War of the Coprophages

i love how scully seems almost bored with the going ons and has an offhand explanation for each death, but as soon as dr. bambi enters the picture she is raring to go (she gets dressed mighty quickly).

loved the phone conversations. mulder is unusually accepting of scully's more down to earth theories abut the mysterious deaths.

the mass panic is hilarious (how great is the 'die bug die' insect spray?!) and a nice foil to second season episode 'f. emasculata'. so *this* is what would have happened if they hadn't kept the outbreak secret.

love gillian anderson's very real reaction to the (non scripted and unplanned) mini car crash in front of the convenient store just as she enters it. and her facial expression when the guy bumps in her. did anybody else flash back to the cricket eating scene in 'humbug' when she casually pops one of the spilled sweets people mistook for roaches int her mouth? great script - absolutely absurd and hilarious but not lacking content and quite thought provoking at times.

as usual excellent direction by the late great kim manners a.k.a. the roach-whisperer.

10/10

War of the Coprophages(say that 10 times fast) is another gem from the pen of Darin Morgan. He just knew how to write Mulder & Scully. This episode is also brilliantly directed by Kim Manners. The use of the roach going across the screen is creative and a bit surprising the first time. The shot from the sink pipe into Mulder's and the sheriff's faces is original and funny. When Mulder is typing at the end and his computer freezes on the word "technology" is funny. David Duchovny voices that by saying, "tech-, tech-, tech-," hits the computer, "technology". It's interesting to see Scully cleaning her gun and then cleaning her dog on her time off. Also, I love the shot of the roach's view when Mulder grabs one and gives it a greeting from planet Earth. I like the transition of Mulder telling the sheriff that he was getting off the phone with his "drug dealer"(Scully) and then the scene shifts straight to the meth lab. Another great part of the episode is that Dr. Bambi's UFO theory and Dr. Ivanov's alien theory both debunk Mulder's beliefs about UFOs and aliens. It's funny to see his reaction to these two theories. War of the Coprophages is just pure comic genius from the classic Mulder/Scully dialogue to the hilarious guest performances. Well done, Darin Morgan!

I must say I've never been much of an X-files fan until recently when someone loaned me the seasons. I caught this gem mid-way through season 3 and it caught me completely by surprise. I had just commented to someone earlier in the day how they recycled ideas, lines, actors and events far too often only to be amazed by an episode which seemed to come from a different mind altogether. It has a serious noir quality, something of a dark detective story. Right away you notice that it's not going to be like the rest, I caught myself laughing right away, Mulder asks Scully "what are you wearing?" Don't get me wrong I enjoy most of the episodes, but I just think it's great that the cast and crew took an opportunity and had a little fun with the whole thing. The best I can discern is that the X-files operate on a two-plane system. The main story, which deals exclusively with the UFO's and relates to the abduction of Mulder's sister and the MIB/Black Berets. The other episodes just seem like filler, they have no real bearing on what happens in the main episodes and generally don't even include the FBI other than Dana and Fox. So essentially, what difference do they make to the series? None, so I applaud the X-files team for this one. If anyone reads this that worked on this episode I'd like to know where I can find out more about it.

Totally Rad.

One of the funniest episodes ever, very snide and very funny in a Family Guy (small, unnecessary, but hilarious details) kind of way. and at the same time one of the most gross. The toilet scene is funny as the cockroaches appear to be stealing the toilet paper before the attack. Then watch the scene in the store very carefully. While everyone else panics and grabs survival essentials, there is a sailor who is only grabbing chocolate bars and women's tights, as per the gifts they gave to women in Europe during the Second World War. Scully and Bambi's face off is spot on, too. The aftermath of the methane explosion is predictable, but still funny.

In the list of the best episodes of this show, this one is in the top 5.

Seeing Scully at home doing her routine outside of investigate work is well thought of, her cleverness is well written, and their interactions are fun and funny.

We see the horny side of Mulder which is fun too, and bambi is a character that should have reappeared throughout the entire series.

This episode is proof that a silly plot can be really well written and this is one of the first episodes that showed us that the XFiles knew how to make fun of itself.

Note for those who don't have the dvd box set: when scully arrives at the supermarket and the cars crash, this wasn't actually scripted, you can see it in Gillian Anderson 's face.