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S11.E04: The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat


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It made me laugh, it made me cry.

Crazy, weird, funny and so freaking true it made me sad.

2 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

And how many people were Googling to see if it was Mandela or Mengle?

Me! ??

The last part with Scully saying she wanted to remember it the way it was. Isn't that pointed for today with all the reboots (X-Files included)?

Edited by Morrigan2575
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2 minutes ago, WritinMan said:

Well, that was bat-shit crazy.

Young Mulder was both hilarious and terrifying.

Did Scully say "leprechaun taint?"

Was that alien wearing Elvis' cape?

It was a play on that and The Day The Earth Stood Still. And someone isn’t a Trump fan-lol...

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2 minutes ago, WritinMan said:

Did Scully say "leprechaun taint”?

I came here specifically to see if I heard that right! That’s something I never expected to come out of her mouth. Lol! 

This episode was weird and hilarious and wonderful. Loved it!! I’m definitely going to have to go back and watch it again to catch everything. 

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I was cracking up throughout. It was great to see Reggie pop up in classic X-Files moments. The bear book was obviously referencing the Berenstain Bears (maybe it's Berenstein in that parallel universe). I can't believe they made jokes about wire tapping and waterboarding and drone strikes. The only part that lost my interest was the scene with Dr. They. That went on too long and felt preachy. Definitely going to watch this one again. 

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Excellent! Young Mulder, Richard as People of Earth tie-in. Where was the scene with Dr They filmed - are those statues real?

I remember the Twilight Zone episode Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up with perfect clarity, I think.

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I loved it.   Good old wacky, but with enough skepticism to make you wonder.   Skinner's line at the end was hilarious.  I thought the Dr. Wuzzle bookd were based on dr Suess but maybe it was a  Berenstein bears/Dr. Suess mash up.  (Hey, it's the Mengle effect in action! )

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15 minutes ago, AmeliaBedelia said:

The only part that lost my interest was the scene with Dr. They. That went on too long and felt preachy. Definitely going to watch this one again. 

Ironically I became extremely attentive at that scene. First trying to figure out what was going on with his eyes. Then trying to figure out if those statues were real. Are they? Did someone build a park with ugly/scary kid statues? Finally I was looking at the background, those trees made me think LA not DC.

I did Dr. They'd comments, well not like so much as recognize their reflection of current society. All they needed was to throw in "Alternative Facts".

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This episode was a delight! I love Darin Morgan episodes as a general rule, but I especially loved this one because of the way that it felt like the first episode of the reboot that really acknowledged how much has changed since The X-Files was in its heyday. And how perhaps the whole desire to re-capture the past is perhaps a bit misguided. Or, if not misguided, then at least comes with the danger of marring what was so great about the past. 

Plus, both DD and GA looked amazing--GA's wig is SO MUCH better this season. I also felt like the pant suit Scully was wearing near the end of the episode, which was a bit ill-fitting, was another nod to the early seasons of the show.

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That was...what the hell WAS that?

 

I didn't hate it like My Struggle but I didn't love it.  Mulder and Scully were completely out of character even when they shouldn't be. It made sense when we were seeing them through Reggies eyes but otherwise why were they acting so weird?

We only have 10 episodes and they use it on this ridiculousness? 

I guess I'm in the minority though so glad y'all liked it! 

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7 minutes ago, MissL said:

That was...what the hell WAS that?

 

I didn't hate it like My Struggle but I didn't love it.  Mulder and Scully were completely out of character even when they shouldn't be. It made sense when we were seeing them through Reggies eyes but otherwise why were they acting so weird?

We only have 10 episodes and they use it on this ridiculousness? 

I guess I'm in the minority though so glad y'all liked it! 

Yeah, you and I are in the minority. Interestingly though, the Haven boards aren't showing it much love either, and they were all in awe about Were-Monster.

This is not the Darin Morgan I like. It was a terrible episode. Nothing happened in it, really. It was just Reggie saying the same thing over and over and over.

Boring as hell.

To quote someone from Haven: "Darin Morgan could put out 42 minutes of a black screen and most X-Files fans would praise it." (lol)

Edited by EUROTRASH
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Not my favorite, but I really liked how this episode was a tribute to nostalgia- old tv shows, lawn games, books, high school- even Scully's favorite dessert as a kid.  You just can't recapture that initial feeling you have the first time you discover something you love, and maybe the point is you shouldn't try.   

I felt it was a little too heavy with the political commentary, but I appreciate what Darin was trying to say to us and, as a fan since the early days, the poignant moment at the end definitely got to me.

