Theatre of the Mind ~ Kaddish
I'm not normally a big fan of the X-Files "ethnic tales" (for example, "Hell Money" and "El Mundo Gira") that try to mix monsters and messages. But I've always sort of liked this one, even though I'll admit that watching it this time was maybe the first time I really understood the whole thing. I guess I was paying closer attention this time.
1. A "kaddish" is a Jewish prayer for one's departed which is recited daily during the first year after a person's passing.
2. A funeral. You *know* what that makes me think of! (Come on April!!)
3. It's Joe! Rhoda's husband! I always wondered what happened to him after they got divorced.
4. Kudos to Mark Snow for some wonderfully mournful music in this ep; reminds me of Schindler's List.
5. Poor Isaac. Why are they doing this, indeed?
6. Do you think they will also toss dirt on Mulder's coffin? (Need more spoilers; need more spoilers!)
7. If I had known you could make your own man out of mud, I would have taken up sculpting long ago.
8. It's alive!!!!
9. Ah, this is Scully's case. You can tell cause she gets to introduce it. (And she doesn't waste her time with slide shows; she's got video!!)
10. Hey, wait a minute! How can these two just be back to their usual repartee? They've just learned that Scully has cancer! How can they just be going about their business as if nothing has happened? (Well, actually, it's pretty easy since "Kaddish" was shown out of order; it was episode 4X12 and Memento Mori was episode 4X15. Scully was happily unaware of her fate when this episode was filmed!)
11. TWC1: "Risen from the grave to avenge his own death?" Don't get any ideas Mulder. Woo-hoo!
12. There's something for everyone in this case! Some "very Old Testament" ghostly fingerprints for Mulder and a resurrection hoax for Scully. (Oh, and don't forget the obligatory Casper joke.) Okay, we're off to the Big Apple!
13. Did someone say resurrection? (Keep your mind on the episode at hand!!)
14. Didn't I say this was Scully's case? Mulder seems a little hesitant to chime in. Could he be having religious issues? Unfortunately, we'll never know for sure. Yet.
15. TWC2: But luckily, Mulder can still stand around and look good. Very important in its own right.
16. Nice red car. A Lariat, I'm sure.
17. You don't suppose that muddy man is the same guy from the cemetery, do you?
18. In the copy shop, that's what we like: a pissed-off Scully! You go girl!
19. TWC3: Mulder's able to keep his anger suppressed but his good looks cannot be hidden. "You look like you might be one yourself." Nice little chuckle!
20. "A Jew pulled it off 2000 years ago." That was a good one, Mulder. Scully liked it too. I'm surprised she didn't high-five you.
21. I don't think Moose & Squirrel leave any doubt as to how they feel about Mr. Bjunes. Scully slaps down that business card; Mulder gives a nice "bless you."
22. I like a cemetery where there's plenty of room to back the car right up to the plot.
23. You don't tug on Superman's cape. You don't spit into the wind. And you don't desecrate a grave. (It's actually kinda tough in this episode to decide who the actual "monsters" are, isn't it?) Buh-bye, Clinton.
24. TWC4: Squatting by the grave, snapping on the latex. Hoo-boy!
25. "That seems pretty redundant, doesn't it? Messing up somebody you already killed?" ROTFLMAO!
26. Isaac gets a bigger reaction than usual: he must really be a stinkeroo! (Do you think Skinner and Doggett will have the same reaction after unearthing Moldy!Mulder? Stop thinking about it!!!)
27. Does Mulder mean that Scully's theory is blown because Isaac still has his hands? Ewww!
28. "The body wasn't embalmed according to custom." Hmmmm. Are you kids thinking what I'm thinking? That could answer a few questions about Moldy!Mulder. (I said stop thinking about it!!)
29. Sorry, I can't watch the burning book scene without thinking bloopers; they seemed to be having so much fun. And to borrow a line from Duchovny: "They don't make burning books like they used to."
30. TWC5: Mulder looks particularly fetching while illuminated by the flame of a burning book, though!
31. So Mr. Bjunes does know more than he lets on. I see a Kinko's in this location pretty soon.
32. Ground water contaminated with arsenic or arson gas creating a combustible mixture? Does Scully lay awake at night thinking up these ridiculous scientific theories? I think she does it to amuse Mulder, cause she knows he'd be disappointed if she didn't give it the old college try.
33. MSRM: And amused he is. Nod, nod. "Yeah, you just keep comin' up with those, Scully. That's why I love you." This type of exchange between them just typifies the sweetness of their relationship, at least IMHO.
34. It's not good to leave your burning book behind especially if it has your name burned in it.
35. TWC6: Such a cutie and soooo sensitive. He feels bad that they want to arrest Arial's father on her would-have-been wedding day.
36. Wedding ring? You could poke your eye out with that thing on your wedding night! Or at the very least injure some other important part of your anatomy.
37. Mulder looks uncomfortable and is uncharacteristically quiet while Arial relates the story of the ring and her father. Religious issues again? Perhaps.
