From: seanc130@hotmail.com   
      
   "Marc"  wrote   
      
   > I watched Miracle Man last night. Hadn't seen it in years... so it almost   
   > was like watching a new episode.I'd forgotten the twist.   
   > Great episode, isn't it? Back before it was decided that anything   
   > religious had to have Mulder as the Sceptic and Scully the believer.   
   >   
   > The tent scenes are really believable, some really high production   
   > values - which when compared to the next episode "Shadows" show how hit   
   > and miss the first season was.   
   >   
   > Really enjoyed it. Got me longing for some more new episodes ...   
      
   I bought all 9 seasons and have been watching the hell out of them. I've   
   seen just about everything in the past month, except the post-movie mytharc   
   stuff.   
      
   'Miracle Man' is one of those episodes that's like a wonderful gem,   
   scratched and dusty but still gleaming. It's so packed full of meaning and   
   atmosphere that it just kind of absorbs you into its world. It's not like   
   the big classic eps that always show up on people's favourite lists. It's   
   just an excellent example of what XF was in the first season, *between*   
   those big hits like 'Ice' or 'Eve' or 'Beyond the Sea': a wonderfully   
   intelligent show that bears close scrutiny, provokes deep thought, leaves   
   unanswered questions and yet comes full circle through a well-crafted plot,   
   ending with what CC calls 'emotional resolution'. There's nothing about it   
   that makes it particularly important to the series, but it's still head and   
   shoulders above all the mindless crap that was on TV at that time.   
      
   The next episode was 'Shapes', not 'Shadows'. 'Shadows' came much earlier in   
   the season, between 'The Jersey Devil' and 'Ghost in the Machine', and was   
   indeed a fairly weak episode. As for 'Shapes', it certainly has its flaws,   
   but I've always had a soft spot in my heart for it. It's so beautifully   
   creepy and spooky, and infused with the spiritual energy of Native American   
   traditions. I think it becomes a much better episode than it appears at   
   first glance, if you watch it as if the most important part is the character   
   interaction, and not the werewolf story. It's one of those cases where the   
   actual X-File was far less interesting than the world Mulder and Scully   
   explored while investigating it.   
      
   --   
   --Sean   
   http://spclsd223.livejournal.com   
      
   Cuddy: You. In the lobby. Now.   
      
   House: I hurt my leg. I have a note!   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)