Patman

Heh, loved the into to tonight's X-Files episode. They start out with footage from a local access cable show called "The Dumbass Show" where they film high school kids doing, basically, dumbass stunts. Well, one stunt goes bad when "Capt. Dare" has his head caved in when bugs eat his skull from the inside. This prompted an investigation from the X-Files.

I got a kick out of hearing Doggett, Reyes, and Scully saying "Dumbass" for the first 30 minutes of the episode. Tee hee.

All in all, a light-hearted episode that, in the end, deals with boy meets girl, boy loves girl, boy goes through bug-puberty, boy loses girl, boy's mom takes boy away from girl.

Highlights/lowlights:

Reyes and Doggett do really do much, but do wind up one step behind the bug boy (Dylan, a high school student) and his subconscious and conscious control of bugs in order to promote his chances to be with a girl he's had a crush on since the 4th grade. As it turns out, his mother tries to warn him of the changes he's been experiencing with the control of bugs, but he never heeds her. Finally his mother reveals herself to be a bug creature as well.

Scully and Dr. Rocky, the smarmy entomologist who has the hots for Scully. He turns into a Bugs-Buster with his insect antenna detection device ( for detecting bug phermones). When he meets up with momma bug, and gets cocooned on the ceiling, Scully has to rescue him. Dr. Rocky is a man after my own heart as he fakes needed CPR as Scully is giving him breaths of air and applying chest compressions, just to have Scully "work" on him. Gotta give him kudos for his own form of making a modified "mating" session with Scully.

Overall, another "relaxed" episode of the X-Files, one that you just go along with just to see how Scully handles Dr. Rocky's advancements.

mikehunt

should have made it a crossover episode
could have taken place in Wisconsin, a 70 year old Red Formen could have made an appearance.

Tscott

I really hated this one. And I'm not one to say that lightly. I've honestly been trying to give this season a chance and had high hopes for it after the fairly decent "Daemonicus" episode.

But tonight... the characters were all poor stereotypes and I felt the story was just pieced together from older, better episodes. "X-Cops" already parodied a lame reality show much better than this one. "War of the Coprophages" already did the grossout scenes with bugs and the scientist love-interest (BTW, Dr. Rocky is no replacement for Dr. Bambi Berenbaum, not by a long shot). Then they just tack on the ending of "Home"

But above all, this episode wasn't fun, there was no supense (as soon as I saw the weird kid in the Sid Barret t-shirt staring at the girl I knew whodunnit and why) and the writing just seemed to be off. For example, what was that line about not finding much in a teenager's kleenex? It seemed to me like someone was trying to make a joke there, but it just didn't come out right.

I'm honestly giving them a chance this season, but I don't know how long I can hold out with episodes like this.

Mark Holtz

Sigh.... I have to join the Nay sayers on this one. In addition, points OFF for the music, since it didn't fit the mood, and the sound mixing.

Anyone keeping a coundown to the final episode of this series?

palebluedot

This show has reached a low point with this episode. I think I have all but given up on this season.

Brian Shannon

One of the poorer episodes I have seen.

bboisvert

For people who are looking to bail on the show (like I have finally done after 8 years of watching every episode), Alias on ABC is really, really fun.

On Jan 1st, they are airing a marathon of every episode so far (so newcomers can catch up):

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=167117


I definitely recommend that people at least try to catch the first couple of episodes. With X-Files being as bad as it now has become, the choice between these shows has really become a no-brainer.

Brian Shannon

Sadly I tried Alias. I found it too confusing and convoluted to stay with.

Zien

X-Files is dead. Body mites that spell Dumb ***? Fireflies that spell "I love you?" It's a good thing I eat before the show, cuz I wouldn't have been able to later. Kill it like a lame horse.

G. Noel Gross

Y'all are thinking way too much about this stuff. THE KID SHOT WEBS OUT OF HIS MOUTH! What's not to love?

Tscott

That's another thing, the kid controls insects and then he turns out to be some sort mutant spider? Any second grader with a passing interest in bugs would've been able to tell the writers that insects and spiders are different species.

maxfisher

As someone who's been watching since the very first episode, this was one of the worst I've seen. Watching the preview for the January episodes was the most interesting part of the show. I've got a theory, which I'm gonna post, just so if it happens I can point back to this post and say I said it first. I'm betting Chris Carter has realized that this season is going no where as far as most of the fans are convinced. I'm betting he ends it after this season (a spinoff series might start up with Doggett and Reyes, but I'm betting this is the last season of X-files) and I'm betting he gets Duchovney to come back for the last episode or two to give the series some real resolution. The previews for January hinted that Mulder was going to be coming back into the story line, i.e. Doggett telling Scully not to contact Mulder because "they" are trying to flush him out and Scully saying "it's too late, I've already called for him". I think if this happened it could salvage the show and in the end, people would just be like "yeah, the last season wasn't that great but it ended well".

