X-Files Episode Guide: Essence

Written by Chris Carter

Directed by Kim Manners

Right from the teaser before the episode begins, we know we're in trouble. It's yet another one of those monologues we associate with the mythology episodes, and even though the prose isn't nearly as bad as the worst of the Carter-speak we've had to endure, considering that one of the few real virtues of Season 8 has been that we seem to have put this stuff behind us - its not a good sign. And unfortunately, Essence really only goes downhill from there.

 One could be frustrated with the fact that Scully has been dealing with her pregnancy the same way the X-Files has been all season: not telling the people most important to her, which now apparently include her own mother. Not revealing what the gender is, and still not trying to reveal who the father is. (And at this point in the series, I really think Carter was trying to squeeze the last drop out of the 'will they-won't they' with Mulder and Scully is borderline offensive.) So given that, you would think given what happened just a few episodes ago, she would be a little more careful who she has take over watching her. But she doesn't, and so the fact that Mulder now has to be the one asking questions about the doctors who were responsible for treating her pregnancy is even more irritating.

And if fans weren't already gnashing their teeth about how badly Carter was handling the final days of Scully's pregnancy, they had to be practically tearing their hair out when they saw what the overall plot was. It is bad enough that the mythology has almost never made any sense, but at least with Doggett around, there seemed to be some sense of understanding. Now, Carter does as thorough a job as he possibly can to make sure that the central plot of the series will never make any sense. Bad enough he has to take poor Billy Miles, who has suffered so much during the course of his term on the X-Files, and essentially turn him into the new form of the big monster of the series. But now, he's basically saying that now they seem to be the equivalent of alien replicants, and now they seem to be even more unstoppable than the Mighty-Morphing Bounty Hunter ever was. But at least we can now recognize them due to the bumps under their neck, though again, maybe not, seeing as Doggett seems to have worked with Crane all year, and never noticed. Oh, and by the way, now it appears that Scully's baby is the equivalent of the Christ-child. I really wish I were kidding about this, but now it seems that Carter has taken the idea of the miracle of Scully's baby, and will now drain it of all the mileage he possibly he can. And just to make sure everything's even more incomprehensible, he has the nurse of Scully's baby, Lizzie Gill, spin more of a story about alien cloning and human embryos.

It's bad enough that we have to muck through all this, but then Krycek  turns up like the inevitable bad penny, albeit this time in order to save Mulder and Scully. And then he spins another story so unbelievable it's remarkable that Doggett has to be the one to tell them how full of crap he is. And he doesn't even know Krycek. Mulder, Scully, Skinner, people who should know better given the last time they all dealt with him, listen to him, and take his story as gospel. Now, I know there's a monster on the rampage who's trying to kill Scully, but considering that Krycek was perfectly willing to let Scully's baby die the last time we saw him... It boggles the mind.

All of these things have the worst aspects of the X-Files mythology, combined with elements that just don't make any sense. Given that the series might not have more than one episode left, why on earth is Carter determined to rewrite the bible of the series again?  Especially because it seems to bring out the worst aspects in everybody. Gillian Anderson has been effectively carrying the series far more than she had to in any season before, but this episode brings up a streak of denial in her that is hard to fathom. It was bad enough when she just said 'I'm fine' after repeated assaults on her life; now she's doing it for her child, and the poor kid isn't even born yet! Mitch Pileggi is doing his damnedest to balance what he has seen with what he thinks he knows, but the fact that Skinner doesn't seem willing to ask his favorite agents for the truth about their relationship is not flattering. And Duchovny just must be counting the minutes til he can leave this series for good; Mulder doesn't even try to make realistic connections between the conspiracy he knows and the series as it is now.

There are a few good aspects to this episode.  It is good to see Sheila Larken again (yes technically, we saw her at Mulder's funeral), and finally get the chance demonstrate some of the compassion and understanding she always seemed able to channel as Margaret Scully. And we can see Robert Patrick really making an effort to try and make sense of everything that's happening around him, even though, for the first time, it seems that he's in over his head. But the good moments are far and few between, and make you almost miss the days of the Syndicate.

