SUREKILL

AIR DATE: January 7, 2001
Written by Greg Walker
Directed by Terrence O'Hara

        "Surekill" was a decent episode compared to other episodes this season. I liked the fact they made me feel sorry for Randall Cooper who was being manipulated by everyone from his brother, Dwight, to Tammi Peyton to Carlton Chase because of his ability to see through walls. Randall Cooper realizes too late that they are using him most likely due to a low IQ (at least they make it seem as if he is slow). At first it seemed as if Randall Cooper was going to be your typical creepy pervert villain along with his jerky brother Dwight so it was a surprise they actually made me feel pity for Randall and who he got stuck with as a brother because one can’t help feeling if with a better family he wouldn’t have ended up where he did in the end. Now if this was "Homicide" or almost any other show there would have been some discussion of these facts such as how much does Cooper understand what he has done and how much should he be made responsible for these actions (i.e. murdering all those dope dealers and Carlton Chase). But this is the X-Files and this interesting aspect to the episode is subjugated to Randall Cooper’s ability to see through walls. I guess it was neater to have us go through the walls as we see how Cooper’s ability works (actually it was a neat special effect). It just would have made this episode feel smarter than a typical monster of the week episode.

        Now if they can only get back to making the villains more compelling characters than the run of the mill villains of Dwight Cooper and Tammi Peyton. I didn’t care what happened to these characters and I didn’t find Randall Cooper’s ability scary. Also, they had for plot convenience Scully getting to be old Scully on the police station roof when she mentions the shooter might have used an infra-red lense to see through the roof into the holding cell Chase was in then when the plot needed it she is back to be Mulder in explaining to Doggett that the shooter has X-Ray eyes which is why he is able to see through walls. It just didn’t ring true that she could quickly come up with this lengthy explanation to Doggett. It didn’t sound like her. Oh yeah, before I forget to mention it not enough Scully or Doggett in the episode. I kept waiting for them to get back to Scully and Doggett as that first scene in the brother’s office kept going on and on. Thinking about it now this is one of those episodes where it seems as if Scully and Doggett’s presence didn’t really matter because nothing they did wasn’t something Detectives Briscoe and Green on "Law and Order" couldn’t have done just as easily (I can see Lt. Van Buren telling them to go through Chase’s phone records to see if he called anyone). Scully figuring out Randall Cooper can see through walls didn’t really advance the investigation and it isn’t going to be used in Randall Cooper’s trial.

        A few comments on "Surekill":

• - I know Randall Cooper is supposed to be a good shot and I don’t know the physics of what happens once a bullet is shot, but somehow I don’t think a bullet fired from a pistol from a roof can travel as far as it did and hit its mark in the head as it did in tonight’s episode. Maybe he is using one of those magic bullets. I have to admit Chase being shot in a cell in front of those cops was gross and cool.

• - I think we can safely assume Doggett left the Marines a few years ago since we were told that he was in the NYPD before he joined the F.B.I.. So why would he think that just because when he was in the military and the big bulky infra-red machines they experiment with proved too cumbersome at the time doesn’t mean they didn’t improve upon them years later. Somehow I don’t think when the military started using walkie talkies they were small.

• - No wonder the Cooper brothers were such good exterminators, with Randall Cooper’s ability to see through things he knew where to look for rats and bugs. Of course, they weren’t that efficient since an old customer called up to say he still had rats.

• - Didn’t Doggett touch that bullet he lifted in Chase’s office when he put the bullet casing on his pen. At least that is what it looked like to me.

• - I always like how nowadays in Hollywood all young black drug dealers will hold their guns sideways. Also, the gang made a classic mistake when they all stood around and let themselves be shot one by one by the Coopers. I would think drug dealers would be wondering who has been killing them off if this was the third mass killing of drug dealers in 2 months.

• - I have to admit they got me with Chase’s call to Dwight Cooper’s office. I thought for sure he was calling Tammi Peyton and not Dwight Cooper. I can’t say this for the scene when Tammi Peyton gets back into her car after taking the drug money she embezzled from Dwight out of the bank and Dwight pops out of the back seat of the car or when Randall shoots his brother instead of Tammi.

• - Could Tammi Peyton be more obvious when she speeds her car to the office to get the second ledger? Then again none of the criminals or victims were that smart. Case in point, Dwight telling Randall to shoot Tammi in their office instead of somewhere else since the cops are keeping a close watch on them for the murder of Chase.

        Well, that’s about it for "Surekill". A decent episode by Season 8 standards. Any episode that doesn’t make me groan throughout is okay with me and the fact it made me feel sorry for Randall Cooper was something I didn’t expect. If only there was more Scully and Doggett and the villains had been intelligent it would have made a better episode.

Claudia

E-Mail: Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu

01/08/01

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