Index to all seasons | Abbey Home Page
"It's about originality, style, and more than anything else soul - because that's what separates the great ones from the hacks."
I'll give "The Amazing Maleeni" points for a story that was original (at least to the X-Files) and style, but in the soul department this one is a Salieri. Clever and cute are not the soul of the X-Files, despite what the last two years would have us believe. This tale of magicians certainly had its share of "neat tricks," but in the end was far from being even close to the "greatest show ever."
If I grudgingly set aside the fact that I've grown oh so very tired of X-Files episodes just jam packed with cute little bits to try to make the audience smile, I will admit that "The Amazing Maleeni" did amuse me. I enjoy magic and I enjoy a con story. However, this con story did have a significant flaw in that if indeed Maleeni and LaBonge were after federal involvement for the badge and fingerprint there was absolutely no reason for any FBI agents to be out there from the start except for the fact that the circumstances amused Mulder. Thank God they also anticipated just which of the guards would check the back of the truck too and doctored the right gun or LaBonge's smirking days would be long over. Then there was the "Magic, She Wrote" type ending complete with flashbacks just in case we missed the significant events that didn't get by our heroes. Nope, not them. Mulder and Scully shake their fingers at those pesky law breaking magicians and tell them not to try that trick again instead of putting a freeze on fund transfers using Mulder's credentials and catching them in the act.
As far as the magic went, the card/coin tricks were entertaining, but I found myself annoyed at the story resorting to obvious trickery when LaBonge was able to pick Mulder and Scully's pockets without even touching them. That's some misdirection. There were some moments of magic in this episode beyond the sleight of hand. The fascination with magic tricks by both Mulder and Scully (which had them no doubt practicing in their hotel rooms at night just to one up the other later) was fun. Scully even specifically brings up the head turn just so she can show Mulder her trick (which if I can do it frankly must not be that hard). I liked the fact that Mulder's leaps were kept relatively in check and Scully was allowed to be the one to find the fingerprint clue (complete with admonishing Mulder for being a "skeptic"). Both magicians did a nice job on the acting front (though if you want to see a real con movie check out the wonderful "House of Games" that Ricky Jay (Maleeni) made earlier in his career). It's also always nice to visit the autopsy bay, especially when the results are so puzzling.
Speaking of, in the special effects department they did a great job creating a realistic looking severed head, but the big spin trick was more than a little disappointing. Not only could they not manage to show it to us without twice cutting away, the little of it we did see looked rather cheesy in its computer manipulation.
All in all there's really not much to say about this episode, and that says a lot right there.
-Retread Alert: Not a person, but a thing. The Craddock Marine Bank is apparently the Lariat Rent Car of financial institutions with offices everywhere. We saw the DC branch blow up quite a few times in "Monday."
-Date Stamp: The vault sign out log that Scully picks up is dated 1/12 as the day the armored truck had its little incident.
-This week's teaser appeared to be brought to you by Coca-Cola since when people weren't walking by coke signs they were sipping coke as they watched the show.
-They finally found a Los Angeles area landmark they could use in the Santa Monica pier. No wonder they went for the lingering shot to start the show.
-Frank's Fashion Spot: OK. I've decided it must be a conspiracy at this point. For some reason Gillian's hairdresser and costumer are united in some unholy plot to make Scully look as bad as possible this season. First the horrid haircut which has me imploring "grow, grow!" at the screen of late, but now... is it so hard in all of Los Angeles to actually find clothes that fit? These untucked gapping button up blouses have GOT TO STOP. Don't even get me started on that jacket she was wearing with only the top button done. At least we had some bizarre clothing continuity in that Scully seems to be sticking to her odd fashion statement of wearing black bras under white shirts.
-There was one nice fashion moment with the top hat, though it seemed to be another of those "cute" moments inserted merely to be featured prominently in the promos. Frankly, if I had something on my head that two birds had been trapped in for days I think I would have whipped it off a little more quickly.
-The biggest tragedy in this episode: Someone is finally rooting around inside Scully's jacket and she doesn't even feel it.
-I think they can put to rest the person assumes Mulder and Scully are married joke. We've beat that horse one too many times at this point.
-I enjoyed the little exchange about cheating at cards that ends in Maleeni asking Scully "Who raised you?" - heck after shooting unarmed suspects living with yourself for cheating at cards is child's play.
Autumn
"The hand may be quicker than the eye but it still leaves
fingerprints."