"Fire"Written by Chris Carter.
Directed by Fred Larry Shaw.
Original Airdate: December 17, 1993
Oh boy, this good stuff! For a first season, this is really strong. There's been a few missteps, but a lot less than I would have expected. First seasons are normally about finding your feet.
One of the best things about this episode is the casting. In many cases, when 'British' characters are required to appear in American shows they cast American actors who proceed to perform with terrible approximations of the accent. Of course, British shows are guilt of doing the same thing, and from time to time terrible American accents crop up. But generic American accents are much easier to do that generic British accents.
So it's good to see actual British actors in this. Mark Sheppard makes for a compelling bad guy - maybe it's his face but I can't help but like the guy. The character he plays is total slime... but I still can't help liking him. I don't root for him or anything, but he's cool. It's a shame the character never came back.
The film tries to delve even further into Mulders past, and there's a couple of laughs to be had there, even though for the most part is is played seriously. Amanda Payes does a good job as Mulders once-upon-a-time lover, but the character is somewhat annoying. I like Pays but I don't like her character, and I'm glad she never came back as was intended.
Excellent episode, but I can't help feel my viewing was overshadowed by the knowledge of what was coming next.
