The X-Files
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"Roadrunners"


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Episode 8ABX05

Title: Roadrunners

First screened in Australia: 28 February, 2001
First screened in the USA: 26 November, 2000

Credits: Director: Rod Hardy
Writer: Vince Gilligan Starring: Guest Stars: Plot:
Scully's stuck in a Utah one-horse town with a cult and a slug. Confused?
Original Official Site teaser

Agent Scully, while investigating on her own a murder in the New Mexico desert, discovers a small, remote town housing a paranormal cult that keeps a terrible secret. Scully's discovery of the cult's secret puts her life in danger, and she must rely on Agent Doggett to track down her hidden whereabouts and save her life.
Fox
Note: The episode was set in Utah, not New Mexico!
My Rating: 8/10
This was another interesting show and despite missing Mulder, the Scully-Doggett dynamics were well done. The desert setting and the mysterious town and it's inhabitants were effectively spooky and the tension kept building, although having seen the promo it was fairly easy to guess what was happening with the banana slug creature.

Where Have I Seen That Face Before?
David Barry Gray (Hank) was a co-star on the TV series "21 Jump Street" and "The Client". His movie roles include "Mr Wonderful", "Cops and Robbersons" and "Nixon".

Lawrence Pressman (Milsap) has been acting since the mid 1960's and has appeared in such movies as "Shaft", "Nine To Five", "Mighty Joe Young" plus many B-grade and TV movies. He also appeared in the mini-series "Rich Man Poor Man" plus had a recurring role on "Doogie Hoswer".

Rusty Schwimmer (Bus Driver) has appeared in many well-known movies including "Highlander II", "Candyman", "Jason Goes To Hell", "Twister", Amistad", "Ed TV", "A Perfect Stoprm" and in the Australian movie "Reckless Kelly".

William O'Leary (Gas Station Man) had a recurring role on "Home Improvement" and has also bene in the movies "Bull Durham", "Hot Shots", "Mad City" and "Godzilla".

Conor O'Farrell (Sheriff) has appeared in numerous TV movies including four in the "Moment Of Truth" series. He's also appeared in the Kevin Bacon movie "Stir Of Echoes". On TV he's had recurring roles on "Dark Skies", "NYPD Blue" and "Port Charles". He's had many TV guest roles as well including "Buffy" (3), "Profiler", "Ally McBeal", "ER", "Party Of Five" (3) and "21 Jump Street" (3).

Where Have I Heard That Name Before?
This episode's director was Rod Hardy, whose career started in the early 70's, directing episodes of Australian TV shows The Box, Solo One, Young Ramsay, Glenview High, Chopper Squad, Prisoner, Special Squad, Richmond Hill, The Flying Doctors and Halfway Across The Galaxy & Turn Left; plus mini series Under Capricorn and Eureka Stockade.

He directed two movies here, a bad vampire flick called Thirst, and Shadows Of The Heart which got excellent reviews before moving overseas to direct a stack of TV movies during the 90's, returning here for 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, before landing a job on The X-Files.

The Pain Factor:
Scully probably got blisters on her feet, walking back from her broken-down car in those high heels. Then things kept getting worse, with the slug implanted in her back and then cut out of her, winding up with yet another bout in hospital.

Trivia and Research:
Grand mal seizures are rhythmic and symmetric, which means that the arms and legs of the victim move at the same time. People who have seized do not remember what happened to them.

When people are suffering from alcohol withdrawal, they smell of acetone. Corn syrup and honey can be used to deliver sugar quickly to diabetics. It is best to put the syrup or honey under their tongues so that the sugar gets absorbed without the patient being at risk for choking.

The episode was modeled after the 1955 Spencer Tracy movie Bad Day at Black Rock.

The creature was designed to resemble a banana slug.

Vince Gilligan named Hank after his girlfriend Holly's brother.

Mr. Milsap was named for singer-songwriter Ronnie Milsap.

Sheriff Ciolino was named for Vince's mortgage broker.

From The Official X-Files Web Site.

Media Article # 1:
After Mulder

The future of "The X-Files" was in limbo last season. Though Gillian Anderson was committed to the Emmy Award-winning Fox series for another two seasons, co-star David Duchovny didn't have a contract to continue into an eighth season.

