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"I'm sorry, but I'm just winging it here."
For all the writer's talk about telling scary stories the X-Files rarely scares me. I've always just viewed it as a character drama that happens to have the paranormal as a backdrop. I've often found it tense, sometimes unsettling, but scary? Hardly ever. "Roadrunners" scared me. Maybe it's because I've always found stories that center around being trapped amongst a group of people who are off-kilter creepy. Maybe it was that shot of the bloody bus driver walking purposely towards a screaming Scully with a fat ugly slug after just having bashed in someone's head. Maybe it was just the way Milsap stood on his front porch and eerily waited for Scully to come back and take a room. Maybe it was the emergency slugendectimy on the bus. Or maybe I just got scared that Vince Gilligan of all people would freaking forget Scully has a tattoo, or even a large scar from a bullet wound *he* gave her in "Tithonus." It was probably a combination of all that, but if they want to tell scary stories on the X-Files this season then in my book this episode succeeded at that.
There's been a lot of talk since "Requiem" about Scully's pregnancy and how it will effect the show. I'm convinced at this point that the writing staff can't win. If Scully just sat in the office and never went out in the field (which on the X-Files is inherently dangerous) people would complain that 1013 had turned her into the "little lady" and if Scully does go out in the field there are complaints that she is endangering her child. For my money, I'd rather have her working because at some point that will have to end or be scaled back. Vince Gilligan did manage to weave the pregnancy into this one not only with Scully screaming out her condition to try to avoid becoming sluggish but also in a more disturbing manner with her having that creature put inside her. Thank God Doggett was there for the slug-section.
I'm a bit torn about the way Scully came off in this episode. I like the fact that be it hormones or whatever Snarky!Scully was not fooled by these people from the start. She let them know in no uncertain terms she knew something was going on. I liked the picture of her propped up in that bed, chair against the door, gun at the ready. However, even though Scully has certainly been portrayed as compassionate in the past, having an FBI agent give her gun to someone she doesn't really know was not the smartest move Gilligan could have made character wise. Sure she says "you had me convinced" (maybe Scully thinks everyone lies bad because she does), but still I wish Gilligan had found another way to move things forward. I'm also never thrilled with the sort of victimization of Scully we see in "Roadrunners", but I think some of the problems I had were from the choices that first time X-Files director Rod Hardy made in the way he shot the Scully tied to the bed scene.
Actually, the choice to give up her gun is not the only questionable one Scully makes in "Roadrunners". The first is to pull a classic Mulder and decide that she can be Dana Scully monster hunter all by her lonesome. She only calls Doggett at all because she needs his help. She's obviously not very good at ditching as she looks guilty and is only able to weakly offer up that it was a "simple consultation" and she did not want to bother him, but could he now pretty please search for "glycoproteins". Oopsie, that's one of those big words she can use around Mulder and we know Doggett doesn't handle them so well so better rephrase that as "mucus". Having him look through all the files did remind me of "Folie aux Deux" and Mulder's similar request for her to find "hiding in the light" and we know how much she enjoyed that task. Doggett, while not thrilled at being ditched does manage to crack "I don't have a great memory for mucus, but I'd be happy to look." Apparently it takes Doggett a full day to find the information but you can bet he sure as hell knows those files now. What I'd like to really know is what prompted Scully to go on this investigation alone taking pictures in the middle of nowhere, but we never learn that. Instead we just see her chastised for her actions at the end.
The last scene complete with the chastising bothered me in a couple of ways. For all the ditching that has gone on over the years in the X-Files, Scully is the only one that is made to feel bad for having done so. It makes it seem like her experience was punishment for having "screwed up". Personally, I find it in character to have Scully apologize for doing it in the first place and I like the fact that Doggett says to her what he feels about it, but I think it was the promise to never do it again that went beyond what we needed to see. I suppose that promise along with Doggett voicing his appreciation was meant to further solidify this prickly relationship, but I thought that point was pushed harder than it needed to be. Especially after we had just seen Doggett saving Scully.
