Deep Throat

You know, this was never one of my very favourite episodes, and I don't know why. Sometimes it just feels like and ep I need to get through, to get to the next ones. There's nothing wrong with it. I guess now that we know the whole story, I don't feel like I need to watch an episode setting the story up.

I do like Seth Green's hilarious appearance. And Mulder and Scully seem to be getting along really well! I think they even like working with each other, even when Scully tells Mulder straight faced that he is crazy.




In this episode, we meet Deep Throat, thus beginning Mulder's long-standing reliance on informants. I guess that's why he pretty much has to become phsycic in later seasons; how else will he solve cases? And I have a really hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Deep Throat is only alive in this season! I mean, you think of X-Files supporting characters and he's one of the first that comes to mind...



In other news, DT reminds me strongly of my father in law. I think it might be one part gruffness, and one part hair...

Anyway, I like that the episode begins with M & S meeting in a bar, with Mulder offering to buy her a drink. It's cute that she thinks 2 in the afternoon is too early to start drinking. Oh Scully, just wait until your life gets really complicated...



The camera pans past Deep Throat, and I had totally forgotten that Mulder hadn't encountered him yet (not until he's cornered by DT in the bathroom). In fact, I had actually thought maybe Mulder was meeting Scully at the bar so he could also meet with Deep Throat... but I was wrong! Very.

Also in this episode, we learn that the government is in on it, whatever 'it' is, at this point in the show. Technically we haven't established for sure that aliens even exist yet (though if they do exist, we know their experiments aren't working, and they are destroying evidence of these experiments. So says Billy Miles in the pilot). All we know is that kids are getting abducted by something/one, and that the military is flying planes with technology that is so beyond their current capabilities. And that's why the pilots are so unhealthy; their bodies and minds are not able to cope.

Some other points of interest; Mulder's phone is being tapped, though they don't really make much of it yet.
Scully makes her first Mulder-rescue (and kicks some serious ass while doing it. Scully is so in charge).
Also fun; Scully in civilian clothes that aren't plaid or denim! Cool!



Some great lines:
S: "Did you see their eyes? If I were that stoned.."
M: "Ooh, if you were that stoned what"

Classic:
M: "They're here aren't they?"
DT: "Mr. Mulder 'They' have been here for a very long time"

BSG and other fun cameos

Do you ever like to pretend that XF could somehow cross over with BSG? Like the Cylons were the aliens that were conspiring with CSM? And BSG is the aftermath?

(Am I a nerd? Wow)

Some actors/characters like to make that easy for me;

Lucy Lawless appearing both as a Super Soldier in the questionable S9 of XF, and as the powerful D'anna model in BSG.

Callum Keith Rennie as both a probably-too-sick-to-be-moving-that-quickly character in IWTB (the second X-files movie), and the cylon Leoben in BSG.



Also appears- looking a lot like Brian in Spaced, actually!- as the gross younger brother of Lula in Lazarus:

How about Bill Davis as both CSM, and a very powerful man in the BSG prequel, Caprica. Clear dealings with the devil, here. (And did you see the movie with him as president of the USA? Wow, CSM running the show for real; that was great!)

Or Lorena Gale as the high priestess Elosha in BSG, as well as... well, a number of characters on the X-Files. That alone should be suspicious! Particularly when she plays Scully's nurse.. who doesn't actually exist.. in One Breath.




And I almost forgot this guy:



Who plays a man who can set himself on fire in the episode Fire. He also plays the sketchy Romo Lampkin on BSG.

Some of my other all time favourite cameos:

Seth Green	Giovanni Ribisi	Jack Black
Terry O'Quinn	Doug Hutchison	Michael McKean!
Bruce Campbell!!	Shia LaBeouf	Garry Shandling & Tea Leoni

Fan Music

I love fanmixes! So many songs make me think of MSR, but I live in the stone age and don't really know how to make a downloadable mix. So this is what I have instead.

