Jac
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Posts posted by Jac
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I think what Carter desperately needs is a partner, probably more on the production side than the writing, maybe someone entirely new to The X-Files staff, but not to The X-Files as a concept, to do two things, force him to edit his ideas and push him to decide on a resolution or at least an end point and build momentum towards it.
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I need to watch this episode again as I was watching with my sister who was loudly complaining how crap it was the whole time, which I mostly agree with but I definitely missed things.
My first thoughts:
The science was dreadful. I as a student of the medical and health sciences and even more so as a person with an genetic immune deficiency (22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome which causes malformations or even a complete absence of the thymus and results in t-cell dysfunction beginning at birth) I was actually offended by how bad the science was and how wrong they got even basic historical facts about the smallpox vaccination program.
This felt like it played right into the hands of anti-vaxxers. That was highly disappointing and frustrating.
I didn't mind that Moronica was CSM's bitch, I liked her in the original series but I thought that it was a really interesting character twist, that thinking back upon it doesn't seem that far-fetched.
I was prepared for the cliffhanger. I never expected resolution. I have lost faith Chris Carter's ability to ever write one.
The episode felt very much like part 1 of one of the paired mythology episodes they often did in the earlier seasons, not a season finale.
There was a very good basic plot buried in this episode somewhere. The idea was interesting but the execution was a mess.
I didn't mind Einstein last week but I loved her here.
Robbie Amell is very pretty but he is not a particularly convincing actor and that felt like more of a problem this week than last week.
Mulder can be such a tool sometimes, actually, a lot of the time.
I don't mind that Scully and Mulder were apart for most of the episode.
I'm sad this is the end for now, for all his revival's flaws, and there were many, it was lovely to have new episodes of a show that has played a very fundamental part in my life on the air again.
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My favorite sweet & salty munch is a well known recipe for what I call aliens because they look kind of like big-eyed faces: scatter some mini twist pretzels salt side up on a cookie sheet. Top each with an unwrapped Hershey Kiss. Bake in a low oven until the chocolate gets a bit melt-y. Top each with two M & Ms and press down to stick the Kiss to the pretzel. Stick in the fridge to set. Devour by the fistful.
That sounds amazing!
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You and I are a Gang of Losers by the Dears has been my Mulder and Scully song for well over a decade now,
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My UO is that Achy Breaky Heart is the only song I like the use of in the context of the episode. I hate the song with a blinding passion but it worked In the context of the scene. I found the other songs pulled me out of the moment.
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Thanks!
What about other episodes of this new revival? Someone upthread recommended Ep 2, but I haven't seen a lot of love for it elsewhere. Ep 4?
I will definitely steer clear of the Darin Morgan episodes, in any case. I do have a sense of humor, really; but my funnybone was not tickled by any of this.
None of the episodes in the revival have the same tone as the second movie. Both episodes 2 and 4 incorporate elements of the mythology back story and Scully and Mulder's personal lives into the MOTW format. Depending on how mch you know about the show it may either be confusing for a complete newcomer and/or spoil you for a a major plot line that threads through seasons 8 and 9.
Of episodes 2 and 4, 2 is definitely the better episode. It is a pretty standard MOTW with some elements of personal backstory. 4 has a much heavier focus on the personal lives of the agents, particularly Scully leaving the MOTW element of the episode feeling quite rushed.
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I've quite recently (within the last 6 months) upgraded most of my tech.
I had a disaster with some water leaking in my backpack from a supposedly leak proof bottle which destroyed my then six-month old, uninsured MacBook Air, necessitating its replacement, with the slightly updated identical model.
I replaced my 4.5 year old 64gb iPad 2 with a 128gb iPad Mini 3 after the screen on my iPad 2 gave up the ghost.
And I replaced my Samsung Note 3 with a 64gb iPhone 6 Plus.
The biggest advantage of being completely tied into Apple's ecosystem is interoperability between devices.
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One of my longest standing pet peeves and one which is irritating me right now is textbooks that cost $100s and are so poorly constructed they can barely last a semester. I just purchased a economics text book that is used for both micro and macro economics and it I'd so flimsy I'll be amazed if the covers are still in tact at the end of semester 1. I'm going to cover it on contact to try and give it some protection but I don't have a great amount of hope. This happens all the time with law textbooks too. At least my science textbooks are designed to last.