Essence is a more confused episode than we are used to from the X-Files. For the only time in the series history, Carter chose to wrap it up with a two-parter. (And as we'll eventually find out, he buckled on that, too.) It's clear at this point, he doesn't have a clear idea of any part of the series future, and seems to be trying to tie up loose ends, or prepare for a future. In the first part of this episode, he doesn't do much of either. I'd say it doesn't bode well for the series future, but at this point, it really hasn't got much of one.

My score: 2 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Alone

Written & Directed by Frank Spotnitz

If the eighth season has been mostly hit or miss, one of the few positives to come out of it is the genuine skill of Frank Spotnitz. Though by this point he had been with The X-Files longer than any writer other than Carter, it has been harder to get a handle on a specific style of his writing then say, Vince Gilligan or Howard Gordon. And that's mainly because he has specialized almost entirely in the mythology episodes, which have increasingly been the bete noire of the series. It's true to a certain extent of this season as well, but he has taken an increasing role in the nature of how the series proceeds, and been one of the greater bulwarks of the writing staff. Even the mythos episodes have become more emotionally driven, and have become a strength of the series (so far).

So there's a certain sense that in the episode that he makes his directorial debut that Spotnitz manages to demonstrate that he has an understanding of the X-Files far better than you would've expected. Alone is essentially a story about nostalgia, representative of (what everybody on the series had reason to believe) the end of an era. Scully has finally begun her maternity leave, and goes digging through her desk for memorabilia of past episodes, finally settling on the Apollo 11 keychain that Mulder gave her way back in Tempus Fugit as a farewell gift to Doggett. (The way she very pointedly refuses to answer whether she's ever coming back is very telling.) Doggett is then promptly given a new partner, an inexperienced agent from the accounting department, who is one of the rare people who seems to have admired Mulder and Scully's work. (Even her name, Leyla Harrison, is a tribute of sorts; Harrison was the name of a prolific X-Files fanfic author.) A true innocent abroad,  she is clearly there to represent all of the dedicated fans of the series.

Its something of a shame that the case that they have been chosen to investigated is, like so many of the Season 8 stories, so much old style folderol. The idea of a giant reptile creature that has killing people and trying to digest their bodies is one that we've seen before (even Harrison seems able to point that out), and its hard to figure out whether there's anything that makes more plausible that the manbat that was Doggett and Scully's first case together. In a way, though, this may be part of Spotnitz's point. Alone is meant to be about the familiar, and how the X-Files has been less about find paranormal creatures and more about how the characters work together. Scully, even looking as pregnant as she is, can't stop her feelings of concerns for Doggett when he goes missing looking into the investigation. Mulder may not like Doggett, but he respects him enough (and perhaps has a lot of ire towards the FBI at this point) to go on to the scene and try and find him. And in a way, this episode is supposed to be more about closure that Vienen never quite managed; Scully's back at the autopsy bay, slicing up one last corpse. Mulder's on one last stakeout, spitting his ubiquitous sunflower seeds on the lawn of a suspect he doesn't like, and giving one more thumbing of his nose at the man who fired him. And in a way that Vienen never quite pulled off, Alone manages to show a certain amount of teamwork between Doggett and Mulder. In the climactic moments, when the Sites monster seems on the verge of devouring them, Doggett is almost completely blind, and must rely entirely on Mulder in order to save their lives. The ability to see through a different point of view has been a recurring, albeit subtle theme of Season 8, and it reaches a certain climax when Mulder has to do it for Doggett.

