguishes himself so much that you're utterly baffled as to why they didn't use his character more often.

Nevertheless, Nisei is one of the more brilliant put together episodes in the entire mythology. And if you think that's damning with faint praise (which it is, a little), you can elaborate by realizing that this is the first time, even at this juncture in the series, where The X-Files  actually seems to have an aim and direction with a conspiracy. It would demonstrate that it knew how to do it in the next episode. Unfortunately, Carter and Spotnitz would not take larger lesson on how to write from it.

My Score: 4.5 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Oubilette

Written by Charles Grant Craig

Directed by Kim Manners

Technically, this episode bears a resemblance to the last two---- a first-time writer's debut script for the series. But Oubliette is made of much sterner stuff than the last couple of episodes, which may be the reason its reputation isn't as great as it should be. For another, it's a much more atypical episode of the series---- indeed, one might have trouble calling it an X-File at all.

The episode is book-ended by moments that show us just how far the series has gone in the last two seasons. A thirteen year old girl is abducted from her home by an unknown assailant. Mulder comes on to the scene, expresses his sympathy to the victim's mother, who snaps at him; "How can you possibly know what this feels like?" For awhile, we wonder if the obvious link to his sister's abduction is going to come up. Then the connection is brought in with a woman named Lucy Householder, who was abducted in a similar fashion more than twenty years ago, and is now suffering through bizarre injuries and symptoms  that she can't explain, and doesn't want to explore. The connection isn't spelled out until Scully makes a direct connection to Mulder--- and he practically tears her a new one. "Not everything I do or think or feel or say is about my sister," he memorably says.

The main reason the viewer has been trying to hold to this to that connection is because without it, our usual compass for the show is nowhere to be found. Lucy is hard, unsympathetic and aggressively determined not to be helpful, almost demanded that the viewer not sympathize with her. This is, in fact, probably one of the most believable portraits of a victim of kidnapping and abuse, which still doesn't make her callousness any less hard to bear. It's also part of the reason you can almost see this episode being a part of a Law & Order or Without a Trace---- there's so little that can be considered supernatural. Even the wounds that Lucy endures could be considered some kind of psychosomatic up to the end--- and even then she doesn't seem to understand how or why this could happen to her.

Normally, we look to the kidnapper to prove some kind of release--- but this isn't even as fascinating a villain as Donnie Pfaster was--- Carl Wade, has no quirks, he seems ordinary bordering on dull. There's no explanation for his acts, no quirks to his menace to make him memorable--- his biggest quirk is taking flash photos of his victim in the dark. He'd barely rate as interesting on a procedural, which makes his actions all the more frightening--- we're really not sure what he'll do.

There's no release from the traditional Mulder & Scully relationship either; in fact, this episode is the beginning of a series where they are deliberately adversarial. What makes this more unique is that for once, Scully doesn't seem to be questioning the validity of his theories, but is far more concerned that his emotional state is clouding his judgment. (If anything, her theory that somehow Lucy is responsible for the kidnapping is a bigger leap than Mulder's, considering the validity of her alibi.) And there's no real spookiness or bit---- perhaps the biggest scare is whether the kidnapper will give into her request for  a glass of water.\

All of this makes for a very painful episode. Not because it's badly written (it isn't) or badly acted. On the contrary the performances are generally superb, particularly Tracey Ellis' as Lucy. But because  the main character's hard life make it so difficult for us to empathize with her even despite what has to have been a horrible trauma, our own sympathies for her are difficult to measure. Which makes it all the more shocking when she dies at the end, and we realize that part of the reason she felt this way was to get away from Carl Wade and all the pain she caused her.

In retrospect, its not that shocking that Craig would never write another script for the X-Files. This is an episode so different that it barely qualifies as one. That doesn't change the fact that it's something of a gem. It's not the easiest episode to watch, and it sure as hell isn't the easiest episode to like, but it's definitely nothing we've seen in the series so far, in this or any other season. An underrated episode, this starts a streak of what will prove to be a remarkable six months in the history of the series, and of TV in general.