ETA: I think Reggie was supposed to represent the fans of the show.  After all, haven't we been on this journey with Mulder and Scully all along, too?

Edited by domina89
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10 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Ironically I became extremely attentive at that scene. First trying to figure out what was going on with his eyes. Then trying to figure out if those statues were real. Are they? Did someone build a park with ugly/scary kid statues? Finally I was looking at the background, those trees made me think LA not DC.

I did Dr. They'd comments, well not like so much as recognize their reflection of current society. All they needed was to throw in "Alternative Facts".

It’s a real park in Vancouver.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-maze-ing_Laughter

I took this episode to be Morgan’s reply to fans complaining about the new X-files and how going back to the past isn’t always as good as you remember. Sprinkled in was the very sobering reality that today what news one considers fake is based up your beliefs and not a set truth. It had some pretty profound themes in between the craziness. 

 

I mi think this is a very dividing episode. My friend who liked the monsters of the week straight sci-fun hated it. I thought it was a nice funny respite from reality. 

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22 minutes ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Ironically I became extremely attentive at that scene. First trying to figure out what was going on with his eyes. Then trying to figure out if those statues were real. Are they? Did someone build a park with ugly/scary kid statues? Finally I was looking at the background, those trees made me think LA not DC.

I did Dr. They'd comments, well not like so much as recognize their reflection of current society. All they needed was to throw in "Alternative Facts".

Yes, those statues are real and have been on display in Vancouver for many years.  The location is right across the street from English Bay, in the West End.  You can see my favorite hotel, The Sylvia, in the background, with its ivy covered walls--just there last summer!

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26 minutes ago, Tardislass said:

Sprinkled in was the very sobering reality that today what news one considers fake is based up your beliefs and not a set truth.

I think this should have been the theme of the rebooted show. I've been yammering how CC is still making a 90s show and hasn't asked how the show is relevant in today's climate. I'm disappointed this was played for laughs and not something to grow throughout the season. 

Did anyone else notice that Reggie's picture was in the the electronic version of the X Files when they did the episode about Langley being in the phone? 

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 I really liked this.  I never watched the X-files, so I'm sure there was a lot of references that I missed, but I thought the political message was right on.  I do feel that "truthiness" is rampant, what people feel informs what they believe, rather than  objective truth. 

My favorite parts, though, were the various federal jobs Reggie had - sleeping at the SEC, cubical waterboarding, wedding cake in the drone strike.  Although, I can't not mention the adult Fox's head on the child's body watching tv, with his jiffy pop popcorn. 

I heard leprechaun taint, too. 

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God-awful!  Christ on a Cracker, what the HELL was that!?

And I love the fun ones, like Were Monster and Alien Baseball Player.  The only fun parts of this, was seeing Reggie pop up in classic scenes and Skinner’s line at the end.

 I guess it was a good representation of the cheesy 50s SciFi movies - even down to the Alien’s upturned eyebrows and Fu Manchu mustache.  But really, Alien wearing an Elvis cape, Mulder Out of character, Dr. They’s eyes (his whole conversation was pointless), those horrific statues, the shoving reminder of the Orange Psychopath’s claim to millions at his inauguration (and you know he’s gonna claim it must be true, since it was on a Fox show). 

That’s an hour of my time wasted.

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I laughed so hard at the old clips they inserted Reggie into. Especially the cat episode, since it's pretty famously disliked and when he shoots the shape shifter (Ronnie?). I guess I have pretty low standards for this reboot, but I thought this episode was really fun.

Kind of reminded me of Jose Chung From Outer Space.

Edited by Soobs
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12 minutes ago, roamyn said:

The only fun parts of this, was seeing Reggie pop up in classic scenes and Skinner’s line at the end.

You didn't enjoy seeing all 3,581 of Mulder's old videotapes scattered everywhere?  I laughed hard at that one.  Old 'Twilight Zone' episodes indeed.... we know what you watch, Mulder.

Edited by domina89
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1 hour ago, aquarian1 said:

I liked it,  What was up with Dr They's eyes?

He looked like he just stepped out of the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Only with weird Asian type sculptures instead of the jagged scenery of that film.

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21 minutes ago, domina89 said:

You didn't enjoy seeing all 3,581 of Mulder's old videotapes scattered everywhere?  I laughed hard at that one.  Old 'Twilight Zone' episodes indeed.... we know what you watch, Mulder.

I loved that. Of course he has all his old VHS tapes. Of course he does.

 

I heard leprechaun taint.  