It's also good that Alone is a lot lighter in tone than this particular dark season has been. I don't mean that its a comedy - Spotnitz was never very good at those - but there's a certain level of relaxation and looseness among all of the leads that has been missing for almost all of Season 8. And even if you don't really believe that this episode accomplishes much, it is much better at the symbolic passing of the torch than last week was. Spotnitz also throws the fans who have been suffering with the series for this point in the final scene, when Leyla Harrison, in a room alone with her idols, asks them a question about one of the biggest plotholes in Fight the Future, and has the joy of seeing Scully and Mulder fall into an argument like an older married couple about what actually happened. That by now they should be able to agree on this is not the point; its the idea of wish fulfillment that we have been hoping for.

Alone is far from a perfect episode, and if it was meant to be the final standalone (you've got to wonder if once again, Carter and company had any idea if the series had a future), it suffers immensely in comparison with last year Je Souhaite, mainly because Vince Gilligan is still a better writer than Spotnitz. But for a series that has been struggling for tone and subject almost all season, its a light touch that is definitely needed before we dive once more into the morass of the mythology, where things are about to reach a level of confusion that, unfortunately, The X-Files has become known for.

My score: 4 stars.

Homicide Episode Guide: The Gas Man

Teleplay by Henry Bromell; story by Tom Fontana and Henry Bromell

Directed by Barry Levenson

For several years ‘The Gas Man’ was my least favorite episode of Homicide. I disliked it for the same reasons that I initially didn’t like ‘Night of the Dead Living’ or  ‘Three Men and Adena’--- it didn’t seem like anything was happening, it was mainly centered on one character rather than the squad but mainly because we stayed away from the squad almost completely. However, there were other circumstances  in this episode that I didn’t know about until years later and didn’t appreciate until later still.

When Season 3  of Homicide  was nearing its end, the creators of the show didn’t think they were coming back the next year--- the ratings for season 3 were middling at best. So Barry Levenson and Henry Bromell  decided if they were going to leave, they might as well exit with style and in a way that was about as non-traditional as you could get. They created an episode of Homicide where the central characters are not even involved in the story and where the murder is the least important part of the episode.

Instead the episode centers on a recently paroled convict named Victor Helms and his friend Danny. As the episode begins Victor has just been released after serving six years for negligence when he installed a defective gas heater that would kill an entire family. Victor clearly has not taken responsibility for his complicity in the crime and has instead focused all of his rage on the detective who put him away--- Frank Pembleton.

Victor says very clearly in the episode that he’s going to kill Frank—but he wants to humiliate him first. So he and Danny follow Pembleton around for two days--- and we see the detective from the point of view of an outsider. The ironic thing is the Victor and Danny spend the entire episode doing what the Homicide detectives do--- talking endlessly about personal issues and bizarre quirks of the world. (There is a hysterical scene where Danny discussing with Victor how they  ‘decaffeinate’ coffee which sounds a lot like Munch or Lewis).  This discussion has a very musical background as well--- the oldies  station that Danny like. Blondie, Earth Wind and Fire, The bee Gees and Gloria Gaynor can all be heard as Victor and Danny ‘tail’  Frank.

Victor’s method of ‘humiliation’ is trying to hurt Frank professionally. So he follows him to a crime scene, where he removes the murder weapon and the head of the victim, places them in his house and sends photos to the Sun  and the police. This might have more  success if Frank didn’t crack the case about as easily as they come—the suspect tries to kill himself and confesses to the crime. Far more alarming are his methods of stalking Frank and Mary. First he breaks in to their house and leaves a gas burner on. Then he impersonates a cop and has a conversation with Mary, in which he drops hints that he ‘knows’ thing about their relationship. Then he breaks in the house again, turning all the burners on—very dangerous, especially with a smoker in the house. Then he leaves Frank a message on his answering machine arranging a meeting for the, alone.

The ultimate irony of this episode is Victor’s insistence that he is not the killer that Frank made him out to be, and that’s why he fails in his attempts. He backs out of buying a gun, and he has several chances to kill Frank but keeps avoiding it. And when he finally has Frank with a knife to his throat, Victor is incapable of cold-blooded murder. The late Bruno Kirby was a very underrated actor and he does an excellent job of making Victor both weaselly amusing, and a little sympathetic. We know he’s trying to kill Frank, but he plays him in such a way that we ignore the scarier parts of his nature.

