|
The Lone Gunmen were always my favorite part of the original run, and I enjoyed their solo show more than most of the X-Files. Was so stoked for this episode. Was not worth this train wreck. Were lizard was one of the best episodes of the whole show I think, this was one of the worst. gently caress a Chris Carter.
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 05:00
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 19:43 |
|
|
When the episode opened on the praying towards Mecca I was hoping that the episode's MOTW or whatever had literally nothing to do with Islam and it was just some Muslim guy being tormented by like, a haunted car or literally anything. Instead it was an episode of "literally every non-white person in this episode except for one is wearing a bomb vest because they're muslim terrorists without any goal or motivation other than aimless suicide bombing" and then a five minute long denouement of "hmmm maybe hatred comes from things people hear and see, as if by suggestion?" in the blindest capstone possible to a story that relies entirely on harmful stereotypes. And then the Baby Scully and Mulder thing also sucked even if it isn't like, actually harmful to people watching the show.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 05:02
|
|
|
That was loving terrible. Sheesh.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 05:12
|
|
|
Capntastic posted:When the episode opened on the praying towards Mecca I was hoping that the episode's MOTW or whatever had literally nothing to do with Islam and it was just some Muslim guy being tormented by like, a haunted car or literally anything. I audibly muttered "gently caress" when the camera just stayed focused on the building, knowing exactly what was going to happen. Of all the places that plot could have gone...
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 05:15
|
|
|
Capntastic posted:When the episode opened on the praying towards Mecca I was hoping that the episode's MOTW or whatever had literally nothing to do with Islam and it was just some Muslim guy being tormented by like, a haunted car or literally anything. Along similar lines, I was thinking, "oh if this is like the X-Files back when it was consistently good, this will be about some monster from Muslim mythology tormenting people, and there might be some undercurrent of prejudice that turns out to be unfounded when the Muslim community ends up helping everyone" a la Red Museum and Kaddish, but nope, we got this horrible episode.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 05:19
|
|
|
As soon as the cold open started I audibly said "Uh Oh." What. The. gently caress. did I just watch? That was the weirdest loving episode of the X-Files I have ever seen. The shifts in tone were staggering. I don't think Chris Carter should be allowed to attempt that much humor. I actually liked the idea of proto-Mulder and Scully, but what a trainwreck of an episode to introduce them in. On a more positive note, there were three actors from Continuum in this ep: Kellogg, Alec's mom was the nurse, and of course, Old Alec. ~Vancouver~ Man...you have 6 episodes to work with and that's what you come up with Carter? gently caress. That's kind of aggravating.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 05:33
|
|
|
Man Mulder has a lot of grass to cut. Sheesh. I was honestly wondering if I was watching the right show with that opening. It was so radically different than anything I think I've seen from this show.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 06:08
|
|
|
One the more egregious parts of this episode was having one guy speaking Farsi to someone speaking back Arabic. Like you know there is just one homogeneous entity known as Islam and all Middle Eastern languages are the same.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 06:36
|
|
|
I can't believe I managed to sit through that whole things and its wall of terrible writing and terrible music.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 06:41
|
|
|
Golem II posted:I notice Agent Miller from an episode of How I Met Your Mother were his name was Scooby. Robbie Amell. Firestorm > Mulderlite
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 06:46
|
|
|
That was the hottest mess I've seen on television in a long time. I rather liked TNG Scully, especially her interplay with Mulder, and the tripping balls sequence was fun enough, so I wouldn't call it a total loss. But holy poo poo, nothing in there came together as anything even remotely close to a cohesive whole. They may as well have abandoned the main story and edited together the rest as a collection of shorts.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 06:53
|
|
|
Death By The Blues posted:One the more egregious parts of this episode was having one guy speaking Farsi to someone speaking back Arabic. Like you know there is just one homogeneous entity known as Islam and all Middle Eastern languages are the same. What's even more hilarious & pathetic is that they literally just had Kumail Nanjiani on the show and he's got a stand-up bit about this very topic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:06
|
|
|
Tripping Mulder is the best Mulder.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:11
|
|
|
That whole sequence was one of the most baffling yet amazing things I've ever seen. Parts of it made me laugh out loud like the flip, but some of it was just grating too. I get that he's...somehow tripping balls, but the entire thing is a big what the gently caress inside an episode that's heavily disjointed. Yeah I get it Chris Carter, you wanted to do some current event musing on extremism and the state of the U.S.--and its population--over the past decade and a half, but was this really the time and place? Was there not some subtler way to satiate your burning desire to let us know your opinions?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:30
|
|
|
I find it hard to understand why Arabic speaking actors still line up to play suicide bombers.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:33
|
|
|
Rocksicles posted:I find it hard to understand why Arabic speaking actors still line up to play suicide bombers. It's called "paying the rent"
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:37
|
|
|
