1x02 - "Deep Throat"
Sept 30, 2017 1:30:38 GMT -5
Dr. Rumak, Roy Batty's Pet Dove, and 1 more like this
Post by Rainbow Rosa on Sept 30, 2017 1:30:38 GMT -5
"Deep Throat" [1X02]
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Daniel Sackheim
It's not controversial to say that "Deep Throat" is a better episode than the pilot; indeed, I'd be surprised if I met anyone who thought the pilot was superior on its own merits. That doesn't mean "Deep Throat" would make a better pilot than the actual pilot, as some reviewers like to imply: having a conspiracy thriller with an explicitly anti-military bent as your pilot makes the relatively apolitical sci-fi/horror that comes after it seem toothless, whereas the vagueness of the pilot works to "Deep Throat"'s advantage in several ways. Chief among these is the way it complicates the obvious "he's a believer, she's a skeptic" character dynamics... because when it comes to the government, she's the believer and he's the skeptic. Scully's faith that the government is justified in keeping its military operations secret is met with cynicism from Mulder, who doesn't share her faith in institutions. (It's not a coincidence Scully wears a cross necklace, methinks.)
The show shouldn't dwell on Mulder and Scully's completely incompatible belief systems all that often-- either the novelty would wear off and the show would get boring, or the skeptic-believer dialectic would give way to a synthesis of their belief systems and The X-Files would lose its primary wellspring of character drama. Hence, I think the pilot is better as an introduction to the series, since all it promises is two characters with dueling viewpoints and some spooky shit; nothing more, nothing less.
On the other hand, "Deep Throat" does promise that future episodes will have stakes. Mulder's kidnapping is a real highlight of the episode for many reasons (such as how the script masterfully jolts back and forth between Scully bossing around Mossinger and Mulder being given a gurney ride in a semi-conscious haze), but chief among them is how it actually does have stakes-- Mulder obviously can't die, being a protagonist and all, but the episode takes great pains to establish that he can get mindfucked like Budahas or fly-fishing guy. (It's not a coincidence that Vince Gilligan got his start on this show, methinks.) And it has these stakes while simultaneously incorporating elements of stoner comedy (!!!) courtesy of a pre-fame Seth Green and a woman who did not get to be in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's impressive that the show is able to make all these disparate genres work, creating a military-sci-fi-horror-comedy that doesn't collapse under its own weight. Heck, at times it achieves real pathos. You've got to be heartless to not sympathize with Mulder, seeing the proof that he's not crazy and knowing that the government is going to forcibly take that proof away from him.
A very, very solid outing.
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Daniel Sackheim
It's not controversial to say that "Deep Throat" is a better episode than the pilot; indeed, I'd be surprised if I met anyone who thought the pilot was superior on its own merits. That doesn't mean "Deep Throat" would make a better pilot than the actual pilot, as some reviewers like to imply: having a conspiracy thriller with an explicitly anti-military bent as your pilot makes the relatively apolitical sci-fi/horror that comes after it seem toothless, whereas the vagueness of the pilot works to "Deep Throat"'s advantage in several ways. Chief among these is the way it complicates the obvious "he's a believer, she's a skeptic" character dynamics... because when it comes to the government, she's the believer and he's the skeptic. Scully's faith that the government is justified in keeping its military operations secret is met with cynicism from Mulder, who doesn't share her faith in institutions. (It's not a coincidence Scully wears a cross necklace, methinks.)
The show shouldn't dwell on Mulder and Scully's completely incompatible belief systems all that often-- either the novelty would wear off and the show would get boring, or the skeptic-believer dialectic would give way to a synthesis of their belief systems and The X-Files would lose its primary wellspring of character drama. Hence, I think the pilot is better as an introduction to the series, since all it promises is two characters with dueling viewpoints and some spooky shit; nothing more, nothing less.
On the other hand, "Deep Throat" does promise that future episodes will have stakes. Mulder's kidnapping is a real highlight of the episode for many reasons (such as how the script masterfully jolts back and forth between Scully bossing around Mossinger and Mulder being given a gurney ride in a semi-conscious haze), but chief among them is how it actually does have stakes-- Mulder obviously can't die, being a protagonist and all, but the episode takes great pains to establish that he can get mindfucked like Budahas or fly-fishing guy. (It's not a coincidence that Vince Gilligan got his start on this show, methinks.) And it has these stakes while simultaneously incorporating elements of stoner comedy (!!!) courtesy of a pre-fame Seth Green and a woman who did not get to be in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's impressive that the show is able to make all these disparate genres work, creating a military-sci-fi-horror-comedy that doesn't collapse under its own weight. Heck, at times it achieves real pathos. You've got to be heartless to not sympathize with Mulder, seeing the proof that he's not crazy and knowing that the government is going to forcibly take that proof away from him.
A very, very solid outing.
RATING
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