I think I remember that one! He tries to seduce Scully when they’re sitting on the couch and he almost gets away with it (and actually he looks so romantic and kind of sad with those puppy dog eyes right then that I was jealous of Scully) and then Mulder walks in and the guy on the couch shifts back to his own body.
I think I agree but I don’t remember the episode so I don’t know the context. I don’t even know if I have the episode. If he says that to Scully I wonder what her reaction is because it seems clear that she is a practicing Catholic.
It wasn’t actually scripted, it was improvised by actor Don Davis(playing Scully’s dad), who was told to say whatever he thought would be appropriate for the apparition scene.
You can look at it one of two ways: the first is to look at it your way, that Communion is tantamount to cannibalism, but I didn’t take it that way. The other way to take it is the idea of “consuming flesh” has a historical religious pedigree, which to me has its ultimate fulfillment in the Eucharist and has imperfect, even warped shadows in history even in cannibalism. So I don’t necessarily think they were trying to “equate” the two, but rather touch on a very loosely connected “concept”.
I was more jealous of “Mulder” in that scene…
I was more jealous of “Mulder” in that scene…
As far as romantic feelings about characters are concerned, I of course would go with Mulder. But I also think Scully is a very inspiring character. She’s so serious but she loves Mulder unconditionally, though in a platonic way. I don’t think they would ever have gotten together in a romantic sense and I was hoping it wouldn’t be written in. I’ve caught up a few more episodes:
Later Scully is shown in the hospital saying a Rosary with the priest. Soon after, her cancer goes into remission. Here’s a couple screens of Scully saying the Rosary with the priest:
I think it was more obvious that he wanted Scully to have crisis of faith in the 2008 sequel, but unfortunately it was terribly mishandled, and not a good idea for a movie anyway… the movie should have had a bigger budget and been about Aliens and the liquid black parasite again. But alas a cheap budget and cheaper plot. The scope was too limited.Fear not, the thread is alive.
**Never Again **- A salesman discusses a company that can transplant stem cells from the blood of an umbilical cord to treat many diseases. The reason that struck me as interesting is because in the 2008 movie, stem cell research is presented apart from umbilical cord use and as something the mean old priest in the movie is opposed to.
Memento Mori - Scully stays at Holy Cross Hospital. In her journal she writes that she prays for courage.
Unrequieted - The dog tags of a Vietnam POW who was abandoned by the government identify the POW as “Catholic.”
Gethsemane - Scully’s mom has a priest visit the house at a party to talk Scully into returning to the Church. That suggests Scully’s mom is a practicing Catholic. Although she is very polite to the priest, Scully acts like she has no need for the Church or faith right now (even though she is dying of cancer and has in prior episodes expressed that same faith—but that inconsistency is consistent with writer Chris Carter writing in that Scully suddenly has a brother who was never mentioned or seen in a prior episode, neither at her father’s funeral, her sister’s funeral, or when she was in the coma! So between that and her sudden “lack” of faith, there’s a little discontinuity in this episode). Later in the episode, when Scully chides Mulder for his continued pursuit of finding extraterrestrial life and what good would proof do him since he already believed. Mulder asks her if she could find proof of God wouldn’t that knowledge be worth pursuing?
Redux II - Scully, now in the hospital again regrets closing off the priest from 2 episodes earlier. She confides in her mom that she has been lying to herself that she’s tried everything in her fight—because she hasn’t given her faith a chance. She did use a microchip implant Mulder discovered as a possible cure, so they tried that. While trying it, she asked the doctor if he’d ever seen miracles, and he basically said yes, but he didn’t call them that. Speaking to her mom, she wonders why she wears that cross if she isn’t going to confide in it. Later when Mulder is in the hospital with her, the priest comes in—presumably Scully asked to see him again. Scully promises Mulder her prayers (Mulder has to testify before the FBI on a murder they want to prosecute him for), and Mulder smiles and tells Scully: “Have the Father say a few ‘Hail Mulders’ for me, okay?”
http://i44.tinypic.com/mbiccz.jpg
It’s hard to believe Chris Carter could write both the above and then the anti-Catholic stuff for the 2008 movie. Maybe the scandals affected him, who knows. Redux II was an episode I had never seen the first time around. Imagine my surprise when Scully is saying a Rosary!
