The X-Files: Fire Rewatch
March 8, 2020 9:03 PM - Season 1, Episode 12 - Subscribe
Phoebe Green, an ex of Mulder's from his Oxford days, asks Mulder to look into a string of deaths by spontaneous combustion.
Anyway, it's the one wot has Badger in it.
Badger??!? I'm pretty sure 71 episodes of Supernatural trumps 2 episodes of Firefly. :P
But yeah it's pretty wild to seeCrowley Mark Sheppard looking so young. Playing "spot the now-well-known actor before anybody knew who they were" is one of my favorite games to play in early seasons of X-Files. It really launched the Vancouver film industry and a lot of those random guest stars and even extras have kept on working in Vancouver ever since. Almost the entire casts of Continuum (besides the obvious William B. Davis) and Dark Matter show up in minor parts over the course of the X-Files, for instance.
posted by mstokes650 at 2:11 PM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Badger??!? I'm pretty sure 71 episodes of Supernatural trumps 2 episodes of Firefly. :P
But yeah it's pretty wild to see
posted by mstokes650 at 2:11 PM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
It is kind of strange that Phoebe never gets so much as a mention again, but then again it's not like anyone missed her. Her little "bomb scare cassette" prank was such an asshole move. The only thing I liked about her was that black evening gown of hers, which was truly stunning. We also get to see Mulder in a tuxedo for one of the very few times he wears on in the show's oeuvre, but it was kind of disappointing as his tux had a rather slouchy, unflattering cut.
Do we think that Scully's obvious dislike of Phoebe had anything to do with jealousy, or was it purely a response to Phoebe annoying the living shit out of her? (Later on Scully definitely gets territorial whenever a woman shows interest in Mulder, but this time her reaction is ambiguous.)
Also never mentioned again: Mulder's fire phobia, and his photographic memory.
That FBI arson specialist was a little too into his work.
I didn't much like the villain. He was just too over the top evil (i.e., kicking a dog, trying to teach the two young boys to smoke, setting himself on fire at the bar, leering at Lady Marsden), and he was so terrible at crime I don't know how he wasn't caught before.
Where did that portrait of Lady Marsden come from? That was just a vacation rental home.
posted by orange swan at 5:00 PM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Do we think that Scully's obvious dislike of Phoebe had anything to do with jealousy, or was it purely a response to Phoebe annoying the living shit out of her? (Later on Scully definitely gets territorial whenever a woman shows interest in Mulder, but this time her reaction is ambiguous.)
Also never mentioned again: Mulder's fire phobia, and his photographic memory.
That FBI arson specialist was a little too into his work.
I didn't much like the villain. He was just too over the top evil (i.e., kicking a dog, trying to teach the two young boys to smoke, setting himself on fire at the bar, leering at Lady Marsden), and he was so terrible at crime I don't know how he wasn't caught before.
Where did that portrait of Lady Marsden come from? That was just a vacation rental home.
posted by orange swan at 5:00 PM on March 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
What, you don't send servants ahead to mount portraits of you in your AirBnBs?
posted by tobascodagama at 5:36 PM on March 9, 2020
posted by tobascodagama at 5:36 PM on March 9, 2020
Is that what the Marsdens did? Lord Marsden indicated the portrait and said to Lady Marsden, "Oh, that looks like you!"
posted by orange swan at 5:47 PM on March 9, 2020
posted by orange swan at 5:47 PM on March 9, 2020
Oh, I also believe that it was in this episode that Mulder and Scully first employed cellphones.
posted by orange swan at 6:53 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by orange swan at 6:53 PM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's fun to track the development of cell phones from X-Files. I remember when the trend was very small cell phones the show couldn't use the newest models because they didn't show up on TV and it looked like they were just cupping their hands to their ears.
posted by Constance Mirabella at 8:10 AM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Constance Mirabella at 8:10 AM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
Don't I remember that Gillian Anderson didn't seem to be working out at this point of Season 1 and Phoebe was brought in as a just-in-case replacement? Only, Gillian Anderson worked out just fine so they dropped this and never mentioned it again?
posted by acrasis at 2:51 PM on March 10, 2020
posted by acrasis at 2:51 PM on March 10, 2020
There's one reference to that, which I dug up from the X-Files Fandom Wiki, which cited The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths and the Movies as a source. Everything else I can find just says that she was considered for a recurring role.
posted by tobascodagama at 3:25 PM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tobascodagama at 3:25 PM on March 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've been a fan of Amanda Pays since Max Headroom.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:42 PM on March 11, 2020
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:42 PM on March 11, 2020
Scully's obvious dislike of Phoebe
Column A, Column B? Pheobe comes off as a tryhard and I felt Amanda Pays was hamming it up a little too much. Also maybe using it as an opportunity to tease Mulder and make things even more awkward for him.
But yeah, rocking dress. I want to say that Mulder doesn't look as great in a tux as in his G-man suit because he isn't comfortable in these types of social situations.
In general, the high prevalence of stockings/ nylons/ pantyhose (Scully included) dates the era a bit, too.
Not sure about the portrait unless it was the 'caretaker' stalking on her and trying to play mind games or something?
The FBI arson specialist - Duncan Fraser - is super familiar. But I guess he's one of those people who's in everything. Bit weird that he started out with a vaguely 'Southern' accent and then slipped into mirroring Pays'.
Huh, young Mark Shepherd. Compared favourably with a young Jude Law, then as he aged softened and rounded instead of getting more craggy. Also the Bruce Willis hair thing.
Bit of a "gas leak" episode.
posted by porpoise at 8:09 PM on March 23, 2020
Column A, Column B? Pheobe comes off as a tryhard and I felt Amanda Pays was hamming it up a little too much. Also maybe using it as an opportunity to tease Mulder and make things even more awkward for him.
But yeah, rocking dress. I want to say that Mulder doesn't look as great in a tux as in his G-man suit because he isn't comfortable in these types of social situations.
In general, the high prevalence of stockings/ nylons/ pantyhose (Scully included) dates the era a bit, too.
Not sure about the portrait unless it was the 'caretaker' stalking on her and trying to play mind games or something?
The FBI arson specialist - Duncan Fraser - is super familiar. But I guess he's one of those people who's in everything. Bit weird that he started out with a vaguely 'Southern' accent and then slipped into mirroring Pays'.
Huh, young Mark Shepherd. Compared favourably with a young Jude Law, then as he aged softened and rounded instead of getting more craggy. Also the Bruce Willis hair thing.
Bit of a "gas leak" episode.
posted by porpoise at 8:09 PM on March 23, 2020
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Anyway, it's the one wot has Badger in it.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:21 AM on March 9, 2020 [1 favorite]