“Fastest Man Alive” Comes At A Price

The Good: Most of the acting is good, Special effects, Moments of character
The Bad: Some seriously cliché character moments, Very predictable plot arc
The Basics: The inconsistent abilities of Barry Allen as The Flash are explored more in “Fastest Man Alive,” which is more satisfying than it is actually good.


Today DC Entertainment made an announcement that nailed home the crux of my issue with the DC Cinematic Universe. DC Comics is in bed with Warner Brothers Studios and DC Entertainment has been slow to catch up to the Marvel Cinematic Universe when it comes to producing franchises. DC Entertainment and Warner Brothers have a critical flaw with their approach: they segregate the television and film enterprises. So, while the pilot episode of The Flash (reviewed here!) featured a brief trip to Ferris Aircraft in a clear allusion to Green Lantern (reviewed here!), Ryan Reynolds will not be making any appearances as Hal Jordan to the television series. The segregation of projects almost immediately undermines Grant Gustin as he establishes himself as Barry Allen in The Flash as DC Entertainment announced today that Ezra Miller will play the Flash in a movie. Given how white Miller is, he can’t play Wally West to maintain a sense of continuity with the television incarnation of The Flash.

The reason the news of Miller being cast as The Flash for the movies so preoccupies me as I consider the second episode of The Flash, “Fastest Man Alive,” is that it lessens some of the emotional impact for the concept of the character and the impending film franchise. No matter how much time and emotional energy we invest in the development of Barry Allen as he grows and develops in The Flash, when we go to the theaters, there will be some cheap, truncated version of his arc to try to lure newbies in. This is ironic because in “Fastest Man Alive” there comes another concept added into the story of Barry Allen that seems rushed. In “City Of Heroes,” Barry Allen very quickly adapted to having sudden spurts of super-speed. In “Fastest Man Alive,” Allen’s super-speed comes with a price; the speed leaves him drained of energy. The thing is, just as by the end of the first episode Barry Allen was able to regulate his super-speed at will (wouldn’t it have been cooler if his body was like a capacitor and when the Speed Force within him reached a certain level, accelerating to super-speed was an involuntary reaction?!), almost as soon as his new limitation is introduced, the problem is solved in “Fastest Man Alive.”

All that said, despite some cliché moments, “Fastest Man Alive” is actually a good episode of television and it stands well on its own. As “City Of Heroes” insinuated, Barry Allen is not the only one who was affected by the breakdown of the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator and the surviving team from S.T.A.R. Labs and Barry Allen begin to hunt down the other metahumans born from that accident.

Barry Allen’s work with Harrison Wells and S.T.A.R. Labs is keeping him running all around Central City. Devoting time to things like rescuing people trapped in a burning building, the legend of the red blur begins to grow. For Barry Allen, that comes with two almost immediate prices: his relationship with his lifelong friend and might-as-well-be sister Iris West needs his help with a writing project for the Central City newspaper (and he keeps missing appointments) and he runs out of energy. While accompanying Iris to an award ceremony for noted biologist Simon Stagg, a group of armed robbers come in and hold the guests at gunpoint. Rescuing the security guard and knocking out a number of the armed assailants, Barry Allen suddenly finds himself crashing.

Dr. Snow lets Barry know that his glucose levels are crashing; his super-speed and heightened metabolism require him to consume massive amounts of calories. Hitting the wall robs Barry Allen of more than just energy; he loses his confidence. Investigating the attempt on Stagg’s life, Detective West learns that Barry Allen’s alter-ego has been busy around Central City. In trying to protect Barry Allen, West inadvertently opens old wounds between the two. But soon, West must depend upon Barry because the metahuman who is after Simon Stagg has the ability to spontaneously replicate himself and control his replicants. Unwilling to put the Central City Police Force in jeopardy against Danton Black and his legion of selves, Joe Allen asks his adoptive son to step-up and protect Simon Stagg and the city.

Diehard fans of the comic book The Flash will recognize Danton Black as, essentially, a permutation of Mob Rule, the first Flash villain when DC rebooted with its New-52 concept. Presented like Agent Smith in The Matrix Reloaded (reviewed here!) or that on mutant from X-Men III: The Last Stand (reviewed here!) who did essentially the same thing, Danton Black is not given as much depth as Clyde Mardon in “City Of Heroes.” Professionally screwed over by Simon Stagg, Danton Black is given a simplistic revenge story that does not pop.

Fortunately, the real focus of “Fastest Man Alive” is Barry Allen. Grant Gustin continues to feel very much like Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man (reviewed here!) with less attitude. In “Fastest Man Alive,” Gustin gives a very generic emotional outburst as Barry confronts Joe. Fortunately, Gustin manages to recover the emotional resonance of the episode with an uncommon scene late in the episode where he apologizes and notes all of the ways that Joe West has been a father to Barry. Gustin plays off the seasoned Jesse L. Martin and Martin is impossible to upstage. Perhaps the best performance of the episode comes from Martin emoting with his eyes alone in reaction to Gustin’s well-delivered monologue.

“Fastest Man Alive” expands the supplemental characters as best the episode can while managing to stay focused and tight. Harrison Wells is given the end of the episode again, in more of an activist role than he had in “City Of Heroes.” Both Dr. Snow and Cisco have moments, but the bulk of the episode (when it is not a generic “freak of the week” pursuit) is focused on the relationship between Barry Allen and Joe West.

The Flash is entertaining and engaging enough through “Fastest Man Alive,” but it seems like the most original ideas being presented in the series are quickly established and then undermined. If The Flash was expected to have a short half-life, the recasting for the movies would make sense; as it is the television series seems like it is using movie pacing for a medium where aspects could be better developed.

For other works with William Sadler, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Iron Man 3
Man On A Ledge
Wonderfalls
“Extreme Measures” - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
“Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges” - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
“Inquisition” - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into The Flash - The Complete First Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

6.5/10

For other television and movie reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Flash Starts Big In "City Of Heroes!"

The Good: Well-conceived, Generally well-executed, Good performances, Fun allusions/connections, Some decent lines
The Bad: Exposition used to define characters, Accelerated plot/character development
The Basics: “City Of Heroes” smartly established The Flash and makes for a good start to the latest DC Entertainment franchise.


I have, for the most part, avoided the DC Comics-based television shows. The truth is, an entertainment company that hasn’t been able to launch a smart or successful television series centered around Wonder Woman since the 1970s, but has done two “young Superman” shows does not garner a lot of respect from me. That the shows Smallville and Arrow were launched on the CW, a network that appeals to a much younger, action adventure-oriented demographic than I am a part of certainly factored against me getting into their DC Comics-based live-action shows. That was, however, until they picked up The Flash. Two years ago, I spent the year immersed in the graphic novels that focused on The Flash and I became a bit of a fan. In fact, while Wonder Woman is easily my favorite super hero, it is Professor Zoom, the Reverse Flash, who is my favorite super villain. So, with the release of The Flash on television, my wife and I decided it was time to give DC Entertainment a fair shake and we sat down to the pilot episode, “City Of Heroes.”

