A short discussion of today's reacquaintance of one of my favorite episodes from the second season of "The X-Files" -- Red Museum -- in relation of two elements presented. #TheXFiles201Days THE X-FILES "Red Museum" - Airdate: Friday, December 9, 1994 at 9:00pm on Fox-11. Directed by Win Phelps. Written by Chris Carter. When Wisconsin teens start staggering out of the woods with mysterious messages scrawled on their naked backs ("He Is One" / "She Is One"), Mulder and Scully head into the heart of America's cattle country. What they find --- a vegetarian religious sect, a peeping tom, a bully son of the local sheriff, a retired farmer and an old enemy playing with bioengineered cows --- is so tangled they'll have to work fast to identify the culprits before the evidence disappears. ONE OF MY FAVORITE EPISODES!!! When I watched this episode during its first run, I was as confused just like the agents...it felt like a great detective story. Almost like Agatha Christie because of all the Wisconsin characters presented. Each have their motive. And, at every peel away of these characters true reasons of their motives led Mulder and Scully to the surprise discovery I did not expect. My mindset was settled on the long history of UFOs and cattle but never really understood their connection. Also, in the 1990s, I was unaware of the genetically modified organism (GMO) issue. So, with Chris Carter's version in this episode, as shocking it was for me then, and what I know now about GMOs into our food system and later into ourselves after consumption...could we be part of that same experiment? So many social topics presented in this episode. Other than the GMO issue, there were meat-eaters vs. vegetarians, religious (and racial) divide, bullying and mental illness. And, of course, government distrust, as Chris Carter pointed out in all of the episodes so far as well as his reference to Nixon when not even an enlightened group would accept the former president as a member...but, have accepted his advisor. Again, the episode is part of the show's mythology and closing a door to Deep Throat's assassination in Season 1's season finale but with more questions left unanswered. Guest-starring Steve Eastin, Mark Rolston, Gillian Barber, Cameron Labine (brother of X-Files staple, Tyler Labine) and returning as "The Crew Cut Man" from Season 1's season finale, Lindsey Ginter. Just two more things to mention here.... (1) Did you know there was talk about having a crossover episode between the "Red Museum" episode and the CBS / David E. Kelley TV show, "Picket Fences?" Unlike a traditional crossover, the two shows would be shot with different viewpoints and one would be aired as an "X-Files" episode and the other as an episode of "Picket Fences." But, CBS decided against the crossover and both episodes created ended up becoming stand-alones. The "Picket Fences" episode intended to be part of the crossover was called "Away in the Manger" and aired the week following "Red Museum." While every reference to "Picket Fences" has been purged from "The X-Files" episode, there still are some small winks left in the "Picket Fences" episode referring to the happenings at "The X-Files," including a mention of Dr. Larson... (2) Do you remember when the Red Museum believed that the year 2012 will bring about the dawning of The New Age? In the series' finale, "The Truth," it is revealed to Mulder by the Cigarette Smoking Man that the alien colonists plan to colonize the earth on December 22nd, 2012. Despite the developments in the show's mythological plot arc, this 2012 reference is the first explicit reference to the date of the planned colonization, a date that is only finally confirmed in the series finale—both to Mulder and the audience—seven seasons later. The Truth Is Still Out There...

• published: 09 Aug 2015
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