AIR DATE:  September 23, 1994
Written by Chris Carter
Directed by Daniel Sackhelm

	"The Host" is a classic Monster of the Week (MOTW) episode where
we are introduced to one of the most memorable MOTW, Flukeman.  Along with
Flukeman the episode continues with a Scully and Mulder separated theme
and we are introduced to Mr. X.  Combine a great MOTW and a bit of the
mythology arc and it equals a great episode.  When the X-Files is really
good this is the kind of tense creepy episode we get.

	Things that made this episode work:

1)  Flukeman - What's more scarier and grosser then the thought of
something coming out of a sewer.  This touches upon our fears of what is
in sewer lines and what is crawling in all that bacteria that we could
have created.  Flukeman was no act of nature as Scully puts it, but
something we created harking back to those old Sci-Fi movies where nuclear
radiation created everything from giant ants to a colossal man.  "The
Host" starts with Dmitri, a Russian shipmate, going into the ship's sewage
system to unclog something and as he does we see a white arm come up and
drag him inside the system.  What a great opening teaser.  We don't know
what it could be and don't find out until half way through the episode
when we see Flukeman swimming in the sewerage tank.  Yuck.  Half manlike,
half fluke.  Flukeman is just what we want in a monster, it only thinks of
its own self-preservation and it's somewhat plausible that it could exist.
This is where the creepyness comes from in that Flukeman could exist out
there. An excellent MOTW that wasn't soon be forgotten.

2)  Mulder and Scully's interaction - The scene that said it all was when
they are in Scully's office at Quantico discussing the fluke Scully found
in Dmitri and Mulder starts asking how big a fluke can get and Scully just
laughs at how easy it is for them to fall into old patterns.  Patterns she
likes and obviously misses.  This comes after Mulder tells her he is
thinking of quitting the F.B.I. since he feels frustrated and further away
from the truth then ever before.  A continuation of how Mulder felt in
"Little Green Men" especially after Skinner sent him on what he believes
is a routine homicide.  Before he was depressed and going through the
motions while in "The Host" he is ready to pack it in and try to find the
truth via private means.  Scully is taken aback by Mulder suggesting he
might leave so much so that her voice quivers a little bit when she trys
to think of ways to get him to stay in the Bureau.  She isn't kidding that
she would consider it more than just a professional loss if he left
because she has come to rely on him just as much as he has on her.  The
interaction in "The Host" didn't quite have the impact between them as
"Little Green Men" did, but it did bring the story along to where it was
going in future episodes. 

	Some general comments on "The Host":

- Darin Morgan gets 2nd billing in this episode even though he doesn't
have a speaking part while the Newark Detective and the sewerage foreman
get stuck to the end titles.  If I might say, no one can play a Flukeman
like Darin Morgan.  Hey, why didn't he get nominated for best guest actor. 

- Did anyone else think that Newark Detective Norman looks like he isn't
old enough to drink?  The trying to grow a mustache bit only added to the
effect.

- Next time, Mulder, make an appointment if you don't want to embarrass
yourself in front of a bunch of F.B.I. brass.  Quite a great scene that
while Mulder still confronts Skinner about giving a no brainer assignment
he tones it down when he realizes he is making a fool of himself.  Skinner
really puts him in his place. 

- Mulder meets Scully at the same place by the reflecting pool where he
met Deep Throat a few times. 

- At least this time I remembered the autospy scene with the full view of
the open chest cavity.  The first time I watched "The Host" I was eating
popcorn and that was the last thing I ever wanted to see.  That had to be
one of the grossest things X-Files has ever shown.

- I didn't understand why the sewerage worker would have a bad taste in
his mouth if the fluke went into his back.  Oh well, who really cares
since it set up the second grossest scene in this episode when the
sewerage worker put all that toothpaste in his mouth and upchucked that
flukeworm in the shower. What a sick mind Chris Carter can have sometimes.

- You can tell how much Mulder thinks this case is a waste of his time
when he looks at his watch when he is in the hospital.  If only he had
been paying more attention to the sewerage worker's injuries he might have
been able to help him.  Of course, it didn't help that Mr. X gave him a
call right when he might have taken an interest.

- Boy, the X-Files express was really working in this episode since Mulder
was able to get between Newark, NJ and Quantico every hour or so within a
day's period.

- I liked how the scene between Skinner and Mulder was like Principal and
student with Mulder squirming in his chair while Skinner reads his field
report.  You could see Mulder waiting for Skinner's approval of his report
even though he doesn't completely trust him yet.

- The only thing that was wrong with this episode was the contrived plot
device used when they only had one U.S. Marshall driving the Flukeman to
wherever he was going.  It was hard to believe a U.S. Marshall wouldn't be
in the back of the ambulance with Flukeman.  Let's not forget the U.S. 
Marshall going into the ambulance alone to find out what happened to
Flukeman.

-  Where did Flukeman hide in the ambulance?

- Of course, this did set up one of the creepest scenes in the episode
when we see Flukeman poking his head out of one of those spotter pottys. 
Now whenever I go into a spotter potty all I can think of is Flukeman is
in there.  Just like everytime I see a sewer drain I sometimes think of
Pennywise the Dancing Clown from the book "It".

- The spotter potty cleaner truck had a real phone number on it of
277-1628.  The truck driver really did look like someone who would do a
job like this. 

- We get the classic "It's me.  Where are you?" from Scully to Mulder
which is always a warning to us that Mulder is going to get himself into
trouble. 

- Oh boy, you know Mulder really is going to get into trouble the second
he takes his gun out. 

- There is continuity problem in the final scene with Scully and Mulder
sitting by the relective pool.  First we see them talking with each other,
then they go to a long shot across the pool and while we hear Scully
talking and opening up her briefcase we don't see her or Mulder move at
all in this long shot.  It just was really weird looking since my ears
were hearing one thing while my eyes were seeing another thing.

- Favorite line from "The Host" was Scully saying to Mulder, "Nature
didn't make this thing, we did."  That's putting it mildly, Scully. 

	We don't get too many MOTW that are instant classics like "The
Host".  It had everything, a scary monster, Mulder and Scully working
together and a bit of the mythology arc with the introduction of Mr. X. It
was just an episode that worked and once again it showed why the X-Files
is still on the air today.

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

9/3/97

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