There are serious issues being brought up but there’s quite a bit of comedy as well. Most of comes from the character of Danny, well-played  by Richard Edson.  His behavior and attitude are very amusing, even when the subject is dark. One wonders how much of humor is due to nervousness that a man he clearly cares for is going to kill someone. He doesn’t try to talk Victor out of his plan, but he keeps making little remarks on how crazy it is. Danny is basically a good-hearted person and when the time comes, he refuses to help his friend kill Frank, saying that he has to take responsibility. But he is Victor’s friend, and when the ex-con is taken into custody again, he’s there for him.

There are some serious bits being discussed about Frank in this episode. We see Bayliss and Pembleton  sniping at each other, because of the events of ‘Colors’ are still fresh in his mind. But by the end of the episode they bury the hatchet. We also see that Frank and Mary are trying to have a child, something that leads to Frank learning he has a low sperm count. As becomes clear in Season 4, the Pembletons get around this obstacle.

And what does Frank think about the attempt on his life? He knows he lucky but there is more to it. As he puts it ‘God reached down, and graced a fool with wisdom’ Victor Helms had vengeance in the heart but eventually he could not do what he had set himself on doing.

This is an interesting and amusing episode, and yet I can not rank it as one of the high points of the series—not in the way that other deviations from the norm such as ‘Bop Gun’ and ‘Every Mother’s Son’ were. The reasons for this are complicated but mostly its because I think the episode I’m not sure whether we are suppose to empathize with Victor or not. Seeing the detectives from the point of view of a suspect is interesting but because we see so little of him in the episode, we don’t get a clear view of him.

‘The Gas Man’ is a pretty good episode of Homicide, and if the series had ended, it would have made sense to end with an episode that broke all the rules. Still I’m sure that I (and probably everyone else) was glad that this was not the final episode of the show. The show would change a great deal over the next four years, not always for the better, but it had a lot of great moments to come.

My score: 4.5 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Vienen

Written by Steven Maeda

Directed by Rod Hardy

Admittedly, its a little telling that after all these years of dealing with the black oil, we've never had an episode which really tried to deal where it came from. But that's really about the only truly ambitious thing about Vienen, which arguably is one of the most confusing episode we've had in quite some time.

And there's a very good reason for that. Considering that the mythology has been moving, if not in the most constructive direction plot-wise, at least  a more emotional and energetic one. To go back to the black oil, something which the X-Files hasn't even tried to deal with in more than three years, seems more than a little ridiculous. It's telling when Doggett tells the story of what he thinks the black oil's purpose was, that he can barely manage to contain  his skepticism; at this point, he might as well be the casual viewer thinking how absurd the storyline has really been.  And having Mulder trying to bring this story to the attention of the FBI seems more like the series laboring to get back to the 'heyday' of the mythos, when in fact that was one of the least interesting and coherent things about the backstory.

Admittedly, this may not be Vienen's purpose. What the story seems to be trying to do is bring Mulder and Doggett to work together towards a common goal. This would make a certain amount of sense if the series were planning to have the two of them on the series full time, but we know that's not going to be the case. (We'll get to the problems this leads to in a minute.) We already know that the two of them have been at loggerheads since Mulder came back from the dead; to have them to rely only on each other would be an interesting point, if it didn't carry all the necessary baggage from the mytharc behind it. And there's so little of the black oil story that makes any real sense when connected to the mythology that one wonders why Maeda's doing it in the first place.

 Apparently all of the people working on the oil rig that has tapped into the black oil reserve have been infected with the exception of two mixed Mexican workers who somehow are immune to infection. Now apparently, the virus, which has never shown any evidence before, can't infect certain people. And the members of the oil rig are trying to use the radio in order to get in touch with the alien mothership. Yeah. Even the most loyal fan of the series has to wonder what's going on. So when the episode reaches its climax with everybody on the rig trying to break into the radio room, Mulder then smashes the radio to make sure they can't make contact with the aliens. And we don't even have time to deal with that before all these alien-possessed workers decide to blow the rig. Which makes even less sense than them trying to phone home in the first place.