From here forward, I think I have seen very little of the episodes from seasons 5-9. So I may be skipping over posts that discuss some of those later ones until I see them myself.
Just to be sure, Mulder and Scully didn’t have a romantic relationship in the series, did they? I remember a bit of tension, but nothing came of it.
Seasons 8 and 9 were all about the romantic relationship between Mulder and Scully, hence her pregnancy (Mulder’s baby son).Just to be sure, Mulder and Scully didn’t have a romantic relationship in the series, did they? I remember a bit of tension, but nothing came of it.
I’ve finished the book and I retract my statement about it being anti-Catholic. I think it portrayed the priest as a sympathetic character who tried to fight his illness (he went so far as to castrate himself) and who only wanted to serve God.
The characterization of Mulder and Scully, though - that was just awful. And it continued to the very end. Scully appeared to perhaps just slightly begin to understand the priest’s problem, but that may have been my imagination. I don’t remember her struggling with her faith as a Catholic at all. She struggled with her role as a physician (and stem cell research was mentioned once with no further mention) and she struggled with her role as Mulder’s uh, yuk, lover. Oh, I just remembered, she was at odds with a priest who was her superior at the Catholic hospital where she worked, but the book didn’t seem to put much emphasis on any struggle with the Church but just her dislike for her superior on a professional level.
Well, I’ll either sell my book at a yard sale or put it on the bookshelf, but I won’t ever read it again. I’m sorry I bought it.
Your comment about the Star Trek character made me laugh. I remember when we used to watch the show and anytime anyone beamed down who wasn’t a major character, one of us would say “Well, I guess he’s going to get killed.” And he always did. It was a family joke.
I think any future movie should have them back in the FBI as special agents , with no romantic relationship, and Skinner being his regular self, like in the series. I can understand why the movie was such a disappointment to so many people. I would have hated it.
I apologize for taking the thread off-topic. I was just so surprised to find out I’d bought the book on which the movie was based.
Back to the series!!!
The book you purchased was the novelization of the screenplay written by Carter and Spotnitz. I’d say that in general, those who preferred MOTW (monster of the week) stories were much happier with the movie than were mytharc fans (like me.)
) Mulder was the sperm donor. Supposedly the invitro process wasn’t working so the whole season was filled with questions about whether the baby was Mulder’s (and how so if he was the father) or the result of some nefarious activity involving Scully’s OB/gyn and other conspirators. AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGHHHHHHHHH!!! It would need to be mounted as a sequel to the sucessful '98 flick, both in plot and style. if Fox wanted it made, it’s release date, christmas 2012(i recon) would need to be set soon. Two and a bit years is plenty of time to produce a blockbuster high budget flick so long as release date is locked in and scripting begun now. But are fox willing to have a punt on it after the last flick?The book you purchased was the novelization of the screenplay written by Carter and Spotnitz. I’d say that in general, those who preferred MOTW (monster of the week) stories were much happier with the movie than were mytharc fans (like me.)
Scully’s belief in Catholicism has always been tentative. the season seven episode “All Things” raised a lot of questions about Scully’s beliefs (and her relationship with Mulder.) I won’t elaborate until people here get to that episode for viewing. I’ll just say that I wasn’t thrilled with that episode (written by Gillian Anderson.)
The relationship between Mulder and Scully was a big teaser in season eight. As I recall, Duchovny’s contract called for him to appear in half of the season eight episodes before he left the series for good. This was around the same time that he sued over residual payments for syndicated episodes of TXF so Duchovny’s relationship with Carter was not at it’s best. As a result, the Mulder character wasn’t well written (in my opinion, anyway.) The noromos (no-romancers) were horrified by the pregnancy story. The shippers were delighted by the idea that the baby could be Mulder’s. Ultimately we found out that Scully attempted to get pregnant by invitro fertilization (using the ova harvested when Scully was abducted in season 2; skeptical fans wondered if Mulder had been storing the ova in his freezer all these months.
