Rm9sbG93ZXJz

This isn't exactly the most timely of reviews for this blog, but resting quietly in my DVR, I still have the four episodes of The X-Files that aired after the Winter Olympics concluded. With subdued expectations, I recently sat down to watch the first of those, the awkwardly titled "Rm9sbG93ZXJz". (The internet tells me this is "Followers" in 64-bit.)

This episode was a play on technology running amok. Mulder and Scully have a bizarre dinner at a robotic sushi restaurant, and are pursued by vengeful technology after Mulder refuses to leave a tip. Self-driving taxis, robot vacuums, smart homes, drones (and drone delivery), cell phone tracking, 3D printers, and more are all brought up in this quirky episode that straddles the line between comedy and horror.

In much the same way a Darin Morgan episode is welcome for its departure from the self-serious norm of the series, I found this episode enjoyable for its departure from the usual format. (Significantly, it's one of the few episodes of the entire show written by women, Shannon Hamblin and Kristen Cloke.) Mulder and Scully are separated from each other for the bulk of the episode, each on their own misadventure with technology. Even when they're together, the dialogue in this episode is sparse, reinforcing the notion that technology is taking over everything.

There's a delightfully meta quality to this episode. While the idea of an army of drones chasing our heroes is a fantasy, most of the episode really doesn't feel like one. This isn't exactly reality turned up to a Twilight Zone level of weird; it feels like reality turned up just a notch. And yet, had this episode aired during the original 1990s run of The X-Files, everything would have been fantastical nonsense. UFO-like drones delivering packages, robots sweeping up dirt in the home, getting into a taxi without a human driver, a giant touch screen in your lap that you use to turn on your lights or TV or fireplace... from a 90s perspective, we're all living in the X-Files.

The episode was great fun, but I do wish it had had a little more courage in its convictions. The first act, set at the restaurant, is a dialogue-free affair (outside of the approving "yum" of the touch screen waiter). Mulder and Scully say nothing to each other, in an obvious commentary on how technology can separate people even when they're at a dinner table together. And while the episode goes on to be dialogue light, it is not dialogue free. The intro went much farther than was necessary to make the point and tell the joke, so far that I was disappointed when the gimmick did not in fact last for the entire episode.

Even after Mulder and Scully do begin to speak (to automated voices on the phone, and to each other when they reunite), the episode does continue with a second gimmick -- there's no one actually on screen but the two of them. It's a subtle push on the idea that the world has been overrun by technology, as the hour is nothing but Mulder, Scully, and technology. Almost. The final scene is set in a conventional diner, bustling with customers. Though I can see the "old ways can be good" conceit of the scene, I again wish the episode had stuck with an idea all the way through to the end credits and not shown us anyone else.

Still, while the episode didn't dare to be all the way unconventional, it was enough of a change (and a successfully executed one overall) that I enjoyed it. I'd give (copy-paste) "Rm9sbG93ZXJz" a B+.