Sestra Amateur:
I’m glad The X-Files chose to make the first few episodes of Season 6 humorous ones. After the depress-fest of Season 5, we sure could use it. This one has a body-swapping plot akin to Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son and 18 Again, with some government security shenanigans thrown in for good measure.
Sculder are driving along a dark road toward Area 51. Dana is getting wistful about missed personal life opportunities (marriage, children, yadda yadda yadda) while Fox clearly has a different definition of the word “normal.” They get stopped and removed from the car at gunpoint. You know, that actually is normal for them. A different cigarette-smoking man named Morris Fletcher – played by Michael McKean who everyone knows from somewhere -- wants answers from them and insists flying saucers do not exist. He’s half right. A flying triangle arrives, warbles above them for a second, then continues on its way. Sculder leave … sort of. It looks like Mulder and Fletcher swapped bodies and no one but them noticed. It’s a Freaky Friday situation, even though this episode aired on a Saturday. On the upside, Mulder has free access to Area 51. On the downside, some stranger with unknown intentions just drove off with Scully. Decisions, decisions.
You’d think government agents assigned to Area 51 would have more official-looking ID badges. We could have made the same ones – back in the 1990s, mind you – and looked more official. Fletcher’s isn’t even grammatically correct, because if it is, then his name is Fletcher Morris, not Morris Fletcher. Mulder makes his way to Morry’s office, which is filled with photos of Fletcher’s family, the Reagans, Newt Gingrich and even some enemies of state. He tries to call Scully, who’s been put on gas-pumping duties due to the proximity of the rental car’s gas cap. She unfortunately doesn’t pick up the call in time. Mulder-as-Fletcher has to handle a mole in the organization as well as an irate wife – played by Nora Dunn – at home. Luckily, he has the porn channel to relax him. Fletcher-as-Mulder just gets to listen to cool music and smoke Morleys.
General Wegman from Area 51 arrives at the flying triangle crash site. The pilots are alive; one is embedded in rock(!) and the other is speaking an unknown language. Scully and faux-Mulder make it back to D.C. and meet with Assistant Director Kersh, who is mad at them for violating protocol yet again. This Fox actually apologizes to Kersh, so Dana knows something is wrong with him. She gets another clue when he flirts with Kersh’s secretary … and when he smacks Scully on the butt.
JoAnne Fletcher wakes Mulder Morry, who is in for the shock of his life now that he has the “normal” family situation Scully was just talking about. His wife is unhappy, he doesn’t know his son from his daughter (literally) and he can’t even take his car keys without the family making a federal case out of it. Fox goes to change his suit … and finally gets a real glimpse in the mirror at his new physique. This is the funniest scene of the season so far. He does everything but the one thing you would expect -- he doesn’t look down his boxer shorts. (Although maybe he did that while watching those movies the night before.)
Back in Area 51, General Wegman learns the triangle craft’s captain claims to be Hopi Indian Lana Chee. Lana, who soldiers found outside Area 51, identifies herself as the captain and explains to the general what happened the night before when he was at the controls of the aircraft. Faux Mulder is playing online golf when real Mulder calls Scully on the phone but Dana has doubts, at least until Faux Fox wants to handle it by notifying Kersh. Red flags everywhere, Scully!
Our Mulder buys some sunflower seeds at a local gas station, shortly before secret squirrel stuff hits the fan. Something has leveled the gas station and embedded the attendant halfway into the floor. The Area 51 agents clean up the mess by shooting the attendant and burning down the gas station. Dana goes to Fox's apartment where Kersh’s assistant (did they ever give her a name?), looking disheveled and satisfied, is leaving. She tries to yell some sense into “Mulder” about pursuing this X-file – his life’s work – but Faux Fox resists.
Mulder-as-Fletcher learns the swapping and rock-embedding occurred because of a tear in the space time continuum caused by the triangle craft’s gravity-pulse mode. General Wegman said they have flown these crafts since 1953 without issues. Fox wants to undo it, but apparently Fletcher’s job is not to rectify the situation, just to cover it up. That’s probably Mulder’s worst nightmare. Dana arrives at the burned-down gas station and finds a dime and penny embedded together; it’s actually the change Mulder left the attendant when he bought the sunflower seeds.
