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Terms of Endearment (The X-Files)

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"Terms of Endearment (The X-Files)"

"Terms of Endearment" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 3, 1999 in the United States. The episode was written by David Amann, and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Terms of Endearment" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.5, being watched by 18.7 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received received mixed reviews from critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In the episode, an unborn child is abducted from the mother's womb by an apparent demon after the prospective parents discover that their child has birth defects. FBI special agent Spender (Chris Owens) is called down to talk to the police, but dismisses the case as irrelevant to the X-Files. Mulder and Scully steal the case and investigate the demon.

"Terms of Endearment" was the first episode written by The X-Files executive story editor David Amann. Amann was inspired to a write a story that was "Rosemary's Baby in reverse". Bruce Campbell, already well known as a prominent actor in several Sam Raimi horror movies, was cast as Wayne Weinsider. Many of the special effects utilized in the episode were created in a "low-stress" manner that did not require elaborate computer-generated effects.

Plot

In Roanoke, Virginia, Wayne Weinsider (Bruce Campbell) and his pregnant wife, Laura, learn that their unborn child is exhibiting bizarre physical abnormalities, such as the appearance of horn-like protrusions. Wayne appears to be especially distraught by the news. That night, Laura has a terrifying dream in which a demon-like figure snatches the baby from her womb. When she wakes up, Laura and Wayne discover that she has seemingly miscarried.

Laura's brother, local deputy sheriff Arky Stevens, reports her story to the X-Files section at the FBI. Agent Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) discards the report, but Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) salvages the case and travels to Virginia, along with Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to interview the Weinsiders.

While the police are investigating the case, in particular the possibility of illegal abortion, they find the remains of the baby in the garden furnace. The husband quickly confesses to destroying the evidence after he found his wife had aborted in a trance-like state. The wife takes the blame for the abortion and goes to jail. Meanwhile the husband has an affair with another pregnant wife, named Betsy Monroe. Mulder puts the pieces together and reaches the conclusion that the husband is a demon trying to have a normal baby and terminating pregnancies when the fetus exhibits demon-like abnormalities.

Betsy experiences a similar dream except she recognizes the dream demon as her husband. Nevertheless, she loses her baby and tracks down Mulder and Scully. Mulder and Scully seek out Weinsider and catch him digging in the other wife's backyard. They have a short conversation before he is shot by the sheriff.

After investigating what it was Weinsider was digging for, Mulder and Scully discover the remains of normal human babies in Betsy's yard. Upon seeing the evidence, Mulder figured out that this wife is, in fact, another demon who is unable to have a baby demon spawn unless another male demon impregnates her; unlike Weinsider, she has been terminating pregnancies that resulted in non-demonic fetuses, the very type Weinsider has been so desperate to father. The fact that she is a demon herself is the reason why she could recognize her husband as a demon in her dream, and was able to stop him from extracting her baby. It becomes apparent that she never lost her baby. In fact, it is just a trick to frame her demon husband.

The episode ends with Betsy Monroe driving away with her new demon baby. Her eyes flash with red gleam before returning back to normal.[1]

Production

Writing

"Terms of Endearment" was the first episode written by The X-Files executive story editor David Amann. Amann had previously written two network movies entitled The Man Who Wouldn't Die and Dead Air and had served two years on the staff of the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope. The idea for "Terms of Endearment" was "about the fifth or sixth idea" Amann came up with for the show. Amann's original idea was to create an episode that he described as "Rosemary's Baby in reverse". He explained, "I had this idea [for doing the episode] not from the point of view of the hapless woman unwittingly impregnated, but from the point of view of the devil". Amann pitched his idea to series creator Chris Carter, who gave him the green-light to write the rest of the episode.[2][3]

Original drafts for the episode were "heavier on pure shock value and lighter of humor and human interest".[3] Originally, Laura Weinsider was supposed to give birth to a serpent rather than a demon baby. In addition, the story was initially more "linear", according to Amann. The original draft called for the devil to seek a human baby, fail to get one, kill his wife, and seek another woman to have a human baby. The writers felt that this draft of the story model had a certain "inevitability" to it. Carter, however, came up with the idea that the second woman would be a demon, a conceit that Amann later admitted made the story "work well".[3]

Casting and filming

Bruce Campbell was cast as the demonic Wayne Weinsider.

Bruce Campbell, already well known as a prominent actor in several Sam Raimi horror movies, was cast as Wayne Weinsider. For the part of Laura, Rick Millikan cast Lisa Jane Persky, who had long had at the top of his casting "wish list".[3] The episode marked the first time a cast member had to withdraw mid-production for religious reasons. During the final run-through of the "cursed-birth" scene, the mother of the baby who was to actually be used during filming withdrew her child from the cast. She stated that, despite the fact that The X-Files was her favorite show, she was a devout Catholic and having her child stand-in for a child-demon was a conflict of her faith. Director Rob Bowman assured her that the dilemma was "understood" and, after calling several "infant actors" the show had a replacement demon-baby in forty-five minutes.[2]

The principal outdoor filming took place in and around Pasadena, California, called "the most East Coast-like part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area" by Andy Meisler in his book The End and the Beginning. The cars featured in the episode were a Chevrolet Camaro Z28 convertible, which had been downgraded from a BMW Z3 in the rewrite process. Meisler, sardonically, noted that General Motors had "no qualms about seeing their vehicles driven onscreen by a relative of Satan".[3]

