INVOCATION

AIR DATE: December 3, 2000
Written by David Amann
Directed by Richard Compton

        On the old TV show "Homicide: Life on the Streets" they established a powerful continuing storyline of Detective Tim Bayliss failure to solve the murder of a young girl called Adena Watson. Bayliss had her picture on his desk for years as a reminder of his failure to solve the case and it showed us the emotional toll it had taken on him. It was a storyline brought up every now and then, but it was never shoved in our face or left as a mystery why Bayliss had this picture on his desk. These things came across my mind as Doggett took out a photograph of a young boy from his wallet and when the psychic tells Doggett that Billy Underwood is getting his energy from him because he lost someone. Are we supposed to be having great debates now on who this young boy is? Why does this seem the easy way out instead on explaining who the boy is or is it totally unoriginal because now it appears Doggett had someone close to him disappear. Is this supposed to make us relate to Doggett? Well, without a full explanation of the boy it is meaningless to us so hence we really don’t care. I know I don’t care. David Amann wanted us to believe Doggett was taking this case personally and being so persistent because of this young boy. Well, they did it ten times better when it was Mulder’s sister from "Conduit" to "Paper Hearts". Just another bad idea to join in with the ultimate bad idea of Scully’s pregnancy.

        The other problem was what was the point of this episode? Did young Billy Underwood come back from the dead to get revenge on Cal Jeppy (or as I called him "Generic White Trash Male")? If this was the case why did he act evil with his brother such as almost stabbing him and acting creepy. Was he acting like this to show what happened to him and what will happen to his brother if they don’t stop Jeppy? It seemed like he was brought back more from the Pet Semetary than anywhere else. Scully just telling Doggett to let it go that sometimes you can’t explain these things felt false.

Now a few more of my comments blowing in the wind on "Invocations":

• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again I love TV parking as the mother of Billy Underwood comes to pick up her other son, Josh, she gets a stop right in front of the school. I know of a few parents that drop and pick up there kids at the new Middle School where I live who would love that type of parking.

• Hey, you are the principal of school where a kid who has been missing for ten years reappears and what do you do: you and the other teachers hang out by the swing set the kid is using instead of taking him inside or calling the cops. The teachers of that school have a good memory when they can remember who that kid is since he can’t speak.

• Who would name a German Shepherd "Sparky" and who didn’t predict that dog wouldn’t go nuts when he saw Billy Underwood?

• Shouldn't the juvenile records of Ronnie Purnell have been destroyed by now since he is an adult?

• I did like the attempt to make the actor who played Purnell 10 years older by putting a beard on him. There are just some people who you just can’t age.

• Sex + booze + trailer + clothes hanging outside + not working + not shaving + dirty yard + child murder = White Trash. Thanks X-Files for falling into stereotypes.

• Good thing Scully taped the psychic woman’s talk with Billy Underwood and she was able to get the tape deck to play it backwards. I hope she is working on what Led Zeppelin were saying backwards in their songs.

• Lucky for the X-Files they had Josh Underwood do something stupid otherwise the story couldn’t have moved forward. How else to explain Josh suddenly getting out of his father’s minivan when a man with a pony walks by and he gets out of the car to see if he can have a ride. I know kids do stupid and impulsive things, but I think that was stretching it considering it was dark outside and I doubt any kid would have the nerve to go around that horse trailer.

• Also, why did Cal Jeppy decide to go after Josh and is this the first time he’s kidnapped a child in ten years? Somehow I doubt it. Maybe he travels around the country kidnapping children and no police agent ever put two and two together.

Claudia

E-Mail: Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu

12/04/00

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