"Field Trip" by Caroline O'Connell

"If I was that stoned..."  Scully
"If you were that stoned what?" Mulder (Deep Throat)

Spoilers!

That was the question posed way back at the beginning of the series.  And we
finally get an answer.  The penultimate episode of an X-Files season is
never part of the mytharc, but sometimes offers us pointers to the finale.
Demons main purpose was to tell us in no uncertain terms that Fox Mulder is
mentally unstable and therefore should come as no shock that he apparently
committed suicide in Gethsemane.  If Field Trip offers any portents to
Biogenesis, then we're in for a very interesting finale.

Field Trip was the episodic equivalent of comfort food.  It blended together
a mix of the familiar; bad things happening in a bathroom, bad things
happening in the woods, they even had a slide show, for heaven's sake!  All
we were missing were Mulderglasses (and on a purely gratuitous note, I miss
my mulderglasses!)  

As for the plot?  Well, can I just say Huh?  The first time I watched it, I
couldn't make head nor tail of it, but strangely enough, I really enjoyed
it!  I'm watching it again as I write this and it makes a little more sense.
Mulder finds evidence of Extra Terrestrial life and proudly shows it to
Scully who concedes that he was right about everything.  It's only when
Scully believes Mulder and then The Lone Gunmen take to heart one of the
more plausible explanations of a ritual killing that they believe something
is not right.

Once again,  Rob Bowman (surely destined for bigger and better things) and
Bill Roe give this quirky, off beat episode a lush, yet slightly off-kilter
feel.  Skewed angles, an almost slow motion feeling in parts that reflected
its "trippy" nature.  All main characters gave wonderfully soft-spoken
performances, underplaying in parts that could have so easily been overdone.
The opportunities were there - Mulder showing off his Alien and describing
his abduction, Scully realising that Mulder was dead (Hey, that's only
supposed to happen in the finales!) and grasping for an explanation.  In a
season of inconsistencies, Duchovny and Anderson have reliably delivered
performances worthy of the nominations they receive for various awards and
this episode was no different.

After a second viewing, it does make more sense, it's also one of the few
episodes of late that I'd be quite happy to watch again.

7/10

Stuff

Channelling John (The Biscuit) Cage : Say it with me people... Things I
learned from the X-Files:  Bad things happen...

"How often have I been wrong?"  Spotnitz has been re-reading his FTF script
and borrowing from it!  That's very close to the scene in the car, driving
through Texas!

Casual!Mulder, AllTerrain!Scully - nice truck, shame about the outfit.

At least Scully doesn't have to dig too deep into the wardrobe for an outfit
for Mulder's funeral!  And where's his Mother throughout the wake?

Is it just me, or does Mulder sound almost happy when describing details of
his abduction?

What if... Being digested by a giant mushroom is the Logical Conclusion?
I'm never eating pizza again!

Cal
"Sounds like crap when you say it."