The Jersey Devil

Synopsis

The murder of a homeless man which is very similar in detail to a murder committed in 1947 leads Mulder and Scully to a legendary man-beast roaming in the forest near Atlantic City.

I actually kinda like this episode. It's not great, by any stretch of the imagination, but it continues the trend set by Squeeze in trying to expand the series boundaries and not just dealing with aliens and UFOs.

It's also fairly unique in that it shows Scully trying to have a normal life away from the paranormal investigations. I remember watching it at the time and, when she goes on the date, thinking "Oh that guy's so wrong for you. You should be with Mulder" :rolleyes: . That's no doubt the exact effect they were going for, and it makes the closing moments of the episode, when Scully turns down a second date in favour of helping Mulder, all the more touching.

Mulder: What are you doing?
Scully: Going with you to The Smithsonian.
Mulder: Don't you have a life, Scully?
Scully: Keep that up, Mulder, and I'll hurt you like that beast woman.
Mulder: Eight million years out of Africa...
Scully: And look who's holding the door.

The story is nothing special. I like the way it starts in 1947 and then comes up to date, and the final shot which inevitably leaves the viewer hanging, both of which are tricks that the series used so regularly they became cliche. Michael Macrae's performance as the Ranger is also very good, the look on his face speaking volumes after the beast woman is killed.

After a blinding first four episodes it was inevitable that the series would have to pause for breath. The Jersey Devil is by no means a bad episode (the two that follow are actually worse) and it passes the time quite amiably.

6/10

Mixed feelings on this one. We have to bear in mind that the four episodes that preceded it were all cracking episodes. This isn't. It's the first noticable dip in quality.

As Steve points out, it's a valiant attempt to break away from the UFO/Alien genre, and whilst Squeeze managed to do that with spectacular results, The Jersey Devil's success was much more muted. Like the later episode Ghost in the Machine, it can applauded for trying to expand the boundaries, but ultimately fails.