30 Days of TV Challenge, Day 12: An Episode I've Watched more than 5 Times
Just about the only show where I've watched episodes that many times is The X-Files.
This time I choose Episode 1x13: Beyond the Sea
This is an immensely popular episode, and with very good reason. It has a very unconventional start, which doesn't have much to do with the main story, as it shows Scully's parents visiting her for Christmas. The writers almost immediately kill of Scully's father, turning Mrs. Scully into a widow for the following 8 and a half seasons; Scully learns this in a phone call from her mother, just after waking so see her father's ghost sitting in the armchair. It's a genuinely creepy scene, and the first of numerous moments in the episode that looks like it influenced by the works of David Lynch.
The main plot starts with Mulder and Scully investigating the latest in a series of kidnappings involving student couples; a death row inmate called Luther Lee Boggs claims to have psychic powers, and that he can show them where the couple are. This episode is unconventional in that Mulder, who usually believes in every story of the unexplained that he is told, does not believe in Boggs' powers, but Scully - usually the sceptic - starts to believe what he is saying. Also, Boggs seems to know things about her, such as the fact that her father has just died, and he (evidently) starts channelling Captain Scully's spirit.
This was one of the first episodes I watched and I enjoyed it immensely; the acting is spectacular from both of the leads, particularly Gillian Anderson and Brad Dourif (a.k.a. Grima Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings is also spectacular as Luther Lee Boggs. The episode is incredibly creepy at times, mostly in the scenes where Boggs is led to the gas chamber, both in a flashback and at the end of the episode where the family he murdered are shown silently watching him and also lined up in the prison corridor (another David Lynch-esque moment).
This is also the first episode where Scully ends up having to work without Mulder, who is shot later in the episode after ignoring one of Boggs' warnings, and she proves herself really well. People have compared this to Silence of the Lambs, which this does have similarities too, but it doesn't spoil this episode, which has an incredible climax; a must-see episode.
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
This time I choose Episode 1x13: Beyond the Sea
This is an immensely popular episode, and with very good reason. It has a very unconventional start, which doesn't have much to do with the main story, as it shows Scully's parents visiting her for Christmas. The writers almost immediately kill of Scully's father, turning Mrs. Scully into a widow for the following 8 and a half seasons; Scully learns this in a phone call from her mother, just after waking so see her father's ghost sitting in the armchair. It's a genuinely creepy scene, and the first of numerous moments in the episode that looks like it influenced by the works of David Lynch.
The main plot starts with Mulder and Scully investigating the latest in a series of kidnappings involving student couples; a death row inmate called Luther Lee Boggs claims to have psychic powers, and that he can show them where the couple are. This episode is unconventional in that Mulder, who usually believes in every story of the unexplained that he is told, does not believe in Boggs' powers, but Scully - usually the sceptic - starts to believe what he is saying. Also, Boggs seems to know things about her, such as the fact that her father has just died, and he (evidently) starts channelling Captain Scully's spirit.
This was one of the first episodes I watched and I enjoyed it immensely; the acting is spectacular from both of the leads, particularly Gillian Anderson and Brad Dourif (a.k.a. Grima Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings is also spectacular as Luther Lee Boggs. The episode is incredibly creepy at times, mostly in the scenes where Boggs is led to the gas chamber, both in a flashback and at the end of the episode where the family he murdered are shown silently watching him and also lined up in the prison corridor (another David Lynch-esque moment).
This is also the first episode where Scully ends up having to work without Mulder, who is shot later in the episode after ignoring one of Boggs' warnings, and she proves herself really well. People have compared this to Silence of the Lambs, which this does have similarities too, but it doesn't spoil this episode, which has an incredible climax; a must-see episode.
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best t.v show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First t.v show obsession
Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death