The X-Files: Series 1, Second Half

Time for the second half of the first series of the X-Files. I began watching these as an over the summer thing. The fact I've managed to find time for the rest of the first series during term time should be a clue as to how much I'm enjoying them...

Exactly the same as before, a few musings on each episode, and then some overall conclusions.

Beyond the Sea

• If Mulder is 90s man, Scully's father is 50s man...
• Excellent, family trauma, psychics and kidnap.
• A rare case where Scully is the believer and Mulder is the sceptic.
• Well, Luther Boggs seems a well-balanced, rational, affable bloke.
• Poor Mulder, all the UFOs and monsters, no effect, but the one deranged lunatic and she's all over it...
• "Did time for sexual assault, narcotics, nothing big really." Maybe the 90s weren't all good...
• Wow, they did not pull any punches in the penultimate scene.
• Silence of the Lambs meets the Exorcist.

Gender Bender

• Not sure this title would be accepted in our more 'civilised age.'
• Because 90s clubbing improves everything...
• Those people are clearly Amish, it doesn't matter how you dress it up.
• The tolling bell is creeping the hell out of me.
• That map Mulder gets given is atrocious. It might as well be a kid's drawing.
• This is like the Wicker Man meets Sleepy Hollow. But with added sex.
• They seem to have borrowed that cave from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
• Oh yeah, send five armed agents in the house, and Mulder into the creepy cave *by himself*, great idea...
• Take that back, where *is* the cave? Come to that, all the people?!

Lazarus

• I reckon I have a guess at what this one will be about...
• Hang on, that is not how bodies work...
• Mulder, you can get headphones for that, get your fingers out of your ears.
• I love that they have whole offices devoid of PCs.
• This is turning into the weirdest hostage setup ever.
• And this is why the FBI employed Mulder. Because he is good.
• I'm sorry, was the FBI's full time Hostage Rescue Team busy this weekend?

Young at Heart

• Prison seems a nice, normal place. 
• Palaeography finally comes in handy... 
• A dead stalker is the worst type of stalker... 
• I think Mulder did well out of getting out of Violent Crimes and into the X-Files... 
• Doctor Mengele is *not* someone you want to be compared to... 
• Oh good, Scully's gone back to using Microsoft 3.0 
• Does Scully not own any electric light in her flat?! 
• Good grief, that scene in Scully's flat was bloody terrifying... 
• Mr Helpful is back, at least Mulder bought him a pint for his troubles. 
• The FBI agents stand out a mile off at that concert. 
• Bloody hell, Mulder is a good shot... 

E.B.E.

• Rather depressingly, a story set over Iraq in 'the present day' is just as plausible in 2016 as it was in 1993... 
• What on Earth is Mulder doing with that gadget? 
• Scully is going out of her way to explain the UFO away, even by her standards... 
• At least they've visited the site during the day this time... 
• The rest of the Mulder fan club give nerds a bad name... 
• Some atrocious flirting going on in this episode. 
• Mr Helpful keeping terrible hours. 
• Mulder's searching for bugs in his flat was like Father Ted before the 'All-Priests five-a-side Over-75s Indoor Challenge Football Match, against Rugged Island.'
• Given his track record, there is no way there are any top secret government bases in the USA that don't have a picture of Mulder at the gate. 
• More high level conspiracy stuff. 
• Finally, Mr Helpful is starting to spill the beans!

Miracle Man

• Wow, this is a brave topic of them to have tackled, faith healing...
• The worst aspects of American Protestantism.
• "I know this isn't an X-File..." Oh yeah, Scully, Mulder'll really pass this one up...
• Last time they exhumed a corpse, they dropped it, is this wise?! (Short answer- no).
• I'm sure the bar is from the Blues Brothers...
• "Agricultural smorgasbord" is my quote of the month.
• That choir is *definitely* from the Blues Brothers.
• When the autopsy isn't an alien, Mulder becomes a lot more squeamish.