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I'm a sweet and salty equally person.
I love anything cheesy, Doritos, CCs (an Australian Doritos competitor) Twisties (similar to Cheetos but the texture is different) Cheezels (Australian cheese ring things) etc, etc are my weekness.
On the sweet side I love cake, chocolate cake, vanilla, red velvet, carrot, anything really.
I also super love anything that is salty and sweet together, salted chocolate and caramel, sweet and salty popcorn, I would be totally down for the Chicago style popcorn with the orange cheddar and the caramel.
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I feel like I've been punched in the face for an hour by obvious and painful music cues. GEEZ.
100% agreed. The X-Files is never being a show that has used a lot of songs and it felt super obvious and out of place.
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I may have jumped in at the wrong spot. I never really watched the X-Files much when it was originally on, but I must've seen a couple episodes because when I watched the movie (the more recent one) the characters and basic idea were reasonably familiar to me.
So I was curious to check out the show when it came back, but I heard from many sources that the first couple episodes were not so good. This was the one, they said, where it found its footing. But this certainly wasn't anything like the movie, or like my conception of the show in general. Nor was it my cup of tea. I don't even know what to ask, except I guess for someone to explain to me why this was so goofy...? And why that's a good thing, for a series I've never heard advertised as a comedy?
Darin Morgan only wrote four episodes in the original run of the show (Humbug, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, War of the Coprophages, Jose Chung's From Outer Space) all of which have a very similar tone and most of which are beloved by a large portion of the fandom and the majority of critics.
That said by the time these episodes aired those who were watching the show on a weekly basis were used to a show that was more than willing to play with its tone so it is easy to see why coming in on Mulder and Scully Meet the Were Monster could be discombobulating.
Darin Morgan was far from the only writer who wrote comedic episodes of the X-Files, pretty much every season other than season one has one or two episodes that are comedic in tone. It is a part of the fabric of the show and often a welcome change of pace at times when the show could be very emotionally exhausting.
If you like the tone of the second movie, which was pretty much a straight serious MOTW X-File, I would suggest going back to season 1 and trying episodes like Squeeze and Tooms (both episodes feature the same MOTW), Ice, Beyond the Sea or Darkness Falls and seeing if you enjoy them.
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I was bored to tears as well. The first real clunker for me. Didn't respond to the new agents at all (despite Lauren Ambrose, whom I love), went to the bathroom without pausing, took a smoke break. It just didn't feel like an x-file. I didn't think it was funny (a couple of lines notwithstanding) and it certainly wasn't exciting. I felt deflated throughout.
Oh well, at least I've mostly liked the rest of the season, but with the last stand-alone episode now behind us, I'm pretty bummed we didn't get a "normal" and serious MotW that didn't include 50% sad distractions.
I completely agree with the sentiment about not getting a serious 'pure' MOTW. Having a several good dark, creepy or serious MOTW in a season is very much a part of The X-Files DNA and something I have found myself really missing with his reboot. I don't really understand why the writers opulent or didn't do a straight serious MOTW.
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I've had leftover "Mexican" quinoa for the last three days.
Ingredients:
2 punnets of small tomatoes (cherry or grape) halved or quartered depending on size, I used mixed heirloom because they were on sale at the supermarket
1 can of black beans drained and rinsed
1.5 cups of white quinoa (you can use black, red or mixed but if you do add more water because it takes longer to cook)
4 cups water
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp hot chilli paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
Optional:
2 capisicum/bell peppers (I didn't use any capisicum as they are out of season here and thus expensive and low quality)
1 can/1 cup of (frozen) corn (I don't like corn but people who do like corn like it in this recipe when I add it
1/4 cup of coriander/cilantro (my dad and I love it, my sister and mum hate it)
Method:
Fry off the spices in a hot large pan for about 30 seconds or until they become fragrant
Add the tomatoes and capisicum if using and cook until the tomatoes start to fall apart but still have some structure
Add the black beans and cook for a further two minutes
Add the quinoa and stir for about 90 seconds to toast the quinoa lightly
Add the water and bring boil before reducing to a simmer
Cook until the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes
Serve with avacado and salsa (sour cream and meat optional. I've been having mine with frajita beef strips)
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I saw this tonight and I loved it.
