Browsing Categorytv reviews

The X-Files: “Herrenvolk”

Blood on the Threshold by Sarah Stegall copyright ©1996 by Sarah Stegall Writer: Chris Carter Director: R. W. Goodwin At the end of “The Erlenmeyer Flask“, Deep Throat died in Scully’s arms while ransoming Mulder’s life. In “Anasazi“, at the end of the second season, Mulder’s father died in his arms so that his son would not learn his secrets. At the end of last season’s opener, “Blessing Way” and “Paper Clip“, the blood of Dana Scully’s sister marked the threshold of her apartment, and the death intended for Scully passed her by. This year X (Steven Williams), Mulder’s last…

The X-Files: “Syzygy”

A Cosmic Realignment by Sarah Stegall Copyright © 1996 by Sarah Stegall “Fair is foul and foul is fair.”–Macbeth Sometimes the need to mess with our heads outweighs common sense. “Syzygy”, the January 26 episode of “The X-Files”, is a very funny misstep. It is clear from the beginning, when Mulder and Scully drive into the town of Comity (“comedy”), that writer Chris Carter intends this to be a romp, a lighthearted faux X-File where we see every defect exaggerated for effect. This is a classic technique of comedy, dating back to Aristotle, whereby we laugh at something precisely because…