Shapes

• What is this, a gothic horror novel?! (This was written within the first 60 seconds.)
• Answer- Yes (This was written after the first 120 seconds).
• Montana has made the list of places to Never Ever Visit.
• Clever, the FBI's involvement comes from the fact that this is an Indian Reservation case, complete with all the political tensions and grievances that provides.
• Great bit of dialogue Scully: "We're looking for anyone who can provide us with informal..." Mulder: "We're looking for something that can create human tracks and then a step later leave animal tracks."
• The Indians are coming across as more unhelpfully sinister than the Amish...
• The first ever X-File, nice bit of archival drawing...
• Scully, it's a funeral, don't gatecrash...
• Mulder picks up an Indian name along the way.
• Of course the power is out, why wouldn't it be?!
• The transformation has held up remarkably well.
• Why on Earth does Parker own a house full of stuffed animals?! Didn't he know it would cause confusion?!
• Scully's determination to not believe is truly remarkable.

Darkness Falls

• Talk about a gripping opening...
• Eco-terrotists, villains from simpler times...
• Casual Alphabet Agency reference
• Where on Earth did Scully get that raincoat?!
• And the 1994 Emmy Award for the most uses of the 'word' "ecoterrorist" before the first break goes to...
• I mean, 10/10 for gender equality, but how comes Scully has to go up in the pulley to the strange unknown hive?!
• Make that a strange unknown hive with a corpse in it...
• 'Hammer large pieces of crooked wood up against all the windows!'
• Oh great, that residue is terrible news...
• They've clearly borrowed the quarantine facility from ET...

Tooms

• You again!
• First repeat villain, not counting the aliens.
• Hang on, who looked at his case file and thought he should be released?!
• Smoking Man is back, as is Scully's miserable boss...
• Things no one seems to be addressing at the court hearing include 'He's over a century old' and 'He's basically an evil Mr Fantastic...'
• Isn't that how they found Richard III?
• Seriously, how are those two not together?!
• Jeez, Mulder watches some bad tv...
• Clever move on Tooms' part.
• Wow, the FBI bureaucracy really don't like Mulder, do they?!
• Does the Smoking Man *ever* say anything?!
• Answer- Yes

Born Again

• Marvellous. Creepy child in alleyway. Nothing can go wrong here...
• I mean, I was not expecting it to go that wrong, that quickly...
• Some good honest parenting going on.
• They just explained what origami is...
• May have been the 'Dana Scully face of the series' when Mulder started talking about psycho-kenesis...
• TAKE THE SCARF OFF!!
• I take the parenting back, 90s American parents were terrible.
• Good to see that Mulder also does Hamlet-esque monologues.

Roland

• A 90s disability story. This can only go well...
• Not an opening to watch while having dinner.
• Mulder heads straight for the maths.
• Q- Premonitions?
• A- Premonitions.
• Actually, an episode to avoid if you're trying to eat dinner...
• Cryogenics, that's pretty bloody 90s.
• Of course Mulder used the UFO toy as a prop.
• If you're going to go to the extent of installing cryogenics, at least install a thermostat...
• Nice Shakespearean showdown at the end
• Fairly basic design flaw in that wind tunnel, the lack of an emergency stop.
• Glad Scully stepped in and prevented Mulder from telling that woman 'It was done by psychics, obviously.'
• A surprisingly good portrayal of disability.

The Erlenmeyer Flask

• Hang on, is this Bullitt I've accidentally turned on?!
• What is he, Captain Scarlet?
• Ooh, different words on the intro credits! (N.B. Having got used to 'I Want to Believe,' seeing 'Trust No One' instead really freaked me out).
• Mulder's taste in films is confirmed as dreadful.
• Mr Helpful is back, being really cryptic.
• Mr Helpful's 'real' name is Deep Throat. How has it taken them 24 episodes to mention that?!
• Mulder completely disregards the scientist's unwillingness to talk.
• Scully has got a point, at least Woodward knew who the Watergate Deep Throat was, and why he was helping them.
• The 'Obi-Wan Kenobi Crap' should be the name of a band.
• Seriously high end conspiracy stuff.
• They've just had to explain the Human Genome Project...
• Well, that's one use for commercial storage...
• I love how the 'we've been using alien viruses for years!' line is delivered...
• Why has no one spotted that Scully is the only person not wearing a lab coat, she stands out a mile off?!
• One hell of an ending...
• The Raiders overflow warehouse is still doing a roaring trade...