1. Plenty - Sarah Mclachlan
"In more than words i
Tried to tell you
The more I tried I failed"

2. So Cruel - U2
"We crossed the line
Who pushed who over?
It doesn't matter to you
It matters to me
We're cut adrift
We're still floating
I'm only hanging on
To watch you go down
My love"

3. Us Remains Impossible - Matthew Good Band
"I know you so you know me
But us remains impossible"

4. Stand Inside Your Love - Smashing Pumpkins
"Don't feel me now
I will breathe
For the both of us
Travel the world
Traverse the skies"

5. I Alone - Live
"Oh, now, we took it back too far,
Only love can save us now,
All these riddles that you burn
All come runnin' back to you"

6. Here Today Gone Tomorrow - Ramones
"Someone has to pay the price

7. Emerald - the Tea Party
"Did they try to steal your soul?
Did they hurt you with deceit?
Can't you come in from the cold?
Be still my emerald
I'll be waiting for you"

8. Full of Grace - Sarah McLachlan
"I never thought I could feel so low,
And oh darkness I feel like letting go.
If all of the strength and all of the courage,
Come and lift me from this place,
I know I could love you much better than this,
Full of grace."

9. Even Better Than The Real Thing - U2
"Well my heart is where it's always been
My head is somewhere in between
Give me one more chance
Let me be your lover tonight"

10. The Boy With the Torn in His Side - the Smiths
"And after all this time
They don't want to believe us
And if they don't believe us now
Will they ever believe us ?"

11. Running Up That Hill - (I would use the Placebo version of this song, but it is originally by Kate Bush, who is also great.)
"And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places"

12. I Still Believe - Tim Capello (cheesy!)
"But I still believe
I still believe
Through the pain
And through the grief"

13. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? - U2
"You're a piece of glass left in a beach
Well, you tell me things I know you're not supposed to
Then you leave me just out of reach"

14. Requiem - the Tea Party
"And you begged on bended knee
Still they let you down
Say it comes to this
All the things you'd miss
A requiem won't change your fate"

15. Last Dance - Sarah Mclachlan
instrumental


I think I tend to use 90s songs more; they are more appropriate, and frankly, there was so much more angst in the air.

When it comes to music, it's not always so much about the specific story that the song is telling you, but sometimes more about the emotional impression it leaves on you. Sometimes both.

My top 5 shippy albums and artists:

1. Actung Baby- U2 (Surprising, yes, until you listen to it. Pure Angst. I like to approach this album like Mulder wrote it. It's more fun that way.)

2. the Distance to Here - Live (Angsty, angsty! And a bit mystical- maybe too much so?)

3. Surfacing or Fumbling Towards Ecstasy- Sarah Mclachlan (More from the unrequited-romantic-longing angle. Emphasis on longing. Hey does anyone remember that XF/Sarah Mclachlan Shipper website? Loved it. Badly.)

4. Edges of Twilight, Transmission, Interzone Mantras, or anything else by the Tea Party (I love them because they are so dramatic and emotional. They just tear you up. Beyond angst. Wow, should have been Angst Junkie instead.)

5. how about the Smiths? (it's always a good call to include the Smiths.)


My Imaginary Fanmix:

1. Plenty - Sarah Mclachlan

I looked into your eyes
They told me plenty
I already knew
You never felt a thing
So soon forgotten all that you do
In more than words i
Tried to tell you
The more I tried I failed

I would not let myself believe
That you might stray
And I would stand by you
No matter what they'd say, I would have thought I'd be with you
Until my dying day
Until my dying day

I used to think my life
Was often empty
A lonely space to fill
You hurt me more than
I ever would have imagined
You made my world stand still
And in that stillness
There was a freedom
I never felt before

I would not let myself believe
That you might stray
And I would stand by you
No matter what they'd say, I would have thought I'd be with you
Until my dying day
Until my dying day

2. So Cruel - U2

We crossed the line
Who pushed who over?
It doesn't matter to you
It matters to me
We're cut adrift
We're still floating
I'm only hanging on
To watch you go down
My love

I disappeared in you
You disappeared from me
I gave you everything you ever wanted
It wasn't what you wanted

The men who love you, you hate the most
They pass RIGHT through you like a ghost
They look for you, but your spirit is in the air
Baby, you're nowhere

Oh...love...
You say in love there are no rules
Oh...love...
Sweetheart,
You're so cruel

Desparation is a tender trap
It gets you every time
You put your lips to her lips
To stop the lie

