Theatre of the Mind ~ Unruhe
Well, the holidays are over, we're about to embark on a new year (and a new millennium for those math geeks in the audience), so it's time to get back to the serious business of overanalyzing old episodes of our favorite show. So without further adieu, prepare to be swept off to an adventure in a new nation . . . imagi-nation! (Too many viewings of Miracle on 34th Street-what can I say!)
1. Unruhe--very first episode-one of several during Season 4-that was aired out of order.
2. Why? No more freaky Fridays! 10/27/96-XF date that will live in infamy: XF moves to Sunday night; and Unruhe was chosen as THE episode to unveil this cult favorite to a wider audience.
3. With the move to Sundays, more people can see how much it rains in Vancouver (400 inches a day!)
4. Chance of good passport photo? About the same as chance of good driver's license photo.
5. This is surely an ETAP moment!
6. "It looks like it's clearing up"??? Yeah, it's only a light downpour now.
7. That looming shadow on Mary's umbrella-creepy! (Could be important later.)
8. I'd say Billy got "smoked" all right.
9. See what happens when you don't use Kodak paper?
10. 5:10 a.m. What time did they leave D.C. anyway?
11. TWC1: Man, oh, man the first shot of Mulder is a harbinger of things to come in this episode. Wow!
12. Sorry, druggist footwear is just not a turn-on.
13. "Your film's out of date." "Is that against the law?" In Michigan, it might be.
14. Must have been a big sale on ETAP film. (Of course, you all know that ETAP is the last name of assistant prop master Jim Pate spelled backwards. Look for next ETAP reference in Small Potatoes.)
15. Written by Vince, directed by Rob; you know it's gonna be good!
16. TWC2: "So which one of us gets to use the stun gun on Bruno Hauptmann back there?" Delivered with a cute smile-woo hoo!
17. Takes Scully a minute, but even she can't bear to listen to her heat-damage theory. (And Mulder's knowing smile-yeah, just keep digging that hole, Scully.)
18. DD uses his hands a lot in this ep again; I like the "I'm Mulder, she's Scully" pointing.
19. Mulder should come take a look at the photos plastered on my fridge.
20. "Yeah but why would she stab her boyfriend through the ear? The magic was gone?" Tee-hee.
21. "Stand back, Scully. It's loaded." Boy, I miss those Mulderisms.
22. Ted Serios and his "thoughtographs." Isn't CC planning a feature film on this subject?
23. Using those expressive hands again, this time with the latex snapped on.
24. Is it even possible to plant Polaroid photos so they'll pop out of a camera. You're reaching, Scully.
25. "What if . . . what if . . . " It's the same old M&S game, they just keep coming up with different ways to play it.
26. Have we figured out the flannel nightie yet?
27. Twilight sleep is also for women in labor-might want to file that fact away, Scully.
28. TWC3: Mulder looking at the PET scan screen-Lord have mercy.
29. Tonight's medical trivia: The leucotome was designed by Dr. Kenneth G. McKenzie in the 1940s to bring precision to prefrontal leucotomy, or lobotomy. Scully says that Mary has had a transorbital lobotomy which used to be known as an icepick lobotomy and involves inserting the leucotome through the eye sockets. Ouch.
30. Scully seems particularly disturbed by this case from the get-go, perhaps because the perpetrator is using her beloved medicine for evil? Or maybe because he sticks an icepick in your eye. Ouch again.
31. Why the fascination with icepicks? I hope this one doesn't retract or go "pfffft."
32. Scully sure gets to drive a lot in this episode. Guess her little feet can reach the SUV's pedals.
33. And how come all these SUVs all of a sudden? All the Taurus' recalled or something?
34. I'm impressed, Scully. I took three years of Spanish and the only thing I remember is "Que lastima."
35. M&S really are a good team in this episode, even when pursuing the case each in their own way. For example: Scully uses her crime scene photos to come up with the construction lead, while Mulder uses his strengths in psychology and the paranormal; we know their different paths will converge eventually.
36. Okay, he ditches her but all in the name of progress.
37. "I'll be in touch." Trying something new on Sunday nights?
38. Alice, I think the flannel nightie is not a good sign. Sorry.
39. Mulder loves this technical stuff. He really is a Lone Gunman at heart! Maybe after DD comes back in Season 8 and the LGM leave for their own show, Mulder can be Scully and Doggett's Lone GunGuy (while he takes care of Mulder, Jr., of course).
40. Just an observation: the more Scully drives, the bossier she gets. She's pretty bossy in this episode.
41. Only our boy Mulder could take a fuzzy background and some squiggly lines and come up with a face and a shadow. (Love the effects, though.)
42. And then profiling Mulder knows that the shadow represents the kidnapper looming over the victim, meaning to pass judgment over her, like a God. No wonder they call him Spooky.
43. TWC4: I like Scully's suit. Much better than those button-up things she's wearing now. (And if she's wearing a black bra, we don't have to know about it.)
