s3 virgin

[ethsnafu]

Hi Orodromeus

I must admit I am enjoying your reviews, new insights are a constant source of invigoration for members who have been here an age and more. Here's hoping you continue to add new dimensions to topics flogged countless times before by the old and weary :)

May I add that I have visited your site and whilst I am reticent in my ability to truly appraise the X-Files it is a superb and profound exploration of its universe.

It is a pleasure to have you visit us again.

My very best wishes to you,

Eth

May I be cheeky and enquire what inspired the dinosaur related moniker?

[The Old Man]

Just a reminder, if anyone wants to have their reviews included in the Reviews section (funnily enough!) of the main website, just let me know.

[Orodromeus]

Hi Orodromeus

I must admit I am enjoying your reviews, new insights are a constant source of invigoration for members who have been here an age and more. Here's hoping you continue to add new dimensions to topics flogged countless times before by the old and weary :)

May I add that I have visited your site and whilst I am reticent in my ability to truly appraise the X-Files it is a superb and profound exploration of its universe.

It is a pleasure to have you visit us again.

My very best wishes to you,

Eth

May I be cheeky and enquire what inspired the dinosaur related moniker?

Thank you very much! I know what you mean about the older members of the forum, all this must have been said and debated to death. Still, a whole new generation is watching older series in DVD now all the time, and occasionally one will join in. I know I would be too weary to read yet another first-reaction review of X-Files episodes, so thank you for reading.

As for the dinosaur nick, nice find! Many reasons...childhood passion, I like what the name means, and it's in the ancient incarnation of my mother tongue.

@The Old Man: I wouldn't call these reviews exactly, they're too short. If I flesh them out more I might give it a try.

[Orodromeus]

I had to add, in "Glass" was one of the funniest lines of the show, perhaps unintentionally -- and it stroke me particularly since I had freshly seen the Frank impersonation in 13 Years Later: Frank's answering machine!

[Female voice: "voice mail for" Frank: Frank Black, Female voice: "recorded from FBI Quantico 7:30 p.m."]

The sheer contrast between the purposefully soft female voice and Frank's ragged, deep voice was something you can't miss! How can't you NOT tell him "Don't be so dark"?

3x09: Omerta

Frankly, with such a title, I didn't expect a "light" episode! Michael Perry continues to be the "comic" writer this season. Some aspects of it I liked -- the Christmas bells instead of the signature drum sound, Jordan, the overall fairy tale feeling in the beginning -- but in the end we get woodland elves and the italian mafia in an episode that has no reason to feature in MillenniuM other than it's the obligatory Christmas episode and things have to be cute. If omerta was the theme -- Scarpini has to follow the sacred law of silence with the Italian mob, only to have a change of heart and follow another law of silence to protect his wood saviours -- it was somehow not enough to fill one episode.

[Orodromeus]

Maybe I was too harsh on Omerta after all...on-the-spot reactions can often change with some retrospective!

3x10: Borrowed Time

A beautiful episode that ties in with the "angel" imagery of PPTD or Midnight of the Century. The passage of time, illustrated by various clocks, bringing us all inevitably closer to the time of our death, is the inspiration for the plot: people living literally on borrowed time. And as with before, the apparitions of these black-clad angels are accompanied by events that aren't straightforward "good", nor completely "evil" -- a moral ambiguity that is made even more mysterious by angel Samiel's smile. One or two things I was uncomfortable with: the supernatural element of pumping water out of Jordan was a bit too much perhaps, and Frank's sudden plea to God was uncharacteristically over the top! The confusion between the supernatural and the physical with Samiel's body being recovered was a nice touch.

3x11: Collateral Damage

After Skull & Bones, the black-op like Group mythology develops. A surprising teaser, a nicely done episode, a very palpable tension with Frank both trying to learn the truth and trying to catch the kidnapper before anything bad happens. In the end Peter Watts can't hold and goes against the Group's orders -- will that cost him? The episode is really well-made, no question about that, but again the Group's ties with the government and the military are discomforting. Frank has become a Mulder-like figure fighting for the truth about a biowarfare conspiracy to be revealed...

Wow it's the middle of the season already! I'd say best non-mythology eps till now "Through a Glass Darkly" and "Borrowed Time". Mythology eps are well-handled but I still don't enjoy the general direction the Group is taking.

[Guest Laurent.]

Your reviews are pretty much similar to my opinions 100% of the time (especially concerning the exuberant prayer of Frank in Borrowed Time, although it was understandable due to the theatrical aspect of the episode, an element I think I have discussed in an older thread). I'm eager to hear you about the final sequence of episodes, the end of season three features an important number of my all-time favorites.

[Guest betweenthelines]

I was caught off guard with Frank's prayer too, but only because it seemed like he didn't put much stock in any particular religion. For instance, he wasn't really sure what he was going to tell Jordan about the afterlife in 'Kingdom Come'. So to hear him call for God's help was definitely a surprise. Other than that I had no problem with the scene and I think it was very well-acted.