Her skin is pale like God's only dove
Screams like an angel for your love
Then she makes you watch her from above
And you need her like a drug

Oh...love...
You say in love there are no rules
Oh...love...
Sweetheart,
You're so cruel

She wears my love like a see-through dress
Her lips say one thing
Her movements something else
Oh love, like a screaming flower
Love...dying every hour...love

You don't know if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug that takes you higher
Head in heaven, fingers in the mire

Her heart is racing, you can't keep up
The night is bleeding like a cut
Between the horses of love and lust
We are trampled underfoot

Oh...love... You say in love there are no rules
Oh...love...
Sweetheart,
You're so cruel

Oh...love...
To stay with you I'd be a fool
Sweetheart
You're so cruel

3. Us Remains Impossible - Matthew Good Band

Come on over, you'll regret it
Drive you nuts if you let it
Breathe in only 'til you get it
The waves go on and on

There's a light up there tonight
That shines a lady all year bright
it's all the same, the you and I
it's over now, I know it's sorry

I know you so you know me
But us remains impossible

Come on over, you'll regret it
Crack you up if you let it
Hang on only 'til you get it
The weight goes on and on

There's a light up there tonight
That shines a lady golden bright
I long to wait for you and I
it's over now, I know it's always

And I know you so you know me
But us remains impossible
And I know you know that I ain't me
So us remains impossible

4. Stand Inside your Love - Smashing Pumpkins

You and me
Meant to be
Immutable
Impossible
It's destiny
Pure lunacy
Incalculable
Insufferable
But for the last time
You're everything that I want and ask for
You're all that I'd dreamed

Who wouldn't be the one you love
Who wouldn't stand inside your love

Protected and the lover of
A pure soul and beautiful you
Don't understand
Don't feel me now
I will breathe
For the both of us
Travel the world
Traverse the skies
Your home is here
Within my heart
And for the first time
I feel as though I am reborn
In my mind
Recast as child and mystic sage

Who wouldn't be the one you love
Who wouldn't stand inside your love

And for the first time
I'm telling you how much I need and bleed for
Your every move and waking sound
In my time
I'll wrap my wire around your heart and your mind
You're mine forever now

Who wouldn't be the one you love and live for
Who wouldn't stand inside your love and die for
Who wouldn't be the one you love

5. I Alone - Live

It's easier not to be wise
And measure these things by your brains
I sank into Eden with you
Alone in the church by and by
I'll read to you here, save your eyes
You'll need them, your boat is at sea
Your anchor is up, you've been swept away
And the greatest of teachers won't hesitate
To leave you there, by yourself, chained to fate

I alone love you
I alone tempt you
I alone love you
Fear is not the end of this!

It's easier not to be great
And measure these things by your eyes
We long to be here by his resolve
Alone in the church by and by
To cradle the baby in space
And leave you there by yourself chained to fate

Oh, now, we took it back too far,
Only love can save us now,
All these riddles that you burn
All come runnin' back to you,
All these rhythms that you hide
Only love can save us now,
All these riddles that you burn yeah, yeah, yeah

I alone love you
I alone tempt you
I alone love you
Fear is not the end of this!

6. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow - the Ramones

Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
I love you
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
I love you
I do, I do

But I told her why we just can't make it
I want you still but just can't take it
The time has come we oughta break it
Someone has to pay the price

Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
It's over
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
It's true, it's true

And I think of times we were together
As time went on it seemed forever
But times have changed
Now things are better
Someone had to pay the price

7.Emerald - the Tea Party

Confess what you crave
A life without pain
You'd kill for the taste
But the hurt still remains

Still they don't know who you are

Just be still my emerald
I'll be waiting for you
Do exactly what your told
I'll be waiting for you

Ashamed by the threats
You pierce the embrace
Afraid and alone
In a dark lonely place

Did you alway want to be?
Did they try to steal your soul?
Did they hurt you with deceit?
Can't you come in from the cold?
Be still my emerald
I'll be waiting for you

8. Full of Grace - Sarah Mclachlan

The winter here is cold, & bitter
It's chilled us to the bone,
I haven’t seen the sun for weeks,
Too long, too far from home.
I feel just like I’m sinking,
And I claw for solid ground,
I’m pulled down by the undertow,
I never thought I could feel so low,
And oh darkness I feel like letting go.

