Another week, another installment. This was the season finale, and might become the series finale. Read on for the review.

Cast

Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers
Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike
Dean Haglund as Richard “Ringo” Langley
Steven Snedden as Jimmy Bond
Zuleikha Robinson as Yves Adele Harlowe
Mike McKean as
Morris Fletcher
David Duchovny
as Fox Mulder

Crew

Written by Vince
Gilligan, John
Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Bryan Spicer

Original Airdate

All About Yves originally aired Friday, May 11, 2001.

Synopsis

The teaser begins with Morris Fletcher acting much the same as we saw
in Three of a Kind; hanging out in a bar trying to pick up
women, using his M.I.B. position for a pickup line. His current
target left him angrily when he dropped his wedding ring.

When he went out to his car, he was blinded by a bright light, and
soon delivered to a room much like the one Mulder was in for several
months. The stockiest alien the X-Files has ever shown came forward
with some sort of nasal probe, and managed to interrogate him.

The Lone Gunmen (including Jimmy) were soon celebrating as they drove
down the road. Frohike still had most of the alien costume on. They
were soon stopped by a military blockade, and Fletcher came forward to
find out how they found him. It seems they received an e-mail from a
government server named “Romeo 61” telling them where to find him.
Fletcher let them live, and they decided to track down this server.

When act one began, the Gunmen and Kenny were breaking into the US
Government to find information abuot Romeo 61. They found a list of
dates, all tagged successful. The dates corresponded to the
Exxon-Valdez accident, the Oklahoma city bombing, the JFK
assassination and other major disaters. Kenny panicked, wiped his
fingerprints off the keys, and ran. Jimmy tried talking the other
three out of pursuing this, since he felt it was out of their league,
but they refused to walk away. Instead, they met Fletcher in his next
hotel room. With Frohike posing as Fletcher’s lover, convincing
Fletcher’s newest floozy to leave was very easy. The gunmen
interrogated Fletcher, and eventually learned that information about a
project he was to give a presentation on had been stolen by Yves Adele
Harlowe (using one of her many aliases). Fletcher said that she had
set them up to find him, and that she was a member of Romeo 61, the
government group that he feared the most.

In act two, Fletcher was at Lone Gunmen headquarters helping them
track down Yves. They couldn’t find her anywhere. (Even her cell
phone was billed to “Martha Stewart Living.”) Jimmy then walked in
after speaking with her. He advised Byers, Langley and Frohike not to
trust Fletcher, since his job was spreading lies, while Yves had
helped them many times, and had always resorted to non-lethal means.

While the gunmen’s investigation continued, Yves was working on her
own. She contacted Agent Mulder and arranged a meeting using
Frohike’s voice. She also tried to dispose of something through what
seemed to be the black market. She didn’t notice she was being
followed, but she obviously knew somebody was after her.

It didn’t take long for the Gunmen to track down a hotel room
registered in Yves’ name. They searched the place, and found a
receipt for a large sale in the amount of 10.13 million dollars. They
soon tracked down the purchasing company’s headquarters, and started
working on a way in. They found the hardest part would be a face
recognition scanner, but they got an idea from Fletcher. Langley had
been bombed by a blue paint booby trap in Yves’ hotel room. They
decided to use Hollywood’s blue screening technique, paint their faces
blue, and leave only specific spots the system uses for identification
pink, so they’d look like someone in the computer’s database.

While these three were trying to get in, Jimmy noticed an e-mail from
someone named Fox. The only fox he knew was Yves, so he went to the
specified meeting point to find Yves and hear her side of things.
Yves was in the parkade waiting for Mulder, but left hurriedly when
she noticed she was being followed. Instead, Jimmy and Mulder met
each other. The scene ended when Mulder realized that Jimmy knew
Frohike, and they decided to figure out what was going on.

The next time we saw Jimmy, he was hauling Kenny into the Lone Gunmen
headquarters to enlist his aid in finding the three Gunmen. Yves
showed up (after confronting and stranding her tail) and explained
that the disk she had contained a complete list of alien abductees,
and she wanted to give it to Mulder. With Kenny’s help, they found
the building the Gunmen were heading for.

