Review of Hollywood A.D. by Sue Brody

All in all, I found myself frustrated w/ this ep. *Getting on soapbox*.
There were moments that were laugh out loud funny, moments when I grimaced,
moments when I was annoyed, and moments that actually seemed X-Filesish
(though few and far between). But as I've posted a number of times in the
past two years, I can't help but think that The X-Files of yore is gone
(e.g, recent eps like EN AMI, never mind eps like MONDAY, PAPER HEARTS,
MEMENTO MORI, FOLIE A DEUX, PUSHER, ICE, ONE BREATH, and on and on) will
fewer and fewer, if there even *is* an 8th season, God help us all) and
this is what we're going to get instead. Granted, I would rather *DD* write
such an ep than someone who didn't know the series as well as he does, but
I would still would rather it weren't written at all. What I like best are
eps like Bad Blood, which are parodies, but seamlessly weave the humor into
the X-File and laugh WITH the characters, not AT THEM, as I felt this ep
often did. I feel as if my X-Files are being mocked, and while DD *may*
have the right to do that, it still bothers me. 

HAD certainly wasn't boring, that's for sure, unlike Brand X and other eps
this season (The (UN)Amazing Maleeni, anyone?). But rather than being a
*parody* of TXF, this ep smacked of SPOOF, and to me that is not the same
thing. I guess I felt the same way about this ep that I felt about XCOPS
(except I did like this ep better). It was done very well, and DD certainly
understands the series, but when a show no longer takes itself seriously,
then it's lost credibility, in my opinion. There was very little plot (and
it was inserted randomly and then not really resolved) and the show was
more interested in being about the fun than about solving a problem and
seeing M&S's development as people and partners. I can deal with this when
we're talking about a sitcom, such as The Drew Carey Show, which constantly
pokes fun at itself (examples including Drew and his former girlfriend,
Nikki, in a giant refrigerator sequence and the latest episode, where Ryan
Stiles, who costars as Lewis and directed it, poses and preens as the
credits roll). But DCS is a comedy, and the world in which it takes place
is always portrayed w/ a grain of salt. The X-Files cannot be watched
unless disbelief is suspended, and w/ an ep like this, the world is broken
down and after an ep like this, I am not sure how I can go on to an ep like
Requiem and take anything that happens in the mythology seriously. I don't
mind Mulder being quippy in a normal ep--I love it, as a matter of
fact--but I don't like the two worlds colliding, b/c it then makes the
X-Files world even *less* believable.

It's still jarring for me to see the *real* X-Files being interspersed w/
the *faux* X-Files (i.e., Federman) and seeing the *real* world of TXF
being connected w/ the "real world" (Shandling/Leoni). To me, it takes
something sacred and makes it profane. At least w/ The Unnatural, it was a
*real* X-File, and there were elements of the paranormal along w/ funny
scenes (the two M&S ones), but the paranormal was real and we didn't move
into the real world. It's like w/ Cops--I don't want to watch a *spoof* of
The X-Files, I want to watch The X-Files itself, as funny as elements of
this ep were (*nothing* could be funnier that Scully running back in forth
on the soundstage w/ her high heels, b/c haven't we *all* wondered about
GA's ability to do this?).

Tea: Is that my flashlight, Mulder, or are you just happy to be laying on
top of me? 
Garry: Oh, that...I love you, Scully. No ifs, ands, or...bees.

That both acknowledges and pokes fun at the Shippers, IMHO, and yet at the
end we are no closer to seeing where M&S are in this relationship. Was
anyone *else* bothered by this???

Federman: It's actually just a writer/producer.
Mulder: Well, that's actually just a hindrance/pain in the neck.

That sort of summarized a lot of the ep for me. And what was with the bones
dancing to the circus-like music? Were we back in Humbug or PMP land again?

I did like the teaser very much, and would have been happy if we had pretty
much left it there. It was funny to hear "You cigarette smoking mackarel
snapper" (CSM as Zombie King), and it was very amusing to How funny to see
Chris Carter and Tea and Garry and Minnie Driver in the theatre, along with
Skinner (the *real* one) grinning at Mulder and Mulder with his head in his
hands, grimacing?

