Hungry

AIR DATE: November 21, 1999
Written by Vince Gilligan
Directed by Kim Manners

        So this is what Season 8 is going to be like without Scully and Mulder since they were only in "Hungry" for about 33 minutes out of the 45 minute episode. I guess Anderson and Duchnovy were so tired from doing the big two part episode that they needed a break by the third episode. How else to explain why a whole episode would be written without them in the episode except making token appearances. As I have written before, the X-Files is boring without Scully and Mulder interaction. How boring was this X-Files episode? I started flicking between X-Files and old Star Trek Voyager episode (the episode where Amelia Earhart is found alive and Janeway has her bun of steel haircut). This is the first time I can ever recall doing this during an X-Files episode. Also, it worked the few seasons where they would abandon the mythology plot line (if there even is a plot to it nowadays) and do a monster of the week episode, but now it just doesn’t cut it anymore. The writers have to learn how to work in the mythology episode with a regular monster of the week episode because it seems weird that Scully and Mulder would abandon everything to investigate a murder where the victim’s brain was eaten. Here’s a example from a well written show that knows how to wrap things up and move onto other things: on the Halloween episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer most of the episode dealt with the Scooby-Doo gang dealing with a haunted house. Briefly during the episode we see people dressed up in military clothing walk by the Scooby Gang who don’t think much about it because it’s Halloween, but we know these military people are really hunting vampires and demons and are a part of a bigger story arc. This is an ability the X-Files people obviously have lost so we get episodes such as "Hungry".

        Now very few comments on "Hungry":

-  Did that Hungry Guy at the beginning of the episode make anyone think of Carrot Top? Hungry Guy was lucky Lucky Boy had an abnormally large Drive-thru window so he didn’t get stuck trying to get through that Drive-thru window such as that football player did this past week at a Taco Bell that didn’t get his order right. Now that would have made a ten times more interesting X-Files episode. Also, this teaser showed that it was going to be a long night because right from the beginning characters were acting stupid for the sake of the plot when Hungry Guy doesn’t leave when he heard creepy sounds coming from the restaurant or even going to another Fast Food restaurant when he was told Lucky Boy was closed.

-  Fast Food restaurant managers throughout New England look on with envy at all the workers that Lucky Boy restaurant had.

-  Do these employees not wash their uniforms when everyone of them had their Friday special button in their pocket. Derwood Spinks was right, there was no reason for anyone to have their button on them if they are only supposed to wear it on Friday.

-  I only thought Derwood was what Endora called Darrin Stevens on "Bewitched". Poor kid, his parents must have been fans and thought that was his real name.

-  Is it really smart police work to let all the employees wander around outside if the police plan on questioning them. Of course this is the same police department that when it goes to arrest Rob Roberts comes blasting to his apartment building with their sirens shrieking.

-  I’m trying to not think about how that meat Rob Roberts was supposed to throw out Friday night would have stayed in that hot humid dumpster for a whole week before it was picked up.

-  Steve Kiziak isn’t a good Private Eye if he lets himself be easily spotted outside the apartment building in his bright red car. I’m surprised no one called the cops on him. I know I would.

-  How do we know they are filming in sunny California? Well, we get Mulder approaching Rob Roberts with his sleeves rolled up, no jacket and his tie loose.

-  It sure would have been nice to have actually seen the disagreement between Scully and Mulder about the case instead of the snide comments made by Mulder that Scully didn’t agree with him. Maybe the writers have forgotten how to write that Scully and Mulder banter we loved so much.

-  The growling stomach was a bit much to show Rob Roberts was about to kill someone.

-  I have to say that psychiatrist had a lot of guts to confront Rob Roberts when she knows he is the murderer and he shows her his true self. Too bad Lucky Boy didn’t send him to her earlier.

- Does Rob Roberts use Velcro to keep his ears on?

-  I loved the "Good Cop, Insane Cop" line spoken by Rob Roberts. Too bad it was wasted in a bad episode.

-  Boy, they sure do pick up trash a lot where Roberts lives. They came every day and empty the trash whereas where I live they only come once a week.

-  I’m so glad Scully and Mulder rush to call an ambulance after Mulder shot Roberts. Heck, Scully just stood there. The only one who cared was the psychiatrist. Where were the local police in all this? Didn’t they drive up with Scully and Mulder? Wouldn’t they want to be there when Scully and Mulder made the arrest? Oh wait a minute, that means it would have meant more Scully and Mulder in the episode.

        "Hungry" made me hungry for an episode with Scully and Mulder actually in the episode not just bystanders and that is all there is to say about this episode.

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

11/23/99

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