44. Did I say teamwork? Maybe it's a psychic connection. Great scene as Mulder tells Scully about the suspect who is very tall or wants to be and Scully figures out she's in the house alone with the guy. Love the stilts in the background as they talk.
45. "Unruhe." That seems like a Mulder trick to me!
46. KickAss!Scully makes the arrest and we all breathe a sigh of relief! Somehow we thought she might end up the victim here!
47. Teamwork again. No nonsense (and very angry) Scully interrogates Gerry with the goo-goo-googly eyes and lays the groundwork, then psychologist Mulder swoops in for the kill.
48. TWC5: But before he swoops--this is the moment--holy flaming cow! The man looks mahvelous just lurking in the background waiting for his opening.
49. "Well, how did you feel about that?" Despite his brief lapse of memory in "Terms of Endearment," Mulder does remember that he's a psychologist after all.
50. The Gerry/Scully Staredown: Very Scary. "You look troubled."
51. If Mulder whispered like that in my ear, I'd confess too. To just about anything.
52. Not only does Scully get to drive, she gets to drive *fast*!
53. Really, really TWC6: If you want me to pay attention to what's going on in the scene, don't have Scully kneel down right in front of Mulder so that I see certain things in the background. (And I ain't talking about the rolled up shirtsleeves . . .)
54. Scully's upset, so I guess we forgive her for biting Mulder's head off. But I don't forgive her for not wanting to know why. Isn't that why they put the "I" in FBI? Mulder wants to get inside the killer's head; Scully just wants to get outta there.
55. "Eyes straight ahead." How can you tell?
56. How many knew what was gonna come out when Mulder put his money in that photo machine?
57. TWC7: Hoo-boy! They really look good here together.
58. Scully footwear not a turn-on either.
59. Scully didn't get as far as Mary, but she did collapse rather picturesquely (and what a nice overhead crane shot). In true Mulder fashion, she managed to draw her gun, but drop it too.
60. Again, we learn why DD don't win Emmys. Just a slight shift in his eyes when he views the "Gerry-ized" photo of Scully shows us all his terror that we need to see; he never overplays it. Likewise, his frantic search for the Explorer when he exits the drug store, and then screaming for her as he tries to chase down the get-away vehicle. I can feel the angst.
61. Mulder's pretty fast, but not fast enough to catch an Explorer.
62. The desperate concentration on the thoughtograph as he tries to figure out Scully's whereabouts. Where are those amazing leaps when you need them?
63. TWC8: I just love seeing Muder kick down the door with flashlight in hand.
64. OT: My dentist has a poster about twilight sleep in his office. How disconcerting is that?
65. Scully is suddenly forced to learn the importance of the "why". Well, she's had the opportunity to learn from the best; hope she was paying attention.
66. She does good, keeping Gerry calm, empathizing with his sister, and using that handy German she learned in college. But I think the subtitles are wrong. When she says, "I have no unrest", shouldn't that say, "I'm fine"?
67. Watching in retrospect, did anyone else get the heebie-jeebies when Gerry pointed right at Scully's soon-to-be tumor and told her she was inhabited by the howlers?
68. Mulder's got the panic face, talking to himself, lashing out at others, but still trying to channel that big leap. No Scully in sight, but this is the MSRM runner-up. The leaps don't come so easily when he's worried about her.
69. Six headstones, huh? Well, Mulder, when you finally *do* leap, you don't fool around!
70. TWC9: First shot at the cemetery-good golly.
71. There's that old teamwork again. Scully's trying to save herself and avoid the flannel nightie treatment, and Mulder shows up with just the right diversion.
72. Mulder fogging up the mirror. A girl's dream come true.
73. MSRM: I know you thought it was gonna be the little hand hold, but not for me. When Mulder realizes for sure she's there, and he tries to break through the door with his bare hands (or his elbow, to be precise), and he's screaming her name and she's screaming his (again, keeping up that connection), tells me all I need to know about how much these two mean to each other.
74. Call me old-fashioned, but I like the fact that he shoots first and doesn't ask questions at all.
75. It's an MSR moment, just not the one I choose. The way he looks at her (cause he knows what could have happened), and the little hand grasp as he helps her out of the chair. That's nice too.
76. I just love what Autumn said: In the end, Mulder has another "guilt-o-graph" for his scrapbook. He can paste it right there next to the Scully-in-the-trunk picture. Maybe it runs in the family and that explains why Teena burned all her photos in the end.
77. Scully looks like she's been through the wringer as she tells us what she learned during this case-that sometimes you have to know "why" people do what they do, even if you don't want to. Sometimes it can save your life.
Well, I could apologize, but "What would be the point of that?" Hope you enjoyed jumping back on the TOTM bandwagon; and bet you all can't *WAIT* for the next installment-the *WILDLY* popular The Field Where I Died!
Polly