PLOT: Agent Leyla Harrison returns and asks Doggett and Reyes to help her
in a case involving a boy and scary monsters.
Have you ever seen the movie, "Galaxy Quest," with Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver?
Besides being a very humorous parody, it was also a commentary on the entire Star Trek
fandom phenomenon. The actors were trying to live up to people's expectations of the
larger-than-life characters they portrayed in their wildly popular series. Fans were
asking them about engineering schematics or in Episode 19 "this character was interested
in that character" and so on. A documentary movie, "Trekkies," hosted by former Tasha
Yar actress, Denise Crosby, highlighted real people who would wear Starfleet uniforms to work,
collect EVERY SINGLE Star Trek toy or collectible known to exist, attend every single
fan convention possible and have a picture with every Star Trek actor who ever appeared
on any of the Star Trek series. One dentist even changed his entire dental practice to reflect
the Star Trek universe, and he and his staff would wear Star Trek uniforms. Hence, some people
would skew the lines of reality and fiction and forget that there are real people behind
this universe they are so enamored with.
"Scary Monsters" brings back the character, Agent Leyla Harrison, whom we last saw in Season 8's
"Alone". Her namesake was a real person who passed away early last year, and the character is
supposed to be a loving tribute to not only Harrison but every X-phile out there. Unfortunately,
as in last season's "Alone," Harrison is portrayed more as one of the many rabid fans of the series
rather than just a loving admirer. Did you notice how many times Doggett or Reyes would show
frustrated looks every time Leyla would start with "Mulder and Scully were on this one case where...(fill
in the blank)"? One amusing moment was when Doggett mentioned to Reyes, "I don't want to sound like
Agent Harrison, but Mulder and Scully were on this one case where..." I'll get back to the fan commentary
from the Ten-Thirteen crew in just a moment.
The plot was actually very interesting. The series thrives very well when portraying children in a
kind of "Damien" kind of style. Some of the best and scariest episodes in past years involved pre-teens:
"Conduit," "Eve," "The Calusari," "Herrenvolk," and last season's "Invocation," and those are just off
the top of my head. In this particular premise, we are not clued in at first that Tommy's fears are what
provoked the "scary monsters" rampant in his world. Unfortunately, his imagination was as contagious as a
cold, since they were strong enough to provoke two deaths. In the end, the agents find themselves caught
up in Tommy's imaginations and are very close to being killed themselves.
Even though the main plot was enough to capture my attention, I also noticed some subtle references to not
only past X-Files but to the fans in general. As the series is coming to a close, Ten-Thirteen seems to want
to make a commentary in this episode about fandom in general. Harrison is the character embodiment of most
fans out there in the "real" world who romanticize the show. The experiences of Mulder and Scully are as epic
and enduring as "Romeo and Juliet," "Elizabeth and Darcy," or "Jack and Rose". To Agent Harrison, Mulder and
Scully left a legacy with the X-Files that is tough to follow, and therefore, she often compares Doggett and Reyes
with days gone by.
In effect, it's really an unfair comparison, sort of like apples and oranges. We had a good
seven seasons and a feature film to view Mulder and Scully as close as we would a good friend. They were two
people caught in a modern Greek tragedy where conspiracies and paranoia were part of their daily lives. Seven years
of sacrificing their own personal desires for some kind of normalcy all to find the elusive "truth" that
always seems to elude them. Seven years of seeing two people become closer than most married couples. But,
of course, it couldn't last forever. First Doggett and then Reyes come aboard on this ride. Yet, they have not had
the epic storylines or mind boggling plots that made Mulder and Scully legends in the FBI. They also have not
had the right exposure to fans to show off their own unique chemistry and gifts to the show. In the end, they
were too often compared to the originals, and that was the very downfall of the series this season. Many of the best
episodes of this season were strong Doggett- and/or Reyes-centric themes with Scully being very much in the background
such as "4-D," "Daemonicus," "John Doe," and "Hellbound." Unfortunately, they don't have much time left to show more.
One thing I hadn't noticed before in her appearance in "Alone" was how Harrison was trying to emulate her heroes.
Notice her hairstyle and clothing? She could have been mistaken for Scully's sister. I was surprised that she hadn't
dyed her hair red. Also, her quick assumptions in believing whatever "paranormal" event she witnesses and trying to
backtrack it to a previous X-File. In other words, she was trying to be as insightful as Mulder but through the
eyes of an admiring fan, not a detective. It's a good thing she stuck to accounting.
I admit that I didn't like the comment made by Harrison at the end of the episode about Doggett being able to
figure out what to do better than Mulder would have because of his "lack of imagination". There was a double insult
made there in one respect even though Doggett took it with a grain of salt. Harrison didn't seem to mention that
Mulder was a brilliant profiler, because he was able to get inside people's heads and figure out things from *their*
point of view. In most cases, he believed the things he would surmise from profiling someone. I have no doubt that
Mulder would have just as quickly figured out what made Tommy tick. Doggett's approach is one from a totally opposite
point of view where he "didn't* blatantly believe what he saw and felt but still figured out that Tommy did. So even
though Doggett didn't get into Tommy's head as Mulder would have, his cop instincts definitely helped.
Beyond that, I was very much surprised to find this story was written by Tom Schnauz, who wrote "Lord of the Flies,"
which many of you know is not exactly a great episode. He handled the pacing of the story and interactions
between the characters very well, particularly between the three agents. I was not really sure why he thought
it important for Scully to be in the episode, but I must admit that her doing an autopsy of a decaying cat in
her kitchen with barbeque tongs and an apron that says "Something Smells Good" had to be the FUNNIEST scene
this season. I still laugh thinking about it.
Five more to go...
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