Shapes (The X-Files)
"Shapes" | |
---|---|
The X-Files episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 19 |
Directed by | David Nutter |
Written by | Marilyn Osborn |
Production code | 1X18 |
Original air date | April 1, 1994 |
Running time | 45 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Shapes" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on April 1, 1994. It was written by Marilyn Osborn and directed by David Nutter. It featured guest appearances by Michael Horse, Ty Miller and Donnelly Rhodes. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Shapes" earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.6, being watched by 7.2 million households in its initial broadcast; and received mixed reviews, with varied reaction to the episode's handling of the werewolf genre and of its Native American themes.
The show centers on
"Shapes" was written after executives at Fox had suggested that the series should feature a "more conventional" type of monster, and producers
Plot
FBI agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder travel to Browning, Montana, to investigate the killing of a Native American man, Joseph Goodensnake, by local rancher Jim Parker. The killing appears to be motivated by a dispute over the ownership of a tract of land, although Parker claims that he fired on a monstrous animal rather than a human. Parker's son, Lyle, bears scars that lend credence to the story.
At the scene of the shooting, Scully reasons that at the short range from which Goodensnake was shot, it would have been impossible to mistake him for an animal. However, Mulder finds tracks leading to the area that appear to change from human to something more animal in nature. Scully dismisses this but finds a large section of shed human skin nearby. She believes that the Parkers knowingly killed Goodensnake, but knows that they could not have skinned him since no signs of such injury were found on the body.
The investigation is complicated by the hostility Mulder and Scully face from the Native American population, stemming from their experience with the FBI during the 1973
Mulder tells Scully of a similar incident in the area forty years previously, which was investigated by
Ish, one of the elders of the reservation, explains to Mulder the legend of the manitou, a shape-shifter that can pass to a new host, through a bite or upon the death of the original host. Ish believes he had seen the creature in his youth but was too frightened to confront it. He says it happens every eight years to someone in the region, and that it has been that long since the last sighting of a possible manitou.
Mulder calls the
Production
"Shapes" was written after executives at the
Guest star
Much of the episode was filmed in
Broadcast and reception
"Shapes" premiered on the Fox network on April 1, 1994, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on
In a retrospective of the first season in Entertainment Weekly, the episode was rated a D+, being described as having a "garden-variety werewolf plot" that offered "nothing much to sink your teeth into".[2] Zack Handlen, writing for The A.V. Club, described the episode as "thoroughly predictable". He found the plot to be unoriginal, believing that it existed "more out of a sense of tradition than any real desire to tell a specific story"; however, he praised the acting in the episode, especially that of guest star Michael Horse.[3] Matt Haigh, writing for Den of Geek, described "Shapes" as being "a very basic and slightly drawn-out werewolf and detective story", though overall finding that the episode's visual effects and atmosphere meant that it "mostly comes out good in the end".[12] "Shapes" has been criticized for seeming like a "werewolf tale with Native American trappings", with its attempts at political correctness being seen as forced.[13] However, it was praised for not adhering to the "noble savage" archetype in its portrayal of the Native American characters.[14] Jane Goldman, in The X-Files Book of the Unexplained, feels that the episode seriously misrepresents the folklore it portrays, noting that "for many natives, calling a crazed, man-eating beast 'Manitou' is like calling Charles Manson 'God'".[15] The plot for "Shapes" was also adapted as a novel for young adults in 1996 by Ellen Steiber.[16][17]
See also
- Wendigo
- Shape shifter
Footnotes
- ^ Lowry, p.144
- ^ a b "X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season 1 | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. November 29, 1996. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ a b Handlen, Zack (August 1, 2008). ""Shapes" / "Darkness Falls" / "Tooms" | The X-Files/Millennium | TV Club | TV | The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ Cantor, p.158
- ^ Lavery, Hague and Cartwright, p.32
- ^ Norman, Dalton (December 5, 2021). "9 Actors From Twin Peaks Who Also Appeared In The X-Files". Screen Rant. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ Gradnitzer and Pittson, p.46
- ^ Lowry, p.146
- ^ Mat Beck, Chris Carter, Howard Gordon, Dean Haglund, David Nutter, Paul Rawbin, Daniel Sackheim, Mark Snow. The Truth About Season One (DVD). Fox.
- Fox.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ a b Lowry, p.248
- ^ Haigh, Matt (November 27, 2008). "Revisiting The X-Files: Season 1 Episode 19 – Den of Geek". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson, p.125
- ^ Gwenllian-Jones and Pearson, p.124
- ^ Goldman, p.158
- ISBN 0-06-440633-4.
- OCLC 34903514.
…based on the teleplay written by Marilyn Osborn
References
- Cantor, Paul A (2003). Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-7425-0779-3.
- Gradnitzer, Louisa; Pittson, Todd (1999). X Marks the Spot: On Location with The X-Files. Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 1-55152-066-4.
- Goldman, Jane (1997). The X-Files Book of the Unexplained. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-81962-7.
- Gwenllian-Jones, Sara; Pearson, Roberta E. (2004). Cult television. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-3831-4.
- Lavery, David; Hague, Angela; Cartwright, Marla (1996). Deny All Knowledge: Reading The X-Files. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-2717-3.
- Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0-06-105330-9.
External links
Novelization
- Shapes title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database