“City Of Heroes” was an episode I had to sit down and watch three times before I was actually comfortable with reviewing it. The reason for this is actually simple and something I have not been burdened with when watching movies and Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. from the Marvel Cinematic Universe: I knew too much. Having studied The Flash, it was virtually impossible for me to watch “City Of Heroes” without oohing and ahhing at the in-jokes and DC Universe references. “That’s a cute way to get the symbol,” “They’ve added this character so they can give Barry a mentor, something he didn’t have in the books; they need it for exposition,” “Oh, is [last-minute spoiler] a Monitor?!” as I was going through the episode with my wife (who has never been into comic books, graphic novels, or movies and television shows based upon them. So, I had to silence the Flash geek inside me and watch “City Of Heroes” again for what it was, not what it “should” be.

“City Of Heroes” is an archetypal super hero origin story and it was co-written by Geoff Johns. In addition to being one of the world’s foremost experts on The Flash – and a man who has to be the best friend of the Warner Brothers legal department for the way he manages to avoid anything that could possibly lead to a lawsuit from his actions – Geoff Johns is the Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment. That means that he’s the man responsible for the way DC Comics properties are translated into films and television shows. He is the one who is spearheading the parallel television and movie efforts for DC Comics properties and quite possibly the best chance Warner Bros. has to compete with Disney’s Marvel Cinematic empire.

Geoff Johns is also a ridiculously smart guy and it shows with “City Of Heroes.” “City Of Heroes” takes the labor of translating one of the two most complicated heroes and his environment (the other being Aquaman, for whom a satisfying series is still beyond the range of television special effects) into a workable show. Johns and his team (co-writers/co-executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg) launch “City Of Heroes” with an unpredictable adversary. Instead of starting the show with Captain Cold, the Weather Wizard is the first villain the titled hero must confront. And instead of fidelity to the goofy conceits of the DC Comic books upon which the show is based, The Flash is established in “City Of Heroes” as a metahuman in a city soon to be besieged by metahumans who are villains. While that in itself is beset with problems (seriously, it takes all of the adversaries The Flash will face nine months to figure out their powers, too?!), it eliminates one of the resounding issues with the awesome Rogues gallery of villains the Flash faces (why/how do these criminals keep getting their gadgets back?!).

So, “City Of Heroes” works to introduce a new story of The Flash and his world in the twin cities of Central City/Keystone City in America’s Midwest . . . and it does so remarkably well.

Fourteen years before he was a Central City Police forensics scientist, Barry Allen was just a kid who was bullied by his peers and who awoke one night to lightning in his family’s house. As his mother is trapped by yellow and red lightning, his father tells him to run, but he is suddenly teleported away by the yellow lightning. When he returns to his house, his mother is dead and his father is being led away, accused of the murder. Barry Allen arrives late to the latest crime scene where the Mardon brothers are the lead suspects. Allen’s work on the crime is interrupted by his chance to visit S.T.A.R. Labs on the day they are activating their particle accelerator. Under the guidance of Harrison Wells, S.T.A.R. Labs activates a particle accelerator that is set to change human understanding of physics. While Detectives West and Chyre investigate the farm the Mardon brothers are holed up on, the particle accelerator malfunctions, sending out a wave of energy. That wave destroys the plane Clyde Mardon was escaping the farm in and knocks Barry back into a shelf full of chemicals.

Nine months later, Barry Allen awakens from a coma to learn about how the world changed in his absence. Harrison Wells is now wheelchair bound and Allen was kept at S.T.A.R. Labs where he recovered, though his cells were in a state of accelerated movement. Trying to return to his life, Barry Allen discovers that he can move at super speeds. With the help of Wells, Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow from S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry Allen begins to explore the range of his powers. While the Central City police officers hunt down a bank robber who is able to harness the power of the weather, Barry gathers the forensic evidence that suggests that Clyde Mardon is the suspect they are looking for. But Mardon’s survival is not just the answer to a single case, it is the legacy of Harrison Wells’ particle accelerator and it sets Barry Allen on a journey that makes him into the super hero who calls himself The Flash!

“City Of Heroes” is something of a rushed pilot, but a good one. The character of Barry Allen, of course, has to turn into The Flash. Did he have to do it in the first forty-five minute episode? Apparently, the executive producers thought he did. What this means for “City Of Heroes” is that Barry Allen’s arc is ridiculously rushed. Perhaps the most clever concept Johns and his team bring to “City Of Heroes” is that Barry Allen does not have any sort of innate control over his superspeed initially. He runs into things and the first time he notices that anything is wrong, time appears to slow down for him at an utterly inconsequential moments. “City Of Heroes” finds Barry mastering his speed in record time, which seems to undo the concept that Barry will actually struggle to find his footing. Barry Allen has not figured out how to vibrate through solid matter and he has not figured out how to tap the Speed Force for time travel (though the battle occurring around his mother certainly indicates he will), but the bulk of his abilities are realized by the end of “City Of Heroes.”

In a similarly rushed way, Detective West comes around to Barry’s perspective on the fourteen or fifteen year-old murder of Nora Allen after only one incident. That seems a bit forced.

While Barry Allen is pretty clearly established in “City Of Heroes” – he is a perpetually-late, brilliant, and has a Sherlock-style forensic style surrounding his investigative abilities – the secondary characters range from clever allusions to generic establishing phrases that are thrown in for an obligatory sense of characterization. Chyre is a character who actually became deep and vital in The Flash under the pen of Geoff Johns; his presence in “City Of Heroes” is cool and helps to defy expectations (Chyre was a perpetual survivor, so killing him off in the pilot episode’s teaser was delightfully unexpected!). The obligatory crossover with Arrow might have been a kick-ass moment for Arrow fans, but it lacks real resonance within the episode and poor Danielle Panabaker! Panabaker plays Caitlin Snow and the character in “City Of Heroes” could easily have been a generic scientist who helps study Barry Allen and guide him – a liaison between Wells and Allen. Instead, in an effort to give viewers some aspect to care about, Snow is given a backstory. Unfortunately, her backstory is delivered right in the episode as exposition that is so clunky that Panabaker’s best performance is managing not to roll her eyes as she tells Barry how her future is over and fiancé is dead.

“City Of Heroes” manages to define how The Flash will unfold: like The 4400 (season 1 reviewed here!) or Friday The 13th: The Series (reviewed here!), The Flash will be a hunt for those affected by the McGuffin. In this case, the McGuffin is the particle accelerator accident. It has left Central City with a flood of metahumans, many of whom have been engaged in criminal activities. Clyde Mardon just happens to be the first, currently most-active metahuman that S.T.A.R. Labs is hunting down. The casual nature of the activity of other metahumans both highlights and undersells the premise of the show: if so many metahumans have been active for nine months, why is so much of the city still standing in good repair? Either way, “City Of Heroes” gives Barry Allen a decent initial purpose: he will round up other metahumans.