Back at Casa Fletcher, JoAnne thinks Morris doesn’t find her attractive because he’s impotent. At least it’s given her hope they can save their marriage … until Dana Scully arrives at her front door. (Did I mention that Mulder-as-Fletcher mentioned Scully’s name in his sleep?) I wonder what the divorce laws are in Nevada because real Fletcher is probably going to lose everything. Fox, meanwhile, has never been so happy to see Dana, even though he can’t quite convince her the body swap occurred. And still Scully resists believing him, despite the unbelievable things she has seen over the years in the X-files. Faux Fox is a step ahead though and sets Faux Morry up for a fall. Faux Mulder also ratted out Scully’s location to Kersh, who is beyond fed up with her. Alvin orders Dana to set up Faux Fletcher/Mulder, who gets arrested by the military. No tidy ending today, you’ll have to wait until next week.
Sestra Professional:
Season 6 quickly garnered a reputation as "X-Files Lite," and that probably springs as much from the two-parter that anchored a string of blithe fare as any move to Hollywood ever could. But like Sestra Am, I don't think it's such a bad thing. Not because I found Season 5 such a downer, but these aerier episodes lightened the load. Some bemoan the lack of more serious cases and mythology that got us into the show to begin with, but I'm not one of them because I think the conspiracy element already had gone off the rails to some degree.
Don't you ever just want to stop? Get out of the damn car? So the "Dreamland" concoction was pieced together by the writing trio of Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz and it does feel like that. Some from Gilligan's island, a little shucking and Shib-ing and a spot of -nitz. One of the signatures of their work is that Dana tends to exhibit a desire for a personal life outside the FBI. She also gets to quip on par with Fox.
The X-Files was definitely due for a look at Area 51. Because this is well documented and covered territory in the entertainment industry, perhaps Groom Lake was grist for the comedy mill in regards to our show. What could really be said or pointed out that hadn't been done before? Doing a little body switcheroo was just the ticket.
I got a top secret for you: Michael McKean was an inspired bit of casting, even thought the role apparently was originally intended for David Duchovny's friend, Garry Schandling. If you need someone to play a version of Mulder in a lighter vein, you can't do better than the veteran of everything from Laverne & Shirley to This Is Spinal Tap. We don't crave another buttoned-down person in authority, we need someone who could play a little fast and loose with the words in the script. The kind of guy who can say "There's no such thing as UFOs" and then do a subtle doubletake a second later when one comes over the horizon.
This is a sharp episode for Duchovny too. Part 1 is basically all setup, and we see our male lead can deliver the subtle reactions just as well as McKean. "Dreamland" also calls for bigger acknowledgements -- showing the badge proves particularly key because it clarifies why we see Faux Fox and Faux Morris as the people they are on the inside. It's great to fun to watch Mulder playing the other side of the coin -- the people whom he is forever investigating and accusing.
I'm just not myself lately: The irony of Fox forced to live out the life that just minutes earlier Dana had contemplated is a nice touch. Maybe it's a little bizarre that Mulder chooses to sack out in a stranger's living room with porn on the television, but the dude was uncomfortable. I guess he had to seek out something from his own life that made him feel more secure. His attempts to get Scully to believe him are fun to watch too, even thought the fact that he knew she'd been putting bee pollen in her yogurt probably should have done the trick.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Johnny Cash." And now a few words about that mirror scene. It's nicely reminiscent of the famous I Love Lucy scene between the star and Harpo Marx that was an homage to the Marx Brothers' routine in Duck Soup. But, well, don't you think Fox doesn't make the most natural movements while trying to trip up Morris? And Mark Snow's music cue for the mirror dance is off-the-charts ... well, to quote Dana ... "bizarre."
The other victims of the time-space continuum aren't having such an painless time of it either. The body swaps between the captain and the old Indian woman probably were a lot easier to live with than the guy in the rock or the shopkeeper in the floor. Watching Faux Lana Chee give details of the flight is a standout moment in the episode. I could have watched her explaining what happened when the captain was at the controls of the UFO technology for an hour without any of the Mulder body switching.
This is an X-file ... your life's work ... your crusade: There's not a lot for Gillian Anderson to do in this one, except to react with surprise and astonishment to every single thing that Faux Mulder says and does. But it's different than Scully's usual scowls at the theories posed by Real Mulder and a nice chemistry develops as McKean plays perfectly off the physical cues that Anderson gives him. She does nail the final scene when Dana seem to finally start to suspect that maybe the strange man claiming to be her partner might be telling the truth.
