The X-Files (TV Series) Je Souhaite (2000) User Reviews

I wish...

[Sanpaco13 · 8/10 · 13 August 2007]

Je Souhaite is a great episode. I have said before that Season 7 is one of my favorites even though often times it seems that many didn't like it very much. I think the Je Souhaite is among the great lighthearted episodes. It is always nice to take a break from the serial killers and monsters and just have a simple episode and I think that is one thing that this season does very well although some may argue a little too often. "The Amazing Maleeni", "The Goldberg Variation", and "Fight Club" are other examples of lighthearted episodes that I enjoy from this season. The only complaint I have for Je Souhaite is at times the genie seems to be overacting her boredom. But hey such is life. She does have other good shining moments.

I will only mention a few of my favorite scenes. The whole invisible autopsy and Scully's fun little dust scene are great. This of course leads to one of the other great moments when the body disappears and Scully doubts what she observed when Mulder tells her she can't deny it now because she saw it. I love how Mulder groans at this part. It perfectly sums up 7 years of frustration in dealing with a skeptic partner who won't believe anything she doesn't understand even when she stares it in the face. I also enjoy, as gruesome as it is, watching that poor guy trying to talk without any lips. Haha! This is an entertaining episode and although not necessarily anything super special I still give it a 8/10.

The X-Files goes postmodern (again)

[n-town-smash · 9/10 · 17 June 2008]

It's difficult to express how stupid I thought this episode was when I first saw it, knowing how much I've come to love it since. A story about a genie seemed so totally out of character for the show, as if they were desperately trying to find any ideas from the supernatural that they hadn't already done. But in retrospect, it's actually perfectly *in* character.

A lot happens: A guy (Anson Stokes) finds a woman rolled up in a rug in a storage locker. His boss instantly loses his mouth. Anson then gets a boat in his driveway and *then* is found dead, invisible, having been hit by a truck. Cue a wonderful scene of Scully dusting an invisible corpse with lycopodium powder while grinning like an idiot.

And it goes on, in the manner of what I think is called a "romp". And it sounds so profoundly stupid. But it isn't.

Rather than invent some tenuous explanation for the genie (possibly realising that, no matter how seriously they did this episode, it was always going to be *a bit* silly) they instead appear to have gone back to the roots and the whole point of the genie story. Far from simply giving us a parable about being careful what you wish for, by giving the genie to someone we know to be an intelligent, sophisticated person trying to act as selflessly as possible, we get the real message, ultimately, from Scully: these wishes represent not the danger of getting what you want, but of being able to get what you want without trying. Power isn't just dangerous for stupid people; it's even dangerous for people like you.

It seemed a little trite when I was a kid. In fact, it made me downright angry. Because at the time, I guess, I would've been totally convinced that, if I'd had the genie, I would've done things differently. Years later, rewatching it, I'm very aware of how poignant it actually is, in a very devious way, in telling us that basically we'd never be able to deal with all that power, no matter how wise we thought we were, and that the smart thing to do would be to just roll the rug back up. As such, it's a neat little story, deceptively lighthearted but not lightweight.

On another note: Paula Sorge is fantastically beautiful.

That's a great episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 26 September 2022]

Leslie and Anson, two hapless brothers, come into the possession of a powerful Genie, a Genie that takes wishes in a very literal way.

You can definitely see that there's a switch up in the show, quite a dramatic one. I thought the previous episode went in the wrong direction, this one however, nailed it, this was just great.

It's an interesting spin on the light hearted sweetness of I dream of Genie, of course it's a funny and amusing tale, but it's given an X Files twist.

I love the humour, the originality, the way they tried to explain Mussolini's rise and fall, that was amusing. The brothers were fun, but the best aspect is surely where Mulder is put under the spotlight.

Paula Sorge was awesome as Jenn, it's a flawless performance.

Thoroughly enjoyed it, 9/10.

