Cult TV Blog

The introduction to this series of posts about the American dream as it appears in The X-Files can be found here: 1x07 Ice (Monster of the Week) Did I mention that I am completely unqualified in any way to do these posts? Watching this is how I discovered two facts about Alaska: 1) where it is and 2) that it is a US state. I had no idea, I would have said it was Canadian if asked. I have also discovered that it is the US state with the highest proportion of indigenous population, that it borders on the Russian Federation, and that it was previously a Russian colony, Russian America, before being sold by Russia to the US in 1867, becoming the 49th state as recently as 1959. Obviously, therefore, in terms of the anti-dream portrayed by The X-Files we have a reference to colonialism as well as poor treatment of indigenous people. The dream of freedom is illusory if you're sitting on a land that has actually been bought by someone else over your head, after being colonised by another c...

The introduction to this series of posts about the American dream in The X-Files can be found here: https://culttvblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-american-dream-in-x-files.html?m=1 1x04 The Jersey Devil (Monster of the Week) In conformity with my theory that the X-Files invert the American dream to depict the country as a dystopian nightmare, the main reference to the American dream here is in its opposite, the poverty and homelessness we see depicted. It's also possible that the Devil him/herself also calls the reality of the dream into question. In fact since I started these posts I have had to revise my view of the American dream somewhat. You will remember that the original definition I adopted from Wikipedia included the pursuit of individual prosperity in a capitalist system with few constraints. SInce then I have discovered that originally the phrase 'American dream' meant nothing of the sort, and I'm delighted because of course it solves my main problem with the A...

The introduction to this series of posts about the American dream in The X-Files can be found here: https://culttvblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-american-dream-in-x-files.html?m=1 Pilot (Core X-Files Mythology) The pilot to the series mostly sets the background of the series and establishes the relationship between Mulder and Scully. There are references to the American dream when Scully says that she joined the FBI after medical school because she thought she could distinguish herself, bringing in the aspect of seeking personal prosperity and success.  1x02 Deep Throat (Core X-Files Mythology) With no ado at all Deep Throat takes us straight to a major feature of life in the USA, namely the military. This is something which is not given in any of the definitions of the American dream that I have seen, however I have seen several comments that the prominence of the military is in defence of the American dream, so they are intertwined together. In contrast to the respected posit...

In my last post I commented that one day I might attempt a series of posts about how episodes of The X-Files treat the American dream as something which is actually laid over a dystopian scenario of government corruption, interference, violence, experimentation, and is largely a delusional front to what is portrayed as a controlling despotic country. Needless to say this throwaway comment bit me and so this is the first post in that series of posts. I am absolutely not qualified to do this. I'm not American and have never been there, and have no more than the usual knowledge of US history that anyone who drinks tea has. I have not been through the US education system and keep finding references to things I have never heard of as I read around the subject, so I am certain to miss lots of cultural references and am as always very happy if anyone wants to correct me or add stuff in the comments. On the other hand, what does qualify me is that I am an outsider and so not coloured by th...

Continuing a series of posts about TV shows related to the circus. This post contains a plot spoiler. It was impossible not to include this X-Files episode about a town where the population are all circus side show freaks, of course. It's a bit difficult to say anything about it when it is perhaps one of the most loved episodes of The X-Files and has been extensively written about. The episode tends to be seen through a particular interpretive lens, perhaps best expressed by M. Keith Booker in the first part of this quote: '...it is the ultra-normal FBI agents who are the real oddballs, while the difficulty in distinguishing between the normal and abnormal in Gibsonton is highlighted when Mulder, noticing Mr Nutt's small size, jumps to the conclusion that Nutt, too, is a sideshow performer, provoking an angry response on the part of the manager, who reminds Mulder that he is a trained professional with a degree in hotel management, not a freak. [...] 'Nutt's helper ...

Continuing a series of posts about episodes of shows relating in some way to the circus. The circus isn't really a huge part of Terror of the Autons, featuring only in the first couple of episodes and being the place where the Master hides his kidnapped scientist there with the idea of attracting the Doctor there to be killed. In fact I'm finding it difficult only to focus on the circus and not do a lengthy post on the whole show, because I love it. I've even watched the Plastic Fantastic documentary again and found there is nothing about the circus in it. I have, however, been reminded that there is more than a passing resemblance between the Master's murderous plan involving plastic in Terror of the Autons and the evil mastermind's plan to dominate the whole country with one washing powder using plastic flowers in the Adam Adamant Lives episode The Sweet Smell of Disaster. I haven't found a source suggesting that it was an explicit influence, but the use of pl...

