Mulder is literally drawn into the world of computer gaming by a sexy sprite who puts the hooters in First-Person-Shooters!
Some X-Files are terrific, others terrible. Every once in a while, however, there's one that is SO bad, but in SUCH an endearing way, that it's truly memorable, if mostly for the wrong reasons. This "Tron"-derived silliness is just such an exercise.
It's hard to believe that "Neuromancer" author William Gibson could have generated this absurd idea of an F-P-S - or that the originator of "Harsh Realm" could have accepted it!!! I assume that most of the budget was spent on the 3-D graphics rendering, but even so - can Chris Carter really never have played "Doom"? "Duke Nukem?" Not even "Wolfenstein 3D?" Surely SOMEONE on the creative staff must have protested the lameness of this dumb shooting-gallery caricature?
The real problem with the story is not so much the phoniness of the game, but the phoniness of the "gal outdoes guy at guy stuff" plot device. That the thin plot ends with Scully in a thong carrying a machine gun is painfully stereotypical, and the idea of a mousy computer geek finding 'empowerment' in a stripper/hooker character BEGS for parody. Alas, all we get is same-o same-o testosterone ribbing. The helpless incompetence of the Lone Gunmen is also disappointing. No cheat codes? Come on!
The fun part of this is the treatment of Mr I-always-drop-my-gun Mulder. Initially portrayed as Mr Dark & Moody in early episodes, Mulder was gradually re-drawn as a grown-up geek boy, and in this episode we not only get the revelation that he plays F-P-S-es, we get to see him in gear saying: "Bring it on!"
Some X-Files are terrific, others terrible. Every once in a while, however, there's one that is SO bad, but in SUCH an endearing way, that it's truly memorable, if mostly for the wrong reasons. This "Tron"-derived silliness is just such an exercise.
It's hard to believe that "Neuromancer" author William Gibson could have generated this absurd idea of an F-P-S - or that the originator of "Harsh Realm" could have accepted it!!! I assume that most of the budget was spent on the 3-D graphics rendering, but even so - can Chris Carter really never have played "Doom"? "Duke Nukem?" Not even "Wolfenstein 3D?" Surely SOMEONE on the creative staff must have protested the lameness of this dumb shooting-gallery caricature?
The real problem with the story is not so much the phoniness of the game, but the phoniness of the "gal outdoes guy at guy stuff" plot device. That the thin plot ends with Scully in a thong carrying a machine gun is painfully stereotypical, and the idea of a mousy computer geek finding 'empowerment' in a stripper/hooker character BEGS for parody. Alas, all we get is same-o same-o testosterone ribbing. The helpless incompetence of the Lone Gunmen is also disappointing. No cheat codes? Come on!
The fun part of this is the treatment of Mr I-always-drop-my-gun Mulder. Initially portrayed as Mr Dark & Moody in early episodes, Mulder was gradually re-drawn as a grown-up geek boy, and in this episode we not only get the revelation that he plays F-P-S-es, we get to see him in gear saying: "Bring it on!"