The X-Files: Familiar – there is no getting out of this town

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When the brutal murder of a little boy happens in Eastwood, Connecticut Mulder and Scully race to track down the culprit. Is the killer the evil in our society or an ancient curse?

The X-Files – Familiar – Mulder and Scully – Courtesy of Fox

“There is no getting out of this town these days.” – Fox Mulder

Rush to Judgment

In today’s world, we are often blinded by our own beliefs and biases. It’s a part of being human, unfortunately. However, sometimes that tendency prevents us from thinking clearly. Tonight’s episode of The X-Files, entitled Familiar, deals with not only a supernatural element but a societal phenomenon as well.

People are often tried in the court of public opinion and in social media outlets. Due process is overlooked in favor of mob mentality. Benjamin Van Allen’s script deals with this fact in typical X-Files style.

When Mulder and Scully try to track down a cold-blooded killer, they are witness to the insular tight knit clannish mentality of the small town in which they find themselves. On the outside, things may appear to be white picket fences and everybody knows your name type feel but behind closed doors, when suspicions are raised, an ugly side rears its head.

We see what happens when a convicted sex offender, who actually had nothing to do with the murder of a local child, becomes a target and is nearly kicked to death. The scene is undoubtedly uncomfortable for some viewers but hits a deep chord. Is this what has become of us?

Mr. Chuckleteeth or Pee Wee Herman from Hell

The X-Files – Familiar – Mr. Chuckleteeth – Courtesy of Fox

All I can say is writer Benjamin Van Allen must REALLY have a deep dislike for the Teletubbies and Pee Wee’s Playhouse. These two cartoons are kind of prominent in the Familiar episode. Well, their demonic cousins maybe.

Pee Wee has been replaced by the malevolent Mr. Chuckleteeth and the Teletubbies, well their substitutes are the black-eyed Bibbletickles. In the very first scene we are introduced to the doll form of Mr. Chuckleteeth as young Andy Eggers (Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez)playing on a merry-go-round.

He gets lured into the woods by a real-life Mr. Chuckleteeth when his mother Diana (Sharon Taylor) is engrossed in a deep conversation on her cell phone. When she finishes, she turns around to find that her son is missing.

Nighttime falls and a search party of local police officers are combing the woods. One of the group, Officer Wentworth (Roger Cross) finds the mangled body of Andy. His father who is a fellow officer, Rick Eggers (Jason Gray-Stanford) cries out in anguish when he sees his son.

Hell Hound or Serial Killer?

The X-Files – Familiar – Mulder and Scully 2 – Courtesy of Fox