A genie grants three wishes to anyone who finds her -- including Mulder.
(Originally aired May 14, 2000)
| The Way of the Worker |
| Gilmore: They had to make me a whole new mouth. Do you think Blue Cross is going to pay for this? |
Written and directed by Vince Gilligan
ADDITIONAL CREDITS
Paula Sorge - Jenn
Kevin Weisman - Anson
Will Sasso - Leslie
Paul Hayes - Gilmore
WHAT HAPPENED
A storage facility. The boss, Gilmore, is looking for Anson, one of the workers. Anson is goofing off, reading a magazine. Gilmore finds him and chews him out. He gives Anson one hour to clean up unit 407. Anson goes to the unit, which is filled with furniture. He finds a rug and unrolls it. There's a woman inside. She opens her eyes.
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ANALYSIS
"Je Souhaite" offers a few laughs but little drama and no intellectual substance. The episode seems designed to stall for time while negotiations drag on over David Duchovny's contract and the series' future. X-Files viewers will wish for -- and deserve -- better material than this I Dream of Jeannie rehash.
The episode's ironic self-consciousness of its own lack of quality, in the form of Leslie's humming the I Dream of Jeannie theme song, is no substitute for quality. However, Paula Sorge is appealingly world-weary in the role of Jenn, a role that could have been a career-killer for a lesser actress.
WHAT WE LEARN
Mussolini and Nixon tapped into the remarkable powers of Jenn.
DANGLING PLOT THREADS
Will Scully's failed presentation to visiting medical academics from Harvard damage her professional reputation?
REALITY CHECK
Genies, or djinni, are longtime fixtures of Arabic folklore, appearing also in Turkish, Persian and other literatures. Richard Burton's translation of A Thousand and One Nights played a major role in bringing them to Western attention.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK
"Requiem", the season finale, returns to the show's once-distinguished mythology arc…..or maybe not. Years later, Mulder and Scully get their books audited. How will they justify all those trips away from the office?
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