There were too many funny puns from Federman to repeat here...so I won't.
(Mulder: "One more pun and I'll pull out my gun.")  And I did like the way
they goofed on Scully's "relationship" with Skinner. It seems clear that
they won't pursue *that* route in the future, which I am happy about (no
offense to Skinner fans, but I just can't *see* it).

I still wonder at Skinner--sorry, Skinman--letting Federman trail around w/
them.

Sister Spooky, eh? I am surprised Mulder didn't make more of that. It does
sort of bring the M&S partnership a little more cohesive (b/c as skeptical
as she might have been of the sister, she also bought into her theories and
didn't forget them).

Just before Michah Hoffman rises back up, as Scully does the autopsy and
weighs the "larger than normal heart," I was getting definite flashes of
Bad Blood. I wondered if that was a homage to that most excellent ep. I
wanted her to find something in the pizza. <G>

Best Skinner line: If I'm carrying Marilyn Monroe's purse, does that mean
I've been sleeping with JFK? This, of course, does not jibe with the
Skinner we see *outside* of the FBI, alas.

I love Chuck. Chuck makes any ep just a little bit more interesting. Coo
coo ca choo. "I am the bearded cow-like sea beast." *He* keeps it real...so
to speak. He keeps the agents on track. He is immersed in the world of TXF,
and so he seems more invested in a case, the case, than M&S do. He is
*consistent*.

Of course Mulder would have seen "Plan 9 from Outer Space" 42 times
(Hitchhiker's Guide, the meaning of life). What happens when he sees it a
43rd time??? I have no idea how one makes an associo-poetic leap, but I
would like to try it some time. Maybe if I watch El Mundo Gira enough
times, I'll have the same luck. <EG> It's nice that Scully can now get
quippy, too. I can't believe that Scully felt badly about Mulder seeing
Plan 9 so many times, except that she obviously wanted Mulder to "get out"
more (and we already got our obligatory porn film reference from Chuck). It
was a nice segueway to their going out to L-Hay.

Interesting how defensive Mulder got when he thought Scully was talking
about him being "crazy" when in fact she was talking about herself.
Actually, she was really talking about *both* of them.

M&S were awfully dressed up on the Hollywood set, and I can only think it
was as a contrast to Tea and Garry. They have been dressed so casually
*while* on cases lately, and now here they are in an unofficial capacity,
on an enforced leave, and yet they are dressed as if they *were* on a case.
Not really consistent.

How does one dress to the left? Just curious. <G> Ms. Leoni's 

Yes, the bubble bath scene was *cute* (though OH SO HOLLYWOOD...you think
it was DD's riff on TXF moving to LA?), but do you know what would have
really have happened to Mulder if he had told Scully that "SKINMAN IS
CALLING ME FROM A BUBBLE BATH"?  And yes, I really did like the way DD
goofed on Shandling liking Mulder (w/ Scully saying that she thought Leoni
had a little crush on him, as did Shandling, which was more *interesting*
to Mulder). But again, did it belong in an X-Files ep? I loved when Mulder
walked out of the theatre after Tea said she was in love w/ Skinner

Was I watching Michael Jackson's THRILLER at the end? What was up with the
dancing zombies in front of the green screen doing the mambo? I guess
that's just a wrap up from Mulder's comments about what zombies really do
after "eating people". But here what really gets me: Mulder's comments
about how people would remember them from the film (that CSM and Micah
Hoffman and they themselves would be trivialized, and so on). YES! That is
what I think this ep did to TXF.  And why was Scully so damned *giddy* when
she talked about dead people and when she told Mulder about their upcoming
"night on the town"? Who spiked her Coke in the theatre??? I love to hear
GA laugh, sure, but I guess I like my Scully a little more solemn. I still
prefer a more angst!ridden M&S (like in Brand X). Maybe that's just me.

Next time, more Michah Hoffman, more paranormal, much more wrap up of the
case (I had forgotten there *was* a case by the end), and less spoof,
please (but I didn't need more religion, though I certainly would have
expected more from Scully on this--it's her area of expertise).

*Stepping off soapbox.*