Plot: Young FBI agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) with her background in science is assigned with and to report on the cases of speical agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and the specialised X-Files, a series of supernatural cases based on Fox's belief in the existence of extraterrestrials. The new team investigate the mysterious disappearance of group of teenagers in Oregon Woods.
Original Air date: 10/09/93
First thing to say is that is no classic X-Files theme (by Mark Snow), or those trandmark credits, in its place is a very generic one note piano score, which is bit bland and on the nose. Much of the appeal of the show, certainly in its early years, was the haunting quality of its small town locations (most of the early seasons were filmed in Canada). These locations had greater character and fitted the tone of series, and play into the idea of mysteries and the outcast and freak like characters. It suits the intimate tone of the leads too, but the low budget of the effects does have some drawbacks in the early episodes. The opening scene in the woods with the girl being stalked and that beam of flashing light looks very dated now.
Damn Anderson looks young here! Its to her credit how well she pulls off the maturity of Scully, but still convincing as a nervous rookie. This scene with Scully, and the FBI higher ups (played by Charles Cioffi, Ken Camroux-Taylor, William B. Davis - playing the famous Cigarette Smoking Man for the first time) sets the tone effectively. I like the touch of Scully being on her guard and suspicious of the intentions of the bigwigs, with Dana asking, "Am I meant to understand that you want me to debuk him?" referring to Mulder's work. The scene sets the cold political tone of the very traditional masculine FBI environment. The muted colours are effective in showing the sterile atmosphere. This then feds naturally into the deadpan, cynical tone of Mulder in his first scene with Scully. There are some wonderful exchanges in this scene, such as Mulder answering Dana's knock on the door with, "Sorry nobody here except the FBI's most unwanted."
Other gems include:
Scully: "Actually I'm looking to working with me."
Mulder: "Really? I was under the impression you were sent to spy on me."
Scully: "The answers are there, you just have to know where to look for them."
Mulder: "And that's why they put the I in FBI."
The chemistry is there from the start. Its a neat touch that both have done their homework on each other. Like Scully, Fox shows up on screen pretty much fully formed. Scully's cheeky smile at the end of scene is a thrill (like she knows she has a challenge on her hands with her new partner).
There's some good character building between Mulder and Scully throughout the episode. The brief scene where he drops in on her hotel room (asking if she wants to go for a run), shows Fox both keeping abreast of the case, but more crucially of his new partner. The later scene when they've been out in the woods and experienced the white light, and Dana comes to his room worried that she's been infected by something, may seem on the nose, and a bit of a weak towards the audience that there could be a future romance. But then it settles down into a warm, open exchange, with Mulder opening up about his backstory (the disappearance of his sister in their teens), and there is some common ground reached. Scully re-assures Mulder that she there to purely report the findings of the case, and in return she seems to have a new found respect for her new partner, even if she is still leaning more towards the science based everyday logic. I love most of their interactions throughout the episode. The intimacy of the scenes are effective, like the deep focus shot of them in the car together when time appears to freeze. Anderson's bemused, and yet, intrigued responses are on the money. But Duchovny's acting in the second half of the episode is a bit hammy and forced at times. He hasn't quite nailed Mulder like he will in future episodes. These scenes were mostly engaging, its the stuff around them that let the episode down at times.
Again the televisonal background music failed to grip me, the direction and visual language in scenes like the hospital one is flat. Some of the big dramatic scenes like the one in the woods when a mysterious man threatens Scully are look dated now. The budget limitations are highlighted in many of the special effects, and woodland scenes. The cheapness took me out of some of those scenes. The drama is let down by weak supporting actors. Sarah Koskoff as the disturbed daughter of the local doctor is very one note, though to be fair its not a very meaty part. There are a few cheesy lines also, such as Scully's "There was a light."
Verdict: This pilot episode has dated quite badly (though it does show much promise for the characters and core concept of the show). The main problem with it, is that it feels like th writers are trying too hard hammer home the key set pieces and themes. The effects budget is sadly lacking, the supporting plot of the case itself isn't the best, the lighter, witty tone of the first half of the episode would have been more effective when it comes to the case. Less is often more. The set up at the FBI, the Mulder and Scully interactions, and the rap up back in Washington (a nice scene with Dana reporting her findings to the directive general, and a final shot of Smoking Man putting a case file away) are enough to make it passible pilot. The drama was just lacking outside of those moments.
Rating: 5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment