Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
- Episode aired Nov 17, 1996
- TV-14
- 45m
The Lone Gunmen reveal the (possibly fake) secret history of the Smoking Man to Mulder with focus on three episodes from his life - the assassination of JFK, his attempts at becoming a novel... Read allThe Lone Gunmen reveal the (possibly fake) secret history of the Smoking Man to Mulder with focus on three episodes from his life - the assassination of JFK, his attempts at becoming a novelist and one of his UFO cover ups.The Lone Gunmen reveal the (possibly fake) secret history of the Smoking Man to Mulder with focus on three episodes from his life - the assassination of JFK, his attempts at becoming a novelist and one of his UFO cover ups.
- Fox Mulder
- (voice)
- Corporal
- (uncredited)
- Newstand Operator
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGillian Anderson and David Duchovny were delighted to learn that they would not be needed for this episode, giving them a 10-day break.
- GoofsThe RCA logo seen on the television set at about 26 minutes was not used in the time period portrayed.
- Quotes
The Cigarette Smoking Man: Life is like a box of chocolates. A cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable because all you get back is another box of chocolates. So you're stuck with this undefinable whipped mint crap that you mindlessly wolf down when there's nothing else left to eat. Sure, once in a while there's a peanut butter cup or an English toffee. But they're gone too fast and the taste is... fleeting. So, you end up with nothing but broken bits filled with hardened jelly and teeth-shattering nuts. And if you're desperate enough to eat those, all you got left is an empty box filled with useless brown paper wrappers.
- ConnectionsEdited from The X-Files: Pilot (1993)
- SoundtracksIt's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
(uncredited)
Written by Edward Pola and George Wyle
Performed by Andy Williams
Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man begins with the Lone Gunmen telling Mulder and Scully that they may have found the identity of the Cigarette Smoking Man, while the Smoking Man prepares a rifle ready to fire on the Gunmen. As he hears the story the Lone Gunmen have found, he begins to think back on his own life.
Here we learn that Cigarette Smoking Man was recruited from the Army and given the assignment to assassinate President Kennedy and frame Lee Harvey Oswald. Five years later, he assassinates Martin Luther King, Jr.
I love how this is done, I love how the plot plays off the death of two of the most famous assassinations in human history. This was done by Glen Morgan to show that the Cigarette Smoking Man is "the most dangerous human being alive", and this was done brilliantly.
We also learn during the flashbacks that the Smoking Man is an aspiring writer who desperately wants to get one of his science fiction novels published. The scene where he gets a call from a publisher to say that his story will be published in a magazine, we see a side to the Smoking Man I never thought we'd ever see.
He shows a lot of excitement at this news even typing up a letter of resignation from the Syndicate. The next day when he buys a copy of the magazine, he finds that the ending to his story has been changed, and the shopkeeper tells him that the magazine is rubbish, we see this great look of sadness in his face, this is where I first felt sympathy for him. I especially liked his play on the "Life is like a Box of Chocolates" phrase!
But what I liked most about the Smoking Man in this episode, is how it is hinted that he doesn't like his the evil life he leads. He not evil because he thinks he's right or because he likes it, but because he believes that his life allows him nothing else.
This is the Cigarette Smoking Man I want the character to be, a stone-cold nasty man on the outside, but on the inside he's a desperate, lonely man longing for a second chance in life.
The only thing I found disappointing was where Frohike tells Mulder and Scully that everything he found out may not be completely true, and many fans may like this to leave a little mystery in the character, but this for me is the perfect villain, forced to do evil things, but really wants a second chance in life.
I love at the very end of the episode where the Smoking Man aims his rifle at Frohike but decides not to, yet. Depending on what in the episode you believe to be true this can be interpreted in many different ways. Did he do this because having power over his enemies is enough. Well I prefer to interpret this as he could kill him, but doesn't really want to, because he doesn't want to be evil, and the world isn't forcing him to be evil that night.
This is the Smoking Man I want to see in the X Files, and Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man does a great job of giving this mysterious character some backstory, while allowing the viewer to decide what is true, and what is not...
- Robinson2511
- Mar 31, 2016
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 4:3