AIR DATE:  October 6, 1995
Written by Howard Gordon
Directed by Kim Manners

	"D.P.O." is one of the few 3rd season episodes I never got around
to make comments on for various reasons.  Needless to say it had a hard
act to follow since it followed the major arc episodes "Anasazi/The
Blessing Way/Paper Clip" and though my initial reaction way back in 1995
wasn't too favorable it doesn't seem so bad to me now though the same
problems I had with it still exist today for me.  "D.P.O." is fine as an
X-Files where we get some good Scully and Mulder interaction where they
are not quite just a part of the scenery, and there was an interesting
X-Files in Darren Oswald becoming lightning boy.  The part that brought
down "D.P.O."  was the stereotypical white trash we got portrayed in the
episode.  If there is one group that is still allowed to make fun of it is
this class of poor white Americans. Imagine if Darren Oswald had been
African-American or Hispanic we would have heard things about it, but he
was just white trash and we all know white trash are losers since they are
whites who haven't made it so it is alright to make fun of them. Here are
some examples of how Darren Oswald and those around him were 
stereotypically portrayed. 

-  Pizza Deliveryman calls him a Pinhead.

-  He hangs out in a video arcade.

- It takes place in Connerville, OK.  Could we get any closer to
Cornville, USA?? 

-  Darren Oswald works in an auto repair shop and has flunked out of
school.  I was surprised we didn't get to see the crack in his butt.

- Oswald's mother watches trashy daytime talkshows and we know it is only
white trash who watches these type of shows, right?  Also, she knocks
Oswald down every chance she gets, and there isn't a father around the
house bringing in the money so we can guess how she earns her money. 

-  Oswald's burps.

-  All he does is play pinball and drink with his friend "Zero".

-  Oswald and Zero call each other dude throughout the episode.

-  He wears the same Vandals t-shirt within 2 days, and he wears a dirty
baseball cap.

- Has the hots for a woman who has no interest in him whatsoever so of
course Oswald trys to kill her husband and kidnap her as any good white
trash person would. 

	Boy, just writing that down gets me slightly pissed off because if
the characterization of Oswald hadn't fallen into the typical white trash
stereotype this could have made for a better X-Files.  How would someone
react to this kind of power?  Emmy winner "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" 
was the next episode where we see how Clyde Bruckman dealt with his
ability though he couldn't kill anyone with it.  As it is "D.P.O." ends up
being one of those X-Files episodes that could have been better than it
was.  As I stated earlier I didn't think this episode was as bad as I
originally thought because as a story itself it wasn't bad and even though
Scully and Mulder weren't a major part of the story they still had some
good interaction.  I guess I've mellowed in the past two years so it
doesn't bug me as much, but it sure did when I first saw this epiosde.

	Now some random comments on "D.P.O.":

- I haven't seen "Sling Blade", but I have seen enough clips of it to get
the basic guise of Billy Bob Thornton's performance, and one could almost
think he got his idea for the guy in "Sling Blade" from this episode.  But
then again there is only one way to play the stereotypical white trash
person, isn't there. 

- Not only can Lightning Boy get the jukebox to play what song he wants,
but he has the ability to get it to play on Pizza Deliveryman's car radio
(well, it was an AM radio). Get this man into record promotion he can get
any record he is promoting to play on anyone's radio. 

-  For a Pizza Deliveryman he sure could afford a nice old car.

- Was the Sheriff Cigeratte Smoking Man's long lost brother? 

- It was quite funny to have Mulder let Scully hang herself with Sheriff
Teller when the Sheriff kept contradicting her with facts about lightning.
Scully looks at Mulder in the beginning as if to say isn't this where you
come in and he just walks around having a good time at Scully being the
one trying to explain their outlandish theory for once.  Of course, she
comes back to Mulder after the Sheriff leaves with "Feel Free to jump in
whenever you want to".  This is the kind of interaction that has always
worked well on the X-Files.

- I never noticed until now that Scully had her shades hanging from her
blouse when she was talking with Zero in the video arcade.  For some
reason this seems so unScully.  Also, notice once again it is Scully who
takes the lead in the interview while Mulder goes wandering around the
video arcade.  Even the Sheriff seems to think she is the primary on the
case because it is always Scully he talks to.

- I have to admit the scene where Oswald is fooling around with the
traffic lights trying to create traffic accidents was hilarious.  This is
the kind of thing a teenager would think of doing if they had the power to
mess with electricity.  My favorite line was Oswald going when two cars
just miss each other, "Damn, ABS brakes."

- We get one of those classic tv conveniences when Mulder finds a picture
of Sharon Kiveat in one of Oswald's porno magazines.  I won't even get
into the fact Mulder decides to zero in on the porno magazine while Scully
goes right to business and looks for Oswald's sneakers.

- Could someone explain to me how Sharon Kiveat's testimony would keep
Oswald in jail?  All he supposedly said to her was that he had special
powers, but he never told her that he actually killed those people.  I
don't think it would be too hard for him to even post bail if he even got
indicted, that is if it even made it to a grand jury.  They just didn't
have any real physical proof other than a little piece of a shoe.  The
only thing they have on him is he tried to kidnap Kiveat which isn't that
strong.  Oh well, since they decided not kill him off they had to do the
usual X-Files where we see the villian in jail. 

- Wouldn't it have been better if Mulder had told the nurse on the first
floor to have security not allow anyone in the building.

- I do remember when this was first broadcast there was a bit of
discussion about whether Scully should have shot Oswald.  Watching it
again I think Scully made the right move even though she knew Oswald could
hurt her, she isn't the kind of person to shoot someone in cold blood.  I
have no doubt if he had started towards them she would have shot, but he
hadn't so she didn't have to make that ulimate decision.  Somehow I think
Scully would have been really bothered for the rest of her life if she
shot him.

- I did like how neither Scully or Mulder bother to go to the Sheriff's
body at the end of the episode after Oswald zapped him. 

	"D.P.O." was a decent X-Files episode that was brought down by the
stereotypical portrait of white trash.  Considering it did come after a
major conspiracy arc and before one of the best X-Files episodes, "Clyde
Bruckman's Final Repose" it isn't that bad and I don't hate it as much as
I did after I first saw it. 



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

6/29/97

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