Talk about opening yourself up to unnecessary puns.
As has been indicative of the show during last year's incredibly uneven season (despite the occasional presence of Mulder and the strong debut impression given by Robert Patrick as ragged Agent Doggett), season nine (now Mulder-less) is even more confusing, more complex and, frankly, it's gotten, well, very unimportant.
Cramming in way too many new faces, relegating the once forceful Scully to playing concerned mommy/second banana to new X-Files leaders Agents Doggett (Patrick) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish) and creating a whole new set of conspiracies to give the newcomers some original mythology plotlines to play off of all on their own, the show is now an absolute mess. Don't get me wrong. I love the X-FILES. Even when it has lost its way, there have been some great stand-alone episodes and sparkling moments to keep me coming back week after week but this? What has become of the franchise? And why wasn't it canceled last season when it ended on the perfect note of Mulder realizing the truth he was looking for all along was that he was in love Scully?
Oh well. There's no Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) in the 2-part ninth season premiere of THE X-FILES. © 2001 Foxuse in complaining. What we have instead is another season opening two-parter that tries to reinvigorate the X-FILES. As opposed to last year's "Within"/"Without" opener that managed to bring fresh ideas to the story's mix (the search for a missing Fox Mulder was ingenious), this time out we're introduced to a bad subplot about a bunch of "super-soldiers" engineered by the government and whose experiments are soon to be headed into the home's of innocent civilians through a water source which could prove beneficial to the government for any future super-men offspring.
It's a long, drawn-out process to get to that conclusion and it isn't giving away any major spoilers since the real meat of the episode concerns the way writers Frank Spotnitz and Chris Carter try to dance around the dicey issue of David Duchovny not being on the show anymore. The solution: we see him in a shower at the beginning (or at least a body double) and then his bags are packed and off he goes. Revelations about this mysterious abandonment of Scully and her baby by Mulder are hinted at in part one, but they're finally explained fully in the episode's second part.
Meanwhile, Doggett is proceeding with his head-on investigation into the FBI to prove they were involved in some kind of conspiracy, cover-up and, well, you know the drill. The scenes where Doggett bursts into closed doors to confront his superiors play like warmed over routines akin to when Mulder did the same thing way back in the early years of the series. Now it's lost its impact.
Reyes is also realizing how "Mulder-like" Doggett is becoming but stands by her partner regardless. Both A.D. Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and Scully try to help, but their actions are cryptic and all over the map throughout the episode too. One minute they don't want to help. The next they do. The next they're on the phone telling Doggett to leave it alone. Then suddenly they arrive in the nick of time to help. It's infuriating to say the least.
Then there's the new faces added to the mix. Cary Elwes plays Assistant Director Brad Follmer, another of these wish-washy, weaselly FBI types out to stop the X-Files and set-up anyone he can. The only difference he had a prior office romance with Reyes a long time ago. There's a lot of uncomfortable moments between the two of them during the episode, but the fact that EVERYONE can see what a sleaze Follmer is (and Reyes doesn't) begins to take away any credibility her character is trying to develop with her peers - not to mention the audience at home who are still on the fence about her full-time status this season.
On the other hand, I was Shannon McMahon (guest star Lucy Lawless) in the "Nothing Important" episode of the 2-part ninth season premiere of THE X-FILES. © 2001 Foxreally engaged by the presence of Lucy Lawless who plays the mysterious Shannon McMahon. Forget the fact that we get to see her walking around butt-naked most of the episode. There's something fascinating about a woman who can breath underwater and cause mayhem and she just happens to be a former Warrior Princess too, so genre fans should have something to perk up their ears as well. The character too has a secret, but we'll be kind and not reveal the resolution here. Let's just say though, if they can find a way to keep her in the mix this season, it might be a satisfactory way of keeping audience attention during this year's likely muddled mythology arcs.
As always, the direction is solid with both Kim Manners and Tony Wharmby old pros at this. They keep the quality level high for the show. Both Spotnitz and Carter provide a few moments of suspense and intriguing ideas during the show's two hours, but sadly most of the time this two-parter feels like they're simply going through the motions.
Kudos to the new opening title sequence which also includes Mitch Pileggi as a front title cast member finally. If anyone deserves credit as the glue to the show, it's his performance as the always-conflicted Skinner. We wanted more from him last year we got it and he guided us through the rough patches. Now that he's on the show full-time, I'm sure he'll take the sting off of any more growing pains.
In the end, THE X-FILES is an institution. For some, Sunday night begins with FUTURAMA and ends with THE X-FILES. It's understandable why Fox wanted to keep the show, but the long-term prospects of a feature film franchise could seriously be diluted if they milk this warhorse for any more seasons past this one.
Reviewed Format: TV Show Ninth Season Premiere | ||
Network: Fox | ||
Original Airdates: November 11 & 18, 2001; 9:00 p.m. EST | ||
Cast: Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish, Mitch Pileggi | ||
Creator: Chris Carter | ||
Writers: Frank Spotnitz & Chris Carter | ||
Directors: Kim Manners (Part 1); Tony Wharmby (Part 2) | ||
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