“They… drilled my teeth. They drill holes in my damn teeth!” – Duane Barry.
DUANE BARRY [Mythology] October 14, 1994
Episode: 2×05 / 29 Overall
Director: Chris Carter • Writer: Chris Carter
A former FBI agent who claims he was abducted by aliens takes several people hostage.
Duane Barry is cited as being Chris Carter’s directorial debut, while that is true for The X-Files he actually directed an episode of the television series Rags to Riches in 1987. Perhaps he had hoped to omit that credit from his filmography, it certainly would have been a running start to his career as a director to begin with this episode. That said, one episode is hardly substantial so it’s fair to say that he was new to the game in 1994. As we know, Gillian Anderson was set to give birth to her first child during the filming of season 2 and consequently the writers needed to construct a story arc that would allow her some time off, albeit a brief respite. Starting with episode 4 Sleepless and concluding with episode 8 One Breath, the story arc that was simply born out of necessity and time constraints would become the unlikely genesis of a mythology thread that would weave itself through to the very end of the series. Carter’s script puts in to motion the events that would lead to Scully’s illness, sterilisation and ultimately the birth of her son. The X-Files team have openly admitted to a lack of planning regarding the series mythology. Unlike more recent television shows like Lost or Breaking Bad, The X-Files was not written with an overall story arc in mind and without any clear end in sight the writer’s needed to continue to expand upon the fictional universe with each season renewal. It’s likely then that Carter almost certainly did not foresee what effect the events of these early episodes would have, if any, on the future of the show. This episode was nominated for several Emmy awards and had received much praise from critics and fans alike.
The logic of the episodes conclusion is problematic in that it seems like a rather large plot hole when you consider that Duane Barry neither interacts with or even hears about Scully during the hostage crisis. Yet he singles her out as his target and manages to find her address somehow. How he even knew of her existence or why he chose to kidnap her of all people remains a mystery. It’s arguable that as an ex-F.B.I agent he may have been able to access Mulder’s file but it’s still questionable why he would take this route.
The Aliens, played by children in costumes, are a little hokey for modern audiences and this breaks the tension slightly though I try not to focus on the understandably dated special effects when reviewing the series. Due to the obvious advancements in technology there’s simply no way an early 90’s production is not going to appear dated in some aspects. When critiquing a piece of cinema or television show it’s important to view it with an appreciation for the time period in which it was produced. Much in the same way I would not criticise the stop-motion effects in James Cameron’s Terminator despite the fact that they do not hold up against modern CGI, I find it unnecessary to overly criticise Carter’s Alien outfits or any other special effect. It’s worth noting when an effect does hold up significantly well considering it’s age but it’s also forgivable when it does not. With that said, the Alien abductors are serviceable in this case and the strength of the story telling, not to mention the performance from Railsback, is enough to sell the idea to even a modern audience.
Duane Barry does a lot to further the idea that Aliens exist in this fictional universe and Mulder is positively captivated by Barry’s story, he yearns to hear more while at the same time a small part of him is wary of being taken for a ride. He wants so desperately to believe that he is danger of being gullible, and he knows this as he questions Barry towards the end about whether he is making any of this up. Mulder doesn’t want him to get shot but he knows it’s possibly his only way out. It’s also arguable that he feels a sense of obligation to his role as an F.B.I agent that he follow protocol, at least to some extent, and resolve the hostage crisis as there a lives at stake beyond his own. He resigns himself to the fact that no matter how willing he is to believe, the reality is that he is not in a position of power to peacefully bring an end to this situation. Scully is given possibly her most definitive piece of evidence regarding the existence of extra-terrestrials in the implant taken from Barry and she appears noticeably shocked and overwhelmed by the truth that may be contained within this alien object. Unfortunately she may never find out what that is as for the first time in the series we’re left with a tantalising, to be continued…
★★★☆☆
The X-Files Retrospective Project 