Overall Musings

Things the X-Files love/specialise in: 

Twins 

Post-death experiences

Electrical charges

Psychic connections

Only working at night

Visiting creepy places at night (see above)

Scully giving Mulder 'The Look.' Normally when the words 'aliens' or 'psychic connections' are mentioned
Shadowy obstructive government people

I'm completely hooked. Have already acquired the second series, ready to carry on. As Mulder announces, as the final line spoken in the last episode:

I'm... not going to give up. I can't give up. Not as long as the truth is out there.

Rigged Elections- 2016 Isn't One Of Them...

As his campaign continues its descent into chaos, Donald Trump has found a new outlet for his anger. He has begun to increasingly blame his impending loss on the 'rigged election.' Usually, the media, or 'Crooked Hillary' Clinton is to blame. But nonetheless, Trump seems determined to paint his failure as the fault of the system.

For all it's faults, the United States of America is the strongest democratic country in the world. Not for nothing does the President still carry the unofficial title 'Leader of the Free World.' So accusations of rigged elections are dangerous. It allows those around the world who are not democrats (small d...) to justify their actions.

The thing is, America has faced problematic elections in the past.

1876

The US Civil War cast a long shadow over the country. Fought between Northern and Southern states over the twin issues of slavery and states' rights, the defeat of the Confederacy led to a period called Reconstruction. The Southern, overwhelmingly Democratic states were garrisoned by the US Army, who also supervised elections, making sure that they were held in accordance with the new laws that banned slavery and discrimination. This led to the election of mainly Republican politicians, including blacks, to governerships, the House and the Senate. Not surprisingly, Southern Democrats hated this policy.

Then came the election of 1876. There were a series of brutal confrontations and intimidations between supporters of both parties. The election went down to the wire. As the results came in, it was clear that the Democrat, Northerner Samuel Tilden, had polled more votes. Indeed, he had taken over half the votes cast, and was one electoral vote short of outright victory. But the results in three states, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, were in doubt. Tilden appeared to be ahead of the Republican, Rutherford Hayes, but no one could be sure. As the date for the new president to take office got closer, no solution had been reached.

Until a specially appointed Electoral Commission found that the three states had been won by Hayes. By a single electoral vote, and with a majority of Americans preferring Tilden, Hayes was elected to the presidency. There has been speculation that a deal was struck; the Republicans could keep the White House, but in return federal troops were to be withdrawn from the South. The troops did leave, and the protection they offered to blacks left with them. Reconstruction was ended, possibly thanks to a rigged election. The freed slaves were to suffer dearly during the next century.

Tilden: "Boo Hoo! Ruthy Hayes's got my presidency, and won't give it to me" 1876

1960

1960 is the first potentially rigged election to feature a well-known American political villain. But, for a change, in 1960 the election appears to have been rigged *against* Richard Nixon. The election had been close; no US election has ever been closer.

As the dust settled on the victory for John F Kennedy, the accusations started to fly. The era of political machines was almost over, but not quite. Kennedy had won two states by very narrow margins. His victory in Texas was attributed to the political machine of his vice-presidential candidate, Lyndon B Johnson. There were examples given of counties in Texas were 6000 people had voted, out of 4000 inhabitants.

But even more controversial was the situation in Illinois. Nixon had carried Illinois outside of the city of Chicago. But in Chicago, the political power of the mayor, Richard Daley, delivered the city, the state and the election to Kennedy. Even more sinister, there were accusations swirling that the Kennedy family had asked the mafia to sort out the election in Illinois, in return for the protection of their interests.

Nothing was ever proved in either case. But it is quite possible that one of the giants of American politics became president due to fraud.

John and Bobby Kennedy listening to election night returns, 1960

1968

No electoral fraud here, but possibly something even worse. In 1968, one issue dominated America. The war in Vietnam was turning into a slaughterhouse, with no sign of victory in sight. The war had already forced the sitting president, Lyndon Johnson, to withdraw from the race, as the Democratic party began to collapse amidst the conflict between pro and anti-war factions. The other crisis for the Democrats was that the old Solid South was backing racialist George Wallace of Alabama, rather than official nominee Hubert Humphrey.

Amazingly, despite the near death experience of the Democrats, Humphrey drew level with Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee again after six years in the wilderness. As November approached, it was neck and neck.

