The X Files - Space

Review from January of last year:

I'm not so tough on this episode as others because I think the story and setting are special, particularly for NASA fans. The late Ed Lauter is a former celebrated astronaut who encountered an alien "ghost" (or maybe that is just their manifestation, a fog-like entity; if I were to choose the episode's greatest weakness it is the alien itself) during a space walk, now in charge of a space shuttle launch with the mission of delivering a payload while in orbit around the earth. Michelle Generoo (Susanna Thompson) is a Mission Control Communications Commander (she communicates directly with the astronauts in the shuttle, and her fiancé is the shuttle commander) believing a possible saboteur is working against the shuttle launch. An auxiliary valve unit was tampered with and later once the shuttle is launched into space, there's evidence of sabotage effecting the oxygen for the astronauts. During the episode, we see the alien face (reminescent to the mars face so intriguing to many of us back in the 90s) seemingly possessing Lauter's Lt Col Marcus Aurelius Belt. It even leaves his body and purposely tries to interfere with the space shuttle during their payload delivery! Fox and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) are asked by Michelle to come to Houston and investigate.

Fox is established as a big fan of Belt and NASA and his enthusiasm and respect for both is slightly poked fun at by Scully. But their importance is realized when Belt becomes psychologically and physically effected by the alien possession (which, it turns out, is responsible for causing Belt to sabotage his own shuttle launch, payload delivery, and re-entry!). The NASA intrigue and how the two FBI agents get involved with seeing the re- entry successful (pretty intense sequence where the crew on the shuttle must go it alone trying to cool their heating orbiter, as telemetry and ground control had been tampered with) are the episode's greatest asset, I think. Belt's battle between the human side and the alien so controlling is quite tragic as he must sacrifice himself in order for others not to suffer his fate.


I think if the episode suffers from anything it is the dated "face of Mars" and its use as the face of an alien entity tormenting Lauter. Mulder's hero worship is rather amusing because he's so fond of him and respectful of his stature. Scully never fails to poke fun at his NASA geek nature, but the episode is cool in elaborating just how much Mulder does know about the space program and its inner workings. When the shuttle faces peril, and recovers thanks to the right decisions at the right time, reacting to the sabotage by the entity through its possession of Lauter; Mulder explains to Scully in detail their actions. Just seeing Scully and Mulder involved during a big NASA launch, deliverance of payload, and crisis management (and sabotage investigation) makes the episode noteworthy. Even if perhaps the special effects were as dated as the face of Mars, Lauter's dilemma is tragic enough to earn our sympathy, and his willingness to sacrifice himself so that the entity couldn't do further harm to his beloved space program was commendable. The inclusive environment of the space program and how it is so involving as a setting gives this particular X Files episode a uniqueness. It is minor in the vast tenure of X Files episodes, but those wanting to see Mulder and Scully involved in a NASA setting could get a kick out of it.