All of this would be hard enough to deal with on its own, but by this point, we've given up on any possibility of the mythology making sense. What makes it just even harder to tolerate is the fact that the entire plot is basically a smokescreen.  The writers (and one has to assume that Carter had something to do with it, considering that Maeda would never deal with the mythos again) know that they have to find a way to write Mulder off the show. So they create Vienen as a way to get him kicked out of the FBI for good. They have Mulder violate protocol with some kind of kerfuffle with an oil executive, they have him hitch a rid on to the oil rig along with Doggett, they have him put Scully and Skinner in peril with Kersh, because they seem to be following his lead. But Mulder's done so much worse things in the past, that this barely would rate as a blip on the radar. The idea that somehow this case being handled in such a way is so inexcusable is practically laughable.  And its even more ridiculous that Mulder would decide to take the fall for all this, under the heading that Doggett is now a far more credible source for the X-Files than Mulder is at this point. Which would be believable except that Doggett will never believe in aliens for his entire tenure on the show, and that none of the mythology will ever resemble this kind of story again. Considering that Carter has more than a season to figure out how to write Duchovny out of the series, this may be the weakest possible exit he could've managed. (And considering that we still have three episodes of Season 8 to go, its not even handled that well, considering that no one yet knew whether there would even be a Season 9.)

So basically Vienen's purpose is to take the X-Files with Mulder handing it over to Doggett in the final minute.  Which is hard enough to believe, given what we see in Vienen. They spend almost the entire episode in complete disagreement, there's no evidence that they've come to some kind of understanding, about the only thing they do that has any connection is that they jump off an exploding oil rig together, a la Butch and Sundance.  That this is supposed to be part of some symbolic moment doesn't fly at all. That it comes on top of a mythology that we really hoped the series left behind is even harder to tolerate. Considering the breath of fresh air that Robert Patrick has breathed into the series, you'd think that he - and the viewer - would be entitled to something better.

My score: 2 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Empodecles

Written by Greg Walker

Directed by Barry K. Thomas

Tonally, Empodecles may be the oddest episode of all of Season 8 - and considering what has been the haphazard manner of this entire year, that's saying something. It's hard to figure out exactly what is wrong with the episode - it's definitely nowhere near as bad as the series has been at times, it just seems, now that the X-Files has all four of its major leads in one place, its having a real difficult time trying to find something that justifies it.

What makes it strangest of all is that every permutation of our leads seem to have its advantages except  the one that we are the most used to. Now that Mulder and Scully are back in the same place, they seem utterly incapable of dealing with the elephant in the room. I realize the desire to have ambiguity over Scully's pregnancy, but this is becoming ridiculous, considering how much the series will wallow in it, often to great disadvantage ,in its final full year. As a result Mulder and Scully's banter seems to be particularly forced, as if the writers are determined to drain every drop out of it before the kid finally pops out. We're almost relieved when Scully is hospitalized with abdominal pains - one more pizza man joke, and I'd have shot myself.

So even though Mulder realizes he's now got one foot out of the door at the Bureau, there's a certain symbolism that he, however reluctantly, ditches Scully one last time to help the newly arrived Monica Reyes. Given how hostile he was towards Doggett in the last episode, we can see that he's even more reluctant to find himself wanting to help him, even given the severity of what may be in play. We've been getting bits and pieces of Doggett's son throughout Season 8, but its telling that its Reyes who finally has to reveal what has been at the center of so much of his pain. Doggett isn't like Mulder, he doesn't where the pain of his loss on his sleeve, and his reaction when he learns that someone is looking at Luke's death is as angry as we've seen him get all season. But there's a level of emotion to it that reveals that this crime has never been solved, and that this particular wound has never healed.

