User Reviews

I'm not so tough on this episode as others because I think the story and setting are special, particularly for NASA fans. The late Ed Lauter is a former celebrated astronaut who encountered an alien "ghost" (or maybe that is just their manifestation, a fog-like entity; if I were to choose the episode's greatest weakness it is the alien itself) during a space walk, now in charge of a space shuttle launch with the mission of delivering a payload while in orbit around the earth. Michelle Generoo (Susanna Thompson) is a Mission Control Communications Commander (she communicates directly with the astronauts in the shuttle, and her fiancé is the shuttle commander) believing a possible saboteur is working against the shuttle launch. An auxiliary valve unit was tampered with and later once the shuttle is launched into space, there's evidence of sabotage effecting the oxygen for the astronauts. During the episode, we see the alien face (reminescent to the mars face so intriguing to many of us back in the 90s) seemingly possessing Lauter's Lt Col Marcus Aurelius Belt. It even leaves his body and purposely tries to interfere with the space shuttle during their payload delivery! Fox and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) are asked by Michelle to come to Houston and investigate.

Fox is established as a big fan of Belt and NASA and his enthusiasm and respect for both is slightly poked fun at by Scully. But their importance is realized when Belt becomes psychologically and physically effected by the alien possession (which, it turns out, is responsible for causing Belt to sabotage his own shuttle launch, payload delivery, and re-entry!). The NASA intrigue and how the two FBI agents get involved with seeing the re- entry successful (pretty intense sequence where the crew on the shuttle must go it alone trying to cool their heating orbiter, as telemetry and ground control had been tampered with) are the episode's greatest asset, I think. Belt's battle between the human side and the alien so controlling is quite tragic as he must sacrifice himself in order for others not to suffer his fate.

I found this episode to be frustrating and unsatisfying, primarily because of the lack of a resolution coming out of the story line. There was really no explanation for the ghostly apparition hanging around Colonel Belt (Ed Lauter), why it attacked him on an earlier space mission, and why it inhabited his body. Was it somehow protecting it's turf in outer space in some way? That didn't even come up for discussion at any point that I can relate to.

There was also the subtext of Belt focusing on the mission of delivering a payload aboard the latest shuttle launch at the expense of the crew aboard when the orbiter ran into trouble. This might have made more sense if Belt never flew an orbital mission himself, but knowing how the lives in the orbiter depended a lot on decisions made on the ground, this aspect didn't come across as credible.

Well, if you've watched enough different series on TV, you'll realize there's always a clunker or two along the way, so chalk up this one for 'The X-Files'. It wasn't even a good outing for Scully and Mulder, as they seemed more like observers here than participants in the action. They usually work better when given a little more space.

Well yes, this episode sucks. But there was something very strange about it as well... almost like a dream none of the action ties together (could be just terrible editing) and none of it seems set in reality. It seems almost completely outside the X-files canon, even among the litter of bad episodes from the first season.

But completely apart from the style, a few things made me almost jump out of my seat while I was watching it - Colonel Belt insists that the shuttle will burn up on re-entry because the "tiles are damaged." Well, I felt a chill in my spine when I realized this was made in 1993, 13 YEARS before the Shuttle Columbia disaster, where yes, the shuttle burned up on re-entry because of damaged foam tiles.

Furthermore, it gets even weirder. Somehow I stumbled on this NASA commander Clark McClelland while trying to figure this stuff out. He bears an odd resemblance to "Colonel Belt." From the net:

"Clark McClelland is a retired Spacecraft Operator with NASA who during a 34 year career was responsible for ensuring the safety of numerous NASA missions including Mercury spaceflights, Apollo missions, the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. In a statement released on his website McClelland revealed that he witnessed an eight to nine foot tall extraterrestrial in association with a Space Shuttle mission he was monitoring from the Kennedy Space Center."

So obviously, one of the writers (or Carter himself) read this statement and decided to base an episode on him, right? Except he didn't release this info until July 2008. And to top it all off, this guy was responsible for the safety of the Columbia mission, and there are pictures on the web of him sitting in the cockpit of the doomed ship.

Weird.

The follow-up to the critically acclaimed "Ice" (which I personally enjoyed quite a bit without loving), "Space" is often regarded as one of the low points of the series and I can see why. It is a slow, uneventful, frustrating and empty hour of television. It isn't intended to be like Kubrick's "2001" or anything for that matter and the simplest requirement that it should meet is one that I find it desperately failing to reach: to entertain.

