"The Truth Is Out There" Re-Watch: "Blood" & "Sleepless"

 The X-Files

I'm sure we've talked about this, but isn't interesting how sometimes episodes of "The X-Files" will follow a theme? Like, there is always the overarching themes of government conspiracy, unrequited love and sexual tension, etc., but sometimes two episodes will feature some of the same things. Take "Blood" and "Sleepless." They each feature suggestion to a degree. I'm sure none of it is planned, but it is interesting.

"Blood"

Mulder: [in response to some suggestive remarks about Scully.] "Frohike, it's men like you that give perversion a bad name."

Richard "Ringo" Langly: "Obviously,  you haven't read our August edition of TLG." 

Mulder: "Oh, I'm sorry boys. It arrived the same day as my subscription to Celebrity Skin."

Notable Guest Star: William Sanderson as Edward Funsch & Kimberly Ashlyn Gere as Bonnie McRoberts

Mythology or Monster of the Week: MotW

X-File of the Week: In Franklin, PA, a spree killing brings Fox Mulder to town. The sheriff informs him that 7 other individuals have murdered 22 people in the last 6 months giving the sleepy town a murder per capita rate that rivals Detroit. No one knows what is driving these seemingly non homicidal people to kill but at that very moment an ATM machine is telling recently fired postal worker, Edward Funsch, to "Kill 'Em All."

These guys.

Remember last time when we talked about the actor who played the Flukeman and how he had a rather prolific career writing standout episodes for the show? Well, Darin Morgan, the actor turned writer, begins that career with this episode. He came up with the story for "Blood" and the teleplay was written by MVPs Glen Morgan and James Wong. Now, I wouldn't say that this episode hits the highs of say his season 2 debut, "Humbug," the classic "Jose Chung's From Outer Space," or even the tenth seasons "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster," but the hallmarks that would make his episodes so enjoyable are definitely here. The absurdist plot. In this case, a pesticide laced with LDSM causes people to believe their worst fears are coming to pass and any electronic device in their vicinity urges them to kill. The comedy. I love Mulder's meeting with the Lone Gunmen and the beginnings of his open love of pornography and owning and reclaiming perversion. It's by no means a dud of an episode but it doesn't quite reach the levels of greatness that Morgan's other episodes reach.

"The X-Files" does a great job with their guest casting but they seem to really go above and beyond when it's a Darin Morgan episode. You may not know the name "William Sanderson" but if you've watched TV ever than you definitely recognize that face. I remember him from "Babylon 5" and especially as Sheriff Bud Dearborn in "True Blood." He's the perfect choice to play this tormented sad sack scared of blood and on the verge of a spree killing. The other notable guest star is former adult film star Kimberly Ashlyn Gere. This feels like a very nineties thing. The nineties to like early aughts feel like a time where a lot of adult film stars were trying to go mainstream and some of them succeeded like Traci Lords and Jenna Jameson. I have to say Gere acquits herself really well. Her scene in the mechanics garage where she becomes more and more afraid the mechanic is going to sexually assault her is a really tense scene. It's well acted. The direction is great. The lighting and music add to it. I'm not sure if she did anything else after this, but she definitely could have been a working bit player.

"The X-Files" has an interesting relationship with technology and the wonders and dangers of our modern world. A lot of time an episode that involves any sort of tech can flounder, but I think "Blood" finds a great balance of not making technology the boogeyman. 

If there's one thing that this episode suffers from it's a lack of Mulder and Scully together. Now, this can't be helped. Gillian Anderson was getting ready to pop and they did the best they could but the show really needs that crackling repartee to work and it's just not the same watching the agents dictate monologues to each other over cassette recorders. Scully's medical degree is a great way to keep her a part of the action even when she can't be there in person. And, sidebar, it's pretty impressive that throughout her pregnancy/maternity leave, Scully is only not in one episode. Another thing that left me scratching my head was the cover to convince the residents of Franklin to get tested for the LDSM laced pesticide. Cholesterol testing? Really? I guess we shouldn't think about it too hard.

It's always interesting to me when shows bring in current events, like when Funsch is seeing those flashes on the televisions at the department store. We see Charles Manson, the LA riots, the beating of Rodney King, the OJ chase. I'm curious if a lot of these hit any sort of chord with viewers who don't have a clear memory of these things. 

Grade: B+

"Sleepless"

Krycek: "Scully's a problem. A much larger problem than you described."

The Cigarette Smoking Man: "Every problem has a solution."

Notable Guest Star: Nicholas Lea as Alexander Krycek, Tony Todd as August Cole & Steven Williams as X

Mythology or Monster of the Week: MotW

X-File of the Week: Dr. Saul Grissom is in his NYC apartment when he hears fire alarms go off. He calls 911 but when the firefighters arrive, it looks like a false alarm. They enter Grissom's apartment and find him dead. Mulder receives a newspaper with the article about Grissom circled along with a tape of the 911 call which isn't mentioned. Mulder attempts to take the case but has been beaten to the punch by hotshot new agent, Alex Krycek. Can the new partners find out why Grissom died and what it has to do with government experiments on soldiers during Vietnam?

Ugh. Krycek.

Oh Alex Krycek. Who would have known when you were introduced that you would remain a thorn in the side of our erstwhile agents for the remainder of the series? Krycek is like the Bizarro world version of Mulder. He's squeaky clean and slick, but claims to believe in the unexplained or rather he wants to believe. Like I said, the dude's slick. It's always crazy to see Krycek like this. It's so removed from how he is later in the series and if I have one gripe about "The X-Files" in general, it's that I hate that they reveal Krycek's heel turn in the first episode that he appears. Sure, it doesn't come as a huge surprise that he's working with the Cancer Man the rest of the unknown Syndicate, but imagine how impactful it would have been if we had waited a few episodes for that. If he really began working with Mulder in earnest. They really could have explored the tension and insecurity that this episode touches on when Scully jokingly but not really talks to Mulder about her being replaced. It could have gone off the rails if it lasted too long, but I routinely ponder what if?

This episode is OK. It, like a lot of episodes that dabble in real world issues, can come off as a bit heavy handed. Even in 1992, I'm not sure if episode writer, Howard Gordon, has anything new or enlightening to say about the Vietnam War and the horrors that occurred during it. The premise of the episode is pretty cool. In order to make their soldiers more efficient, Dr. Grissom and his colleague, Dr. Girardi, remove their sleep. This goes about as well as could be expected in Vietnam. Mulder learns this information from his new informant, X, much less cuddly than Deep Throat, that's for sure. 

Tony Todd is the reason a lot of this episode works. He is able to bring gravitas and horror to the role in only the way that the man who portrayed Candyman could. Take his last moments, when he is standing in front of Mulder, his mission basically complete, ready to give up. It's so well done. 

The episode drags a bit in the middle. It feels like it takes too long to get where it's going. The idea that Cole can plant suggestions in people's minds are kind of glossed over and used when convenient, like when Mulder almost shoots up a train station. The episode does end on an ominous note as we all worry what CSM has in store for Scully.

Grade: B

Next up, we meet Duane Barry and if you know that name, you know it's bad news for Scully.

What do you all think of this episode? Season two is really gearing up. Do you wish that they had stretched out Krycek's duplicity a little longer? Are you ready for Mulder and Scully to be back together? Let me know in the comments.