New X-Files mini series discussion

[Silver]

Not sure what to state about last night's episode.

Only two more left, though. :C

[Clueless Morgan]

Really, Kitan? I enjoyed it.

I thought the Trashman story was typically X-files (in fact, I thought it was reminiscent of the Trash monsters from Arcadia in a way, especially with the Tibetan thought-form thing which reminded me intensely of the conversation Mulder has with that HOA guy) and achieved a decent spook-level when they went down into the zombie-mummy basement place.

I also really loved seeing Scully's mother again! Except BOO! They killed her!!! Maggie was always a favorite supporting character for me, not only in the way that she supported her daughter, but also in the way she accepted and had a connection with Mulder because of their shared grief over Scully's disappearance and her various medical incidents throughout the series. Maggie was always a strong, maternal figure in a show that was often otherwise lacking that warm presence to it. She always added something to the show to me.

I thought it was really interesting that they brought in a story line about Charlie being estranged from the family since he was never a player in the original series. Had they had more than 6 episodes to work with I got the feeling that they would have brought in Bill Scully and had a confrontation between him and Mulder (let's face it, they never got along) but that it just wasn't in the scope of this episode or this reboot. Too bad, I kind of wanted to see Mulder sucker-punch Bill in his smug fat face.

I enjoyed that Mulder has sort of gone back to his season 5 (albeit short-lived) skepticism in sort of debunking the homeless artist's statement that the Trashman was a Tibetan thought form - I thought that was a nice little nugget to throw in there. Mulder is still a believer but he's learned a thing or two about not immediately believing everything in the years since the show ended.

There were two things I thought were questionable in this episode:

(1) the coin on the necklace. I'm hoping this gets resolved more than it was in this episode because it seemed to have too much of a big deal made of it for it to just go unexplained.

(2) Scully's soliloquy at the end about worrying that she and Mulder treated William like trash. Okay, number one, Mulder was dead at the time of her giving him up for adoption (IIRC) so it's not like he had much of a say in the matter. Not to say that Scully is to "blame" for that decision, but Mulder really didn't have anything to do with it, he wasn't around. Secondly, no one would say that Scully threw William out like trash. Perhaps this is her own guilty conscience talking to her and digging up her regrets but even she should know that giving up William was an incredibly difficult decision.

I did like the part of her scene where she wondered what kinds of questions William had about her and thought that was a bit of a nice homage to people who are adopted and to those mothers who have given up their babies for adoption and maybe come to regret it. It's nice to see that sort of situation addressed on screen because so often what's reinforced is the loving, happy nuclear family and you kind of have to wonder what kind of message that sends to unconventional families.

And even though it was abrupt, I also kind of liked that Scully immediately went back to work. It's what she does: buries her emotions in her job. That felt rather true to her character, even this newer, a little more touchy-feely Scully.

Overall, I thought it was a good, solid episode and felt very X-Filesy.

What about the episode makes you unsure, Kitan?

[pocaracas]

Really, Kitan?  I enjoyed it.

I thought the Trashman story was typically X-files (in fact, I thought it was reminiscent of the Trash monsters from Arcadia in a way, especially with the Tibetan thought-form thing which reminded me intensely of the conversation Mulder has with that HOA guy) and achieved a decent spook-level when they went down into the zombie-mummy basement place.

Well.... I'm confused... what was that trashman, anyway?
Why did that last guy to get killed not go for the stairs and out to where lights existed?
Why did he get into a tight corner? Oh... plot...

I also really loved seeing Scully's mother again!  Except BOO! They killed her!!!  Maggie was always a favorite supporting character for me, not only in the way that she supported her daughter, but also in the way she accepted and had a connection with Mulder because of their shared grief over Scully's disappearance and her various medical incidents throughout the series.  Maggie was always a strong, maternal figure in a show that was often otherwise lacking that warm presence to it.  She always added something to the show to me.

If the characters are old.... their parents are older

I thought it was really interesting that they brought in a story line about Charlie being estranged from the family since he was never a player in the original series.  Had they had more than 6 episodes to work with I got the feeling that they would have brought in Bill Scully and had a confrontation between him and Mulder (let's face it, they never got along) but that it just wasn't in the scope of this episode or this reboot.  Too bad, I kind of wanted to see Mulder sucker-punch Bill in his smug fat face.

I got nothing, here... why would Mulder sucker-punch Bill?

I enjoyed that Mulder has sort of gone back to his season 5 (albeit short-lived) skepticism in sort of debunking the homeless artist's statement that the Trashman was a Tibetan thought form - I thought that was a nice little nugget to throw in there.  Mulder is still a believer but he's learned a thing or two about not immediately believing everything in the years since the show ended.

Is that what he was? really?
Why aren't there any more of those things in that world (far from Tibet, anyway)? (don't think that much about it, poca.. it's just a tv show!)

There were two things I thought were questionable in this episode:

(1) the coin on the necklace.  I'm hoping this gets resolved more than it was in this episode because it seemed to have too much of a big deal made of it for it to just go unexplained.

hahaha... season 2.. or 11.. or whatever number it is!

(2) Scully's soliloquy at the end about worrying that she and Mulder treated William like trash.  Okay, number one, Mulder was dead at the time of her giving him up for adoption (IIRC) so it's not like he had much of a say in the matter.  Not to say that Scully is to "blame" for that decision, but Mulder really didn't have anything to do with it, he wasn't around.  Secondly, no one would say that Scully threw William out like trash.  Perhaps this is her own guilty conscience talking to her and digging up her regrets but even she should know that giving up William was an incredibly difficult decision.