As this election was ongoing, there was another drama ongoing. In Paris, the peace negotiators were trying to hammer out a deal between North and South Vietnam. Johnson didn't want his presidency to end in failure, and knew a peace deal would boost Humphrey. The weekend before voting, Johnson called off the American bombing of North Vietnam, and outlined the deal that was about to be agreed.

Nixon panicked. In fact, he panicked so much, that he sent a message to the South Vietnamese, telling them that they would get better terms under a Nixon administration, and so they should reject the deal Johnson had offered. This they duly did. Johnson was livid, telling advisers that Nixon had blood on his hands. But as Johnson had learnt of Nixon's treachery by illegal phone taps, he was unable to reveal what he had done. And so Nixon won the presidency, by the skin of his teeth. Had the American public known he was prepared to sacrifice American lives to do so, they may not have been as willing to vote him in.

Nixon was the one in 1968, but only would he been had people known he'd prolonged a war to win?

1972

Normally, elections are rigged to make sure the 'right person' wins, or to turn a close race into a landslide. By this definition, it is a mystery why on Earth Richard Nixon felt the need to tamper with the 1972 campaign. The Democrats had selected George McGovern as their candidate, who was way to the left of what American opinion would accept. And this proved to be the case. Nixon hammered McGovern, 61% to 38%. Only Massachusetts voted for McGovern; the other 49 states went for Nixon.

This would probably have happened anyway. But there had been some strange events along the way. The campaign of prominent senator Edmund Muskie had collapsed, after he was accused of insulting French-Canadians, and rumours swirled that his wife was an alcoholic. Muskie was forced out of the race, and the road for McGovern was clearer. Then, problems beset the campaign. Problems such as rallies being cancelled, or double booked. Leaflets going missing. Insulting leaflets being handed out. Low level disruption.

And then one night, some burglars were caught in the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, at the Watergate Hotel. Even as Nixon cruised to victory, in an election he would have won anyway, his efforts to frustrate his opponents were already being revealed. It would prove to be his downfall.

2000

The most obvious example that jumps to mind is the bitter experience of 2000. Al Gore and George W Bush were deadlocked in the Electoral College, although Gore had a clear edge in the popular vote. The state of Florida was close. In fact, it was so close that no one could establish who had actually won. The entire election process was thrown into chaos, as rows erupted over whether the voting machines were faulty, the best method to recount the votes, and whether the ballot papers had been marked correctly. It seems unlikely that thousands of Jewish voters opted for the ultra-conservative Christian firebrand Pat Buchanan, yet that is what their ballot papers seemed to say afterwards.

But this was not fraud, this was farce. The fraud came from the way that the aftermath was handled. The governor of the state is ultimately responsible for elections in their state. In Florida, in 2000, this was George W Bush's younger brother. The person who had the authority to declare and certify the winner was the chair of Bush's Florida campaign team. They did their best to disrupt and frustrate the process at every single stage. The arguments in the courts were designed to keep Bush as the winner, and not to determine the actual winner in the state of Florida. The Democrats presumed FairPlay, and so brought a knife to a gun fight.

Had a full recount been permitted in Florida, across the entire state, it is entirely possible that Al Gore would have emerged the victor. He may not have done either. That is fine. But what happened was not fair. It was what the Bush campaign wanted, and it happened they controlled enough positions in Florida to make it so.

Newsweek reflects the question of the American people, 2000

Why 2016 won't make this list

Compared to the examples, 2016 is unlikely to be remembered as a rigged election. With the exception of 1972 (when God knows what Richard Nixon was on), all of the examples cited above were razor edge close. Because the USA weights the votes of each state in the Electoral College, a close race can be decided by a handful of voters in one or two states. Had Gore been treated fairly in 2000 in Florida, a victory there would have put him over the winning line. Had the commission in 1876 worked out which states had voted for which candidate, Tilden may well have been elected, regardless of any secret deal. A shift of a few thousand votes would have seen a president Nixon in 1961, or a president Humphrey in 1969.

But Trump is not shaping up for a close race. If current polling is anything to go by, he is going to lose to Hillary Clinton by a solid margin, and her lead keeps growing as election day gets nearer. The previous experience of American elections is that, when one person is winning by a landslide, then it's because they are winning by a landslide. It's when it gets close that the chances of a suspicious result rise.

