CTP Episode of the Day - 06.26.06
Today's Cherished Episode: Lazarus (1x14)
Original Air Date: February 4, 1994
Written By: Alex Ganza and Howard Gordon
Directed By: David NutterWhen an FBI agent and a bank robber are both shot during a bank heist, the robber is killed but the agent begins to take on the criminal's persona.
(Note: In this pic you can see the burn that DD got on his hand during the filming of "Fire")
(Thanks to chrisnu for today's pics.
"And for those of you who don’t know already, this one’s important to me. So, let’s do it right."
(Thanks to chrisnu for today's episode pics.)
Some "Lazarus" Tidbits & Musings:
-- The episode title is a reference to the miracle recounted in the Bible (John 11:1-44) in which Jesus brings Lazarus, a man who was dead for four days, back to life. This is paralleled by the "resurrection" of Jack Willis on the operating table in this episode.
-- As originally written, "Lazarus" called for Dupre to jump into Mulder's body instead of Scully's old boyfriend's body, but Fox and the studio argued against that idea. The producers agreed to make the shift with more than a little reluctance, though writer Howard Gordon said in retrospect it was almost certainly for the best. "We'd wanted Mulder to experience the soul switch," he said, but there was a train of thought at that point that neither of the principals should directly experience such phenomena. This probably explains why Scully was participating in a bank stake-out in the episode's teaser, as the original script probably called for Scully *and* Mulder to be on the bank robbery case.
-- Gordon pointed out that introducing Scully's old boyfriend provided a welcome opportunity to delve into her history. Also, the hour deftly left room for the possibility of mundane explanations as well as paranormal ones; this was the original series concept, from which it has at times strayed away. From that perspective, "Everyone's point of view was actually very well-reasoned and very well-defended," Gordon said, including the exchange between Mulder and Scully at the end when he says she can take the timing of Willis's death to mean whatever she wants.
-- This episode also sets up what would be a bit of continuity in the series: that Scully is attracted to and has been involved with older, authoritative or controlling men. Willis was one of her instructors at the Academy and Daniel Waterston ("all things") was one of her medical school instructors (and of course, Mulder). Her attraction to authoritative men is also mentioned by her in "Never Again" and by CSM in "En Ami."
-- This is the episode where we discover that Scully's birth date is February 23.
-- Speaking of Scully's birthday, the timeline for this one is a bit screwy. "Lazarus" aired in early February. When Mulder gives Scully the birthday card signed by Willis, she says he's two months early, which would put this episode somewhere around Christmas. However, "Beyond the Sea," which was two episodes prior to this one, was set just after Christmas, and of course, in that one, Mulder was shot and would have been out of commission for awhile.
-- Scully gets abducted in this episode for the first of what turned out to be numerous times as the series progressed.
-- In the script, Dupre said he was born in the Year of the Dragon, which in the Chinese calendar would have been 1964, the same year as Scully. Instead, he says he was born in the Year of the Rat, 1960.
-- Callum Keith Rennie who played Tommy (Lula's sister) also played the groundskeeper in "Fresh Bones." He became a well-known actor in Canada and later joined the cast of Due South as Detective Stanley Raymond Kowalski when David Marciano left that series.
-- Other Retreads (or Future Retreads): Jay Brazeau (Professor Varnes) will come back as Dr. Daly in "One Breath." Peter Kelamis (O'Dell) will be back three more times, as Lt. Foyle in "Fresh Bones," as the Second Husband in "Small Potatoes," and Ada Costa in "Mind's Eye." Mark Saunders (Second Doctor) will return as Agent Busch in "Irresistible."
Please share your first impressions, favorite (or cringe-worthy!) moments, classic lines, favorite fanfic, nagging questions, repeated viewing observations, etc., as today we celebrate "Lazarus"!
Polly