Although after watching Frank meet angels and demons I guess I really shouldn't have been too surprised.

[Orodromeus]

3x12: The Sound of Snow

Sound that kills: a very weird premise, only imaginative shows such as MLM can produce. But if the first half is all about these tapes and the related deaths, the second part departs from that completely and takes Frank to a trip back memory lane. Nice touching scenes with the return in Seattle: the yellow house, Catherine's moments with Frank (which I guess were all fantasies and none were actual memories) and the flashback with Jordan stopping the truck for help. Emma again doesn't do much, she's just the ears to Giebelhouse's exposition; the episode might have gained in quality with less dialogue and leaving more to the viewer to interpret. I'll definitely have to watch it again. In the end we are left teased with the fine-eared woman and the interest of the Group in her, just like the writer in Skull & Bones -- their stories would have been worth exploring in the future. And is it me or Frank's hair keeps getting whiter with each episode?

3x13: Antipas

What is it with 1013 and young children? Lucy Butler returns in the most sexually explicit episode of 1013 Productions! (and a Carter & Spotnitz script at that!) The unsettling atmosphere of the scenes in the mansion and in the garden maze made for an excellent start. Lucy seems in control of these angry dogs -- a reference to Beware of the Dog? The face-off between Frank and Lucy is deliciously enjoyable, and for a moment we are brought to think this is going somewhere (Frank dreaming/experiencing the love scene with Lucy, and later Lucy accusing Frank of rape) but the whole thing is resolved in a rushed manner, with the male version of Lucy simply being run over by Frank... Frank is brought there by a series of murders Lucy has been committing in her leisure time, but they're not explored much (and once again Emma is useless) nor explained (homosexuals are evil?). Also, I don't remember the murder of Lucy's child ever being discussed but here it's taken as a given past investigation. And it's found the little girl here is the same as her dead daughter -- are we to assume the little girl was conceived by Lucy in her male incarnation...? The issue is not brought to a close. Nor the Frank-Lucy confrontation, leaving the door open for a future return of the nemesis (in the feature film? ). Little things that prevent this good episode from being excellent.

3x14: Matryoshka

OK, I'll say it: I didn't like this one. I should have, there are plenty of elements I like normally: the forties/fifties setting, the Los Alamos experiments, actor Dean Winters (also from the Curse of FB, and check him out in the series OZ!)...a Maher/Reindl script. But Frank's vaguely technophobic morale puts me off. With the scientific impossibilities of an atomic Dr Jekyll-Mr Hyde I didn't manage to suspend my disbelief. For once in this season I sympathize more with the Group: they encourage original research in order to "have all the cards in their hands", to be ahead of the game. On one hand the ep acknowledges the s2 mythology and consciously takes distance from it (Peter's comment to the elder about Frank witnessing only angels and the Armageddon and such) and on the other hand it completely ignores the s2 mythology by having Hoover "invent" the Ouroboros. Emma is being approached by the Group: that would be interesting if only we knew what's so special with her... Plenty of familiar things from XF: the location where they open the lead casket is the same as 5X14: The Red and the Black; the Frank-Peter discussion had scenes in 5X02/5X03: Redux; the guy playing JE Hoover was the same one as in 4X07: Musings of a CSM & 5X15: Travelers; and the photography is exactly the same as Travelers (which takes place in 1952).

[Guest Laurent.]

3x14: Matryoshka

For once in this season I sympathize more with the Group: they encourage original research in order to "have all the cards in their hands", to be ahead of the game.

I'm with you on this! And I'll go a bit further and say that they should have played more on this; going into ethically sensible topics as to what is acceptable (morally and scientifically) in order to help build a better future. I'm pretty sure that this is the direction Johannessen's wanted to take in the fourth season (in fact, he did say he wanted MM to be more political).

[Orodromeus]

I'm with you on this! And I'll go a bit further and say that they should have played more on this; going into ethically sensible topics as to what is acceptable (morally and scientifically) in order to help build a better future. I'm pretty sure that this is the direction Johannessen's wanted to take in the fourth season (in fact, he did say he wanted MM to be more political).

Hm very interesting. I would love to see some interviews of Johannessen or Duggan or Carter around MLM s3 and beyond. I haven't come across any.

Thinking about it, maybe I was too harsh on Matryoshka. Reviews tend too often to turn into nitpicking and you end you spoiling your pleasure of just watching an episode. Matryoshka had many interesting themes, what I didn't like was the "critical mass" scene with its lighting and the demon face make up, of which they did too much (same with Antipas). But choosing the atom bomb as a turning point, from an Apocalypse to be brought down by God to an Apocalypse that is in the hands of Man, is very interesting indeed, and could even tie in smoothly with s2's Marburg virus showdown. The beginning of the season with all the Group-as-a-para-military-organization was too much of a sudden change. But with Matryoshka, it seems to have taken a whole new life. I hope they did something more out of it by season's end... (so I'll be back)