The X-Files: "I've Been Getting My Ass Chewed"

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > The X-Files: "I've Been Getting My Ass Chewed"

Polygynous: Dec 13, 2006; welp

InfiniteZero posted:

Sorry but like Stephen King I was on too much coke at the time of Maximum Overdrive to remember it.

quoting a ghost post

I don't remember much of it either. Just, evil truck... and... yeah. Was there supposed to be any deeper commentary there?

# ? Mar 5, 2018 18:24

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# ? May 14, 2024 15:10

Supercar Gautier: Jun 10, 2006

When Scully's fridge started shooting ice at her, it was reminiscent of the scene in Maximum Overdrive where a vending machine shot a soda can into a guy's nuts. Then when he crouched in pain it fired the soda killshot on his forehead. Then a steamroller ran over some children.

# ? Mar 5, 2018 18:37

Chairman Capone: Dec 17, 2008

Supercar Gautier posted:

When Scully's fridge started shooting ice at her, it was reminiscent of the scene in Maximum Overdrive where a vending machine shot a soda can into a guy's nuts. Then when he crouched in pain it fired the soda killshot on his forehead. Then a steamroller ran over some children.

And then the Soviets save the world by shooting down the UFO that was causing the machines to go into maximum overdrive.

# ? Mar 5, 2018 19:01

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Mendrian posted:

Okay but that technology doesn't just happen like a force of nature - somebody made it and their presence is utterly deleted from the episode.

Yes, quite deliberately. Because it's not about any one person it's about all of us and the kind of society we're creating. The robots aren't there because "someone made evil robots for some reason", they're just there to represent "the future". The episode isn't saying "watch out for technology" it's saying "we all need to be better people because one day the things we're doing now will come back to bite us". It's not about AI, it's about society.

# ? Mar 5, 2018 23:43

Astroman: Apr 8, 2001

bull3964 posted:

The X-Files is no stranger to gimmick episodes, I'm not sure how this one strains disbelief more than others. There's always been a subset of episodes that are even further removed from MOTW to the point where you could question their inclusion in canon. The fun has always been to see the character reactions to these situations.

Unless you want to say Reggie really was in all those important scenes over the years.

Maybe this is the key to getting Gillian Anderson to stay--just do an entire season of "What If?" episodes, throwing Mulder and Scully into wacky situations with no mytharc or continuity whatsoever. :getin:

Mendrian posted:

Okay but that technology doesn't just happen like a force of nature - somebody made it and their presence is utterly deleted from the episode. That person is the one who bares responsibility for a robot that tries to kill people, not the people who 'taught' this robot that it's okay to harass others for their lack of generosity.

Well at some point technology might as well be a force of nature. If a robot kills somebody but the guy who wrote the original code that went bad has been dead for years, how can you make him be responsible?

# ? Mar 6, 2018 02:44

Antares: Jan 13, 2006

I liked the ep. It was funny and a dystopian hellscape where the unitary Bezos AI has learned the most important thing, worth harassing you to death for, is to Rate This Interaction does not seem that far fetched to me.

# ? Mar 6, 2018 03:01

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

Darin Morgan: Alexa, how explicit do I have to make the point for goons to get it?
Alexa: Very. Why not spell it out in the cold open with what happened to Tay.

Anyway this might not be my favorite DM episode, I still liked it a whole bunch. It's pretty amazing that if this aired during the show's original run, it would look like crazy dystonian cyberpunk nightmare, and now it's like, yeah all this could happen any day.

# ? Mar 6, 2018 12:21

Hedrigall: Mar 27, 2008; by vyelkin

mobby_6kl posted:

Darin Morgan: Alexa, how explicit do I have to make the point for goons to get it?
Alexa: Very. Why not spell it out in the cold open with what happened to Tay.

Anyway this might not be my favorite DM episode, I still liked it a whole bunch. It's pretty amazing that if this aired during the show's original run, it would look like crazy dystonian cyberpunk nightmare, and now it's like, yeah all this could happen any day.

It wasn't a DM one though!

# ? Mar 6, 2018 13:47

I AM GRANDO: Aug 20, 2006

They made a neural net and fed it Darin Morgan episodes and this is what came out.

# ? Mar 6, 2018 14:46

bull3964: Nov 18, 2000; DO YOU HEAR THAT? THAT'S THE SOUND OF ME PATTING MYSELF ON THE BACK.

Oh, no.

It's happening.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-human-attacks-robot-cars-20180305-story.html

# ? Mar 6, 2018 16:01

mobby_6kl: Aug 9, 2009; by Fluffdaddy

I could've sworn I saw his name in the credits but it was Glen Morgan the director. Huh.

business hammocks posted:

They made a neural net and fed it Darin Morgan episodes and this is what came out.

Yeah

bull3964 posted:

Oh, no.

It's happening.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-human-attacks-robot-cars-20180305-story.html

Well that's it, only a matter of time before they put us in camps.