I Dream of Jinniyah

[Muldernscully · 10/10 · 15 July 2007]

Vince Gilligan, the master comedy writer for the X-Files, delivers once again with the gem Je Souhaite, French for "I wish". Je Souhaite is Vince Gilligan's directorial debut, and he does a fine job of that.

His directing style is pretty straight forward and he doesn't try any unusual or different shots that might detract from the viewing experience. That's good, because his story his funny enough that it doesn't need any "cool" shots.

The weird sound that played whenever Mr. Damfuse talked from the previous episode "Fight Club" is used once a again a couple of times in this episode. I don't know why they like to use it. It's just strange.

Kevin Weisman and Will Sasso are a riot as the Stokes brothers. These two are dumber than a bag of rocks. The manner in which they waste their three wishes each is comedy gold.

A special treat in this episode is seeing Gillian Anderson's understated comedic acting. From seeing her giddiness at putting the yellow dust on the invisible corpse to her subsequent actions involving the invisible corpse show how well she can do comedy.

I liked how Vince Gilligan worked around the potential censorship of sexual innuendo by using big medical terms. Just by hearing the words themselves, you have no idea what Scully is talking about. Only Mulder's exclamation gives you an indication about what happened to one of the jinniyah's previous owners.

It's interesting to see a genie(or jinniyah) in a rug instead of the classic bottle, as in "I Dream of Jeannie". Mulder even gives a nod to the classic series. In the audio commentary, Vince Gilligan tells how he wrote the part of the jinniyah for Janeane Garofalo. That would have been cool, although Paula Sorge does an excellent job as the jinniyah.

Je Souhaite is fun through and through and I have no complaints about it. Vince Gilligan proves once again that he is the king of the comedy x-files and you'd better wish that we'll be able to see works by him in the future outside of the X-Files.

Careful what you wish for :-)

[quark18 · 9/10 · 9 December 2018]

I grew up reading the 1001 Nights and often thought about what kind of wishes I would make, if I found a jinni. This episode delightfully brings that wish to life.

Scully finds it fascinating that Jenn is a living witness to 500 years of human history. This is probably Jenn's greatest asset, not her power to grant wishes-her long observation of human greed, stupidity, and propensity for self-destruction. "Granted, people smell better now . . ."-I remembered that line since I originally saw this episode 18 years ago. Have people changed at all in the last 500 years, other than that we now bathe more frequently?

Perhaps, and perhaps not, but it's fascinating to ponder.

The funny thing is that Jenn doesn't exempt herself from wishing for stupid things-a stout-heated mule, a magic sack of turnips, and great power and long life.

The key to escaping from stupid unintended consequences of our wishes seems to be to make them small and specific. But if they are so small and specific, can't we do that on our own? As Scully notes, perhaps it's the process that matters.

It's still fun to think about what we would wish for, from time to time. It helps to refocus our priorities. I sure hope that people who enter law enforcement wish for peace on earth, for example, like Mulder.

I wish for world peace, do I?

[anzaldua · 10/10 · 22 December 2006]

I am watching for the third time the X Files now, one episode after another. It isn't until now, that I have study a little about screen writing that I understand a lot new things an some other I understand better.

The script is the soul of the episode, without it It would be like a zombie or something like that. Well Vince Gilligan is an unsung hero. It was his writing that placed the X Files where they were, as the No. 1 Television Drama for a long time.

When I first saw at the beginning of this episode that it was written by Gilligan I thought It was going to be a marvelous episode, I wasn't mistaken.

When it come to writing, It's not the story itself, it is how you tell the story. So we can watch a lot of movies with a Romeo & Juliet spit but there are only a few that are good enough to be discussed at reunions. The same thing happened here. A story of a Genie, yes the same Genie, different place to live, but a Genie anyway. The story was great, watch it, live it, admire it.

Way to go Vince!

What's the occasion at the end

[tracetn · 9/10 · 20 January 2012]

I do love this episode. I laughed my head off. I love Mulder's reaction when he gets three wishes. And, him cussing out the genie, while unknowingly being in the presence of an audience in Skinner's office is hilarious. The irony of the wishes is quite enjoyable. As usual, the actors are perfect for their roles. The brothers are so perfectly outrageous, yet so frighteningly real.

