Well, FINALLY! -- X-Philes World-The Old Episodes

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Date Posted: 06:55:51 07/03/00 Mon
Author: nic
Subject: Well, FINALLY!
In reply to: sam 's message, "who hoo !back in business" on 01:20:12 07/03/00 Mon

Hey you guys! :o) It�s like being at a class reunion, ain�t it? I�m glad the beeb returned the X-Files to our screens with a good ep. I thought Tithonus was definitely one of the better ones from S6.

I think everyone has mentioned most of the salient points that jumped out at me, but, never one to let repetition stand in my way, I�ll just go ahead and write out my random comments on this one anyway. ;o) Leave now if you don�t wanna be bored.

Mat, sorry to hear you still can�t decide if you liked this one or not. What? Even though you got to see Scully in virtually every scene? ;o)

OK, well, I totally agree that the teaser was very cool. Very well shot and, just like the elevator cable, the tension was increased, bit by bit, until it reached the point where something had to break. I liked the way the people in the lift all looked black and white in the reflection, when Alfred Fellig looked at them. I know it was a bit of a rehash of Squeeze (Tooms?), but, heck, if you�ve got something that works, go for it. ;o) The limp hand dropping lifelessly from the doorway and the only colour in the whole shot being the growing pool of blood was very creepy. On top of that, Fellig�s complete non-reaction to the horror chilled me to the bone.

So, Dev, I�ve got to agree with you about the various old eps that Tithonus had references to. I already mentioned Squeeze, and most definitely there were many shades of Clyde Bruckman in here. I thought that he and Fellig were very similar characters. Just resigned to the fact that this is the way their life is, being able to foresee the deaths of others, and unable to change things in any way. In some way they both dealt with their affliction by being cold and uncaring about those around them. The main difference, to me, between the two characters, is that Clyde Bruckman had a kind of sick humour about him (hmmm, wonder if this explains why CBFR is one of my faves?) whereas Fellig really had nothing. His 140 or so years of life seem to have dulled him.

I always like eps where M & S are staying in touch via cell phone. And this was an excellent version of that scenario. (Sorry dev, but I�ve got to disagree that Mulder was happy to let Scully just get on with it - he didn�t leave her alone! And he was so cheeky intercepting Kersh�s mail too. LOL) Mulder�s nosiness and his reactions to Scully�s calls (and his frantic call to Ritter, almost threatening the poor guy to get over and find Scully) were great. Most of all, Mulder�s reaction when Scully admitted that the case was an X-File was classic. He hardly missed a beat, but you could see that the words were like music to his ears. :D ITA Mat, that there is no way Scully would have uttered these words if she�d been partnered with Ritter, not Mulder, for the past 6 years.

This is certainly not the Scully of the early seasons, when no amount of proof from Mulder could convince her to believe in anything other than an scientific explanation. Another reason I enjoyed this ep so much was that it illustrated perfectly how Scully has changed over the course of the show. From someone who�s mind was almost completely closed to any non-scientific explanation, to the person who struggled to come to terms with what she had seen (or almost seen anyway!), to the person she is now, at this point in S6. Realising, with virtually no coaching or coaxing from Mulder, that the guy she is investigating truly has an inexplicable talent for �seeing� death, seems to me to be a real breakthrough moment for the Scully character. She is so much more open to possibilities now, without the soul-searching that this kind of situation has put her through before. And yet, she�s still Scully. Even though she has accepted what Fellig is doing, she still wants �Some science that I can hang this on�. Perfect.

And the reactions that she went through in Fellig�s apartment - the slow realisation that his �You�re lucky� comment was aimed at her... that she was next on his list of people to be photographed. There was a whole wealth of emotion in her question �I think you're wrong. How can you have too much life?
There's too much to learn, to experience.� Having come so close having her life shortened by the cancer, she cannot imagine someone wanting so badly for their life to end. Striking too, that her next question was �What about love?�. I�m not going any further with that thought... LOL

Another scene that I really liked, was the way the lighting was used and the whole scene was slowed right down as Ritter approached. Was it Ritter or Death who appeared in that blinding light? Scully�s look of utter horror was perfect.

Having said all that (and there�s still stuff I haven�t commented on that I�m sure I�ll blurt out later in the week) I can see where you�re coming from, Mat. I did have a bit of a problem understanding why Fellig was trying to photograph death. Surely if his theory was that he needed to look death in the eye, putting a camera to his face would have the opposite effect - of putting an obstacle in the way. But, yeah, apart from that slight complaint, it was a good, solid XF ep and I enjoyed it. I doubly enjoyed it knowing that I could come here and blether on with my Old Eps pals today!

Oh, you thought it was safe and I�d finished, but I just remembered something. Going back to whether Mulder was unhappy about Scully being on the X-File without him, he did a perfect impersonation of Ritter during one of his phone calls!! I actually rewound my tape when I watched this time round, as I couldn�t quite believe my ears. But he does. Go listen again. He is totally mocking Ritter�s accent/voice. �Hi. My name is Fox Mulder. We used to sit next to each other at the FBI.� Well, that�s how I heard it anyway.

Right, safe to come out now. I�m all done. For a while, anyway.

nic
8o)

MULDER: That's not what I'm reading. I'm thinking murder by
telekinesis. I'm thinking maybe a shamanistic death touch.
I'm thinking about the Muslim superstition that to photograph
someone is to steal their soul.

SCULLY: Thank you. All very helpful.

(Chinga memories, anyone?!)

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Replies:

Re: Well, FINALLY! -- cvl, 13:34:31 07/03/00 Mon