# ? Mar 6, 2018 16:12

Abalone Malone: Jul 26, 2002; ...

they dared to be stupid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMhwddNQSWQ&t=83s

# ? Mar 7, 2018 06:18

Shitenshi: Mar 12, 2013

These kids are seriously into some Candle Cove style poo poo.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 02:20

Barry Convex: Sep 1, 2005; Think of the good things, Pim! The good things!

Like Jesus, candy, and crackerjacks! Ice cream and cake and lots o'laffs!
Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Joe! Larry, Curly, and brother Moe!

The dad of the little girl is not a very good actor

# ? Mar 8, 2018 02:41

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

Well that was a definite step up from last week's train wreck. Those kid show mascots were just loving unsettling.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 03:08

Gonz: Dec 22, 2009; "Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

Roger Cross getting yet another paycheck for appearing on Canadaworld TV sets.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 03:47

Gonz: Dec 22, 2009; "Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

Got some heavy Are You Afraid of the Dark? vibes from Mr. Chuckleteeth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1fkS1dLVhQ

# ? Mar 8, 2018 03:56

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

TheGamerGuy23 posted:

Well that was a definite step up from last week's train wreck. Those kid show mascots were just loving unsettling.

Interesting take Mr... what was it?

# ? Mar 8, 2018 04:14

GutBomb: Jun 15, 2005; Dude?

I thought it was mr chuckle cheese because I only heard the name when children were saying it, but then I saw me chuckle teeth in the credits and it made more sense.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 19:17

Mr. Clark2: Sep 17, 2003; Rocco sez: Oh man, what a bummer. Woof.

Mr. TruffleCheese

# ? Mar 8, 2018 19:39

Gonz: Dec 22, 2009; "Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

I literally posted the name a few posts ago, you philistines.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 21:23

I AM GRANDO: Aug 20, 2006

A nice entry in the xfiles tradition of our heroes having literally no effect on events and just watching magic poo poo play out.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 22:23

Gobbeldygook: May 13, 2009; Hates Native American people and tries to justify their genocides.

Put this racist on ignore immediately!

You could have dropped this episode into any show with a MOTW format, so I guessed it was a spec script that was reborn as an X-Files episode. The writer gave an interview about it

quote:

There is a lot going on in this episode: witches, a pedophile, hellhounds, terrifying kids characters... where did the idea for all of this come from?

Benjamin Van Allen: I've always been creeped out by children's television show characters, like Teletubbies. There is another show I saw that kind of inspired the Bibble-Tiggles, as we call them in the show, called Boohbahs. A lot of kid's shows like that, when you watch them, you're like, "Holy s***. How am I letting my kid watch this? It's so weird." Kid's TV shows have always really creeped me out. I really just wanted to make a classic X-Files episode. It's a monster-of-the-week episode, but not all MOTW episodes actually have a monster. I really wanted to have some recognizable monster for the episode. That's where the Mr. Chuckleteeth guy came in. Like the classic X-Files feel, I definitely wanted to set it in a small town. I wanted to start the episode in the town with Mulder and Scully, and end the episode in the town with Mulder and Scully. As much as I love all the X-Files lore, I didn't want to see the X-Files office, I didn't want to put Skinner in this episode. I just wanted it to be a very classic, standalone monster-of-the-week episode.

Surprisingly he did write it just for the X-Files.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 23:07

Monglo: Mar 19, 2015

Sorry for barging in, but I've lost any hope for the revival in the middle of the previous season (liked the wereman one though). Does the new one have episodes that are considered good?

# ? Mar 8, 2018 23:30

Big Mean Jerk: Jan 27, 2009; Well, of course I know him.
He's me.

Monglo posted:

Sorry for barging in, but I've lost any hope for the revival in the middle of the previous season (liked the wereman one though). Does the new one have episodes that are considered good?

You should at least check out �The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat�. It�s not connected to the mytharc stuff this season and it�s written by the same guy who did the Were-Monster episode.

# ? Mar 8, 2018 23:44

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

GutBomb posted:

I thought it was mr chuckle cheese because I only heard the name when children were saying it, but then I saw me chuckle teeth in the credits and it made more sense.

It was more a reference to his av

Gonz posted:

I literally posted the name a few posts ago, you philistines.

You too.

# ? Mar 9, 2018 03:57

Gonz: Dec 22, 2009; "Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

Milo and POTUS posted:

You too.

Oh poo poo I didn't even notice that. Now I feel foolish.

EDIT: Probably due to my phonepostin'.

Gonz fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Mar 9, 2018

# ? Mar 9, 2018 04:31

unlawfulsoup: May 12, 2001; Welcome home boys!

Honestly Forehead Sweat and Rmbwhatever were both loving awesome, while the rest of the season has been relatively meh. They should just embrace being a demented version of Black Mirror because it is incredible. Actually they sort of out Black Mirror, Black Mirror in all the right ways.