My score: 4.5 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: The Walk

Written by John Shiban

Directed by Rob Bowman

In rewatching some of these episodes, it is difficult not to let certain predispositions towards their creators come into ones opinion. Perhaps no writer better demonstrates this than the one who makes his X-Files debut with this episode, John Shiban. About his ability it is difficult to speak with any confidence. For while I consider him to be one of the weakest writers for the series, the fact remains he would stick with it far longer than many of the better ones, lasting until the very last season. He wrote some truly terrible episodes, it is true (we'll be encountering one such later this season) and he  also wrote some gems, but because so many of the latter were collaborative efforts with much better writers, one wonders just how good they were. (Vince Gilligan clearly thought very highly of him; Shiban would be one of the fellow writers who would be on the staff of Breaking Bad more than fifteen years later.) Unfortunately, given the nature of the majority of his scripts, one can't help but consider him a poor man's Howard Gordon.

One can see the comparison with his debut episode, which seems at first glimpse an homage to Gordon's Sleepless last season. What makes it have a flavor of its own is the fact  that Shiban updates it to the First Gulf War. There's a real coldness to the rage of Rappo Trimble when Mulder finally confronts him, and he calls him--- and by extension, the audience--- for watching the War on cable like it was a video game with no concern for the boots on the ground. In its own way, it could be considered an indictment of how the average American views war these days--- except I seriously doubt Shiban was that prescient.

 There's also a coldness to the way Trimble enacts his revenge against his victims in this episode that was lacking---- he's not interested in anything as simple or as merciful as simply killing them, no, he makes them feel a far worse fate by killing their families and refusing to allow them what they consider the mercy of death. The teaser is one of the most gruesome we've had on the show so far,  and considering  just how far we find Trimble willing to take this; perhaps the most chilling thing in The Walk is watching how long it takes for General Callahan, standing firm and reassured to become utterly a shell of himself to the point of putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger.

So we will give the episode a fair amount of credit for it. Unfortunately, this doesn't change the fact that it's just another supernatural revenge story, and considering that it's already the third this season, one is starting to wonder about the general laziness of a writer who decides to debut with that kind of episode. Oh, I'm not going to deny that the technical aspects of the episodes are spot on. The scene where Janet Draper is murdered by what appears to be phantom in a swimming pool is very chilling, even if it is a ripoff of Val Lewton's Cat People. And the scene where General Callahan's son is stalked twice is very chilling, and I'm not going to lie about how unsettling  it was to see a child murdered among his toy soldiers. But it takes Mulder an awful long time to finally reveal to Scully what the hell is going on here, which is not like him at all. (I'm still not a hundred percent sure how those dental X-rays did it or what exactly they were supposed to prove.) And considering how quickly the killer is acting, the fact that he waits until two more people have been murders seems pretty damn negligent to me. I'm surprised Scully waits so long to call him out on it. But unfortunately, like the last several episodes have been demonstrating, once again our heroes seem completely detached from all of the action. The confrontation at the end doesn't have much tension because they don't really do anything in order to prevail, once again, an outside factor removes the killer from the equation--- this time, permanently.

When it comes down to it, I'm more inclined to be favorable to The Walk then I am the last couple of episodes. There's a bitter pang to this one that make it a bit more satisfying then the last couple, and the technical aspects are much better too. (At the very list, it had a better use of insects than The List did). But considering we don't get much motivation for Trimble's action, a couple too many blind alleys, and too much of an anticlimax, it's not going to rank as one of the great ones either. Still, given who the author is, it's a lot better than it has a right to be, which says more about Shiban than the episode in general.

My score: 3 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: 2Shy

Written by Jeffrey Vlaming

Directed by David Nutter

You want to give this episode more credit than it probably deserves. Another episode done by a first time writer, story editor Jeffrey Vlaming would have a brief career with The X-Files, writing only one other episode before moving on to such other cult series as the remake of Battlestar Galactica and Fringe. So one can be  a bit understanding why this episode isn't as good as it could be---- they can't all be Darin Morgan or Vince Gilligan.

So you ignore the fact that's pretty obvious that the villain is just a flat out ripoff of Eugene Tooms, substituting fatty tissue for liver, and adding a fair amount of disgusting goo as the killer seems able to digest his victims before he murders them. You also have to ignore the fact that even by a considerable margin, Mulder makes one of his more enormous leaps, going from the lack of fatty tissue in a single skin sample to determining that our villain is 'a fat-sucking vampire' Add to this a really big "ewww' factor given the condition of the victims, and you have an episode that pretty much seems to be a knock off.

