"I've been thinking."
"Thinking? About what?"
"About your story. About how it doesn't make sense."

I actually had a very hard time trying to decide what to 
use as my opening line for this review. I toyed with using 
"I just want it to be normal" instead. I think it illustrates 
the dichotomy I feel in reviewing this episode. On one hand, 
I'm thinking *finally* a monster of the week episode, we are 
somewhat back to normal. On the other, I can't help but wish 
it had been a stronger entry. This is truly a case where they 
managed to do a lot to cover up a rather weak script, because 
when push came to shove too many things about this story just 
did not make sense.

A lot of folks from Director Bowman to the actors did what 
they could to strengthen this tale from new X-Files writer 
David Amann, but it was the problems with the script that put 
this episode in the fair category. I'll admit it. I like an 
episode that involves Mulder and Scully.  Here we had something 
that was a little too much "The Adventures of Brisco Satan Jr." 
for my taste with a side of Mulder who was mostly relegated to 
staring significantly and knowingly and a dash of Dana who 
spent her time on cell phone duty. Plus, when we had Mulder, 
we had THE AMAZING MULDER. You know the one. The one who, when 
a script can't explain things logically, gets to spend his time 
leap, leap, leaping to all the important paranormal conclusions 
with next to nothing to go on so the audience can follow the 
plot. I mean I know Mulder is a smart boy, but when he turns 
into the paranormal SuperAgent faster than a speeding bull,
whatever, I just find it too unbelievable. He figures Wayne out 
instantly. And Betsy? How he pegged that one correctly with so 
little to go on is just part of his ability to leap tall tales 
in a single bound.

Frankly, it was lucky WonderBoy and Dr. CellWoman were there 
because, as written, the town of Hollins, VA was filled with a 
bunch of idiots. A woman reports her baby kidnapped with that 
story and yet it takes Mulder being on the scene to get the 
local PD to even attempt a search of the premises? That is like 
step one. Scully gets the medical reports sent to her and yet 
she is the only one who thinks "Hmm. Mandrake in the system. 
That's bad."? What? The local hospital is also full of people 
who cannot put two and two together? No wonder so many babies 
died in that town if this is the incompetent response from the 
police force and medical staff.

The directing and acting saved this episode for me. Bowman 
knows how to work a fire or a flashlight to the best effect, 
and Duchovny and Anderson were trying, God Bless them. I 
thought Bruce Campbell did a very nice job with the material. 
It's a difficult task to get the audience to feel sorry for a 
murdering demon, but I felt he pulled it off. For what it is 
worth I think his character and his struggle was the best part 
of the script. I'd like to have seen why the demon wanted a 
normal life though. I also have to give a nod to Grace Phillips 
as Betsy for giving that character an edge from the start that 
made us wonder. I found Michael Milhoan as the concerned family 
member Dep. Stevens just a little too stereotypical for my taste. 
He had a lot of screen time and never really made an impact.

So what else did I like? Well I thought the teaser was cool 
and creepy. I liked the fire demon and the fear parents have 
of having a healthy (rather than Hellthy in this case) child. 
Unfortunately, I think that was the scariest part of the 
episode. I liked that Mulder doesn't get two sentences into 
a phone call and Scully knows what he is up to. I liked Mulder 
being obnoxious and dogging Wayne in the rent car. I liked 
Betsy stopping Wayne's little smoke and fire show cold.

So, you want to know what the real problem with this episode 
was? In a season that has thus far been front loaded with quirky, 
we long for a good, strong, normal X-File. What we got was average 
at best. Soon they'll have us begging for angst.

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

-"I don't know why. I'm not a psychologist." Gee Mulder, I don't 
know why you aren't one either. I mean that was only established 
in the freaking pilot. Not that it was an important episode or 
anything. Well, at least in the interest of equal idiocy, Amann 
had Scully just stand there and call for a paramedic while a 
multiple gunshot wound victim suffered and Mulder tried to help 
him.