I was thinking how weird it was that the airport said "Welcome To Texas" instead of a city name and then they had the line about how there's a huge unassimilated terrorist community and I realized - oh, the lawyers have been here. What was the deal with the two agents who came to make Scully and Nulder leave and then whispered in Arabic? I got that there's a ton of terrorists apparently in this town, thanks to the nurse, but were those two supposed to imply the government is massively compromised too? I was really hoping it was gonna be a more nuanced story about assumptions of guilt, I'm tired of terrorist cell plots with strictly non white antagonists.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:47
|
|
|
Enderzero posted:
There were actually some white guys in the terrorist cell that they bust at the end.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:49
|
|
|
computer parts posted:There were actually some white guys in the terrorist cell that they bust at the end. Yes and a black guy. You know what I mean - we have a domestic terrorism problem that is mostly ignored on tv. You barely see Arabic actors playing anything but terrorists on tv. Edit: I only assumed the nurse was trying to prevent the bomber from speaking because of the weird Arabic speaking agents. Being the X-Files I assumed it was a conspiracy and that's why the nurse was so convincingly right wing. Also, medical people are generally pretty neutral with regards to caring for people regardless of what they do outside the hospital. Weird episode. Enderzero fucked around with this message at 07:57 on Feb 16, 2016 |
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:54
|
|
|
Enderzero posted:Yes and a black guy. You know what I mean - we have a domestic terrorism problem that is mostly ignored on tv. You barely see Arabic actors playing anything but terrorists on tv. Well, the X-Files is fundamentally flawed in that way because there's a lot of crossover between conspiracy theorists and domestic terrorists. It's why you never hear any conspiracy theories about Jesus being an alien that was covered up - it disagrees with the demographic.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:55
|
|
|
computer parts posted:Well, the X-Files is fundamentally flawed in that way because there's a lot of crossover between conspiracy theorists and domestic terrorists. Oh definitely, I was commenting about my general weariness of that angle.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 07:58
|
|
|
Enderzero posted:What was the deal with the two agents who came to make Scully and Nulder leave and then whispered in Arabic? I got that there's a ton of terrorists apparently in this town, thanks to the nurse, but were those two supposed to imply the government is massively compromised too? No, as far as I can tell they were just Homeland agents and some DHS agents speak Arabic or Farsi or whatnot due to their jobs. These 2 spoke in it to hide what they were saying from Scully and Miller, but didn't realize Miller could understand it, and so Miller realized they were actually there for revenge and planned to take the guy off life support. I'm pretty sure this was the intention, it's just written/presented really badly. I also think they were probably the ones who gave the nurse the idea of doing it instead, but again, it's not written very well. Basically, gently caress you Chris Carter. (or maybe the editor(s)). I highly enjoy your typo of Mulder by the way. Nulder. Nullder. Edit: vvv Durrr. Nice. Longbaugh01 fucked around with this message at 08:34 on Feb 16, 2016 |
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 08:02
|
|
|
Longbaugh01 posted:No, as far as I can tell they were just Homeland agents and some DHS agents speak Arabic or Farsi or whatnot due to their jobs. These 2 spoke in it to hide what they were saying from Scully and Miller, but didn't realize Miller could understand it, and so Miller realized they were actually there for revenge and planned to take the guy off life support. I'm pretty sure this was the intention, it's just written/presented really badly. I also think they were probably the ones who gave the nurse the idea of doing it instead, but again, it's not written very well. Not a typo  He's Nu-Mulder. Nulder. (TM R copyrighted content)
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 08:12
|
|
|
I was a little worried that Alan Sepinwall (whose views usually match up with mine) would think differently about this episode, but nope, he pretty much hit the nail on the head: ""Babylon," meanwhile, felt like Chris Carter trying to cram three or four different episodes into one before time ran out on the revival, which resulted into an awkward mash-up of comedy episode, backdoor pilot for X-Files: The Next Generation starring Lauren Ambrose and Robbie Amell, and a serious to the point of self-importance story where Mulder and Scully try to solve the problem of violence linked to radical fundamentalist religion. It's like Carter said to himself, "This may be one of the last episodes I ever write with these characters, so I need to use them to make a statement! But I'll throw in some jokes so people don't complain I'm being preachy." drat straight.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 08:45
|
|
|
This wasn't Kathy Griffin bad, or even Space bad. I'd almost go as far as to say it wasn't as bad as My Struggle 1, but the pacing was all hosed up as many others have said. It had some enjoyable moments but for all the noise, The Lone Gunman cameo was totally wasted. Surely after Doggett and Reyes they aren't seriously considering X-Files:TNG? Also, is there any indication the season finale will be a double episode?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 08:54
|
|
|
I actually really liked mini-Mulder/Scully, and Mulder's trip was funny. Lauren Ambrose is great. But... maaaaybe don't put a country line dance number and a whimsical mushroom trip in with your heavy Muslim terrorist Texan racism plotline and then end with a twee philosophy conversation about the duality of man with an upbeat soundtrack? There have been times to get out their sillies. This isn't one of them. I have no idea what they were going for.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 09:04
|
|
|