Where the episode works a lot better is all of the side elements, many of which are more interesting then the actual story. There's the factor of internet chatrooms and using it to stalk one's victims. These days that's practically an element of every other police procedurals, but back in 1995, it was a fairly big deal. Unfortunately, this means it hasn't aged as well as some of the others, particularly going with the idea that most of the women who frequent chatrooms are overweight and lovelorn. So much time that has passed that it seemed a cliché before the episode had gone into reruns. But it leads to some interesting wrinkles--- the most obvious of which is the fact  that for all of Virgil Incanto's charisma and predatory nature, when he comes face to face with an actual normal woman who is attracted to him----- his landlady--- he can't get away from her fast enough to get on the Internet and engage in virtual conversations. It's a pretty good joke, and one that far too many of us tech heads can relate too.

There's also the relatively rampant sexism on display for a lot of the episode--- sometimes so forced, you can almost feel Vlaming straining to get his point across.  Scully is treated with disdain by her fellow policemen because of her sex, something that seems positively subtle considering the way Incanto feeds off his victim's loneliness. The fact that a woman like Ellen would be so desperate for companionship she is willing to throw caution to the wind seems to play on clichés that seem heavy-handed. And there is the fact that, even when she has the man in question in her house, rather than have sex with him she'd rather email her friend to brag about who she has in her apartment. The fact that Scully tells Incanto in the episode's denouement that the worst thing about him is not the way he was a killer, but the way that he fed off their souls as well as their bodies. The fact that he's about to start rotting away will probably seem to much of a metaphor for being a player that I've seen on TV.

There are some interesting elements about 2Shy. There's the fact that the agents finally manage to get their man intact for once (though if the last scene is any indication, not for long), and there's the addition of some details that you wonder what they're for. (There's the fact that the landlady's daughter gets rather a lot of screentime, considering how limited her role is,  as well as the fact she seems to get very little help for her disability from even her own mother.) But the fact this episode, despite the goo and some of the trimmings, that this episode is just pretty average as far as scares or entertainment. The special effects are good the paranormal elements decent, but there's nothing particular remarkable about it. I'm willing to go with it once, but its not you, it's me. Actually, it is you.

My score: 2.5 stars

X-Files Episode Guide: The List

Written and Directed by Chris Carter

Considering this was Carter's first episode as a director since the previous season's Duane Barry, one can understand why this was telegraphed as a signature episode, even going so far as to have it the fifth episode of this season, just like Duane Barry was. And one has to admit that it's well directed. There's a similar air of claustrophobia to this episode as well, considering that the majority of the episode is shot inside death row of a Florida prison. There's definitely a sense of edginess to it, perhaps best demonstrated in the opening sequence where 'Neech' Manley is executed, clearly demonstrating that he was an aggressive and formidable personality. One could almost understand why so many people are afraid of him, even after he's executed.  So the episode is definitely shot very well.

It's a shame that the script is such a horrible mess. Perhaps any episode would suffer in comparison with Clyde Bruckman, but this one seems to last any of the curiosity or imagination of the previous one. But even if that episode had come after a lesser one, it would be hard to imagine The List as being anything but an inferior episode of The X-Files. For starters, aside from the possibility that Manley has been executed, there isn't much of reason for Mulder and Scully to be called on to the scene in the first place. For another, there's the fact that none of the murders seem to show much of the nerve that we think Manley would've been capable of. There's just the appearance of an immense amount of flies, which while they are creepy and unsettling, don't exactly smack much of the paranormal. (This wouldn't stop Carter from deciding to use them as a recurring theme in a different context.... but we'll get to that.)

Then there's the biggest probably with the story: it gives Mulder and Scully practically nothing to do. They neither distinguish themselves with particularly good investigative abilities, or any progress in being able to stop anything. They seem to be on the periphery of the episode for must of the time they're on screen, letting events happen to them rather than interacting or even trying to stop them. And there are so many false starts in this episode that after a time, you wonder whether our heroes are really trying for this one. The so-called climax of the episode takes place when the FBI is crowded outside a suspect's house, and they just stand around while he gets shot. And they seem more than  willing to let this man's death stand for doing any more work to follow it up or proof. When Mulder points this out to Scully, she just looks at him and tells him that their job is done, and then they just drive away while the last murder happens. It's the worst kind of commentary on just how lazy they've been this episode.