There's also the mechanics of how American elections work, sate by state. The Republican party controls most state-level posts in America, including many of the ones who organise and certify election results. Not only would every single Democrat have to be in on the conspiracy, but a fair chunk of Republican America would have to be involved in depriving their own nominee of the prize. Many Republican officials may not like Trump, but that claim is outlandish. There's no great love for the Clintons amongst the GOP.

There are many reasons Trump will lose this election. But a vast meta-conspiracy to rig the election isn't one of them.

The Conquest You Won't Have Heard Of

A few days ago marked the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, when the Anglo-Saxon world came crashing down in the face of Duke William the Bastard. The Norman Conquest would sweep their world away.

Often forgotten is that the Anglo-Saxons were very, very lucky. They had got a second chance. For today marks one thousand years since the other Conquest of England in the eleventh century.

It's fair to say that the reign of Aethelred II of England was fraught with difficulty. Harried by Viking attacks for much of his reign, by 1014 he had been deposed, hiding in exile in Normandy. The Viking king, Swein Forkbeard, was due to be crowned. Then, at the start of 1015, Aethelred was saved. Swein died, and the Anglo-Saxon Witan invited their former king back. But Aethelred was living on borrowed time. Swein's son, Cnut*, returned with a vengeance. By April 1016, Aethelred was besieged in London. And then he died, on St George's day. Much of the country was under Cnut's control. The ancient line of kings, stretching back into the mists of the post-Roman world, had apparently come to an end.

Enter Aethelred's son. Edmund Ironside was proclaimed king by those in London. His first move was to leave the city, and return to his ancestral homeland of Wessex. Here, he raised the West Saxon fyrd, and prevented the Vikings from further advances. Edmund then returned to London, and at the Battle of Brentford he lifted the Viking siege of the city. After years of royal dithering and inactivity, finally the Anglo-Saxons were putting up a fight.

Cnut's forces fell back into Essex, pursued by Edmund and the Anglo-Saxons. On October 18th, 1016, Edmund overtook Cnut at the battle of Assandun. Here was his chance to rid England of the Danes once and for all.

But it never happened. Desperate for allies, Edmund was relying on the Mercian Ealdorman Eadric Streona,  to assist him. But Eadric had a reputation for treachery, and this time was no different. During the battle, he switched to supporting Cnut, and the Anglo-Saxons were defeated.

Both sides were exhausted. Cnut had been unable to deliver the knockout blow he had hoped for, but Edmund could not hope to recapture the whole of England with only Wessex on his side. So, after the battle, they agreed to a peace deal. Edmund would retain Wessex, while Cnut would control the rest of the country. Edmund would also retain the crown. However, when one of them died, the other would take control of the whole country, and their children would have a guaranteed succession.

This deal was clearly unsustainable, a pause to allow both sides to lick their wounds and prepare for future struggle. And then suddenly, Edmund Ironside died, on St Andrews Day 1016. Whether he was murdered, ill, or succumbed to injuries from Assandun, we don't know. But Cnut was now the undisputed master of England. The Vikings had finally won. The old Anglo-Saxon royal family fled into exile. And for his treachery, Eadric was executed by Cnut in 1017.

However, this Viking Conquest of England was not to last. After Cnut, his two sons had short reigns, and died childless. By 1042, the Witan were looking for a new King. Who better than the brother of Edmund Ironside, Edward the Confessor?

Seemingly, the Danish Conquest of England had no long term impact. Unlike 1066, 1016 was not a Year 0. The Vikings took over the top tier of English society, but did not replace the entire ruling classes and structures, as the Normans would do.

But the Danish Conquest did have one major long term impact. As Cnut assumed power, the children of Aethelred fled overseas, into the safe care of their uncle. This alliance with the Duke of Normandy may have kept Edward the Confessor safe for a while, but it would ultimately bring about the end of Anglo-Saxon England.