Guest star of the week: Well, yeah, it's McKean, but he's even finer in Part 2, so I'm giving the nod to Nora Dunn here. She's someone who admittedly was not a favorite of mine on Saturday Night Live, but her sharp manner totally suits JoAnne Fletcher. Her tirades about Faux Morris' behavior, the children and the recurring Scully theme fit the proceedings to a T. Or an X, in our case.
Sestra Amateur:
And now for something completely different, an episode filled with more “wait, what?” moments than a full season of The X-Files, but set to a nice swing-time, drum-thumping beat.
In this episode, Mulder channels his inner Wizard of Oz and figuratively follows the yellow brick road which, for him, is located in the Sargasso Sea – one of the Bermuda Triangle borders. He gets rescued by a passing cruise ship filled with British sailors who think he’s an English-speaking German spy with a ridiculous name. Clearly he’s not in Kansas anymore, but since Kansas is pretty landlocked, we knew that anyway. At knifepoint, they bring him to the ship’s captain, who bitch-slaps Fox for answers. Turns out, he was rescued by the S. S. Queen Anne and believes they are stuck in a time loop. The captain and crew think the year is 1939; Mulder insists it’s 1998 … and that the world is at peace. (Ah, simpler times.) Fox is giddy with the possibility of the time loop until he gets into a fight with Spender. (Wait, what?) Of course, Fox gets the upper hand and steals German Jeffrey's soldier uniform.
Mulder gets chased throughout the ship by other soldiers until he ends up at a party in the ballroom, where he bumps into Dana Scully. (Wait, what?) The soldiers catch up to Fox and yell at him in German. This Scully seems to suspect he’s being truthful because most German soldiers understand their native tongue. (Side note: Christopher Pike wrote a short story years ago which featured two characters named Dana. The second Dana, essentially a copy of the original, was called “Dana Two” for narrative purposes. So for the rest of this review, this Scully will be known as Dana Two.) And who is the man lucky enough to be dancing with Dana Two?
Soldiers kill the captain when he refuses to give up his ship. The Nazi who ordered the hit is Cigarette Smoking Man. (Wait, what?) He confronts Mulder with some pretty lame interrogation tactics. Seriously, it’s like Zigarettenraucher is just looking for an excuse to execute people. I know it looks like I just Spanglished CSM in German, but really, that’s how Google translates it. (By the way, there are large chunks of dialogue I’m not translating, so if you speak German and spot a nice Easter Egg, please share it with the rest of us.) Another SS soldier brings over Fox's wallet and identification, which identifies him as American. That soldier looks exactly Walter Skinner. (Wait, what?) Of course his intervention keeps Mulder from getting shot, just like our Skinner would.
Back in Washington, D.C., in 1998, the Lone Gunmen approach Scully inside FBI headquarters. It’s amusing to think how easily they can get past security and into a secured government building. They tell Dana how the Queen Anne, a British luxury liner which disappeared 60 years earlier, recently popped up in the Bermuda Triangle. They gave that info to Fox. Dana takes down some notes and walks swiftly toward Assistant Director Skinner’s office. (I love how smoothly the camera follows Scully around the office. The effect exists during the cruise-ship scenes, but it’s more striking in the well-lit, modern corridors of an office building than a dimly lit luxury liner.)
Dana barges into Walter's office and asks for his help. He reminds her he’s not the boss of her anymore, but with more appropriately acceptable terminology. This Scully is clearly getting fed up with protocol and tells Skinner to save his own ass … verbatim. She then reaches out to Assistant Director Kersh, who is in a meeting with Zigarettenraucher … I mean Cigarette Smoking Man. (Wait, what?) Dana bolts to the elevator and pulls out a cell phone from who-knows-where. That jacket is already snug. She goes downstairs and threatens Spender into helping her. He is disturbingly compliant, but of course, she can’t trust him.
While Scully waits, she takes a phone call from CSM, who thinks she is Agent Diana Fowley. For a brief moment, Dana actually has the upper hand on Cancer Man. More elevator and cell-phone wackiness ensue. Skinner gives Scully the information she needed and Dana rewards him with a kiss. (Wait, what??) She catches up to the Lone Gunmen in the parking garage and they make their escape in a Volkswagen van. Curious to see what the repercussions ended up being the next time she goes to work.
Back on the Queen Anne in 1939, Mulder learns about Thor’s Hammer. Because of The Avengers movies, my brain goes to Mjolnir, but I’m almost completely, positively sure that’s not the one they mean. Turns out, the man dancing with Dana Two is Thor’s Hammer. Fox reveals what he knows to the other prisoners and one of them turns out to be a German spy. Nice work, Fox. The one time you don’t follow your own “trust no one” advice.