It's a shame because there really are some good things about the episode. There are superb guest performances, including the late J.T. Walsh as the prison warden, who's just as sadistic as the cons he houses, Bokeem Woodbine as Roque, the inmate who seems to note all the secrets Manley kept, and April Grace does marvelous work as the woman who agreed to share her life with a dead man--- up to a point.  But these good performances completely overwhelm the pedestrian work that Anderson and Duchovny do. Now if there's anything that the last episode proved, it's that a great guest performance is fine, as long as the our leads play off it. Here they make very little effort to play off it, or for that matter each other. I'm all for solemnity after comedy last week, but God, this episode could use a decent joke or two. God, if I wanted to see vengeance killings and prison sadism, I'd watch Oz.

The List doesn't seem like it belongs on The X-Files. Of course, neither, strictly speaking, did Clyde Bruckman. It's got a very dark feel to it, which, as the third season continues will continue to be an ongoing theme. And we should applaud the fact that the series is at least willing to sometimes employ black actors. But the fact that there's so little versatility or setpieces, or indeed, anything to make this episode seem worthwhile (God knows our heroes barely seem interested) makes you wonder why Carter fell so determined to make this the second episode he directed. There's nothing particularly creative about it.

My score: 2 stars.

Reactions To This Years Emmys

Last season, I reported that the Emmys did a much better job recognizing talent than they had in nearly five years. As if daring to prove that they really can do better, last nights Emmys did a much better job recognizing talent than they have in awhile, even better than last season.

This may seem hard to fathom to the casual observer, considering that there were a lot of duplicates from last season - Game Of Thrones and Veep repeated as Best Drama and Best Comedy, respectively, Jeffrey Tambor and Julia-Louis Dreyfus won again (Dreyfus for the fifth consecutive year). But there was a genuine sense that the Emmys was making a lot more progress in recognizing certain series and actors.

First of all, despite the fact that HBO won major prizes, this was by far FX's night. Combined with the technical Emmys, they managed a total of fifteen wins, by far the greatest the network has ever had. I may not have agreed with Louie Anderson's choice for 'Baskets', but it was a step away from Modern Family, which had dominated the Supporting Actor category for the last six years. And while I'm a little disappointed that Fargo got basically ignored, one could hardly argue with the winners - People Vs O.J. Simpson was one of the premiere accomplishments of this seasons, and it was great to see Courtney B. Vance finally win an Emmy after nearly two decades in the medium. Sarah Paulson and Sterling Brown's triumphs were even more satisfying to the heart and to the head, as these brilliant performers triumph. And it was good to see Ryan Murphy finally get a winner, and a much more subtle series than usual.

Now, on to some of the more endearing choices. Yes, Regina King repeated for her work on American Crime, but considering that her character was completely different than the one she played last year, one could hardly argue the Emmys were being lazy. It was also nice to see someone other than Allison Janney win Supporting Actress, even though Kate McKinnon probably was the last choice on my ballot. And even though I predicted otherwise, it was wonderful to see Tatiana Maslany finally triumph for her incredible performance (s) on Orphan Black, much of which was taken to a higher level this season.

All in all, I had no problem with the majority of the winners last night. Rami Malek's work on Mr. Robot is among the most stunning performances on TV. (And I was delighted that after the deer-in-the-headlights moment after winning, he quoted his series by saying "You're all seeing this too, right?) I was sorry that Ben Mendelsohn wasn't around to pick up his trophy for the criminally underrated Bloodline, a series I have raved about in previous columns. And even though it's getting to be the tiniest bit  tired seeing Jeffrey Tambor and Julia-Louis Dreyfus at the winners table time after time, both gave among the most powerful speeches of the night: Dreyfus near tears, when she revealed that her father had passed away earlier this week, Tambor's self-effacing attitude among his fellow nominees, and a call to action when he said that he hoped to be the last male to play a transgender role in Hollywood.  I just wish Jimmy Kimmel had followed through with his mock threat to take the award away from Maggie Smith, who wasn't there to pick up her third (and thankfully, final) Emmy for Downton Abbey.

All told, last night was mostly delightful. From the opening sequence, where Kimmel tried to get to the Emmys (and perhaps presciently ran into all three winners of the night) to the final moments (unlike the Oscars, the Emmys actually finished early this year) this was one of the more entertaining award shows this year. I have never been one of Kimmel's biggest fans, but he did a fine job, handling the awards. He managed to hold up well when he ended up losing 'Best Variety Talk' to 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver' (and the sequence with Matt Damon was hysterical as well.)

