1995-05-04 Focus, page 5

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1995-05-04 Focus, page 5

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Thursday, May 4,1995 FOCUS FEATURES "X-Files" is becoming a phenomenon of its own by Jeff Suess Focus graphics editor Last season, the beginnings of a phenomenon were born. The X-Files premiered on September 10,1993 to little notice. The show struggled through low ratings for a season as a fan following began to build. Over this past year The X-Files has grown to become a familiar staple in our growing-popular culture. The X-Files concerns two F.B.I. agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who deal in unexplained phenomena. Mulder, played by David Duchovny (The Red Shoe Diaries, Twin Peaks), is an accomplished agent whose obsession with paranormal activities have earned him the nickname "Spooky" Mulder. He is driven by vague memories of his sister's abduction by aliens when they were children to find die truth, even if it is being suppressed by the government. Duchovny brings a dash of color to the darker macabre atmosphere of the show and portrays Mulder as a genuine hero, fallible yet determined. Mulder is partnered with Scully, played by Gilliam Anderson. Scully is a young female agent who the F.B.I, hopes will keep Mulder in line. Even though she rarely believes Mulder's supernatural theories, she stays by his side. Gilliam Anderson portrays Scully with incredible skill and professionalism, especially in light of the fate that The X-Files Is her first series. Scully is both sexy and intelligent, maintaining incredible control of the scientific world while amidst the paranormal. Many people initially thought The X-Files was only about U.F.O. sightings and woritiered how the show could continually tackle the issue each week without becoming mundane. However, The X-Files takes on all sorts of unexplained activities like viruses, ghosts, killer bugs, psychics, and, yes, aliens.. Such cases are sent to the F.B.I, and labeled an X- File and essentially forgotten, until Mulder brings them backup. The show was created by Chris Carter, who continues to steer the show in a direction of intrigue and fascinating ideas, stretching our imaginations. Interestingly enough, neither Carter orDu- chovny really believe in U.F.O. sightings, and Anderson, who plays the skeptic Scully, is more the believer of the three. The show's only weakness is its ambiguity in conclusions. While others may praise this as interpretive or rhetorical endings with no real answers, sometimes a more concrete conclusion would strengthen the entire story. Many of the plots are taken from classic horro and sci- fi stories, such as "Outbreak" or John Carpenter's classic "The Thing," but The X-Files improves on these stories, . taking an idea and molding it as its own. The show has come a long way since its initially unnoticed premiere. While the ratings are still not high—the show finished 71 in this season's Nielsen ratings—it has the strongest devoted following of any show in years. It is interesting to note that in 1966 Star Trek started the same way. Perhaps a prophesy of things to come. This past yearThe X-Files was honored with a Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Series. It has some of the best writing, acting, and directing on television. The X-Files has attracted millions of fans known as "X- Philes."The show has recently been featured in issues of "TV Guide," "Entertainment Weekly," and satired in "Mad," the latter two of which were sold out in a few days. Topps Comics publishes "The X-Files" comic book which is immensely popular; In less than four months since it came out, the first issue now sells for up to $50. The X-Files is becoming a science-fiction phenomenon, like The Twilight Zone from the 1950s or Star Trek from the 1960s. Many shows are coming out of the woodwork to cash in on the success of The X- Files. Fox is the frontrunner of cutting-edge science-fiction right now with Sliders and VRS. The UPN network adds a new Star Trek series Voyager and the new series Legend. Star Trek: Voyager The newest installment in the Star Trek universe is off to a stronger start than its predecessors. It returns to the exploratory action-filled days of Captain Kirk's Enterprise, how ever, some of the stories are slow-moving. The starship Voyager is thrust across the galaxy where it will take the ship 70 years to returnto known space. Legend Legend is a humorous mixture of the western and science-fiction genres. Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver) plays Pratt, the creator of dime novel character Nicode- mus Legend, who assumes the role of Legend to help in the name of justice in the Old West He is joined by a scientist played by John De Lan- cie ("Q" from Star Trek The Next Generation), who aids Legend with ingenius inventions. Sliders Quinn Mallory creates a porthole to parallel Earths and accidently brings in his friends Prof. Maximillian Arturo, Wade Wells, and "Crying Man" Rembrandt Brown. It takes a light-hearted apprach to "what if" scenerios such as one where the Americans never won the Revolutionary War. It stars Jerry O'Connell (My Secret Identity) as Quinn and John Rhyies-Davies (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) as Arturo. VR.5 Lori Singer plays a woman who accidentally enters the 5th dimension of virtual reality and "meets" with people. The show has received much acclaim, but it fails to fully explore the potential of VR. It's compared to The Prisoner but doesrft have the originality of the classic British series. Stay on Course with UOP'S 1.' Summer Sessions Program Affordable $620 to $1,240per course (2 to 4 units) Accessible ^ Convenient Registration No Admissions Application Needed Available jj? Three Sessions (4 to 5 weeks) ^$$0^ Wide Range of Courses ^V Liberal Arts, Business, Education*, Engineering, Musk; Summer I, May 22; Summer II, June 26; Summer III, July 31 * School of Education: Summer I, May 22; Summer II, June 19; Summer III, July 24 . For registration information and course catalog, call (209) 946-2424 University of the Pacific Stockton, CA 95211

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http://mjclibrarydigitalcollections.org/files/original/Focus/focus_19950504/focus_19950504_005.jpg

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Modesto Junior College, “1995-05-04 Focus, page 5,” MJC Library Digital Collections , accessed March 5, 2021, http://mjclibrarydigitalcollections.org/items/show/23937.

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