There's no suspense generated through an ever present sense of danger, nor is the mystery at all fascinating. The episode doesn't seem as much concerned about generating a mystery as the opening sequence reveals that Ed Lauter's character is either a host to an alien specimen or at the very least, struggling from PTSD from a past alien encounter. The suspense should at the very least be alleviated, as this is very much a case of Hitchcock's classic bomb under the table example. Lauter's performance ranges from fine to bad and neither his character nor the other central character in this episode, Michelle, are interesting. They are at the forefront of this episode, and unfortunately, the episode does not have much leg room to work some interesting Mulder/Scully interactions.

That's the biggest issue I had with this episode. Mulder and Scully are almost entirely inconsequential to this episode bar Mulder coming to terms with the fact that a childhood hero of his may not quite be the person that he knew. For once, Mulder is more the skeptic and Scully the believer that Lauter's character may not be who everyone thinks he is. That's an interesting shift in dynamic but the episode goes nowhere with it. There's not an ounce of interesting mystery and the episode is deflated by having to spend too much time with uninteresting characters, like those of Ed Lauter and Susanna Thompson.

"Space" is certainly a very weak episode and the first episode so far of the series that I have failed to find any real enjoyment. If this is as bad as the show gets, then it certainly isn't too bad.

I can see that I am in the clear minority here, but what the heck, my mother always told me I was different. I actually liked Space a lot probably because I love just about anything related to this topic. In fact, when I saw the title, I was already pumped and convinced this would be fun to watch. It was....for me at least.

The space videos brought in were effective and again, made me feel more involved. Mulder's enthusiasm for being there was cool, and I liked how he had to interpret everything for Scully, and for my benefit.

The plot was simple, yet profound if you dig deeper. This being (face of Mars was neat concept) didn't want us to trespass on his planet (Mars), or thereabouts; makes sense to me.

He/she obviously is aware of our history. What we do when we explore new frontiers is....we take it over and make it ours! Thus, the being's attempt to sabotage NASA was interesting to me, but the way Belt tried to prevent this was even better. Of course, the final "struggle" if you will, was both necessary and satisfying from my perspective.

It all worked for me, and of course, I love the chemistry and dialogue between our two protagonists. That alone is worth the price of admission. Give it a try and try not to let these sourpusses here ruin it for you.

Space is about the sabotage of a space shuttle mission.

One of the worst of the series, despite the interesting premise. The execution's just bland, the problem's the lack of investigation or x file. Mulder and Scully are merely bystanders watching the events unfold and it's not too riveting. The alien ghost entity looks quite simple and given no depth, just unexplained. Ed Lauter does a good job though as Belt.

As a real "space" nut, this episode was even harder to watch.

Footage of a spacewalking astronaut was used - the famous EVA of Ed White, who later died in the Apollo 1 oxygen fire. This was both tasteless and lame.

The fictional astronaut is alleged to have been a Gemini astronaut. Mulder says that he stayed up at the age of 14 to watch the spacewalk. If the spacewalk occurred during the Gemini program, then Mulder would have to have been born around 1950 or 1952 - making him at least 10 years older than Duchovny. This is small, but it shows the carelessness of the writer towards the subject matter.

I don't work for NASA, but I know enough to recognise technobabble when I see it. Star Trek Voyager was more realistic. Worst mistake was the NASA "logo" in "mission control" - there are two NASA logos in use - the 70s style "Worm" - the one on the shuttle, and the "Meatball". The one in mission control on the wall was made up. Again, a small detail, but it shows a complete carelessness towards the subject.

Operations of the fictional shuttle program were pure bizarro-world - a PTSD Gemini Astronaut as Czar? With no oversight? This is post-Challenger NASA we're talking about - where you can't attach a screw without filling out sixteen forms.

The idea that the Shuttle astronauts couldn't take manual control of the orbiter without disconnecting communications with Earth and risking death was the single most ludicrous aspect, with even less basis in reality than a Gemini astronaut being possessed by a hill from Mars - and yet again showed us a writer pulling plot devices out of his posterior.

It was not pretty to watch.

And what was with the guest actors? Their chewing of the scenery was fit for a REAL-LIFE X-file...

Spooky.

You could watch this one for fun, in an MST3K sort of way...or make a drinking game out of it. Every time Colonel Blink or Astro-Girlfriend pops a vein, take a shot of Tequila.

"We send those men up in to space to unlock the doors of the universe, and we don't even know what's behind them." – Fox Mulder.