And there were a lot of moments of poignancy. 2016 has been a year where we lost many of the brighter lights in the film and TV industry,  and this seemed more clear in the 'IN Memoriam' montage where for once, the applause was saved to the very end. Tambor's tribute to Garry Shandling, and Henry Winkler's tribute to Garry Marshall were far more moving than the usual hosannas we seem to get.

Oh, the Emmys weren't perfect. It still bothers me that 'House of Cards' and  'Better Call Saul' were shut out, as was 'black-ish'. But considering that they managed to get the majority of the winners right, and that more and more deserving series keep getting recognized. (I'm still delighted they recognized The Americans), the Emmys keeps getting more and more relevant. Who knows? Maybe next year they'll recognize the final season of Rectify. And given that they seem to have more and more recognition of nonwhite actors (in addition to the series listed, Key & Peele won Best sketch comedy show and Aziz Ansari triumphed for writing Master of None) , they're certain more and more diverse.

Homicide Episode Guide: Shot in the Dark

Written By  Jorge Zamacona

Directed By Bruce Paltrow

            One  of the more daring things about ‘Homicide’ especially  in its early years was how it would often have detective processes or investigations that would amount to nothing. Most of the time in police procedurals, an investigative avenue will lead to something substantial that helps lead to some kind of progress being made. Not here.

            Take the central section of ‘A Shot In the Dark’. As the Adena Watson case stretches on  (at this point all of the resources of the police force are no longer on it) Detective Felton comes up with a theory as to where the body might have been stored--- a cool dry place like the trunk of a car. One of the residents of Kirke Avenue had a car like that, and Felton believes that may have been  key to the killing. Bayliss, who has now focused all his energy on the idea that the Araber (a fruit and vegetable salesman) is the killer doesn’t even consider this possible, but Pembleton (who is just as sure that the Araber is not the killer) decides this is possible and goes out with Felton. Sure enough, the suspect says that he no longer has the car in question, claiming that it was repossessed. Felton and Pembleton begin a long search at the Repo Man’s car lot hoping to not find the car.  There is something very Zen about searching for  something you don’t want to find, and the search takes on a theater of absurd feel

            Part of the entertainment comes from watching Felton and Pembleton interacting. As we learned in the Pilot, the two men can barely stand each other: Felton thinks Pembleton is an arrogant loner and Pembleton thinks Felton is a sloppy cop. But there is a more obvious difference between the two, in Pembleton’s unspoken belief that Felton is a racist.  The dialogue between the two men sparks with electricity. We don’t care as much about the search for the car as long as we see Baldwin and Braugher going at it about this explosive subject.

            Around this search, we follow several other stories from previous episodes as well as a few new twists. Again we witness the smarminess and lazy leadership of Captain Barnfather. First we see him expressing concerns about the two red balls while subtly expressing doubts  Gee’s leadership. Then we hear how Barnfather compromised the investigation  of Watson’s murder by revealing a critical piece of evidence. This so enrages Bayliss (already miserable with a cold and a fever)that he phones him at home to call him a butthead. And in the matter of police work, Bayliss must apologize to Barnfather not the other the way around.

            The Thormann shooting is also resolved. The suspect that got named in the anonymous tip in the previous episode turns out to not to be the shooter but rather the tipster. This is nearly compromised in Crosetti’s desire for vengeance. It is up to the more detached Detective Lewis to follow through with the investigation when Crosetti’s vision is blurred. We also see learn more about Crosetti’s shooting (hinted at in the previous episode) and more about how that changed him.

            We also learn that Bolander’s romantic pursuit of Dr. Blythe did not end as well as either of them hope. He is grouchier and  sterner than in the last episode and is so afraid to deal with her that he  leaves the squad room  to pick up a witness rather than talk to her on the phone. Some reviewers would later complain how Ned Beatty’s presence on the show deadened the series. I find that absolutely insane because he was one of the most well developed characters in the shows first seasons. It is rare to meet a character on television who is older than thirty five and has any problems. Stanley Bolander  managed to get beyond the cliché of the veteran detective and infuse it with energy and humor. This was a really well drawn character.

            We also get another insight into the character of Frank Pembleton. When he begins the pursuit of the car, it seems that he is more concerned about proving Bayliss wrong then solving the case. We soon realize that this is not true at all and that he is willing to adapt in order to see that justice is done--- even if that means conforming with Bayliss’ point of view.

