When I first saw the previews for this one I thought Skinner had the alien virus. so Krychek was the one behind this. now things are going to get interesting.

Cool episode, when they first see the things in skinners blood the first thing I thought was nano probes.

The begining and near the end of the episode conatins the most common medical nit in history, mainly trying to shock a flatline heart.

Why doesent Fox try to shoot the longhaird guy when he was chasing him , or why doesent he shoot his car? I kept saying "Shoot him .. shoot him...". I guess since he knew the guy had the key to skinners survival that he had to live.

Why does this bill have such a high number. It can't be from last year, and this session of Cngress just opened a few weeks ago. I'd expect the Resolution number to be around SR 29 or so.

-First Post-

Considering how many resolutions are submitted to the House it isn't impossible...

ANP

I missed getting first post by 2 minutes.

Couple of things on what's already up, then I have a nit.

First, it's illegal to shoot someone who hasn't shot first. I know they do sometimes, when they think the other person has a gun, but they aren't supposed to. Can't shoot the person or the car or anything.

Second, to nit a nit. It wasn't a House resolution, it was a Senate resolution. That's why it was SR 819. (As far as the high number goes, I doubt the PTB paid much attention. It sounded good.)

Now to the nit. At the very beginning, Skinner is getting ready to box. He doesn't have his glasses on (not surprizing). He looks around and can see everyone perfectly, including Krychek. How? I wear glasses; I know how this works. If he could see that well without glasses, he wouldn't need them. Not only that, but, speaking again as one who wears glasses, the later in the day it is, the worse your eyes are, because they're used to the glasses. I actually have much better vision first thing in the morning than I do late in the day, because my eyes have gotten used to the help.
Which actually brings up another question. Skinner is having trouble seeing, as shown by how he sees the two fighters. But he sees Krychek fine. How? Why isn't his vision still blurry? (I know, I know, because then we'd be missing half the story.)
I wonder if the actor really wears glasses. I can't see them well enough to tell. (And, yes, I can tell the difference between glasses for nearsightedness and farsightedness. A friend taught me.)

Great story otherwise. I thought I actually caught a couple of other nits, but on second run-thru they were right.

Is the near/far-sighted thing a secret, or can you tell us?

ANP

Wow, this was a cool episode ... and I was surprised that the long-haired guy was Krycek. I guess his keeping Skinner on his list of person-who-owes-him. Ooh, now Krycek can push Skinner's buttons. :-) Scary.

Skinner whispered a name (or I assume that's what he did since the doctor did say he said a name) and now thinking back I assume he said Krycek. Why didn't the doctor tell M&S this? Or did Skinner tell her not to say anything? I was beginning to think that he would finally take M&S's side after his admission at that hospital bed.

Interesting how they wrote in the "ear biting in the boxing ring" into the script as jokes. :-) But with a boxing mask, I hardly think ear biting is possible.

Why is Sen. Matheson calling Mulder, Fox? Did he before, I can't remember. But anyway, I think this episode is beginning to show that he's in cahoots with the Consortium eh?

Nice work on using Tunisian thugs. I believe that German guy is in Tunisia right (fr the movie)?

Chevy Chase, Maryland ... is there such a place? Interesting name.

When Mulder first mentions that phone call to Skinner's celfone, he said scrambled voice. I think he should've said synthesized computer voice 'coz that's what it sounded like (I remember my SAM program from years ago). Since he didn't hear the voice the first time, then perhaps it was ok ... but then how'd he know it wasn't an actual voice to begin with? Shouldn't he just have noted that Skinner got a call on his celfone?

Wow, that palm top gizmo Krycek has is totally awesome. It can send synthesized computer voice to a celfone. Must be a phone/heater panel controller/nanoprobe controller built-in-to-one. Seems like a very futuristic gizmo. My palm-top still has some problems recognizing some of my scribbles. ;-)

When Sen. Matheson sees Mulder in his house, he says "it's very late." I think he should've said it was "too early in the morning!" since it was 4+ am when he came knocking.

Nanoprobes ... I think I first heard of them on ST:TNG. Any relation? They didn't explain how it was transmitted did they? But I guess considering their size it's easy to transmit. Anyone have any idea how they multiply? At first I thought they were organic and maybe multiplied by cell-division. But after seeing that blood analysis that Scully and the 1st doctor was looking at, they seemed to appear from nowhere. Any theories on this? I'm just curious.

