1.01 - Pilot

Pilot episodes can be weird. For anyone who doesn’t know, essentially they are tryout episodes for the suits with the money and power to say yes or no. To call them “proof of concept” episodes isn’t too far from the truth, and I’ve seen more than a couple pilots that seemed to be almost completely different shows than what ended up getting green lit. The pilot of Gilmore Girls had characters whose names ended up changing (not a ton of them, but still noteworthy considering how big some of those roles ended up being later on) plus a relative messiness to their fictional world which lingered for a few episodes into the first season. Characters who would later talk about growing up in Stars Hollow were just now meeting other characters who also grew up in Stars Hollow. Before this becomes a Gilmore Girls blog (maybe later) let’s get back to Mulder and Scully.

None of those weird disconnects are present here. Sure, maybe an actor changes here or there, maybe we don’t see Skinner until waaaaaay later in the season, and maybe Mulder’s office becomes less of a focus than that initial meeting — which I don’t think is a problem at all — but Mulder and Scully are there immediately.

“Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?” Mulder asks, slightly mocking. It’s only when you watch the rest of the season, and I’m guessing the rest of the series as well, that you realize he’s not just mocking the people who won’t even entertain the notion of aliens as plausible, but he’s also mocking the situation of having to ask it over and over. Also, he’s ready for Scully to say he’s crazy and to storm out to demand a reassignment. He takes it seriously, dead seriously, and he views his position as a Special Agent with the FBI, backed by his Oxford education, as the guarantee that he is very much not crazy. People don’t just whisper about “spooky Mulder” though, they straight up call him that to his face hahaha.

And when Scully doesn’t say he’s crazy, doesn’t do anything other than calmly state her position as a person of science, Mulder realizes he can push things a little further.

“Logically, I would have to say no. Given the distances needed to travel from the far reaches of space, the energy requirements would exceed a spacecraft’s capabilities.” Scully says.

“Conventional wisdom,” Mulder replies.

I won’t recount their entire meeting here, although I could, because it’s short. Once Mulder pushes her that the fantastic should become a possibility after the plausible and conventional are exhausted, Scully says nahhh listen here, and tells him exactly why science has the answers, you just have to know how to look. Mulder even gives her a slight nod (with a smirk) allowing that sure, botched investigations and overlooked evidence are absolutely possible.

He makes a joke, tells her when they’ll be leaving to investigate, and we see Scully smile, obviously excited to be where she is and using the considerable skills she has.

It is fucking thrilling. I’ve rewatched this entire meeting four or five times now because it is all there, Mulder and Scully are fully formed. Later, when they’re arguing over who or what they found in the coffin they exhumed, things get more heated than that initial meeting. Mulder is pushing harder on the alien angle, Scully is Sciencing Up, and finally Mulder relents and says “I’m not crazy Scully. I have the same doubts you do.”

I love it so much. Pretty rare to have a pilot be one of my favorite episodes of a first season, especially for a series that includes 24 episodes per season.

-austin