Difficult decisions always leave some lingering doubt... and that doubt tends to haunt people forever...

I did like the part of her scene where she wondered what kinds of questions William had about her and thought that was a bit of a nice homage to people who are adopted and to those mothers who have given up their babies for adoption and maybe come to regret it.  It's nice to see that sort of situation addressed on screen because so often what's reinforced is the loving, happy nuclear family and you kind of have to wonder what kind of message that sends to unconventional families.

yeah... that was nice.

And even though it was abrupt, I also kind of liked that Scully immediately went back to work.  It's what she does: buries her emotions in her job.  That felt rather true to her character, even this newer, a little more touchy-feely Scully.

A bit too abrupt, methinks... perhaps people wouldn't snap into that attitude quite like that... it felt a bit forced.

Overall, I thought it was a good, solid episode and felt very X-Filesy.

X-filesy... I like that.
You should coin that term!

[Clueless Morgan]

Well.... I'm confused... what was that trashman, anyway?

He was a man who traveled in a garbage truck manifested by a dude who lived in the dark.

If the characters are old.... their parents are older

Scully was in her 30s on the show, and her mother was, let's say late twenties or thirty when she had Dana (she's the 3rd of 4 kids) and Scully is now maybe early fifties which means...

...


Okay, I take your point.

I got nothing, here... why would Mulder sucker-punch Bill?

Because Bill is an asshole who blames Mulder for everything that goes wrong with Scully.

Is that what he was? really?
Why aren't there any more of those things in that world (far from Tibet, anyway)? (don't think that much about it, poca.. it's just a tv show!)

Well, technically this is the second (that I can think of) trash monster on the show - the previous one being a similarly hypothesized Tibetan thought form but literally made of trash - whereas this guy looks like he was sculpted in clay and manifested out of... thought?...

I don't know, turn the brain off, it works better that way

And even though it was abrupt, I also kind of liked that Scully immediately went back to work.  It's what she does: buries her emotions in her job.  That felt rather true to her character, even this newer, a little more touchy-feely Scully.

A bit too abrupt, methinks... perhaps people wouldn't snap into that attitude quite like that... it felt a bit forced.

The abruptness was strange, but the action itself read true to Scully so I chalk it up to needing to move the plot along.

Overall, I thought it was a good, solid episode and felt very X-Filesy.

X-filesy... I like that.
You should coin that term!

I thought I just had...

[Silver]

Will shortly be watching tonight's episode.

[Clueless Morgan]

Ga!! I forgot about it - guess I'll catch up over lunch.

[Aroura]

So, last night's episode certainly was loaded with many interesting messages.

I wanted to point out that when the woman was holding the body of the terrorist on the boat, I thought at first she was death crossing him over the river Styx.  However, later when we see that the woman was the mother, and then when Moulder is having flashbacks and talking about motherly love, a lightbulb went off in my head.  I used to study art quite a lot, and I turned to my husband and said, "They were posed like the Pieta!"  I went and took a screen clip of it, and then compared.  I'm right.  

From the show, the Muslim mother holding her dying son:



The Pieta



Are the Christians having a cow yet that a the mother of an Islamic terrorist who was part of a bomb plot, even if he did not detonate his in the end because he repented at the last moment, was portrayed as mother Mary holding the body of Christ?
(There are some minor differences, such as the head placement, but I argue the clothing, and the mother's left hand help open, the draping of the arms and legs make it clear this was the image they wanted to invoke)

Despite, or perhaps because of, the religious themes, I loved this episode.  I thought it was well handled.  The themes were well interwoven with the other detectives, belief being like taking a placebo, the effect still being real, even if the drug is not.  Muslims portrayed in both sympathetic and monstrous lights, but not inherently different that Christians in the end.  The need for all peoples to adopt some common "language" so we can learn to get along.  I really liked it.

What did you guys think of it?

[Clueless Morgan]

So, last night's episode certainly was loaded with many interesting messages.

I wanted to point out that when the woman was holding the body of the terrorist on the boat, I thought at first she was death crossing him over the river Styx.  However, later when we see that the woman was the mother, and then when Moulder is having flashbacks and talking about motherly love, a lightbulb went off in my head.  I used to study art quite a lot, and I turned to my husband and said, "They were posed like the Pieta!"  I went and took a screen clip of it, and then compared.  I'm right.  

From the show, the Muslim mother holding her dying son:



The Pieta

I recognized the Pieta pose instantly and thought it was a strange mixed message of religion, seeing as how the Pieta is Mary and Jesus and in the show the dying guy and his mother here Muslim.

What did you guys think of it?

I thought it was fun and interesting. I like the Mulder/Scully doppelgangers (the woman more than the man), and I liked the bit about the placebo pill and whatnot, but there were aspects of the episode that I didn't especially enjoy and thought were heavy handed.

[vorlon13]

Do honey bees still pollinate corn in the X-Files universe ??

[pocaracas]

Can anyone tell me how a guy with an explosive vest can survive it blowing up?
[don't think poca! it's TV!!]


Also, I kept thinking that Mulder already had some shrooms with him and didn't take the one that Einstein gave him...
The power of suggestion is strong... but not that strong! 2 minutes into the thing and already having a ball?