Peppered throughout “City Of Heroes” is what appears to be the longer running arc of the entire series. Eddie Thawne works with Joe West and the presence of a newspaper from the future indicates that Professor Zoom is obviously related to the death of Nora Allen and the television incarnation of the DC Cinematic Universe is moving toward Crisis On Infinite Earths (reviewed here!). The Flash, then, has the potential to be like The X-Files (reviewed here!) oscillating between “Freak Of The Week” bottle episodes and episodes that define the long arc “Mythology” stories. Given the buzz surrounding The Flash so far and the style of “City Of Heroes,” it seems like the Freak Of The Week stories will dominate the first half of the season, at least.

What makes “City Of Heroes” work so well is the quality of the writing. Johns and his co-writers have some wonderful lines (“Why would god need to rob banks?!”) and cute allusions (Cisco wearing a “Bazinga!” t-shirt is fun) that establish what will be Barry Allen’s corner of the DC Universe well. Moreover, the young cast is led successfully by Grant Gustin. Gustin leaps into the role of Barry Allen well-enough, though he seems like Andrew Garfield on a television budget. Gustin is articulate and good-looking, but he lacks individual presence in “City Of Heroes” to call his performance distinctive. Still, he is credible as a young genius.

The rest of the cast is fleshed out well-enough: perhaps the most recognizable performer is Jesse L. Martin as Detective West. Candice Patton is youthful and energetic as Iris and Rick Cosnett leaps into the role of Eddie Thawne in a believable and handsome way. Tom Cavanagh is appropriately intriguing in his performance of Harrison Wells, which makes him the man to watch in “City Of Heroes.” Even Chad Rook starts the franchise off well by infusing Clyde Mardon with anger and confusion that establishes the villain in a believable fashion.

Ultimately, “City Of Heroes” is a good start to The Flash and there is enough in it to make one want to tune in again!

For other works with Al Sapienza, please check out my reviews of:
House Of Cards – Season 1
Margin Call
Prison Break – Season 1

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into The Flash - The Complete First Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

8/10

For other television episode and season reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Getting On The X-Files Train With "Nisei" and "731!"

The Good: Plot, Acting, Dialogue.
The Bad: Minor character issues
The Basics: One of the more solid two-parters. A must for "X-Files" fans, entertaining for those who are not.


In the third season of The X-Files, the show was hitting its stride. "Nisei" and "731" fit together perfectly as the two-parter they are and odds are, if you're seeing these episodes for the first time, you'll be glad they're together on the same tape!

In "Nisei," Mulder's investment in a video tape claiming to be of an alien autopsy, leads him and Scully to Pennsylvania where they find the distributor dead, killed by a Japanese assassin with diplomatic immunity. While Mulder investigates documents recovered from the "diplomat," Scully goes in search of the man's assumed next targets. This puts Mulder on the course of a salvage ship, the Talapus, which he believes recovered a U.F.O. from the bottom of the ocean.

Scully, for her part, is put on a much more personal journey, one where she discovers that she is not the only one who has been abducted and has missing time. Instead, she finds a group of women, many of whom claim to recognize her, all of whom have implants similar to the one Scully had removed from the back of her neck. In shock from learning this, she attempts to contact Mulder, who has discovered where an E.B.E. recovered from the Talapus might be and he becomes determined to find it!

In "731," Mulder finds himself on a train with a quarantine car that appears to contain an Extraterrestrial Biological Entity, as well as a Japanese scientist who is experimenting on it and an assassin sent to stop them both. As Scully searches a leper colony, she makes a discovery that suggests that Mulder's "alien" is anything but.

Unfortunately for Mulder, he finds himself trapped in the quarantine car with the assassin and a bomb that will spread a virulent disease over its blast radius. As Scully - with the aid of one of the key members of the shadowy conspiracy - works to save Mulder, Mulder attempts to extract answers from the man sent to kill the E.B.E.!

It's pretty obvious why this two-parter is enjoyed by X-philes (those who enjoy The X-Files) as this two-parter is a hugely important episode in terms of Scully's character arc. Mulder's character arc remains largely unaffected by the events in this episode as, by this point in the series, he's pretty well been jerked around. We should be used to it by now and part of the disappointment of the end of "731" is that Mulder doesn't seem to be.

The plot is an intriguing one; what if the U.S. saved a network of criminal scientists and they turned around and didn't share their data with us? It is well played out and the final sequences in the Mulder plot are excellent. There is a lot to enjoy for non-fans as well!

Outside the excellent acting - Stephen McHattie as the "NSA Agent" is amazing - and intriguing plot, the episode is degraded by some minor character issues. Mulder's reactions at the end don't "read" right, Scully's reaction to learning she could have cancer is nonexistent. In fact, the leap is never made that if the other abductees have cancer that Scully may, too. That's disappointing.

During the third season of The X-Files, the series was still being nominated for awards in the Best Drama category. This two-parter makes it abundantly clear why!

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete Third Season, reviewed by me here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy, here!
Thanks for reading!]

"Nisei" - 9/10
"731" - 8.5/10
VHS - 8/10

For other reviews of television programs, please check out my index page!

© 2011, 2008, 2001 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Darin Morgan Writes A Perfect Episode And Ruins The X-Files (And Another Episode, Too!)

The Good: "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is brilliant, Bonus featurette, Acting
The Bad: On this video, "War Of The Coprophages" seems terribly derivative as an X-Files comedy.
The Basics: The extraordinary "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is paired with another comedic episode of The X-Files, diluting its greatness some.


Every now and then, there comes a piece of television that is both brilliant and clever and also does irreparable damage to a series for its die-hard fans. Darin Morgan, I'm looking at you! Morgan is the writer for The X-Files who seemed to have the best possible occupational philosophy a writer could have; if you want your episodes to get on the air, become the show's script coordinator. Morgan penned three of the most memorable episodes of The X-Files, including the original comedic episode near the end of season two, "Humbug" (reviewed here!) and arguably the best episode of the series, "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space.'" In between, he had an episode that knocked it out of the park and also ruined The X-Files. That episode was "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose."

On video, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is presented with another Morgan comedy, "War Of The Coprophages," which is a good episode that suffers when next to the other episode. After all, there are only so many episodes one can have that essentially play the same note and they work best at greater distances in the season. In other words, after watching the comedic reversals of "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "War Of The Coprophages" seems predictable at best.

In "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," a string of fortune tellers are being killed and Mulder and Scully investigate, only to have their investigation interrupted by the police making use of the alleged psychic the Stupendous Yappi. In the course of finding more bodies, Mulder and Scully encounter Clyde Bruckman an actual psychic whose only ability is to see how people will die and he seems to have a link with the killer of the fortune tellers.

