Index to all seasons | Abbey Home Page
"I have a date."
"Can you cancel?"
"Unlike you Mulder, I would like to have a life."
"I have a life."
OK, I’ll admit it. "Jersey Devil" is a guilty pleasure of mine. I know, I know there is much to dislike about this "east coast bigfoot" tale. However, in this one and only time the X-Files decided to use that TV drama standard B-story device (I can just imagine the TV Guide listing "Mulder tracks a bigfoot monster while Scully goes on a date"), I found the Scully subplot much more intriguing than that downright silly moony-eyed Mulder "She was beautiful" stuff.
This little story takes place back in those light and flirty early days of the partnership, back before tragedy after tragedy made our heroes into depressed detectives, back before Scully discovered the bottomless pocket trench coat (she carts around her briefcase or a purse here), back before Mulder really perfected his ditch (he merely ignores her when she calls out "Where are you?"), back when Scully smiled and laughed when away from work and had an actual friend who didn’t end up dead or threatened by the episode’s end, back when Dana went on dates. When it sticks to the banter and the new dynamics of this partnership as they are being explored the episode is a delight. There is a playfulness as Mulder suggests they take in a floor show and stay in Atlantic City and an actual Scully pout as she whines about a three hour drive by herself (even smacking the car for good measure).
Who would have thought that the issue of a date or getting a life would turn out to have such an emotional resonance in the X-Files as a whole. Like "Squeeze" where Scully chooses Mulder over her other colleagues, here she chooses him and the X-Files over a "normal" life. Mulder and his wacky world has already spoiled other "nice" guys for her. Despite getting all prettied up in that lacy blouse and piled up hair for Rob, the divorced tax accountant on a wife hunt, she spends her time stifling yawns and feigning interest while he bores her to tears. While Rob, obviously smitten, continues to look for a new piece to complete his family unit by inviting her to the beach (probably just for the swimsuit possibilities) or the circus, Scully glances furtively at her watch and does everything but say "Thank God!" when Mulder beeps in (beeps? Where the heck was her cell phone?) to save her. Personally, I’ve never really thought Mulder had a good enough reason to interrupt her evening out. I just think he wanted to check up on her.
Then there is that birthday party scene. You know the one with Casual!Scully before she entered her sweater phase in that cute little vest giving out maternal signals (how sad in retrospect) as she comforts her godson. Where we find out that she has told her friends that Mulder is cute, but she won’t pursue him, not because he is a jerk (as she is quick to correct herself on this point), not because he is her partner, but instead the ultimate reason she gives is that he is "obsessed with his work". Gee, makes one wonder what might happen if he were not. Say, for instance, he came over to her apartment one night with a bottle of wine and just wanted to talk and listen to her. Oh I guess we do know what might happen.
Wait! You say this episode was about a beast woman? Oh yeah, I vaguely remember that. Though I try to block that part out as it is often an example of Chris Carter’s writing at its absolute worst. I cringe for David Duchovny as he is forced to recite lines like "How close is she to you or me? Does she feel emotion?". Gag me. I laugh out loud at that pathetic looking drawing Mulder keeps oh so earnestly waving in people’s faces as some sort of proof. I scoff at why the local cop would send out a swat team to find Mulder instead of concentrating on the murders. This episode even features that annoying heavy handed X-Files moral lesson of the police not caring about the deaths of the homeless and the "dramatic" killing of the beast woman while Mulder and Scully get that indignant look on their faces. Uggg. The only interesting thing in all this was the juxtaposition of the territorial nature of humans discussed by Scully’s University of Maryland professor with that of the territorial nature beginning to form around Mulder and Scully’s relationship. Thank goodness for the saving grace sub plot in this story or I’d have to rank it among the worst.
-I knew from the moment that family started singing that horrid "bingo" song that they were doomed.
-What is it "casual day" at the FBI? As Scully walks through the bullpen in the opening there is a woman wearing shorts.
-The bullpen scenes are also a bit odd because it makes it seem like it is right there with them down in the basement and Scully has to walk through there to get to their office door. Then again what exists outside that office door has changed almost as many times as the doors in Scully’s apartment. Sometimes it is just a hall, sometime there are stairs right there, this time a bullpen.
-As this was back in the early days before the X-Files felt the need to subject the audience to gratuitous gore we are only told about these gruesome murders (that and there is the added thrill of the guy barfing in the forest after they find the body).
-Speaking of which this may be the X-Files episode that features the most vomiting as we have not one, but two delightful instances (the other in the jail) of folks making retching sounds.
-In the "Mulder and porno" department we have our Agent deftly studying the centerfold of the "Women in Film" edition of one of his favorite magazines. Scully treats this with a somewhat amused reaction and that classic Scully line "Antigravity is right".
-Mulder certainly does show his fascination with beasts with breasts here. If he isn’t staring at a centerfold he’s fixated on a crude bigfoot woman drawing. Maybe that explains the end of "Jose Chung"...
-We get an episode time frame from the toe tag on the body which reads August 29, 1993.
-I would be neglectful if I did not point out (as there are some out there who block these instances) that Scully was the one who found this case and brought it to Mulder’s centerfold addled attention.
-OK, I have not been to Atlantic City so I may be wrong here, but I find it pretty hard to believe that what looks like the inner city slum section of the community would be located on the heavily wooded outskirts of town. Those places are almost always in the heart of the city.
-That phone book page was too funny - every number had that lame TV 555 prefix.
-I’d hate to see Mulder’s hotel bill after he hands the keys to that street person. I’m guessing the room service and SpectraVision charges ought to be something.
-Why in the world did Mulder spend the whole weekend in jail? He is arrested on a Friday night and yet he doesn’t call Scully until she is back at work on Monday morning. Did he forget her home phone number?
-The way Mulder was pigging out at that restaurant you’d think they didn’t feed him for his weekend in jail either. I’ve yet to figure out what in the heck he is eating. Sometimes it looks like eggs, sometimes a salad, sometimes tortilla chips, and in the shot when they are leaving the mystery meal plate is still full and has fries on it and a side of toast.
-I’ve always been impressed by that little Action!Scully stunt that Gillian pulls off. That combination tumble and gun pull looks pretty damn good. In heels even.
-This episode also features some early John Bartley lighting coolness in that scene in the warehouse with the hazy blue light coming through the fan as the beast woman takes a chunk out of Mulder so Scully can play Doctor.
-I’ll bet Scully longs for the days now where covering for Mulder meant hiding the fact he’d gone out for a beer. You don’t get tossed in jail for that.
Autumn
"Keep that up Mulder and I’ll hurt you like that beast woman".