I thought Saoirse Ronan was wonderful in the role of Ellis and enjoyed the performances of both Dommnhall Gleeson and Emory Cohen.
I loved the story and did not at all mind that Ellis and Tony married before she returned to Ireland. I actually think it was a really strong narrative choice in part because I live a long way from my home and I understand how strong the pull of home can be (sometimes, most of the time I do not regret my decisions at all but it can be hard).
She probably could have gotten away with an annulment, but then again, it seemed like they were both devoutly Catholic.
I think the irony of it all is that the future she choose, if things go Tony's family's way, is her living as a suburban housewife in a new Long Island subdivision. (Even though I'm screaming at them to stay in Brooklyn, it doesn't sound like they will.) Then again, I think Tony as presented would have encouraged his wife to use her talents- honestly, her accountant skills probably would have been useful for a start-up homebuilder/mortgage business. Her life in Ireland as presented would have been her as a housewife to Domhall Gleeson's character in a nice big house living among the same people she's always lived with, which is why she choose America.
I think this was very much the 1950s version of the American and indeed the Australian dream. My mum was born in inner-city Sydney in the 1950s and her family moved out to a big lot in the suburbs when she was a child. This was very much seen as advancing in life, especially among immigrant families.
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I honestly do not know how to feel about this episode.
The subject matter at the heart of the story made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I agree with the person above who said that the episode would have been better if it focused on domestic rather than Islamic terrorism.
For the second week in a row I found the medicine disappointingly inaccurate.
The fan service was much blunter than it was in Mulder and Scully Meet The Were-Monster.
It felt like Chris Carter wrote this episode as a way of saying The X-Files can keep up with the times and is aware of the modern obsessions and paranoias of the American public and failed in doing so because his episode felt like it was dealing with issues that were five + years old.
The music felt very intrusive for the most part.
Where was the X-File?
That said there were a lot of things I quite enjoyed.
I liked Einstein and Miller and thought that Lauren Ambrose and Robbie Amell were good in their roles.
I laughed a lot during Mulder's trip. I think DD did a great job with these scenes.
Scully's FBI's least wanted quip was a little heavy-handed but it still made me laugh.
I loved the end. Scully smiling, Mulder and Scully communicating. Hints of ominous things to come, now that is my X-Files.
I definitely need to watch this episode again. I think my opinions may change now that I know about and am prepared for the episode's problematic central theme.
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I don't know about the US but in Australia it is quite common for a deceased patient's family to be able to spend some time, often an hour or more with the body if there is no urgency in it being taken away, I.e. for organ donation, when the person would be on life support anyway.
It is also usually that the body will be laid out if the death was non-traumatic. This is to say that the body will be washed and the hair will be brushed, this is done even in cases where the body will not be going directly to a funeral home e.g. If the person is a tissue donor or an autopsy is required or requested. Usually a nurse will perform these tasks but a family member may ask or be asked to help if the nurse thinks it will assist the family member with the grieving process. It is thought that doing this gives the recently deceased some dignity and can help the family grieve.
There is no way in Hell a pair of orderlies would come and take away the body in front of a patients family.
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Regarding organ donation...wouldn't they leave her on life support and in the regular hospital bed and wheeel her to the OR that way to do the harvest? They don't yellow sheet and table gurney someone who is going to be a donor.
I know, more dramatic that way, but Scully could have said goodbye as they took Ma Scully into the OR instead. The yellow sheet and morgue guys was so...morbid.
Also, if JerkFaceBrother wants to get there to say goodbye, they could have left her on support until then and it wouldn't be against her DNR, wouldn't it?
Yes, they absolutely would have left her on life support. They don't haul dead bodies away in front of the family either.
I presume that age and hypoxia would have precluded Mrs Scully from being an organ donor and that she would be donating tissue only, which would not have required her to remain on life support.