Mulder comes across Kersh’s counterpart, a man desperate to take the ship to Jamaica. Fox is trying to save history by getting the boat back on the right course. The soldiers bring him upstairs to identify Thor’s Hammer. SS Spender is able to translate for Mulder, who refuses to name names. Dana Two steps in and gets a gun in her face for her efforts. To end the bloodshed, Fox falsely names one of the executed passengers as Thor’s Hammer, but the brave man steps forward anyway. Unfortunately, he also names Dana Two as an agent accompanying him. Nice work, Hammer.
OK, it’s swing time, the scene which features my second favorite piece of Mark Snow score (behind the beautiful lullaby in in "Paper Hearts’ (Season 4, Episode 10), of course). Scully and the Lone Gunmen locate the S. S. Queen Anne and look for Mulder while Fox and Dana Two are about to be executed. British soldiers storm the ballroom and attack the Germans. Even some of the well-dressed partygoers get into it. Hard to imagine a huge brawl is in progress while Scully and the Gunmen walk through the dark, empty hallways. Fox and Dana Two escape the ballroom and run through the halls until they are stopped by a German soldier, who is quickly dispatched by German Skinner. (As you can see, the character parallels are pretty spot on.) Dana Two and Scully then cross paths … same hallway, different dimension. (Wait, what??) Dana Two seems disgusted, but Scully just shrugs it off and keeps walking.
The brawl continues in 1939, but the ballroom is a ghost town for our present-day heroes. Mulder lets Dana Two know how she can correct history, then Fox kisses her goodbye (Wait, what??) and she belts him. (OK, I expected that.) Mulder jumps overboard in 1939 and gets rescued in 1998.
His Wizard of Oz moments continue when everyone comes to visit him in the hospital, “You were there, and you were there…”. Did you know Oz was released in the United States only a week before the Queen Anne timeline date? But Fox chooses this bedside moment to tell Dana, “I love you.” (Wait, what??) And, like Scully, I rolled my eyes. Of course, he’ll always believe that shiner on his left eye and cheek came from Dana Two because that’s how he rolls. But I’m sure he’s glad to be home. Because, well, there’s no place like zuhause.
Sestra Professional:
"Triangle" is my go-to rewatch episode of The X-Files. Is it because Chris Carter crafted a homage to my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie by filming the episode in 10-minute takes? Perhaps, although ultimately as Sestra Am said, it's more of a television take on The Wizard of Oz than Rope. For my money, it stands as Carter's greatest stand-alone episode. After more than five years, he found his own voice for a bottle ep, he's not honing in on territory better delivered by the likes of Darin Morgan or Vince Gilligan.
In true Carter tradition, the show creator doesn't just dole out references to The Wizard of Oz, he uses the proverbial Thor's Hammer to hit us over the head with them. It's obvious in dialogue like Scully telling Mulder to close his eyes and think "There's no place like home." (Nothing about ruby slippers? Maybe Dana Two was wearing them.) Skinner references being there with his dog, Toto. The Lone Gunmen have always been our answer to the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Mulder's wrecked boat? Lady Garland. The ballroom band? Almira Guilch and the Lollipop Guild. And Captain Yip Harburg? E.Y. "Yip" Harburg wrote the words to the songs in the film.
I think there's been a mistake, I think the mistake is mine: I'd go so far as to say the entire episode is Fox's dream, a waterlogged delusion crafted in his unconscious mind to bide time while awaiting a rescue. Naturally, egocentric Mulder would have a chance to alter history. Fox would picture his enemies as Nazis. He'd be well versed on the legend of the Queen Anne. And, of course, this is what Mulder thinks people do in his absence -- Dana impatiently talks back to everyone at the FBI, threatens Spender and kisses the person who helps her; the Lone Gunmen waltz into the office at will and Skinner always backs his former charges in the end. I don't think there will be any repercussions the next time Scully goes to work, because none of it really happened.
Kudos are certainly deserved for everyone working behind the scenes on the show. Just a couple episodes into their stay in Los Angeles, Carter wrote something up that required a lot of technical skill across the board. The sets are gorgeous -- the dark Queen Anne and the luminous FBI headquarters. Moving the cast and crew through the corridors of both, to quote Mulder while trying to convince the captain of what was going on had to be "a real bitch." Particularly in circumstances like the halls of justice, which required sets to be moved around while Scully was in the elevator to indicate the change of floors.
