As The X-Files closes in on the end of it’s inaugural season, they did two things with the episode Tooms. They moved a couple more players into permanent position in the series, William B. Davis’ Cigarette Smoking Man (CSM) actually has a line of dialogue as he lurks around the other mainstay that is introduced with this episode, Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi).

So while being a monster of the week episode, in fact, the series first real sequel to a prior episode, it lays down more foundation for the overall series mythology arc. It seems Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder (David Duchovny) are being watched, and those in the shadows are waiting for any slip up so they can shut the x-files down, and shuttle off the partners to other, and separate assignments. Scully is given a reminder of why she was assigned to Mulder in the first place, and then is thrown right into the fire of this story.

Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, Tooms brought back the titular character, played by Doug Hutchison, as he is released from prison, and only needs one more kill to complete his cycle so that he can hibernate again.

First airing on 22 April, 1994, this episode is arguably scarier than the original, as Tooms brings his game to Mulder, and attempts to have him removed from the case, and set him up. He’s the only person Tooms feels he has to fear, but Scully is putting together the science, and together, the pair track him down before it’s too late…

Born Again written by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa first aired on 29 April, 1994.

Mulder and Scully get called in to help the Buffalo Police Department, specifically Detective Sharon Lazard (Maggie Wheeler) who heard about their work on the Tooms case. It seems a cop is dead, and somehow, an eight-year old girl, Michelle (Andrea Libman) is the main suspect.

As the pair investigate there are a couple of things noticeable. Anderson is already very pregnant, and despite the solid idea of the story, this one kind of bores me.

There are hints of reincarnation, brought back by deep hypnosis, telekinesis, and dirty cops. All of them should be easily handled by an X-Files story, but, I don’t know. It just feels clunky to me.

It’s not to say it’s bad, but every time I’ve seen it, I get bored shortly into the story, despite the acting, and ideas. It just doesn’t hold my attention. I mean even the worst episodes held my attention, and this one is better than those, but it doesn’t make me want to watch it.

On Thursday we come to the conclusion of the first season, but there is so much more to come, because the truth is out there…