#daniel arkin

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Arcadia by Michael Watkins, Daniel Arkin.

[randomfoggytiger]

The X-Files's Arcadia: BTS

-GILLIAN'S THOUGHTS-

The Complete X-Files:

Gillian Anderson says of the episode, "It was just very funny to be portraying these completely normal, straight-up, Stepfordy-Wife-type characters, and at the same time having Mulder making jokes, all the while I'm trying to keep a straight face and hold it together. It was just very funny, that shot of the two of us standing in the driveway with our Izod shirts on and the little gray sweaters."

The Official Guide to The X-Files, Vol. 5:

For the most part, the non-monster portion of the filming schedule went smoothly. "I enjoyed this episode," says Gillian Anderson. "I got a big kick out of sitting next to David and doing all the little things to pretend we were married. I also liked calling him 'Poopyhead.'"

-INSPIRATION-

The idea for this semi-comedic story-the first X-Files written by first-year staff writer Daniel Arkin-came partly from a 1991 incident in which Arkin, then an instructor at New York University, moved into a co-op apartment in Manhattan's Greenwich Village.

"Our movers were late," says Arkin, "and we didn't start moving in until 4 P.M. Little did we know-not having read all three hundred pages of our CC and Rs-that we were going to be fined for moving in after 5 P.M. It cost us a thousand dollars." [...]

"My first idea actually dealt with some notorious person-an infamous character or an accused criminal-who moves into the planned community, to the horror of the residents, creating a sort of 'bogeyman,' a manifestation of all their worst fears. I think it was Chris who suggested we turn the bogeyman into a monster."

-MARRIED COUPLE-

[Daniel] Arkin adds, "The idea of 'marrying' Mulder and Scully seemed to arise spontaneously at one of our many meetings. Someone said: 'We've never put them undercover together. If we're ever going to do it, why don't we do it in this episode?'"

-COSTUMES-

Makeovers of a slightly different sort were carried out by costume designer Christine Peters, who modified Mulder's and Scully's usual wardrobe to help them blend into their undercover assignment as Yuppie clones.

"For David, Lacoste Izod alligator shirts, Dockers, Bass Weeguns," says Peters.

She adds, "Gillian was a little tougher, because she has a 'look' that she doesn't want to give up. She's very savvy that way. So we weren't going to see Gillian in jeans and a sweatshirt or Gillian in khakis and sneakers. So basically she wore the same kind of clothes she always wears just in lighter colors. It was khaki and tan Tahari; it was mint green Calvin Klein. Obviously, it worked for her. She fit into the scenes without looking ridiculous."

-THE MONSTER-

"Gumby on steroids."

"Mr. Butterworth."

"Fecal Fred."

"The S*** Monster."

All of the above are some of the nicknames X-Files staffers gave to the creature that emerges from the sewer in "Arcadia." Creating the creature, however, was a challenge.

"The problem," says assistant director Bruce Carter, "was that although the basic concept was good, no one could really envision what this strange beast-a psychologically manifested compilation of garbage-should look like. [...]"

Working under tremendous time pressure, special effects makeup supervisor John Vulich came up with a costume. "It was basically a foam rubber suit," says Vulich. "We poured urethane foam on it to give it a sort of bubbly appearance, then glued on some shredded rubber and coated it with gunk." During filming the costume was worn by Roger Morrissey, a very tall actor with whom Vulich had worked on numerous previous occasions.

During successive waves of cutting, reediting, darkening, and visual effects jiggering, less and less of the monster became visible so that it became more of an unseen menace than an actual monstrous presence.

-SCRUFFY-

To depict Cami Shroeder's dog Scruffy being ejected from the storm drain, the special effects department rigged up a small device to propel a rubber dog model through the air. No Chihuahuas were harmed in the making of this episode.

-NAME-

In ancient Greece, Arcadia was the name of a district famous for its rustic peace and simplicity. There are towns and cities by that name in twenty states of the Union.

-INTERESTING FACTOID-

As part of his work on this episode, researcher Lee Smith investigated the explosive properties of landfill: learned how to determine what garbage comes from a sewer (you look for a certain level of bacteria found in human feces); and obtained diagrams of sewer systems from cities and towns across the country. He hit a snag when he asked for one from New York City. "They laughed, they howled, they thought it was the funniest thing they ever heard," said Smith. "They said there was one guy-he was eighty-two years old-and he was the only person who even vaguely knew what was under the streets of New York. They were trying to get him to write it all down and draw diagrams before he died, because when he died, the knowledge died with him."

