Archived from the Eat The Corn Facebook page.
Dec 01, 2017 15:55
Welcome to our 600th member — somebody amongst [redacted], [redacted], or [redacted]! Thank you and keep visiting!
Dec 01, 2017 17:31
#46DaysOfMythX D-33 3X21: Avatar
First of 3 Skinner-centric episodes (with s11: of 4?) that would be a stand-alone if not its connections to the mythology with Skinner’s blackmailing by CSM’s henchman the Grey-Haired Man (introduced in Piper Maru – keep an eye out for these small recurring roles!). Mitch Pileggi meets Amanda Tapping in bed here…they would work again some years later in Stargate Atlantis!
Dec 01, 2017 17:45
#46DaysOfMythX D-33 Part 2: 3X23: Wetwired
A throwback to the “conspiracy is everywhere” feel of seasons 1-2 with this oft-neglected gem of an episode, terrifically directed by Rob Bowman, deliciously paranoid and with some excellent acting by @[952678361446981:274:Gillian Anderson]! Mind control themes similar to “Blood” with a technology twist. First “John Gilnitz” reference: visual effects producer Mat Beck is credited for writing this episode, most likely he did a first pass and the John Gilnitz trio did rewrites. Only negative: Mulder’s too deus ex machina color blindness.
Dec 02, 2017 21:27
#46DaysOfMythX D-32 3X24: Talitha Cumi / 4X01: Herrenvolk
A two-parter that does some extremely important fleshing out of the mythology, but which doesn’t quite gel overall – perhaps Carter was too busy developing Millennium in parallel? Key interesting concepts are introduced: the aliens-as-god concept, the CSM as Mulder’s father, hybrids as slaves, bees carrying viruses, colonization as the end game. By now Carter has a clear idea of where he wants to take his mythology, but there will be many additional layers still along the way. Of note: the use of the smallpox vaccination is provided here as an identifying and cataloguing system, already quite complex biologically – My Struggle II suggests a whole other level of complexity and stretches believability with the Spartan virus being hidden in there too since at least the 1970s!…
Dec 03, 2017 19:32
#46DaysOfMythX D-31 (one month remaining!) 4X09: Tunguska / 4X10: Terma
We are in the series’ darkest season and we are in for a rough, black-slimy, muddy ride pairing Mulder and a memorably duplicitous Krycek! An international spy thriller/blockbuster approach mixed with important mythology developments, probably as a result of the mix of sensitivities if Spotnitz and Carter – by now the script for the movie is being drafted and pieces are being put into place for how the mythology should make sense over the next couple of seasons, perhaps unprecedented in XF’s history. The black oil/cancer is really introduced: with alien stuff being used for international biological warfare we are actually not far from season 10’s mythology…
Dec 04, 2017 17:32
Widespread genetic modifications in order to drive a targeted population or an entire species into extinction, using for example Crispr-Cas9? It’s being researched right now by DARPA (the US military)…
The Guardian: US military agency invests $100m in genetic extinction technologies
Dec 04, 2017 18:50
#46DaysOfMythX D-30 4X07: Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man
An episode of dubious “canonicity” – but what a memorable episode it is! Since Morgan & Wong left in s2, the mythology has grown immensely beyond just the games on general ideas and concepts in s1-2… What M&W give here is not only a pastiche of conspiracy theories and meta commentary on how the obsessed X-Files viewer thirsts for more conspiracies – but also a poignant and just psychological profile of the show’s main antagonist. A masters’ lesson in film-making and narration!
Dec 05, 2017 18:45
#46DaysOfMythX D-29 4X15: Memento Mori
The mythology is now writing itself: the Carter/John/Gill/nitz quartet produce an Emmy-winning script in no time after Darin Morgan says he’s unable to finish the script he would have written for season 4. The “cancer arc” angst begins: #TheXFiles progressively focuses more on the interactions between the lead characters, and less on just “the case”. And this episode should be seen *after* “Never Again”, please, Scully can be a whole character without suffering a terminal cancer thank you!
Dec 06, 2017 23:33
#46DaysOfMythX D-28 4X17: Tempus Fugit / 4X18: Max
A return to the mythology of season 1 — military chasing UFOs, alien technology retroengineered in aircraft, and the tragic consequences abduction experiences have on lives of the common folk, Max Fenig and Sharon Graffia — only done with considerably more budget! A great two-parter, totally disconnected from the cancer arc surrounding it, sadly featuring the untimely demise of Agent “maybe Danny” Pendrell…
Dec 07, 2017 21:05
#46DaysOfMythX D-27 4X21: Zero Sum
Carter & Spotnitz’s planning starts paying off in this episode, which gives a feeling of a serialized narration that #TheXFiles only rarely did (early season 2, season 8). Written by Spotnitz and Howard Gordon (unfortunately, his last XF!). The bees, smallpox and Syndicate are connected. The focus is on Skinner and his deal with the devil/CSM — M&S are minor players, the mythology now has enough secondary characters to fuel entire storylines with their motivations and alliances.
Dec 07, 2017 21:40
Meanwhile, #TheXFiles season 11 is preparing to shoot its last episode. Prepare for a cliffhanger and undetermined period for negotiations for a potential season 12!
Anne Simon: “Earlier tweet about #XFiles cliffhanger based on CC saying that he was going to have one. So why not make it good one & hope/pray for happy resolution? Just like end of S10, cliffhanger means MORE likely future movie/seasons.”
https://twitter.com/Annealiz1/status/938823078724997120
Dec 08, 2017 19:11
#46DaysOfMythX D-26 4X23: Demons
A masterful episode for Mulder’s characterization — is any of his visions real or his own mind’s creations? — and for the visuals — the flashes are an evolution of the considerable work Ten Thirteen did to establish an original visual identity for Frank Black’s visions in Millennium. Written by producer Bob Goodwin, the episode could be revealing the Mulders’ and the CSM’s debate about who should be abducted, Fox or Samantha, and who their father really is. As this seed of doubt about his identity is planted, we move towards the end of this traumatic season and the story arc around Mulder’s rejection of everything extraterrestrial.
Dec 09, 2017 22:05
#46DaysOfMythX D-25 4X24: Gethsemane / 5X02: Redux / 5X03: Redux II
Carter likes to do variations on themes and season 10 is surely a variation of these episodes, where Mulder has a crisis of faith regarding his life’s quest in extraterrestrial life – which was already barely credible. Carter knew that firm answers were coming with the movie in one season’s time, and this was his last credible opportunity to present the theory that everything we’ve seen was the doings of a humans-only conspiracy! Big ideas, the apex of the carterian purple prose monologues, the return of characters unseen since the Pilot, a complete re-reading of modern American history since World War II, but also scenes that were the most soap-operatic #TheXFiles had done (at the time), all these make this trilogy an epic synthesis of the science/paranormal/religious themes underlying the series.
Dec 10, 2017 13:41
#46DaysOfMythX D-24 5X05: Christmas Carol / 5X07: Emily
A character study that turns mythology mid-way through. Even with hindsight though, it’s really difficult to reconcile with what type of hybridization we are seeing here, possibly a one-of-a-kind experiment. With the movie fast approaching, these episodes had an unexpected experimental approach and an elegiac feel to accompany Saint Scully’s endless suffering…