I don't speak Nazi: Not to leave the actors out of this mix, because all of them seem to be feeding off the urgency of filming under such restrictions. If a 10-minute take is going to be messed up by one flub, the adrenaline had to be pumping for everyone. David Duchovny is super fine at the center of this universe, but it's Gillian Anderson who really gets to take the spotlight. Dana 1-B (that's what I'll call Fox's impression of her) has so much spunk and spirit, it's easy to see why no one -- hear that, Fowley? -- will ever take her place in his heart and mind. And she also gets to chew some scenery as Dana 2. (She looks awesome in that gown, by the way.)
"Parts of it were excruciating, but parts of it were exhilarating," Anderson admitted in the official episode guide. "It was like live theater. We were taking risks, doing things differently, learning. You just go here and do this. I was resonating on a whole different level."
And if you ever ask me to break policy or protocol, I will have you written up, wrapped up and tossed out of the FBI for good: It's also the strongest episode in a while for Mitch Pileggi. Skinner 1-B and Skinner 2 are crucial to the action in mind and spirit, and that's a welcome change. James Pickens Jr. does a fine job with both the Jamaican Kersh and Sculder's FBI boss roles, and even if William B. Davis' German accent comes off a little suspect, it gives the guy portraying the most devious American an interesting parallel to play. More on Chris Owens as the dual Jeffreys in a little bit.
Know what's also great? Carter's able to advance the Mulder and Scully relationship without offending shippers or no-romos. For all those disappointed that in Fight the Future, the near-kiss and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation were as close as they got, Fox and Dana Two come through with the best smooch these two will ever have. (I said it, I meant it.) It's perfectly timed in the heat of the adventure, with the peril at its highest. They run down hallways hand in hand, for goodness' sake. And it's all wrapped up with a pretty bow at the end when Mulder sweetly admits to Scully that he does love her, only to get a (dare I say, skeptical) "oh, brother" for his trouble.
You saved the world, Scully: Sestra Am and I are of a similar mind when it comes to the score. I too love the swing music and its competition for me also is the "Paper Hearts" contribution. But we'll have to give a large portion of the credit to Louis Prima and Benny Goodman, for the former wrote "Sing, Sing, Sing In Swing" for the latter -- the piece used for the ballroom fight scene. In the official episode guide, Snow said similar music composed by John Williams for a similar scene in Steven Spielberg's 1941 also factored into the work. "So my piece is the third generation of the same inspiration," he said. There have been three Snow X-Files box sets and two limited editions released by La-La Land Records, but still no swinging/swinging. Hopefully some day.
I never thought of it before, but I wish "Triangle" had been the actual feature film. I know they had to advance the conspiracy by working within the confines of the mythology, but they ultimately didn't do anything but blow up -- literally and figuratively -- the television show on the big screen. "Triangle" has a lot more to offer, and it could have brought new fans into the fold the same way they envisioned it for Fight the Future.
Meta melodies: In the official episode guide, Carter said he plotted "Triangle" as a way to save film after using more of it to shoot any single show for "The Red and the Black" (S5E14) than any other XF director except Kim Manners. "It helped that a lot of the episode was intentionally dark and gloomy," producer Paul Rabwin explained in the guide. "[Director of photography] Bill [Roe] and Chris used the dark shadows and doorways, when the camera focused on them, as optional editing points -- just like Hitchcock did." Steadicam operator Dave Luckenback handled most of the camera moves. ... Most of the Queen Anne's interior shots were filmed on the famed Queen Mary, which was used to transport troops in World War II. ... "There's a little trouble at our White House, but that'll blow over, so to speak": The reference to the Monica Lewinsky scandal might escape many of the viewers who never heard the salacious details revealed during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. ... Many of the costumes for the episode reportedly also were used in Titanic. ... And Pileggi, who went to school in Germany for a couple of years, penned his own dialogue, according to The Complete X-Files.
Guest star of the week: It's a bit of a cheat, but I want to laud Chris Owens. Jeffrey Spender is a character with little redeeming value to the series to date; he's written as an obnoxious simp. But I think Owens works well in the confines of this episode as both Jeffrey One and Jeffrey Two. And since I've been and will continue to be tough on the role, I wanted to point out for this one shining episode, I appreciate the contribution.