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1 hour ago, Tardislass said:

It’s a real park in Vancouver.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-maze-ing_Laughter

I took this episode to be Morgan’s reply to fans complaining about the new X-files and how going back to the past isn’t always as good as you remember. Sprinkled in was the very sobering reality that today what news one considers fake is based up your beliefs and not a set truth. It had some pretty profound themes in between the craziness. 

 

I mi think this is a very dividing episode. My friend who liked the monsters of the week straight sci-fun hated it. I thought it was a nice funny respite from reality. 

Same here. It almost seems to be a bit of a theme here. Going off of 'Plus One' kind of bringing up something similar. I viewed that bit as people's obsession with celebrity and with reality tv. But still, guess it can go hand in hand with how things can be viewed through a rose colored lens and things aren't always as good as you remember them.

 

I liked tonight's ep alright. And I respect how Darin treated both the characters, their history and their relationship.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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As soon as Mulder said "I was out Squatchin" and Scully hung up on his Sasquatch story, I knew this was going to be fun. Mulder surrounded by old tapes--"Do you even know me at all?!"--was hilarious and I will never be able to unsee child Mulder with adult Mulder's head. I cracked up at Reggie being inserted into the credits and old episodes and then Skinner recognizing him at the end. The Tr*mp/GOP shade was amazing: hundreds of millions of people! The Blob Fish! And the alien at the end absolutely slayed me. The Elvis cape, the scooter, the "electromagnetic wall" around Earth. 

I liked the whole premise of the Mandela effect, and how Mulder and Scully each had their own faulty memory. I assume the Dr. Wuzzle/Wussle was meant to be a shout-out to the Bernstain/Bernstein thing. The Bigfoot mold being used for the "goop-o" was perfect. Scully saying "I want to remember how it used to be" was bittersweet, and the scene was beautiful with the music and how it faded into stars. 

Edited by phalange
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Wow, did I love this. Not every joke was funny, but most of them were. I started to list the things I liked about it but it would have been pages long, so I'll just mention a few. The returning actors from classic eps, the ridiculous CGI child Mulder, the Ghost Busters ambulance from Spotnitz Sanitarium, and the character actor that played Dr. They, who is probably most familiar to modern audiences from his appearence on MASH. 
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0546765/mediaviewer/rm528233984


Even the poor-taste dark humor worked for me, as when Reggie was waterboarding people and bombing weddings. But the highlight of the evening for me was, "DO YOU EVEN KNOW ME?!!!" 


Just a delight. 


Addenda: there are people who swear on Bibles that in the old days, the children's books about the Berenstain Bears spelled it Berenstein Bears. Do not ask me why, but that was the joke there. 

 

Quote

Did anyone else notice that Reggie's picture was in the the electronic version of the X Files when they did the episode about Langley being in the phone? 


Not until you mentioned it, but now I do. 

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This was my least-favorite of Darin Morgan’s episodes, at least upon first viewing, which is not to say (at all!) that I disliked it, but just to say that while I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it’s not on the same level as the love beyond all reason I have for his others.  While this had the humor, allusions, and biting, bittersweet commentary on society and the human condition he always provides, it wasn’t quite as layered and sharp as the others – maybe because this is the one he had the least time to write, and he’s notorious for needing a shit ton of time per script.  So, while not the perfection I was hoping for, I had a great time watching it, and will enjoy going back and dissecting it. 

“Seems this past year all I’ve done is watch the news and worry the country has gone insane.”  You and me both, Mulder.  I’ve used whiskey to cope; maybe I should take up ‘squatchin.

And on that level, I am all over the episode.  I think my favorite bit of commentary on that was the cartoon with America First hugging a swastika, but, “No, because my false memory is real” is a close second.  And the heavily-attended inauguration.  And things having become too crazy even for Mulder.  And “Drain the swamp.”  And “Believe what you want to believe, that’s what everybody does now.”  And the wall.  And … okay, everything.

The montage of Reggie’s government jobs was hilarious.  Beyond that, Reggie as a fantasy whistleblower, being hauled away by men in white coats from the ‘60s, was the kind of thing Morgan does so well (especially “Our study is now complete; we no longer wish to have anything to do with you” and lying as the one trait unique to earthlings).  As was “I want to remember how it was” as Scully declines to eat her childhood concoction and ruin the memory.

I was initially musing that this was the first time we’ve just the standard The Truth is Out There this season, but later we got the version with a question mark, heh, when Reggie Something got added to the credits – a hilarious sequence.  And Reggie’s being inserted into their old cases and delivering one-line commentary on them was fantastic.  “If this turns out to be killer cats, I’m going to be very disappointed.”

(And Reggie declaring he started the X-Files, and used to be partners with Mulder in the old days is funny, since Mulder had a pre-XF partner named Reggie.)