Scully, naturally, is skeptical and she makes a point out of disbelieving Bruckman until his misery becomes compelling to her. Mulder, for his part, becomes frustrated because Bruckman's prognostications are not leading them to anything as concrete as a resolution that would allow the F.B.I. agents to thwart the serial killer. Sadly, though, Bruckman's ability seems to be uncanny and that might mean the end of Agent Mulder!

In "War Of The Coprophages," Mulder escapes to Massachusetts for the weekend while his apartment building is fumigated. While there, he is drawn into a local law enforcement investigation involving deaths that appear to be the result of cockroaches that have more or less taken over the area. Each time there is a death, from an exterminator to kids with a homemade lab trying to get high off methane from dung, Mulder calls Scully, who provides a perfectly rational explanation for the death.

Soon, though, it does appear that Scully is right, despite the rising body count and the panic that is ensuing in Massachusetts. As Scully finally heads up to the infested area, Mulder meets up with a Department of Agriculture doctor named Bambi, who clues him in on possible suspects and puts him in actual danger . . .

Having just finished rewatching "War Of The Coprophages," it is amazing how well-regarded the episode is, considering how it is not a terribly tight episode. Instead, there are long pauses in almost every scene that have the net effect of stretching the episode out to its minimum length. So, there are long pauses whenever Mulder tells Scully anything and it works for comedic timing, but it holds up remarkably poorly over many, many viewings.

"War Of The Coprophages" is something of a one-trick pony and it starts with a clever enough idea that is fun, but it quickly gets old. This is essentially a farce in the style of The X-Files. It's also the episode where Scully is possibly most right using medical science; every "attack" has a rational, scientific reason that has little or nothing to do with the cockroaches. It's funny, but not at all substantial.

On the other hand, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is both funny and substantial. Clyde Bruckman is a cranky old man whose obsession with the random laws of chance has allowed him to predict with amazing accuracy how people he meets will die. Set against the foil of the Stupendous Yappi, it is very easy to disregard "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" as a comedy that has little merit in the overall schema of The X-Files. However, the die-hard fans know this is not the case.

Bruckman is able to see how people will die and most people he encounter want to know how they will go (Mulder's is absolutely hilarious). Scully's, though, is one that seems like a throwaway line, but because of the accuracy of every other prediction Bruckman makes, undermines the menace of any other scene Scully is ever in jeopardy with. Like episodes that begin at an end and flash back to a time before that, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" sets up a scenario where the viewer is simply waiting to see a certain event (and it DOES come) and the threats to Scully from this point on in the series are hard to take seriously. Fortunately, most people treated it as a throwaway line and/or forgot it, but the weakness of rewatching episodes over and over again (which is pretty much the point of videos and DVDs) is that lines like Bruckman's prognostication to Scully shine a bit more brightly.

It's not all serious or bad, though. In fact, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is part of the argument that The X-Files hits a perfect season with the third season (if not, it's part of what makes it come close as opposed to detract from it!). A large part of the episode's success comes from the character of Clyde Bruckman and it is virtually impossible to imagine Bruckman played by anyone but Peter Boyle. Boyle won a Support Actor award for his portrayal of Bruckman and it was well-deserved; he is utterly hilarious in the role as the cranky, but deeply kind Bruckman. Unlike his eventual role on Everybody Loves Raymond, Boyle's Bruckman is hugely sympathetic and his humor comes from the situation and the contrasts between him and the Stupendous Yappi, not being cruel.

"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "War Of The Coprophages" work well together in one way, though; they illustrate that The X-Files can work to not take itself so seriously (right before the series goes into a stretch of very dark episodes). As well, the series is still the same series and so the episodes have connections, which keeps the overall concept high and smart. So, for example, in "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" Scully ends up with a dog. In "War Of The Coprophages," one of the many activities Mulder interrupts Scully doing is giving her dog a bath (others are reading a book and cleaning her firearm). As well, writer Darin Morgan does a throwback to a previous psychic with a gag that plays off "Beyond The Sea" (reviewed here!). It's funny and more casual viewers are not missing much by missing the allusion, but for those who DO get it, it holds up real well as a remarkably clever and funny gag.

By this point in the series, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have the acting down pat and both episodes on this video are remarkably well-acted. Each video features a little behind-the-scenes bit entitled "A Private Conversation With Chris Carter" and it's an enjoyable concept that gives fans a little added value for the tape.

Not that this video needs much in the way of added value; "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is truly excellent and "War Of The Coprophages" is still better than average television. Anyone who likes science fiction or comedy will enjoy these two episodes.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete Third Season, reviewed by me here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy, here!
Thanks for reading!]

"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" - 10/10
"War Of The Coprophages" - 6.5/10
VHS - 7.5/10

For other television program and DVD set reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Preludes To Millennium Fail As The X-Files Episodes: "Irresistible" And "Die Hand Die Verltzt"

The Good: Good acting, Mood, Occasional effect
The Bad: Stories, Lack of character development, Predictability of plot
The Basics: While effectively creepy, these two The X-Files experiments fail as out of context for the series. Predictable plots and lack of character development kill the episodes.


"Irresistible" and "Die Hand Die Verletzt" are two of three episodes of The X-Files that act as precursors to Chris Carter's second show Millennium. The third episode is entitled "Home," which is the second episode of The X-Files season 4, and is - to date - the most vile hour of television ever filmed. No exaggeration; it's the most disgusting, senselessly gross hour of television and even though that episode isn't being reviewed here (I refuse to watch it EVER again after the first time it aired), consider it a freebie with a STRONG recommendation AGAINST watching it. That episode was entitled "Home."

"Irresistible" and "Die Hand Die Verletzt" (A German phrase that, alas, I am unable to translate for you) are both getting significantly softer recommendations for avoidance. The remainder of my review will explain why.

"Irresistible" follows the exploits of a serial killer named Donnie Faster who is wonderfully acted. The actor should have been nominated at the very least for awards for the role. He's creepy. Donnie, having been fired from a funeral home where he has previously satisfied his fetish for hair and fingernails, begins to escalate his behavior, hunting live victims, cleaning their hair and killing them. He's a pretty sick guy. Mulder and Scully become involved when a local FBI branch officer believes an exhumed body could be the work of extra-terrestrials. Mulder, being the smart man that he is, figures out quickly that such is not the case. "Irresistible" also marks Scully's first case back following her abduction. This becomes problematic as she is still traumatized by that and I'll get into that in greater detail in just a moment.

"Die Hand Die Verletzt" is an episode that cheeses off every Wiccan in the world because it focuses on a town where there is witchcraft being practiced. And while the episode contains a wonderful disclaimer by Mulder about how witches aren't evil and even Satanists wouldn't sacrifice people the way people in this town have recently been found dead, I've yet to know a Wiccan fan of The X-Files that was satisfied by that. Go figure. As it stands, Mulder and Scully are exploring the murder of a high school student in a town where the PTA is run by some very faithful people devoted to Dark Forces. As they go through students and staff, they ricochet between truth and fiction, leads and false memories, trying to determine just who ought to be arrested. The climax to the episode is one that is impressively bloody, but not terribly gory at all.

