The Post-Modern Prometheus is a charming little episode. With the comic book story framing and shooting in black and white, it lends a very fairy tale quality to it. This episode is not meant to be taken seriously, and if you do, you'll miss the boat. Chris Carter actually wanted Roseanne as Shaineh Berkowitz and Cher as herself in this episode, but they were both unavailable. The actress replacing Roseanne was born for the part. And, of course, John O'Hurley is enjoyable as the mad scientist. Jerry Springer brings a nice white trash-feel to the episode as well. The boys who played Izzy and his friends were non-actors, just locals. The chicken lady reporter is also well acted. Talk about casting luck. The carnival music was good, bringing an other-worldly feel to the episode. The effect of the lightning flashes was cliché, corny, and ...perfect. I love the scene where Izzy's mom is confronting him, then Scully bends her head into the frame, then Mulder does also. Very funny. While watching Post-Modern Prometheus, don't worry about the real world implications of it. It's a harmless fairy tale, that makes for good escapist fun.
30 Reviews
'The Post-Modern Prometheus' had it all for me
SleepTight6666 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This might just be my favorite episode. It is truly hard to pick one, but if I had to, it would probably be this one.
'The Post-Modern Prometheus' had it all for me. It was a lot of fun to watch, it brought a smile upon my face time after time. Despite it having one of the most freaky 'monsters', it is a tragic story that reminds me of 'The Elephant Man'. A heavily deformed human being that is mistreated by others because of his deformities, but once the people get to know him, they realize that he has a great spirit and has feelings just like anybody else.
That final scene where everyone is gathered around to see this 'monster' might be my favorite scene of the X-Files. The hilarity behind it is that most of the village people's fathers are animals. There's a pig, a goat, a chicken etc. But at the same time, it is an incredibly touching piece of writing.
This is also the only episode that is black and white. It fits the look and the atmosphere of the episode, as does the comic book style of directing.
The episode ends with Mulder and Scully taking the great mutato to a concert of his biggest idol, Cher. That was really icing the cake.
What an episode.
FIVE Stars
'The Post-Modern Prometheus' had it all for me. It was a lot of fun to watch, it brought a smile upon my face time after time. Despite it having one of the most freaky 'monsters', it is a tragic story that reminds me of 'The Elephant Man'. A heavily deformed human being that is mistreated by others because of his deformities, but once the people get to know him, they realize that he has a great spirit and has feelings just like anybody else.
That final scene where everyone is gathered around to see this 'monster' might be my favorite scene of the X-Files. The hilarity behind it is that most of the village people's fathers are animals. There's a pig, a goat, a chicken etc. But at the same time, it is an incredibly touching piece of writing.
This is also the only episode that is black and white. It fits the look and the atmosphere of the episode, as does the comic book style of directing.
The episode ends with Mulder and Scully taking the great mutato to a concert of his biggest idol, Cher. That was really icing the cake.
What an episode.
FIVE Stars
Liberating Mutato
greatwhitesandparasites15 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I felt a strong urge to create an IMDb account after reading several other reviews making claims that the element of sexual assault was overlooked in the episode. I am writing a submission of my own to exculpate the character of Mutato of any accusatory allegations. The users who refer to him as a rapist or sex offender are no better than the villagers bearing torches, who are blinded by their own ignorance. If they had paid closer attention to the scene in which Mutato reveals the truth behind the mysterious impregnations, he explains that it was his "father" Old Man Pollidori who had been inseminating the women of the town with mutated DNA that was fused by his own farm animals. That is why there are several clever hints distributed throughout the episode alluding to Mrs. Berkowitz's son Izzy as a pig and the reporter as a chicken.
Another fact to consider is that there were several mentions that Mrs. Berkowitz would not be able to get pregnant the "traditional" way, making the traditional form of rape also impossible. Mutato did act as an accomplice to the crimes the Old Man commit, but any charges against him would be dropped in American court by reason of mental disease or defect, being that he had spent his life in isolation and was psychologically impaired from making informed decisions.
It is my understanding that Mutato did not believe he was doing anything wrong. He was dancing along to Cher and eating the peanut butter of the houses that the Old Man broke into! He has the mind of a child and even made a statement of being incapable of wrongdoing. The Old Man received justice for unlawfully fertilizing these women against their knowledge with the capital punishment: death. Dr. Pollidori was arrested for killing his father. Mutato's dream of meeting Cher came true. Everyone got exactly what they deserved.
