"The X Files" Redux (1997)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

R.W. Goodwin

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Chris Carter (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

2 November 1997 (Season 5, Episode 1)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Mulder kills a man in self-defense who was spying on him in his apartment. Scully tells the FBI that the dead man in Mulder's apartment is Mulder...

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Charles Cioffi	...	Section Chief Scott Blevins
Tom Braidwood	...	Melvin Frohike
Dean Haglund	...	Richard 'Ringo' Langly
Bruce Harwood	...	John Fitzgerald Byers
John Finn	...	Michael Kritschgau
Steve Makaj	...	Scott Ostelhof
Ken Camroux	...	Senior Agent
Barry W. Levy	...	Dr. Vitagliano
Julia Arkos	...	Holly
Don S. Williams	...	Elder #1

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The first X-Files episode presented in widescreen format.

Quotes:

Skinner: When you compound the lies, you compound the consequences.
Scully: All lies lead to the truth.

Keep Going FBI Woman

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

With the suspenseful ending of season 4, leading us to believe that Mulder is dead, Redux quickly gives us relief, letting us know that Mulder is indeed alive. We find out that Mulder killed the man in self-defense and that he asks Scully to pretend that the dead man is him. We already know that Gillian Anderson is a good actress. What we find out in this episode is that Dana Scully has a future in Hollywood. First, she is able to tearfully confirm Mulder's body. Then, she goes in front of an FBI panel and reconfirms Mulder death, all choked up. It was interesting to see a reappearance of Holly, Skinner's secretary from Pusher. Apparently, she got reassigned after beating up Skinner. The strong point of this episode is its story and its visuals. The story is very interesting, as the plot behind the deception of Mulder and Scully begins to unravel. The strong visuals of tables of fake alien bodies and secret experimentations also keep it interesting. What brings this episode down a couple of points is the stock footage used while Kritschgau explains everything to Mulder, which depending on the person, might be better than just watching them walk down the hall. But the big thing about this episode is the amount of voice-overs. Mulder and Scully are doing voice-overs left and right which really slows the episode down. But, like I said, the strong visuals that are shown while the voice-overs are happening, help keep my interest. I still like Redux a lot for its intriguing story, it just could've gone lighter on the voice-over work.