The ending is not where the true horror of the episode exists, however. That comes in the middle when one of the students who was in the woods the night her friend was killed, after being haunted by a pig mid-dissection, begins to remember events from her childhood. In sufficiently disgusting detail, the young woman recalls sexual abuse and being forced to be a part of the dark rituals of her stepfather (who, as an aside, is very well played by Dan Butler). The young actress is convincing, breaking down in tears while relating the horrible things done to her at age ten. It's a scene that's extraordinarily troubling to anyone with any real sensitivity. If you have a heart, that scene will turn your stomach and make you want to vomit.

I'm a fan of things that make the viewer feel something, so why am I panning these two episodes? The answer is simple; they're not good.

Chris Carter, in a pre-episode interview on the tape, admits that "Irresistible" offered him the chance to develop Millennium. As a fan of that extraordinarily dark series, I suppose I ought to be quite happy. The thing is, I'm not. Why? They're two different shows. In a print interview after Millennium was released, Carter said something to the effect that The X-Files was a young adult experience into the paranormal, while Millennium was intended to be an adult (or Middle Age) exploration of the nature of evil in the world. The two work best at those two things. That's not to say The X-Files shouldn't be ambitious. It ought to be. But when it does, it needs to deal with these things in the appropriate context. In simple terms, these two episodes are probably so unsatisfying because they are younger adults attempting to understand the evils that surround them. Ask a teenager about what evil is and I'll bet you the answer doesn't satisfy you. Especially if you're over 35. This is not to say the teen's answer won't be insightful, but it will - most likely - be lacking in some depth.

So, too, are these two episodes. First, the very troubling "Irresistible" has Scully returning from an abduction by unseen forces only to be abducted by a man who is an incarnation of pure evil. While Scully finally breaks down, it's still not enough. It doesn't read as real. Anyone who has ever been around anyone with a government job (much less in intelligence or investigations), is going to question why Scully is back at work. No one in their right mind is going to put a woman physically and psychologically scarred back out in the field so quickly. This was a perfectly appropriate time to explore 1. The emotional aftermath of being abducted, 2. The uncertainty of not having those memories, and - if they wanted to push it - 3. Scully's frustration at NOT being allowed back into the field. Instead, her abduction is somewhat glossed over, the resolution is ultimately unsatisfying because it doesn't realistically express the full depth of human - of her - experience(s).

"Die Hand Die Verletzt" has some of the same problems, but with less sensitivity. Scully's abduction is not even mentioned and there's no discussion between Mulder and Scully about the experiences of the young woman who was victimized as a child. The complete neglect of a dialogue between the two about that cheapens it. In witnessing some rather horrific and downright spooky acts, it's pathetic writing for a quasi-serial show to not address the larger psychological issues these things raise. In the last season (Doggett's first, the seventh season) of The X-Files the show, as a whole solved this problem by containing episodes that usually ended before the last act, allowing the characters time - and dialogue - to discuss the ramifications of the events. It's a shame that when these two episodes were released no one on the staff was so sensitive.

The utter lack of character development in these two episodes is troubling. They would have made fine episodes of Millennium, but they simply weren't X-Files. The inappropriateness of these episodes to the series is roughly equivalent to putting Andy Sipowitz in the courtroom of Ally McBeal.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete Second Season, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy and my review may be accessed by clicking here!
Thanks for reading!]

“Irresistible” – 3/10
“Die Hand Die Verletz” – 1/10
VHS - 2/10

© 2011, 2008, 2001 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Mulder Gets A Faith Refill And Wanders The Sewers In "Little Green Men" / "The Host!"

The Good: "Little Green Men" has decent moments of character
The Bad: "The Host" is a very average "monster of the week" episode.
The Basics: A fair episode and a good one make for an average video with "Little Green Men" and "The Host" from The X-Files.


The X-Files had a first season that was plagued - when one watches it in order - by episodes that are too close to one another in terms of the theme or paranormal phenomenon being explored. Episodes like "Ghost In The Machine," "Born Again" and "Roland" all involve dead people who were killed for some form of personal or corporate gain possessing others to finish off their loose ends. There is a pretty decent shortage of conspiracy mythology episodes and there are even surprisingly few "monster of the week" stories.

The second season begins with the X-files shut down, as a result of their investigation in "The Erlenmeyer Flask" (reviewed here!). The first two episodes of the season deal with the fallout of that episode, with the season premiere finding Mulder in need of a faith refill and the second episode doing nothing terribly noteworthy other than increasing the stature of Assistant Director Skinner and introducing the idea of X, Mulder's new friend at the FBI.

In "Little Green Men," Mulder and Scully have been separated and reassigned as a result of their investigations into the X-files. Scully becomes worried about Mulder, who appears increasingly despondent while working on the most banal wiretapping assignment. Shortly after meeting with Scully, Mulder is contacted by Senator Mattheson, Mulder's champion in Congress. Mattheson has evidence that an extraterrestrial signal has been intercepted by one of the radio telescopes in Puerto Rico.

Mulder goes rogue to retrieve the evidence of the signal, abandoning his post at the FBI. Assistant Director Skinner and the Cigarette Smoking Man attempt to locate Mulder, using Scully. Scully manages for find Mulder and as she pursues him to Puerto Rico, Mulder has a close encounter . . .

In "The Host," Assistant Director Skinner sends Mulder to Newark, NJ when a dead body is found in the sewers. Convinced it is a standard crime syndicate body dump, Mulder returns to D.C. irritated to discover that Skinner wants the case handled in a serious fashion. Scully, distressed over Mulder's reaction to the case, volunteers to assist him by performing an autopsy. When a Newark sewer worker is attacked while making a repair to a sewer line, Mulder becomes intrigued about what might have done it.

While Mulder investigates the attack, Scully finds a flukeworm in her autopsy. Mulder soon hypothesizes that there is a giant flukeworm killing people and is soon found to be correct, much to Scully's amazement. Apprehending the creature is only part of the process and Mulder is forced to deal with the political implications of the find when Skinner calls him up for review and the creature is transported for prosecution.

Skinner walks a fine line in these two episodes between casting off the influence of the Cigarette Smoking Man and acknowledging that he is a pawn in a larger scheme. Mulder's interactions with him tend to be defiant declarations that if the X-files were still being investigated, there would be a lot less blood on everyone's hands. These scenes tend to trend toward the melodramatic, especially in the way Mulder expresses his defiance and anger toward Skinner. On the other hand, these scenes give actor Mitch Pileggi the opportunity to stretch and lend some presence to a role that was seen once and mentioned one other time in the first season.