Ok, this is it for tonight. Just wanted to share what I thought with you guys. :-)

Just a few things regarding the nanoprobes:

1. Mulder calls them "atom-sized machines." Aside from the question of what internal structure an atom-sized machine would have, the nanoprobes under the microscope look about a fifth the diameter of red blood cells. That would put them at about one micron in diameter.

2. The nanoprobes probably can't be made of pure carbon. Even diamond and graphite have hydrogen bonded to their surface. The only substance we have made of 100% pure carbon is buckyballs. Also, Scully simply injected some blood into a machine (spectrophotometer?) and the screen showed several peaks, presumably indicating multiple elements. If they analyzed the nanoprobes along with the rest of the blood, how do they know that the nanoprobes are pure anything?

3. Someone pointed out the when they replicate, a new nanoprobe appears instantly. Either the nanoprobes replicate faster than the eye (or the camera) can see, or the special effects people are getting lazy :)

>Is the near/far-sighted thing a secret, or can you tell us?

I think that with one the lens is convex and with the other it's concave

I think the convex ones [would go like this ( looking at them from the left lens with the outside facing your left] are for nearsighted and the concave are curved the oposite and for farsightedness.

That would fit in with my convex (if that is the best description) glasses I wear for nearsightedness.

Also on the subject of glasses, someone wondered why Skinner could box without them, well even if Skinner was blind as a bat, which I doubt by the size of his glasses, he could still make out a blurry boxer to punch at.

ANP

Ratboy is back! yeah, my precious!

I'm not sure if this is universal across the country, but my local hospital doesn't allow cell phones to be activated inside of it. Then again, it would kind of ruin the plot because Skinner couldn't get any creepy phone calls.

Sean Marotta

Everyone has already gotten all the good nits. <sniff> But, I can tell Sean that our
hospital lets you use cell phones. A good thing, because if I remember correctly,
this isn't the first XF ep where they get calls.
Oh, and Gollum...did you become a 90's creature all of a sudden? Because i I
remember correctly, it's "*yes*, my precious."
Okay, so it's a miniscule nit. And I was glad to see Krycek back (and an added
bonus: no Uniblonder in sight!) He just gets cuter every minute. However, I bet
the MPEB (and the MPTB, but that's another story) were NOT happy to see their
beloved Skinner in that condition. Huge, bulging varicose veins are *not*
attractive. :-)
And, as a final note, it would appear that Skinner is no longer married. BTW, I
liked Mulder's question: "Alone?" It would seem that Mulder remembers the last
time Skinner was an X-file!
Rrrratboy.

A note: My dad has a nit. If the FBI labs are sooo good, if they can analyze the
merest speck of evidence and draw conclusions from them, WHY... couldn't they
figure out that Skinner's shadow was Krycek? Just get a good closeup off the
survelliance tape, put it into a morphing program and remove the beard and long
hair? *I* could probably do that, with my PC.
Rrratboy ru

Finally we're back on track - no more comedy! This is classic X-Files, the kind where the entire episode should be labeled "plot thickening".

Throughout reference is made to "Mr." Skinner. Shouldn't he be referred to by his honourific, such as "Director"?

Nice fake in the teaser, making us think it was Mulder until the last moment.

Did Mulder have to waste time taking the letter he found down to the hospital? Couldn't he just have faxed it or couriered it?

Mulder instantly identifies the phone voice as a mechanized one. Why couldn't Skinner? (he never brought it up, I don't believe) Is Mulder just that more worldly?

How many abandoned power plants do you suppose there are in the greater Washington area? How many, too, do you suppose are left unlocked?

Chevy Chase, Maryland does it exist, and no doubt predates National Lampoon.

I rarely catch nits as they happen on the first viewing, but I caught this one...When Mulder is in the Senator's house quizzing him, Mulder says, "I don't even know what this bill is for." The Senator replies, "It's a funding bill." Then maybe two sentences later, Mulder says something to the effect that "since it's a health bill..." Mulder couldn't have known it was a health bill from the Senator's description of the bill as a "funding" bill.....

Great episode! I love it! and I was totally surprised by Krychek!!! I think the name Skinner murmured was Krychek's name, but I bet he told the nurse not to tell anyone, because he is being protective of Mulder and Scully...