So let this episode be as intended, a wonderfully creative and anecdotal addition to the X- files. Enjoy it damn it! Good television is hard to come by these days.
Another fact to consider is that there were several mentions that Mrs. Berkowitz would not be able to get pregnant the "traditional" way, making the traditional form of rape also impossible. Mutato did act as an accomplice to the crimes the Old Man commit, but any charges against him would be dropped in American court by reason of mental disease or defect, being that he had spent his life in isolation and was psychologically impaired from making informed decisions.
It is my understanding that Mutato did not believe he was doing anything wrong. He was dancing along to Cher and eating the peanut butter of the houses that the Old Man broke into! He has the mind of a child and even made a statement of being incapable of wrongdoing. The Old Man received justice for unlawfully fertilizing these women against their knowledge with the capital punishment: death. Dr. Pollidori was arrested for killing his father. Mutato's dream of meeting Cher came true. Everyone got exactly what they deserved.
So let this episode be as intended, a wonderfully creative and anecdotal addition to the X- files. Enjoy it damn it! Good television is hard to come by these days.
A classic episode
ametaphysicalshark22 April 2008
My feelings on this episode tend to fluctuate quite a bit. At one point I thought it was brilliant in parts but not anything special as a whole. Upon this most recent viewing I found that I not only loved this episode, but that I really, really loved it, and would count it among my favorites.
The visuals aren't good just because they are in black and white, the episode just looks brilliant in general. Chris Carter had only directed two episodes prior to this, but his work is the work of a professional and pays homage beautifully to the classic Universal monster movies.
The story is unique and fun, as well. You have to love John O'Hurley as a 'mad scientist'. The plot twists and turns and in the end it's just a great feel-good episode.
10/10
The visuals aren't good just because they are in black and white, the episode just looks brilliant in general. Chris Carter had only directed two episodes prior to this, but his work is the work of a professional and pays homage beautifully to the classic Universal monster movies.
The story is unique and fun, as well. You have to love John O'Hurley as a 'mad scientist'. The plot twists and turns and in the end it's just a great feel-good episode.
10/10
This was an awesome episode.
Sleepin_Dragon28 August 2022
Within the first minute or two, you're left in no doubt as to what this episode is going to be about, the black and white theme, the comic book sequences etc.
Production values are off the scale, it looks awesome, even almost thirty years on, it's quite unlike any other episode.
Funny, unique, and by today's standards, there's a poignant message in it, everybody wants to be famous right, that seems more relevant now than it was back in the 90's.
It's like a surreal telling of Frankenstein, imagine the writers and production team at The X Files were visited by Mary Shelley and Salvador Dali, this would be the result.
You'll want to watch this one again.
Hard not to fall in love with this one. 10/10.
Production values are off the scale, it looks awesome, even almost thirty years on, it's quite unlike any other episode.
Funny, unique, and by today's standards, there's a poignant message in it, everybody wants to be famous right, that seems more relevant now than it was back in the 90's.
It's like a surreal telling of Frankenstein, imagine the writers and production team at The X Files were visited by Mary Shelley and Salvador Dali, this would be the result.
You'll want to watch this one again.
Hard not to fall in love with this one. 10/10.
The Penultimate X-Istential MOTW
XweAponX9 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The Postmodern Prometheus is the Classic X-Files Monster of the Week, with the most famous of Monsters, that one made by the hand of Man.
And the question really being, if we were to create Life, how would that life be treated? Even the original Mary Shelly story asks this question. And now, Mulder and Skully serve as intermediaries in the retelling of this tale with an existential twist. Dadaists and Existentialists Unite! This episode once again proves Chris Carter's worth as a writer and parodist. Mostly the Latter.
Mark's Snow's "Carnival" music drives this episode as Mulder and Skully respond to the letter of a Midwest, TV Viewing/Rosanne-Style Mother, who has been impregnated by a "Monster." They come to a Midwest town with Typical Midwest people plus one "Mad Scientist" - A Mad Scientist who is not servicing his wife.
In the background of this typical midwest setting, the "Monster" is tenting up houses, impregnating the women of the town and eating all of the peanut-butter stock the town can provide.
The "people" Carter creates in this tale are parodies of our neighbors, even of ourselves. And as these people are not your basic Television Adonises and Venuses, the parody of the tale hits home in the bland, normal Jerry Springer viewing middle mean of Americana.
While some would feel the actions of this "Monster" are horrific, in fact he is just trying to educate himself and find a little romance - Through the songs of Cher.