Continuing a series of posts about TV episodes related to the circus. In my last post, about the circus which comes to Royston Vasey in The League of Gentlemen, we met the feared side of the circus. You don't want to be taken by all those freaks. Of course, in that instance the town was too freaky even for Papa Lazarou to face. Here, however a circus invades reality in, in many ways, a much more scary way. Side show characters from an old film of a circus are managing to escape from the celluloid and trying to take people's souls, so that they can continue performing as they did in the past. As regular readers know I usually read round on the internet before writing a blog post, because this blog has from the start been animated by the desire to avoid the endless description and repetition on the internet, and try to say something different. I was surprised, when I started reading about this show, to find that despite being one of my favourite Torchwood episodes, it really isn...

Continuing a series of posts about TV episodes relating to the circus. Caution: This is about an episode depicting a character in black-face and may be distressing. The episode has been removed from Netflix for that reason. In fact let's not beat about the bush, The League of Gentlemen contains something to offend pretty much everyone, including little people, travellers, the Irish, toad lovers, you name it. I cannot believe that I have somehow never visited Royston Vasey on this blog before, although it's possibly just because I haven't been able to face trying to write about it. The League of Gentleman (which has been described as 'like watching Monty Python remake The Wicker Man from inside Alan Bennett's fever dream') is a very successful comedy series which basically pushes the envelope in every way conceivable, based in the strange town of Royston Vasey.  In this episode the circus comes to town. One of the reasons I wanted to include this episode was that...

Continuing a series of posts about TV episodes relating to the circus. Warning: this post contains a plot spoiler. Not a favourite of the fans by any stretch of the imagination, this one. Multiple reviews comment that it just doesn't get it right and so all those reviews spend most of their time trying to work out why. I am surprised at that, because this has always been one of my personal favourite Avengers episodes. I note that many reviews also compare it negatively to Girl on the Trapeze, which I am not sure is a very fair comparison. I think the reason this episode causes such dissatisfaction is that they are expecting something which the episode may not be trying to deliver. This is not an objective assessment - I have no idea the impression that was intended but this is just an idea that's come to me as I've read the reviews. What people are expecting (very reasonably) is an action-filled spy drama utilising the setting of a circus. What the episode actually delivers...

Continuing a series of posts about episodes of TV shows related to the circus. In fact, if you were being very strict you probably wouldn't include this one because there isn't an actual circus involved, but where else are you going to find clowns? Birmingham City Council, that's where, but that's a whole other matter. Just to allow myself the luxury of a little description because I love this one: the general at a US army base in the UK gets the Goodies to take a huge amount of 'tomato soup' off his hands, only for them to find the tin contains a virus which makes people turn into clowns. Cue all sorts of clownish things, and of course the commentary on this show naturally tends to focus on the more slapstick elements of this episode. However what really attracts me about it is that there are a number of spoofs of various other genres as we go along. It pits the Americans against the commies and stereotypes the former at great length. In a strangely topical tur...

Welcome to the first in another series of themed posts, this time about TV episodes relating in some way to the circus. I don't particularly have a thing about circuses, but I suddenly had a couple of shows on the subject so looked out some more. This first post is also about a show which, for no good reason, has never appeared here before. Actually I think the reason it's never appeared here is that it was one of my favourites on repeats in the UK in the early 80s, and it's always a bit difficult to look back on your past heroes. Of course there is also the reality that when I first saw it the Monkees' stage of life was ahead of me and I'm now looking back on it so it's slightly painful in all sorts of ways! Another reason the show hasn't appeared here is that it really isn't at all as I remember it. It is very obvious that my memory is faulty in some ways because I don't remember them singing, wihch obviously isn't right, but nonetheless I do w...

I had probably better apologise in advance because this post is bound to be even less focussed than usual. I had several posts in mind but none of them has happened because I concluded that it was high time to do something about my laptop. It was an excellent machine, running with no hitches at all, user-friendly, and as fast as lightning, just with the slight problem that the case kept coming apart. This wasn't covered by the warranty from the large (VERY large, and familiar to anyone in the UK because of its red signs) second-hand dealer I bought it from, so I got a man in town to mend it and when it looked like it was coming apart again, sold it back to them before it actually came apart again. And this is how, despite having been very happy with them for years, I'm slightly shocked that they bought that load of rubbish off me. I bought another off them because the credit they gave me couldn't be refused and even though the Dell one I bought wasn't advertised as such...