Episode 9, 'Space', original air date November 12, 1993. Written by Chris Carter and directed by William Graham. Monster of the week episode count, 6. Chris Carter's second MOTW episode is reportedly his least favourite show of the entire series and is widely regarded by fans as one of the worst episodes overall, securing it's place amongst numerous top ten lists for the series low points. Originally conceived as a 'bottle' episode that would take place within one location and make use of real life NASA space footage for the purposes of saving money. Unfortunately for the production company, the construction of the ground control set proved far more costly than anticipated, subsequently the episode ran over budget and became the most expensive of the first season. Critics and fans accused the episode of being a prolonged, tiresome affair with little pay-off and sub-par special effects. A common complaint was also that Mulder and Scully acted more as passive observers than active players in the progression of the plot. While I generally disagree with the former criticisms, the latter is certainly a valid point.

The basic plot involves the discovery of the Mars 'face', a geographical rock formation on the surface of the planet, by Nasa in the late 70's. While in space, astronaut Lt. Col. Marcus Belt, Ed Lauter, is attacked and subsequently possessed by a ghostly entity bearing the same Mars 'face'. The colonel is then uncontrollably drawn to sabotage future space missions, presumably influenced by the Mars entity in an attempt to prevent mankind from encroaching further on it's planet. Critics and fans alike were damning of the episodes ambiguity and illogical premise. However I find it difficult to support an argument that a spectral entity from Mars possessing a human astronaut is any less implausible than the science fiction that populated the entirety of the series. If alien abductions are acceptable, why not ghosts from Mars? It's a fine line to tread when criticising the believability of plot lines in a show that has always been up front about it's unashamedly outlandish concepts. This is 'The X-Files' after all, is anything truly off the table when it comes to science fiction? While, in my opinion, certainly undeserving of it's harsher critics, 'Space' is nonetheless an odd entry in the series that feels almost non-canonical for a number of reasons. The 'bottle' format means that we see nothing of the FBI offices, including Mulder's signature basement set and this makes it feel like Mulder and Scully are doing this investigation in their off time. There's no reporting to superiors, nor writing of reports or even a suggestion that this is an official case that requires a resolution. While the same can be said of the previous episode, 'Ice', it's perhaps due to the fact that here Mulder and Scully seem like spectators, or guest characters in their own show. Their actions rarely advance the plot and they spend the majority of the episode passively observing the events as they occur before them. They have almost no effect on the events or supporting characters decisions and it's possible to argue that were they not present for this story that the course of action would remain virtually unchanged. Scully in particular could have easily been cut from the episode as she serves no real purpose, as such most of Mulder's dialogue is spent explaining to Scully what just happened in the control room. Mulder, presumably having a greater understanding of the technical jargon due to his personal interest in space travel. It's nice to see Mulder's childlike reaction to meeting Col. Belt and witnessing a real life space launch, though for the most part the pair are given very little to do.

The special effects were admittedly below the standard produced even in preceding episodes and for early 90's technology. They were however, serviceable and the image of the Mars face was suitably disturbing in it's portrayal of an anguished and maddened expression. The concept of the face pushing through Col. Belt's own visage was appropriately creepy. While the episode would not be described as fast paced, the progression felt steady enough and the mystery of Col. Belt's affliction, coupled with the uncertain fate the space craft and it's occupants was enough to keep me engaged throughout. Mark Snow's score is a great help in keeping us hooked and in creating a sense of mystery and tension. The X-Files was known for it's ambiguity and inconclusiveness and the conclusion of 'Space' is nothing if not uncertain. The episodes closure is disappointing in that we essentially learn nothing of the entity or it's motivations beyond individual viewer speculation. Though the argument can be made that we don't need to know any more than is obvious through the actions of Col. Belt's character. Namely that there are forces in Space, beyond our world that we do not understand and are perhaps, as a species, ill-equipped to process. As a science fiction show about the mysteries of Space, it's an enjoyable affair and perhaps a more valid argument or justification for its negative reception is that as an X-Files episode it presents as discordant with the tone of the episodes that both precede and follow it.

What's there to say? They should call this garbage 'Waste of Space' or just simply 'Trash'. They could torture people with this thing.

It's a plot less piece of garbage. Nothing was redeemable. Not even Mulder and Scully, they each had like... one salvageable line.

Guest cast was horrible, just horrible. special effects were completely laughable. Editing... should I go on? The worst part was that ghost face, I mean, what the hell?

The episode seemed to go on for ever, perhaps I should just never watch it again. It's embarrassing, nothing more. I'm giving this piece of garbage ONE Star. But I would give it ZERO if I could.