Rush

"What if he got really really lucky? That's your big scientific 
explanation, Scully?"

Writer Jeffrey Bell finally gets lucky himself on the X-Files 
with "The Goldberg Variation" and for the second week in a row 
a sophomore writer comes through with a much improved episode 
over last year's efforts. Bell, whose "Rain King" script I 
believe was pulled under by poorly directed caricatures in the 
supporting roles, does much better with Thomas J. Wright at the 
helm for this whimsical outing. I must say that after "Millennium" 
and this I'm very glad to see Wright as part of the regular 
directing crew for the season.

So, like "Rain King", this week's "monster" was a goodhearted 
man with an odd power. Not quite the Wile E. Coyote genetic 
mutant Mulder was looking for, just someone with seriously dumb 
luck. Mulder and Scully become part of this "cause and effect" 
world of his from the moment Mulder literally drops in on him. 
I liked the way they consistently missed the hitmen by a second 
and yet still randomly contributed to the stopping of both of 
them. The whole chain of events that led up to a dead guy hanging 
from a shoelace was entertaining even if the head over heels Xena 
flip was unrealistic. While I enjoyed the gadgets and chain of 
events occurrences that we saw, I only wish there had been a way 
to pull back more to appreciate the overall effects rather than 
concentrating on tight close-ups (especially with the first toy 
or the "death by shoelace"). I don't know if the intricacy of 
what was happening demanded filming it in that way, or it was 
editor Lynne Willingham's choice to splice it together in that 
manner.

I guess this is the season of the Mulder and Scully "meet cute" 
as they once again manage a fun little twist when the agents 
first find each other. This time Mulder is rising up with the 
steam behind Scully as she tries to shout over the din into her 
cell phone. I'm not sure what decisions were made over the 
summer, but how delightful that for the final season we have 
such a playful return of the patented Mulder/Scully chemistry. 
They clearly enjoy each other's company these days, and it's a 
welcome and wonderful change to see them actually get to smile 
and joke with each other to this extent. I think the two of 
them smiled more this episode than all of last season. Duchovny 
and Anderson seem to really be reinvested in their characters 
as they head into the home stretch. They're making every moment 
count, and that truly makes the interplay a joy to watch. 

Anderson's best moments in this episode come from two very 
different places. The first needs no words, as is her forte, 
as Scully goes from rather unsuccessfully hiding a laugh at 
her partner's expense to shock as he drops suddenly through 
the floor. I also like the quiet way she led Richie away from 
the crime scene to prevent him seeing what little boys should 
not. Duchovny makes the most of the comedy behind Mulder proving 
once and for all that they are indeed not plumbers.  He's also 
doing a lot more reacting these days, for instance letting Mulder 
enjoy Scully's little jokes, finding them far more amusing than 
he used to.

This episode boasted a nice supporting cast as well. Never a 
fan of the overdone gangster types, I thought Ramy Zada did a 
good job of not letting stereotypical lines get the best of 
him. Alyson Reed as Maggie Lupone was a refreshing change of 
pace after the mother we had to sit through in "Rush". She 
gave us all the emotion we needed without resorting to overblown 
speeches. Lastly, Willie Garson's sad sack of a winner was 
right on, making us root for a man who only wanted enough 
money to help a sick child. 

I think one of the most refreshing things about this episode 
was that while it was lighter in tone, it was definitely a 
new twist of a story. A new type of X-file. Having not been 
inundated with lighter episodes this season, it was merely a 
change of pace with a story that kept you interested. "The 
Goldberg Variation" is a nice addition to a season that is 
shaping up quite well.

Random Musings
-----------------------

-Retread Alert: What a surprise seeing as though the move to 
Los Angeles has made these few and far between.  Willie Garson 
who played Weems also played Roach in "The Walk."

-Apparently Mulder stays up all night listening to some sort 
of worldwide FBI Scanner and wondering if every report could
 contain a genetic mutant. That must explain why he was unable 
to wait for Scully and flew to Chicago before 9AM when the 
crime itself happened a little before 11PM the night before.

-It's really not a wonder that Scully wants to return to DC 
before sunset since she stepped out of that cab without an 
overnight bag. However the way she talked about her little 
plan made me wonder exactly what she thought would be going 
on in DC after sunset that would make all right with the world. 
She was certainly trying to sell that idea for all it was worth.

-Best throwaway line that speaks volumes: "I like baseball 
too." Oh, I bet you do Scully. Amazing what a little batting 
practice will do for a girl. I'll take this continuity.

-I used to be amazed at the plethora of gadgets Scully could 
keep in her trench coat pockets, but now even her slim cut 
suits have bottomless pockets enough to hold cell phones, 
flashlights, keys, etc. all with nary a bulge.

-Frank's Fashion Spot: Did you have to say "Hey, nice outfit" 
Mulder? You're only going to encourage the woman to wear even 
more black. Though frankly a black suit may have helped Mulder's 
ensemble as the dark brown suit, dark blue shirt, and dark tie 
combination once again reminded me he is colorblind. Of course 
it only got worse once the coat got all wet and wrinkly.

-Our Little Sailor: She's back. "What the hell happened here, 
Mulder?" and "Hell Mulder, I just beat him."

-Speaking of "What the hell happened here," what the hell 
happened to Scully's hair when she got in the car to have a 
conversation with Mulder about Weems' lack of a past? I mean 
I like her hair floofier, but my God it was suddenly so huge 
I thought I was watching an X-Files about good hairspray 
gone bad.

-Scully's not the only person with hair issues this episode. 
I'm convinced we have now seen the weedwacker 'do at its worst: 
Sticking straight on end every which way after being towel dried.

-On the Scully Rational Explanation (SRE) front, Little Miss 
Facts pulls out a 1998 story of a British soldier falling 4500 
feet and augments it with updrafts and luck. The funny thing is, 
this time the SRE was right.

-I'm not quite following the logic of Maggie just running up to 
well dressed strangers in the hall and drafting them into plumber 
duty.

-If Mulder thought that watching someone put a glass eye back in 
was tough, he never would have made it in my crowd. I've a friend 
who would take hers out and puts it in a water glass to terrorize 
the occasional waiter.

-All that time in a hospital and not once did Scully become Dr. 
Bossypants. Though she did manage to diagnose what was wrong with 
Richie just by looking at him and the equipment in his room.

-Mark Snow gives us one of his better original scores in this 
episode, both enjoyable and fitting to the action on the screen.

-I like the panic that hit Mulder when he realized Scully, not 
known for her luck, beat Weems at the card game. 

-Finally a phone book without all 555 numbers. Of course the 
problem is they obviously just placed a few new ads in a Los 
Angeles book, as I don't think there is also a Topanga Canyon 
Road in Chicago.

-So, all of Chicago starts flickering because someone kicks 
another handy iron into a bucket of water? That's some 
infrastructure they must have there. No wonder a single cow 
once took out most of the city.

-At first I thought it a bit too much of a contrivance that a 
person would be wearing a blood type bracelet, but if it is 
indeed a rare blood type and he is a mobster maybe it was 
merely prudence on his part.

Autumn
"Maybe he can't see his way to the door."