"Little Green Men" is both a conspiracy/alien episode and a fairly substantial character examination of Fox Mulder. Disturbed by the mundane assignments he has been placed on, Mulder becomes despondent and the feeling of the weight of the months that have passed between the prior season's finale and the beginning of the first episode is well-portayed. Mulder is realistically disenchanted and beginning to question the veracity of his own memories and beliefs. Senator Mattheson makes for an intriguing on-camera ally for Mulder to become a reasonable supporter.

Unfortunately, "The Host," viewed multiple times over several years, comes across now as a very simple idea that is played out far too long. Fortunately, Christ Carter does not attempt to insult the viewer by keeping the question of what the killer is for too long. Unfortunately, once the flukeman is identified and caught, there are still two acts to complete and the bulk of them feels largely like filler. This makes it an unfortunate example of how weak a "creature of the week" piece can be on the show when the initial concept is a simple monster piece.

In both episodes, Scully is relegated to her medical role as she is now teaching FBI forensic medicine at Quantico. Part of the reason for Scully's character direction is that actress Gillian Anderson got pregnant near the end of the first season and she returned to working on The X-Files rather pregnant. Leading up to her being written out for part of the season, Anderson is relegated to a supporting role.

This leaves a lot for David Duchovny to do more or less on his own as Fox Mulder. He is physically active in both episodes and he keeps the pace of "Little Green Men" taut as a result. "The Host" is a lot of exposition and background plot work (in the two scenes with X, on the telephone), but Duchovny makes the best of it. Far better is "Little Green Men," where he must play Mulder exhausted and unsure of himself. Duchovny does more than just deliver lines written with melancholy, he transforms his posture into that of a more or less broken man and it works to sell the concept of the episode.

On VHS, both episodes feature behind the scenes notes by Chris Carter as part of the little bonus "A conversation with Chris Carter..." The information is very basic commentary on the episodes, but it is a nice touch.

Ultimately, though, "Little Green Men" is a necessary episode as far as plot and character, but "The Host" is a tough sell to anyone who isn't already a fan of The X-Files or science fiction television. As I am a fan of both, there is enough to come back to on this video.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete Second Season, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy and my review may be accessed by clicking here!
Thanks for reading!]

"Little Green Men" - 7/10
"The Host" - 5/10
VHS - 6/10

For other television episode and season reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Scully Gets Her Chance To Believe With "Beyond The Sea!" ("E.B.E." Is Good, Too!)

The Good: Decent acting, Interesting stories, Moments of character development
The Bad: Somewhat slower ("E.B.E." especially does not hold up so well upon review), Minutiae
The Basics: One great, one average episode makes for a video that is good, but not enduringly great with The X-Files - "Beyond The Sea" and "E.B.E."


The X-Files - I have often argued - had a much rockier first season than some fans like to admit. Much like the obsession in the first season of Star Trek (reviewed here!) to demonize computers and technology (wow, Gene, is it another "computer takes over a planet story?!"), the first season of The X-Files has patches that makes one wonder what Chris Carter thought he was getting away with in terms of his fan base. After all, there are spurts in the first season: two episodes about conspiracies involving huge corporations developing futuristic technologies, three episodes involving the dead speaking to the living or otherwise not staying completely dead, mixed in with the more standard U.F.O. conspiracies. One of the problems the first season of The X-Files had was that the Earth seems to be the stomping ground for an inordinate number of alien races.

As the series went on, the alien races become much more specific, but in the "Pilot," there are unseen time-stopping aliens that remain unshown, in "Fallen Angel," there is an invisible being recovered from a downed U.F.O. And in "E.B.E.," we have another U.F.O. crash and a body that is recovered. This is paired with a serial killer episode (there are a number of serial killers in the first season of The X-Files as well), "Beyond The Sea," on VHS. And these episodes are good, no denying that, but after years of rewatching them, "Beyond The Sea" may still hold up as great (certainly above average), but "E.B.E." is a lot less engaging upon multiple viewings.

In "Beyond The Sea," Dana Scully's father abruptly dies and the usually sober and rational Scully sees a vision of him. Rattled by his death, Scully returns to work - much to Mulder's surprise - to find Mulder working to stop a serial killer who has abducted a boy and girl and all indications point to their death in a few day's time. Those indications come from Luther Lee Boggs, a death row inmate scheduled for termination. Boggs hopes by helping to get the kidnaper, he might get a stay of execution.

Mulder, usually prone to believe such things as Boggs and his professed psychic ability, is convinced Boggs is a fraud. Mulder has good reason to believe Boggs is a fraud, too; his profile of Boggs was what led the killer to be put on death row. Scully, though, follows an apparently fraudulent vision of Boggs' to a real crime scene and she becomes convinced that he is legitimate and he can channel her recently-dead father for her.

In "E.B.E.," a U.F.O. is shot down over Iraqi air space and the body of an Extraterrestrial Biological Entity is rumored to be recovered by the U.S. military. Sent to the United States for study, Mulder finds himself drawn in when a truck driver has what appears to be a close encounter with another U.F.O. When the driver is set loose with his rig, Mulder learns that the truck most likely was the one carrying the E.B.E. across country.

Spied upon using electronic surveillance, Mulder turns to Deep Throat, who lies to him about the truck and the mission. On one hand, he seems determined to get Mulder to find the truck and with the information he presents him. Mulder and Scully head out on their own in an attempt to find the truck, the driver, and the truck's destination, tracking it by nightly U.F.O. sightings, believing that the sightings must be tied to the contents of the truck and leading Mulder to a bleak conclusion!

"E.B.E." marks the notable first appearance of The Lone Gunmen, who would eventually be granted their own spin-off. The trio is introduced as uber-paranoid magazine publishers who have just enough resources to help Mulder on his quest to find proof of extraterrestrial life on Earth, as well as the ability to forge documents to get Mulder and Scully into an installation that Deep Throat seems to want to keep them from. They make for an instantly intriguing group and it is easy to see why they became fodder for so many writers. As Beyers notes of Mulder, ". . . your ideas are weirder than ours." Mulder connects some dots The Lone Gunmen do not - in this case Gulf War Syndrome being tied to U.F.O. encounters - while they otherwise seem so paranoid they make Scully unsettled.

"E.B.E" suffers because it is essentially a conspiracy story that spends the majority of the episode with Mulder chasing his own tail and Scully following, suggesting he stop chasing dead ends. The first three viewings of it, it seems like a taut thriller, but as one watches it more - even over years in between viewings - they begin to feel dragged along by the episode as opposed to it leading somewhere. Mulder is basically being yanked around and the contradictory directions Deep Throat seems to be pulling him in make one wonder what his agenda is or why the episode seems deliberately complicated in regards to what is actually going on.

