"The X Files" Talitha Cumi (1996)

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

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: Anyone who can appease a man's conscience can take his freedom away from him.

Soundtrack:

PALM

Season Three Review

*This is a review of the entire season, not the season finale.

Season Three is where The X Files really got going. Don't get me wrong, seasons one and two are certainly worthwhile, but they did have a tendency for too many average monster of the week episodes. Season 3 kicks the mythology arc into high gear with three multi-part mytharc stories, in addition to the season finale, to be concluded at the beginning of season four. The monster of the week episodes have also become more imaginative and better-written, with some excellent contributions by quality X Files writers like Howard Gordon and Vince Gilligan, and no less than three absolute masterpieces by Darin Morgan. Season 3, as usual for The X Files, doesn't really have a 'season arc' like many (most?) TV series do. The mytharc in this season is brilliantly-done, and the monster of the week episodes are very effective.

I thought the best episodes were: "Paper Clip"- all the drama, action, and intrigue you could possibly want from a mytharc episode.

"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"- featuring a stunning guest starring turn by Peter Boyle and a script that covers more of the human range of emotions and psychology in 45 minutes than most feature films manage to, all while maintaining a humorous and clever surface level make this episode possibly one of the entire series' finest.

"Nisei/731"- Nisei is the weaker of the two, but "731" is another exciting mytharc episode, as well-done as possible.

"War of the Coprophages"- while not as ambitious as some of Darin Morgan's other scripts, this is a perfect monster of the week episode, with lots of humor, so much you wouldn't notice half of it the first time around. Plus, it's about killer roaches, how rad is that?

Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"- Other X-Philes have covered this one for me. In short, however, it is an extraordinarily complex, detailed, and deep script brought to life brilliantly with extraordinary narrative structure. It's a humorous episode you can take seriously, because it works on so many levels.

"Quagmire"- Ah, finally, an unorthodox choice. This stuff has been done before, but not with quite as much panache. Mulder and Scully's respectful, intellectual romance comes to light here and we say goodbye to poor Queequeg.

"Talitha Cumi"- Lots and lots and lots of CSM. 'I believe that says it all.

This season also holds the dubious honor of including the worst episode of The X Files, bar none, in "Teso dos Bichos", but the vast majority of the rest of the episodes are so good it barely affects the final score of the season.

The cast seem to have finally fully settled into their roles, chemistry is at a peak, certainly. The visual style of the series has also fully matured, often indistinguishable from a feature film, although season 5 would introduce the widescreen format that completed the transformation.

Season 3 is where the series properly hit its stride. It's simply exhilarating television.

Avg. Score based on all episodes: 8.25/10