The X-Files - 4.

French title: Tempus Fugit I

US Airdate: March 16, 1997

writers: CHRIS CARTER and FRANK SPOTNITZ

director: ROB BOWMAN

STARRING:

David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder

Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully

Guest Cast:

MITCH PILEGGI as A.D. Skinner

JOE SPANO as Mike Millar

TOM O'BRIEN as Corporal Frish

SCOTT BELLIS as Max Fenig

CHILTON CRANE as Sharon Graffia

BRENDAN BEISER as Agent Pendrell

GREG MICHAELS as Scott Garrett

ROBERT MOLONEY as Bruce Bearfeld

FELICIA SHULMAN as Motel Manager

RICK DOBRAN as Sargeant Armondo Gonzales

JERRY SCHRAM as Larold Rebhun

DAVID PALFFY as Dark Man

MARK WILSON as The Pilot

MAREK WIEDMAN as The Investigator

JON RAITT as The Father

THE AGENTS INVESTIGATE THE APPARENT DOWNING OF A COMMERCIAL JETLINER BY A UFO.

At the Headless Woman's Pub, waiters singing "Happy Birthday" approach Mulder and Scully's table. Scully is surprised that her partner remembered the occasion. Before the celebration continues, the agents are approached by Sharon Graffia, who identifies herself as the sister of Max Fenig (the alien abductee seen in "Fallen Angel"). Fenig was killed in an airplane crash in Upstate New York two hours earlier. It was Fenig's wish that the agents be sought out should any harm befall him.

The agents attend a Go-Team meeting assembled by the National Transportation Safety Board. Mike Millar, the man in charge of the operation, plays a tape recording of the last radio exchange between Flight 549 and air traffic control in Albany. During the recording, the pilot makes reference to an "intercept." Mulder believes is an indication the airliner was forced out of the sky. But his comments before the group are met with great skepticism.

The agents comb the crash site for possible clues. Mulder realizes there is a nine minute discrepancy between the official time of the crash and the time indicated on passengers' wrist watches. In the distance, an investigator named Garrett sprays an acid-like substance on one of the bodies, dissolving the victim's fingertips and face. A few moments later, other Go-Team members pull a survivor, Larold Rebhun, from the wreckage. Scully concludes he was exposed to extreme radiation. Mulder tells Scully that he believes Fenig was abducted from the aircraft by being sucked out of the emergency exit door. However, Go-Team members find Fenig's body amongst the debris field.

The agents interview Louis Frish, who, along with Armando Gonzales, manned the Air Force Reserve air control tower on the night of the crash. Louis claims there was no radio contact between the Air Force and the civilian plane. Later, Louis finds Gonzales' dead body inside the control tower. Several government men storm the tower. Louis avoids capture by hiding on the roof. Later, Sharon Graffia disappears from her motel room. Mulder concludes she was abducted by a UFO.

Louis Frish tells Mulder, Scully, and Millar that he, not an air traffic controller in Albany, was the last person to communicate with Flight 549. Louis explains that his commanding officer ordered him (along with Gonzales) to lie to investigators. The men saw an unidentified radar blip enter Flight 549's airspace. Moments later, there was an explosion. Mulder speculates that a third, unidentified aircraft shot down the intercept craft, but is at a loss to explain the absence of a second crash site. As the agents drive Louis away from the Go-Team's headquarters, two automobiles give chase. In an attempt to outmaneuver his pursuers, Mulder drives onto a runway. An airliner lands on the strip, narrowly missing Mulder's car. The two chase cars break off their pursuit. Later, Mike Millar encounters a UFO hovering above the crash site. He finds Sharon Graffia nearby.

Scully and Louis await a Federal Marshal at the Headless Woman's Pub. Garrett enters with a gun. Scully draws her weapon and a shoot-out ensues. Agent Pendrell, who happened to be frequenting the bar, is shot in the chest. Scully manages to shoot Garrett in the leg.

After examining a map, Mulder concludes that the second craft crashed into Great Sacandaga Lake. He scuba dives into the murky water, where he encounters twisted wreckage, and the body of a gray alien. Suddenly, a bright beam of light emanates from the surface. Mulder shields his eyes from the impossibly intense light. To Be Continued...

First and foremost, what a waste of Max! Having watched last week's repeat of "Fallen Angel", we were all pumped for Max's return. But, alas, he appears to have been zapped out of the sky by those heartless aliens. Although when Mulder found his business card, nicely covered with Max's blood, in the "dead" man's shirt pocket, I'm sure I wasn't the only one yelling "Plant!" at my TV. Seems a little too easy, why didn't the men that were cleaning up spot it? Hmmmm.

And while we're at it, why the heck didn't Mulder check behind Max's ear?! The mark he had in "Fallen Angel", the one that apparently only 3 people in the entire world have, remember that Mulder? Sheesh, shoddy writing or foreshadowing?

Another part that upset a lot of people was the crash scene. What were Mulder and Scully thinking?! Everyone else is covered from head to toe in protective clothing, especially seeing as there were copious amounts of radioactive material floating around, and these two are dressed in their cool FBI outfits! Can't cover up our expensive coats can we? There they are traipsing through contaminated water and various body parts with nothing but rubber gloves. I know it's "just" a TV show, but come on, a little reality please.