"E.B.E." does, however, open with some of the show's most intriguing and fun dialogue. As Mulder and Scully scour the scene of the truck's incapacitation, Scully forms endless hypotheses about what could have plausibly happened on the road the night before. As she rationalizes every piece of evidence, Mulder very calmly collects evidence and dismisses her observations with whatever equivocating word Scully uses in her explanation: "possibly," "hypothetically," etc. It's actually an amusing and meaningful scene.

The episode also works well on the idea that Mulder's devotion to finding extreme solutions could be manipulated by outsiders. That theme is played the opposite way in "Beyond The Sea." In that episode, Mulder is absolutely skeptical of the abilities of Luther Lee Boggs, who is terrified of dying. "Beyond The Sea" has an interesting problem: it is the first of several psychic ability stories and as most of them will come to be, they are like a typical television "prophecy" story. Television "prophecy" stories tend to be rather formulaic in that there is always some doubt as to whether the prognostication is real and then after events occur, there is a certain way to view everything that would seem to indicate that the prophecy actually happened.

What makes "Beyond The Sea" so clever is that there is always the very probable chance that Boggs is manipulating events to create the prophecies. The killer on the outside is rumored to be Boggs' partner and if that is true, rather than predicting his next moves or activities, there is the chance that Boggs is simply exposing his serial killing partner in order to try to get clemency. This adds a depth not usually found in this type of story and as a result, the episode seems a bit more fresh than most tales of this type.

"Beyond The Sea" is one of the first great Scully stories. As Dana deals with the death of her father - played too briefly by the recently deceased Don S. Davis - she becomes open to the possibility that Boggs is for real. The level of detail with which he makes his predictions makes the rational Scully consider his words. Moreover, Scully appears to see her dead father after his death and that works well more than just for this story. After all, at some point, the viewer has to wonder why all of the extraterrestrials and freaks only expose themselves to Mulder.

"Beyond The Sea" also has one of Gillian Anderson's most deep performances. Unlike a number of first season episodes of "The X-Files," Anderson does more than whine or appear as a sounding board for Mulder's exposition. Too often in the first season, Anderson stands and waits for Duchovny's Mulder to explain things to her. In "Beyond The Sea," Anderson is given the chance to be emotive and articulate. She presents Scully as a passionate and realistically-motivated individual who is dealing with some big-time grief issues and she makes it work beautifully.

"Beyond The Sea" is accessible to anyone who likes great drama and who is willing to be truly creeped out, whereas "E.B.E." is pretty much reserved for fans of science fiction conspiracies. On VHS they are accompanied by snippets of an interview with Chris Carter discussing trivia about each episode and that adds a little extra value to the tape.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete First Season, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy and my review may be accessed by clicking here!
Thanks for reading!]

"Beyond The Sea" - 8.5/10
"E.B.E." - 5/10
VHS - 6.5/10

For other television episode and DVD reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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One Villain, Two Episodes: The X-Files Freaks Us Out With "Squeeze" and "Tooms!"

The Good: Scary, Moments of character, Special effects
The Bad: Acting is still pretty shaky, Second episode is rather plot intensive
The Basics: Two very good episodes of The X-Files (though "Tooms" is a bit predictable), "Squeeze" and "Tooms" tell a mutant-of-the-week story that holds up fairly well over multiple viewings.


Just as the essence of comedy is surprise, the essence of fright is surprise as well. It's difficult to be made afraid of the same thing twice or three times. This is especially true in movies and television; when you know where the creature is coming from and when, it's hard to get freaked out by it. Nothing beats the first time for scary movies or television.

That said, sometimes creepy works just as well for fans of science fiction horror and The X-Files did that remarkably well during it early seasons. In the first season, it is no surprise to fans that "Squeeze" and "Tooms" would be released on video together and less of a surprise that the episodes would hold up so well over the years. Unlike a lot of horror, "Squeeze" and "Tooms" has a far more lasting horror concept than just the moments its villain bursts out of confined spaces. The idea is a simple and simply terrifying one: what if there was someone who could easily get access to the most intimate places and stymie detectives because of a lack of point of entry . . .

In "Squeeze," Dana Scully is approached by an old classmate of hers who is trying hard to work his way up the FBI ladder. Stuck in Baltimore, working on a case involving murders with victims whose livers were extracted, he requests Scully's unique perspective. After an investigation, with Mulder tagging along, despite the obvious disdain the other agents have for him, Scully works up a profile and during a stakeout, she and Mulder capture a man squeezing through the air vents.

The man is Eugene Victor Tooms and despite fitting the profile, the FBI does not have enough evidence to hold him. Mulder, dismayed by this, digs up an x-file with the same modus operandi and becomes convinced that Tooms might be some form of mutant who needs human livers to sustain him during thirty year hibernations. As Tooms stalks his next victims, Scully and Mulder work to prove that he is the right man and he possesses abnormal abilities that allow him to accomplish these murders without an obvious point of entry!

In "Tooms," months of confinement have not sat well with Tooms, who is one liver shy of being able to hibernate for the next thirty years. Mulder and Scully, having discovered he possesses genetic abnormalities that allow him to dislocate his skeleton at will and slither through the narrowest of spaces, attempt to convince a parole board of the danger he represents. Unfortunately, Mulder comes across as more of a lunatic than a scientist and Eugene Victor Tooms is remanded to the custody of two foster parents for observation.

Mulder, already on thin ice with the FBI, begins an unauthorized stakeout of Tooms' residence in an attempt to keep him from killing again, while Scully aids one of the former detectives to work on a Tooms murder in exhuming a body which might prove Eugene guilty once and for all. With time running out, Tooms finds a way to stalk his prey and fulfill his requirements for another cycle!

"Squeeze" is incredibly original and as the third episode in the series, its purpose was quite clear; the episode was designed to convince viewers that The X-Files was not going to deal with extraterrestrials or government conspiracies in every single episode. "Squeeze" establishes the "freak of the week" phenomenon and the case is an intriguing one. Without a point of entry, multiple people are being killed and their livers are being torn out. It could be a simple gross concept, but The X-Files develops the concept fully by creating an animalistic man who is simply doing what nature demands of him. In the process, the usage of liver becomes practically explained and the villain is defined in a plausible and creepy way.

It is no surprise, then, that Tooms would return for a second appearance. The character was so well-conceived and the backstory on him was so rich that he makes for a natural subject for one of the first season's few sequel episodes. It is clever and compelling and the suspense will please drama fans as well as horror/science fiction aficionados.

The X-Files, when "Squeeze" was presented, was still working diligently on character aspects to help define Mulder and Scully. As a result, the acting is very shaky, especially Gillian Anderson. Unfortunately, Anderson is given far too many moments where Scully simply stares with wide-eyed concern at the camera, Mulder or (in the case of "Squeeze") a former classmate while exposition is given. Anderson does that fairly well - if at some somewhat inappropriate moments or for just a little too long - but it does not help the character of Scully establish herself as a tough, interesting character to watch.

