S11.E08: Familiar

[AntiBeeSpray]

15 hours ago, Mystery said:

This is how I felt. When Mulder defended Scully as "a medical doctor, a damn good one," he was so laconic that it sounded like he was making fun of her (or of the writing). This season seems so dark (like, underlit) and lifeless to me. 

 

That's not how I felt with that line. But that said, I agree with you otherwise. Hated the 'homie' line. Old school XF sure, but after they were in a relationship... no. It made me cringe. And Scully... so many moments in this ep where she seemed to be really poking at Mulder. Ugh.

Edited March 12, 2018 by AntiBeeSpray

[Tachi Rocinante]

It was pretty good - more old school, as some have said.

However, Channel Zero had a creepier kid's show.

[Bastet]

16 hours ago, Mystery said:

When Mulder defended Scully as "a medical doctor, a damn good one," he was so laconic that it sounded like he was making fun of her (or of the writing).

I figured he was making fun of the 672 times we heard Scully call herself or be referred to as a "medical doctor" in the original series, which made me laugh.

[tennisgurl]

I liked this one, it was super creepy, and had some old school Mulder and Scully dynamics. Come on lady, if your husband is cheating, just call a divorce lawyer, no reason to get the forces of darkness involved! 

Also, I know Scully is the Skeptic, but come on Dana! You know witchcraft is real, you’ve seen it! How many vodoo witch doctors have to make snakes come out of your throat?!?

[PreBabylonia]

On 09/03/2018 at 2:59 PM, Rushmoras said:

Hmmm... probably the best episode since the revival, but... falls into more Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Supernatural, Tru Calling etc. domain, but not the X-Files domain.

P.S. This episode for me just raised the rating of this season from 4 to 5 (out of 10) lol.

I did have that feeling too, and I'd add Grimm into the mix. I suppose The X Files can never recatch that wonder we had seeing a crime show with supernatural elements. Naturally, they have all been influenced by this one and then marked their own territory. It would have been nice to see The X Files go in a completely different direction, instead of repeating old tropes. Still enjoyable though.

On 10/03/2018 at 5:40 PM, eleanorofaquitaine said:

There's a trade off in bringing in new blood, though.  New writers aren't necessarily going to be as well-versed in the show as the fans who have been obsessing about it for 25 years.  (Granted, some of the older writers aren't great at continuity, either - they can't all be Vince Gilligan). Overall, I think bringing in some new writers and directors has been good for the show this season, and if the trade off is sometimes an iffy sense of the show's history, then oh well.  (And honestly, Emily's name was only mentioned in one other episode after the Christmas Carol/Emily arc, so I can't blame the writers for not making a big deal of something that Scully herself doesn't :) ). 

Series writers create a "bible" to ensure continuity and not retcon earlier events and names. I am shocked that this show doesn't also do this on a much higher level, by having a person responsible solely for researching story elements to make sure they are not contradicting what we saw in earlier episodes or by not reusing certain names (like Emily). Just seems very sloppy. The production efforts all seem to go into co-ordinating the actors schedules and not much else, relying too much on a loyal fanbase.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

6 minutes ago, PreBabylonia said:

Series writers create a "bible" to ensure continuity and not retcon earlier events and names. I am shocked that this show doesn't also do this on a much higher level, by having a person responsible solely for researching story elements to make sure they are not contradicting what we saw in earlier episodes or by not reusing certain names (like Emily). Just seems very sloppy. The production efforts all seem to go into co-ordinating the actors schedules and not much else, relying too much on a loyal fanbase.

I'm not. For one thing, the show originated at a time when television was much more episodic, and while The X-Files has story arcs, they just never developed that model of tv writing. I don't expect them to change what has worked for them.

But beyond that... Emily is a common name. The X-Files has always recognized the reality that lots of people in life share the first same name.  Both Mulder's father and Scully's father are named Bill, as is Scully's brother (and William is named after them). Melissa is a name that has popped up more than once - from Scully's sister to Mulder's soulmate in TFWID.  I don't really see why it's such a big deal that they used the name Emily for this character, since that is certainly something that happens in the real world and is definitely something that happens in The X-Files universe. 

[ganesh]

On 3/15/2018 at 8:17 PM, eleanorofaquitaine said:

I'm not. For one thing, the show originated at a time when television was much more episodic, and while The X-Files has story arcs, they just never developed that model of tv writing. I don't expect them to change what has worked for them.

That's more because Carter used to always insist that he had everything all worked out in his head than it was the tv landscape at that time because there were shows back then that did have bibles. 

I had a huge laugh when Mulder deadpanned "I...did not see that coming." Great line reading. 

This type of story is what really what made the X Files, so I don't mind them getting back to that if only to say, "hey, we're the OGs here let's not forget."

[ganesh]

On 3/7/2018 at 7:22 PM, SparklesBitch said:

Kudos to the one good cop for trying to protect the guy. 

He was a famous Hey It's That Guy! back in the day, so I assume that his casting was meant to be a wink to those of us who watched all the Vancouver based syndicated shows back then. 

[Daltrey]

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎07 at 11:11 PM, GaT said:

On ‎2018‎-‎03‎-‎07 at 6:22 PM, SparklesBitch said:

Now THIS was the kind of old-school creepy X-Files I’ve missed. That clown guy was incredibly creepy. Holy crap. 

 

Exactly what I was thinking, this was definitely an old school episode

Yep, exactly my thoughts as well; probably the closest thing to an old school MOTW since the revival began. Not much more to say that hasn't already been said.

[Hanahope]

I kept thinking during the show that Sam and Dean Winchester were going to show up.  It was definitely their kindof episode.

Such a disturbing story, a woman's desire for revenge backfiring in the worst possible way.

I thought Roger Cross (that was him, I believe) would have a larger role, since he was the only other person I recognized.

I've always wondered how kids can just 'disappear' like that, in a second or two, but I know from personal experience how they can do that (though mine just snuck off to the playground in the apartment complex).

[Taryn74]

24 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

I've always wondered how kids can just 'disappear' like that, in a second or two, but I know from personal experience how they can do that (though mine just snuck off to the playground in the apartment complex).

We were staying in a condo in Florida for a wedding one time and our then-6 yo decided he was going to take the stairs up instead of the elevator we were getting on.  We literally stepped on the elevator, turned around and he was nowhere to be seen.  Talk about panic!

Having said that, it bugs me so much about this ep that the chief's wife was literally sitting on the bench when the boy disappeared, how about asking the one other adult present if she saw where your kid ran off to instead of just looking around screaming?

[millennium]

Bad.  No, wait -- really bad.

This episode tried to cash in on the mystique of some original series eps but screwed up by turning Mulder and Scully into spectators who were never truly in danger from the forces of evil.   In the past, evil forces always became aware of Mulder and Scully and let them know in no uncertain terms that if they got close, they became fair game.   Mulder and Scully were basically tourists here, turning over a rock or two but never truly in jeopardy.   

Mr. Chuckleteeth seemed derivative of a plastic-headed, black-and-white manifestation of evil in the 2017 show Legion.

In a word, this episode was lazy.

[AudienceofOne]

Hey, let's make an episode decrying mob rules and witch hunts where witches literally exist.

Because that doesn't undercut your point at all. No siree. 

But thanks for the lecture about how mob rule and witch hunts are bad. But not. On account of there being real witches. 

On 13/03/2018 at 11:07 AM, Tachi Rocinante said:

However, Channel Zero had a creepier kid's show.

Meh. The whole thing was not only derivative - it was derivative of itself. It was a mashup of two or three earlier episodes with a bit of Channel Zero thrown in.