"The X Files" 3 (1994)

Director:

David Nutter

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Chris Ruppenthal (written by) ...

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

4 November 1994 (Season 2, Episode 7)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Whilst Agent Scully is still missing, Agent Mulder embarks upon an investigation involving vampires in Los Angeles, subsequently becoming involved with a sultry female vampire who yearns to escape her lifestyle. |

Plot Keywords:

Number In Title | Title Spoken By Character | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully (credit only)
Justina Vail Evans	...	The Unholy Spirit (as Justina Vail)
Perrey Reeves	...	Kristen Kilar
Frank Military	...	The Son / John
Tom McBeath	...	Detective Gwynn
Malcolm Stewart	...	Commander Carver
Frank Ferrucci	...	Inspector Nettles
Ken Kramer	...	Dr. Browning
Roger Allford	...	Garrett Lorre
Richard Yee	...	David Yung
Brad Loree	...	Fireman
Gustavo Moreno	...	The Father
John Tierney	...	Dr. Jacobs
David Livingstone	...	Guard

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Gillian Anderson has the record of appearing in the most episodes of the series. She appears in 198 of the 202 episodes missing only the following 4: #2.07 "3", #4.21 "Zero Sum", #5.03 "Unusual Supsects and #5.17 "Travelers".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In an early scene, the words "John 52:54" appear written in blood on a wall. Mulder acknowledges the Bible reference and quotes the verse. However, the Gospel of John only has 21 chapters, and the verse Mulder quotes is actually John 6:54.

Quotes:

Kristen Kilar: Are you about to ask what a normal person like me is doing in a place like this?
Mulder: How do you define normal?
Kristen Kilar: Misha, red wine... I don't. How do you?
Mulder: All I know is... normal is not what I feel.
Kristen Kilar: You've lost someone. Not a lover... a friend.

Soundtrack:

The Unheard Music

The more serious vampire episode

Season 5's "Bad Blood" was an outright comedy with basically no dramatic or really 'serious' elements. Season two's "3" creates an odd and different mythology for vampires, and it's a shame that the episode as a whole isn't as strong as the concept.

"3" is one of the most despised "X-Files" episodes, and I don't think it would be presumptuous of me to suggest that the hatred might have something to do with what fans (particularly shippers) perceive as Mulder betraying Scully. His relationship with Kristen here is something I myself have dismissed as 'playa Mulda' in the past, but I think I was being unfair. Blame peer pressure. It's entirely believable that this mopey, depressed, and frustrated version of Mulder would be drawn to this mysterious and seductive woman, it's not like he 'had' a $20 whore. The motivations for his character are sensible, and there's depth in the concept of the episode here.

Alas, the execution is not as strong as it could have been. While "3" proves not nearly as bad as I once thought it was, the script by Glen Morgan, James Wong, and Chris Ruppenthal (of "Quantum Leap" and "The Outer Limits" fame) is, well, a mess. Where this could have been a character-driven masterpiece, it ends up a confusing, largely pointless mess, in spite of us seeing Mulder like we never saw him before (and never really did we see him like this again), and the interesting mythology developed for vampires here.

"3" has a good premise, and gets too much criticism for not including Scully, for having Mulder 'sleep around', when the real problems with the episode lie simply in the script not being very good, and evidently quite rushed as well.

5/10