In season 9 we learn that Mulder and Scully DID have a “one lonely night” hook-up. In the final episode, Mulder and Scully are re-united and it is clear from their passionate kiss that they had been having some kind of ongoing romantic (and evidently sexual) relationship prior to the birth of William. Presumably they continue this relationship when they run off together at the end of the series. Many fans concluded that even if Mulder and Scully wanted to get married that it would be extremely difficult for two people to do so if they were trying to stay off the grid.
I did not like I Want to Believe very much for all sorts of reasons, including ones you’ve mentioned. There are fans who are hoping for a movie about the supposed alien invasion coming in December of 2012. I don’t see how there could be time to make such a movie even if all the necessary parties would agree to do it today.
One of the reasons I was so disappointed in the 2008 X-Files movie (which had obvious anti-Catholic themes) was because the TV show itself had often portrayed Catholicism (or Catholic themes) favorably. I’m watching the entire series again from start to finish. I am just into season 3 right now. I’m starting this thread to catalog some of the “Catholic” moments in the series. Episode titles follow with a brief description. This thread may contain SPOILERS, meaning some of the descriptions may give away parts of the show, but I will try to avoid giving away anything significant.
Conduit - Mulder, in anguish over his sister, prays in what looks to me like a Catholic church. Here’s a screenshot of that one:
http://forums.catholic-questions.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=7549&d=1269755811
**Miracle Man ** - Scully reveals she was raised Catholic and that she knows in Scripture the devil never steals the show.
Sleepless - The character “Preacher” crosses himself before killing a doctor, although he is depicted as a self-authoritative interpreter of the Bible throughout the rest of the episode.
3 - Referring to the message of John 52:54 written on the wall of crime scene by vampire killers, Mulder says, “they have the same feeble literal grasp of the Bible as all those big-haired preachers do.”
Die Hand Die Verletzt - Girl escaping the satanic ritual runs away in fear, praying the Hail Mary. She successfully escapes. (smart girl
Colony - Mulder receives emails of obituaries of 3 abortion doctors suspected of being killed in arson fires by “militant right-to-lifers” who are later absolved.
Fearful Symmetry - A night janitor crosses himself in the teaser scene when an invisible force destroys the surroundings, and a trucker moments later yells “Mother of God” when he sees an elephant about to hit his truck.
Dod Kalm - The captain, after sending his deceased first mate to sea, crosses himself. He later turns out to be not so good of a character.
The Calusari - Scully believes the miracle of the loaves and fishes is “a parable.” The hint in the episode is she’s wrong, however. Later they perform what resembles an exorcism, but it is some other kind of ritual done by Romanian men that do not appear to exhibit Christianity in the ritual.
Soft Light - Scully is shown paying respects at what appears to be the very end of an outdoor Catholic burial for Agent Ryan. A collared priest presided.
Our Town - Mulder tells Scully to consider that cannibalism could prolong human life by citing historical beliefs such as “from vampirism to Catholicism, the reward for eating human flesh is eternal life.” [paraphrasing]
If you know of a scene I missed or want to share comments, all are welcome. This thread to be continued as I watch more…
YES!! What bugged me were the characters of Mulder and Scully. I didn’t have a problem with the priest once I’d read most of the book. It was a stupid book with two characters named Mulder and Scully who were not the Mulder and Scully from the series (maybe they’re bodies had been taken over by aliens or Mulder had exchanged his body with Morris again). Where was the Smoking Man?*I think what made X-Files an awesome show was its fairness. On the TV series, as you point out, the Church was portrayed in a positive light. Scully’s Catholic faith and the Church in general was always portrayed, more or less, a force for good. Then in the 2008 disaster film we see a crooked, pedophile priest. That’s not the part of the film that bothered me. Are there good priests? Yes. Are there pedophiles? Absolutely. So what’s the problem? We can’t be so sensitive that everytime there’s a badguy priest we jump and play the anti-Catholic card.
What bugged me was the whole story. It was just plain dumb. The mood of the film, the darkness of it, the lack of a coherent plot, the lack of alien fun, and the bland dialogue, slow pace, lousy casting, bad script, you name it. That movie stunk!
Where’s the alien bounty hunter or the Smoking Man when you need them!?