"TV or not TV? That is the question."
"Wet Wired" is an interesting episode, in that it attempts to tackle a major social issue and tie it in with the A/GC thread. It succeeds nobly.
The opening sequence shows a man burying the corpse of another man. When he returns home, he sees the same man, and bludgeons him with a shovel. When he attempts to bury the man again, he's confronted by two policemen, who both look like the (twice-murdered) man. The killer snaps out of it and sees that he has, in fact, murdered his own wife.
Mulder then meets with another shadowy figure who urges him to investigate the murders. With some prompting, he agrees and convinces Scully to investigate with him. At the murderer's home, they discover lots and lots of tapes :-) and begin to review them. The discussion turns to violence on TV, with Scully taking the view that violence on TV has been proven to induce violent behavior, while Mulder debunks that theory, saying that if it were so, then the average American is just an empty vessel waiting to be filled. This sequence, culminating with a nice Mulderism ("Not even "Must See TV" could make me do that.") provides the backdrop for The X-Files commentary on violence on television.
Writer Mat Beck then skillfully weaves his web around our favorite female agent, making her visualize her worst nightmare, wherein she sees Mulder handing a report to Cancer Man in the agent's rental car. Mulder discovers that there's an unusual premium channel screening device in the cable connection leading into a second murderer's home, and instead of taking the device to the FBI lab, he takes it to The Lone Gunmen for analysis. Scully's induced paranoia then drives her to frantically search her hotel room for a listening device, and eventually to her mother's house where she can seek refuge. In a showdown worthy of the one from "Paper Clip," Scully's mother convinces Scully not to shoot Mulder, and he is left to solve the case on his own while Scully recovers from her ordeal.
This episode, which at first glance looks like a center-stage opportunity for David Duchovny to shine, is, in fact, Scully's big chance to impress the Emmy voters. Gillian Anderson absolutely sparkles as the psychotic Scully, from her search for the bug in her hotel room through her breakdown in her mother's arms when confronting Mulder. She was believable and genuine. David Duchovny was superb as Mulder, alternating between his quest for the Holy Grail (the government conspiracy) and his deep concern for his partner. His brief moment of grief, when he pulls into a parking space at the Coroner's office and leans against the steering wheel before he has to look at a body that might be Scully's said more than ten pages of soliloquy could have. In the climactic scene, Mulder confronts Mr. X after the only witnesses have been eliminated and vents his pent-up frustration and rage as I'm sure I would have, had I been in Mulder's position.
Sheila Larken turned in a wonderful performance as Mrs. Scully, culminating in that taut scene where she stands between Mulder and the gun-toting Scully just before Dana collapses under the strain. This was Ms. Larken's finest moment on The X-Files, and I hope we see more of her soon. She calls Mulder "Fox" with a genuine fondness that comes from the heart, so much so, that this anomaly doesn't irritate our ears.
Mitch Pileggi's AD Skinner, with less than 2 minutes of on-screen time, reveals a compassionate side when he tells Mulder to "muster whatever resources you have to make sure you find Scully first." His critique of Mulder's report which segues into the parallel scene between Mr. X and Cancer Man shows that there are similarities between the opposing forces, even though we'd like to think otherwise.
Steven Williams' portrayal of Mr. X was top-notch. His fierce insistence that this was Mulder's failure, followed by his cool reaction as Mulder threatened to shoot him appeared effortless. The man can speak volumes with just those piercing eyes.
Director Rob Bowman moves the story along at a brisk pace, and editor Heather MacDougall did a masterful job with several intricate scene changes. Of particular note was the scene when Scully goes to put the security chain on her motel room door when Mulder drives up after leaving The Lone Gunmen. The quick shot to Scully's fingers as she fumbles for the chain in her panic, and then back to a full panoramic view of the room was as smooth as a skating rink 2 minutes after the Zamboni has left the ice. Mark Snow's wonderful background music was once again as subtle as a shadow, proving once again that less is more in this regard.
There were a couple of minor flaws in this episode, and one of them is really gnawing at me. What made the "victims" record all those videos in the first place? It seems as though the signal from the device would have been enough. It almost looks like a plot device to give M & S a starting point for the case and eventually for Scully to be affected by the subliminal message.
The second flaw was when Mulder and Skinner were talking after Scully shot at Mulder and took off. Skinner says that "Scully fired 4 rounds at you and a civilian last night." <CLICK <==== Rewind! I counted at least 5 shots on the audio soundtrack, and it sure looked like she pulled the trigger 6 times.
These flaws weren't enough to detract all that much from my enjoyment of this episode. It had a good plot, it moved along at just the right pace, the background score was subtle yet effective, and it offered at least a surface explanation as to Mr. X's role in the shadow government's world. It addressed the issue of violence on TV without being preachy or making the assertion that their point of view was the right one. As someone who watches a lot of television, it also gave me pause to think, and that's worth something.
My Score: 9.8 out of 10.
I think I'll go read a book. Maybe "Moby Dick". :-)