"The X Files" Three of a Kind (1999)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Bryan Spicer

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Vince Gilligan (written by) ...

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

2 May 1999 (Season 6, Episode 20)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

The Lone Gunmen are at a defense contractors convention in Las Vegas trying to get inside information on military secrets...

Plot Keywords:

Number In Title | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder (voice)
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Phil Abrams	...	Little Fritz
John Billingsley	...	Timmy the Geek
Jeff Bowser	...	The Redheaded Geek
Tom Braidwood	...	Melvin Frohike
Kalena Coleman	...	Bus Driver
Signy Coleman	...	Susanne Modeski
Jim Fyfe	...	James 'Jimmy the Geek' Belmont
Rick Garcia	...	The News Anchor
Dean Haglund	...	Richard 'Ringo' Langly
Bruce Harwood	...	John Fitzgerald Byers
Michael McKean	...	Morris Fletcher
Brian Reddy	...	Big Fritz
Charles Rocket	...	Grant Ellis
Richard Zobel	...	Al

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The first episode in which Mulder is never seen nor heard (his voice was synthesized by the Gunmen).

Quotes:

Byers: My name is John Fitzgerald Byers. I was named after our 35th president, and I keep having this beautiful dream. In my dream, the events of November 22nd, 1963, never happened. In it, my namesake was never assassinated. Other things are different, too...

Movie Connections:

References Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas

Three of a Kind is the second of the Lone Gunmen-centric episodes, the first being Unusual Suspects. This is a great episode, and like Unusual Suspects, stars only one of the dynamic duo, this time being Scully instead of Mulder.

It opens with Byers during a voice-over, the first and only time a Lone Gunmen does a voice-over. The Lone Gunmen show that they can carry an episode. This is probably why they eventually got their own series.

I like how they revisited the Susanne Modeski story, instead of just inventing a new storyline for them. Gillian Anderson shows in this episode that she can do some comedy herself, and she doesn't just have to play the straight-man to Mulder's comedian. She is great in her portrayal of "Bimbo Scully". This is only time you'll see Scully like this, so cherish the moment.

I found it interesting that Frohike recognized Scully's laugh, since she rarely ever laughs in the X-Files. It was cool to see Scully return the favor to Michael McKean, by giving him a butt slap, referencing back to the Dreamland episodes from earlier in the season.

I also liked some of the creative shots, particularly from inside the ice machine and from the bottom of the ice bucket.

Three of a Kind has a great mixture of humor and a serious plot dealing with Susanne Modeski and political assassination. It looks like the actors had fun doing this episode, and I had fun watching it. Three of a Kind is a sweet treat for Lone Gunmen fans.