Conversely, guest star Doug Hutchison, who plays Tooms, dives right in with a powerful and deeply creepy performance. Perhaps best known outside The X-Files for his role as Ifty in I Am Sam or more recently for his role as the leader of the Dharma Initiative on Lost (reviewed here!), Hutchison has the ability to take on roles that challenge him physically and completely alter his body to suit the character. In the case of Tooms, he is meek and shy when need be, explosive and animalistic when the role calls for it. And hey, anyone who is willing to crawl through conduits naked, covered in bile-colored slime is pretty dedicated to the role! For Hutchison (and the viewer), that effort pays off as Tooms is one of the most enduringly creepy villains in the entire run of The X-Files.

David Duchovny, like Gillian Anderson, seems like he is still getting used to the role, but he does give a performance that seems distinctly Mulder. To wit, Duchovny is able to deliver the one-liners the character would become associated with. Duchovny plays Mulder as an outsider who has been more or less living in a basement his entire life, yet is deeply invested in finding the truths that will shape the world. In these episodes, that involves a lot of deadpanning and a bit of running.

For fans of science fiction horror, this video remains a decent investment, though its impact lessens with pretty much every viewing. The overall plot is a little predictable, but it is still exciting and good television.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete First Season, reviewed by me here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy and it is reviewed here!
Thanks for reading!]

For other shows with supernatural characters, please visit my reviews of:
Fringe - Season 1
True Blood - Season 2
Heroes

"Squeeze" - 9/10
"Tooms" - 8.5/10
VHS - 8/10

For other television episode and DVD reviews, please visit my index page for an organized listing.

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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One Dull, One Terrifying, The X-Files Balances Out With "Conduit" And "Ice"

The Good: Character development, Tension in "Ice," Generally the acting
The Bad: "Conduit" is largely boring and predictable, "Ice" neglects character development in favor of mood.
The Basics: "Ice" is terrifying and tight, while "Conduit" is pretty much for science fiction lovers only, making for an erratic video.


Once in a while, I come to dread the simplicity of reviewing the old VHS tapes. With two episodes each, The X-Files videos sometimes paired tremendous episodes with complete lemons. "Conduit" and "Ice" is an example of one such pairing. "Ice" is a tense psychological horror with a creature of the week plot that is likely to keep most viewers guessing well into the last act, while "Conduit" is a somewhat standard alien abduction storyline with a very slight twist.

The X-Files had some truly great episodes and "Ice" might well be one of the first that truly knocked it out of the park. Following on a string of strangely similar corporate crime mystery episodes, "Ice" popped up to freak out viewers with a very straightforward frightening bottle episodes. Sadly, "Conduit" seems like one of those episodes that had a one line pitch and the writer struggled to make it into a full forty-three minute show.

In "Conduit," a young woman goes missing in Iowa while sleeping out under the stars next to her eight year-old brother. Her mother, who as a girl witnessed a UFO at the same lake her daughter disappeared from, is gratified when Mulder picks up the case and arrives to investigate. Scully is deeply skeptical about the abduction, more so when it appears that the girl is something of a wild child.

Soon, though, even Scully is doubting when the body of the girl's boyfriend is unearthed and Mulder discovers strange burns around the campsite the girl disappeared from. But none of it is as strange as her brother, who is writing ones and zeroes that he is receiving from television static, binary codes that are anything but random!

In "Ice," Scully and Mulder are sent up to the Arctic Circle to a scientific research outpost that is studying ice samples from deep in a crater. The members of the drilling team are all dead, having killed one another and the final two scientists taking their own lives while claiming "we are not who we are." The FBI agents arrive at the outpost with a geologist, two doctors and a pilot to try to determine what happened to the original expedition.

Soon, though, it becomes clear that the ice that the scientists were studying contained something living and possibly extraterrestrial. When a dog at the facility bites the pilot, it quickly becomes clear that the bite transferred something into him and when Mulder and Scully determine what it is, they struggle to maintain a quarantine to prevent it from being released upon the population at large!

Perhaps the only thing that works in "Conduit" is the character development. Viewers are reminded of the open case of Samantha Mulder, abducted while Fox Mulder was in the room with her. Mulder takes a tabloid journalism piece and turns it into and FBI case in part because he is still hunting his sister. "Conduit" does an excellent job of presenting Mulder as a man so lost in his own grief and sense of self-absorption over the loss of his sister that he will follow any clue to try to discover what really happened to her. This is played out and played up in "Conduit," with Mulder using every possible opportunity to mourn the disappearance of his sister again.

Conversely - and ironically given the overall quality of the episode - "Ice" is a plot-driven episode that does not include much in the way of character development at all. Instead, Mulder and Scully are turned against one another when one of the members of the team is murdered, leading the audience to legitimately wonder who in the group killed their fellow and what, exactly, it is that possessed the scientists. "Ice" does not belabor its decisions or cause the characters to question why they are doing anything; they are afraid for their lives and one person is contaminated with something that might drive him to kill!

The performances in "Ice" are very tight. In addition to wonderful performances by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson - who finally seem to be in their groove as Mulder and Scully - the episode features an appearance by Felicity Huffman. Long before she got work on Sports Night (reviewed here!) or Desperate Housewives, Huffman appeared on an episode of The X-Files and she gives such a strong performance as one of the doctors sent to investigate the outpost that one is forced to wonder if she auditioned for the role of Scully originally. Character actor Jeff Kober makes a similarly distinctive appearance as Bear, the pilot.

Just as everyone seems to bring their a-game to "Ice," they seem to let "Conduit" flow with little or no enthusiasm for the script. Gillian Anderson presents her usual lines of disbelief in the phenomenal with a surprising amount of boredom and detachment, as if she's beginning to wonder why Scully isn't opening up to extreme possibilities yet. None of the guest actors make much of an impression either in "Conduit."

This is not to say that "Conduit" is a complete wash; the episode is fairly clever in that it has a neat gimmick/concept. The boy appears to be a conduit and how that manifests is that he sits in front of his television writing binary codes that turn out to be snippets of music or famous images or defense department transmissions. It's a cool concept, but it doesn't go anywhere. By the end of the episode there is no greater sense of what the boy is than when the gimmick is first introduced and that tends to make the viewer feel like a tool as opposed to entertained.

The result is a wildly uneven viewing experience. On the plus side, like all of The X-Files videos, there are bonus features! Long before DVD, Fox Video decided to add some value to the VHS releases of The X-Files by including snippets of an interview with Chris Carter, the creator of the show, wherein he discusses the episodes. This is a decent little bonus and his thoughts on both episodes are interesting enough, but will likely just be appreciate by the fans.

Ultimately, I recommend this video because "Ice" is just that good and "Conduit" is not the worst hour of television by any means. But largely this will be enjoyed by fans of science fiction and horror more than general aficionados of drama in general.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete First Season, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy! That’s reviewed here!
Thanks for reading!]

“Conduit” – 4/10
“Ice” – 8/10
VHS - 6/10

For other television show reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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