One of the more memorable monsters created by Chris Carter’s The X-Files was Eugene Victor Tooms. He was pursued and captured by Agents Mulder and Scully in episode 1.3, Squeeze, and returned in episode 1.21, Tooms, where he was deemed nonthreatening to society and released from the mental institution he was being held – without ever being charged with a crime, I might add, which is why he wasn’t in prison. They put him away for psychological examination because of how he attacked Agent Scully at the end of Squeeze, but not for his other crimes for which there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
What makes these two episodes so interesting is that, while they feature the same villain, the first is very much an FBI agent procedural with a creepy serial killer twist. Mulder and Scully investigate how Tooms could have possible been responsible for killing people over the course of a century without ever ageing and bringing in the previous investigator for the case. The second episode finds Mulder being the sense of reason that no one is willing to listen to when he tries to stop Tooms’ release. Mulder finds an adversary in Eugene Victor Tooms who tries to frame him for a violent attack. Tooms ends with Mulder and Scully returning to Tooms’ former place of residence, now an office building, where Tooms meets his untimely death under an escalator.
Episode 1.3, only the third episode of the entire series, guest stars Donal Logue as Agent Tom Colton and work friend to Agent Scully. Having this character mock Mulder to Scully’s face only to have her defend her new partner was a testament to how quickly she and Mulder were able to work together as partners in the bureau. Logue’s one small role in this episode is not really that memorable, but he did go on to have a prolific career in both television and film, though 1998’s Blade is the most memorable for me. This episode also stars Jan D’Arcy who starred in Twin Peaks (just one of the MANY connections between the two shows).
In episode 1.21, Assistant Director Walter Skinner is introduced into the show. I always remember it being sooner for some reason, so I’m always surprised-not-surprised to see him appear near the end of the first season instead of earlier. Played by Mitch Pileggi, the character is meant to be a hurdle that Mulder and Scully must jump over. A way of keeping them in check as certain members of the bureau try to keep their secrets under wrap. As the series goes on, Skinner wavers between ally and critic of Mulder and Scully’s investigations largely because the Cigarette Smoking Man is always trying to manipulate the situation. For now, in season one, he serves as the person Mulder and Scully will butt heads with when he tries to reign them in. Unlike Donal Logue’s short lived mocking from episode three, Skinner represents a far more conflicted character with more staying power in the show.
The character of Eugene Victor Tooms, played by the oh-so-creepy Doug Hutchinson, eats people’s livers, five in total, before hibernating for thirty years. When he wakes, the cycle starts over again. What I find to be the most bizarre thing is that no one noticed his guy disappearing from society every thirty years, and he managed to hibernate in the same building for that long repeatedly without being found. I know Baltimore is one of the oldest cities in the U.S., and that buildings can stay abandoned for long periods of time, but at the very least I would have expected a squatting homeless person to happen across him. Regardless, the fact that he managed to elude capture for that long is a big part of what makes him so frightening.
There are many links between The X-Files and Stephen King adaptations, which I’ve talked about already in previous blogs. Doug Hutchinson is no exception. He also brought his brand of squirrely, creepy character work to Frank Darabont’s adaptation of The Green Mile in which he played the prison guard who intentionally electrocuted a man without wetting the salt water sponge -meant to be make for better conductivity into the receivers head – causing one of the most gruesome deaths portrayed in cinema. It is a hard scene to watch both in length and visually. Hell, you can almost smell it. Hutchinson is great even as he tries to flee and is forced by Tom Hanks to watch the fiery death he caused.
Hutchinson was also in a few episodes of the short-lived but much loved by me Space Above and Beyond in 1995. In 1997, he appeared in one episode of Millennium which aired alongside The X-Files during Millennium’s three year run. It wasn’t the first or last link between the two shows. Hutchinson also appeared in seven episodes of Lost. I’ve always believed that The X-Files walked so that shows like Millennium and Lost could run, and I love that Doug Hutchinson has ties to both of them.
Until next week, the truth is out there.