Random thoughts from this initial viewing:

- Yay, the guy who’s in all Darin’s episodes is in this one, the devil in the opening scene at the diner.  (That diner resembles the one in JCFOS, just one of many things reminiscent of JCFOS, which makes sense given the exploration of what’s real and what’s a faulty memory – the whole “how can I possibly do that?” response to being asked to record the truth.)

- Mulder’s videotapes, heh.  “I’m not going to be able to eat until I find it.  Ever again.”  Of course he has kept them, despite having the series on DVD.

- Mulder’s adult head on his kid body was still making me laugh at the commercial break, and made me laugh again now just writing about it.  That was a truly hilarious image.

- The duet of, “Wait, what?” when Mulder posited his parallel universe theory was great.  In the pre-season promos, I had thought it was Skinner, not Reggie, saying it with Scully, heh (false memory!), so when an episode with Mulder, Scully, and Skinner in the parking lot passed without that happening, I thought it had been cut and was disappointed.

- Oh, come on, Scully, you have to know what a lawn dart is.  She’s the right age, and with all the places she lived as a Navy brat, I’d think she lived someplace where it was played enough for her to have at least heard of it so that when it was mentioned, it wasn't new to her.

- The VO/stock footage combination gave me CC flashbacks, but Scully’s, “What the hell was that?” reaction made it worthwhile; at least Morgan knows such segments are ridiculous.  In fact, parodying that shit was one of my favorite things about the episode.

- “Who’s hiding?  I’m in the phone book.  But, nobody knows what a phone book is anymore.” 

- "As Orson Wells said ..."
   “It was George Orwell who said that.”
   “For now, maybe.”

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Yeah, I'm not sure if I loved it, but I did get one big laugh out of it--when Reggie Something showed up in the redone credits. I did find it completely charming, the ending was lovely, and it left me with a smile on my face. I'll take it.

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At least, for once, they didn’t take themselves too seriously.  And I had the feeling that Duchovny loved this episode.  

In the former episodes, he looked like a bloated Mulder phoning it in...

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I liked the B&W alien's multi-handed "Home Alone" take. I wondered why he was a Alien and not a Demon, since the other guy appeared to be the Devil, it might have suggested that he was in Hell, not just something weird was happening.

Strange that Reggie appeared to be the same age regardless of the circumstances.

Richard Nixon political campaign poster in the background of the nostalgia shop said "They can't lick our Dick".

3 hours ago, festivus said:

I heard leprechaun taint. 

Scully managed to taste the rainbow. Leprechaun's have a pot of gold in front and a pot of brown in back.

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You ever watch something and think "this is so of the moment and specific, its going to be super dated in just a few years" and shake your head at the poor kids in the future watching this and running to Google to figure out what a joke was about? That was my thought during a lot of the political stuff, especially the guy at the inauguration and the whole "we are going to build a beautiful wall" scene. It doesn't have that classic "bittersweet musings of the absurdities of reality" thing that a really great Darin Morgan episode has, like last years werehuman episode. It was a universal and classic episode about humanity that will still be timely any other time, while this is so specifically about right now, its will automatically date this episode to right now. The stuff about truth being an abstract concept is more universal, while also being timely, but the rest was so on the nose, it makes this episode automatically less of a classic. 

But even with that, I still thought the episode was delightful, especially the whole sequence of Reggie being edited into classic X Files scenes. I was dying when he showed up in the cat episode. "If this is all about killer cats, I`m gonna be disappointed". Also, Mulder flopping around having a temper tantrum over Sasquatch was amazing. The whole sequence reminded me the Pinkie and the Brain and Larry episode of Pinkie and the Brain. It was a perfect mix of nostalgia and hilarity. 

I also loved the shout outs to the classic Twilight Zone episodes. "DO YOU EVEN KNOW ME?!?!" I guess that was a knock off "Will The Real Martian Please Stand Up?", which really IS a classic. Wait, everyone remembers that episode, right?!?! 

The ending was actually closer to the Darin Morgan of greatness, with a bittersweet musing about letting go of nostalgia and focusing on the future. I wish they had focused a bit more on that throughout, in between the jokes about parallel universes and silly old timie special effects. Oh, that reminds me. Everything with Mulder and parallel universes was great, and made me want an actual parallel universe episode. 

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It was very thought provoking and topical. Introducing Reggie into the old episodes was really cool, but one of them was the episode with the Peacocks. That still disturbs me and most everyone else who watched it. Besides that, I enjoyed it. Watching the alien on the Segway was hilarious.  

Haven't seen an ambulance looking like that since Ghostbusters.