-DD'S STORY-

David Duchovny speaking (repeatedly) about the garbage monster here.

BONUS

Relevant breadcrumb trail--

2008: Q: Also from season five is “Bad Blood.”

Frank: “Bad Blood” is a personal favorite of mine, too. After Darin opened the doors to humor, a number of writers on the staff tried their hand at comedic episodes. Vince Gilligan was extremely good at it. What I loved about “Bad Blood,” coming as it did in season five, was that it was able to take the Mulder and Scully characters and have a lot of fun with how they saw each other. It’s got a “he said/she said” structure, which was borrowed from the original Dick Van Dyke Show. There’s an episode where Rob and Laura relate their events of what happened, and the humor comes from how exaggerated Rob’s perception of Laura was and vice-versa. So it was a lot of fun to figure out how Mulder and Scully would see things differently. We had the benefit of casting Luke Wilson, who had been in a movie that Vince had written called Home Fries, so he agreed to do the show. It was just a ball.

[scullydubois]

thoughts on Arcadia (6x15)

Written by Daniel Arkin     Directed by Michael Watkins

I have high expectations for this one 

That house is nice...couldn’t be me

Is that the dad from some Disney Channel show??? OMG, it is

This man wants nothing more than for his neighbors to hate him

Is he using a lamp as a weapon

Um? What the actual fuck?

Seven months later?

PLEASE be Mulder and Scully, please be Mulder and Scully

Hell yes

It’s lit

“Petrie. Like the dish”

This episode is the definition of ridiculous, I already love it so much

They gotta move in before 6! Go go go

What an intricate FBI operation

I like their minivan

Shh, Mulder, shh

The camcorder...I’m screaming

They’re really out here trying to get kidnapped whilst masquerading as a married couple...that’s so fucking funny 

“Woman, get back here and make me a sandwich” PEAK comedy

This neighbor’s a vet...noted

Take the dishes….he wants you to have the dishes 

Y’all are literally gonna die

Creepy neighbor dinner

They’re literally kidnapping neighbors who don’t follow the HOA rules? Fucking iconic

It’s probably deeper than that...it’s probably a cult, but that's a funny thought

He’s watching a show about a tribe...sounds like a clue 

If he doesn’t change this lightbulb, they WILL kill him

This IS the cheesiest thing ever and I DO find it fucking hilarious

“That’s right Poopyhead”

Them playing married comes off so weird because it’s more physically affectionate and less somehow less emotionally (?) affectionate than they usually are

Mulder said no rights for Scully at the neighborhood dinner

They don’t know where Mike is...totally...no way

Y’all dumb as fuck

Scruffy...please

The dog really went into the fucking drain

Eeeee

Pfftt this is so funny...that’s all I have to say

I don’t know how much sense any of this makes, but it’s funny

Tropicana product placement!

‘Be like the others...before it gets dark’ or what punk?

Imagine getting murdered for putting up a basketball hoop

Imagine getting murdered because your neighbor put up a basketball hoop

That’s a cute blazer

Uh oh

They got those fake wedding rings

That was almost an accidental murder

It IS an X-File

Ketchup and brain fluid?? Hello?

The neighborhood was built over a landfill

So what I’m hearing is….it’s a garbage monster

They’re putting in a reflecting pool, don’t be alarmed

It’s the thing from the roof

Something's stirring

This is like a Scooby Doo episode, but if Velma and Fred had to pretend to be a married couple

Mike???

Oof

Mike’s trying to be a hero

This guy summoned a Tibetan god or something???

How many times can you repeat each other’s names, @M&S

He left her in the closet...symbolism? Jk

The monster just collapsed at his feet?

Do I understand a single thing that just happened? No. Do I need to? No.

Consensus: None of the recent episodes have reached the height of the first few episodes of this season, this one included. I, however, enjoyed how dumb and cheesy it was.

4 out of 5 stars

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Arcadia by Michael Watkins, Daniel Arkin.

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Arcadia by Michael Watkins, Daniel Arkin.

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Arcadia by Michael Watkins, Daniel Arkin.

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Arcadia by Michael Watkins, Daniel Arkin.

[celestialmega]

The X-Files - Arcadia by Michael Watkins, Daniel Arkin.