This was the Episode of The X-Files that allowed us not to take the show so seriously all the time, and by not taking The X-Files seriously, not taking our humdrum existences seriously. Ergo, "Post-Modern."
All it takes is a little romance, Provided there is a Cher* to deliver "Walking in Memphis" to us. It doesn't matter how bland we are as people, how unattractive we feel we are or how unworthy we feel - Everyone deserves Love and Peanut Butter, even Monsters.
(*The Body-Double for Cher was a pretty good match, I really thought it was her all these years)
And the question really being, if we were to create Life, how would that life be treated? Even the original Mary Shelly story asks this question. And now, Mulder and Skully serve as intermediaries in the retelling of this tale with an existential twist. Dadaists and Existentialists Unite! This episode once again proves Chris Carter's worth as a writer and parodist. Mostly the Latter.
Mark's Snow's "Carnival" music drives this episode as Mulder and Skully respond to the letter of a Midwest, TV Viewing/Rosanne-Style Mother, who has been impregnated by a "Monster." They come to a Midwest town with Typical Midwest people plus one "Mad Scientist" - A Mad Scientist who is not servicing his wife.
In the background of this typical midwest setting, the "Monster" is tenting up houses, impregnating the women of the town and eating all of the peanut-butter stock the town can provide.
The "people" Carter creates in this tale are parodies of our neighbors, even of ourselves. And as these people are not your basic Television Adonises and Venuses, the parody of the tale hits home in the bland, normal Jerry Springer viewing middle mean of Americana.
While some would feel the actions of this "Monster" are horrific, in fact he is just trying to educate himself and find a little romance - Through the songs of Cher.
This was the Episode of The X-Files that allowed us not to take the show so seriously all the time, and by not taking The X-Files seriously, not taking our humdrum existences seriously. Ergo, "Post-Modern."
All it takes is a little romance, Provided there is a Cher* to deliver "Walking in Memphis" to us. It doesn't matter how bland we are as people, how unattractive we feel we are or how unworthy we feel - Everyone deserves Love and Peanut Butter, even Monsters.
(*The Body-Double for Cher was a pretty good match, I really thought it was her all these years)
one of the best in X Files
sayaneeriya30 August 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Post Modern Prometheus will definitely come in the list of top 10 episodes of X Files. This episode serves the good old story of Frankenstein with a different twist. in this episode clichéd looked interesting. I love how Chrish Carter adopted the old school style here. The black and white visualization, thundering effect, music, dialogues everything gives an old era feel. This story has such a feel-good effect, starting with a ting of comedy and turned into a tragic tale of a man with deformity and finally end in a happily ever after note. This is one episode you don't have to think much, just enjoy it with a smile. I loved the scene at the end where Mulder and Scully danced. Beautiful moment.
Just one request to those who are criticizing Great mutato as a rapist please watch it again it was clearly told it was his father who was impregnating those woman artificially not him.
Just one request to those who are criticizing Great mutato as a rapist please watch it again it was clearly told it was his father who was impregnating those woman artificially not him.
totally brilliant!!!!
noneabve194715 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
oh, common, critics!!!! Get yr head out of yr rear sphincter and realize this is just a one-off fairy tale.
This has nothing to do with the other episodes in the series, so why did Chris Carter put it on this show? That's answered by the "Mad Doctor" in the best line in the episode: "Because I CAN!!".
ALL the actors are perfectly cast, even the drag queen "Cher" at the end. And that ending, well, I had a major grin and tears streaming down my face. Way to go Mr. Carter!!!!
In college I had to read Gothic horror.....turns out I liked it. Mary Shelly's book is very short, but has the mood. Funny to see all those unknown actors be so intense. They are ALL good!!!
This has nothing to do with the other episodes in the series, so why did Chris Carter put it on this show? That's answered by the "Mad Doctor" in the best line in the episode: "Because I CAN!!".
ALL the actors are perfectly cast, even the drag queen "Cher" at the end. And that ending, well, I had a major grin and tears streaming down my face. Way to go Mr. Carter!!!!
In college I had to read Gothic horror.....turns out I liked it. Mary Shelly's book is very short, but has the mood. Funny to see all those unknown actors be so intense. They are ALL good!!!
Mulder and Scully in a Frankenstein black and white episode the best of The X-Files
NightmareOnElmStreetFan27 June 2019
I love this episode really the best one in the fifth season. It is a diffrent monster episode about a monster who actually is a normal human being accused of a murder he never commited. It is up to Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) to investigate strange events in this episode. The episode is the first time in Black and White color. I was really surprised by this episode which I thought the villian Frankenstein would be a mean person but it surprised by a sympithizing a good hearted human being who did do nothing wrong.
