Well, this was different. It's Frankenstein. And it's in black and white. And it's kind of funny and bizarre.
'The Post-Modern Prometheus' has a lot of elements of some very good past episodes. It reminded me quite a lot of 'Humbug' and 'War of the Coprophages', but I know Darin Morgan didn't write it, Chris Carter did. And like 'Syzygy', which he also wrote trying to mimic Darin Morgan's style, this one doesn't quite live up to expectations.
Overall, I liked this one, even with the somewhat corny ending. The episode clearly was meant to end to parallel the story of Frankenstein, but as Scully said earlier, there is no bride in this story. The ending was simply Izzy's comic book ending, and we don't know what actually happened to the Great Mutato.
Though now that I think about it, maybe we don't even know how much of this episode actually happened. The whole thing could have been a comic book, right? We're probably not meant to know, but just enjoy the story.
Also, the idea that Mulder has somehow been a subject of discussion on The Jerry Springer Show, or even possibly appeared on it himself, is hilarious.
The story in the episode is pretty disturbing, especially in the way the doctor goes about his crime, draping entire homes in what look like circus tents. Which actually brings me to the music in the episode, which is rather amazing and extremely creepy. The score, anyway. The music during the entire intro sequence sounds like a mix of circus music and festive holiday music, but all re-imagined in minor keys. It's a haunting waltz that then morphs into Cher, whose music also plays a prominent (a more prominent) role in this episode.
This is one of the few episodes that uses popular music in addition to the regular score, so it definitely stands out, and of course, comes to the ending at a performance by 'Cher', whose face we never see, and was apparently played by a Cher impersonator. What I didn't remember was that she was in the movie, Mask, also. I thought The Great Mutato was watching it just because it showed a man with a rare deformity able to live a normal life and find love, but it turns out it also plays into his Cher obsession.
Everything in this episode was very over the top. The repeated scenes with Mulder entering the diner, first with all the townspeople overly cheery at his presence, and then later completely hostile towards him, trying to trip him, flinging their food at him and spitting in his food, then pouring coffee in his lap, were oddly amusing. Clearly this is a pretty strange place. The reporter was another of those odd characters in a strange town. I mean, what was with her ... robe? Coat? What was that?
And naturally, what Frankenstein story would be complete without an angry mob setting fire to a barn? At least they let all the animals out first? And then somehow the animals all gathered around the cellar windows to hear the Great Mutato's story at the end.
But in a way, all of that is kind of a distraction from what is really a pretty horrific crime. And the fact that one of the victims had been trying to conceive and so was pleased that she was impregnated through a horrible violation. But then, I guess they pulled the same thing in 'Small Potatoes' and glossed right over the rape aspect of it. I don't think there was rape in this episode, because there's never any mention of Mutato having sex with the women, just that the father artificially impregnating them. Still, not exactly a positive thing there, so let's not have someone be happy about it?
Even despite that one false note, though, I still enjoyed this episode. It was a nice break from some of the dire seriousness of opening two-part episode.
Also, how did no one in the town ever notice the giant circus tents draped over the homes of the victims? It's not like they were just there for an hour or two.
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