Medusa (The X-Files)
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"Medusa" is the twelfth episode of the eighth season of the American
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
''. It premiered on the Fox network on . The episode was written by Frank Spotnitz and directed by
Richard Compton Richard Compton (March 2, 1938 – August 11, 2007) was an American actor, director and writer, primarily in television. Compton had small parts as an actor in film and television series, including minor roles in two episodes of ''Star Trek ...
. "Medusa" is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
. The episode received a Nielsen rating of 8.2 and was viewed by 13.8 million viewers. Overall, the episode received mixed reviews from critics. The series centers on
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
special agents Dana Scully ( Gillian Anderson) and her new partner
John Doggett FBI Special Agent John Jay Doggett is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files''. With his FBI partners Dana Scully (season 8) and Monica Reyes (season 9), they work on the X-Files together, ...
(
Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparked ...
)—following the alien abduction of her former partner,
Fox Mulder Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterrest ...
(
David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...
)—who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called
X-File In the fictional universe of the television series ''The X-Files'', an "X-File" is a case that has been deemed unsolvable or given minimal-priority status by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; these files are transferred to the X-Files unit. The ...
s. In this episode, a string of bizarre deaths in the tunnels of the Boston
subway system Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
sees Doggett join a team of professionals underground to investigate. Meanwhile, Scully has to defy the train authorities above ground, who are determined to get the trains up and running within hours. "Medusa" was allotted a "huge budget", due mostly to the fact that a replica of the Boston subway had to be recreated. Robert Patrick later called the eventual set "the biggest damned thing I'd seen in my life." Cheri Montesanto-Medcalf and Matthew Mungle, the show's make-up effect producers, used several unorthodox ingredients to create the effect of melted flesh; in addition to the use of normal prosthetic make-up, the two also used a combination of
figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
and Fruit Roll-Ups.


Plot

In
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, an undercover cop waits for the
subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
, alone. Suddenly, a suspicious man appears, jumping the fare barrier. Eventually, they both get onto a train and the police officer draws his gun as the man starts to walk towards him from behind. Suddenly, the subway comes to a screeching halt, flashes of light are seen, and the train loses power. Later, when the train is back up and running, a group of commuters board the subway car and find the undercover cop with the flesh on half his face and his left arm stripped down to the bone. Agents Scully and Doggett arrive at the operations center to investigate. However, they are rudely greeted by Deputy Chief Karras and Lieutenant Bianco of the transit police; the two eagerly want the FBI to get the job done fast so that the system can be reopened in time for the evening
rush hour A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
, and Karras is also irritated that Scully performed an autopsy on the body. Even after an autopsy, Scully has no idea what killed the man, and the
CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency, under the United S ...
is unable to find any
biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...
or
chemical agent A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...
s in the subway. Doggett and Scully are soon introduced to a strike force that will be going into the subway to investigate. The group includes Steven Melnick, a structural engineer, and Dr. Hellura Lyle, a CDC employee specializing in pathogens. Scully, however, decides the plan will work better if Doggett acts as her eyes and ears while she analyzes the situation from up in the Transit Control Center. Using cameras and microphones, she will watch and hear what is happening. After the plans are made, Doggett leads the team into the dark tunnel. While in the tunnels, Melnick gets a burn on the back of his neck suggesting a chemical leak. However, the test of the nearby puddle shows nothing dangerous: it is just salt water. Melnick mentions that the tunnels run along the harbor in some places and that they get sea water leakages from time to time. Moving ahead, the team finds an abandoned section of subway tunnel. Out of the tunnel bursts a man with his rib cage and teeth exposed who knocks Doggett down: he is the suspected robber, eaten away like the other man. His condition proves that he did not kill the man and that there may, in fact, be a contagion. While looking around, the teams discover three bodies with the same gruesome injuries, wrapped in plastic. It soon becomes clear that someone is covering up the problem in the subway. Lyle spots an unknown person running away from them in the subway and the team follows. When the group approaches the spot where the train lost power, Melnick starts crying out in pain. Visible electrical flashes start destroying the skin on his left arm. Scully tells Doggett to pour water on it, which stops the flashes. Lyle takes the badly injured Melnick to the surface and Doggett continues onward with Bianco. When Melnick returns to the surface, he seems to be getting worse, but Lyle appears healthy. Scully then sees the three bodies being taken away by non-CDC hazmat people. When Scully confronts Karras about this, he says that he is organizing it. Scully tells Karras that she has already organized the CDC to collect the bodies and accuses Karras of attempting a cover-up. Although Karras tries to deny his involvement, he eventually allows her to send the bodies to the actual CDC. Back in the tunnels, Doggett notices a green glow on Bianco in a dimly lit former subway station. As such, he refuses to allow the lieutenant to leave. Bianco runs away, forcing Doggett to give chase. He learns from Scully that Karras has gone ahead of plan and allowed the system to resume operation, despite the danger. After analyzing various water samples found at the scene, Scully meets with Dr. Kai Bowe, a
marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...
, who explains that the sample contains a unique microscopic sea creature called a medusa which are made out of calcium and are bioluminescent. However, Bowe does not know why the electrical reaction happens. When Doggett finds the wounded Bianco, he finds that his condition has gotten worse. Doggett then carries Bianco on his back and helps him continue through the tunnels. They soon encounter a boy with no signs of the luminous green substance on him. Scully realizes that sweat is causing the chemical electrical reaction since it is conductive to calcium ions. The boy does not have well developed sweat glands yet so the medusas are not affecting him. Doggett follows the boy to a major leak from the bay with the green glow on all the walls. Suddenly, an oncoming train approaches the group. Doggett uses Bianco's gun as an electrical conductor from the third rail to the electrolytic water, killing the medusas and preventing further exposure. Later, Scully comes to see Doggett in the hospital. She informs him that Bianco and Melnick are with plastic surgeons, the boy has been given to social services, and no criminal charges will be pressed against Karras since the electrical discharge from the third rail destroyed the proof of the medusas in the tunnel.