The arrived at the headquarters, and realized that the boys had gone
in. (Last time we saw Fletcher, he was waiting in the van, but the
van was empty now.) Jimmy volunteered to go in alone to protect the
others, but Yves drugged him and sent Kenny home with him, and then
went in alone.

The Gunmen had reached the vault inside, but couldn’t open it. They
realized they had been trapped right before Fletcher, Yves’ tail, a
group of soldiers, and Yves came out of the elevator. Yves was
handcuffed, and not in the fun way.

At this point, the words “TO BE CONTINUED” appeared on screen, and
the episode ended.

High Point

I loved seeing the focus of the episode return to the three original
Gunmen. These guys had a chance to do what they do best; hack and
expose various information. Seeing them return to that, especially as
they entered the final installation, was a nice way to end the first season.

Low Point

Yves’ “fury” at the black market contact was not convincing. I just
never seem to believe that she’s actually mad when the script calls
for it.

The Review

This was a rather original entry in the series. The boys
used the skills they’ve always shown, and the plotline was well done.
The layers of manipulation were laid on fairly thick, and the exposure
to Yves’ history was new. I give it 4 out of 6.

The effects were almost non-existant. Really, there was
the make-up effect of Langley’s paint bomb, the opening interrogation,
and the falttened tires, all of which were well done, but well
established effects. I give the effects 4 out of 6.

The story and writing were well plotted and well mapped
out. Yves’ character is on the verge of developing real depth. She’s
not as callous as she first seemed, given her rescue of Jimmy.
(Unless, of course, that was faked to keep him on her side because
she’s working with Morris Fletcher.) The setup that sucked the Gunmen
in but not Jimmy was well designed, and the unseen conversation with
Mulder leaves all sorts of openings for Jimmy to have received various
pieces of information. I give the story 5 out of 6.

The acting was very good from all but Zuleikha Robinson.
She can’t convince me she’s mad. John Billingsley in the role of
Timmy was great. He’s perfect for this role, as is Mike McKean as
Morris Fletcher. I give the acting 5 out of 6.

In terms of emotional response, this did respectably. I
was compelled by the storyline, and it aroused suspicion around
Morris, Yves, and the supporting characters. I couldn’t decide if I
wanted Jimmy to be right, or the other three gunmen. When the episode
ended, I was ready for more. I give it 4 out of 6.

The production this week was top notch once more. This
is a crew that knows what they’re doing and how to work together, and
it shows. Mark Snow did an excellent job on the music, whether the
selections were pieces he composed or merely selected. I give the
production 5 out of 6.

The overall finished product was a good episode that
makes me want to come back next season, but it seems to have a hard
time deciding if it’s comedy or drama. It switches between hysterical
scenes and serious ones. I give it 4 out of 6 overall.

Totalling this up, it seems this week’s installment has a score of 31
out of 42.

The Future of the Series

This was the season finale of The Lone Gunmen. Fox announces
its fall schedule on Thursday May 17th, so I’ll track down that
information and let you know on Thursday if The Lone Gunmen and
The X-Files are continuing next season. Seeing more
X-Files is a pretty safe bet, but the future of The Lone
Gunmen is uncertain. Rumour has it that Chris Carter is selling
the two as a package deal, which should virtually guarantee that both
shows will return. (The X-Files does well in its timeslot,
often winning its target demographic. It is the fourth highest rated
Fox show overall, so it’s likely Fox will keep the Gunmen if that’s
what they need to do to keep the X-Files.)

Assuming the show is renewed, they have set themselves up well for
using Mulder in a recurring role. Since Mulder’s now unemployed,
he’ll be needing something to do to keep busy. Duchovny has said he
can’t take the character of Mulder anywhere new on the X-Files, but if
Mulder was a recurring role on a comedy series, he might be able to
manage it. His interactions with Jimmy and Yves could drive his
characters in new directions, especially given the comedic nature of
the show.

I also like the fact that they are starting to develop the character
of Yves. This is to be the season two story arc, and they’re off to a
good start.

Next Week

On Sunday, May 13 we’ll see Essence, part one of a two part
X-Files season finale. It continues on May 20th with
Existance.