The Calusari
"The Calusari" | |
---|---|
The X-Files episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 21 |
Directed by | Mike Vejar |
Written by | Sara Charno |
Production code | 2X21 |
Original air date | April 14, 1995 |
Running time | 44 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Calusari" is the twenty-first episode of the
The show centers on
The script for "The Calusari" was inspired by Charno's experience as a doctor of
Plot
In Murray, Virginia, Maggie (Helene Clarkson) and Steve Holvey (Ric Reid) visit an amusement park with their children. During the outing, Teddy, the youngest child, loses his balloon. His father, Steve, substitutes it with Charlie's balloon. In a tragic turn of events, Teddy follows the balloon onto the tracks and is fatally struck by a train. Strangely, Charlie appears unaffected by Teddy's death.
Three months later,
In her room, Golda initiates a ritual with several
Charlie seizes again and is taken to a hospital. However, Michael pretends to be Charlie and convinces Maggie to take him home. Scully witnesses what is happening, and informs Mulder, who is certain that the spirit of Michael, and not Charlie, is killing people. The two agents split up: Mulder tracks down the Căluşari mystics to complete the ritual, and Scully goes to Maggie's home to protect her. Although Michael very nearly kills Scully and Maggie, Mulder and the Căluşari manage to complete the ritual, which causes Michael's spirit to disappear. Maggie then returns to the hospital and is reunited with Charlie.[1]
Production
The episode was written by Sara Charno and directed by
During production of the episode, the producers "agonized" over both the teaser (given that it revolves around a child being killed by a tram) and the episode's over-all bleakness. Fox's standards and practices department, on the other hand, took issues with the initial cut of Steve's strangulation scene; in the end, the sequence was kept but the actor's face was obscured to "soften the impact".[4] Although the episode's filming went along smoothly, the final cut "didn't pass muster".[3] Spotnitz explained that Carter "spent a lot of time in the editing room trying to figure out how to make this more terrifying."[3] Spotnitz later noted that Carter's dedication proved that something could be so "much better ... if you didn't give up."[3]
Broadcast and reception
"The Calusari" originally aired on the
"The Calusari" received mixed reviews, with critics citing inconsistencies in the plot as the main detractions.
Footnotes
- ^ a b Lowry, pp. 213–215
- ^ a b Nutter, David; et al. (2000). The X-Files: The Complete Second Season (booklet). Beverly Hills, California: 20th Century Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b c d Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 63
- ^ a b c Lowry, p. 215
- ^ a b Lowry, p. 248
- ^ "The X Files – The Calusari rated 18 by the BBFC". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2008.
- ^ "Search << British Board of Film Classification". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 24 July 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. 29 November 1996. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ a b VanDerrWerff, Emily (20 June 2010). "The X-Files: "Død Kalm"/"Humbug"/"The Calusari"". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b c Keegan, John. "The Calusari". Critical Myth. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- ^ a b Shearman and Pearson, pp. 50–51
- ISBN 0-06-447171-3.
- OCLC 449870695.
Bibliography
- Hurwitz, Matt & Knowles, Chris (2008). The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series the Myths and the Movies. New York, US: Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1933784724.
- Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0061053309.
- Shearman, Robert; Pearson, Lars (2009). Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen. Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN 978-0975944691.
External links
- "The Calusari" on TheXFiles.com
- "The Calusari" at IMDb
Novelization
- The Calusari title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database