User Reviews

This humdinger of an episode opens up season two where Mulder(David Duchovny)meets his very first alien life-form re-assuring him(..and us)that his pursuit for true proof of the existence of extra-terrestrial life is worth it. Unfortunately, the X-Files has been disbanded by the FBI separating Mulder and Scully(Gillian Anderson). Mulder is put in the not-so-glamorous occupation of electronic surveillance(snooping scams, and other rather boring trivial ordeals)while Scully is teaching students on basic procedures of the autopsy.

Mulder receives an "invite" to the office Senator Matheson(yes, named after the brilliant writer Richard Matheson)..one of his loyal backers, whose support towards Mulder puts him at risk. In a control room for a radio telescope in Puerto Rico, Mulder is sent by Matheson to see if "contact" was indeed made. On a certain sheet handed to Mulder, is a "galactic" numerical pattern which might just prove that communication was sent. He is warned to work as fast as he can because Matheson can only guarantee a 24 hour window to find his information before a governmental task force will sweep in(their title is the BLUE BERET UFO RETRIEVAL TEAM)and use "terminal force" to remove anything "incriminating." Obviously, Mulder's absence has his boss, Skinner(Mitch Pileggi)concerned..also present at Skinner's desk is The Cigarette Smoking Man(William B Davis). Skinner's quite sure, however, that Scully will seek him out and find Mulder's whereabouts.

Mulder stores the galactic numerical pattern on a hidden file in his computer and Scully finds it. Through certain channels, Scully will evade those shadowing her and locate Mulder's position at the control room. But, before she does, Mulder finds some unique things such as a Hispanic man in complete terror after seeing a possible alien life-form{their language barrier hurts, but Jorge(Mike Gomez)points towards the sky and even draws an alien face on the wall}, not to mention, he listens to speak coming in on the recording tapes(saying ..THE..TRUTH..IS..OUT..THERE..TRUST..NO..ONE). Jorge runs away in horror as the machines in the control room start reacting oddly and when Mulder finds him he is dead, frozen in a complete state of fear.

Will Mulder actually have proof recorded as evidence of what he has long-time searched for? The presence of alien life does visit him, but Mulder being the only one who sees, will he be able to survive with the proof before the retrieval team gets to the location? Will Mulder once and for all, find the truth of where the aliens took his beloved sister? This episode was a thrilling way to open the second season as we now are provided with a reason for Mulder's continuing on his mission. Yet, there's indeed a let-down or the series would've came to a halt. While, the X-Files would continue running the gamut on all things weird, the search for proof of alien life would continue to be a staple within this marvelous series.

Little Green Men is about Mulder being reassigned to regular FBI duties, with the X-Files shutdown and the sudden reactivation of a remote and long abandoned communications dish.

The build up with the meet in the parking garage, the memory of Mulder's sister's abduction, the greeting from Earth recording, the classical music, it's all excellent. However once Mulder's at the dish, it's fairly lackluster. I understand he wants proof for others to see, but people see proof and nothing comes of it anyway. Skinner makes a stand, siding with Mulder over the Smoking Man. The kid playing young Mulder's a perfect match. In the last scene, Scully almost bursts into song as Mulder says "I've still got you, Scully," while keeping a straight face. A particular Britney track; Oh baby, baby. He just gave me a sign. Hit me, baby, one more time. It's not the best episode, but its got too many strong moments to be overlooked.

"I wanted to believe but the tools have been taken away." – Fox Mulder.

Season 2 premiere, 'Little Green Men', original air date September 16th, 1994. Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, directed by David Nutter. Mythology episode count, 6. 'Little Green Men' is the only season premiere not written by series creator Chris Carter, instead the task was given to fan favourites, Morgan & Wong and for the most part they deliver an enjoyable opening to the second season that's not without it's flaws. A new start brings with it significant growth in the titular characters. This episode serves primarily to explore Mulder's new found state of mind, having been defeated by the department, he's left humiliated and re-assigned to pointless busy work. With his deep cover contact dead, The X-Files unit shut down and forced to cease contact with Scully, Mulder is a broken man with little left to give. When we last saw him in the closing scenes of 'The Erlenmeyer Flask', he was defiant in his determination to seek the truth, yet he appears before us now disillusioned. It's an interesting way to begin a season on such a low point for the characters.

