The return of Scully and Mulder

Published 7:00 am Saturday, March 28, 2015

Aliens, the monster of the week and a string of mysterious murders will return for six more episodes and I couldn’t be more thrilled. A warning: this column has spoilers.

The X-Files was more than an overarching storyline that focused on alien abductions and the loss of Agent Fox Mulder’s kid sister.

It also had a reputation for including episodes that had little to do with that plot. Monster of the week episodes at times were better than those of the main plot.

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A favorite episode of mine is “Humbug”. It deals with a string of strange murders in a community made up of former sideshow performers.

The reason this one stands out in my mind is because it was the first to offer a comedic element.

This episode focuses on the Siamese twin of a sideshow performer capable of removing itself from its host who is dying from alcohol induced liver failure. The fact his brother is dying prompts the small Fiji Mermaid looking creature to seek another host, but ends up killing in the process.

By the end the host has locked himself in the local jail in an attempt to keep his brother contained, but dies in the night. With his brother dead the creature slithers through the window and escapes into the night.

The case comes to an end, not at the hands of Mulder and his partner Dana Scully, but in the stomach of one the freaks, Conundrum. Played by real life freak show artist Enigma, Conundrum was attacked in the night by the escape artist, but by morning is alive and well, suffering from a stomachache. Mulder and Scully ask what’s wrong with him, receiving the only line Enigma has in the episode, “Must have been something I ate.”

It was the little things like this that kept my interest in the long running series. So, I was happy to hear that after a 13-year hiatus, the show will return for at least six more episodes. I hope there’s another monster of the week story line.