"The X Files" Terma (1996)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Frank Spotnitz (written by) ...

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

1 December 1996 (Season 4, Episode 9)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Called upon to disclose Agent Mulder's current whereabouts, Scully must stall the hearings until further...

Plot Keywords:

Title Spoken By Character | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefan Arngrim	...	The Prisoner
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Campbell Lane	...	Committee Chairman
Nicholas Lea	...	Alex Krycek
Pamela MacDonald	...	Nurse
Brenda McDonald	...	Auntie Janet
Robin Mossley	...	Dr. Kingsley Looker
John Neville	...	The Well-Manicured Man
Eileen Pedde	...	Angie
Jan Rubes	...	Vassily Peskow
Jessica Schreier	...	Dr. Bonita Sayre
Brent Stait	...	Timothy Mayhew
Malcolm Stewart	...	Dr. Sacks
Fritz Weaver	...	Senator Albert Sorenson

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Quotes:

Fox Mulder: [questioning a home-grown terrorist] You want to know about anarchy? You don't tell me where that other bomb is, and i'll make sure you spend your prison time on your bigoted hands and knees putting a big smile on some convict's face.

Soundtrack:

Piano Trio No 2, 3rd Movement

This is not why we are here today...

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Terma is the sequel to Tunguska, one of season 4's mythology sequences. The teaser is a little random and at first doesn't seem to have much to do with the episode other than the black oil coming out of the old lady after she dies. But we later find out about black oil tests being done on elder care patients. The episode picks up the story right where we left off, with Mulder in a Russian prison camp and Scully studying the infection of an exobiologist with the black oil. A old man who appears to have been sent on an assassin's errand features prominently through out the episode as he goes around killing a doctor who we learn has been spying on the American syndicate for the Russian syndicate. Something like that. The conspiracy gets a little confusing. But what remains clear is that the Russians and the Americans don't appear to be playing on the same side here. Some very interesting elements are used in the episode such as the "cult" of Russian tundra people who have been cutting off their arms so as to not become subject to the smallpox vaccination tests being done at the camp. And then Krycek losing his own arm after falling in with this group. It appears as though Mulder himself is about to lose his arm but somehow he gets away and shows up at a Congress hearing where Scully is being drilled about his whereabouts. There is some good conspiracies, and even some pretty decent action in the episode including a downhill runaway truck crash and an oil explosion in North Dakota. Speaking of North Dakota, what a great place to hide something. I mean no one goes to North Dakota for anything. No one drives through North Dakota on their way somewhere. No one visits. No one moves there. It is probably the least exciting state in the entire U.S. So Mulder and Scully rush to North Dakota to try and reclaim the black rock before it is buried in an oil explosion and they leave. The End. Decent episode. I give it an 8 out of 10.