CTP Episode of the Day - 09.04.06

Today's Cherished Episode: Nothing Important Happened Today II (9x02)
Original Air Date: November 18, 2001
Written By: Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz
Directed By: Tony Wharmby

Scully unofficially assists Doggett and Reyes in uncovering the secrets relating to water contamination that are hidden in a clandestine laboratory on board a naval ship.

"Look, I've had my fair share of outrageous conspiracy theories okay, so cut the mystery crap and get to the science."

Some "Nothing Important Happened Today II" Tidbits & Musings:

-- The tag line was changed to the episode title, Nothing Important Happened Today. This was the first tag line change in over a year, the last being Believe to Understand in Season 7's "Closure." There were no tag line changes in Season 8.

-- The FBI Contacts, Witnesses and Contributors page shown as part of the opening credits includes some new fan names as well as the names DEFORM LUX, RANKLE WINTERS and CALL SUNDAY -- anagrams for Fox Mulder, Walter Skinner, and Dana Scully.

-- The episode title, "Nothing Important Happened Today," is an entry that King George III wrote in his diary on July 4th, 1776. Little did he know that on the same day an ocean away the United States of America declared independence from the British Crown.

-- Tony Wharmby directed four episodes in Season 8, and three episodes in Season 9, including this one.

-- "It's freaky, it's mind blowing!" Agent Doggett seems to have just returned from That 70s Show.

-- When Monica is reviewing the Department of Justice personnel files, the file lists Shannon McMahon's birthplace as Snoqualmie Falls, Washington. Snoqualmie is located about 28 miles east of Seattle in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains near the Snoqualmie River. Snoqualmie Falls is a natural landmark well known for its spectacular 270 foot cascade and is one of the most visited tourist sites in the State of Washington.

-- Mulder's basketball still lurks behind his desk. :::sniff:::

-- Ryan Cutrona (The Captain) played CIA Director George Rollie on The West Wing.

-- Ben Reed (Young Officer) can be seen as Dr. Evan Matthews in the new series Fashion House. He is also the father of country singer Tanya Tucker's children.

-- Frank Spotnitz noted that NIHT2 helped establish that the Brad Follmer character was not all bad. "He was capable of doing the right thing," said Spotnitz. "And indeed, in part 2 he does do the right thing. He does help out at a critical moment."

-- Do I believe that Mulder would do anything for Scully? Yes. Do I believe that he would skip town to protect Scully? Yes. To protect William? Yes. Heck, even to protect Skinner? Yes. But leave on Kersh's say-so just to save his own neck? To quote Agent Reyes (and it might be the only time I ever do): "No frickin' way."

-- This episode was dedicated to the memory of Chad Keller, who was killed on September 11th. Chad was a friend of Chris Carter and his wife. He was a rocket scientist and an avid surfer.

Once & Future Retreads: Adam Baldwin reprised his role as Knowle Rohrer for the fourth time; the character was introduced in Season 8's "Per Manum." Victoria Gallegos played a Receptionist in "Per Manum," and appeared as Follmer's secretary/assistant in this episode and in "Release."

-- "After David left the series, it was really necessary to have the two new characters [Doggett and Reyes] so that we could have both sides of Mulder's personality," said John Shiban on the "Threads of the Mythology" commentary on the Super Soldiers Mythology Collection. "We had some fun with the new dynamic in Season 8, playing Scully as the sort-of believer. She didn't become Mulder but she did come to understand that while science can answer everything, it doesn't necessarily answer everything."

-- "The Super Solider mythology was created after David left the series to give these new characters a mythology that could grow and change with them," said Shiban. "To have them dealing with the same things Mulder had been dealing with didn't make sense."

-- "The Super Soldiers were a lie, basically," said Frank Spotnitz on the Super Soldiers Mythology Collection commentary. "A way to account for these aliens who were appearing and explain them away in a somewhat believable fashion -- that the government was engineering genetically modified humans, but that was a lie. The truth was that these 'super soldiers' were in fact aliens."

-- "By Season 9, Scully had seen so much that a pretty far out idea ended up being the real-world possibility for what was going on," continued Spotnitz, "alternate to the idea of there really being aliens, and that idea was that the government was creating a genetically altered army of super soldiers and that was the direction the show was going in in Season 9 which ultimately ended up being our final season. So that storyline never flowered as fully as it would have had there been a Season 10, but that was the most convincing alternative we could think of to account for what Scully had seen."

-- "It was Chris' idea to have that be the mislead," said Spotnitz, "to have that be the real-world explanation for these incredible things that we were seeing. The idea of having aliens come and replace us I think we probably came up with together after Season 7."

-- "It had ultimately become too difficult to continue to add more layers onto the old mythology," said Chris Carter on the Super Soldiers Mythology Collection commentary. "The new mythology with the super soldiers made the show more interesting in some ways, but made it less interesting in some says. Many fans never forgave what we did as Mulder was not there, and because they did not agree with a Mulder-less show. But other fans did enjoy the new characters and saw we were trying to tell new stories in a different way."

(Thanks to chrisnu for today's pics.)

Please share your first impressions, favorite (or cringe-worthy) moments, classic lines, favorite fanfic, nagging questions, repeated viewing observations, etc., as today we celebrate "Nothing Important Happened Today II"!

Happy Labor Day!
Polly