I love Mulder and Scully in here love them. I love the songs playing from Cher, Mulder and Scully dancing on the end and they are happy.
It is a very memorable and distinctive (and uplifting) image. It captures a lot of the appeal of the fifth season in general and of The Post-Modern Prometheus in general - a sense of fun and playfulness that really celebrates the fact that The X-Files is at the peak of its popularity and success.
Another thing about the episode The Great Mutato was not the rapist! Particularly that shot of him dancing up the stairs - it's quite clear that he is just hanging around the house while his father (or grandfather) is impregnating the women. Great Mutato was innocent he did do nothing.
Really good Episode for The X-Files fans I am glad that david Duchovny loves this Episode.
I love Mulder and Scully in here love them. I love the songs playing from Cher, Mulder and Scully dancing on the end and they are happy.
It is a very memorable and distinctive (and uplifting) image. It captures a lot of the appeal of the fifth season in general and of The Post-Modern Prometheus in general - a sense of fun and playfulness that really celebrates the fact that The X-Files is at the peak of its popularity and success.
Another thing about the episode The Great Mutato was not the rapist! Particularly that shot of him dancing up the stairs - it's quite clear that he is just hanging around the house while his father (or grandfather) is impregnating the women. Great Mutato was innocent he did do nothing.
Really good Episode for The X-Files fans I am glad that david Duchovny loves this Episode.
Cher is a moron...
Sanpaco1316 November 2007
This is one of the better Chris Carter episodes. After this one it seems like he tries to recreate it. The main things I love about this episode are the scenes with the monster dancing to cher, all the animal people, and the mad scientist. The casting is very interesting on this episode. Originally Chris wanted to have Rosanne Bar play the mom and Cher play herself. Can't remember why Rosanne couldn't be in it but I watched some of the Season 9 Special Features discs recently and on one disc there is a guest star retrospective documentary where they talk to a number of the guest stars. Interestingly they interview Cher even though she declined appearing in the episode of "The Post-Modern Prometheus" and she basically says that she didn't do it because she thought the script seemed corny and she wasn't thrilled about playing herself rather than acting but after she saw it she regretted it and wishes she had done it. That's what you get I say. You don't turn down an opportunity to be on the X-Files unless you are a total moron. Anyway the other interesting thing about casting is how many extras they have in this episode playing the animal people. I would love to be on an episode of X-Files. Anyway, I like this episode and I give it 9/10.
The Great Mutato as Sex Offender
ddeboer26 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I think this episode is one of my favorites but I can also say that I too am troubled by the rape aspect of this story. I know it isn't meant to be taken seriously but I am bothered by the fact that no one seems to mind or actually use the word "rape". I think one can still like this episode while at least mentioning this troublesome aspect of the story. Implicit messages are important to detect in any story and the message here seems to be "because I am so pitiable and isolated, that makes it OK or exusable for me to force myself sexually on unsuspecting people". Really? Would Scully and Mulder really take him to a Cher concert rather than jail? Nevertheless I liked the photography, the music, the B movie aspect of it, and the reference to sensational pop culture.
The X-Files meets Tim Burton meets Frankenstein
injury-6544731 May 2020
I am in awe of this episode! A 10/10 doesn't even do it justice! This is pure perfection and probably the best X-Files episode I've seen yet.
So so so so so so funny. So hilarious but I couldn't laugh because my mouth was always already agape in wonderment at this Beautiful creation.
The only explanation Is that this inhumanly good episode was created in a lab by a mad scientist experimenting with a mix of B Movies, Cher records and schlocky day time talk shoWs!
Behold! It's alive!!!!! It's alive!!!! Mwahahahaha!!!
So so so so so so funny. So hilarious but I couldn't laugh because my mouth was always already agape in wonderment at this Beautiful creation.
The only explanation Is that this inhumanly good episode was created in a lab by a mad scientist experimenting with a mix of B Movies, Cher records and schlocky day time talk shoWs!
Behold! It's alive!!!!! It's alive!!!! Mwahahahaha!!!
