Hollywood A.D.
"Hollywood A.D." | |
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The X-Files episode | |
Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 19 |
Directed by | David Duchovny |
Written by | David Duchovny |
Production code | 7ABX18 |
Original air date | April 30, 2000 |
Running time | 44 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"Hollywood A.D." is the nineteenth episode of the seventh season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on April 30, 2000. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Hollywood A.D." earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.7, being watched by 12.88 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode was met with largely positive reviews, with many critics approving of the episode's humorous nature.
The show centers on
"Hollywood A.D." was written and directed by series star David Duchovny, his second writing and directing credit after the sixth season episode "The Unnatural." The episode—written with a "self-referential" tone—features myriad guest stars, including, most notably, Garry Shandling and Téa Leoni, who portray Mulder and Scully, respectively, in the episode's fictional movie. Leoni herself was also Duchovny's then-wife. The episode itself contains several in-jokes and references deliberately placed by Duchovny.
Plot
As they examine the pottery, Scully tells Mulder the story of the "Lazarus Bowl", in which the aunt of
Mulder visits O'Fallon, who admits he bought the forged gospel from Hoffman, believing it was real. Meanwhile, during Hoffman's
During their suspension, Mulder and Scully venture to Hollywood to view the production of Federman's film. It is revealed that Federman's movie will be called The Lazarus Bowl, with Garry Shandling playing Mulder and Téa Leoni playing Scully. After filming is done, Mulder and Scully attend a screening of the film with Skinner, but are disappointed with how the movie portrays them and the case. The agents leave the set holding hands, presumably on their way to dinner with the FBI credit card Skinner gave them after watching the movie, hinting at the continued romantic relationship between them.[1] As they leave, the dead who were resting underneath the film set are revived and begin to dance passionately, reinforcing a theory Mulder made earlier in the episode.
Production
Writing and filming
"Hollywood A.D." was written and directed by series co-star David Duchovny. After receiving largely positive feedback about his last creation, sixth-season episode "The Unnatural", Duchovny approached executive producer Frank Spotnitz about the possibility of writing another. Spotnitz gave him the go-ahead and was soon given a rough copy of the script. Series creator Chris Carter was very happy with the story, calling it "a smart, [...], quirky, and intelligent idea" and he later described it as "outside the norm, even for The X-Files."[3] After Carter approved the script, Duchovny also took on an active role in pre-production.[3]
There was a "considerable" amount of stunt work, choreographing, and makeup required during the production of "Hollywood A.D."
Casting
Duchovny cast several of The X-Files' technical crew in the episode: Tina M. Amedrui, the show's actual craft services woman, portrayed Tina, the craft service woman in Wayne Federman's movie. Bill Roe, the show's photography director, was cast as a vegetarian zombie.
The joke about Mulder wanting Richard Gere to be in The Lazarus Bowl stemmed from the fact that Duchovny's acting was often compared to Gere's. Duchovny explained: "We used to always have the joke on set that when they do the movie it's going to be Richard Gere and Jodie Foster [playing Mulder and Scully]. So I originally wrote the teaser for Richard Gere and Jodie Foster and I just started to think about it and you know, it's so much funnier with Garry and Téa."[7] The scene featuring the movie premiere featured several uncredited celebrity cameos, including: Minnie Driver, David Alan Grier, and Chris Carter himself.[2]
Broadcast and reception
"Hollywood A.D." first aired in the United States on April 30, 2000.
Critical reception to "Hollywood A.D." was mostly positive.
Tom Kessenich, in his book Examinations, gave the episode a relatively positive review. He wrote, "'Hollywood A.D.' was Duchovny's nudge-nudge, wink-wink writing-directing effort for this season. [...] Duchovny did not fail to deliver an episode that truly reflected his own wit and intelligence. All the while remaining true to the spirit of the show that made him famous."[17] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B+", and wrote that it "is muddled and frequently so in love with just being weird for weird’s sake that everybody forgets we need at least a little justification to pull everything together in the end."[18] He also called it "a hard episode not to love, frankly." Handlen felt that the humor and sweetness helped to make the episode a success. He also wrote that Mulder and Scully's dynamic worked towards the episode's favor.[18]
In popular culture
On the "Killer Cable Snaps" episode of the popular science
In a March 2021 interview with Emiko Tamagawa on the
Footnotes
- ^ a b Shapiro, pp. 229-240
- ^ a b c d e f g Shapiro, p. 241
- ^ a b c d Shapiro, p. 240
- ^ Kessenich, p. 81
- ^ a b c "Top drawer Files: the best stand-alone X-Files episodes". The Montreal Gazette. Postmedia Network. 24 July 2008. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ Meisler, p. 64
- ^ Carter, Chris et al. (2000). "The Truth Behind Season 7". The X-Files: The Complete Seventh Season (DVD). Fox Home Entertainment.
- Fox.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ a b Shapiro, p. 281
- ^ "BARB's multichannel top 10 programmes". barb.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2012. Note: Information is in the section titled "w/e July 17–23, 1999", listed under Sky 1
- Los Angeles, California: Fox Broadcasting Company. 2000.
- ^ Bricken, Rob (13 October 2009). "The 10 Funniest X-Files Episodes". Topless Robot. Village Voice Media. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
- ^ Morgan, Jessica. "Big Primping". Television Without Pity. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- ^ Kendzior, Sarah (30 April 2000). "The X-Files "Hollywood A.D."". 11th Hour Web Magazine. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ^ Rosell, Rich (27 July 2003). "The X-Files: The Complete Seventh Season". DigitallyObsessed. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ Silber, Kenneth (1 May 2000). "Mulder and Scully Pay X-Files Visit to 'Hollywood A.D.'". Space.com. TechMediaNetwork. Archived from the original on November 6, 2001. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ^ Kessenich, p. 131
- ^ a b Handlen, Zack (February 9, 2013). "The X-Files: "Hollywood A.D." / "Fight Club"". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
- ^ "Killer Cable Snaps". MythBusters. Season 4. Episode 19. 11 October 2006. Discovery Channel.
- ^ Tamagawa, Emiko (March 8, 2021). ""David Duchovny's New Book 'Truly Like Lightning' Started As An 'X-Files' Episode"". Here and Now (Boston). NPR. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
Bibliography
- Kessenich, Tom (2002). Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files. ISBN 1-55369-812-6.
- Meisler, Andy (2000). The End and the Beginning: The Official Guide to the X-Files Volume 5. Harper Prism. ISBN 0-06-107595-7.
- Shapiro, Marc (2000). All Things: The Official Guide to the X-Files Volume 6. Harper Prism. ISBN 0-06-107611-2.
External links
- "Hollywood A.D." at IMDb