Gillian Anderson is given a lot to do in "Roadrunners" as she's in practically every scene. I especially thought she brought the terror home as Scully sees someone murdered to those cries of "amen" and then realizes to her horror that she's next, screaming to protect her unborn child. I liked the indignation with which she spat out "Him? That thing in my spine is a him?" And she proves Scully's toughness as sans anesthesia she yells for Doggett to "Cut it out of me now" - we can only hope that he got out the slug and left in that chip that I'm sure was forgotten along with the tattoo. Actually, that whole scene on the bus I found incredibly tense. Even though I knew Scully logically had to be saved it got my adrenaline going watching it. Well done. The most irritating thing I can think to say about Robert Patrick is that in a season where I thought I could just concentrate on watching Gillian Anderson act he's forcing me to watch him on the screen. He's very good at letting us know so much is brewing right under the surface. I'm really enjoying watching him work.
As far as the supporting performances go, I found Lawrence Pressman as Mr. Milsap to be particularly good as he gave me the willies every time he was onscreen. I also though William O'Leary was great at playing dumb as the gas station man.
>From a technical standpoint, kudos to Production Designer Corey Kaplan and the gang for doing such a great job of creating that town. The walls full of cracks and general disrepair really added to the feel. Everything needed a coat of paint because we could see the rotting infrastructure. Nice touch. Even the old rotary phone was perfect. Makeup wise I'm not sure they could have made those holes in the back look any grosser. I have no idea why with a hole that large they did not bleed more. I clip a nail wrong on my toe and I see more blood than the slugster made going in. There was also an odd makeup moment when Doggett carries Scully into the bus - I suppose the mark on her back is supposed to represent the shadow of the bulge the creature makes, but it looks like a purple scar.
I also noticed a few editing flubs in the way this episode was put together. The editor for this one is Chris Willingham (it seems like there is now a husband and wife editing team at 1013 as he joins Lynne Willingham). The first mistake occurs after Scully hotwires her phone and you can see her set it down twice. The second is at the end where after Doggett makes that huge cut into Scully's back it is not visible the very next shot and then it reappears. However, I think the worst technical choice was the decision to loop in that terrible moan during the scene where Scully is on the bed that does not even sound like Gillian Anderson. A few times you can actually hear Gillian, but what was up with the rest of it? It has me convinced that for some reason they chose to add it in post-production and decided that any old moan would do. It was unnecessary and weird and made the whole scene over the top. All it served to do is make the audience think that when Scully does actually give birth she better sign up for the serious drugs ahead of time.
Writer Vince Gilligan has been a fan favorite for a long time, and while this outing was certainly not his best it still made for an interesting episode. I just wish that it had been tighter. If the plot is going to be about a Jesus!Slug, then I wish that we'd been privy to why the townsfolk thought that this mutant slug was the second coming. Where the heck did that thing come from and when did someone say "I know, we'll shove it in your back!"? As usual with a Gilligan episode the "monster" is really the people, but were those people really wrong? Certainly sluggo was not the second coming, but it did appear to take people over and control their demeanor. That's some sort of weird intelligence and it's dropped without investigation. I could have even used a typed field report about how Doggett's shooting it had destroyed it too much for further investigation. Something. Anything. Scully is a scientist after all. Like I've said this episode scared me. It had some good moments to it. Gillian did some good work. I just can't help but think how much better it could have been were Vince at the top of his form.
-I can't quite figure out why in the world there would be a bus stop just north of Sugarville in the middle of nowhere Utah. And why someone would even be expecting a bus to come by at 12:36AM. It certainly is not on the way to Fort Collins. I do know that much.
-Plus what was up with that checking for change, etc. with the phone when we find out later that the guy had obviously just made a call from the booth to his sister? Personally, I think it was an actor just looking for something to do and a director not stopping it.
-We've always heard the saying there is no free ride. Our friendly hitchhiker thought there was because he certainly did not pay after chewing out the bus driver. I guess he paid in the end.
-The episode title comes form the name of the bus company that services the desolation just north of Sugarville Utah. The sign reads "ROADRUNNER BUS LINES". I bet they're profitable with all that business they must get.
-Scully obviously thinks it is odd to see a bus in this locale since she becomes immediately fixated on that bus. It couldn't be just a bus driving by. She with her new found Mulder!Leaping skills or her old time Psychic!Scully sense knows it is important and tries to track that thing down.
-You know, just why was that bus out joyriding around that day? Did someone decide to head on into town to pick up some more Karo syrup? Or were they just down to the pet store for some slug food and maybe a nice slug habitrail for next time it was between spines?
