"The X Files" Arcadia (1999)

Director:

Michael W. Watkins

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Daniel Arkin (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

7 March 1999 (Season 6, Episode 15)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Scully and Mulder go undercover as husband and wife in a high-class planned community where several couples have gone missing.

Plot Keywords:

Posing As Husband And Wife | Ubermenscher | Posing As Married Couple | Mailbox | Suburbia

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tim Bagley	...	Gordy
Abraham Benrubi	...	Big Mike
Debra Christofferson	...	Pat Verlander
Juliana Donald	...	Nancy Kline
Tom Gallop	...	Win Shroeder
Marnie McPhail	...	Cami Schroeder
Roger W. Morrissey	...	Übermenscher (as Roger Morrissey)
Tom Virtue	...	Dave Klein
Peter White	...	Gene Gogolak

Runtime:

42 min | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Mulder and Scully go undercover and use the aliases Rob and Laura Petrie - the names of the characters played by Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961).

Goofs:

Continuity: In the episode "Monday", Mulder's Omega watch displays the time and the day of the week. In the episode "Arcadia" it displays the time and the date.

Quotes:

[Mulder and Scully are undercover as newlyweds]
Mulder: Can we make the honeymoon video now?

Movie Connections:

References "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961)

Living The American Dream

Arcadia is a terrific episode and one of the best from season six. It explores the question, "what if Mulder and Scully went undercover as a married couple?" The result is a bunch of cute moments between the two and a very interesting x-file as well. I like the music by Mark Snow in the very beginning. It has a light, fantasy feel to it, as if you've stepped out of the real world and into a make-believe land. And that's what The Falls at Arcadia is, a (seemingly) perfect planned community. It's funny to watch Mulder completely love pretending to be a married couple, while at the same time Scully is visibly uncomfortable. You get an idea as to what's happening in the community with the show that Big Mike is watching right before the monster attacks him. Other great Mulder and Scully moments include when Scully is looking for the Shroeder's dog and she whips out her flashlight. You can tell that Cami Shroeder is thinking, "why does she carry around a flashlight?" Another good one is when Mulder is watching the mailbox through the door but has to use the bathroom and contemplates using the OJ carton. This episode even hearkens back to season one when a way is contrived for Scully to be unable to see the monster at the end. There are plenty of humorous moments in this episode, but they don't override it to the point of becoming a strictly comical episode. I think the monster story is very strong in itself. The guest acting is very well done and the episode is very good all around. Arcadia remains one the top episodes of season six for the eighth year running.