X-Files 7.17 "all things"

I have to admit, I'm pretty disappointed. I had hope to learn a little
something about Scully, and it didn't really happen. I also thought
there was a coldness, a distance to this episode. I just didn't connect to it.

Yes, the direction was a little showy, but it was at least motivated by
the script--which was the problem with the episode, it was pretty trite. I
thought it's overall theme was worth exploring, the idea of coincidence
and fate, of the decisions we make that seem unimportant but are actually
monumental, etc. But the dialogue was unremarkable. I'm not Buddhist,
but if I was, my guess is I'd be irritated about that ex-physicist lady who
sounded like an Oprah-reject, babbling about Cancer being a result of
guilt and shame. I don't know what Gillian's religious convictions are but I
remember that she was married by a Buddhist monk. My guess is she's
Hollywood Buddhist--in other words, this was a bunch of new age crap.

I liked the intriguing opening, with Scully dressing in Mulder's bathroom
(for those nitpickers, i'm assuming she woke clothed on the couch and
then took a shower). I mean, we knew nothing happened, but it was fun. Loved
the scene with mulder and scully in the beginning--she all consumed with
autopsies and lunch and irritated at his Prof. Mulder routine. loved him
bopping to the music as he organized his precious slides. Loved Mulder
as he watched her fuss with her salad. it's those little moments that
count--there are a lot of mediocre episodes from early on that I consider
great due to one conversation between the two of them.

It seemed unlikely that that nurse would have told her that info on Dr.
Dan, FBI or no. it didn't pertain to her case so it wasn't really any of
her official business. Dr. Dan, Scully's ex, was played by the actor
that played Mike Roy on "All My Children" One of Erica Kane's ex-husbands, if
I'm not mistaken (maybe they were just lovers but I think they married.)
he was great--fit the Scully profile. An older man, father figure, and a
former teacher no less. In the first season, we met another older man
and ex-FBI instructor that Scully was involved with("Lazarus"). Also, in the
second season's "Aubrey" Scully was trying to get a female detective to
open up to her about her relationship with her boss. Scully said
something to the effect about it being difficult to have a relationship with
someone you work with, particularly when he's married. So this fits really
nicely with established Scully continuity, as does the time line--Dr. Dan says he
moved to DC ten years ago, Scully joined the FBI around 1990, when she
would have been about 26 and just out of med school.

Scully has a new computer-an iMac. I used to make fun of those cute
little iMac's, saying I didn't want a computer that was "cute." We got them at
work and they did tend to wonk out. The screens would get all wavy in a
bad way, at least mine did.

Liked how Scully OF COURSE does Mulder's errand. Our dutiful girl.

I liked Scully's interaction with Buddist girl. Scully's "I don't mean
to be rude" so easily interpreted by the other woman as "spare me your new
age mumbo jumbo."

I would have liked more conversation about Scully and her part in this
broken marriage. Liked her existential crisis, and I'm always a sucker
for crying Scully. Nice touch making Buddha-chick a physicist as Scully's
undergraduate degree was in physics. I liked Scully's vision in the
temple--a few milliseconds of the Scully clan is as good as it's gonna
get for me, I'm afraid. To me, this episode needed Scully talking to someone
throughout--not Dr. Dan but her mother or Mulder or even Melissa. When
Scully decides to call in the shaman, I thought it would've been cool to
have her have either a flashback or a dream conversation with her sister
who believed in all that stuff and in fact tried to use crystals to get
her out of her coma in (the awesome) "One Breath" in the second season. I
liked the Buddha having open eyes when she snapped out of her vision,
that was cool.

Dr. Dan seemed pretty creepy and obsessive, to move to DC in
the hopes of being close to her? Yee. Loved Mulder's Stonhenge Rocks hat,
hilarious. I liked their scene at the end--i was very afraid that Scully
wouldn't mention her spiritual experience to Mulder--she's kept mum
before.

Because it was Buddhist in nature and not Christian, mulder doesn't lash
out with the snide comments and is instead supportive and intrigued.
Mulder's brushing her hair from her face....Sigh. Nice little moment. So, it was
ok, but like I said, I didn't connect the way I wanted to and if she
would have been working this out as it happened by talking to her mom or sister
or even to one of the friends she had in the first season, it would have
been a real winner in my book.

In X-Files news, David Duchovny says in the latest entertainment weekly
that he has given Fox a scenario in which he'd be willing to
return--soundslike he'd like the show to take a major shift in direction
("seven years of trying to find my sister is enough already")
and I would guess, major
"outs"--he might appear in half the episodes, let's say. Otherwise, he's
gone. Gillian and Chris both sound like they don't want to do the show
without him, but Fox sounds like they are going to do another season no
matter what, so who knows. I hate the idea of them beating a dead horse,
but Fox doesn't have a lot of options. Networks suck. My beloved
"Roswell" is on the block because the demographics are too old--people in
their twenties are watching it instead of the teens the WB are after.
Uh...doesn't the fact that older people are watching it mean it's
actually GOOD? Ugh.

Anyway. X-Files might be back for an eight season. It might be good.
It might be really really really horrific. time will tell. I'll still
write a review. Skinner will probably be on it. Remember a few years ago I
joked about a "Team X-Files" show with Skinner leading a bunch of young
FBI misfits? Uh Oh.

Have a great week! Christine ;)