If all the of the strength and all of the courage,
Come and lift me from this place,
I know I can love you much better than this,
Full of grace,
Full of grace,
My love.

It's better this way, I say,
Having seen this place before,
Where everything we say and do,
Hurts us all the more.
It’s just that we stayed, too long,
In the same old sickly skin,
I’m pulled down by the undertow,
I never thought I could feel so low,
And oh darkness I feel like letting go.
If all of the strength and all of the courage,
Come and lift me from this place,
I know I could love you much better than this,
Full of grace.

I know I can love you much better than this,
It’s better this way.

9. Even Better Than the Real Thing - U2

Give me one more chance
And you'll be satisfied
Give me two more chances
You won't be denied

Well my heart is where it's always been
My head is somewhere in between
Give me one more chance
Let me be your lover tonight

(Check it out)

You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing
Child...

Give me one last chance
And I'm gonna make you sing
Give me half a chance
To ride on the waves that you bring

You're honey child to a swarm of bees
Gonna blow right through you like a breeze
Give me one last dance
We'll slide down the surface of things

You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing
Child...

We're free to fly the crimson sky
The sun won't melt our wings tonight

Oh now...here she comes

Take me higher
Take me higher
You take me higher
You take me higher

You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing
Even better than the real thing
Even better than the real thing

10. The Boy with the Thorn In His Side - the Smiths

The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A murderous desire for love
How can they look into my eyes
And still they don't believe me ?
How can they hear me say those words
Still they don't believe me ?
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me ?
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever, they ever, believe me ?
Oh ...

The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A plundering desire for love
How can they see the Love in our eyes
And still they don't believe us ?

And when you want to Live
How do you start ?
Where do you go ?
Who do you need to know ?

11. Running Up That Hill - (I would use the Placebo version of this song, but it is originally by Kate Bush, who is also great.)

It doesn't hurt me.
You wanna feel how it feels?
You wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
You wanna hear about the deal I'm making?
You *be running up that hill*
You and me *be running up that hill*

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
If I only could, oh...

You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder.
There is thunder in our hearts, baby.
So much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?

You, *be running up that hill*
You and me, *be running up that hill*
You and me won't be unhappy.

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building,
If I only could, oh...

'C'mon, baby, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let me steal this moment from you now.
C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let's exchange the experience, oh...'

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems. x2

'If I only could, be running up that hill.' x7

12. I Still Believe - Tim Capello (cheesy!)

I've been in a cave
For forty days
Only a spark
To light my way

I wanna give out
I wanna give in
This is our crime
This is our sin

But I still believe
I still believe
Through the pain
And through the grief

Through the lies
Through the storms
Through the cries
And through the wars

Oh, I still believe

Flat on my back
Out at sea
Hopin' these waves
Don't cover me

I'm turned and tossed
Upon the waves
When the darkness comes
I feel the grave

But I still believe
I still believe
Through the cold
And through the heat

Through the rain
And through the tears
Through the crowds
And through the cheers

Oh, I still believe

I'll march this road
I'll climb this hill
Upon my knees
If I have to

I'll take my place
Upon this stage
I'll wait till the end of time
For you like everybody else

I'm out on my own
Walkin' the streets
Look at the faces
That I meet

I feel like I
Like I wanna go home
What do I feel?
What do I know?

But I still believe
Yes, I still believe
Through the shame
And through the grief

Through the heartache
Through the tears
Through the waiting
Through the years

For people like us
In places like this
We need all the hope
That we can get

Oh, I still believe

13. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses? - U2

You're dangerous 'cause you're honest
You're dangerous, you don't know what you want
Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot
For any spirit to haunt

Hey hey sha la la
Hey hey

You're an accident waiting to happen
You're a piece of glass left in a beach
Well, you tell me things I know you're not supposed to
Then you leave me just out of reach

Hey hey sha la la
Hey hey sha la la

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee?

Well you stole it 'cause I needed the cash
And you killed it 'cause I wanted revenge
Well you lied to me 'cause I asked you to
Baby, can we still be friends?