So many great little moments in the automation episode. "Why is your house so much nicer than mine?!"

# ? Mar 9, 2018 04:38

Laterite: Mar 14, 2007; It's Gutfest '89; Grimey Drawer

I've enjoyed every episode of this season except My Struggle III, and the one with the Slenderman ripoff, which wasn't bad but just kinda meh.

Best exchange this week:

Mulder: "My theory is that it's a hellhound."

Scully:

*pauses*

*stares*

"What's a hellhound?"

# ? Mar 9, 2018 07:39

Chubby Henparty: Aug 13, 2007

I liked this one but (possibly this is a touch of 'as a parent, I') it started pretty tone deaf.

*bloody remains of mutilated three year-old*
Mulder: Witchcraft. Sweet.

# ? Mar 9, 2018 08:05

Supercar Gautier: Jun 10, 2006

I'm torn because the best X-Files episodes are the silly X-Files episodes, but they're predicated on subverting the serious X-Files episodes, so I don't know how well it would work if the serious ones didn't exist at all.

# ? Mar 9, 2018 13:45

Tiggum: Oct 24, 2007; Your life and your quest end here.

Gobbeldygook posted:

You could have dropped this episode into any show with a MOTW format, so I guessed it was a spec script that was reborn as an X-Files episode.

I was thinking as I watched it that it could easily have been an episode of Supernatural. Probably with Sam as Mulder and Dean as Scully and almost no changes to the dialogue.

# ? Mar 11, 2018 09:57

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

business hammocks posted:

A nice entry in the xfiles tradition of our heroes having literally no effect on events and just watching magic poo poo play out.

So, this?

It was kind of strange just how...bleak this episode was. Aside from the black cop, every major character introduced in the episode died a horrible death.

# ? Mar 11, 2018 17:32

sticklefifer: Nov 11, 2003; by VideoGames

I liked the episode, but it seemed like the writer was trying really hard to make social commentary by comparing the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism to the #MeToo movement, and it felt kinda icky and forced.

# ? Mar 12, 2018 07:43

Octy: Apr 1, 2010

sticklefifer posted:

I liked the episode, but it seemed like the writer was trying really hard to make social commentary by comparing the Salem witch trials and McCarthyism to the #MeToo movement, and it felt kinda icky and forced.

Huh, I didn't read that at all.

Anyway, last two episodes have been solid compared to the rest of the season. I always enjoyed the small town mysteries in the original run.

# ? Mar 12, 2018 08:10

sticklefifer: Nov 11, 2003; by VideoGames

Octy posted:

Huh, I didn't read that at all.

It was all in the low-key banter during certain scenes, for example when the party clown guy was getting beaten, and Mulder would be like "It's a witch hunt, the public indicting this sex offender before due process. But that's what America's like now, WINK." Everyone I was watching with picked up on it too, so I know I'm not imagining things.

Otherwise it felt like a solid Season 2-4 MOTW, which the exception of child murder - I'm pretty sure they've never done that before.

# ? Mar 12, 2018 08:22

Open Source Idiom: Jan 4, 2013

sticklefifer posted:

Otherwise it felt like a solid Season 2-4 MOTW, which the exception of child murder - I'm pretty sure they've never done that before.

Paper Hearts, Oubliette, Die Hand Der Whatsit, the Closure two-parter all spring to mind, but I don't remember the specifics behind any of them.

I do think they got all their child murder out on Millennium though.

# ? Mar 12, 2018 09:15

Big Mean Jerk: Jan 27, 2009; Well, of course I know him.
He's me.

In Home they show the dead body of an incredibly mutated newborn. It�s still pretty gross-looking in 2018.

# ? Mar 12, 2018 10:26

TheLoneStar: Feb 9, 2017

sticklefifer posted:

It was all in the low-key banter during certain scenes, for example when the party clown guy was getting beaten, and Mulder would be like "It's a witch hunt, the public indicting this sex offender before due process. But that's what America's like now, WINK." Everyone I was watching with picked up on it too, so I know I'm not imagining things.

I mean yeah, so far that's exactly what this season has been like. They're really loving heavy handed with the social commentary. It's been a while since I watched the original series, was it always this forced and eye-roll-worthy?

# ? Mar 12, 2018 13:47

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# ? May 14, 2024 15:10

Octy: Apr 1, 2010

TheGamerGuy23 posted:

I mean yeah, so far that's exactly what this season has been like. They're really loving heavy handed with the social commentary. It's been a while since I watched the original series, was it always this forced and eye-roll-worthy?

Not as forced as the Donald Trump thing, but there was plenty of social commentary in the original series; it was just more broadly about the evil stuff governments get up to in real life and not specifically calling out Presidents.

# ? Mar 12, 2018 20:54

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > The X-Files: "I've Been Getting My Ass Chewed"

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