Sestra Amateur:
This episode could be the plot of an action movie, like The Chase with Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson, but with X-Files flair. Hopefully this one will have a different outcome. I’m mostly sure (but not 100 percent) that this will not end up being a romantic comedy, like The Chase.
The driver is question is Patrick Crump, played by Bryan Cranston in a pre-Malcolm in the Middle role. He’s trying to help his wife, Vicky, who is suffering from an exploding headache. Literally, not figuratively. After Crump breaks bad (see what I did there?) and leads Nevada Highway Patrol on a high-speed pursuit in a stolen car, they puncture his tires and apprehend him. Poor Vicky is “safe” in the backseat of a cop car until her head explodes in a red, gory mess on live television. Did I mention this episode was written by Vince Gilligan?
Sculder are in Idaho on a soul-sucking FBI assignment when Fox sees the chase news footage and arranges for them to meet Mr. Crump, who now is writhing with pre-head exploding symptoms. Fox interviews Captain Van Gelder, played by character actor Michael O’Neill -- who I recognized mainly from Grey’s Anatomy, where his bitter, vengeful character Gary Clark removed the most annoying doctors from an already overstuffed cast. Luckily, he wasn’t successful at killing McDreamy, but he did inadvertently cause the loss of McDreamy’s unborn child. But I digress...
Back in the morgue, Dana inspects what’s left of Vicky’s head. Scully pokes and prods until she gets sprayed with blood and needs to be quarantined. Crump gets transported to the hospital, but his symptoms subside as the ambulance speeds up. So this might be more like Speed instead of The Chase; stay above 75 mph and his head won’t explode. Somehow, Patrick gets the jump on the trooper in the ambulance and takes Mulder hostage. Dana, not even aware Fox left the jail, calls to warn him Crump may be infected and Mulder should stay far, far away from him. Well that’s unlikely now…
Patrick threatens Fox's life, so the chase cars back off, but the helicopter follows and highway patrol officers set up a roadblock with the CDC. Scully is trying to coordinate with Captain Ven Gelder while fielding calls from Assistant Director Kersh about why Sculder are in Nevada, not Idaho. Dana, just claim Fox has a gambling addiction. Then his job will be protected by the AMA.
Meanwhile, Crump’s headache worsens and he directs Mulder to drive west to ease the pain. Patrick tells Fox that he rushed Vicky to the hospital when she started showing symptoms, but she improved with speed. Great plan … but eventually won’t they run out of gas? Scully and the CDC search the Crump’s home, a lovely trailer in the middle of nowhere with a leashed, Cujo-like dog trying to attack everyone. They check on the Crumps’ neighbor, an elderly lady who is not infected, but almost dies of fright by their unannounced presence in her house.
Mulder stops for gas while Patrick writhes in the backseat, but it’s a pay-before-you-pump situation since this ep predates credit-card payments. So Fox steals a newly gassed up car and takes off with Crump. Scully starts to realize the pathogen targets the inner ear and finds dead birds near the Crump property, along with a U.S. Government underground access point. Maybe Patrick’s conspiracy theories are on the mark.
Captain Van Gelder is not amused with Mulder’s heroics and now sees him more as Crump’s accomplice than hostage. Scully speaks with Lt. Brell of the U.S. Navy about Project Seafarer and learns there was a power surge the previous morning of the ground conduction radio system. (If he’s a lieutenant, why does he have two bars instead of one? Recent demotion due to his project’s screw-up?) And Lt. Brell will not disclose what happens to living things affected by that … "power surge."
Dana tells Fox about E.L.F. (Extra Low Frequency) waves, which he describes as “electrical nerve gas.” Mulder and Crump (Culder? Mump?) go as far west as they can, all the way to California. Scully is ready with an ambulance standing by. (Wasn’t there a westward military hospital to where they could have driven instead?) It’s a moot point anyway, Fox arrives with a dead Patrick in the back seat.
Back in D.C., Sculder are called before A.D. Kersh, and he reviews the financials of Mulder’s multi-state joyride/attempted life-saving situation. The agents leave the meeting pretty peeved. At least the Department of Defense shut down their antenna, so maybe there will be less exploding heads in Nevada. And yes, Bryan Cranston was great, Vince Gilligan was great, the episode was great. Can we watch "Triangle" now?