            And of course, there is another murder investigation featuring the best and brightest of the crime faction of Baltimore. The shooting of Joseph Cole is another one of the  countless drug related shootings that happen daily. In this case it involves  a bodyguard shooting his employer to get to the man who was using him as a human shield. This particularly brilliant man claims he was doing what his employer told him to do. This too has its origins in reality.

            Though there is a lot less happening in this episode then the previous  three, this episode gives us a great deal of insight into the characters  as well as  well-defined look at some of the issues with race and sex from unlikely participants ‘A Shot In The Dark’ is also notable for showing the detectives in the off-hours at a bar and diner called the ‘Wharf Rat’. If nothing else, the episode should be remembered for John Munch’s karaoke rendition of ‘Mack The Knife’

We don’t get insight into Munch’s character, but his personality is beginning to take a more elaborate shape and adds more entertainment to an already entertaining show.

My score: 4.5 stars

X-Files Episode Guide: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose

Written by Darin Morgan

Directed by David Nutter

When this episode first premiered in October of 1995, the critical response was overwhelming, as it very quickly became recognized as one of the greatest episodes the X-Files ever did. It would earn Darin Morgan an Emmy for Best Dramatic Teleplay and Peter Boyle one for Best Guest Actor in a Drama. And the acclaim for it has only grown with the passage of time. When TV Guide published its first List of the 100 greatest episodes of all time, it was at number 19. When it published its update to it in 2009, it was still listed as the series only entry. What I find particularly remarkable is that, for all the brilliance, slyness, and comic invention on display, this may actually be the least of the four episodes Morgan wrote for this series. Which should tell you something about the man who wrote it.

It's hard to know which makes Clyde Bruckman such a memorable character: Boyle's brilliant acting or Morgan's superb writing. Whichever way you see it, it is pretty clear that he is one of the greatest characters in the entire history of the show. Bruckman is an insurance salesman, who has been given the gift of foresight. As Mulder puts it, it's one that most people would be envious of, and Bruckman disdains it, because to him, it's one that he has done nothing to earn.

 One of the more weighty issues that the series would deal with is in the argument of fate versus free will, and the first shot across the bow in favor of determinism. Both Bruckman and the killer believe that the future is predetermined and that there's nothing they or anybody else can do to change this, and it effects everything they do. The killer has been murdering fortune tellers left and right, slashing out their entrails and gouging out their eyes, always asking them for a simple request. Why do I do the things I do. When he finally meets up with Bruckman, the chat they have is almost pleasant considering what they do, and the relief on the killer's fate when he learns why he commits these crime is palpable. He kills people because he's a homicidal maniac. A stereotype who Morgan doesn't think is even worthy of a name.

Bruckman doesn't seem any more able to live with his gift anymore than the killer does., mainly because it only seems to give him the ability to see death and nothing but it. He loses at the lotto because he's always one number away on every pick. Every night he dreams about his body after death and rotting away. It's the only time in the entire episode that we see him at peace. And because he can only see one thing, he is always focused on the details of everything, from the reasons why a murdered woman only collected dolls to the kind of pie he says Mulder will step in when he's being chased by the killer. He even says it itself, he can't see the forest for the trees.

My this episode sounds incredibly dark and foreboding, when in actuality it's one of the funniest things in TV history. Morgan is perhaps better suited than any other writer for the show at seeing how to subvert the foundation the X-Files has spent the last two years building. The man that all the detectives are talking about at a crime scene as being 'spooky' is not Mulder (and thank you Mark Snow for making your musical score a fake out) but a fake psychic named the Stupendous Yappi. The source of the negative energy coming from the room is coming from Mulder, to whom Yappi says "Skeptics like you make me sick."  And then there are all the little throwaways  from the way Bruckman says how Mulder's going to die to the way a real psychic makes a guess on something that referenced a fake psychic till Bruckman sees Mulder's badge, and say "I'm supposed to believe that's  a real name?" This episode could certainly have gotten very dark but Morgan gently undercut every time it gets too serious. (Of course, there was the one reference that never got explained: when Scully asks Bruckman how she dies, he smiles and says "You don't." Is this a reference to something that's going to come in the future? We'll never know. My guess is she turned to it a lot in Season 4.)

Peter Boyle is utterly charming as the morose Bruckman. Though he is now known mostly for his comic roles, it is worth remembering that he was a great dramatic actor in his youth. this mix of drama and comedy made him arguably the perfect choice as he delivers arguably, his greatest performance. There is something utterly charming about this man, who always seems to bring a trace of humor with all of the darkness. (His Carson impersonation's pretty good too.) He is such a charmer that even Scully sympathizes with him even though she doesn't take stock in his predictions--- until the end, when she finds herself fulfilling it, though not in a way she could have expected..