38. TWC7: They both look nice standing together in the synagogue. Do you think we'll ever see them standing together in a synagogue again?
39. Time to break out the Little Ass Flashlights!!
40. Just when I thought Mulder was getting ready to set a new record for not dropping his gun, oops, he did it again! I'm so disappointed! (Well, he wouldn't want to disappoint me by not disappointing me.)
41. Scully takes a header too, but miraculously holds onto her gun, fires a shot, gets the drop on the suspect, and checks on Mulder! (Well, it *is* her case this time.)
42. Hanging a man in self-defense; that's creative, I'll give it that. Buh-bye Derek!
43. Mulder either thinks he has a clue, or is just amazed to find out someone else has similar dry-cleaning problems.
44. Scully finds out Weiss was a terrorist and murderer, so she's sure she's got her man. Mulder, of course, has other ideas and knows they weren't alone on the attic.
45. "Somebody big enough and strong enough to knock me down." No offense, Mulder, but that really doesn't take much.
46. "To see a man about a burning book." Is that the same thing as seeing a man about a mule?
47. "I think you know." Not that again! Oy vey!!
48. Yup, I believe that Kinko's will be relocating here very soon. Buh-bye Bjunes!
49. The myth of the Golem is quite fascinating. A living being fashioned from mud or clay and being animated by the power of the word. "Truth" gives the power to create; remove a part of that truth, and you have the power to kill. This is right up Mulder's twisted little alley!
50. More ambiguity: "I don't speak Hebrew."
51. TWC8: "Yeah . . ." Despite his fine, fine appearance, Mulder needs to go back to phone etiquette school.
52. Yippee! There it is ! "Mulder, it's me." (I guess he just knew and that's why he said "yeah".) And then we get an "Oh, my God" for good measure.
53. TWC9: Sitting in front of the monitor, hands folded at his chin, Holy Flaming Cow! The boy is just too cute!
54. "Mud!" LOL-what a reaction!
55. So it was *Arial* who fashioned her man out of mud in an effort to bring him back to life, not out of hate but out of love and out of a need to say goodbye. Scully, are you writing this down? (No, no, get back to the point!)
56. Kudos to actress Justine Miceli who did a great job of making me believe in this love story. I was really rooting for this nice Jewish girl and this nice Mud boy to live happily ever after!!
57. Moose & Squirrel arrive just in the nick of time! Mulder pulls out his "detailing" knife; this is the one time I miss Doggett-he's got that nifty switchblade!!
58. Did you notice that cool move as Mulder blew out the candle even as he began to saw on that rope? I've always got one eye on what those lips are doing!
59. Yeah, Scully, you hold the guy up while Mulder cuts him down! That's good planning. Scully looks like she's going to pass out! (LOL!)
60. "Call the paramedics." Hey, Mulder, that's Dr. Scully's line!!
61. I guess Mulder figured he hadn't dropped his gun in a while, so he might as well make the most of it in this episode. Well, at least he got to fire off his complete clip first.
62. Speaking of which, what exactly was keeping Scully after she heard Mulder fire so many shots? Did she get lost on the stairs? Isn't this the same woman who sometimes criss-crosses the country in a few hours? I thought she'd never show up! (Of course, if she had, she would have actually *seen* the MudMan, and you couldn't have that!)
63. Awww, the scene between Arial and Isaac was very sweet and packed with emotion. I hope we get half as much between Scully and a Moldy!Mulder!!
64. As MudMen go, I liked this one much better than the one in Arcadia. Loved the effect of the brief tear as the "man" was returned to the "earth." Nicely done.
65. "Mulder, are you okay? I heard shots fired." Yeah, like about an hour ago!
66. TWC10: Mulder looks a little worse for wear after all this gun-dropping and getting his ass kicked again (by a MudMan, no less). I think Scully needs to get him home and into a hot bath!
67. In Memory of Lillian Katz-Lillian Katz was the maternal grandmother of Howard Gordon, who wrote this episode. He never knew her as she died at age 43 before he was born. The night that "Kaddish" originally aired would have been her 89th birthday.
68. "Kaddish" of course had the misfortune of following one of the greatest XF episodes of all time-Memento Mori-and therefore, it was naturally an emotional letdown. I was actually kind of surprised at how much I enjoyed watching it again now, as I hadn't seen it in a long time. And of course the issue of "resurrection" is particularly of interest right at the moment. Though I don't think we'll see Scully out in a thunderstorm with her "Make Your Own Mulder" kit (a Frankenstein image if ever there was one), this episode is a testament to what the power of love can do. Sometimes it can make miracles. And you know what they say: Never give up on a miracle.
Sending apologies to assure you that this TOTM was meant purely in the name of fun and reminiscing, and was not meant to downplay or degrade the importance of issues raised in this episode. It's not Shakespeare, it's not "very Old Testament," it's just what Mulder said: "A little bedtime reading."
So please accept my apologies and read this in the spirit in which it was intended.
Polly