Case: A potential saboteur inside NASA, who’s methods appear to be unexplainable.
Destination: Houston, Texas
Until I watched it for this review, I had only seen ‘Space’ once. Namely, because it is a terrible episode. ‘Space’ suffers from that deadly one-two punch of boring and laughable. Mulder and Scully are asked to help investigate a potential saboteur at the NASA shuttle program. The kicker is that no one seems to know how the damage done to the shuttle could have been accomplished. Ultimately, it is revealed to be the work of a preposterous “space ghost” possessing a former astronaut who’s now in charge of the shuttle launch program.
Most of the episode feels like a love letter to the space program --- a salute to those who explore the New Frontier, seeking out new life and new civilization, and all that jazz. Mulder is the awestruck fanboy and is downright giddy when he gets to meet his boyhood hero, Col. Marcus Belt (“Didn’t you wanna get his autograph?”), and see an actual shuttle launch from mission control. I can only assume that Chris Carter was a huge NASA geek and wanted to use this episode to fulfill his boyhood fantasies by showing us extended sequences of shuttle launches and the back-and-forth with mission control. Unfortunately, it was pretty darn boring for an X-Files episode. All the technobabble (dutifully explained by Mulder) had me wishing the shuttle would just blow up already.
Worse, the monster-of-the-week is ridiculous. The first attack on Col. Belt in his room started out kind of creepy, but then came the “eerie scream” sound and the lunging “Mars face,” and I burst out laughing. The assorted depictions of the space ghost didn’t get any better from there. I was particularly underwhelmed by the face “possessing” Col. Belt. Absurd.
I’m vaguely offended that they dragged the Challenger disaster into the mix. Maybe if the story had been better, I wouldn’t have minded so much. But to suggest that what happened on that mission was the work of an evil space ghost hell bent on stopping further human exploration of space was insulting and, in my opinion, a disserve to the memory of the Challenger astronauts. I realize that, overall, the episode was trying to honor the space program and the heroism of astronauts, but I wish they had kept things purely fictional.
Quotes
Mulder (re: seeing the shuttle launch): “I have to admit I filled one of my boyhood fantasies.”
Scully: “Yeah. It ranks right up there with getting a pony and learning how to braid my own hair.”
Mulder: “Scully, we send those men up into space to unlock the doors of the universe, and we don’t even know what’s behind them.”
Final Analysis: I can appreciate Chris Carter’s desire to honor those who serve in the space program, but ‘Space’ is an awful episode. I won’t be watching this one again.
(Season 1, episode 9)
3 comments:
Thanks for this review, Jess. I know it was hard to do this one. ;) You pretty much summed up what I thought about the episode. It was a great idea, but the execution was just awful.
The X-Files is a good fit for a tribute to the space program, since both are looking for the truth that is supposedly out there. Had half the shuttle mission footage been cut, the story would have been a lot better. Had the monster actually been scary, this episode would have surely been a favorite of mine.
Actually, this episode reminds me of a (later) movie called The Astronaut's Wife. This episode should have built suspense like that movie. The movie is decidedly average, as it lacks a real plot. But the suspense alone would have sold this episode for me, as it did the movie.
You're welcome, Remco. Writing the review wasn't hard. It was re-watching the episode that was tough! :)
Guess you didn't like it, Jess? Although not my among my favourites, I didn't mind it so much. I kind of liked seeing Mulder as an awestruck fan. He's usually so contemptuous of any kind of authority that it's fun to see him bowing and scraping a bit.
Post a Comment