X-Files 7.20 "Fight Club"

I'm losing my will to write these reviews> I feel like I should start
citing my old reviews since I keep repeating myself.

OK. We've seen this before--people are going crazy and we don't know
why. Second season's "Blood," where someone (probably the government) was
manipulating citizens to kill people through electronic stimuli. Then
there was season three's "Syzygy," a pretty funny episode about two girls
who are best friends. They share a birthday, and for whatever reason,
this leads to bizarre and violent behavior on their part and on the
townspeople and of course Mulder and Scully.

So, basically, even in the end times of a once great show Chris Carter is
cribbing from himself.
I'm tired of the relentless self-aware humor of the series this
year--they
won't DO ANYTHING, but they'll make winky little jokes about how long
things have been exactly the same as though it wasn't in their power to
shake things up and change the routine had they had any guts whatsoever.
The jokes and comments about Mulder and Scully's platonic relationship
etc. are also a tiresome attempt to address us rather than entertain us. They
could have explored this a little, they could have had one of the pair
become interested or involved with someone else (remember all that great
early series jealousy between them?) but instead they have given us a
year of in-jokes and hedging.

I'm beginning to wonder about ol' Chris and his vision--why not blow the
lid off this year? I mean, even if there is a season eight (a prospect
that feels more and more likely) out there, why write season seven like
you're afraid? The major change in the series development--Scully's
abduction early in the second season was written only because Gillian
became pregnant and they needed to write a powerful explanation for her
absence from the show's canvas. The show, therefore, owes much of it's
success to it's ability to deftly handle real-life problems. But the
tables have turned, and now real life has crippled the show. They have
been unable to construct a story arc that doesn't get all of us thinking
about the actor's contracts.

I hate hate the score of this show--everytime anything is remotely
whimsical, Mark Snow has to hit us over the head with it.
The whole "mulder and scully" lookalike thing was stupid (see above
commentary about addressing sexual tension rather than exploring it).

I really liked the scene between Mulder and Scully with the slide show.
They were very cute and Scully was at her "Lisa Simpson" best.

The thing about the twins both working at Kinko's copies reminded me of a
joke that the warm up guy for the studio audience of "Politically
Incorrect" used to say. Now, I was a page and responsible for seating
the audience back in 95--third season X-Files, it was never better. ANYWAY,
I had to listen to this guy's act and it was always the same every night
and it wasn't very good either but he had one line that has stuck with me
because it was funny and in my experience very true:
"Kinko's is an office run by people that have never worked in an office
before."

Scully's "I guess that's why they put the I in the FBI" was something
Mulder told her in the series pilot.

Is anyone safe from the horror that is pro wrestling? What a sell out.

Why were Mulder and Scully telling Argyle Sapperstein about the case? I
missed the part where he was a member of the Kansas city Field
Office--seemed to me he was a crook, but Mulder and Scully never had a
problem with him.

Did we really need to see the bar get trashed TWICE? Did they run out of
time? And why did Mulder and Scully wake up this clearly injured man
(Titanic) to ask him about what happened--it seems like the paramedics
should have been called.

THE BIG BIG BIG PROBLEM WITH THE EPISODE: Scully believes. Now, don't
get me wrong, I think she should have been believing long ago--it's clear she
has believed, does believe in many things. But the fact that it was so
clearly not a big deal for her to say these girls were causing this
bizarrebehavior when you and I ALL KNOW that in other episodes
this year Scully has
been completely unbelieving of even the obvious just really ticks me off.

Because in the next few shows, perhaps the last few, you know she's going
to have some epiphany or share some big moment with Mulder where she
"Believes" underlined italics exclamation point, and they'll want us to
feel like it's never happened before even though it has.

bastards.

I liked Scully with the angry man. Scully is so great when she has to
deal with mere mortals and her grace and calm were such a delight. "What's so
special about you?!?!?!" "It's just an FBI title, sir." I thing Dana is
very very special but I doubt you can trace sperm bank records over the
Internet badge or no badge--especially thirty year old ones. Liked
Scully's smug entry into the auditorium, but not what followed. I don't think
it's funny that Mulder and Scully beat each other up, or that any of those
people beat up anyone else. Pain isn't funny. Oh, and will they be even
remotely beat up next week? Of course not, because it's just a TV show.

That's the problem. Yes, in reality "it's just a TV show," but it's bad
news when the writers and producers of the show are approaching it that
way. I feel like they must start every writers meeting this year with
the words "Wouldn't it be funny if...?" There have been no major departures
in the creative team (yes, Morgan and Wong, but they screwed stuff up too)
so it's the same folks that created the wondrous frightening world I fell in
love and became obsessed with, that have replaced it with this stagnant
and self-satisfied mess.

It's just a sad state of affairs. Take away the "funny assaults" and you
have an episode that would have been a nice change of pace in previous
seasons and I would have said it was OK. But when 75% of the year needs
a freaking laugh track, it gets annoying. It's as though they've decided
anything not related to the now defunct conspiracy should be played for
laughs, and it's not funny.

I'm done. I hope you have good weeks, and here's hoping next week is, I
dunno...scary? I have no idea what to expect, since my VCR cut off the
scenes and end credits while I was out. That would have driven me nuts
two or three years ago.

Talk to you later, Christine :)