So, what's the occasion for Mulder and Scully to have a beer and watch Caddyshack? That's so out of character. Why was this written into the script? It's delightful to see them letting their hair down together, but I don't understand where it fits with the episode. Is there a purpose?

One of the better season seven episodes

[NatashaJAmos2015 · 10/10 · 23 May 2020]

Season seven is my least liked season. Sure it's got some classics like Closure were we finally learn about Mulders sister Samantha and not to mention the fun episode X Cops. But this episode is a real gem. No pun intended !

Apparently the master of comedy and my favourite tv writer Vince Gilligan wrote the part of Jinn for Janeane Garofalo (who appears in season 7 and onwards of 24) but I really like this actress who played the jinn.

"I can see straight through to his a__!"

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 10 August 2017]

Well, shut my mouth, but that was a heck of a teaser, wasn't it? You didn't know where this story was going until the whole genie business, or I should say, jinnayah business came up. This is the one X-Files episode that most resembles a 'Twilight Zone' story from back in the day. Actually, there were two TZ's that dealt with genies and magical wishes - 'The Man in the Bottle' and 'I Dream of Genie'. Each in it's own way had similarities to 'Je Souhaite', the best literal translation of which would simply be 'I wish'.

But gee, weren't those two Stokes Brothers (Kevin Weisman and Will Sasso) positively dumb and dumber? No wonder the Jenn (Paula Sorge) got so exasperated. You know, if you listen to the Jenn's thoughts about how stupid people can be when contemplating their wishes, her observations make a lot of sense. Which is why it was so frustrating to see Mulder rack his brain and still come up short with his very first wish. The second obviously, was a no brainer because he had to put things back the way they were.

I'll say one thing though, for a television show, that was some spectacular explosion that went up in a fireball at the Stokes trailer. It reminded me of some of the fiery scenes that were produced for the series 'Combat' in the mid-Sixties, but that had a World War II setting, so blowing things up was par for the course. Anyway, I thought it was pretty impressive.

So all things considered, I think writer Vince Gilligan came up with something pretty acceptable AND respectable for Mulder's third wish, about as original as the one actor Howard Morris decided on in the Twilight Zone's 'I Dream of Genie'. This is the kind of episode that makes you wonder what your own wishes might be if ever faced with the situation. I don't have any idea if there's anything like a foolproof wish that wouldn't have unintended consequences, so I guess the first thing I'd probably wish for is - "I wish I knew".

Je Souhaite Pour Quelques Chose Meilleur

[andyetris · 7/10 · 25 October 2006]

It's the maw of the Monkey's Paw when a lazy dimwit cleans out an abandoned storage unit, getting three wishes from Jenn, a genie who only wanted a donkey and instead has gotten a lot of jackasses! When Mulder gets the chance to make wishes of his own he discovers... oh, YOU know! The ending is sort of a mild twist, though of course you could see it coming - the assumption being that no previous wish had affected the course of world history...

This is only an OK story, and wouldn't have been more than semi-comic filler in previous seasons. In THIS thriller-forsaken season is stands out like a beacon of quality! We have, of course, long passed the threshold of whether or not the X-Files happens in an alternative universe: magic happens here, get over it!

What really strikes ME about this Arabian-Nights-inspired subject matter is the degree to which non-Christian ideas have been overlooked in the X-Files. Muslim ideas about the nature of reality? How about Djinn as aliens? No, just some throwaway nonsense about magic in medieval France as we're dragged off in pursuit of cheap laughs and philosophical clichés.

The X-Files knew how to be hilarious!