Sarah,

Skinner murmured the name to the doctor ... not the nurse. I assume that when he got better, he swore her to secrecy since he did see Krycek with his palm-top at the hospital and realized he owed Krycek. As I said previously, Krycek has Skinner's number now (as they showed in the car scene). Ooh, the plot thickens. :-)

Murray,

I, too, was wondering why the doctors & nurse called Skinner "Mr. Skinner." Maybe one becomes just a plain "Mr" in hospitals.

Speaking of the mechanized voice ... I pointed out earlier that Mulder first refers to it as a scrambled voice but later correctly refers to it as a computer synthesized voice. Granted that he was wrong the first time since he didn't hear the other end ... still, how'd he know to say it was a scrambled voice? Was he tapping into Skinner's calls? ;-) Shouldn't he have just said there was a call to Skinner at the time he was at the hospital? I remember Mulder is an expert in tapping into phones ... I think in the first part of S2 that's what he was doing a lot of.

About the waste of time of in-person delivery of the letter to the hospital, I agree with you. And, why didn't he just call Scully on her celfone to tell her what he found? That would've been quicker eh? But I guess Mulder just wanted to see Scully, er, I meant Skinner. ;-) Either that or Scully has misplaced her celfone somewhere since obviously Mulder still had his (he said it wasn't his when they both heard a celfone ringing).

Lastly, there IS a Chevy Chase, Maryland. :-) I wondered-out-loud about this, too, in my previous post. But today I got a better chance of checking. Yup ... Chevy Chase, Maryland ... zip code 20815. Don't know if it was pre-Nat'l-Lampoon though.

Nyla, my precioussss, I was cheering (ssssshould have ssssaid yay), weren't we, my preciousssss?

As an ex-marylander, yes there is a Chevy Chase, yes it predates Chevy Chase the person. A lot of the nicer neighborhoods around the Beltway have been prominent in X-Files episodes (e.g, Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Falls Church) which, given that they film in Vancouver, makes for many nitpicking opportunities (why would a Falls Church police car have a maple leaf on its license plate? et al).

Great episode! It took the X-Files back to suspense, and lots of it. The first three-quarters was suspenseful, amazing, and surprising. I was not surprised that Krychek was involved because I had stupidly read show spoilers. The last quarter was somewhat predictable, and I sighed when Skinner was revived. It was jarring to find, though, that he still can be killed just by pushing the button...and Krychek holds the key.

Frankly, I believe that Krychek is working somewhat on his own. It didn't fit with how the Consortium normally acts. I also believed that when Skinner whispered to the doctor, I thought he said "Let me go," or something like that.

The Return of Senator Matheson--Hmm...he said "Fox" like every sentence. "You can't stop it, Fox! It's too late, Fox! Fox, your friend is already dead! I'm a victim, Fox! I'm fighting for my life, Fox!" I think he only calls Mulder "Mulder" once.

fantastic episode, fantastic nits, all.
Chris, like you, I was wondering why Mulder didn't at least shoot Krycek's tires! Really, in stiuations as dire as this, Mulder has done
legally "iffy" things like this before, like beating beating that doctor up and sticking a gun in his face in his own office (Emily)-that couldn't have been legal...
So how is Skinner gonna make good on all he said to Scully, so soulfully while he was contemplating his imminent "demise"? Looks like he's going to wish Krycek would push the button at some point.
Poor guy. As to my "shipper" status-I think it would be great if Skinner fell in love with Scully, and he could flash back to that kiss she gave him, in slo-mo, soft-focus, like they do in soap operas. wouldn't that be funny? they could have a steamy fling that would reveal some really interesting things about their characters, and then it could end badly when Skinner goes on Jerry Springer to tell scully he's also been seeing CSM for months. Okay, so I get carried away.

Welcome back, weasel-boy! Love that Krycek.

Hey, why do they need any more help againt the alien virus if they've got nanotechnology? I mean, send the things in there to eat the virus, cell by cell!

Skinner and Scully? What a weird thought...although, I must say, while I applaud the developing relationship between Mulder and Scully, if I was her brother I'd be royally pissed! I mean, come on, the X-Files got Scully's sister killed, and got Scully infected with inoperable cancer!

(Mark ducks his head out of the line of fire) Not Jerry Springer, Kelly--Skinner would go on Art Bell and claim that the implants in his head were the source of his feelings for Scully.

And I would believe every word of it. ;)

On the pre-show board, someone said "I am Skinner of Borg". How prescient!