Plus, Duchovny had sued 20th Century Fox Film Corp., producer of the sci-fi series, alleging the studio gave its own broadcast stations and its FX cable network sweetheart licensing terms instead of going after the highest bid in a competitive situation. And last, but not least, executive producer and the series' creator Chris Carter wasn't sure he wanted to return without Duchovny.

"This all lead to a lot of general anxiety about how to end the show or not," admits Carter. So with the series' future a big question mark, Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz fashioned an episode that could double not only as a season finale but also a series finale--Duchovny's Mulder would be abducted by aliens and Anderson's Scully would learn she was pregnant.

After down-to-the-wire negotiations in May, Duchovny's lawsuit was settled and he agreed to return for 11 more episodes. Carter then told Fox he'd devised a way to do the series with Duchovny in a limited role--giving Scully a new partner to help in the search for Mulder.

Carter knew from the beginning he didn't want Scully's new partner to be cut from the same cloth as the alien-obsessed Mulder. So the latest member of "The X-Files," FBI agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick), is the anthesis of Mulder--a by-the-books federal agent.

The presence of Patrick, best known as the evil Terminator in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and as an obsessive gambler on "The Sopranos," has invigorated the series, Carter believes.

"He's a great actor," says Carter. "Several years ago [Patrick] came in to read on something else and I said, 'This is a guy I am going to work with."'

When Carter and company first sought out Patrick for the part, he was tied up in a contract. "We read a lot of people, but ultimately we pursued Robert Patrick because he was the right guy to play the person we were really feeling the show needed to go on," says Carter.

Patrick, already a fan of the series, has been enjoying working with Anderson, as well as Mitch Pileggi, who plays assistant FBI director Skinner.

"I know what I was hired for, what Chris Carter expects for me, and I try to stick to that," Patrick says. "There's a certain energy he wanted me to bring to the show through the character. Chris describes this guy as sort of an old-school hero."

A hero, Patrick adds, in the vein of Dirty Harry. "He's a guy who is pretty confident in himself. He's not seeking approval from anybody."

Carter admires actors like Patrick who have a very centered quality. "He has this tremendous intensity about him and there is a lean, dangerous quality to him too," says Carter. "It translates so beautifully on screen--those piercing eyes and that gravely voice serve to make the character believable and also different from Mulder."

Though the main focus this season will be Scully and Doggett's search for Mulder, they will also be assigned other cases.

"The beauty of the show is that Doggett is now going to be confronting all sorts of things that are not normal," says Patrick. "I'm going to be relying on Scully to sort of help me understand things and yet I will also do my detective work and present her with facts."

Aspects of Doggett's personality and past will also be revealed throughout the season. "He's a vet, a former New York City detective," says Patrick. "He's got his masters and doctorate from Syracuse. He's an interesting guy because he's street smart and yet he's done the books and educated himself."

Carter says the addition of Patrick has been a plus for the series. "Everybody likes Robert Patrick and the character," says Carter, adding "at the same time I think everybody misses David and Mulder."

Written by Susan King, Los Angeles Times, Sunday, November 26, 2000.

Media Article # 2:
What a Character!
Special Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick)

"The X-Files can't continue without David Duchovny!" Viewers worried that the show could not go on with the actor appearing in less than half the episodes this season, the series' eighth. Yet it was Duchovny's semi-departure and the introduction of a new character that has brought the show back from the edge of tedium. The X-Files' seventh season, for the most part, abandoned the "mythology" storyline of the alien takeover of Earth and focused on stand-alone episodes that relied more on gimmickry than good storytelling, such as the spoof of Cops and the parody of Hollywood. But now with Mulder missing, we have an exciting new mystery and an even more exciting new partner for Scully (Gillian Anderson): Special Agent John Doggett. It's almost like watching a brand-new show. This is the perfect time for new viewers who have been too intimidated by the confusing storylines to finally start watching.

Written by Christine Champagne, Mike Everleth and Diane Snyder on Gist.com

Media Article # 3:
Buchanan? I Wanted Doggett!
The new Mulder isn't really a new Mulder. Scully is the new Mulder.