Frankenstein's Monster, the Rapist
Cineanalyst26 August 2018
I've been seeking a bunch of Frankenstein films since re-reading Mary Shelley's novel, and I've seen some wretched TV movies and B-pictures in that process, so why not an episode of a TV series, too. Plus, "The X-Files" is one of the more respected shows in TV history. "The Post-Modern Prometheus" is a stand-alone entry in the series--what they call a "monster-of-the-week" episode, which is irrelevant to the overarching plot of a season, and it's one of the highest ranked such episodes in the show's span. The title is a spin on the subtitle of Shelley's story and an appropriate one given that the episode is largely a pastiche of the classic Universal Frankenstein films of the 1930s and 1940s, including black-and-white photography, some low-angle shots, lightning, a mad scientist, a monster and an angry mob.
Even the monster's deformity of a double face seems to allude to the episode reflecting, or doubling, the familiar Frankenstein myth. His seeking a bride is also taken from the novel. The mad scientist, Dr. Pollidori, seems to be named after John Polidori, who was with Mary, Percy Shelley and others at Lord Byron's villa when they had a ghost-story writing competition, for which Polidori's "The Vampyre" is the other, albeit lesser, significant work to emerge. In 1997, Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned mammal, was big news, so this episode updates the science-y stuff to involve genetics and borrows from "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells in its human-farm-animal hybrids.
Seeking a mate, the creature breaks into women's homes, anesthetizes them and rapes them for the purpose of impregnation, which has incestuous and potentially further rapacious implications, as well, if one supposes he used any of his own genetic material, besides that of farm animals, and planned to create a sexual mate. As disturbing as this subject matter is and as off-putting as the light treatment of it by "The X-Files" is, it's almost aptly analogous to the misogyny of parthenogenesis in Shelley's "Frankenstein," of life created by man's will alone. The difference being here that woman continues to be used, without consent, for her womb.
I guess the references to "Mask" (1985), including Cher, are meant to humanize the creature, named "Mutato," whose actions are otherwise, indeed, monstrous. Generally parodic in tone, the episode's treatment of the town as Jerry Springer viewing bumpkins comes off as rather insulting. And, the investigative work of Mulder and Scully and whomever else leaves much to be desired: they repeatedly touch evidence without using gloves, nobody seems to have noticed or been questioned regarding fumigation tents being put over houses where and when crimes were reported, the two FBI agents run inside one of these tents only to pass out, and so on. Yet, I do like the inclusion of the comic-book writer, who's akin to Captain Walton in the epistolary structure of Shelley's story--it being comprised of his letters, he's the narrator and surrogate author within the narrative. In "The Post-Modern Prometheus," it's even insinuated by Mulder, the believer of the detective duo, that the comic-book writer is the author of this very episode. Mulder, self-aware and practically breaking the fourth wall, doesn't like the ending, so he calls for the writer to change it.
Even the monster's deformity of a double face seems to allude to the episode reflecting, or doubling, the familiar Frankenstein myth. His seeking a bride is also taken from the novel. The mad scientist, Dr. Pollidori, seems to be named after John Polidori, who was with Mary, Percy Shelley and others at Lord Byron's villa when they had a ghost-story writing competition, for which Polidori's "The Vampyre" is the other, albeit lesser, significant work to emerge. In 1997, Dolly the Sheep, the first cloned mammal, was big news, so this episode updates the science-y stuff to involve genetics and borrows from "The Island of Dr. Moreau" by H.G. Wells in its human-farm-animal hybrids.
Seeking a mate, the creature breaks into women's homes, anesthetizes them and rapes them for the purpose of impregnation, which has incestuous and potentially further rapacious implications, as well, if one supposes he used any of his own genetic material, besides that of farm animals, and planned to create a sexual mate. As disturbing as this subject matter is and as off-putting as the light treatment of it by "The X-Files" is, it's almost aptly analogous to the misogyny of parthenogenesis in Shelley's "Frankenstein," of life created by man's will alone. The difference being here that woman continues to be used, without consent, for her womb.
I guess the references to "Mask" (1985), including Cher, are meant to humanize the creature, named "Mutato," whose actions are otherwise, indeed, monstrous. Generally parodic in tone, the episode's treatment of the town as Jerry Springer viewing bumpkins comes off as rather insulting. And, the investigative work of Mulder and Scully and whomever else leaves much to be desired: they repeatedly touch evidence without using gloves, nobody seems to have noticed or been questioned regarding fumigation tents being put over houses where and when crimes were reported, the two FBI agents run inside one of these tents only to pass out, and so on. Yet, I do like the inclusion of the comic-book writer, who's akin to Captain Walton in the epistolary structure of Shelley's story--it being comprised of his letters, he's the narrator and surrogate author within the narrative. In "The Post-Modern Prometheus," it's even insinuated by Mulder, the believer of the detective duo, that the comic-book writer is the author of this very episode. Mulder, self-aware and practically breaking the fourth wall, doesn't like the ending, so he calls for the writer to change it.
fun idea handled badly
RuthAkien8 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS for this episode and Small Potatoes***
After enjoying the x-files when I was very young I've recently revisited the show, and am working my way through all episodes. So far, I'd avoided commenting on episodes (even the truly amazing ones) but I was stunned to see this episode rated so high.