The Battle of Hastings: The End of Days

Then Duke William sailed from Normandy into Pevensey, on the eve of Michaelmas. As soon as his men were fit for service, they constructed a castle at Hastings. When King Harold was informed of this, he gathered together a great host, and came to oppose him at the grey apple-tree, and William came upon him unexpectedly before his army was set in order. Nevertheless the King fought against him most resolutely with those men who wished to stand by him, and there was a great slaughter on both sides. King Harold was slain, and Leofwine, his brother, and Earl Gurth, his brother, and many good men. The French had possession of the place of slaughter, as God granted them because of the nation's sins.

950 years ago today, a period of history came to an end. It did so on a ridge-line in the Sussex countryside. The historical epoch shifted at dusk, although the struggle to end it had been going on since 9am. On this day, October 14th 1066, Anglo-Saxon England died on the battlefield of Senlac Hill. It would be known in the future as the Battle of Hastings.

The Battle of Hastings was a clash between two completely different worlds. Standing on the ridge that autumn morning, blocking the road to London, was the old world. The Anglo-Saxons represented a link to the end of the Roman Empire, with the barbarian migrations stemming from the vacuum left by the absence of Imperial power in the West. Their culture stretched back into the mists and forests of Northern Europe, a world inhabited by Beowulf, Woden and Thor. Upon settling in the British Isles, the Anglo-Saxons had soon adopted Christianity, and this blend of cultures had produced one of the intellectual and cultural powerhouses of the early medieval period.

Their recent past had been shaped by the Vikings. The Viking onslaught against the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in the 800s had transformed the map of the British Isles forever. Before, there had been four Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, with power finely balanced between them. But in the middle of the ninth century, the Vikings had destroyed the kingdoms of East Anglia and Northumbria, and reduced Mercia to a shadow of its former glory. Only Wessex survived, with Alfred the Great coming back from seemingly certain catastrophe to overcome the Norsemen. Under his descendants, the West Saxons expanded their power into the rest of the British Isles, until by the middle of the 900s, a powerful, centralised, and fairly unified state had been created in the lowlands of Britain. It was originally called the kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, but by 1066 it was widely known as the kingdom of the English.

Their new king, Harold II, was not of the ancient line of Cerdic of Wessex. Instead, he had been elected by the Witan, the council that advised and chose the king, to take control of the country after the old king, Edward the Confessor, had died childless. Harold and his men had just won a stunning victory at Stamford Bridge. They had crushed the invading forces of Harald Hardraada of Norway; although they did not know it at the time, but this marked the end of the Viking threat to England. Now they were facing yet another foe.

Strangely, though, this foe at the bottom of the hill, the Normans, had recently been a part of this world too. Their forefathers had also been Vikings, who had settled in Normandy a century or so earlier. But now they were ingrained into the domestic squabbles of the French monarchy. The Duke of Normandy had emerged as one of the leading French noblemen, wielding more power than the king of France. Quite impressive, given that William the Bastard had become Duke at the age of 7 or 8, and had been forced to claw back his control over the Duchy. He had expanded his power and influence. With Edward the Confessor dying, William pushed his distant claim to the English throne. An unruly band of French knights and lords had been assembled, and promised land and power if they participated in William's great English enterprise.

For much of that day in October 1066, it looked as if William's throw of the dice had failed. His early cavalry charges failed to penetrate the Anglo-Saxon shield wall. False retreats by the Normans did thin the English forces somewhat, as the knights cut down those Anglo-Saxons foolish enough to chase their foes. But it was not enough. All the Saxons had to do was hold firm until night. After that, they could bring up fresh forces and supplies. William, on the other hand, was trapped in a foreign country, with no easy means of supply or retreat, and dubious allies.

And then late in the day, it all went wrong for the Anglo-Saxons. Their warrior king, Harold, was slain. In the popular imagination, he took an arrow to the eye. Other sources say he was hacked to pieces. We simply don't know. But without him, the English army began to collapse. The slaughter was terrible. The Anglo-Saxon nobility, with many of them holding positions and titles that were centuries old, was destroyed on Senlac Hill. The rest of the army fled, or was killed.

William initially refused the English permission to bury their dead; the bodies rotted on the field where they had fallen. In a way, it was a metaphor for what was unfolding. Great change was on the way, as the Norman Conquest used the strong, centralised state to launch a revolution in England. The Normans were the masters now. The new world was displacing the old. At Hastings, nine and a half centuries ago today, Anglo-Saxon England had come to a sudden, bloody, and tragic end.