Hey hey sha la la
Hey hey sha la la

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee?

Oh, the deeper I spin
Oh, the hunter will sin for your ivory skin
Took a drive in the dirty rain
To a place where the wind calls your name
Under the trees the river laughing at you and me
Hallelujah, heavens white rose
The doors you open
I just can't close

Don't turn around, don't turn around again
Don't turn around, your gypsy heart
Don't turn around, don't turn around again
Don't turn around, and don't look back
Come on now love, don't you look back!

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who's gonna taste your salt water kisses?
Who's gonna take the place of me?

Who's gonna ride your wild horses?
Who's gonna tame the heart of thee?

14. Requiem - The Tea Party (I want so badly for someone to make a fanvid for this song)

And you say life is bitter sweet
You've tried so gracefully
But its faceless company has let you down
Say it comes to this
All the things you'd miss
A requiem won't change your fate

Lost and they set you free
Concerned by what they'd see
And you begged on bended knee
Still they let you down
Say it comes to this
All the things you'd miss
A requiem won't change your fate

It passes over you
Passes over

Say it comes to this
All the things you'd miss
A requiem won't changed your fate
It passes over you
Passes over you
Passes over
So soon
This requiem
This requiem
This requiem

15. Last Dance - Sarah Mclachlan
instrumental

Pilot

Well, the Pilot episode is fairly familiar territory for any XF fan, so even though I haven't technically started my rewatch, I'm going to get going here.

They needed to find a way to introduce the characters to us, the viewers, and to each other. Mulder is a bit of a nut, and clearly a loner. His professional history had a successful beginning, but he is now stuck in the basement doing something that he loves, but isn't very highly regarded.

Scully on the other hand is a fresh faced new agent who probably isn't too keen on her new assignment, but is still young enough that no matter what her job has to be, she's going to do it well, to make a good impression on her superiors. Maybe this is why They chose her to do the job of spying on the Mulder and 'debunk the X-files project'.

That said, did They 'Choose' her? Or maybe she's being punished for some reason? It's not totally clear, to be honest. It'll be interesting to look for indications either way. If she was selected for a specific reason, I wonder why. And if not, They must have been pretty confident that they wouldn't get caught.




And is Mulder trying to scare her away? Yeah, I do think a little bit. I think he's worked hard to cultivate the "oh there's that guy who works in the basement and believes in ET, let's stay away from him" image. I think he likes working on his own, and I think he's probably sick of people openly making fun of him, so it's not unreasonable for him to want to keep people away. It's not a paranoia thing yet; it's a different kind of self-preservation. Remember at this point, the X-Files is still just a job, and hasn't really started to ruin his life yet.

Mulder is funny, in that he approaches the case more like a fanboy than like an investigator, but Scully is taking it very seriously. Well, as seriously as she possibly can, especially after exhuming an orangutan.

And the bra scene? It was useful to establish some UST from the beginning. Already in the first episode, we have the first hug, and the first bonding moment when Mulder tells her everything about his sister. (Of course, I would file the 'laughing in the rain in the cemetery' scene under bonding as well!) And Mulder is not at the point where when Scully says he can trust her, warning bells go off! Oh how easy life was back then, when trust came so freely!





After watching, I have to say that the scene that really makes this show interesting is the final one where CSM puts the implant chip into a box full of other chips, in a large room in the Penthouse. It makes you say "Wow, there is so much more to it than this. This could be huge".

Other Ships

OK, we already know M & S are the ultimate ship; the first and the best of all time!

I am also in love with:

Bill Adama and Laura Roslin from BSG

Tim and Daisy from Spaced

Margene and Ben from Big Love (is this wrong?)

Start here.

Oh no, another XF blog?

I can't help it.

I can't believe I'm actually doing this.

But seriously, I can't help it. The show really does something to people; it really sparked our imaginations. X-Philes love to over-analyze, over-interpret, nit-pick, fantasize about, and project their own lives on this show. It's really amazing. There are so many thoughtful, insightful, creative commentaries about the show. Don't get me started on the fanart, fanfic, and fan videos.

I love this fandom! Can't I be a part of it too?

So here I am Blogosphere. Do your worst!