The Mulder- Reyes relationship is one of the more interesting ones, because its never dealt with again throughout the rest of the series. Mulder has spent his entire career at the Bureau, looking for someone who is willing to believe in extreme possibilities, and now that he finally has met someone, he seems more hostile towards not only her, but to the possibilities that she is suggesting. It's paradoxical that, now that his career at the Bureau is in what he thinks is its dying fall, he seems to have closed his mind to the ideas that there are more connections to what he really thinks is happening. Perhaps it is out of his concern for Scully, or perhaps it is his reluctance to want to help a man he still considers a foe, but only occasionally - such as when Reyes zings him with the idea that the X-Files 'needs someone with an open mind - does he show any spark towards the investigation.

Then again, perhaps its because we're never entirely sure what is going on in the middle of this investigation. When Jeb Dukes is the witness to a car crash, something seems to come out of the fire and invade him, causing him to kill his boss, and go on a cross-country spree of extreme violence. There are some neat effects with fire, and there are some increasingly interesting ideas connected with the string of violence, but how any of this seems to have any links to anything we've seen before on this series, besides its apparent links to a suspect in Luke's death is hard to fathom. In appearance, it bears a passing resemblance to Conduit, with all of the bizarre links between a current crime and the abduction of Samantha Mulder, but that was a little more bearable because the X-Files was finding its sea legs. And stripped away of that, the idea that there might be some kind of chain of evil linking from Bob Harvey to Dukes to his sister, plays rather badly compared to some of the simpler ideas of what the series has done about evil. Irresistible played particularly well because of the idea of the banality of evil, and its among the best cards the series has always kept in its back pocket. This idea plays a lot closer to last season's Orison and it doesn't particular balance well.

Despite all that, Empodecles works a lot better than it should for a couple of very valid reasons. The fact that we're seeing this through Doggett's eyes plays a lot better than it would for Mulder, as we see him as he's at his most human, particularly in the scenes that he shares with Reyes. The fact that he uses on of the key catchphrases of this series in connection with his son has a certain poignancy because we can see the kind of truth he wants to find. And the scene near the end where he has a conversation with Mulder about evil and what happened into his son works because its so awkward, and because Mulder has never been particularly good at giving this kind of aid and comfort particularly when it comes to belief.

Empodecles is not exactly the  best when it comes to its investigation, but when it comes to being a character study, particularly leading off the work of Patrick and Annabeth Gish, its definitely spot on. The fact that ultimately has nothing to do with the  ultimate solution of Luke Doggett's murder is actually not a hindrance, as we are not trying to solve Doggett's murder, but rather come to some kind of realization as to what makes a couple of our characters tick. As a look at the past, its slightly awkward, but it has more promise when it comes to the future of the series - maybe.

My score: 3.75 stars.

X-Files Episode Guide: Three Words

Written by Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz

Directed by Tony Wharmby

The X-File in play in this episode is as close to the definition of a MacGuffin as the series has trafficked in. And the fact that after three consecutive episodes of new life being sparked in the mythology after God knows how long, that we seem to be taking such a big step backward - meeting with shadowy informants that cannot be trusted, characters trying to bring about knowledge of the end of the world, and our old friends the Lone Gunmen trying to bring Mulder back through a mysterious government facility. All of which is now being tapped off by a man trying to leap the fence of the White House. (Be honest: when we first saw what Howard Salt was trying to get to the President, didn't you really think someone was trying to slip W. a pirated DVD of the X-Files movie?)

However, what makes Three Words work - and I mean work - is the fact that, for once everything seems to be very off-kilter. And that's because of what Mulder doesn't seem willing to admit to anyone.  He may be miraculously cured of all his ailments (including that brain cancer that was 'killing' him, and there was a way for Carter to write himself out of a corner), but the fact of the matter is, Mulder can't deny the fact that he was dead for three months. Not near death in a boxcar in New Mexico. Not supposedly dead from a shotgun suicide. Dead and in a coffin. It would be easy for Carter and Spotnitz to try and have Mulder back to his old self after everything that they have put the fans through during Season 8. But in a rare moment of character triumphing over plotline, they decide to make Mulder's utter discomfort front and center of the story, rather than some hunt for the truth.