Sestra Professional:
It's The X-Files version of a meet-cute! Vince Gilligan, who will later create and helm Breaking Bad starring Bryan Cranston, creates a protagonist who seems more like an antagonist. Which seems valid, since our protagonist is the only man who would go to such extreme lengths to help out a racist redneck and not just let his head pop like a grape (put a pin in that description until the final series finale). I think this is a start of a beautiful friendship.
It's a sharp episode and one which demonstrates what the show will be able to accomplish in its new California environs. Miles of road spanning showing off the terrain of the good ol' U.S. of A. with bright sunlight, the perfect setting for an ultimately ill-fated road trip.
Nice opening teaser with the breaking-news bulletin, I'm sure more than one X-Files fan bemoaned a local news report interrupting his/her show upon original airing back on Sept. 10, 1993. Gilligan will use this little gem again for one of the highlights of Season 7. We're not going to have any pins left if I keep jumping ahead. (Sorry, Sestra Am, we'll have to wait until next week for The X-Files variation on our favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie.)
Investigating yet another enormous pile of doo-doo: So Mulder and Scully have been assigned the unenviable task of tracking down people who have purchased too much fertilizer. Yet I'd still rather watch the dynamic duo do that than whatever Diana Fowley and Jeffrey Spender are up to in the bowels of the FBI building in Washington. (Actually, I think I made it sound more interesting than the Season 6 writing team ever will.)
Now not only did Gilligan craft a masterful script for the future star of his landmark television show, but he's also mighty fine at writing for both Fox and Dana. And that's become something of a rare commodity, we've seen a lot of scripts in recent seasons that serve either Mulder or Scully, but not usually both. Fox's ferocity at trying to save Crump slots right into the best aspects of the character. He gets to leave behind the pretentiousness that increasingly comes off as acerbity. Even though Mulder's usually right -- and maybe right too often than he should be -- it's in standing up for the Crumps and Duane Barrys that he really fits the hero mold.
You know how to pick 'em, I'll tell you that: Even though Dana's not in the car with them, she still gets to build on the kind of determination we saw for a couple minutes in Fight the Future. Using her patented science, Scully not only figures out what's causing the cranium bursts, but also what can be done about it. And aides the investigation in critical aspects such as why Fox didn't drive Patrick into the road block and uncovers the source of the predicament. The latter is usually strictly Mulder territory and it's a most welcome change.
Last week, I mentioned reversing my initial course on Kersh. And I think this episode explains why I did. Let's face it, Sculder needs an adversary. Assistant Director Skinner is certainly more friend that foe at this point. Cigarette Smoking Man only comes out for special occasions, and as previously mentioned, Fowley and Spender are not worthy. So we need someone to ride herd on them. Kersh does it with style, and he's certainly not wrong about his directives. The duo censured by a committee that didn't include him wants them punished, and he's their new boss. So he doesn't even know that thing about Fox being right most of the time yet. I'm willing to accept his rigidity at this point, and James Pickens Jr. is mighty fine at doling that out.
You were right, they did it to you: Sestra Am mentioned the homage to Speed, but in The Complete X-Files, Gilligan admitted it's also "a rip-off of the best episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, where Vincent D'Onofrio, one of the detectives, spends the entire hour talking to a guy trapped under a train in Baltimore, and this trapped man's a real asshole. And yet, when they finally move the train off of him, and he passes away -- you feel so bad for the guy. I loved that idea and I wanted to borrow that dynamic."
It's played to perfection on all fronts, the suspense holds up. Scully and Mulder have formulated a plan of action -- maybe that should have been a clue that it wouldn't work out -- and did everything in their power to save Crump from crumpling. I believe in England they would refer to this as a "cracking" episode.
Metamphetamines: In preparation for his role, Pickens had the opportunity to observe real-life counterparts at the FBI's Los Angeles office. "They didn't get where they are by taking their work less seriously or bucking the system for no good reason," he said in the official episode guide. ... Show researcher Lee Smith contacted the military and contractors while researching Project ELF. After being told they couldn't harm anyone, a couple called back to admit ELFs could. ... Looking for the telltale placement of Gilligan's significant other, Holly Rice, in this one? The gas station Fox stops at -- Holly's. ... Farmer Virgil Nokes was played by one of Gilligan's favorite musicians, steel guitar master Junior Brown. On his own dime, Vince flew him in from Oklahoma, according to the guide.
Guest star of the week: Cranston, no duh! He made this wholly unlikable character someone we wanted to see survive the malady that befell him -- just like Gilligan drew it up. The ex-soap actor's ability to do that will be of utmost importance going forward into the brave new world of home methamphetamine production.
