6
(Christians seeking God's will, saints vs. demons, divine miracles, occult imagery, supernatural)
6
(violence, mild gore, morbid concepts, mild sexuality)
8
(there is none better)
The X-Files season 3 continues the run of one of the best TV shows ever: my personal favorite, in fact. I don’t think any other show using horror elements has even approached the status X Files gained. The series got out of the gate pretty much at a full gallop already. Scully and Mulder were instantly loved, and many of the supporting characters like Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM) and Assistant Director Skinner who were really just plot devices were so good that they developed into vital staples almost immediately.
The mythology for which the series is known didn't really begin until later in season 2, but here it continues to grow with even greater focus. It isn’t yet as convoluted as it eventually becomes; it's just very mysterious. We get introduced to the black oil which will play a major part in upcoming seasons and the movie. The Syndicate gets a lot more screentime and begins interacting with the agents.
About the time I was getting ready to write this review I started thinking about overused phrases and words in shows. It seems every show has them. Battlestar Galactica uses “frack” every fifth syllable. Smallville says “trust me” at least twice an episode. Oh, and “sick.” Whether someone is delusional, diseased, or sneezing they are “sick” – never “ill” or “deranged” or anything else (I’ve noticed this one in a number of shows, actually). Stargate SG1 says “with all due respect” every other scene. There are never variations on these, no synonyms, no presenting the concepts in new ways. Maybe the writers think it’s endearing. I find it annoying especially when it reaches beyond the vocabulary of a single character and is therefore not explainable as an individual quirk.
For X Files it is “the truth.” If the answer to any question can somehow include the word “truth” in it, it will. If Mulder ever gets on his soapbox you can bet he’s going to talk about the “truth.” Come on, fellows; mix up the dialogue a little here. At least that is usually an appropriate word for the situation, though; the other word often isn’t: “tests.” It’s almost never an “experiment” or “procedure” either of which would often be more appropriate terms. Even “mysterious surgery” or snide descriptions like “butchery” would often work better. That could be a good character quirk if one or even a couple of people overused “tests,” but when every person describes every procedure, poke, and prod in that way it becomes unrealistic and annoying. What a strange tangent to get off on in a TV show review. Am I the only person this stuff bugs? Still, if that’s the worst complaint I can have against season 3 then it’s got to be pretty good.
Speaking of bugs I hope you’re not squeamish about them because you’re going to see a lot of bugs this season. I guess if you can handle Scully eating a cricket, though, you can handle a few thousand “killer” cockroaches.
Acting is everything you would expect out of a show like X Files, no, actually it’s better than you might expect. And the effects are often better than I see on TV today, technology advancements or not. Look at the black oil in the eyes and tell me that doesn’t look realistic.
We get a good emotional thread going with the death of one of the agents’ family members. Skinner’s connection to the agents and his sense of justice are developed. He really starts becoming a full character rather than someone the agents have to face from time to time as their boss. Unfortunately some of his development vanishes as if it never happened.
In fact, this will be the second time the X Files has introduced a seemingly important relationship only to ignore it in later seasons. Knowing this happens it weakens the emotional impact of the stories when going back to watch them. Fortunately the rest of the series is enjoyable enough to overlook these weaknesses.
While X Files might not have the tightest writing in that respect it does have some of the most creative stories and best suspense on TV. Sometimes it may lean more toward horror and sometimes more toward sci-fi, but suspense is the primary offering of all the early seasons. And if it didn’t deliver do you think it would have been such a runaway hit? As with every seasons this one has its weak episodes, but there are none that I don’t like.
Morality
As usual most if not all of the episodes include some strong language, but it tends to be mild and infrequent.
“Avatar” has a steamy sex scene between Skinner and Samantha Carter (OK, no, she's not actually Carter in X Files, she's a prostitute). A high school kid has a crush on his teacher and keeps a picture of her hidden in a porn magazine. Bambi, an entomologist that catches Mulder's eye, talks about the genitalia of roaches. We see an art session with a nude model though his body is positioned to hide his more sensitive areas. A couple of kids have a sexual romp, and while we don't see the act, at one point it is suggested that this may have been date rape.
More than sexuality, though, you need to be aware of the gruesome images, dark themes, and spooky atmosphere that fill many of the episodes. “Grotesque,” for example, is about people getting mutilated, and we get some shots of carved up faces and pools of blood to illustrate it. The atmosphere in this one is especially dark and disturbing. The dissolved body in “2shy” could potentially be too much for someone with a weak stomach. Clyde Bruckman has a dream of his body decaying before his eyes which we also see in graphic detail. And these are just a few of the more extreme examples. There are plenty of other corpses, autopsies, monsters, and such.
Spirituality
“Revelations” focuses on the phenomenon of stigmata which is the miracle of the wounds of Jesus appearing on the body of a saint. We see a preacher displaying the marks only to find that they are fakes, but a young boy appears to be the real deal. The Devil is after the boy, and supposedly his success could mean the end of the world. Modern-day saints and prophets of a kind get involved with the events, and Scully has to defend her belief in God as well as consider what God may want of her.
This is sort of a mixed bag of religious implications here. I know very little of the miracle of stigmata or of the details of some of the other Catholic beliefs presented here. I don't know how the Devil is supposed to facilitate the end of the world by getting his hands on a person displaying stigmata. There is nothing here that follows the book of Revelation from the Bible. What I do know is that we see a display of people who are determined to do whatever God asks of them. Scully questions herself, but for the first time we see her actively, fervently seeking the will of God. She directly confronts Mulder's willingness to believe all kinds of crazy nonsense yet quickly dismiss matters of God. Scully and a few other brave souls have the strength to stand against the Devil himself because they are acting in accordance to God's calling. It doesn't go as far as becoming evangelistic, but it does plant the seed that by the power of God we can stand against the Devil.
I particularly like the spiritual wrap –up in this episode. “I’m afraid God is speaking, but no one’s listening,” says Scully. I feel like that at times.
While I do like how Scully's faith is explored in this episode, in the very next one she takes a view on the origins of life that are more in line with what an atheist would present. Even if Scully, as a Christian and as a scientist, leans towards a fluke of evolution as the origins of life it would be interesting to see her wonder how God fits into the equation. Her views seem to omit God completely immediately after showing concern about nobody listening to Him.
“Syzygy” involves the suggestion of occult rituals much like “Die Hand Die Verletzt” although this time there is no real satanism at work; it's just a couple of guys trying to pull one over on some girls they want.
“Grotesque” presents the possibility of possession by an evil force. The ultimate explanation is more ambiguous with evidence pointing to insanity as well as to an external force. Other episodes suggest the existence of ghosts and the power of a tribal shaman. Jeremiah Smith has the power to heal which he offers up in a Christ-like fashion, but religion never becomes a part of his story.
Final Thoughts
This third season of the X Files has a lot to offer. The stories are well told, the suspense is suspenseful, the scares are scary. If you enjoyed season 2 you will most certainly want to see this one as well.
Buying Guide
DVD details coming soon.
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Episodes/Extras continued