The episode opens with a monologue by David Duchovny, the first of many mythology episodes to begin in this manner, regarding the voyager spacecraft that was sent out in to the universe to seek out alien life. The now abandoned outpost of a radio communications dish in Puerto Rico is seen whirring to life as an incoming transmission is intercepted, indicating contact with extraterrestrial life. Back at the F.B.I and working now on separate assignments, the agents are forced to meet in secret. Scully is concerned about Mulder's state of mind, fearing, rightfully so, that he has given up. As we've learned from previous episodes, Scully admires Mulder's passion, though she may not always agree with his methods. It deeply concerns her to see him like this and she urges him to find the strength to continue his work through other channels. The futility of his situation however overwhelms Mulder's desire to push on. He is contacted by Senator Richard Matheson (Raymond J. Barry) and encouraged to seek out the radio communications equipment in Puerto Rico. With nothing tying him to the F.B.I offices, he of course heads off immediately without informing Scully of his intentions. While monitoring the equipment, Mulder has an experience in which he witnesses an alien-like being attempting to enter the shack and presumably make contact with him. Scully catches up to him and before they can gather the crucial evidence they are chased off by military agents with orders to kill on sight. Once again the agents have come so close and are still yet so far from discovering the truth.

The relationship between Mulder and Scully has seen significant development since the beginning of the series. Scully is distracted while conducting medical training and wonders about the emotional life of her patient, his dreams and fears that are locked away inside his mind. A student is heard describing her as 'spooky', an obvious reference to Mulder's unwanted nickname at the F.B.I. Scully has become more open and perhaps more emotionally aware than her rather cold and scientific rationality that we witnessed at the beginning of season one. Her relationship with Mulder has begun to change the way she thinks, conversely, Mulder has become more sceptical and part of his struggle throughout this episode is about rediscovering his ability to believe. Though they are certainly still individual personalities that will often juxtapose each other, we can see already at the opening of season two, that these two characters are growing together and shaping the way each other think. It's a steady and gradual development of character that, thanks to high episode count of the seasons, the writers were fortunate enough to dole out in small doses rather than have characters make sudden shifts in their mindset that sometimes feels forced in other shows due to time constraints.

The only significant flaw in the writing from Morgan & Wong is that while Mulder experiences quite possibly his most profound and influential alien encounter so far, he's ultimately left with nothing by the episode's conclusion. At the beginning of the show one of his issues with the unit's success so far is that they have not amassed any hard evidence. He has nothing to prove what he has seen or discovered since he began the The X-Files. It is for this reason, among others, that he feels like there is no point in trying to continue his work. He's beginning to think that perhaps there really is nothing out there. He's been lied to before by secret governmental organisations in order to cover up top secret military experiments and he's beginning to think that maybe his theories are simply unfounded. The events of this episode are supposed to serve to reignite the fire by allowing him to experience something definitive, that he can not possibly discount. However we basically come full circle by the end as he still is left without a shred of hard evidence, beyond what he alone has seen with his own two eyes. It's a bit frustrating to come so far only to feel like we've gone nowhere. Mulder is certainly more hopeful now but he's also not bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm. It'll be a little longer before we see him back in full swing. The strong point of the season premiere is the exploration of character as witnessed by the changes in Mulder and Scully since we last saw them and this is more than enough to make this episode an enjoyable experience and a decent start to season two.

...With Little Green EBE's But no Jody Foster, or even her Army.

Good.

Mulder and Skully have been split up- And the X-Files shut down. Mulder is assigned to eavesdropping on two guys with (what sounds to me like) Brooklyn Accents. Skully is opening Skulls for the Academy at Quantico. The two have been avoiding each other for a period of time, it either says or does not say in the Episode.

What is great is how this Episode starts off - Showing the Arecibo Radio Dish - I guess it is not really Arecibo, but some secret dish in Costa Rica, which has been shut down due to William Proxmireism, but some agency has the equipment on "Standby-Mode" - And it WAKES UP on recognition to a particular Signal. Then the focus on a Reel to Reel recorder which starts up which pulls back to reveal Mulder's cheezy POS Reel to Reel recorder.

This is where The X Files really became a fine story-telling device, also, one of the early Glen Morgan episodes. Morgan/Wong added some real quality to the show which stayed with the show even after they left.

