X-Cops

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PLOT:While investigating a monster loose on the streets of Los Angeles, Mulder and Scully run into the crew from the TV show, "Cops."

"X-Cops" was promoted as the 150th episode of the series. Has it been that many? One thing that has impressed me with most of Season 7 thus far is that many of the episodes appear to break new ground in the show while still maintaining the tradition of exploring the paranormal. In fact, this season has been very reminiscent of the stand-alone episodes of the first season when no two episodes really connected to one another. Continuing that trend, "X-Cops" did not even remotely mention the emotional pain that Mulder and Scully endured the last couple of weeks, but was another excellent example of keeping the series fresh and interesting.

The opening was very clever in that it was exactly like "Cops." There was the famous "Bad Boys" theme song along with images of the upcoming episode and shots of Mulder and Scully. For people outside of the U.S. who are unfamiliar with the premise of the show, "Cops" is a reality show about cops. A camera crew follows around an officer or county sheriff, usually at night, on his/her normal rounds. It is shot in the same mode as "Blair Witch" with all the dizzying camera movement and such. Of course, there is always that domestic dispute they have to intervene or the prerequisite SWAT team breaking into some crack house. The sole purpose of the show is to follow real law enforcement people busting down doors and chasing bad guys, unscripted and unrehearsed. So curse words and nudity pop up every now and then, but they are properly censored out. In most respects, it is a fascinating show to watch for those not familiar with police procedures outside of "NYPD Blue" or "Law and Order."

I heard that writer Vince Gilligan rode around with real cops and the "Cops" crew just so he can get an accurate depiction of the show. I would say that he was right on target. The look and feel of the episode, particularly before Mulder and Scully showed up, was as authentic as the real thing. Actual officers from the L.A. County Sheriff's Office were part of the task force to keep it as realistic as possible. There was also the clever placing of "The X-Files" on top of the FOX logo on the bottom right hand corner of the screen just so we wouldn't be confused about what we were watching. The show is famous for such little details. It also made the episode fun to watch from the get go.

The plot itself was interesting if rather vague. If anything, "X-Cops" would definitely be categorized as a "monster-of-the-week" episode, because that is the first thing we hear in the teaser. A report of a monster prowling around a neighborhood. Again, continuing on the tradition of "less is more," we never actually *see* a monster. We just hear about it from different eyewitnesses. Mulder thinks it's a werewolf and is certainly not bashful to state that on national television. However, other eyewitness accounts make the "monster" sound totally different from a werewolf. The sheriff who was attacked in the teaser mentions that it reminded him of a "wasp man" from stories he heard as a kid. Whatever it may be, Mulder knows they have a very limited time to find it. Only on nights with a full moon does it strike out and daylight is fast approaching.

Aside from that monster plot, the other underlying plot was with the "Cops" crews' effect on our two favorite F.B.I. agents. Mulder was very aware of the cameras even though it appeared not to bother him. In fact, he was hoping to catch the monster on tape so that he would have hard proof of a paranormal event and have a national audience see it. That wasn't the case for Scully. She was very irritated with the camera crew and tried to evade being shown as often as possible. She mentions to Mulder to watch what he was saying in front of them. She even implores Mulder to not embarrass her in front of the camera as though every agent in the country was watching the episode. That little scene was interesting, because Scully has shown over the years that she will stand with Mulder through many of his strange theories and risk her professional reputation. So I found it rather odd that she would be so self-conscious in front of a camera crew. However, she had no choice after contacting A.D. Skinner who told her that "the F.B.I. has nothing to hide." Scully amusingly recounts that statement when she was being filmed doing an autopsy on a prostitute killed by the unidentified monster.

For the most part, the episode stayed true to both shows. There was the authenticity and the feel of "Cops," and the paranormal angle and involvement of Mulder and Scully on an X-File. They even made sure that the obligatory domestic dispute, and the rash of cops breaking into a crack house was included as well as some nudity and a couple of "bleeps" were heard. Even though "Cops" is not considered a comedic show, many of the scenarios are very humorous. "X-Cops" kept that theme intact with the inclusion of the gay couple. I'm sure David and Gillian tried to stay in character as much as possible, but it was obvious that they were *that* close to cracking up on-camera. "He never makes love to me anymore!" had to be an impromptu line. Neither David or Gillian looked like they expected it. I have no doubt that the bloopers to this episode must have been hilarious. In any event, this episode is an instant classic. If I had any kind of criticism, I would say that it would have been nice if the monster would have been more tangible, or that we could have seen something other than screaming and cops running everywhere. I thought that kind of horror was lame in "Blair Witch." Though many people may not have been a fan or ever seen the show, "Cops," this episode is a keeper.

One final note: isn't it interesting that there are so many episodes this season that are based on the west coast? Even though the whole show was transplanted from Vancouver to Los Angeles *last* season, there aren't too many episodes this season based in the deep, damp woods ala the Vancouver locations. Oh well, I thought that I would just mention that little detail.

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