I will give credit where it's due though, the plane crash was just one of many outstanding scenes in this ep. The artistic production was once again spot on and gorgeous. It took my breath away when the camera followed Mulder and Scully up that hill then unveiled the whole horrific scene before them. And the hangar where the plane and bodies are moved to, beautiful yet chilling at the same time. From the looks of this ep especially, I can't wait to see what they put on the big screen when the movie comes out.

Another two terrific scenes were at the end, the airplane and car game of chicken and the UFO that Millar watches. How many of us were on the edge of our seats for that scene at the airport? It's a first for me, I've never seen anything like it, outstanding. And I sat in stunned silence just like Millar did when I saw the UFO hovering in the air. Beautiful production there, it's nice to have that "I want to believe" feeling again.

Speaking of Millar, wasn't Joe Spano great? One of the best guest stars they've had, IMHO. I loved him on "Hill Street Blues". In this appearance, he seemed to be the voice of reason, the stablizing force, as usual. If I ever have a run in with the Bad Guys, I want Joe on my side :-)

Another interesting "Hill Street Blues" connection: Daniel J. Travanti was in a movie called "Millennium" (same name as Chris Carter's other show) and the plotline involved people coming back from the future to rescue folks doomed to crash in airplanes. Hmmm...too nitpicky or a big coincidence?

Alright, let's get to the important stuff, Scully's birthday party. Nice birthday cake there Mulder, a pink Hostess Snowball with a sparkler, sheesh! And what the heck was the deal with the gift?! An Apollo 11 keychain?! Mulder was beside himself with joy when he presented it to her, saying it reminded him of her, the 'shippers were on pins and needles, then bam, Max's sister interrupts him. Will we ever know it's significance? For what it's worth, we've debated, we've discussed, we've looked at it from various angles and here's what we've come up with:

•Some thought it was merely a recognition of her birthday and that she shared the day with the launch, but nope, she was born February 23, 1964, the launch was in July 1969.

•It's a token of Mulder's love and/or respect, possibly a favorite possession, as he was 8 years old when Apollo 11 was launched so maybe he even saw it in person, what with Mr. Mulder's connections. A rumour spread that Mulder would tell Scully that "seeing the moon changed his life, but not as much as she has". It doesn't happen in part 2 of this story, "Max", so it sounds like merely a rumour for now. Doesn't matter, we all know he loves her ;-)

•Some female voices on the net agreed it was merely a typical "guy thing" and he bought her something he would enjoy. Well, that's what you get for giving us all those "Superstars of the Superbowl" videos :-) (Mulder bought Scully this video in "One Breath" after her return from a coma, how sensitive can ya get?)

•In his defense, I liked the idea that the Apollo 11 launch was a shared reference for them. After all, she did seem pleased with it, she smiled and said "I'm touched" right? But was that a sarcastic tone? So many questions!

•Was it maybe a symbol of their search for the truth, similar to the Apollo 11's search for the moon? Their journey together? Interesting connection with "Memento Mori" and Scully's Cancer Journals, where she tells Mulder to "forgive me for not making the rest of the journey with you." Without saying so, is he acknowledging her cancer and his support of her? She also said in "Never Again" that she felt they were going in circles, "two steps forward and three steps back." Hmmmm..."one small step for mankind"? And who says we aren't the best nitpickers online? :-)

•Hey, I know, maybe Mulder's a fan of the TV show "Battlestar Galactia"! Scully's nickname *is* Starbuck and that name as well as Apollo were used on the show! Naaa, maybe not. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I've lost the name of the person who posted this theory on the newsgroup.

•All kidding aside, do yourself a favour and have a look at this Apollo 11 website, it's a fascinating journey on its own.

The best reference we could come up with for Max's alias, Paul Gidney, was the cartoon "Rocky and Bullwinkle" which has been referred to before. Gidney was the name of one of the two Moon Men characters, Cloyd was the other. Take that as you will.

Scully: "Oh promise me this isn't leading to something really embarrassing."

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Scully: "Mulder, you have *never* remembered my birthday in the four years I've known you."

Mulder: "That's how I like to celebrate them, every four years. It's like dog years that way."

Scully: "Dog years... thank you."

Mulder: "You're welcome. Oh, I got something for you." (pulls out small box)

Scully: "Oh, you've *got* to be kidding me."

Mulder: "This is something that reminded me of you."

Scully: "What, an alien implant?"

Mulder: "Two, actually. I made 'em into earrings."

Scully: (she opens the jewellry-size box, sees the keychain, whispers to herself) "Apollo 11."

Mulder: "Read the back."

Scully: "Commemorating Apollo 11 and the Mission to the Moon. July 1969. I'm touched."

Mulder: "It's, uh..." (Sharon interrupts)

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After Mulder spouts off alien abduction theories to a room full of strangers

Scully: "You sure know how to make a girl feel special on her birthday."

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Millar: "If we find any evidence of Mr Spock's phaser or green goo, we'll let you know"

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Mulder: (to Scully) "Do you remember the last time you were missing nine minutes?" (refers to The Pilot Episode)

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Frisch: "What are you looking for?"

Mulder: "About 9 minutes."

Scully: "We've had a long trip."

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