-12-

On the pre-show board, someone said "I am Skinner of Borg". Although I thought it referred to Skinner's appearance from the preview. How prescient!

-12-

Actually, I put that in the Post-show board for "Rain King". I actually *did* mean it because of Skinner's appearance, based on what the assimilation process did to Starfleet officers in "Star Trek: First Contact" (You remember: "Captain....help!" :::phaser sizzle::: "Aaarrggghh...")!

KellKan: you just gave me a wonderful idea for a parody fanfic. Unless, of course,
you copyright the idea, or just plain mind me doing it.

As to the suggestion that Mulder should have shot out Krychek's tire--remember the kind of luck he had doing that to an RV in "Bad Blood"? 'Nuff said.

Are we at all sure that 'Bad Blood' took place in the same universe? I'm not thinking so...

A few random medical points...

Digital cell phones are not allowed in hospitals, especially in ICU or cardiac telemetry units, because the digital signal operates in the same frequency range as the wireless cardiac montiors and can cause all sorts of alarms and such to go off. Some digital signals are strong enough to affect the sensors of pacemakers and implantable defibrillators, causing inappropriate firing of these devices.

Skinner's doctor stopped his resuscitation effort early in the show; unless she had a 'do not resuscitate' request from him, it was inappropriate of her to make this decision unilaterally.

Even buckyballs have a surface layer of hydrogen atoms bonded to the carbon.

The line about "lasering his arteries open" is science fiction.

Skinner's kidneys would be knocked off by the circulating nanomachines; they would clog up the filtration system.

The comment made earlier about the nanomachines being used to fight off the alien virus was intriguing; wasn't there a scene at the end of the Xfiles movie that took place in Tunisia (or at least North Africa) that indicated that it was a center of corn/virus development? Thus the Tunisian connection to the nanomachine technology.

Yeah, that reminds me; I noticed that too. Tunisia...hmm...
re cell phones: Perhaps I should clarify: it was in the lobby that my mom used her
phone. Does that make a difference, or did they just not notice her?
XPS: I was under the impression that all of the X-Files TV show took place in the
same universe.
K

So if the physicist came to FBI HQ to tell Skinner about the problem with exporting technology (or whatever), why didn't he? As it stands it looks like the guy showed up just to grab Skinner's hand and look guilty.

Also, what's a buckyball?

Nyla, your mom was lucky. Cel phones can transmit far enough that they probably shouldn't even be used in the parking lot of a hospital...but then again, maybe the walls block enough of the signal.

As to 'shooting out the tires': how A-Team! Reminds me of all those westerns where the hero shoots the gun out of the bad guy's hand. Right. As I understand it, a pistol does not have a great deal of accuracy. So would it be accurate enough to shoot out the tires of a moving vehicle?

A buckyball is *obviously* that wacky, kooky type of tennis ball that Cap'n Kate was attempting to hit in the beginning of "Future's End, Part I"....

A buckyball is the popular name for buckminsterfullerine, an articially created molecule made out of carbon. A buckyball molecule looks like a geodesic dome, a design created by the late R. Buckminster Fuller. That's as best as I can describe it; I'd suggest you do a search on the web and see what comes up. Check out the site for Rice University in Houston, TX; the buckyball was partially developed there.

A buckyball is NOT covered with hydrogen atoms, its chemical formula is C₆₀.

-12-

Huh. Never heard of a buckyball, but I think I will look it up on the web.

Thanks :)

ScottN--who said a buckyball was covered in hydrogen? The episode? (I didn't see it).

Mandy--there are a couple of sites that show you how to make your own buckminsterfullerene. It's not really a backyard project, but who knows? You may surprise us.

XPS--if you open up the possibility for "Bad Blood" to have taken place in an alternate universe, then you have to assume that it's possible for all the eps to be in alternate universes, which then collapses the possibility of any continuity. The different points of view shown in BB are a homage to the classic film "Rashomon", which was about the mutability of truth. I don't think there was any multi-dimensional hanky-panky going on.

Mike,

Jestes: "Even buckyballs have a surface layer of hydrogen atoms bonded to the carbon."

Mike,

If you are going to mention a Rashomon homage, you have to bring in Jose Chung's From Outer Space!