Several of the special effects utilized in the episode were created in a "low-stress" manner that did not rely wholly on special effects. The childbirth scene was shot with gas-burners that were set a distance away from a fire-proof bed. The scene was then filmed with a long lens to give the effect that the fire was mere inches away from the bed.[3] In order to make the scene frightening, producer John Shiban noted that the film crew made "a big deal out of the eyes".[4] The devil sonogram was created by using the videotape of a real sonogram of a crew member's wife. The videotape was then edited to give it a demonic look. The burnt baby skeleton was built from scratch. Originally, the crew had planned on renting a real fetal skeleton, but the $3,000 cost forced them to make their own. Office manager Donovan Brown noted that, "we got two or three of those adults skeleton models, cut a foot or so off a leg here and shortened an arm there, glued them together to a plaster model of a fetal skull we found, and put together something that worked wonderfully".[3]

Music and cultural references

The soundscape for "Terms of Endearment" was composed by Mark Snow, who heavily utilized Gregorian chants to give the episode a "creepy" feel.[3] The song "Only Happy When It Rains" by Garbage plays several times in the episode, most notably near the end when Betsy Monroe drives away with her new demon baby.[5] The quote "Zazas, zazas, nasatanada zazas"—supposedly what Laura Weinsider was to have said while "in a trance"—is what the occultist Aleister Crowley used to open the 10th Aethyr, that of the Thelemic devil Choronzon.[6]

Broadcast and reception

"Terms of Endearment" first aired in the United States on January 3, 1999.[7] This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 10.5, with a 15 share, meaning that roughly 10.5 percent of all television-equipped households, and 15 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 18.70 million viewers.[8] The episode aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky1 on April 18, 1999 and received 0.62 million viewers, making it was the eighth most watched episode that week.[9] Fox promoted the episode with the tagline "Born to raise hell. Tonight, something terrifying is about to be born."[10]

The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Todd VanDerWerff from The A.V. Club gave the episode a moderately positive review and awarded it a "B". He praised Campbell's acting, calling him "the best thing about" the episode, and complimented the entry's concept, comparing it favorably to the second season Millennium episode "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me". Vanderwerff, did however, note that the episode's biggest weaknesses were its limited use of Scully and its over-the-top use of Spender as a villain.[11] Tom Kessenich, in his book Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files wrote positively of the episode, saying, "Place a devil in the plot and I'll follow you to see what you can cook up. […] I enjoyed this tale of a devil looking to be just a normal dad immensely."[12] In a run-down of The X-Files guest stars who left a lasting impression, Lana Berkowitz from the Houston Chronicle included Bruce Campbell, calling him the "demon who wants to be a father."[13] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode three stars out of five, describing it as "a very brave story". Shearman and Pearson felt that the episode suffered from its attempt to balance comedy and horror, "not having enough comedy to explore the premise properly, and not enough suspense to provide much drama". However, both Lisa Jane Persky and Bruce Campbell were praised for their acting, despite the perceived shallowness of the latter's character.[14] [[Cinefantastique] later named "Terms of Endearment" the ninth scariest moment in The X-Files.[15]

Other reviews were not as glowing. John Keegan from Critical Myth gave the episode a 6/10 and wrote, "Overall, this episode is another disappointment, emphasizing a focus on the characters as icons rather than fully developed individuals. Bruce Campbell is wasted as a guest star, and Scully’s presence is sorely missed through much of the hour. The core idea is interesting enough, but the execution never goes as far as the writers seem to think it does."[16] Michael Liedtke and George Avalos, in a review of the sixth season in The Charlotte Observer, called the episode "just plain bad."[17] Andrew Payne from Star Pulse named the episode runner-up for "Biggest Disappointment", calling the premise "lame".[18] Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a mixed review and awarded it two stars out of four.[19] Vitaris heavily criticized Mulder's line: "I'm not a psychologist"—reportedly an ad lib from David Duchovny himself—noting that it undermines the character's degree from Oxford in psychology.[19]

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ a b Meisler, pp. 68–78
  2. ^ a b Meisler, p. 78
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Meisler, p. 79
  4. ^ Paul Rabwin (1999). Special Effects with Paul Rabwin: Devil/Fire Comp (DVD). The X-Files: The Complete Sixth Season: Fox Home Entertainment.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. ^ Meisler, p. 73
  6. ^ Owen, p. 186
  7. ^ The X-Files: The Complete Sixth Season (Media notes). Fox. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |director= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |titlelink= ignored (|title-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |titleyear= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Meisler, p. 294
  9. ^ "BARB's multichannel top 10 programmes". barb.co.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2012. Note: Information is in the section titled "w/e April 12–18, 1999", listed under Sky 1
  10. ^ Terms of Endearment (Promotional Flyer). Los Angeles, California: Fox Broadcasting Company. 1999.
  11. ^ Todd, VanDerWerff (21 July 2012). "'Terms of Endearment'/'Through a Glass Darkly'". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  12. ^ Kessenich, p. 30
  13. ^ Berkowitz, Lana (17 May 2002). "'The X - Files' guest stars left a lasting impression". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Corporation. p. 10.
  14. ^ Shearman and Pearson, pp. 173–174
  15. ^ Anderson, Kaite (2002). "The Ten Scariest Moments". Cinefantastique. 34 (2): 50–51. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ Keegan, John. "Terms of Endearment". Critical Myth. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  17. ^ Liedtke, Michael; Geroge Avalos (31 May 1999). "Despite a Return to Sappiness, X-Files Works". The Charlotte Observer. The McClatchy Company. pp. 6E.
  18. ^ Payne, Andrew (25 July 2008). "'X-Files' 10 Best Episodes". Starpulse. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  19. ^ a b Vitaris, Paula (October 1999). "Sixth Season Episode Guide". Cinefantastique. 31 (8): 26–42.
Bibliography
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