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
One of the more memorable monsters created by Chris Carter’s The X-Files was Eugene Victor Tooms. He was pursued and captured by Agents Mulder and Scully in episode 1.3, Squeeze, and returned in episode 1.21, Tooms, where he was deemed nonthreatening to society and released from the mental institution he was being held – without ever being charged with a crime, I might add, which is why he wasn’t in prison. They put him away for psychological examination because of how he attacked Agent Scully at the end of Squeeze, but not for his other crimes for which there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
What makes these two episodes so interesting is that, while they feature the same villain, the first is very much an FBI agent procedural with a creepy serial killer twist. Mulder and Scully investigate how Tooms could have possible been responsible for killing people over the course of a century without ever ageing and bringing in the previous investigator for the case. The second episode finds Mulder being the sense of reason that no one is willing to listen to when he tries to stop Tooms’ release. Mulder finds an adversary in Eugene Victor Tooms who tries to frame him for a violent attack. Tooms ends with Mulder and Scully returning to Tooms’ former place of residence, now an office building, where Tooms meets his untimely death under an escalator.
Episode 1.3, only the third episode of the entire series, guest stars Donal Logue as Agent Tom Colton and work friend to Agent Scully. Having this character mock Mulder to Scully’s face only to have her defend her new partner was a testament to how quickly she and Mulder were able to work together as partners in the bureau. Logue’s one small role in this episode is not really that memorable, but he did go on to have a prolific career in both television and film, though 1998’s Blade is the most memorable for me. This episode also stars Jan D’Arcy who starred in Twin Peaks (just one of the MANY connections between the two shows).
In episode 1.21, Assistant Director Walter Skinner is introduced into the show. I always remember it being sooner for some reason, so I’m always surprised-not-surprised to see him appear near the end of the first season instead of earlier. Played by Mitch Pileggi, the character is meant to be a hurdle that Mulder and Scully must jump over. A way of keeping them in check as certain members of the bureau try to keep their secrets under wrap. As the series goes on, Skinner wavers between ally and critic of Mulder and Scully’s investigations largely because the Cigarette Smoking Man is always trying to manipulate the situation. For now, in season one, he serves as the person Mulder and Scully will butt heads with when he tries to reign them in. Unlike Donal Logue’s short lived mocking from episode three, Skinner represents a far more conflicted character with more staying power in the show.
The character of Eugene Victor Tooms, played by the oh-so-creepy Doug Hutchinson, eats people’s livers, five in total, before hibernating for thirty years. When he wakes, the cycle starts over again. What I find to be the most bizarre thing is that no one noticed his guy disappearing from society every thirty years, and he managed to hibernate in the same building for that long repeatedly without being found. I know Baltimore is one of the oldest cities in the U.S., and that buildings can stay abandoned for long periods of time, but at the very least I would have expected a squatting homeless person to happen across him. Regardless, the fact that he managed to elude capture for that long is a big part of what makes him so frightening.
There are many links between The X-Files and Stephen King adaptations, which I’ve talked about already in previous blogs. Doug Hutchinson is no exception. He also brought his brand of squirrely, creepy character work to Frank Darabont’s adaptation of The Green Mile in which he played the prison guard who intentionally electrocuted a man without wetting the salt water sponge -meant to be make for better conductivity into the receivers head – causing one of the most gruesome deaths portrayed in cinema. It is a hard scene to watch both in length and visually. Hell, you can almost smell it. Hutchinson is great even as he tries to flee and is forced by Tom Hanks to watch the fiery death he caused.
Hutchinson was also in a few episodes of the short-lived but much loved by me Space Above and Beyond in 1995. In 1997, he appeared in one episode of Millennium which aired alongside The X-Files during Millennium’s three year run. It wasn’t the first or last link between the two shows. Hutchinson also appeared in seven episodes of Lost. I’ve always believed that The X-Files walked so that shows like Millennium and Lost could run, and I love that Doug Hutchinson has ties to both of them.
Until next week, the truth is out there.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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