Memento Mori (The X-Files)
"Memento Mori" | |
---|---|
Rob Bowman | |
Written by | Chris Carter Vince Gilligan John Shiban Frank Spotnitz |
Production code | 4X15 |
Original air date | February 9, 1997 |
Running time | 44 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Memento Mori" is the fourteenth episode of the
The show centers on
"Memento Mori" was written in only two days, when previous series writer Darin Morgan did not contribute a script for the season. Discussion between the writing staff led to the "obligatory" decision to have Scully diagnosed with cancer, although the decision was not unanimous. Guest actor Lovgren portrayed multiple clones of his character using post-production techniques to merge several shots, while actor Pat Skipper had a scene cut from the final episode for time restraints, later appearing in the season finale.
Plot
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) learns that she has a cancerous tumor between her sinus and cerebrum. She initially tells only Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) of the diagnosis, and is determined to continue to work. The agents head to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to see Betsy Hagopian, a Mutual UFO Network member who was previously discovered to be suffering from similar symptoms. The agents learn that Betsy has died, yet find someone using her phone line. They trace the call to Kurt Crawford (David Lovgren), a fellow MUFON member. Crawford tells them that all but one of the MUFON members Scully previously met have died of cancer. Scully is skeptical of Mulder and Crawford's claims that a government conspiracy and her abduction are behind her illness.
Scully visits the last surviving MUFON member, Penny Northern, who is being treated for cancer at a medical centre. Meanwhile, Mulder discovers that all the abductees were childless but had been treated at a nearby fertility clinic. When Mulder is called away by Scully, an assassin, the Gray-Haired Man (
Mulder recruits
Production
The show's producers decided to give Gillian Anderson's character Dana Scully cancer early in the fourth season. Series creator Chris Carter initially discussed giving Scully's mother cancer but decided to have Scully suffer from it instead. Carter felt the move would give the show an interesting platform on which to discuss things such as faith, science, health care and a certain element of the paranormal.[2] Some of the writing staff felt that the decision was a poor one to make, citing it as "a cheap TV thing". However, Frank Spotnitz felt that, given the appearances of cancer-stricken abductees in previous episodes, it was an "obligatory" move to have Scully follow suit.[3]
The episode was written by
The episode's opening scene, featuring a camera moving slowly towards Scully in a harsh white light, was achieved by constructing a long narrow set covered in aluminium foil, which amplified the light being used and downplayed any colors. This shot was drained of color entirely, and was combined with a series of blurring and framing effects in post-production to further enhance the intended image—to create the impression of waking from a dream.[8]
A scene featuring multiple clones of the character Kurt Crawford was achieved with motion control photography, allowing actor David Lovgren to portray all of the clones—multiple takes were recorded with the actor in different positions within the scene, and by using a camera controlled by a computer to follow exactly the same motions for each take, these could be seamlessly composited together. Producer Paul Rabwin has noted that achieving these shots was difficult due to the mixture of green and blue light sources in the scene.[8]
Broadcast and reception
"Memento Mori" premiered on the
Writing for The A.V. Club, Emily VanDerWerff rated the episode an A, calling it "an occasionally beautiful, occasionally haunting, often overwritten story". She felt that the episode took the uncommon route of tying together several previously-mentioned aspects of the series' mythology, making it "easy to believe the pieces might come together at this point". However, VanDerWerff also noted that the episode's two main plot threads—Scully's cancer and Mulder's investigation—seemed "clumsily grafted" together, and did not explore the theme of living with the fear of death as well as the previous episode, "Never Again", had done.[11] Frank Spotnitz praised the episode, saying, "I think that was the best mythology episode we ever did. It's my favorite one".[5] Chris Carter has stated that he feels "Memento Mori" ranks "among the best mythology episodes of all nine seasons".[3]
This episode was submitted to the
Footnotes
- ^ a b Meisler, pp. 155–163
- ^ Meisler, p. 164
- ^ Fox.
- ^ Spotnitz, Frank (2011). "BigLight.com - The official website for Frank Spotnitz's Big Light Productions". Big Light Productions. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2012. Note: To retrieve information, click "Season 4" and navigate to "Memento Mori"
- ^ a b Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 109
- ^ a b Meisler, p. 165
- ^ Fox.
- ^ Fox.
- Fox. 1996–1997.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ a b Meisler, p. 298
- ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (January 1, 2011). ""Memento Mori"/"The Thin White Line" | The X-Files/Millennium | TV Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ Meisler, p. 296
Bibliography
- Hurwitz, Matt; Knowles, Chris (2008). The Complete X-Files. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-933784-80-9.
- Meisler, Andy (1998). I Want to Believe: The Official Guide to the X-Files Volume 3. Harper Prism. ISBN 0-06-105386-4.
External links
- "Memento Mori" at IMDb