Senator Matheson (Raymond J. Barry) calls Mulder in and gives him the location of a transmission reception. Next thing we see, is Mulder hacking through a "Costa Rica" Jungle (But the Arecibo Dish is in PR). As I do not know what the buildings surrounding Arecibo look like, in this episode the impression of a locked-down Seti 'Scope holds up. This is a Seti Scope, the victim of William Proxmire, it has been apparently abandoned, but it is left in Standby on "Listening" mode - So we know some agency is paying to keep the facility clandestinely open. But who? And this episode is also the first time we see the real futility Mulder has to face. This episode along with the last episode of Season 1, set a "pattern" for The X Files for years - Of Mulder Losing, and then Regaining, The X-Files.

This is why I say elsewhere, Mulder and Skully are the most hapless individuals on the planet. But it is their devotion to their beliefs (Which becomes FAITH) and their Faith in Each Other which keeps them going, over and over and over again, no matter how many times Mulder gets knocked down. And he gets knocked down, kicked, punched, beat up, shot... A Lot.

Mulder is a very tragic Figure, and in this episode probably the most Tragic. Which is probably why I admire the character, even though he is fictional - No matter how much he gets the crap kicked out of him, he retains his sense of Humor. This is the one quality of Mulder that is constant from The Pilot ep to "The Truth." And beyond, even in "I Want To Believe" which was unfairly panned by both "fans" and critics- Mulder in that flick was the same Mulder that we find here, in Puerto Rico/Costa Rica.

I think it was at this point, that Chris Carter started to "be" Fox Mulder in some sense. At this point in time, this is his Golden Moment. He could do No Wrong, for many years. As far as I'm concerned, he can still do no wrong, it's public perception of his work that has changed. People really do forget the actual popularity of this series, X-Files was everywhere, talked about everywhere, all through that time. Watching these episodes for the first time in almost 20 years, I see why the show was so popular, because it was done well, like this episode.

Little Green Men the Limerick:

A satellite dish far away

Tells the truth about aliens that came

A very bright light

Kills a man out of fright

Mulder left the evidence to get away.

The episode starts with a great teaser. Mulder does a voice over talking first about the Voyager space probes. Coincidentally, as I write this I have just finished writing an essay for a class about the Voyager missions. Little detail about the missions is given other than the playing of a recording which is being transmitted by the probes now that their primary purpose is over and they are destined for the far reaches of the Universe. Images are shown of documentation explaining the scientific theories that we have learned, different pieces of art, and a number of voices in different languages saying "greetings from Earth". We wanted to believe that there was something out there but the tools to listen were taken away from us. It is kind of a sad commentary he makes about how he was caught up with everyone else in the excitement of imagining what else was out there, but they eventually forgot and lost hope. This is a great lead into the beginning of the story. The end of the teaser shows a receiving transmission of the same signal from the Voyager coming through on a shut down satellite station in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

Mulder and Scully are no longer working together and we first see them in their respective new assignments. Mulder is stuck listening to endless hours of surveillance tapes and Scully is teaching anatomy or someother at Quantico. it is obvious that they are both feeling trunky for their old assignment. Scully passes Mulder in the hall and says hello to him but is ignored. We then see them meeting in a parking garage at the Watergate Hotel. I think this is very nicely done. It brings the feeling of conspiracy back into play right away. I also think it is a nice homage to Deep Throat. Scully even tells Mulder that she thought he was Deep Throat on entering. They then have an interesting conversation that sets up the episode very well. Scully express her concern that Mulder seems to be losing his passion. Mulder confesses that he is beginning to wonder if he wasn't wrong about the existence of aliens all along. He tells the story about how a man who got the money to build an Observatory in San Diego from an elf who appeared in his window one night. Mulder is worried that through his own quest he has been following the advice of elves or as he calls them "little green men". Scully gives him some very encouraging words and a wonderful insight to the story. Even though Hale was following the advice of elves which were obviously in his head, the observatory still got built. In other words, does the source of the idea really matter if it produces the desired outcome? Whether Mulder believes that his sister was abducted by aliens or not doesn't change the fact that she is missing and the passion that drove Mulder to uncover the conspiracy is ultimately what would lead to him finding out what happened to her.

