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Even though I knew this was going to be a monster-of-the-week episode, I was looking forward to it, because I knew that it was written by Vince Gilligan, whom many of us consider the best writer of those emotionally deep and sometimes humorous Mulder/Scully dynamic episodes. With "Hungry," I got my first surprise from Gilligan. He can write forgettable ones, too.
Now, this episode was not bad by any stretch of the imagination. I think John Shiban still needs to make up for Season 4's "El Mundo Gira." By contrast, Hungry was interesting throughout and had nice pacing to make it very watchable. I just doubt that I'll be sticking this episode into the VCR beyond the normal double viewings I do for these reviews. With each additional viewing, the episode just wasn't thrilling, and I ended up fast forwarding through many of the scenes. That's not good when watching a Gilligan- scripted episode. For the most part, I have worn my tape out watching "Bad Blood" and "Small Potatoes," because I watch those classics repeatedly and often rewinding *many* of the scenes just to laugh all over again. I can't say the same for "Hungry."
Undoubtedly, the main reason why this episode is easily forgettable is the lack of interaction between Mulder and Scully. Yes, I know that I say that about many weak episodes, but that was the one element that set Gilligan apart from other writers, even Chris Carter. He can take those two characters that we all love and make them say or do something that can oftentimes be surprisingly unexpected but always memorable. With barely much screen time for the duo, there really is no memorable scene to recall in Hungry. And as noted by many people on the mailing lists, Scully barely had much to say at all.
But as many fans who keep up with the behind-the-scenes action know, David and Gillian were spared heavy filming in this one due to prior commitments at the start of the new season. In fact, this episode was the first to be filmed. So Gilligan already had his hands tied in regards to how much Mulder and Scully would be directly involved in the plot. By all accounts, he did as best as possible and certainly wrote an interesting monster who tries to do good but can't control his "biological imperative" to eat human brains. The horror of what he does is a bit more tempered when seeing that Rob Roberts tries everything possible to curb that voracious appetite.
Yet, I also noticed that the premise seemed all to familiar. Remember "Tooms?" "2Shy?" "Leonard Betts?" All of them were mutant monsters who killed humans, because they needed to ingest some organ or tissue that can only be found among us. We didn't know if they truly had a guilty conscious or felt remorse after killing someone. It was in their nature to survive just as in any other living thing. Unfortunately, they had to survive by ingesting human organs. And they did it in very conspicuous large communities where someone would notice. Thus, their downfall was also their need to survive.
In Rob Roberts, we find a fairly decent young man who cannot prevail over his compulsion to
feast on human brains. His strange physical attributes appear easily hidden behind a wig, fake ears and fake teeth. But his own sense of need is too strong to overcome
no matter what kind of dietary supplements or self-control videos he tries. The compulsion to eat brains is very much with him. It is this same compulsion which
further betrays his identity to the very law enforcement that he is trying to avoid. I liked the fact that he *does* try to better himself. Isn't that something all of us strive
to do when overcoming an addiction or compulsion? Since Rob hadn't been killing people for years, I assume that it has only been fairly recently that his need for brains has
been roused. Otherwise, Rob would be what Derwood Spinks (what a name!) stated as being on the "10 most wanted list."
And even though we all know that Mulder is brilliant as an investigator, even I admit that he took a huge leap of logic with Rob. From my point of view, it appeared as though Mulder was goading him to not make a mistake from almost the very beginning. It was fascinating to see how Mulder and Scully look from the "other side" when they interrogate someone. After all, for the most part, the show is one-sided in just recognizing and admiring Mulder's and Scully's work when it comes to their bizarre cases. Yet, I felt the coldness and almost blatant disregard of Rob's right of being "innocent until proven guilty." That was one attitude that really stood out in those scenes. I almost felt ashamed that Mulder and Scully would be so mean spirited in that regard.
Of course, I cannot forget the good-hearted Dr. Minnie Rinehart. Why can't any of my doctors look as good in a suit as Rinehart and Scully? I was thoroughly impressed with Rinehart's even professionalism and empathy towards Rob and his "problems." She really did care for Rob's well-being even after figuring out that he was the murderer. Her scenes were rather brief, but definitely didn't go unnoticed. I did find her idea of the most handsome man in the world (Peter Jennings?) as rather amusing. That was definitely a Gilligan touch if I ever saw one.
Overall, I would not consider Hungry a high point in this young season. But after the knock-out stories and performances in "Sixth Extinction" and "Amor Fati," most episodes would seem pale by comparison. I still think Gilligan is the best writer on the show, and he did get a tough situation with the lead actors to have to work around in this story. I just hope he gets Mulder and Scully in full force on his next assignment. Heaven knows, I am hungry for that one!
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