Production

"Medusa" was written by executive producer Frank Spotnitz and directed by
Richard Compton Richard Compton (March 2, 1938 – August 11, 2007) was an American actor, director and writer, primarily in television. Compton had small parts as an actor in film and television series, including minor roles in two episodes of ''Star Trek ...
. Reportedly, because of the scope of the episode, a "huge budget" was allotted for the entry. The subway set created for this episode was designed to mirror the actual Boston subway. According to co-star Robert Patrick, "They got us in there, and we did it, and they built a huge subway tunnel set on a soundstage." Patrick later described the set as "the biggest damned thing I'd ever seen in my life."Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 189. In real life, the Boston subway system is "fondly" called the T, short for the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
. In "Medusa", the "T", was changed to an "M" "for fictional purposes". Cheri Montesanto-Medcalf and Matthew Mungle, the show's make-up effect producers, used several unorthodox ingredients to create the effect of melted flesh; in addition to the use of normal prosthetic make-up, the two also used a combination of
figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
and Fruit Roll-Ups. Several of the characters in the episode were named after real-life individuals: First, the characters of Hellura Lyle and Kai Bowe were named after two Writers Guild trainees who served in ''The X-Files'' writing room. Second, the character Steven Melnick is named after the Vice President of Media Relations for
20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...
. Melnick had formerly served as the publicist for the series.


Broadcast and reception

"Medusa" first aired on Fox on February 11, 2001. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.2, meaning that it was seen by 8.2% of the nation's estimated households. The episode was viewed by 8.27 million households, and 13.8 million viewers. The episode ranked as the 41st most-watched episode for the week ending February 11. The episode subsequently debuted in the United Kingdom on the
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
on May 26, 2002. Fox promoted the episode with the tagline "Underneath the street lies the ultimate in terror." Critical reception to the episode was mostly mixed.
Television Without Pity Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarcastic criticism an ...
writer Jessica Morgan rated the episode a "B". Despite the moderate praise, however, Morgan did make a jest at the portrayal of the subway in the show, noting that it was not realistic; she wrote that the set was the "cleanest, emptiest subway station in world €¦No urine. No trash. It's nicer than my apartment, really." Robert Shearman and
Lars Pearson Lars Pearson (born 1973, in Iowa) is an American writer, high school teacher, editor, and journalist. He is the owner/publisher of Mad Norwegian Press, a publishing company specializing in reference guides to television shows including ''Buffy th ...
, in their book ''Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen'' gave the episode a mixed review and rated it two-and-a-half stars out of five. Despite writing that "on paper Medusa' isthe right episode at the right time", the two criticized the episode, noting that "the teaser never really makes sense in light of the relations offered, the appearance of the mute boy is a messy contrivance, and the ending is too abrupt."Shearman and Pearson, p. 238-39. Zack Handlen of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' rated the episode a "B−". While noting that the episode possessed "a few decent ideas, and a wasted setting", the "story never sparks". He largely blamed the episode's antagonistic organism, noting that they are not "all that memorable" and "not even all that monster-y". Despite this, he wrote positively of the show's use of Scully, arguing that, "the fun of the episode is watching Scully watch Doggett and his team … slowly work through the closed off subway tunnels, finding bodies wrapped in plastic and other mysteries beside." Paula Vitaris from '' Cinefantastique'' gave the episode a slightly negative review and rated it one-and-a-half stars out of four. Despite noting, "after episodes about butt-crawling and
vomiting Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose. Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...
, it's a relief to have one in which people die when their skin and muscles are fried away by microscopic sea creatures called medusas", Vitaris was critical of the plot, likening it to "cliche 1970's movies that featured the "obstreperous official insisting the plane must fly or the skyscraper is fire-proof, even when the potential for catastrophe is staring him in the face." Spotnitz later admitted during a
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IAmA that the episode was his least-favorite that he had written because "the concept just wasn't clear or compelling enough to sustain the hour."


Notes


Footnotes


Bibliography

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External links

* {{The X-Files episodes, 8 2001 American television episodes Television episodes set in Boston The X-Files (season 8) episodes Underground railways in fiction Television episodes written by Frank Spotnitz