I’m glad The X-Files chose to make the first few episodes of Season 6 humorous ones. After the depress-fest of Season 5, we sure could use it. This one has a body-swapping plot akin to Vice Versa, Like Father Like Son and 18 Again, with some government security shenanigans thrown in for good measure. 
You’d think government agents assigned to Area 51 would have more official-looking ID badges. We could have made the same ones – back in the 1990s, mind you – and looked more official. Fletcher’s isn’t even grammatically correct, because if it is, then his name is Fletcher Morris, not Morris Fletcher. Mulder makes his way to Morry’s office, which is filled with photos of Fletcher’s family, the Reagans, Newt Gingrich and even some enemies of state. He tries to call Scully, who’s been put on gas-pumping duties due to the proximity of the rental car’s gas cap. She unfortunately doesn’t pick up the call in time. Mulder-as-Fletcher has to handle a mole in the organization as well as an irate wife – played by Nora Dunn – at home. Luckily, he has the porn channel to relax him. Fletcher-as-Mulder just gets to listen to cool music and smoke Morleys. 
JoAnne Fletcher wakes Mulder Morry, who is in for the shock of his life now that he has the “normal” family situation Scully was just talking about. His wife is unhappy, he doesn’t know his son from his daughter (literally) and he can’t even take his car keys without the family making a federal case out of it. Fox goes to change his suit … and finally gets a real glimpse in the mirror at his new physique. This is the funniest scene of the season so far. He does everything but the one thing you would expect -- he doesn’t look down his boxer shorts. (Although maybe he did that while watching those movies the night before.)
Our Mulder buys some sunflower seeds at a local gas station, shortly before secret squirrel stuff hits the fan. Something has leveled the gas station and embedded the attendant halfway into the floor. The Area 51 agents clean up the mess by shooting the attendant and burning down the gas station. Dana goes to Fox's apartment where Kersh’s assistant (did they ever give her a name?), looking disheveled and satisfied, is leaving. She tries to yell some sense into “Mulder” about pursuing this X-file – his life’s work – but Faux Fox resists. 
Back at Casa Fletcher, JoAnne thinks Morris doesn’t find her attractive because he’s impotent. At least it’s given her hope they can save their marriage … until Dana Scully arrives at her front door. (Did I mention that Mulder-as-Fletcher mentioned Scully’s name in his sleep?) I wonder what the divorce laws are in Nevada because real Fletcher is probably going to lose everything. Fox, meanwhile, has never been so happy to see Dana, even though he can’t quite convince her the body swap occurred. And still Scully resists believing him, despite the unbelievable things she has seen over the years in the X-files. Faux Fox is a step ahead though and sets Faux Morry up for a fall. Faux Mulder also ratted out Scully’s location to Kersh, who is beyond fed up with her. Alvin orders Dana to set up Faux Fletcher/Mulder, who gets arrested by the military. No tidy ending today, you’ll have to wait until next week.
The X-Files was definitely due for a look at Area 51. Because this is well documented and covered territory in the entertainment industry, perhaps Groom Lake was grist for the comedy mill in regards to our show. What could really be said or pointed out that hadn't been done before? Doing a little body switcheroo was just the ticket. 
This is a sharp episode for Duchovny too. Part 1 is basically all setup, and we see our male lead can deliver the subtle reactions just as well as McKean. "Dreamland" also calls for bigger acknowledgements -- showing the badge proves particularly key because it clarifies why we see Faux Fox and Faux Morris as the people they are on the inside. It's great to fun to watch Mulder playing the other side of the coin -- the people whom he is forever investigating and accusing. 
The other victims of the time-space continuum aren't having such an painless time of it either. The body swaps between the captain and the old Indian woman probably were a lot easier to live with than the guy in the rock or the shopkeeper in the floor. Watching Faux Lana Chee give details of the flight is a standout moment in the episode. I could have watched her explaining what happened when the captain was at the controls of the UFO technology for an hour without any of the Mulder body switching.
Guest star of the week: Well, yeah, it's McKean, but he's even finer in Part 2, so I'm giving the nod to Nora Dunn here. She's someone who admittedly was not a favorite of mine on Saturday Night Live, but her sharp manner totally suits JoAnne Fletcher. Her tirades about Faux Morris' behavior, the children and the recurring Scully theme fit the proceedings to a T. Or an X, in our case.