I usually like CC episodes they're often funny and play with M and S's relationship. However they can be uneven, and this is the worst example I've seen so far. The episode had several good moments, including coffee on M's lap and M + S dancing together, but in the end i didn't feel the way the episode clearly wanted me to.
Rather than "he's not a monster at all", the monster is a sex offender as he forced women to have non-consenting sex with him (worse: for the self-motivated purpose of making them pregnant). The fact that the women seemed OK with this doesn't make it any better, they could easily have had a different reaction, especially as the 'monster' didn't make any apparent effort to check they even wanted a child. In Small Potatoes (s4e20) the 'monster' has sex with women who haven't consented to have sex with the real him but provided most woman with babies they'd longed for. He's put on the sex offender's register (as he should be), what's so different in this episode?
Small side-note: The bland Cher version of Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore is an offence to sound and the ability to hear.
After enjoying the x-files when I was very young I've recently revisited the show, and am working my way through all episodes. So far, I'd avoided commenting on episodes (even the truly amazing ones) but I was stunned to see this episode rated so high.
I usually like CC episodes they're often funny and play with M and S's relationship. However they can be uneven, and this is the worst example I've seen so far. The episode had several good moments, including coffee on M's lap and M + S dancing together, but in the end i didn't feel the way the episode clearly wanted me to.
Rather than "he's not a monster at all", the monster is a sex offender as he forced women to have non-consenting sex with him (worse: for the self-motivated purpose of making them pregnant). The fact that the women seemed OK with this doesn't make it any better, they could easily have had a different reaction, especially as the 'monster' didn't make any apparent effort to check they even wanted a child. In Small Potatoes (s4e20) the 'monster' has sex with women who haven't consented to have sex with the real him but provided most woman with babies they'd longed for. He's put on the sex offender's register (as he should be), what's so different in this episode?
Small side-note: The bland Cher version of Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore is an offence to sound and the ability to hear.
a masterpiece---& an EMMY snub
Twins6527 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I recently re-watched this Chris Carter' (the "creator", not the wide-receiver) directed masterful homage to "Frankenstein" with his commentary on, and it is an all-time TV classic. I'd already seen it two or three times in it's original form, and it was fun to watch it again with the back-story.
I'm not going to give too much away, but if you've seen any of the "Frankenstein" movies in any form produced in the last seventy-five years, you'll know what's coming.
Watch for the eccentric "chicken-lady" reporter, the lady with the eyes way too far apart, and of course "J. Peterman" delivering his lines as only he can. And when the "Mutato" gets front row seats at the Cher show, cutting loose with overheard fists to the sky, you'll feel better about mankind than you have in weeks.
Carter claims the Emmy review board questioned his "substance-intake" after viewing this one, but I'm going to question theirs for denying him whatever award in which he was nominated for this episode.
I'm not going to give too much away, but if you've seen any of the "Frankenstein" movies in any form produced in the last seventy-five years, you'll know what's coming.
Watch for the eccentric "chicken-lady" reporter, the lady with the eyes way too far apart, and of course "J. Peterman" delivering his lines as only he can. And when the "Mutato" gets front row seats at the Cher show, cutting loose with overheard fists to the sky, you'll feel better about mankind than you have in weeks.
Carter claims the Emmy review board questioned his "substance-intake" after viewing this one, but I'm going to question theirs for denying him whatever award in which he was nominated for this episode.
Outstanding
virtue_srb29 March 2019
What an awesome episode.. I really feel bad for folks who cant unwind and enjoy the magic of this, good job Chris. I was really hesitant to watch this, as I understood from the beginning its going to be something goofy, but I was not disappointed one bit.
Awesome episode
jtkirk16124 June 2018
Post modern perfection
nuddywizz5 February 2021
Outstanding
sycamorekevin25 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
For me, this episode is an emotional roller coaster.
At one point it's a mistery, then a comedy, then a heart hitting drama and at the end sweet, slightly melancholic yet uplifting.
Funny, how actor Chris Owens enjoys this role. Note: He plays the Young Cigarette Smoking Man.
