AIR DATE:  December 17, 1993
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Larry Shaw

	"Fire" is the X-Files episode where we learn Mulder actually did
have a love life at one time.  For some reason I remember when this
episode first aired there was an instant dislike of Phoebe Green and for a
good reason because Chris Carter made her so loathsome and Amanda Pays
played Phoebe as a cold-hearted person who used people for her own
advantage. It didn't help the story any by the fact there didn't seem to
be much chemistry between Phoebe and Mulder so it was hard to understand
how Phoebe could be such a charmer that she could get the moody Mulder to
fall head over heels for her in the first place.  The lack of chemistry
could be due more to Duchovny and Pays acting never really clicking with
each other, but it is still a good story overall in what it attempted to
do.

	It isn't surprising Mulder's affair with Phoebe didn't end happily
for him and we can surmise from this episode that Phoebe Green was the
first time he really fell in love.  Also, it isn't surprising Mulder would
lean toward a person like Phoebe since he was in his early 20's at the
time with his family torn apart over his sister's disappearance and he was
probably looking for someone who would give him the emotional support he
wasn't receiving at home.  The affair could help explain why Mulder
prefers pornography with Phoebe Green being the manipulative woman she is
who seems to get a kick out of making Mulder's head spin.  The first time
Mulder and Phoebe see each other in the parking garage the old feelings
start coming back to Mulder and it is hard for him to resist her.  "Fire" 
attempted to give Mulder some kind of life beyond looking for his sister
and U.F.O.'s, and as it is with Mulder it didn't end pleasantly.  We can
gather that Phoebe knows everything about Mulder's past because he fell so
deeply in love with her he thought he could trust her with his innermost
feelings.  As we see, she likes to use these things against Mulder, such
as this case dealing with people being set on fire and Mulder's own fear
of fire.  This is most likely why he distrusts people so much because of
his relationship with someone he thought he could trust, but finds out too
late that wasn't the truth.

	In the middle of all this is Scully who for the first time gets to
see Mulder in a new light.  She must have always thought Mulder was a man
who was more concerned with investigating X-Files cases instead of having
any meaningful relationship with a woman.  When she says to Mulder, "You
just keep unfolding like a flower", she really means it because this is a
side of Mulder she has never seen before, a Mulder who is totally smitten
over a woman.  It also doesn't take long for her to figure out that kind
of person Phoebe is and to see what she is doing to Mulder.  Oh yeah,
there might be a bit of jealousy in there too, but not too much.  If it
wasn't for Scully this case never would have been solved.  It is she who
does all the leg work and figures out it is Cecil L'ively behind the
killings while Phoebe and Mulder are planning a late night rendevous. Once
again it is Scully to Mulder's rescue and she is the one who takes care of
Mulder when he gets hurt.  I guess the episode says as much about their
relationship as it does about Mulder's relationship with women. 

	Now some miscellaneous comments on "Fire":

- I have to admit rewatching this episode I cracked up during the opening
teaser of the upperclass elderly gentlemen waving a lovely goodbye to his
trophy wife and his servants.  No wonder Cecil wanted to fry him, it was
so sicky sweet. 

- I wondered what X-Files case they were testifying in since 90% of their
cases end up ambiguous.  Hmm, maybe it was the Tooms case. 

- The radio dial was set to 88.1.  Well, its been a few years since I
lived near the Washington, D.C. area so either Mulder and Scully listen to
NPR where Mulder can hear potential X-Files cases or its a local college
radio station where they hear all the up and coming bands. 

- When I first watched this episode I thought the scene with Mulder and
Scully listening to the tape in the car was one of the scariest scenes
ever.  It still gets me today because I can just imagine getting in a car
and putting a tape in only to realize I'm sitting on a powderkeg.  Creepy. 

- I think we can be thankful that Agent Beatty, the Arson Specialist,
works for the F.B.I. otherwise I can see him setting off fires everywhere. 
The man sure seems to like fire way too much. 

- Phoebe sure is one bad Inspector because it appears she didn't do enough
of a background check on Bob the Caretaker such as getting a picture of
him.  Considering the Marsden family is coming over to the States to get
away from a killer you would think she would know how everyone looked who
worked on the property, or had been on the property before the Marsden
family got there.  No one wonder she is shacking up with Sir Marsden if
for anything just to keep her job. 

- Why is it psychos never bury their dead deep enough?  I guess it was a
scream for help from Cecil.

