AIR DATE:  November 17, 1996
Written by Glen Morgan
Directed by James Wong

	The first question to ask with "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking
Man" is did we learn anything more about our favorite villain?  The answer
would be not really which isn't surprising since everything about him is a
mystery.  Also, this story could either be Frohike's version of CSM life
or CSM was reminiscing as Frohike was telling the story to Mulder and
Scully so who knows how much was the truth about his life.  The problem
with the episode was it didn't really tell us anything we didn't already
suspect or be surprised by revealing to us more about the Cigarette
Smoking Man.  He was behind the Kennedy and Martin Luther King
assassination, yawn, nothing new there or to shock us.  Okay, being behind
the USA hockey team's victory against the Soviet Union was a good one
though I have to admit if it were true it lessened the victory because it
meant the Americans had to cheat to win.

	It might have been better if they hadn't done the old Kennedy
conspiracy thing with CSM.  This has been done so much it isn't really
shocking or revealing other than his statement to Mulder way back in "One
Breath" about seeing presidents die was true.  The main problem isn't that
he was the assassin, but that we know the story so well about every little
conspiracy theory about the the assassination that they took too long to
tell us the story.  Was it really necessary to introduce us to Oswald and
show us Oswald's actions throughout the day since we know this information
already?  Instead they should have just cut to CSM doing the shooting and
moving on from there.  It is unfortunate this had to be the first part of
the episode because it really did drag the episode down.

	The episode only started livening up when they got to the King
assassination.  It is here where we get to see CSM in action.  In only 4
or so years he has moved up in the organization to be pushing J. Edger
Hoover around and basically running the operation.  This time it is he who
decides to kill someone with deep regret so much so I think we can assume
this is the last time he actually did the killing himself.  Also, we get
to see CSM receive his first rejection notice from a publisher and see
what he really wants in life is to escape what he is doing and be a hack
writer.  What was the deal with this part of the episode being in black
and white?  I understand this is usually done sometimes in flashback
episodes, but it was only used during this flashback and none of the
others and I can't quite figure out why this was decided.  Maybe the real
reason behind it is this is all the time FOX would allow them to film in
black and white since there is a real fear among tv people that if it's in
black and white people won't watch it.  I just found it curious. 

	The other interesting part was the E.B.E. killing by Deep Throat. 
I think this is where Deep Throat started to have doubts about the project
and decided to contact Mulder.  It was within a year of this happening
that he started contacting Mulder. Just one too many killings for him to
bear.  Best line came out of this when he tells CSM that he (Deep Throat) 
is the liar and he (CSM) was the killer.  Nothing more aptly describes the
two men so well.  Oh yeah, was Bill Mulder still working on the project as
late as 1991 or was that just how they referred to it.  I always got the
impression from the "Anasazi/Blessing Way/Paper Clip" trilogy that he had
been out of it for a long time.  I guess poor Bill Mulder didn't get to
enjoy his retirement for too long. 

	A few musings on the episode:

- Did anyone else think it is funny how no matter how powerful CSM is he
still can't get anything of his published because he's a terrible writer.
Here is a man who can have anyone killed, but doesn't have the power to
get himself published.  Of course, if any of his "friends" ever found out
he has been sending publishers basically what are stories about everything
he has been doing for the past 30 years, I think he would be joining Deep
Throat.  Just imagine how much his power would be diminished if it ever
got out that he couldn't get anything of his published except in a hack
magazine.  Poor Cancerman all he wanted to be was a writer.  Also, it is
funny how it was through the one story Cancerman got published that
alerted Frohike to him.

- I'm sure all you Buffalo Bill fans liked that for whatever reason CSM
doesn't like the team he is behind them losing 3 Super Bowls.  Hmm, maybe
this is the reason why the Boston Red Sox haven't won a World Series since
1918.

- What was the deal with CSM keeping the picture of baby Mulder and his
mother?  He took it out when he was outside the meeting hall where MLK was
speaking and then when he got his first rejection notice.  Could we be
seeing CSM looking at a life he never had since he never got to know his
parents and a life he longs for, but doesn't know how to get?

- Loved the spoof on "Forest Gump" with CSM talking to the bum about
chocolates on a bench such as in the movie. 

- You almost get the feeling CSM wants to be caught by Mulder and gang
since he refuses to have them killed off.  Think of all the publishers who
would be knocking on his door for his life story if he ever was caught and
not killed off.

- Loved the line "I could kill you with pleasure...but not today".  You
can feel how much he wants to say that to someone in the open and not in
the shadows just to show what he is made of to people.


	A friend of mine left a message on my answering machine about what
she thought about the episode in which she said she thought the episode
sucked big time.  Of course, this the same person who loved last week's
episode so go figure.  But I can understand why she wouldn't enjoy this
episode since nothing much happened in it that we didn't already
suspected, and it had no Scully and Mulder.  "Musings of a Cigarette
Smoking Man"  was a fine X-Files episode where it allowed William B. Davis
to show there is more to CSM than the evil side we have always seen.  In
an episode like this where it is mostly flashbacks you can't expect much
to happen other than giving the viewers more backround on the character
the flashback is centered around though I wish there was more about the
relationship between Bill Mulder and Cancerman other than they were
briefly in the same army unit.  This part I would have found really
interesting since it could have given us more information about what Bill
Mulder's job and what happened to Samantha.  Otherwise it was a good
episode about the Cigarette Smoking Man.


Claudia
E-Mail:  Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu


11/18/96

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