Customer Reviews

The X-Files - Leonard Betts/Memento Mori [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Season 4 of The X Files had some pretty good episodes. Of the two episodes on this tape LEONARD BETTS was a decent affair and MEMENTO MORI is one of the best of the whole series and was also one of the last episodes of the ongoing conspiracy saga on the show that really hits home.

In LEONARD BETTS, Mulder and Scully track down a thought dead EMT man Leonard Betts who has a bizzare way of recovering his dying body and finds life by harvesting a cancer victim's dangerous tumors.

This episode has perhaps one of the most wicked and foreboding endings in the series that should not be missed and links it to the rest of the conspiracy saga.

MEMENTO MORI is a chapter in the aforementioned conspiracy saga in which Scully discovers that due to experiments conducted on her years ago by the black ops people called "The Syndicate" she has developed inoperable brain cancer that will eventually kill her unless a cure can be found, a cure which Mulder is ready to risk his life for, even if it means bargaining for it with one of the Syndicates most heinous agents.

There are some strong emotional points in this episode concerning Scully's life and Mulder's friendship and partnership with her, not to mention a few intense scenes and an even bigger insight into the fiendish goings on with the Syndicate-(one of which is especially cruel.)

Both of these episodes are great additions to The X Files show, but sadly a new fan might not be able to get into these episodes without feeling a little lost as to the "big picture" of the series. New fans should watch earliar episodes such as ASCENTION, ONE BREATH, ANASAZI and NISEI before you get into these later episodes so that you may get the full enjoyment out of this tape.

I love the two episodes so much, especially Memento Mori. Leonard Betts hints Scully's cancer. Through the typical X-Files figure Leonard Betts who likes to eat people's cancer, we know that Scully do has cancer. Geez! Our favorite Agent Scully has cancer. Memento Mori is absolutely Mulder & Scully episode. In this episode, we know more about Scully's inside world, how she feels about her cancer, her family, her work, the X-files, and her relationship with Mulder. Gillian Anderson did a great job in this episode and so did David. Last scene that Mulder hugs Scully in the hospital is my favorite. So tender, so warm, so sad. They don't want to lose eacj other. I love Scully's letters. They reveal much more of her feeling and thoughts we've never heard or seen before. Highly recommended for all of you. If you haven't seen it, get see it now. Or you will be regretted.

What I have always admired about "The X-Files" since the show premiered in 1993 (though to be honest, the show has obviously fallen to a low stature of quality recently), is that the episodes were treated as one-hour movies according to creator/producer Chris Carter. And here we have a great showcasing of that high quality I wish we could see in more TV dramas these days. The first episode is an original horror gem, "Leonard Betts" is brilliantly written and conceived. It's full of enough creepy sequences, dialogue and characters to put it on the same stature as some of the best TV horror. To think that a guy eats cancer is creepy enough, but the writers add intelligent scientific details that make it actually believable. "The X-Files" never seemed like a stupid show precisely because the dialogue was so high-class and the scripts were peppered with well-detailed scientific facts. The video then changes tones when we enter "Memento Mori" (the title means "Letters From The Dead" according to one producer at the beginning of the tape though my own research shows it to mean "Reminder Of Death"), which is a deep, elegantly filmed and sometimes touching story of how Agent Scully discovers she is dying of cancer. I loved the first shot which seems to begin in a tunnel of light and reveals Scully to be looking at an X-Ray showing where the cancer is, and the dialogue she says at the beginning is some of the most poetic I have ever heard in a TV script. What I admired about this episode is that overall, it had a romantic atmosphere, peppered with little dark, intriguing reminders of the government conspiracy Mulder has so dedicated his life to uncovering. The photography and direction are rich, no surprise considering the director is Rob Bowman, who gave his episodes a certain cinematic look and even directed "The X-Files" movie. Gillian Anderson gives a powerful performance too. Overall, this is a great video not just for X-Files fans, but for people who like high-quality TV.

Not that any x-files video really needs reviewing (any fan knows that they are all worth buying) but here's my opinion anyhow. These two season 4 episodes are true classics - memento mori being particularly memorable for the fantastic performance by Gillian Anderson.Truly moving. But drama is not the only thing on offer from this video - Leonard Betts has some classic humor too. My advice- buy it, if your a fan I'm 100% confident you won't regret it.

I loved Leonard Betts--classic X-File. I gave it five stars. Betts is a person who gets out of many situations by losing an appendage and later growing it back; for example, he pulls off his thumb to escape a pair of handcuffs. And at the beginning, is decapitated by an accident, but walks out of the morgue, a new head growing.

Memento Mori *must* be loved by everyone, even the small NoRomo population of the X-Files community. ;) It tells of Scully's fight with cancer, with many moments favored by 'Shippers. Gillian Anderson is great in this episode, one of my favorite. She portrays Scully and all her emotions *exceptionatly* well.

Tape is a very good example of why I love the X-Files. I was very excited when this came out on tape. I have never missed an episode and this proves why. The tape is full of action, suspense, and much, much more. You can really see the Mulder/Scully relationship unfold. There is a chemstry between them that keeps us fans coming back for more. I recommend that you view the tape to see what I mean. I bet that you will become hooked on the show too.