And that brings us to one of the deeper and more philosophical questions about this episode: Why does Bruckman take his own life? Some suggest the weight of the visions finally became too much for him. But perhaps the truest answer is the simplest one: He killed himself because he knew that he did. "If the future didn't exist, how can  I see it?" The fact that Miss Lowe gave him a cigarette lighter seemed to convince him that everything that happened was preordained. Yet this episode gives a cry out for free will in the end. Bruckman never learns that Mulder's death wasn't written in stone.  And one could see that the other psychic was shocked by it too, if his last words were any indication.  Some things may be inevitable, but there is the possibility of changing fate.

All of this is heavy talk, and may make you think the episode is ponderous. So let me just reassure you that Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose is a true jewel, not merely in the world of The X-Files but in all of scripted TV. From this point on,  you can see the writers, even Morgan himself, trying to top what he did. It is a measure of the great talent of the show that they would get there every so often.

My score: 5 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: D.P.O

Written by Howard Gordon

Directed by Kim Manners

And so after an incredible beginning to the season, Howard Gordon gives us another one of his trademark episodes where a character uses paranormal powers to wreak revenge. But this one's a bit different in scope and style, because Darin Oswald isn't exactly a Vietnam vet wreaking revenge or a practitioner of voodoo. In fact, take away the fact that he can conduct lightning somehow, and Oswald exactly remarkable. Truth is, even with it, he's not exactly the sharpest needle. This is a teenager who seems to be nothing but a loser---- his special education teacher felt sorry for him even while he was failing, his mother doesn't think he's remarkable because he doesn't appear on trash TV, his best friend is nicknamed Zero.

And even though he's been given some awesome power, he can't find anything constructive to do with it. When Zero suggests blowing the hick Oklahoma town they live in for some place where he can use his power to make more money, all he can think about his crush on Mrs. Kiveat, whose crush hasn't gotten any more adult than anything else about him. All he does with his power is use it to play video games, to fry cattle, and to cause cars to crash as busy intersections. When his boss comes to a crash site, he can't decide whether it's more impression to kill him or save his life--- so he does both.

The episode plays a little lighter than the usual X-Files fair, mainly due to the slacker comic performances of most of the cast. Legendary comedian Jack Black, just a couple of years before stardom is very good as Zero, demonstrating some of the superb comic timing he's been a master. Giovanni Ribisi is also good at portraying the loser qualities of this rebel without a clue. He seems to be having fun throughout the episode, but it's kind of a slack-jawed fun as if he can't be bothered to enjoy any part of what he's doing. It's typical of a villain that will start to evolve during the season of little men with extraordinary powers who can't use it for any real purposes. When the episode ends with doctors unable to find any evidence of anything remarkable about Darin Oswald, there's something strangely fitting--- he's still just a little man

This is not however, the most well done episode in other respects. Mulder and Scully are given far less respect than they normally are, and for once, it's not clear why. Mulder manages to make some of his more remarkable leaps in this episode than he usually does--- how he figures out that Darin is capable of conducting lightning is a pretty big leap even for him. As a result, both agents are bullied by the sheriff from beginning to end, and it's hard to take a great deal of pleasure from it when the man meets his end at Darin's hand. But we're also seeing how difficult it is to deal with an X-File in the real world, when the DA tells Scully he has no idea how to begin to build a case against Darin. It's somehow a fitting fate for Darin ---- the world still doesn't have a place for him even after they recognize what he's done.

I'll admit some of the effects are rather impressive, and it's hard to resist any episode where cow gets fried with a lightning bolt, but even so the episode is only marginally above average in my book. It's funnier and more creative than the typical Howard Gordon script, but it's nothing groundbreaking in the same way that other writers this very season will reach when it comes to a similar theme. There is however, one bit, that signifies more than anything else how the series has changed even a season later, when in the final minute, Oswald realizes his mother's ambitions as he flicks the TV with his eyebrows until we land on the credit for Chris Carter. It's a personal revelation that, for better or worse, The X-Files is now part of the cultural zeitgeist. This will eventually become a point that gets played on by many of the other writers, but for now, it's a creative end to an episode that, truthfully speaking, isn't that much more creative.

My score: 3.25 stars.