While the 2016 revival of The X-Files may have been hit or miss in terms of recapturing the magic of the original series, critics and fans were united in their love of this installment, which Ä no surprise here Ä was written and directed by longtime fan favorite Darin Morgan, the man behind four other episodes on this list. Mulder was in a bit of a funk from examining old files, realizing just how many past cases involved him steadfastly believing they revolved around "monsters," only for them to be complete hoaxes. It couldn't be worse timing for him, then, when a body was found in Oregon with its throat ripped open and witnesses were placing blame on some sort of strange creature.

After arriving on the scene, Mulder and Scully promptly met up with local animal control officer Pasha Ä played by longtime X-Files superfan Kumail Nanjiani Ä and, in short order, they crossed paths with Guy Mann (Rhys
Darby), a cell phone salesman who dressed suspiciously like Carl Kolchak and had a surprising secret that helped restore Mulder's faith in his more monster-centric investigations. Morgan adapted the script for "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" from one he'd written for Frank Spotnitz's 2005 Kolchak reboot, Night Stalker, since that series' quick cancellation kept him from ever utilizing it. It's worth mentioning that Morgan also wrote one episode for The X-Files' 11th season, titled "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat," which, in another less-than-surprising turn of events, was hailed as the best episode of that season.

Elmer
telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
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While the 2016 revival of The X-Files may have been hit or miss in terms of recapturing the magic of the original series, critics and fans were united in their love of this installment, which Ä no surprise here Ä was written
and directed by longtime fan favorite Darin Morgan, the man behind four other episodes on this list. Mulder was in a bit of a funk from examining old files, realizing just how many past cases involved him steadfastly believing they revolved around "monsters," only for them to be complete hoaxes. It couldn't be worse timing for him, then, when a body was found in Oregon with its throat ripped open and witnesses were placing blame on some sort of strange creature.

After arriving on the scene, Mulder and Scully promptly met up with local animal control officer Pasha Ä played by longtime X-Files superfan Kumail Nanjiani Ä and, in short order, they crossed paths with Guy Mann (Rhys Darby), a cell phone salesman who dressed suspiciously like Carl Kolchak and had a surprising secret that helped restore Mulder's faith in his more monster-centric investigations. Morgan adapted the script for "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" from one he'd written for Frank Spotnitz's 2005 Kolchak reboot, Night Stalker, since that series' quick cancellation kept him from ever utilizing it. It's worth mentioning that Morgan also wrote one episode for The X-Files' 11th season, titled "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat," which, in another less-than-surprising turn of events, was hailed as the best episode of that season.

Elmer
telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23

After having slogged through my rewatch of Season 9 and I Want to Believe, I FINALLY got to Season 10, which I'd never seen before. The standalone
episodes are solid, mostly unnecessary, a little forgettable, but not horrible. The My Struggle episodes are the worst episodes in the history of the show and I hate them with every fiber of my being. Absolutely loathsome trash that destroys the legacy of the show and makes absolutely no sense. But then we get Darin Morgan to save the day once again...

I've made no secret about how Darin Morgan is my favorite X-Files writer and I'd argue he was the best of them all. Mulder and Scully Meet the
Were-Monster was as good as any of the episodes he wrote during the show's original run. I love how the title is an homage to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and how the whole thing is a clever inversion of the werewolf formula; it's not only a were-lizard, but the lizard gets bitten and turns
into a human. What's more, his temptations are not about murder, but about ordinary human worries like getting a job and dreading his future. Brilliant! I LOVE Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords and he is beyond hysterical here. PERFECT casting. He sells the absurdity of the premise with such joy, charm, and enthusiasm.

I've always loved Darin Morgan's take on Mulder and Scully themselves. His version of Mulder was like a Woody Allen character, fraught with anxiety and angst about the meaning of his life, but in a way that wasn't obnoxious. His version of Scully was like Diane Keaton, an intellectual equal with a lot of witty banter and romantic underpinnings to her interactions with Mulder.

This episode is significant because, for the first time, Scully admits that she had fun working on these paranormal cases with Mulder. Even more significantly, when Mulder starts to get his mojo back and he has that hilarious back and forth with himself where he predicts what Scully will say before she has a chance to say it, she utters the sweetest line she's ever spoken in the
entire series: "Yeah, this is how I like my Mulder." That made my heart
melt. That's what the show is about to me. These characters are like old childhood friends to me. I loved the sweet and appreciative tone of this episode and I wish more episodes from the revival had this tone.

Darin Morgan's episodes always had their own internal continuity, which I loved, and that subcontinuity is maintained here. We see the stoners once again, Queequeg is referenced, there are a lot of Easter eggs that faithful viewers will pick up on, and his usual absurdist/existentialist themes are touched on for the first time in decades.

Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster is an easy 4/4 and ranks among the very best of the series. It's extremely well written, ridiculously funny, has a sweet tone, and honors the show's legacy instead of destroying it like the My Struggle episodes.

Kurt,
telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23
http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
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þ Synchronet þ Rick's BBS telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23

While the 2016 revival of The X-Files may have been hit or miss in terms of recapturing the magic of the original series, critics and fans were united in their love of this installment, which Ä no surprise here Ä was written
and directed by longtime fan favorite Darin Morgan, the man behind four other episodes on this list. Mulder was in a bit of a funk from examining old files, realizing just how many past cases involved him steadfastly believing they revolved around "monsters," only for them to be complete hoaxes. It couldn't be worse timing for him, then, when a body was found in Oregon with its throat ripped open and witnesses were placing blame on some sort of strange creature.

After arriving on the scene, Mulder and Scully promptly met up with local animal control officer Pasha Ä played by longtime X-Files superfan Kumail Nanjiani Ä and, in short order, they crossed paths with Guy Mann (Rhys Darby), a cell phone salesman who dressed suspiciously like Carl Kolchak and had a surprising secret that helped restore Mulder's faith in his more monster-centric investigations. Morgan adapted the script for "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" from one he'd written for Frank Spotnitz's 2005 Kolchak reboot, Night Stalker, since that series' quick cancellation kept him from ever utilizing it. It's worth mentioning that Morgan also wrote one episode for The X-Files' 11th season, titled "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat," which, in another less-than-surprising turn of events, was hailed as the best episode of that season.

Elmer
telnet://ricksbbs.synchro.net:23

"when you check into an establishment such as this, you expect the manager to be a peeping tom"

Clarke,
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http://ricksbbs.synchro.net:8080
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