Mulder giving him a high five at the end is a huge joke for me, in a good way.
So, all-in-all, After 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose', this is my second favourite episode in the whole series.
At one point it's a mistery, then a comedy, then a heart hitting drama and at the end sweet, slightly melancholic yet uplifting.
Funny, how actor Chris Owens enjoys this role. Note: He plays the Young Cigarette Smoking Man.
Mulder giving him a high five at the end is a huge joke for me, in a good way.
So, all-in-all, After 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose', this is my second favourite episode in the whole series.
"Is there anything you don't believe in, Mulder?"
classicsoncall10 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The black and white treatment given this episode of the X-Files was just perfect, seeing as how it was an homage to one of the great horror films of all time, 1931's "Frankenstein". There are even scenes that appear to be lifted from that Boris Karloff classic, like when the villagers storm the elder Pollidori (Lloyd Berry) farm and inadvertently torch the barn. And given the subject matter of a severely deformed human, the story brought to mind the 1932 film "Freaks", with a newspaper reporter character (Dana Grahame) who reminded me of the Bird Girl from that early picture. If you're not up on your classic horror, both films are recommended.
But it's not all about misshapen creatures and horror elements. The writers put a clever spin on the story with it's treatment of the Mutato (Chris Owens) character, who lives a hidden life on the Pollidori farm after he was rejected by the man who 'created' him. What might have been a tragic ending is redeemed by the sympathetic treatment given the boy who admires the singer Cher and her movie "Mask" which carries a similar theme. The way things all come together at the end makes for a heartwarming story about those who are different from the rest of us, inspiring in it's vision of treating all God's creatures as unique and worthy of life.
What the episode never answers however are the mysterious pregnancies that are revealed over the course of the story. One would be hard pressed to make the case that it was Mutato responsible, and pointing the finger at Dr. Pollidori (John O'Hurley) would be a considerable stretch. The founder of the homeotic gene didn't want a baby himself as opposed to a much desired Nobel Prize, so we're left with one of the few stories the X-Files gives us that ends with a real question mark. Along with Scully and Mulder in that cozy clench at the very end of the episode.
But it's not all about misshapen creatures and horror elements. The writers put a clever spin on the story with it's treatment of the Mutato (Chris Owens) character, who lives a hidden life on the Pollidori farm after he was rejected by the man who 'created' him. What might have been a tragic ending is redeemed by the sympathetic treatment given the boy who admires the singer Cher and her movie "Mask" which carries a similar theme. The way things all come together at the end makes for a heartwarming story about those who are different from the rest of us, inspiring in it's vision of treating all God's creatures as unique and worthy of life.
What the episode never answers however are the mysterious pregnancies that are revealed over the course of the story. One would be hard pressed to make the case that it was Mutato responsible, and pointing the finger at Dr. Pollidori (John O'Hurley) would be a considerable stretch. The founder of the homeotic gene didn't want a baby himself as opposed to a much desired Nobel Prize, so we're left with one of the few stories the X-Files gives us that ends with a real question mark. Along with Scully and Mulder in that cozy clench at the very end of the episode.
Quirky and stylized fun
derangedxzombie14 July 2021
Aesthetics are absolutely gorgeous, but...
2cool4it7 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I like how it's filmed and every technical aspect is on point, if this review relied only on it alone it would be a 10/10. However, what's wrong with the story writing? All of a sudden Mutato's crimes are forgiven because of a lame excuse and a moving speech to sugarcoat it. He should have been in jail instead of a concert, and as revolting as it gets Mulder and Scully seem to be OK with it. Where's the indignation shown in Small Potatoes? In my opinion they should have used another approach in this episode, maybe humanising the monster, but still not celebrating what he did. I thought I was in for a great episode and all I got was disappointment in the end. It makes absolutely no sense how this story unfolded.
Fun, satirical and charming.
Umarfilmgeek7 June 2021
still like them after all these years
isaiah292324 October 2017
twenty years later and I still get a kick out of these off-the-wall episodes. why do certain people think everything has to be intellectual and educational? sometimes it's just nice to sit back and enjoy a program just for the fun of it. actually, I pity people who have no sense of humor and need every thing to be serious. anyways, why even watch X-Files if you need everything to be realistic, because, heaven knows, hardly any of the episodes were ever that.
Cringe-worthy
heyitskatieholmes8 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I started watching this episode calling out every few minutes "THIS IS AMAZING".... the B- movie feel is spot on, the lighting is (as is usual to x-files) absolutely gorgeous, and i love a solid dose of camp in my TV.... but the last ten minutes or so elicited new cries of "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH EVERYONE?!?!?!"