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7 hours ago, Bastet said:

This was my least-favorite of Darin Morgan’s episodes, at least upon first viewing, which is not to say (at all!) that I disliked it, but just to say that while I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it’s not on the same level as the love beyond all reason I have for his others.  While this had the humor, allusions, and biting, bittersweet commentary on society and the human condition he always provides, it wasn’t quite as layered and sharp as the others – maybe because this is the one he had the least time to write, and he’s notorious for needing a shit ton of time per script.  So, while not the perfection I was hoping for, I had a great time watching it, and will enjoy going back and dissecting it. 

 

I liked this episode for what it was - sharp social satire on the state of our current political system AND on how the fandom is towards The X-Files. (Mulder yammering on about parallel universes was a particularly sharp critique of fan theories). But Darin Morgan's best episode - Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose - mixed a nice sense of humanity in with his satire, and I felt like that was missing from this.  I actually liked Were-Monster quite a bit because it did have that nice sense of humanity, about Guy Mann, about Mulder, the passage of time, etc.  This had a nod to it at the end, with Mulder giving Reggie the last chance to spin his tale, but that was really it.

That being said, I did laugh quite a bit during the episode, and liked it. The insertion of Reggie into the older episodes were great, and the alien on the Segway repeating Trump's words made me laugh out loud. 

ETA: I think that they are all deliberately keeping Mulder and Scully's living situation vague - it felt like Scully is not living with Mulder in this episode, based on the fact that she was calling him to ask about getting dinner - but on the other hand, she certainly looked at home making the Goop-O ABC last night. 

Edited by eleanorofaquitaine
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Well, I just loved it. I felt like it goes down in the annals of great, fun, incisive X-files episodes.  There were too many moments I loved to even mention, and Duchovny seemed to be having a spectacularly good time. I'm Fox Freaking Mulder! and I want to listen to him talk about Squatchin' all day too. His little tantrum upon finding in the alien's big book of answers that Big Foot isn't real--kicking his feet after he'd thrown himself on the ground--I laughed out loud. I also laughed at the Elvis-cape wearing Trump alien portentously announcing 'Ladies and gentleman of Earth'...and then slowly and anticlimatically descending the stairs from the spaceship, hopping on his little Segway to go ten feet--before speaking again. And I loved that we actually saw Reggie's face/file in 'This', leading to more speculation and what ifs', along with Skinner's 'where the hell are they taking Reggie??". And the garish and weird ambulance to Spotnitz asylum, which definitely gave off Clyde Bruckman vibes, and Darin Morgan making sure he got in on the flashbacks as Eddie Van Blundht. or...hell, just all of it.

Scully definitely would know what lawn darts are, but I also loved that 123 Jello stuff (tho I certainly never had Goop-O ABC).

Foxy and Skulls!

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8 hours ago, Bastet said:

- Oh, come on, Scully, you have to know what a lawn dart is.  She’s the right age, and with all the places she lived as a Navy brat, I’d think she lived someplace where it was played enough for her to have at least heard of it so that when it was mentioned, it wasn't new to her.

That bothered me too! Just like it has always bothered me that she claimed to have never hit a baseball. Girl, you were a Navy brat and you had two brothers. Sometimes it's the little things that bother and stick with me. I mean, I guess they kept it consistent but I still ain't buying it. 

 

I didn't love this as much as Weremonster but I enjoyed it a lot. There was so much funny stuff in it and we got a "What the hell" from Scully which is one of my very favorite things. DD was on fire in this one and I thought he looked really hot. Loved the Squatchin' and then using the foot mold for the Jello at the end. 

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12 hours ago, AmeliaBedelia said:

I was cracking up throughout. It was great to see Reggie pop up in classic X-Files moments. The bear book was obviously referencing the Berenstain Bears (maybe it's Berenstein in that parallel universe). I can't believe they made jokes about wire tapping and waterboarding and drone strikes. The only part that lost my interest was the scene with Dr. They. That went on too long and felt preachy. Definitely going to watch this one again. 

I loved the waterboarding scene. Just a day in a cubicle at the CIA.

Also Skinner at the end. "Where are they taking Reggie?"

Edited by Affogato
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So how does this work? The world is going through a biological apocalypses, aliens are invading, Scully's frantically looking for her missing babies, the smoking man is doing dr mengele style fetus/impregnating experiments, yet Molder & Skully are doing investigations oblivious to all those happenings going on in the world?

 

Brian Huskey (Reggie) from "People of Earth" looks exactly like a balding Stephen Colbert. Similar comedic 'quirkiness' as well

Edited by 100Proof
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