Sestra Amateur:
I must apologize in advance, especially to Sestra Pro. For some reason, my brain’s go-to for the episode title "Ice" is “Ice Ice Baby." Now Sestra Pro will never use Ice in her Match Game on Facebook. For anyone who has watched John Carpenter’s The Thing, this episode may have a familiar vibe. Something bad is happening in Alaska, just north of the Arctic Circle. Two guys seem to be ultimate fighting, then decide to commit suicide instead. Heartwarming intro –- no irony intended.Back in warm D.C., Mulder is telling Scully about the Ice Core Project. He shows her a happy video of the crew, then shows her the suicides which were captured on video. Pack your thermals, Sculder. You’re going to Nome! Did they even have pocket hand warmers in 1993?
Sculder don’t get to work alone on this one; they have to travel to the Icy Cape with four other people, played by actors we have seen in dozens of shows since this originally aired. Kenny Bania from Seinfeld is much less annoying here. Percy from Nikita ups the paranoia ante right off the bat. Lynette from Desperate Housewives feels like Scully Lite even though she isn’t even FBI. (Sestra Pro would go for a Felicity Huffman/Sports Night reference.) Rack from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the tough pilot who won’t let Percy make the rules so, of course, he’ll be the first to fall.
So Rack gets bitten by a dog right after they get there. The canine is behaving like the original crew. He has telltale spots -– a sign something is wrong – as well as a parasite visibly moving under his skin -– an even bigger sign. Of course, Rack promptly shows the same symptoms.Meanwhile, Scully performs five autopsies in record time and determines three of the crew died from strangulation and the other two from those pesky gunshot wounds to their heads. Kenny Bania thinks the original crew members came across a parasite while digging in a meteor crater and that worm could be 250,000 years old.
The team is divided between leaving the site or staying because of infection and quarantine procedures. Gee, who do you think wanted to stay? Rack gets very defensive when they ask for a stool sample to prove he is not infected. Majority rules that Rack "drop his cargo" -– his words, not mine. When Mulder restrains him, everyone sees the parasite moving around the back of Rack’s neck. Percy yanks it out, but Rack dies anyway.
Scully finds the organism in the bodies of the original crew and determines that the parasite triggers aggression in the host bodies. Can you imagine what would happen if that organism infected a hostess already suffering from PMS? Percy tries to push Scully’s buttons to get a reaction. The boys check the boys and the girls check the girls for spots and moving parasites. It’s not nearly as erotic as it could have been. Then they go to separate rooms to sleep but, of course, no one can relax. Mulder hears a noise and investigates. He finds Kenny Bania stuffed in a locker -– don't think this was a suicide. The others, including Scully, suspect Mulder because they find him crouched over the dead body. Mulder refuses to take a blood test. It escalates quickly to Sculder pointing their guns at each other. Mulder relents and they lock him in a room.
Lynette accidentally learns the parasites will attack each other when they come into contact. Scully infects the dog to test the theory and it seems to work. She tells Mulder, but he’s still miffed that Scully pulled a gun on him. They inspect each other for the early-warning nodules. Their version of foreplay is clearly different from “normal” people.
Back in us-against-the-world mode, they get taken out by suspicious Percy and Lynette. Now that’s just embarrassing. Percy is about to infect Mulder -– who, remember, is not infected -– but realizes Lynette is the one with the parasite. They force-feed her the second worm, and eventually, things return to normal. After they return to Nome, Mulder says he wants to go back to the site to continue his investigation, but he learns it's been torched. Mulder whines that more parasites are probably still stuck it the ice crater. Scully offers him the best advice, “Leave it there.” Maybe they can catch the Annual Fireman’s Carnival before they return home. Iditarod isn’t until March so that’s out.
Sestra Professional:
To paraphrase the episode's recurring theme: We are not who we were. The X-Files landscape was forever changed by this episode. If the pilot set the groundwork and "Squeeze" showed what could it be, "Ice" upped the ante much further. It had all the elements -- mystery, grossouts, conspiracy and the first real hint of serious chemistry between the leads.
Beyond nuanced performances from David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, a lot of credit for this landmark episode can go to the series' early best writers -- Glen Morgan and James Wong. "Ice" was director David Nutter's emotional first effort for the series and composer Mark Snow made the suspense last as long as Willy Wonka would ever want it to. (Like a guy named Snow wouldn't be a standout in an episode from Alaska.)
No need for "Ice, Ice baby" apologies, Sestra. It was originally going to be this blog's title in a "say the title of the episode, title of the episode, endearing nickname" sorta way. I was more distressed by "pack your thermals," when Mulder gave us the adorable "bring your mittens" line to work off of.
So two federal agents, a geologist, a medical doctor, a toxicologist and a pilot went to the Icy Cape. In itself, that might not sound too enthralling. However, with everyone suspicious of eventually everyone else, tensions were ratcheted up more than a few notches. This ain't no "Jersey Devil," that's for sure.
Before anyone passes judgment, may I remind you we are in the Arctic: Maybe it wasn't so titillating when the boys checked the boys and the girls checked the girls for signs of the nodules, swollen lymph nodes, skin irritation and the big bonus -- a parasite moving around the neck. But it was tantalizing when Mulder and Scully pulled their guns on each other for the very first time. Aw.