Mulder is back, but he now finds himself in the world that Carter and company have been forced to build based on his absence. Scully is now visibly pregnant, and Mulder seems very reluctant to ask what has led to that moment. There's a new person working on the X-Files. A partner that has earned Scully and Skinner's trust, and by extension the audience. And now, after years of  effort in trying to push him out, the powers that be have a legitimate reason to take Mulder out of the Bureau for good. (It's difficult to believe that Doggett has managed to put up a decent arrest record on the X-Files given what we've seen, but considering they've bee trying to use that argument as far back as Tooms, we'll let it go.) That Mulder's career at the Bureau is now going to end not with a bang but a whimper is something that he can't accept, and so he finds himself throwing himself into the new conspiracy with a desperation that, frankly, we've never seen before. He can't make sense of the world that has emerged in his absence, so he finds himself hunting for the familiarity of a government conspiracy. And when the rest of the world pushes back against him, Mulder seems a lot meaner then he's been when faced with adversity. He treats Scully as if he's dancing on eggshells, he doesn't completely view the Gunmen as trustworthy any more, and his reaction to Doggett's open hand is to slam him against a wall. We've seen Mulder angry before, but now there's a lot more recklessness and cruelty in it. One is reminded of how the Cigarette-Smoking Man reacted to the rest of the Syndicate when he returned after his assassination. (Speaking of which, where is CSM? Mulder could really use his help right now.)

David Duchovny seizes on his return with a freshness and vitality that has been missing from Mulder for nearly a year and a half. Considering how pissed he is at the world, it seems like he is trying to avenge his own murder, even at the cost of the subtle approaches he has been trying for the last seven seasons. There's a spark an energy to it that is seized on by the rest of the cast. Anderson, who has spent most of season 8 hoping and praying for Mulder's return, now finds herself at an utter loss when the partner that she has spent all season searching for is no longer himself, and seems utterly uninterested in listening to her. In a way, Scully now seems to be taking the role of the X-Files fan who has been patient enough to wait for Duchovny's returns, and is now upset that he just isn't as fun as he used to be. Robert Patrick's Doggett continues to demonstrate the integrity that his character has shown all season - it would be easy for him to walk away now that Mulder has been found, but now he's desperate to find a rationale for what's happening among being taken hostage, and that seems to be leading him to trust the wrong people.

Admittedly, there's difficulties with much of the story that seems to be going on around us.  The plot is more of a runaround than anything else we've seen throughout Season 8, but because we're seeing through new eyes it actually manages to play rather well. And there's the sad fact that everything that's being done by Absalom and later, through Knowle Rohrer is the kind of destructiveness that will deliver the final blow to the mythology of the series ever having a logical progression - something that even Carter seems willing to acknowledge now. But the series seems to have a recharged energy that actually entertains in a way even the most steadfast viewer has given up on in the mythos. It's a shame that Duchovny's decision to leave would undo it - this path could have demonstrated a new direction for the X-Files to take - one that might have given it a longer life.

My score: 5 stars.

Homicide Episode Guide: Colors

Written by Tom Fontana

Directed by Peter Medak

                           Homicide was a divergent show because it would frequently and with great power deal with the subject of race in America today. There have been some pretty powerful moments on this show and there would be many more to come. But perhaps the most provocative one was ‘Colors’ which may be the most frightening portrayal of race problems on television today. And the reason for that is because of a very disturbing scene that occurs near the end of the show.

