Dead Alien Baby Countdown: Update #2

The X-Files: The Complete First Season, Disc 2 (Episodes 5-8)

So I’m only on the second disc of Season 1 and I’m already falling behind my Marathon Schedule. Nevertheless, here’s an abbreviated rundown of the episodes, including the first episode I ever watched (way back in September 1993):

5. The Jersey Devil [standalone episode]: In a later season, Chris Carter did a black-and-white X-Files episode inspired by the Frankenstein story, but he first introduces the theme of the misunderstood monster here. Unfortunately, it’s hard to become emotionally invested in an episode about a female bigfoot that scavenges from Atlantic City garbage cans. Nonetheless, I find all of these early episodes at least mildly enjoyable – especially for their focus on the emerging Mulder-Scully relationship. 1.5 PB Jars

6. Shadows [standalone episode]: This is the first of many X-Files involving psychokinesis (moving things with your mind), and it’s a mildly interesting episode. Nothing to write home about. 1.5 PB Jars

7. Ghost in the Machine [standalone episode]: When an artificially-intelligent computer takes control of a building and begins killing visitors, Mulder must harness his inner John Connor. It’s a kitschy episode by today’s technological standards, but it’s a bit of a personal favorite. 2.0 PB Jars

8. Ice [standalone episode]: After seeing several commercials for “The X-Files”, I finally decided to check out a live episode on the night of November 5th, 1993. I was not disappointed (obviously). “Ice” ranks as a fan favorite on many websites, probably because of its claustrophobic setting (an isolated geological lab in Alaska), its intriguing monster (an alien parasite that increases the aggression of its host), and its atmosphere of paranoia. With everyone at risk of infection, Mulder and Scully even end up holding each other at gunpoint! Along with “Squeeze” (Ep. 4), “Ice” set the bar for future Monster-Of-The-Week eps. 3.0 PB Jars

Dead Alien Baby Tally

So I made the mistake of not keeping track of the “Dead Alien Baby Tally” on paper, and at this point it seems like more trouble than it’s worth to go back and re-watch the first 8 eps. Suffice it to say that Mulder eats his fair share of sunflower seeds during the course of the series. But rather than kill the Dead Alien Baby Tally all together, let’s reduce it to three interesting and easy-to-track categories:

Star Sightings: 3

Seth Green as a UFO freak [Ep. 2]; Felicity Huffman & Xander Berkeley as scientists trapped in the Arctic with extraterrestrial worms [Ep. 8]

Monsters Of The Week: 4

liver-eating mutant [Ep. 3]; female bigfoot [Ep. 5]; self-aware computer [Ep. 7]; extraterrestrial Arctic parasites [Ep. 8]

Dead Alien Babies: 0