-Mulder must have done a hell of a job restoring those files after that fire for Doggett to find all those occurrences over the years in the Southwest.
-That Gas Station dude really lives the high life. He's got a thriving business specializing in ice, trashed cars, and hubcaps. He apparently takes a shower every 3 weeks whether he needs it or not. (Probably just uses the old water can out back). He's got a dirty old rag to take care of any injuries. He's got a skanky couch to sit on outside and pass the day. And best of all he's got Jesus!Slug in his heart. Don't get much better than that.
-Frank's Fashion Spot: Well, at least she wore a white bra. That little number must be her official desert tank top. Which really is great for when you need to yell "I'm a Federal Agent at this moment my breasts are about to pop out of my tight, low-cut tank top. Um. I mean at this moment the FBI is searching for me." Now I just think about the old story of the FOX network execs wondering if Gillian would look good in a swimsuit and laugh.
-You know for all the jokes about Scully and unbuttoned clothes I found it amusing that as soon as Doggett gets out of the car he's buttoning up his jacket. Also while all hell is breaking loose on the bus and Scully's got a huge slug in her he takes the time to remove his jacket before crawling around under the steering column. Wouldn't want to muss it. He'll learn about X-Files dry-cleaning bills soon enough.
-It's the little things that count - a small moment played perfectly was when Scully's car suddenly conks out on her. We've all been in that situation at some point and a confused "okay" just about sums it up.
-Another nice touch was that you could actually see the gun bulge in Scully's back when she was at the gas station wanting to use a phone.
-Our Little Sailor: Vince does like to make our girl swear. This one may set an all time record. We have the "damn" for no service on the cell to get things rolling. She then tosses out a "what the hell's going on here" to Milsap as she warms up. And then the gloves are off. "I'm going to try and get us the hell out of here" quickly leads to "You son of a bitch" and "I'm going to get every last one of you bastards". We cap off the evening's swearing with a simple "get me the hell out of here."
-I can't help but wonder if part of the reason that Scully was picked for this little adventure was the fact that she was wearing a cross. That's another thing Gilligan could have played with if he'd wanted to add some depth.
-You know I suppose I should consider it a nod to the fact that she was carrying a child, but the little protective gesture to the stomach as Milsap tells Scully it is a long walk back to the road just didn't ring true to me.
-I really liked the use of a continuous shot that moves from Scully cocking her gun and propping herself up for a long night to the windows where we see the townsfolk gathering with lanterns. Plus, it led up to the cool sequence of Scully grabbing her gun with lightening speed when she hears a noise outside her door even before her eyes open. Now that's a quick draw.
-Wow, I guess there always was room in that office for another desk. Who knew?
-They can't remember things like a character getting a tattoo, but I suppose 1013 thinks it has just made continuity points by having Doggett call "Danny" for assistance.
-Manly Man Meter: You're probably sitting out there thinking he's finally done it - Doggett has to have scored a perfect 10 this time. I mean he tracks Scully down, smacks her captor, carries her around, tries to hot wire a bus, cuts a giant slug out of her and shoots it dead, and even gets after her for screwing up. However, you're forgetting one thing now aren't you? Just what was Doggett looking at to figure out Milsap had a gun in his pocket? Hmm? I'm afraid that will keep him from a perfect 10 on the scrotum scoreboard. This week's score - 9.
-I found it pretty entertaining to watch MacGyver!Scully trying to boost her cell signal by attaching wires to the antenna.
-So Scully notices this huge gaping hole on a guy's back and her first instinct is to squeeze it? Is that proper medical procedure along with shoving a pocket leatherman in it? Thank God Scully's bottomless pockets that held that tool are apparently sterile as well. -How long does it take this slug to get to your brain? If it already was in the brain of the hitchhiker than what was it doing down by the bottom of his back again? Just vacationing? It seemed to be making the trip up to Scully's head pretty quickly.
-When Scully says "now this is something that I am completely unfamiliar with" I assume she must be referring to big slug creatures as this is certainly not the first time she has dealt with parasites in people.
-How odd to see other FBI agents actually saying "good to know you" to someone on the X-Files team. Those Salt Lake agents seemed awfully nice. And to think Scully could have worked with them...
-"You're going to be so loved" guess slug brain doesn't know about the OBSSE. She already is.
Autumn
"Oh and it rains a lot here does it? Seeing as though it's basically the
desert."