We next get to see the first actual depiction of Samantha being abducted. The transition into the scene is the only thing I'll mention because it shows media coverage of the Watergate scandal which is where we just left. Another subtle homage to Deep Throat. Mulder is later called to the office of Senator Matheson who has been helping Mulder's cause. He tells Mulder about Arecibo and asks him to investigate at risk of being killed. The next bit of the episode is mostly sneaking around by Scully trying to figure out where Mulder went so that she can follow. This is one of the common themes of the show. You'd think maybe Mulder would just once tell Scully where he is going and then say something like, "wait about a day or two then follow me and save my ass just in the nick of time again." So Mulder goes to the station, he meets Jorge who is cowering in fear from the "luces color rojo, y azul, y amarillo, etc." Jorge gets spooked and runs out into a storm and dies. Later the aliens come and a strange voice can be heard like someone playing a tape backwards. Mulder plays his own recording of himself saying "trust no one" which is repeated back to him. Mulder then begins to fire his weapon at the alien in the doorway but they are duds. You would think that an FBI agent would be required to have stronger password security on their computer.

Finally, Scully shows up to save Mulder just as the army men are coming to kill him. The only evidence of the alien's arrival that Mulder is able to grab and take with him is the tape that recorded the alien voice. They dash away and barely escape with their lives. After returning however, they find out that the tape has been erased and therefore they are back at square one with no evidence but their own eye witness accounts. Mulder has gained one thing though: his hope and faith to continue his quest.

This is one of the first episodes I remember watching during the summer of FX reruns that got me hooked on the show. I remember how intrigued I was by the episode because of its similarities to other alien invasion/deep space signal movies that I had seen such as "Independence Day", "The Arrival", and "Contact", all which came out after this episode first aired yet all of which I had seen before I became interested in the X-Files. This episode gets an easy 10 out of 10 from me and is on my list of top 10 favorites overall.

I didn't think much of this episode, seeing as how it kicked off the second season of 'The X-Files", but thanks to a handful of other reviewers for this story, at least I can appreciate it a bit more now. I guess my main problem with the story was it's eventual conclusion leaving no one with any answers. There was a lot of action with the 'Blue Beret UFO Retrieval Team' and the hectic vehicle chase through the jungle, but in the end, Mulder's disillusionment with the break up of the X-Files department still lingers.

Feeding some of that disillusion was Scully's own response to her former partner when Mulder began exhibiting some signs of paranoia over having his phone tapped and the feeling he was being watched. "What makes you think they care about us anymore, anyway?" is the way she responds, considering both have been reassigned to more mundane tasks at the Agency. Later though, when Scully realizes she's being surveilled by a pair of agents at the airport, she begins to realize the underlying truth of that old saying - 'just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you'.

Anyway, if 'Little Green Men' don't actually show up in this story, it's one in which Mulder's belief in extraterrestrials is given weight when he sees an alien in a blinding flash of light in a Puerto Rican jungle shed, just enough to re-stoke his passion in UFO's and government conspiracies. The flashback to the abduction scene of his sister as a child was well done to remind viewers of the personal connection to his mission, and I have to agree with another reviewer on this board, that if one missed the first season of the show, this would have been as good a jumping on point as any.

He protected mulder this time. He had 4 punishments but he can go to work without any.

It was nice that scully helped him. Despite the risk. At last she believes and wants to prove.

And i think it is more than that. They have connection. Not only liking or loving, maybe passion to each other with passion to their jobs.

One day they will be in same job again i hope but probably not in this episode.

Mulder is back but he's a shell of his former self and received a tip off from another high ranking government official about a UFO crash. He rushes to the scene and tries his hardest to prove his encounter. In the meanwhile scully tries to track down mulders strange abandonment of post And manages to find him all the way out in Puerto Rico. Only for the evidence of the encounter to be destroyed.

This episode was good enough to open the new season. It felt like we was exploring the state of mulders psyche and him doing the normal rounds of experiencing alien/ unnatural phenomena but having no evidence. Just like he did when his sister got abducted.

It seems this new season will introduce a new dynamic between mulder and skully and expose who is behind these cover ups at a high level.

I hope Mulder finds his allies and enemies and uses them to his advantage.

Blahness, not a very good start at all. there are so many campy moments that just make the good seem like so little.

I loved the opening scene, I thought it was very well done. and I loved the 'cheesy' scene when Mulder got to see an Alien. sorta. and the flashback of Samantha's abduction was good despite some bad acting.

but most of this episode is cheap. It's really unnecessary and it brings us right back to where it started. nowhere.

It's not horrible though, just a disappointing start to Season 2.

One of the better TWO stars. but certainly not more. Most disappointing part was the ending. I mean, they didn't accomplish anything. It would have worked better if they had some kind of prove that would get stolen or something.