Longbaugh01 posted:I was a little worried that Alan Sepinwall (whose views usually match up with mine) would think differently about this episode, but nope, he pretty much hit the nail on the head: Came to post just this, that episode was four concepts in a blender and it turned out about as well as tossing four of your random favorite foods into one. And solving terrorism with  just seemed incredibly distasteful as presented.Robbie Amell and Lauren Ambrose were fine though, I am genuinely surprised at how much I wouldn't mind a spinoff with them. McSpanky fucked around with this message at 11:11 on Feb 16, 2016 |
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 10:39
|
|
|
xov posted:I audibly muttered "gently caress" when the camera just stayed focused on the building, knowing exactly what was going to happen. Yeah. When they met and then prayed in the car, I thought it was going to be a fake-out. Like they were praying to god about speaking correctly in an ominous fashion and then it cuts to them inside at a singles' event but nope. As soon as it stayed focused on the building with people doing normal poo poo outside I knew what was going to happen. I was expecting a MOTW like other people said. Kind of a wasted episode, really. I only saw a little bit about the Lone Gunman appearance before watching too so I expected that the screen shot of them in cowboy hats was their (goofy, unnecessary, typical of them) cover and they would help Mulder with something. Edit: And really with the sort of point Carter was trying to make with the racist nurse, them going to some singles' thing would have been better. Oh you mean that American Muslim guys also want to meet women and get laid? YA DON'T SAY. Edit2: Also I find it really surprising that Mulder had never tripped before. Wasn't he supposed to be into any sort of weird paranormal thing when he was younger? He never took hallucinogens as a means to communicate with aliens or ghosts or spirits or whatever the gently caress? Dr.Radical fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Feb 16, 2016 |
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 11:01
|
|
|
Dr.Radical posted:Edit2: Also I find it really surprising that Mulder had never tripped before. Wasn't he supposed to be into any sort of weird paranormal thing when he was younger? He never took hallucinogens as a means to communicate with aliens or ghosts or spirits or whatever the gently caress? I can't believe they didn't reference his near-death Indian spirit quest stuff from season 3.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 11:12
|
|
|
I'm going to pretend this episode was a sequel to Field Trip and they're still stuck in the giant mushroom.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 11:22
|
|
|
McSpanky posted:I can't believe they didn't reference his near-death Indian spirit quest stuff from season 3. That was played completely straight though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 11:25
|
|
|
Longbaugh01 posted:That was played completely straight though. Yeah but still, the mere fact that it happened was something Mulder could testify to on his own behalf as to why he thinks this otherwise especially inane idea of communing with semi-dead people through the power of literal magical thinking would work. And it's not like the rest of the episode was concerned with wild tonal shifts or anything.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 11:35
|
|
|
McSpanky posted:Yeah but still, the mere fact that it happened was something Mulder could testify to on his own behalf as to why he thinks this otherwise especially inane idea of communing with semi-dead people through the power of literal magical thinking would work. And it's not like the rest of the episode was concerned with wild tonal shifts or anything. I think all these episodes are operating on the assumption that no one remembers original episodes.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 12:03
|
|
|
Longbaugh01 posted:I think all these episodes are operating on the assumption that no one remembers original episodes. Except for all the references, of course. For some reason I had the hankering to watch the "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" episode and it had audio from the first episode ("No one down here but the FBI's most unwanted...") and at one point it shows him reading Scully's dissertation on Einstein's twin paradox.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 12:24
|
|
|
I get the feeling I should have taken some mushrooms before I watched that episode. As with everyone else, it felt like three or four really good ideas smushed together with an attempt at a combined scully/mulder voiceover at the end. I don't remember the original run being this uneven, but it's been a long time. Maybe if it'd been a longer series (eight or ten eps) things might have been more even.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 13:17
|
|
|
Rocksicles posted:I find it hard to understand why Arabic speaking actors still line up to play suicide bombers. Maybe because they're adult enough to recognize Islamic terrorists are actually a real thing in the world?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 14:01
|
|
|
McSpanky posted:I can't believe they didn't reference his near-death Indian spirit quest stuff from season 3. If only this episode had ended with Skinner yelling 'NO YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU SON OF A BITCH' to cigarette-smoking-man...
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 14:34
|
|
|
Rocksicles posted:I find it hard to understand why Arabic speaking actors still line up to play suicide bombers. Maybe they're not and that's why one of the dudes only knew how to speak Farsi. Also just to dogpile on, that was by far the worst episode I've ever seen, and the last couple seasons of the original run had some bad ones. The fact that most reviews seem to be giving it good scores tells me what I need to know about how discerning these blogging "journalists" are.
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 14:39
|
|
|
Can we all agree to stop loving using that lovely Lumineers song everywhere?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 14:39
|
|
`
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 19:43 |
|
|
What the gently caress was that?
|
|
#
?
Feb 16, 2016 15:06
|
|
