No, I love this episode because it gets down to the nitty gritty of trying to solve a disappearance and, of course, stumbling on something bigger. In the end, I was just glad the case ended up being ambiguous at the most but pretty normal at it's least (normal for the X-Files anyways). One thing I like about characters Mulder and Scully is that they are very smart and they work for the frickin' FBI! They need to be a step above the standard cop or what have you because they look into things the standard cop wouldn't. This episode did a great job of showing the scientific brains that Mulder and Scully possess. . .hypothesis, experiment, results, and conclusion. Unlike some X-Files, Mulder and Scully enter a case and solve it to it's conclusion (except for, of course, the body the chickens were eating at the end).
When I first watched this episode about six years ago I was impressed with the very end of the episode. Once the credits rolled saying 'Executive Producer: Chris Carter' etc. I remember looking down at the ground and then scrunching my face. 'Eeeeeewwwwww' was the word that came out of my mouth. I loved how the ending kind of hit you and the slow realization of what the episode was presenting to you wasn't out of ignorance but because it was presented as a 'here's an idea. . .now think about it. . .not react'! It had less of an impact this go around simply because I saw it coming (of all the X-Files I've revisited so far, 'Our Town' was almost completely new to me (I remembered nothing) EXCEPT the ending. . .which left a mark in my brain).
I also have to praise the amazing cinematography in this episode. It's no surprise that this was directed by X-Files ace Rob Bowman, one of the two ace directors Carter would employ throughout the show's run (the other being Kim Manners). Bowman is a master of light and mood. He can make even silly things seem a bit intense (and I'm talking about The X-Files of course. . .that whole Elektra movie he directed was pretty silly and no amount of lighting could save that piece of shit) and 'Our Town' while clever and weird, has loads of silliness in it. But that fun kind of silly. The episode does go from procedural to complete fucking looney toons by episode end but somehow Bowman keeps it together (another gripe: once again, Scully has to be 'rescued'. I can't wait for strong Scully to show up).
Things are about to hit the fan in the season finale so 'Our Town' is a nice offbeat episode of The X-Files to check out if you haven't seen it in awhile (or not at all).
0 comments:
Post a Comment