Nyla: if you are in any way serious about the fanfic idea, go for it. I'd love to read it! I have an endless supply of silly ideas!

as for shooting car tires, okay that's a bit lone ranger, but HEY. Skinner was DYING. Totally unacceptable. Besides, I think he's pretty fly (for a bald guy). he he he

thannnk YOU, Kellkan! I might just do it...

Much to retain from this episode. Likewise, much to nitpick. The nurse says, "It's better than having your ear bit off," to Asst.Dir. Walter Skinner. However, the proper term is bitten. Perhaps that is why the woman is a nurse and not a doctor. Furthermore, parking lots appear quite often throughout this particular episode (i.e., halfway into the episode, a quarter into the episode, and ultimately the conclusion). Any reason as to why this would be exactly?

Because there are a lot of cars to park in the greater Washington DC area. :)

Generally, bills in the Senate are referred to as S.1234. House resolutions are HR.1234 (HR standing for House of Representatives, while S. stands for Senate). Thus the title and the resolution are a nit.

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Quote:

So if the physicist came to FBI HQ to tell Skinner about the problem with exporting technology (or whatever), why didn't he? As it stands it looks like the guy showed up just to grab Skinner's hand and look guilty.

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Shirlyn: Nanoprobes ... At first I thought they were organic and maybe multiplied by cell-division. But after seeing that blood analysis that Scully and the 1st doctor was looking at, they seemed to appear from nowhere.
It indeed seemed they multiplied like cell division, but how? They stated it was pure carbon, so are they using the carbon from Skinner to multiply? The material has to come from somewhere and if it was from the AD how could he survive and make a full recovery? Why didn't Scully follow through with changing out Skinner's blood? This technology seems way too advanced, even for the Syndicate.

Out of the eps I've seen so far this is the second time the X-Files have been wrong about dealing with foreign diplomats. First of all, it looked like Skinner just looked at his passport, and having a diplomatic/official PP doesn't mean anything unless a diplomatic/official visa was issued as well. Also, diplomats can be arrested, especially by a federal agency! This guy was shooting at them and kidnapped an American, that's more than enough for arrest. The only difference is they would have to contact State to get ahold of their embassy. Tunisia is an iffy country anyway, even today, so any diplomat from there other than the ambassador would be highly suspect.

Mei First, it's illegal to shoot someone who hasn't shot first. I know they do sometimes, when they think the other person has a gun, but they aren't supposed to. Can't shoot the person or the car or anything.
A law-enforcer most certainly can shoot someone who hasn't shot first, if he/she belives that person has/will injure or kill somebody. You just need to establish means, opportunity, and intent. Means, is there a weapon or is the person trained in fighting; opportunity, is there access to you or others; intent, have things been said/done to show this person's frame of mind... Mulder would have to reach a little explaining that in the hospital but Skinner easily could. This also includes vehicles, to a lesser extent but it depends on the situation and probability of others getting shot.

Speaking of Skinner, when chasing that Tunisian in the parking garage AD shoots a couple times and his slide locks back, indicating he's out of bullets, but seconds later the slide is forward. Obviously the prop was the problem here becasue that gun holds at least ten shots. I'm pretty sure Skinner didn't know it was Alex until later, and what he whispered to the nurse was to either let him die or get Scully there.

Saw this ep again recently and thought I might give the X-Files boards some attention

Sarah: The Senator replies, "It's a funding bill." Then maybe two sentences later, Mulder says something to the effect that "since it's a health bill..."
The good senator did mention that it was a funding bill for healthcare, or perhaps DoH/HHS.

Kyle: As I understand it, a pistol does not have a great deal of accuracy. So would it be accurate enough to shoot out the tires of a moving vehicle?
Most guns, if not all, are as accurate as its operator. An experienced marksman can do some amazing things with even handguns. Adding to what I said in my previous post, almost two years ago, there was very little chance somebody else would be injured if Mulder fired at Krycek's vehicle, and frankly I'm surprised he didn't. Alex would still have to get away for plot purposes but shooting out a tire wouldn't have made made any difference as he collided with another vehicle in the next level of the parking garage.

I admit that I'm not a doctor but what would cutting off Skinner's arms do to help his situation/condition? That seemed to come completely out of left field and was only mentioned for shock value. I can only think of a few cases where cutting off a limb would be a feasable option.

Adding to the last paragraph of my previous post; when Skinner falls over in the parking garage from his 'infection' his slide is once again locked back, which makes that occurance twice in the same scene.