Robert

This episode was hilarious! The scene where scully was giving Dr. Rocky CPR while he was faking it and smiling, had me

agent_reyes

It's an X-Files show and I'm not going to discount that there were and always will be some good moments. Certainly, the Rocky and Scully story arc was nicely done and enjoyable. But that was about it.

Reyes and Dogget are also enjoyable, but would be better served with another show and a new name for the show.

I agree that this show had bits and pieces of a lot of past episodes, even the web thing was done in the episode where Mulder and Scullly are trapped at a logging camp with killer insects from god knows when.

I don't agree that "X-Cops" was better though, they were both very, very bad. This whole episode was written poorly and I am rarely critical like that of a show since I'm no writer myself and try and not to criticize too harshly. But 90% of the lines from the show made me actually cringe because they were so bad and I even felt bad for the actors.

DD would be laughing pretty hard at all of this if he wasn't spending all his time looking in the mirror and telling himself how "pretty" he is and what a big star he's become. Of course, this bad show will end, DD's career will flounder miserably and he'll be dying to make the second movie a few years from now.

I just hope the 2nd film can make me forget what happened in the last two seasons of the show. Last week's episode actually made me "want to believe" it was all gonna be better. Oh well, I still have Buffy and Ed to watch.

By the way, DD won't be back this season. I too heard Scully refer to "calling him back" and that only makes me dread the awkward way that they'll keep using his name and coming up with dumb reasons for why we can't see him.

G. Noel Gross

The last two seasons? What about forgetting the first fool movie! No X-Files moment has promised more and delivered less.

Apocrypha

I am with you on this one G. Noel there were parts of it I really liked campy, classic B movie material. Thought the kid that played Dylan did a great job. Enjoyable I just wish they would stop "spelling it out" at the end of the good episodes this season>

agent_reyes

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I completely disagree and thought the movie was excellent. It was almost across the board well reviewed and "most" X-Files fans seemed to find it to be a very entertaining flick.

Yes, they certainly copped out and/or pulled a fast one by not answering questions as they had promised but the film was, I thought, extremely well made as action/drama picks go.

I went with people who had no XF experience and they missed plenty of the inside stuff, but even they said they felt it was a really good film even if you weren't involved in the show before.

Campy? B-movie? I don't think so.

I can completely understand if you didn't like the film, just check the Moulin Rouge debate (by the way I loved that film too), but the XF film wasn't even close to campy.

Apocrypha-has there really been a good episode other than the one on 12/9?

Apocrypha

Lets clarify here I was refering to the NEW EPISODE I need to rewatch the movie before I comment on it again.
Lord of The Flies had some good moments the music was well chosen as was the lead it creeped me out and made me laugh. The ending sucked but that seems to be the writers problem this season from what I have seen they don't know how to end an episode well. There really hasn't been a good episode unless you count last nights and 12/09.

Dave Scarpa

Anyone notice this bore a more than striking appearance to the 2nd Smallville Show?

skuehl34

Aside from a couple of the well-versed Scully narrations to end an episode during the last several years - this one almost sounded as cardboard (monotone) as those first season ones where she would be typing the closure to the file in her computer...flashback...ahh....

G. Noel Gross

That's exactly why it's failed. All they did was spend a bunch of money and didn't arrive with anything better than many a two-part season finale before it. Castrating CSM's character as a mere errand boy on the big screen was also an abomination. And I'd like the producers to come on out and have a look at North Dallas (Plano) ... it ain't a tumble-weed dust bowl.

I'm not sure where you're bringing in the B-movie element. I didn't color my response in those terms.

Apocrypha

I used it in reference to the last episode and what was good about it. From what I remember the movie had none of that elemnt at all, it just seemed like an over produced episode and a boring one at that.

Numanoid

Exactly what occurred to me.

But...

Dr. Rocky Bronzino...one of the greatest TV characters of the last ten years (I love those smarmy, lounge lizard types).

maxfisher

It's nice to be right every once in a while.

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial...5&obj_id=32386

Snake Plissken

Uh, thats great. Why not try and cure cancer?