"The X Files" Talitha Cumi (1996)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

R.W. Goodwin

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Chris Carter (teleplay)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

17 May 1996 (Season 3, Episode 24)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

When the victims of a fast food restaurant shootout are miraculously healed and the healer vanishes without a trace...

Plot Keywords:

FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files | Conspiracy

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Peter Donat	...	William Mulder
Jerry Hardin	...	Deep Throat
Roy Thinnes	...	Jeremiah Smith
Brian Thompson	...	Alien Bounty Hunter
Angelo Vacco	...	Doorman
Steven Williams	...	Mr. X
Hrothgar Mathews	...	Galen Muntz
Rebecca Toolan	...	Mrs. Teena Mulder
Stephen Dimopoulos	...	Detective
John Maclaren	...	Doctor
Cam Cronin	...	Paramedic

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Another reference to Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel, "The Brothers Karamazov": the name of the fast food restaurant is "Brothers K".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the end of the episode (runtime 38:54), during Mulder's fight with Mr. X in the parking garage, you can clearly catch several glimpses of a coat or a jacket in the right edge of the frame as the camera follows their movements rapidly from side to side, obviously belonging to a crew member (likely a sound technician or a second cameraman) just barely failing to stay out of the picture as the two actors wrestle. The garage is at that point supposedly empty apart from the two fighting characters, and there is no other possible explanation.

Quotes:

The Cigarette Smoking Man: Men can never be free, because they're weak, corrupt, worthless... and restless. The people believe in authority. They've grown tired of waiting for miracle or mystery. Science is their religion - no greater explanation exists for them! They must never believe any differently if the project is to go forward.

Soundtrack:

Nobody's Going to Die

Nobody's Going To Die.

Talitha Cumi continues the great tradition of x-files myth/arc episodes. Myth/arc episodes tend to be filled with more drama, suspense and action than the stand-alone episodes, which is more to my liking. Talitha Cumi introduces the character of Jeremiah Smith, a shape-shifting alien who is against colonization. I really like this character. It's nice to see an alien who doesn't want to obliterate the human race, but has some compassion for them. When he is captured by the Cigarette Smoking Man(CSM), Jeremiah is strapped down very similar to Hannibal Lector from 'Silence of the Lambs'. I thought it to be an interesting comparison. The highlight of the episode is when CSM is interrogating Jeremiah Smith in his jail cell. As they are talking with each other, Jeremiah attempts to intimidate CSM by morphing into Bill Mulder and Deep Throat, two men that CSM was involved in murdering. Great scenes. This episode also gives the first indication as to the actual paternity of Fox Mulder when CSM and Mulder's mother are seen arguing at the Mulder's summer home. Finally, X and Mulder get into an all-out brawl in a parking garage(apparently the best place for such fights), to put an exclamation point on this episode. Talitha Cumi is an excellent end to an excellent season.