“Alpha" demonstrates two consistent points regarding The X-Files. One, when a filler episode is done by a freelance writer and a new director, the episode never captures the feel of the series quite right. Both the characters and general tone are usually off. Two, when the series attempt a variation on a common horror theme--in this case, Chinese werewolf legend--it is often too unfamiliar for the audience to immerse themselves in. On a personal level, I am not a fan of dogs, so not even Andrew Robinson in a guest role saves the episode.
Mulder is lured to California by a lonely, emotionally crippled dog whisperer named Karin Berquist whom he has chatted with online. She calls his attention to two murders which appear to have been committed by a dog with human intelligence. Upon arriving, the agents encounter a crypto zoologist named Ian Detweiler who claims the animal responsible is a supposed extinct breed of dog he captured in China. He is adamant the dog must be captured, but not killed, regardless of the damage the animal causes.
Mulder seeks out Berquist’s expertise as a canine expert. Scully is immediately suspicious--some say jealous, but I think that is an unfair assumption--of Berquist. She suspects berquist is enamored with Mulder because she sees him as about the only person who understands her. Mulder denies the accusation in spite of the ’I Want to Believe” poster hanging on her wall. Regardless, they barely know each other.
The crux of the plot is that Detweiler did not actually capture the supposedly extinct dog, but somehow got transformed into one. At night, he turns into a vicious dog to kill for sport. By vicious, I am referring to four brutal onscreen kills and fifth near miss. Highly gratuitous, but I must compliment to camera angle work. They are all done from the dog’s perspective. After we learn Detweiler is the dog in human form, we get a neat POV shot of the transformation from human to dog. It was probably a budget saving move to avoid costly CGI, but very effective.
Detweiler’s lycanthropy problem is secondary to Berquist’s emotional issues. She does have crush on Mulder, though she lacks the feminine wiles to woo him. So she did manipulate him to California in order to meet him. Yo make up for it--and arguably end her suffering from lupus, she sacrifices herself in order to stop Detweiler, but not before she mails mulder her “I Want to Believe” poster.
I really did not sympathize with Berquitz enough for her plight to resonate with me. I hate to sound cold, but she is one of those people who are so far gone emotionally, you cannot do anything for them. She lives with scores of dogs because she hates people. She found a kindred spirit in Mulder, so she tricked him into coming out to see her. He does not have any emotional connection with her because she is just someone he chatted with online. Feeling guilty, she sacrifices herself to make up for what she has done. Mulder feels guilty about her death because he did not realize how much he meant to her, though what could he have done? The way I look at it, she still manipulated him from beyond the grave. It is difficult o feel for someone like that no matter how much she suffered in life.
I will give "Alpha” this--the guest cast is a blast from the past. I already said Detweiler was played by Andrew Robinson. Robinson has been a popular character actor over the years. Notably for me, he played Garak on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Berquitz was played by Melinda Culea, who played journalist Amy on The A-Team. I am confident they both appeared on that show, but I have not watched it in twenty years. Memory can be a funny thing. I could be wrong there.
I do not think I am wrong in saying “Alpha” is below average. Some of the camera work in terms of perspective and the guest cast save the episode from the cellar, but not by much. Its heart was in the right place with Berquist’s crush on Mulder, but the desired emotion just was not there. The characterizations of the agents were off. Perhaps it was because they were so secondary to the action and irrelevant in the resolution. Then again, Mulder seemed more aloof than usual and Scully meaner when dealing with him and his associates. I do not care about Chinese werewolf legends I have never heard of before, either. “Alpha” is a bad episode on many levels.
Rating: ** (out of 5)
“Alpha" demonstrates two consistent points regarding The X-Files. One, when a filler episode is done by a freelance writer and a new director, the episode never captures the feel of the series quite right. Both the characters and general tone are usually off. Two, when the series attempt a variation on a common horror theme--in this case, Chinese werewolf legend--it is often too unfamiliar for the audience to immerse themselves in. On a personal level, I am not a fan of dogs, so not even Andrew Robinson in a guest role saves the episode.