I don't trust them. I want to trust you: The old senses began tingling when Mulder and Scully whispered fervidly while huddled together. Even hotter still was when Sculder caressed each other's necks under the guise of looking for the parasite, of course. Previously paranoid Mulder turned his back to allow Scully to check for the parasite. She smiled with relief when she didn't find anything. And when she turned to walk away, he pulled her back to conduct his own "examination." And then a legion of shippers went out for a cigarette.
Another innovative aspect to this episode was the very nature of opinions. Previously, everything was black and white. Here, no one's opinion was particularly wrong -- with the possible exception of the person with a parasite roaming around in her. That's what really served The X-Files best and set a template for the future.
For example, Mulder and Scully's discussion about what to do about the parasites. Scully wanted them gone, all gone, so that future worms couldn't wipe out a population in mere hours. Mulder wanted to study it, because they wouldn't be able to stop a similar organism in the future without that knowledge. Both points were valid.
Later, they found the solution because everyone's on edge, and Lynette (I guess it would be confusing to call her by her Sports Night moniker since it's Dana) made a mistake. That's Morgan and Wong at their finest. The fact that these people were exhausted and irritable begot a way to kill the bad guy. I mean bad worm.
It was a very physical episode, with the best set pieces coming from the women. Girl power!! Scully tackled the infected Bear ... later, she swung some sort of pipe against a door with all her might while trying to get out of a locked room. Meanwhile, Huffman got to play a freakout that tops any ever seen on Desperate Housewives as the worm took over her brain. That looked like fun, I'd kind of like to do that after a rough night at the office.
Even the capper is strong. Percy was the one who told the agents that the site was torched 45 minutes after evacuation. And once again, we see that while Sculder worked for the government, they didn't know a lot about what the powers-that-be want and what their roles were to that end. Another building block for the landmark series.
Guest Star of the Week: With apologies to Huffman and the rest of the guest cast, I'm giving the nod to the dog! David Duchovny's own border collie Blue was the daughter of the canine actor that attacked Mulder. Did some fine acting too, particularly in the uncomfortable scene in which the second worm was introduced into the ear.
Beyond nuanced performances from David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, a lot of credit for this landmark episode can go to the series' early best writers -- Glen Morgan and James Wong. "Ice" was director David Nutter's emotional first effort for the series and composer Mark Snow made the suspense last as long as Willy Wonka would ever want it to. (Like a guy named Snow wouldn't be a standout in an episode from Alaska.)No need for "Ice, Ice baby" apologies, Sestra. It was originally going to be this blog's title in a "say the title of the episode, title of the episode, endearing nickname" sorta way. I was more distressed by "pack your thermals," when Mulder gave us the adorable "bring your mittens" line to work off of.
So two federal agents, a geologist, a medical doctor, a toxicologist and a pilot went to the Icy Cape. In itself, that might not sound too enthralling. However, with everyone suspicious of eventually everyone else, tensions were ratcheted up more than a few notches. This ain't no "Jersey Devil," that's for sure.
Before anyone passes judgment, may I remind you we are in the Arctic: Maybe it wasn't so titillating when the boys checked the boys and the girls checked the girls for signs of the nodules, swollen lymph nodes, skin irritation and the big bonus -- a parasite moving around the neck. But it was tantalizing when Mulder and Scully pulled their guns on each other for the very first time. Aw.I don't trust them. I want to trust you: The old senses began tingling when Mulder and Scully whispered fervidly while huddled together. Even hotter still was when Sculder caressed each other's necks under the guise of looking for the parasite, of course. Previously paranoid Mulder turned his back to allow Scully to check for the parasite. She smiled with relief when she didn't find anything. And when she turned to walk away, he pulled her back to conduct his own "examination." And then a legion of shippers went out for a cigarette.
Later, they found the solution because everyone's on edge, and Lynette (I guess it would be confusing to call her by her Sports Night moniker since it's Dana) made a mistake. That's Morgan and Wong at their finest. The fact that these people were exhausted and irritable begot a way to kill the bad guy. I mean bad worm.
It was a very physical episode, with the best set pieces coming from the women. Girl power!! Scully tackled the infected Bear ... later, she swung some sort of pipe against a door with all her might while trying to get out of a locked room. Meanwhile, Huffman got to play a freakout that tops any ever seen on Desperate Housewives as the worm took over her brain. That looked like fun, I'd kind of like to do that after a rough night at the office.
Even the capper is strong. Percy was the one who told the agents that the site was torched 45 minutes after evacuation. And once again, we see that while Sculder worked for the government, they didn't know a lot about what the powers-that-be want and what their roles were to that end. Another building block for the landmark series.
Guest Star of the Week: With apologies to Huffman and the rest of the guest cast, I'm giving the nod to the dog! David Duchovny's own border collie Blue was the daughter of the canine actor that attacked Mulder. Did some fine acting too, particularly in the uncomfortable scene in which the second worm was introduced into the ear.
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