-No date stamp on this one, but based on the decorations (what 
was up with that anyway - harvest wreathes on every house? Do 
people in Roanoke really get that festive in the fall? Or is 
it just a heavy handed "harvest" theme that fell flat?) I'd have 
to place it in the generic "Autumn" category. Putting it before 
"How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" in chronological order. No 
surprise there as it was shot before "Ghosts".

-Spudner makes a token appearance here apparently proving further 
that he does nothing but lie to people and shred files. Now there 
is a worthwhile character.

-Yes, I did smirk at the taped together file, but the idea of 
Mulder pawing through shredded trash and putting it together 
in that fashion was a little over the top in my opinion.

-Funniest scene: Scully in some USDA closet interviewing a 
Jerry Garcia-ish "Mr. Ginsberg" about marijuana usage and 
giving him the look that stops a thousand smokes.

-So I'm wondering where on the ditch scale leaving your partner 
stuck to do your pathetic job alone and cover for you while 
Kersh breathes down her neck is. Not really bad, but still 
annoying. At least he got a stiff neck from sleeping in the 
car.

-Wow, how 'bout the wonderful world of high technology! Baby 
monitors now pick up cell phone signals as well. Gee, I've 
heard cell phones are unsecure, but this is ridiculous. Better 
watch my language for the youngsters when I dial from now on. 
I'd hate to have some child's first word be one of my favorites.

-Do demons shop at the local "buy in bulk and save" store? 
How huge could those pill bottles be? Again I have to wonder
if we really needed the over the top "Fiber" gag in this 
episode.

-Frank's Fashion Spot: They're baaaaaccck. Yes friends, Mulder 
and Scully had on trench coats. They may have taken to giving 
Scully those low cut blouses with her suits to accommodate 
the - uh weather - I'm just sure of it - but at least they 
managed to get the trenchs out of the closet for this one.

-While we're on fashion... What is it with the X-Files and women 
wearing bras to bed? That is a mystery in and of itself. I'll 
forgive Scully's push up bra in the movie because, well, I like 
Scully, but as soon as I saw Betsy's strap I knew she was not 
right. Color me not surprised she turned out to be a demon.

-And because fashion is so important to Frank, and who am I to 
deny an Executive Producer, another point. Why in the world is
 Laura Weinsider worried about where her blood soaked memory of 
a nightgown is? Did she want to wear it to bed again? Buy a new 
one for God's sake.

-More evidence that Scully is a horror movie fan: "I saw 
'Rosemary's Baby' on cable the other night." At least it is 
better than Mulder's movie habit.

-Is it some sort of a statement that the demon has a big picture 
of the White House in his home?

-So Wayne leaves the dead demon baby under a pile of leaves for 
days? Oh yeah. No animal would find that.

-"Poopydoo"? Yikes. Please. I hope this is not the "Term of 
Endearment" that named the episode, though on some levels it 
would be fitting.

-In the "It's the little things that count" entry we have 
Gillian Anderson doing the work the script does not and giving 
those who look for it a number of emotional layers as Scully 
digs up the bodies of babies.


-Scully has to stay up all night reviewing medical files and 
it is before 7AM when she calls Mulder and still she called the 
doctor on a hunch? When? 3 AM?

-I loved the use of the Garbage song "I'm Only Happy When it 
Rains". It's a great tune to add to the X-Files song canon.

-Anyone else find it amusing that the young girl on the TV was 
at first concerned she might have smallpox?

-So wifey is freaked when she notices her bite mark but she 
was never disturbed about those nodules on his back? Especially 
as they explain part of the sonogram.

-Bud Hasselhoff? Gordy Boitano? Nope, no thinly veiled slams 
there.

-Apparently Betsy - no doubt on her way to the Sunnyvale hell 
mouth (gratuitous Buffy reference) now with her demon spawn - 
has the special demon power that enables her to miraculously 
find the only two people with a clue in Roanoke County to do 
her little show for. Thank God they whipped that Intrigue
around to intercept.

-Nice to see the kids packed a flashlight array. One minute 
they have the big landing lights, the next their trusty mid 
sized ones. All that was missing was penlights.

Autumn
"I will accept that a man can be demonic."