Talitha Cumi

[Guest WaveCrest]

Season Three of XF was a superb run of episodes. It really was. I think, by this point, the show had become a mainstream hit and was enjoying a fair amount of success worldwide. As we were discussing 'The Sunshine Days' recently and how some felt it was not a great breather before the conclusion of season nine then I think most people would agree that 'Quagmire' and 'Wetwired' were solid stories that did what the X-Files did so well before we plunged back into the mythology at the end of season three. Now here's the downside. Talitha Cumi is, in my opinion, the worst season-closer episode that the show produced. I watched it recently and was reminded of how...well....boring it is. Lots of morphing characters and little all else. That sounds really harsh I guess but I couldn't quite get over how flat the script was.

Eth

I quite liked "Talitha Cumi", if only because of Roy Thinnes from The Invaders guest starring in his debut as Jeremiah Smith.

Talitha was OK. I like the other cliffhangers and season starters better too. This is pure speculation, but it may have been a blessing of sorts in keeping it a two parter, in that three episodes may have been too long. Sometimes short is good!

The Anazazi/Blessing Way/Paper Clip is my favorite, followed very closely by Gethsamane and the Reduxes.

I remember reading an article in possibly Xpose or TV Zone back from spring-summer 1996, where it said that the cast were tired by the end of the third season and it could be seen in the last few episodes. It was another long season (each of the first four seasons was no shorter than 23 episodes).

I must have been watching a different episode because I thought "Talitha Cumi" was one of the better mytharc episodes. It and the episode which followed it gelled together. The opening at the fast food restaurant was well done and a good introduction of healer Jeremiah Smith (played by former Invaders star Roy Thinnes). Afterwards and through to the cliffhanger, if my memory serves me right, was an investigation into Jeremiah Smith with the Alien Bounty Hunter returning.

[Guest Sidewinder]

As said before "Talitha Cumi" was OK. Roy Thinnes did well and it was always great to see the Alien Bounty Hunter back in action.

The problem TC was facing was that the former season did better. The "Anasazi"-cliffhanger was mind-blowing and within season three the two-part-episode "Piper Maru"/"Apocrypha" wasn't bad too. So expectations from my side were pretty high when the season finale was aired. But finally it was...boring is a bit to hard. But it fits.

I was very happy to see the mythology-episodes back on track when they aired "Tunguska/Terma".

[ethsnafu]

Maybe boring is a little harsh. Maybe flat would be better.

"Talitha Cumi" just lacked any emotional highs or lows for me. Jeremiah Smith is up front far too much and it doesn't have the epic feel of other season finales. I'm not saying it should always be all bells and whistles but the audience really has to get the sense that something substantial is at stake and I didn't get that sense at all from this episode.

Tunguska/Terma is a magnificent two-parter however.

Eth