                           In that scene a Baltimore grand jury has just elected  not to charge Jim Bayliss, a white Baltimore homeowner for killing Hikmet Gersel, a Turkish exchange student.  When Ed Danvers reads that no charges will be filed  the courtroom erupts into applause and cheers. As Frank, the man who was primary on this case, puts in  these good, law-abiding citizens  applauded the death of a child. He wonders what the reaction would be if Gersel had been white.  He indicts Jim Bayliss--- and by extension everyone in the courtroom--- of having a racism so  ingrained they’re not even aware of it.

This  is  a frightening indictment of today’s society and it lingers long after the episode is over.

                           Even if ‘Colors’ didn’t have that scene, it would still rank as a very powerful episode mainly because of the fact that the  killer, (in brilliant work by David Morse) as you can assume from the name, is Detective Tim Bayliss’ cousin. Normally, not only on TV but also in real life, it would not be uncommon for  a detectives partner to go easy on a friend or a relative. But the primary is Frank Pembleton, perhaps the only detective in all of television who could probably remain impartial when investigating someone.

                           It also becomes clear that there is room for doubt in what happened to Gersel that night. Jim claims that he thought that Gersel, who was on his way to a heavy metal rock party and was decked out in leather and KISS makeup, was a burglar who made repeated attempts to enter his home and that he shot him only in self-defense. The first time that Jim recounts the incident to Pembleton and Bolander (in a decolorized flashback reminiscent of the shows first season) he seems absolutely shattered by the fact that he has taken another man’s life. However, after  Jim’s wife Shannon and the teenager who  was driving Gersel to the party, tell subtly different stories about the level of tension and the threat posed. Then we learn that Jim was once arrested  for attacking an Arab. This convinces Pembleton that the killing seemed racially motivated.

                           You could probably go either way on this--- until Tim takes Jim back to his home and sees Gersel’s blood on his front porch. Jim turns to his cousin and says: “Who’d have thought their guts would be the same color as ours? “ without any flinching at all. Than when Jim is brought before a grand jury, he seems genuinely repentant and willing to go to jail for his crime. He believes he was justified but he wishes that it hadn’t happened. As is usually the case with Fontana’s work the world is never painted it shades of black and white.

                           Tim is understandably upset that his cousin is being  charged, doubly so when he knows Frank is the primary. He is adamant that his cousin is a good man an  not a street killer and the idea that this is false  is almost as wrenching to him as the killing itself. He and Frank have had their differences before but never have we seen him quite so raw. In one of the more memorable scenes Frank begins to press Jim while Tim watches behind the one-way mirror. Every time Frank starts going over the line, Tim starts hammering on the glass--- eventually completely shattering it. We also get considerable insight into Tim’s characters—and not all of it’s pretty. When Gee  decides to back Pembleton in pursuing his investigation, Tim accuses them of this being ‘part of the brotherhood’. The when Frank talks to Danvers about prosecuting the crime, he is bitterly sarcastic at the fact that Frank has found  ‘another racially motivated crime’ These glimpses are brief but they are troubling as we realize that Tim, like most people has his prejudices and they color his judgment.  These prosecution puts a rift between Bayliss and Pembleton--- one that may never fully heal. They don’t bring it up again--- but some wounds are best never talked about.

                           And yet despite his shield at work, Frank does feel for Jim Bayliss as a homeowner and a husband. During the episode he has a discussion with Mary about security and protecting himself. As the episode shows in a montage near the end, in many Ways Frank and Jim are two sides of the same coin.

                           The episode’s themes are discussed even when they aren’t being dealt with by Frank AND Tim.. There are various discussions of color throughout the episode--- from Bolander’s opening monologue about perception of green to the discussion of color on the TV screen. Even  the jokes that Lewis and Munch make about the chef at the Waterfront have a vaguely offensive tone.

                           There are no easy answers to the questions poised by ‘colors’—if indeed there are answers at all. This is difficult to watch, but when you do you can barely look  from it. If ‘Homicide’ had  done only this episode on racism, it would be enough  to call it groundbreaking. The amazing thing, these episodes are just another days work for Tom Fontana.  That is almost as remarkable as the  episode itself.

My score: 5 stars.