all things is different. Plain and simple. If you are looking for a standard, creepy, mysterious x-file, you are not going to find it here. Gillian Anderson wrote and directed this episode that shows a side of Scully we haven't seen.
I like how Gillian gets the rhythm of the episode going with the dripping water. It sets the tone. The Moby music is different but nice. Mark Snow did a nice job of incorporating it into his score. Three is a significant number in this episode. I don't know why. I know that three is a good karmic number. The first slide shows three crop circles, Waterston's room number is 306. Colleen's house number is 3.
Gillian uses a lot of slow motion during the course of the episode, mostly to good effect. I thought the one unnecessary use of slow motion was when Scully was receiving the folder from the nurse. In the episode audio commentary Gillian said that it was hard getting the tapping pencil to be rhythmic. I agree.
I like how Scully hides from the daughter behind the magazine. The name of the magazine is Feng Shui Life Magazine. Hmmm. Once she goes into his room, there's this rhythmic pinging sound. I felt it was out of place. When she goes home, the toggle(I got this from the audio commentary as well) is knocking against the wall. The rhythms are nice when they are a natural sound, like the water dripping or the toggle knocking, but that pinging in his room is just out of place. Scully has a Mac with a web cam on the top of it. I never knew Scully was this techno-savvy. Who is she tele-conferencing with from home? Mulder?
Gillian's opening shots for scenes start with shots on a specific object then zoom out. As mentioned in her commentary, there are contrasts between the two hospital rooms. #304 is red, brown, warm, and happy. #306 is blue, dark, and sad. Nice use of contrasts.
My favorite line of Scully's is when she's saving Waterston's life. "Who's paying attention?!?!?" Taking control. Just like in the movie. After he goes into a coma, it looks like a music video as Scully walks into a D.C. Chinatown. I like how the creaking sign interrupts the music. The scene of the transparent Waterston was weird. Gillian said that her vision in the Buddhist temple was her attempt at adding a paranormal aspect to the episode.
Another thing I dislike about the episode is Scully having the guy come in to do the new age/psychic kind of healing of Waterston. It is out of character for her. That's something her sister Melissa would of done, not Scully. Scully's dream sequence is kind of freaky. I like how later the shot transitions from the back of Waterston's head to Scully's head.
It's interesting how the pony-tail lady turns into Mulder at the end. However, the jacket and hat that Mulder is wearing are not his color or style. It is out of character for him. Although, I do like his hat "Stone Henge Rocks".
Lastly, some additional items from GA's commentary. She had to shorten her script considerably. Her original script made it more obvious that she did not have an affair with Waterston. She broke it off when she found out he was married so that she wouldn't break up his family. However, it was too late. Waterston's wife suspected he had an affair and hung herself. Gruesome. Also, the cardiac arrest scene was originally one shot like in 'Triangle', but GA had to do close-ups to add more drama to the scene. And finally, Gillian says she loves the final scene of the episode.
This is a good hour of television. Gillian Anderson does so me interesting camera work that is not standard for the X-Files. The few things that are out of character for Mulder and Scully and the lack of it being a traditional x-file prevents it from being in the top tier of X-Files episodes. all things is not everyone's cup of tea, for sure, but it shows that Gillian Anderson can do more than just act.
I like how Gillian gets the rhythm of the episode going with the dripping water. It sets the tone. The Moby music is different but nice. Mark Snow did a nice job of incorporating it into his score. Three is a significant number in this episode. I don't know why. I know that three is a good karmic number. The first slide shows three crop circles, Waterston's room number is 306. Colleen's house number is 3.
Gillian uses a lot of slow motion during the course of the episode, mostly to good effect. I thought the one unnecessary use of slow motion was when Scully was receiving the folder from the nurse. In the episode audio commentary Gillian said that it was hard getting the tapping pencil to be rhythmic. I agree.
I like how Scully hides from the daughter behind the magazine. The name of the magazine is Feng Shui Life Magazine. Hmmm. Once she goes into his room, there's this rhythmic pinging sound. I felt it was out of place. When she goes home, the toggle(I got this from the audio commentary as well) is knocking against the wall. The rhythms are nice when they are a natural sound, like the water dripping or the toggle knocking, but that pinging in his room is just out of place. Scully has a Mac with a web cam on the top of it. I never knew Scully was this techno-savvy. Who is she tele-conferencing with from home? Mulder?
Gillian's opening shots for scenes start with shots on a specific object then zoom out. As mentioned in her commentary, there are contrasts between the two hospital rooms. #304 is red, brown, warm, and happy. #306 is blue, dark, and sad. Nice use of contrasts.
My favorite line of Scully's is when she's saving Waterston's life. "Who's paying attention?!?!?" Taking control. Just like in the movie. After he goes into a coma, it looks like a music video as Scully walks into a D.C. Chinatown. I like how the creaking sign interrupts the music. The scene of the transparent Waterston was weird. Gillian said that her vision in the Buddhist temple was her attempt at adding a paranormal aspect to the episode.
Another thing I dislike about the episode is Scully having the guy come in to do the new age/psychic kind of healing of Waterston. It is out of character for her. That's something her sister Melissa would of done, not Scully. Scully's dream sequence is kind of freaky. I like how later the shot transitions from the back of Waterston's head to Scully's head.
It's interesting how the pony-tail lady turns into Mulder at the end. However, the jacket and hat that Mulder is wearing are not his color or style. It is out of character for him. Although, I do like his hat "Stone Henge Rocks".
Lastly, some additional items from GA's commentary. She had to shorten her script considerably. Her original script made it more obvious that she did not have an affair with Waterston. She broke it off when she found out he was married so that she wouldn't break up his family. However, it was too late. Waterston's wife suspected he had an affair and hung herself. Gruesome. Also, the cardiac arrest scene was originally one shot like in 'Triangle', but GA had to do close-ups to add more drama to the scene. And finally, Gillian says she loves the final scene of the episode.
This is a good hour of television. Gillian Anderson does so me interesting camera work that is not standard for the X-Files. The few things that are out of character for Mulder and Scully and the lack of it being a traditional x-file prevents it from being in the top tier of X-Files episodes. all things is not everyone's cup of tea, for sure, but it shows that Gillian Anderson can do more than just act.