As other reviewers have pointed out, it is possible that Mutato's father is impregnating the women, but this is left entirely unclear. There is absolutely no mention that he has been experimenting with animal DNA, as another reviewer suggested - only Dr. Pollidori is supposedly experimenting with DNA, and Mutato says that his adoptive father, Old Man Pollidori, had somewhat disowned Dr. Pollidori because he was too obsessed with science... suggesting that Old Man Pollidori would have nothing to do with animal DNA experimentation. The comparisons between Izzy and a pig and the journalist and a chicken are purely stylistic. Furthermore, the suggestion (by the same reviewer) that Dr. Pollidori has artificially inseminated Mrs. Berkowitz and thus explains how she got pregnant with her tubes tied makes absolutely no sense.... THAT DOES NOT WORK. (There is, frustratingly, no explanation given to how she was impregnated.) Given, she does have Izzy 18 years earlier, so it seems that Old Man Pollidori impregnated her then, but Izzy is fully human, while she and Mrs. Pollidori are shown with mutant babies at the end.
Given this evidence - namely the mutant babies shown in a (bizarrely joyful) closing scene - Mutato is a rapist. Yes he has lived a horrible, emotionally and psychologically stunting life, but he is a rapist. The two women, in the end, forget their worries that they were drugged for three days, impregnated, ignored by the authorities, and left to raise children on their own.... and Moulder and Scully, instead of prosecuting Mutato, take him to a Cher concert. I'm watching X-files for the first time... I don't know where things are going, but there have already been a number of rape/sexual assault plot lines that are left largely unaddressed, and certainly not called out for what they clearly are - the plumber who shape shifts into women's husbands and impregnates them, and then becomes Moulder and attempts to seduce Scully, and whom we are prompted to sympathize with because he wants so badly to be loved..... or most notably the abduction of women, either by aliens or the US government/military, and impregnation of them (I assume). I realize the X-files was made at a different time.... but this subject is still unsettlingly brushed over, in a way that should be expected to upset a contemporary viewer! And this episode, with the climatically celebrated Mutato, is the worst so far.
To top it off, we have to watch Moulder and Scully slow-dance to Cher at the front of a crowd. Barf.
As other reviewers have pointed out, it is possible that Mutato's father is impregnating the women, but this is left entirely unclear. There is absolutely no mention that he has been experimenting with animal DNA, as another reviewer suggested - only Dr. Pollidori is supposedly experimenting with DNA, and Mutato says that his adoptive father, Old Man Pollidori, had somewhat disowned Dr. Pollidori because he was too obsessed with science... suggesting that Old Man Pollidori would have nothing to do with animal DNA experimentation. The comparisons between Izzy and a pig and the journalist and a chicken are purely stylistic. Furthermore, the suggestion (by the same reviewer) that Dr. Pollidori has artificially inseminated Mrs. Berkowitz and thus explains how she got pregnant with her tubes tied makes absolutely no sense.... THAT DOES NOT WORK. (There is, frustratingly, no explanation given to how she was impregnated.) Given, she does have Izzy 18 years earlier, so it seems that Old Man Pollidori impregnated her then, but Izzy is fully human, while she and Mrs. Pollidori are shown with mutant babies at the end.
Given this evidence - namely the mutant babies shown in a (bizarrely joyful) closing scene - Mutato is a rapist. Yes he has lived a horrible, emotionally and psychologically stunting life, but he is a rapist. The two women, in the end, forget their worries that they were drugged for three days, impregnated, ignored by the authorities, and left to raise children on their own.... and Moulder and Scully, instead of prosecuting Mutato, take him to a Cher concert. I'm watching X-files for the first time... I don't know where things are going, but there have already been a number of rape/sexual assault plot lines that are left largely unaddressed, and certainly not called out for what they clearly are - the plumber who shape shifts into women's husbands and impregnates them, and then becomes Moulder and attempts to seduce Scully, and whom we are prompted to sympathize with because he wants so badly to be loved..... or most notably the abduction of women, either by aliens or the US government/military, and impregnation of them (I assume). I realize the X-files was made at a different time.... but this subject is still unsettlingly brushed over, in a way that should be expected to upset a contemporary viewer! And this episode, with the climatically celebrated Mutato, is the worst so far.
To top it off, we have to watch Moulder and Scully slow-dance to Cher at the front of a crowd. Barf.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
