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A motorcyclist attempts to illegally cross the Canadian border,
but he is chased and crashes in a ditch, where his bike explodes.
The rider cannot be found, but the FBI discovers a pouch of
rubbings among the wreckage - rubbings of symbols that are
of great significance to Dana Scully...
This
feature-length compilation (comprising the episodes Provenance
and Providence) is a long-overdue continuation of the
storyline surrounding the ancient alien spacecraft discovered
in Biogenesis at the end of Season 6. Don't expect
any definitive disclosure about the awesome implications of
this vessel (as if you were!) whose symbols have been translated
as passages from the Bible, the Koran and the Periodic Table,
but it is reassuring to see that creator Chris Carter hasn't
forgotten about this plot arc. Tantalising connections are
established between the discovery of a similar craft and the
otherworldly qualities of Scully's baby, William.
It's a shame that the American viewing public decided to turn
off because they couldn't cope with the departure of David
Duchovny as Fox Mulder. In fact, his absence doesn't mar these
episodes at all. There's plenty of engaging character interaction
between Scully (Gillian Anderson), John Doggett (Robert Patrick),
Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), the surly Deputy Director Kersh
(James Pickens Jr) and Reyes' old flame, the ambiguously motivated
Brad Follmer (Cary Elwes). There are some particularly gripping
scenes as Scully gets seriously tough when her child is endangered.
However, the continued duplicity of Assistant Director Skinner
(Mitch Pileggi) is becoming tiresomely repetitive.
Trek
fans might recognise guest actor Neal McDonough, who played
Lt. Hawk in the movie Star Trek: First Contact, in
the role of a rogue agent.
This
is a decent enough "mythology" tale. Although it doesn't provide
any real answers, it does manage to bring some existing enigmas
together rather than merely retread old ground.
As
usual, the DVD also includes a couple of brief featurettes,
in this case Brad Follmer Revealed (three minutes,
thirty seconds) and a behind-the-scenes documentary (three
minutes). I sincerely hope that Chris Carter wasn't really
making up Season 9's story arc as he went along, as the latter
featurette claims!
Richard
McGinlay
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