[rrvtjd · 10/10 · 31 January 2011]

In the X-Files season 7 episode "Je Souhaite" ("I wish" in French), a listless employee at a self-storage facility in suburban St. Louis finds a Genie in a rug. But far from being a blessing, this Genie has become completely cynical after 500 years of granting wishes to the selfish and greedy. As a result, she grants people's wishes using the most negative interpretation possible, (ie., a man wishing for a yacht has it dumped unceremoniously on his front lawn, miles away from the nearest water). This is one of the wishes Jenn the Genie (Paula Sorge) grants to brothers Anson and Leslie Stokes (Kevin Weisman and Will Sasso). These wishes result great misfortune, due in no small part to their own stupidity. Agents Mulder and Scully, already investigating strange events surrounding the 2 brothers, question the Genie. Mulder experiences her cynical attitude firsthand, and learns of her wish to be released from the responsibility of granting wishes to undeserving simpletons. The story ends with Mulder having to choose between fulfilling his own wish, or granting the Genie with hers.

This episode could have been better

[rnixon1974 · 5/10 · 17 December 2023]

I have been an X-Files fan for more than 20 years. There are so many story lines that make this series, to me, the best of its kind in the history of American television.

This episode is funny in places. Scully examines an invisible cadaver. Mulder ruminates for a while on how to better mankind. A clapboard house explodes.

Paula Sorge plays a centuries old, less than benignant genie. Her performance is less than impressive; she comes off as a less nasal, svelter Roseanne Barr. The humans that she grants wishes to end up in dire straits or dead, after receiving a rather twisted version of what they thought they wanted.

By the end of Je Souhaite, I was shaking my head, and just glad it was over.

This series lasted for 217 episodes. Impossible to make every one a good one, let alone great one, in such a span.

Rather than watch this, I could have watched episodes with the Smoking Man. Or one where Doggett and Reyes help protect Scully and her unborn baby.

Funny...and so frustrating.

[theos_7 · 8/10 · 8 August 2013]

I couldn't help but be so excruciatingly frustrated at bros Dumb & Dumbest attempts at making meaningful wishes - like watching a slow motion wreck of stupidity. You can't help but wonder 'what would i wish for?'. The fact she couldn't care less about the outcome much less offered any guidance was telling.

It was really easy to miss but when the trailer blows up she falls back to earth already rolled up in the carpet and hits quite hard, letting out a muffled yelp.

They said at this point of the series, they were writing without knowing whether there would be a new season approved or not. So you can see why they'd tend to take routes even further from the beaten X-Files path.

(I'm in the middle of binge watching every episode as they are all free on Amazon Prime)

One of my top ten favorites.

[gonzosintheair · 10/10 · 6 April 2010]

I love this episode because it supports my opinion that expecting peace out of the blue is just plain ignorant. Right now we have approximately 6.8 BIL people in the world. In order to achieve peace, all 6.8 BIL will have to agree with every Religious belief, every value system, every code of ethics, etc, etc, etc. Get the point? How, pray tell, can that happen. To those who believe it can and will happen, do you have some sort of top secret info to which you alone are privy??? Consider what happens, almost every time, when a new government takes over. Those who oppose are hunted down and silenced (killed). Like I said, LOVE this episode. I have a comment about Mulder's three wishes. I thought he would wish for his sister. He could have said to hell with being altruistic and wished for the complete truth about his sister. He could have worded them so that he could get his sister back, exposed the "Evil Group", destroyed the "Evil EBEs" and saved any more people from being abducted and tested. Hey, it's just a thought.

Another great episode

[terrybozzio · 9/10 · 24 March 2024]

I think that Vince Gillian has marked a milestone in the history of television series, first with the X-files and after with Breaking Bad. Both are extremely careful when developing their episodes, as in the definition of the characters.

In this apparently banal episode, the superficiality of human beings is shown, as well as the lack of understanding of the development and purpose of their presence in the world.

Mulder is really on the track of the history of humanity, vanity, greed and ignorance. Only the abandonment of selfish desires, makes someone, pretty happy, By the way it is funny and has a strong relation with Wings of desire 1987 by Wim Wenders. You will enjoy it!

Idiomatic idiom

[apd8 · 1/10 · 31 March 2022]

What the face are these stupid pieces of idiomatic ships living together.

Even though she is annoying and tricky, I rooted for Jenn to take out all those idioms.

Go Jenn!!!