I was quite confused and disappointed by the sequence of events that led to Mrs Scully's death because X-Files usually does a reasonable, if not fabulous job at getting medical detail accurate.
I'm assuming what happened is this:
- Mrs Scully has a heart attack at home or in some other non-hospital space and either she or a bystander calls 911. She is unconscious by the time the EMTs arrive to transport her.
- Mrs Scully is seriously ill but regains consciousness in the ER, she requests to see Chatlie and shortly thereafter deteriorates and suffers a cardiac arrest, the ER staff manage to revive her and the resultant hypoxia further damages her heart, other organs and possibly brain, causing her to fall into a coma.
- Mrs Scully is transferred to intensive care and it is not until this point that anyone gets in contact with Bill Jr who in turn gets in contact with Scully. Scully is in Philadelphia which is 2.5 hours by road from DC (according to Google Maps).
- Scully arrives at the hospital and seems to spend a significant amount of time (hours?) with her mom in the world's quietest ICU before the doctor come along to announce that her mother had changed her living will (so presumably no less than four hours have passed between Mrs Scully being admitted to the Hospital and this point) meaning that this hospital is hopelessly slow at accessing medical records.
- Mrs Scully is extubated and Some amount of time passes before Scully contacts Charlie and Mrs Scully regains consciousness just long enough to talk to Muldr before suffering a second cardiac arrest and dying.
- This hospital finally does things with a sense of urgency and two orderlies show up with the stretcher and yellow sheet within minutes, causing Scully to have a completely appropriate reaction to their presence.
The fact that the doctor took so long to get Mrs Scully's medical records and approached Scully so bluntly and the part with the orderlies really bothered me and the whole plot felt poorly handled sacrificing accuracy for drama.
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For anyone who is interested, the same people who ran the Sppoky Awards have archived all the TWOP X-Files reviews in ePub and txt formats here.
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I liked this episode. <br /><br />First episodes of TAR always feel very crowded and rushed, which is the inevitable consequence of having so many teams in play and this was no exception. The editing in this felt a little off with people showing up at the pit stop who I did not recall seeing finish the previous task which exacerbated the problem.<br /><br />I don't have any real issue with the social media stars theme of the season as I only know RoosterTeeth and my sister knew Tyler Oakley but that was it. My reaction was mostly, YAY, TAR IS BACK!<br /><br />I haven't really made any judgments about the teams yet, we didn't get to spend enough time with them.<br /><br />I liked the challenges, especially the fireworks one. The cave one was a little less interesting but still enjoyable enough.<br /><br />I liked that the first leg was a NEL, I'd like a little more time to get to know the teams this year.<br />
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I've been stuck on s9 since last April. I want to finish the show but I also don't want to watch this show. I like Annabeth Gish and Robert Patrick as actors but I feel no attachment to their characters and pod!Scully crying all over the place is not interesting to me at all.
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Words do not exist to describe the extent to which I don't care whether Scully and Mulder are together romantically or not.
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I looked back a few pages and didn't see this mentioned but maybe it was and possibly by me but I don't mind American remakes of British shows. Sometimes as in the case of Shameless and Being Human they turn out better. I wouldn't mind if the Brits remaid a popular American show if they were so inclined.
Shameless UK was good until the main cast began to leave and the same for BH UK. Keeping the main cast whole is what I liked about Being Human the American Version and it allowed the show to tells quite moving love story.
I don't mind US remakes of UK dramas at all but I think that US attempts at remaking UK comedies are routinely dreadful. The sensibilities are just too different.
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America Ferrera was in Ugly Betty with
Tony Plana who was in JFK with
Kevin Bacon
Next: Peter Capaldi
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I agree luna1122. This reboot has a lot of problems but the only thing that is consistent is the excellent characterisation and acting from both DD and GA. GA has significantly more range as an actress, but DD's portrayal of Mulder in this reboot is dead on. One thing that is consistently true across the course of the whole run of the show is that DD and GA both really understand the characters they are playing and what drives them.
Do all the people who are complaining that DD seems bored remember his performance in the original series at all?
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What Did We Eat Today?
in Food & Drink
I was super lazy and had some shop brought taboleh with some falafel I had in the fridge. It was still pretty delicious though.