> "The Beginning"  by Caroline O’Connell
> 
> Warning:  Here be spoilers!
> 
> "It all comes down to a matter of trust...I guess it
> always has."  
> Dana Scully.
> 
> If you’re a phile (and if you’re reading this, I’ll
> assume you are!), 
> then Sunday 8 March was a veritable X-Fileorama! 
> Between the frequent
> ads for the 9.00pm premiere on Sky and the showing
> of The X-Files -v-
> MIB Celebrity Deathmatch promos on MTV, it was
> impossible to get away
> from it.   We were even treated to "The Springfield
> Files" as a warm
> up.
> 
> Was it worth the four month wait?  Put it this way,
> The Beginning is
> the best episode of the season, so far!  We had all
> the ingredients of
> a classic X-File.  Blood, guts, gore, a roaming
> monster, some great 
> dialogue exchanges, and an almost coherent plot. 
> But somehow it didn’t
> quite gel.   I felt the problem was similar to that
> which plagued the
> movie.  Trying to explain what’s been going on for
> new viewers,  making
> sure they can follow what’s going on, instead of
> concentrating on
> moving the plot along.  The first 20 minutes was
> spent catching up on
> the events in The End, via Fight The Future.  From
> the pre-credits clip
> sequence to Mulder arguing with Scully after they
> had left Sandy’s
> house we were told that the X-Files division was
> closed, but re-opened,
> Mulder saw stuff Scully didn’t because she was
> infected with the virus
> which is carried by bees from corn, oh and by the
> way, it cost a small
> fortune for Mulder to rescue Scully from Antarctica,
> because he was
> berated over his expenses claims by the OPR panel
> which served as
> narrators to this review.
> 
> I would like to nominate myself as president of the
> We hate Spudner
> Society.  Little Jeffy has gone from an annoyance to
> someone to be very
> wary of .  It’s a credit to Chris Owen’s portrayal
> of Spender that I
> dislike him so much.  I’m looking forward to seeing
> him in future
> episodes.  I wish I could say the same about Mimi
> Rogers as Diana
> Fowley, but I find myself glazing over when she’s on
> screen.  If she
> was so seriously injured in The End, why didn’t she
> just die?  Her
> schizophrenic role as Mulder’s  sometime ally,
> sometime foe, former
> "chickadee"- according to Frohike, is at odds with
> the rest of the
> characters in this series.  Not that we know what
> she’s up to - we
> don’t know that about half the cast - but that it’s
> such a badly
> defined role.  Perhaps a better actress would have
> given it better
> definition.
> 
> Speaking of Frohike,  surely I’m not the only one
> who thinks that
> Gibson Praise could be his lovechild?  And if so,
> imagine the plotline
> that could develop!
> 
> Watching Mulder and Scully argue throughout the
> episode was a little
> strange.  At the end of FTF, they seemed more
> resolute in their quest
> to find The Truth, yet now we have them bickering at
> every turn.   But
> the fact that they were bickering face to face and
> not down the phone
> to each other was welcome.  Duchovny and Anderson
> are both so assured
> in these familiar roles, it was great seeing them in
> the same scene. 
> But remind me to never ever, ever ask Dana Scully to
> babysit.  Gibson’s
> disappearance adds to her dreadful record on
> childminding
> (Eve/Revelations/Emily/ All Souls.).   The Beginning
> did serve to
> redefine their roles as Believer and Sceptic
> Scientist which had taken
> twists and turns throughout season 5.   It would
> also seem that Skinner
> is back in Mulder’s corner.  As in The End, he gives
> Mulder information
> that brings him into conflict with Spender who,
> despite a shaky
> introduction, has become more interesting.  The
> scene between CSM and
> Spender brings both characters to a more sinister
> level indeed.  As
> they discuss the problem of Mulder, Spender says "As
> long as he lives,
> he won’t give up."  Up to then, Spender was just a
> petulant annoyance. 
> Now he seems happy to follow in his father’s
> footsteps.   We always
> knew what Pop was capable of, but is Junior in the
> same league?  Will
> he be seduced by the darkside?  
> 
> The glaring sunshine heralded the change from an
> overcast, sinister
> looking Vancouver to a bright, sunshiney LA.  But
> lest we forget the
> message of Folie A Deux, there is evil hiding in the
> light... And
> gestating in the heat of a nuclear power plant where
> a guy called Homer
> works.  Oh you 1013 guys crack me up!   I half
> expected him to scream
> "Doh!" as the monster jumped out to get him.   So
> now we know the
> evolution of the alien.  From black oil, to green
> skinned, sharpnailed
> infant, to the familiar "grey" of alien lore with
> big eyes and small
> mouth.  Whether they all evolve further into mind
> reading chess
> progidies has yet to be explored.
> 
> As the title suggests.  This is just The Beginning. 
> Is the best yet to
> come?  7/10.
> 
> Random observations:
> 
> High Eeww factor:  Blood and guts in abundance.
> Mulder sticking an
> un-gloved hand into a pool of goo.   Has he learned
> nothing over the
> last 5 years?
> 
> Low logic factor:  Let’s all go off on a wander
> around our local
> nuclear power plant!  It’s easy, you know.
> 
> Looks familiar:  Phones ringing at inopportune
> moments scaring all
> concerned (but was Mulder making "that Face"). 
> Shouting for attention
> in a hospital and being told to calm down.  
> 
> Did you know.... That Sandy, who played host to the
> alien, was played
> by Rick Millikan, Series Casting Director.  Hey, if
> you can’t cast
> yourself, who can you cast!
> 
> Was it just me, or did Wendie Malick look like she
> was reading the
> synopsis of  FTF as printed in The National
> Enquirer?  Hey, we all had
> that incredulous look on our faces until we found
> out it was true!
> 
> Missed opportunity?  Mulderglasses!  In what could
> have been a mirror
> of the first Mulder/Scully scene in Pilot, Mulder
> should have been
> wearing his glasses!
> (Note:  Gratuitous!Cal will look for any excuse to
> drool over 
> Mulder/Duchovny and makes no apologies for it!)
> 
> Cal