- What kind of family would let their kid spend the night in a burned out
house?  Heck, what fire department?  Well, considering the family Mulder
came from it isn't surprising though we don't know if this happened pre or
post Samantha's abduction.  Depending on when it could explain Mulder's
reaction to the event though I've always believed his father was a little
cold to Mulder even before Samantha's abduction. 

- Doesn't take Mulder long to figure what Phoebe has in mind for their
stay in a ritzy Boston hotel.  The look on Mulder's face when Scully calls
him up to tell him she's coming up is funny because Mulder didn't expect
Scully to be interrupting their little rendevous, and he knows how this is
going to look to Scully.  It doesn't help he is still confused over his
feelings toward Phoebe.  Also, the look Mulder gives the room as he enters
is one of a damn nice room to be doing certain things in.  No Motel 6 for
them. 

- I guess it is still early in their partnership because instead of Scully
saying, "It's me. Where are you" when she calls up Mulder she says, "It's
Scully.  Where are you?" 

- Boy, Mulder must really be in shape to run up 14 flights of stairs.  It
seems to have taken him only a few minutes and he was barely out of
breath.

- Mulder must have remembered those old Dick Van Dyke commercials about
what to do in case of fire when he touches the door to see how hot it is
before he goes in.  Unfortunately, he doesn't remember what Dick told us
about going on your hands and knees when there is smoke, since smoke rises
until he can't move any further because of his fear of fire. 

- What kind of fire department do they have in Massachusetts that they
would let a boy stay in a burned out house and don't evacuate the hotel
when there is a major fire in a crowded hotel.  Everyone was hanging out
in the lobby and I'm sure the fire is still going on upstairs.  Gee, you
would think in the home of the Coconut Grove fire the fire department
would be a little bit more vigilant about evacuating the hotel.  Oh well,
I guess it would hard to film the scene with Cecil as a hero while Mulder
is sitting down on the floor with an oxygen mask on if they were outside
in the chaos that was going on outside the hotel. I quite liked this scene
because while Phoebe is making sure she is in the limelight with Bob and
the Marsden's family Scully is the only one who cares how Mulder is doing. 
It summed up Phoebe's real feelings toward Mulder.  If there was any doubt
about their relationship this scene put it to rest, not that later scene
where we see Phoebe and Sir Marsden kissing on the stairs.  This scene
with them kissing I thought was unnecessary because by this point we
pretty much know the kind of person Phoebe is.

- Also, I liked how in the hotel room Mulder isn't fazed by Scully seeing
him in his briefs or even questioned who helped him undress.  It wasn't
until he comes out of the bathroom with a bathrobe on and finds Phoebe in
there that he completely covers up.  Good way to use body language to tell
Phoebe you are not getting near me again.  Notice how Phoebe dismisses
Mulder once she realizes she isn't going to get anywhere with him. 

- Coolest shot is the burned out body of the driver over the toilet seat
as he was vomiting into it.  Another classic X-Files lesson about how
dangerous bathrooms can be. 

- Funniest scene was everyone watching Mulder trying to put the fire out
on the wall with a towel.  Hey, instead of helping him or getting the hell
out of there let's duh watch him try to futively put the fire out.

- Uh oh, Mulder takes his gun out to go after Cecil so we know that only
means one thing, he is going to lose that baby and get into trouble.

- Not even Phoebe gets the privilege of calling Mulder "Fox" even though
we know they were heavily involved with each other for a long time.  I
guess it will be a cold day in hell before Scully ever gets the privilege
of calling him "Fox".

	"Fire" wasn't a classic first season episode in the same vein as
"Beyond the Sea" or "Squeeze", but it was a decent episode that tried to
explore Mulder's past love life.  It helped to explain why he likes quick
one night stands and why he is so obsessed with his work if his first real
relationship is with a woman like Phoebe.  The X-File itself was
interesting with a person supposedly having the ability to create fire,
but seeing Mulder being befuddled by a woman was the most interesting
aspect.  Until this episode I think it was difficult not to see Mulder as
a person only obsessed with finding his sister and his work.  The episode
wasn't helped by the lack of sparks between Pays and Duchovny which might
explain why we never saw Phoebe Green on the show again.  "Fire" 
definitely is an X-Files episode that missed its potential to be more than
it ended up being.  I will say this, I do like "Fire" a lot more on
rewatching it now than when I first saw it back in 1993. 

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

8/4/97

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