All those months of anticipation, hype and unending commercials. The prosperity of seven good years now in question, can this kind of momentous decision ruin everything? Now here it is, a couple weeks later, and the results are still incomplete.

Yes, the debut of the new Mulder on The X-Files has been every bit as gripping as the Presidential election and twice as important. There are some very positive signs, yet many people remain unconvinced.

Since X-Files creator Chris Carter is smart enough to avoid a Bewitched-style Darren brouhaha, the new Mulder isn't really a new Mulder. He's Special Agent John Doggett, a hardboiled ex-Marine brought in to lead the search for the old Mulder, who was abducted in last season's finale.

Bringing Doggett to life is Robert Patrick who, no matter how fantastic his run on The X-Files, will always be known as the Terminator, Liquid Metal Version. It's not the first time the actor has gone chasing little gray men either, according to the 12 people who saw the movie "Fire in the Sky," a white-trash version of The X-Files, or to the slightly larger group who saw him as an alien schoolteacher in "The Faculty." Until Patrick's guest stint on The Sopranos last year, however, most people has no idea he could emote.

Doggett's appearance on The X-Files couldn't have come at a better time for a show that was once a pathfinder for original and intriguing television. Last season, however, the series wandered from the creative path, sometimes looking completely lost. (Let me get this straight: Mulder's sister was abducted by ghosts? What'd they do, team up with the Mummy and drag her off to be the bride of Frankenstein?) David Duchovny's semi-departure could hone the edge on what used to be as sharp a series as you could find. If the first two episodes are any indication, Carter and Co. aren't going to miss the opportunity.

John Doggett is one hell of a hardass, a breath of fresh air in a show where all the characters have gone soft. He may be the new male lead, but it's Scully who is really the new Mulder. Then again, Scully has already been Mulder Junior for the past couple years. The conflict that once separated the skeptic M.D. and her nutball partner has all but evaporated. Sure, characters need to grow as the plot evolves, but it reached a point where you figured Scully would be diagnosing alien gastrointestinal probing instead of one too many Bennigan's Buffalo wings to a patient complaining of stomach pain.

The supporting characters have all gotten flabby as well. Assistant Director Skinner, once a paragon of by-the-book skepticism, might as well be knitting baby alien sweaters and singing leprechaun songs. Even the Cigarette Smoking Man turned out to be a mushy family guy before meeting his end as an invalid too pathetic to fight off even the one-armed incompetent, Krycek.

Cancer Man's son, Agent Spender, might have been a worthy foil if not for the fact he looked like an accountant who would finish third in a triangle cage death match against a florist and an oboe player.

Thus far, Patrick's Doggett looks to be both gruff and strong-willed enough to bring that edge of conflict back to a series where the best episodes featured humans fighting other humans as well as aliens. Even better, he's walking a tightrope without a net: Scully and Skinner despise him, and his boss, Deputy Director Kersh, has assumed the role of Chief Evil Guy. This should make Doggett even harder to bear and that much more interesting a character.

Of course, there are those of you in the audience who want your television heroes to be likable. In the spirit of media hype, I formed my own little canvassing board and the five of us did an X-Files recount. The balloting was over quickly and I immediately threatened legal action.

It seems my opinion is in the minority on this issue. Of the four others, not a single person liked Doggett and most seemed convinced he was, in fact, Satan. One of the guys, Johnathan, said he "wanted to just stand up and punch him in the face, again and again."

This was hard for me to relate to, since I rarely have the urge to strike completely ficitional television characters, with the exception of John Tesh. Even then, I'm hoping Tesh's writers will kill him off.

I slowly scooted away from Johnathan, who began muttering something about "bitch slapping Doggett." Next to him was Jeannie, who didn't like the new character, but was even more upset about Scully's pregnancy after an apparent tryst with Mulder. It turns out Jeannie is jealous.

I'm not sure, and am in no hurry to find out, but I'll bet these must be the people who populate X-Files message boards.

With the conversation turning ugly -- one of them mentioned relishing the day Doggett gets an anal probe -- I brought the recount to a quick and decisive end. These people are idiots whose votes shouldn't be counted.

Therefore, the results are clear: John Doggett has saved The X-Files.

Written by Gregg Wrenn on teevee.com



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