Two weeks ago, I discussed the career of Vince Gilligan, series producer and writer for The X-Files. He later went on to create Breaking Bad and its spinoff series Better Call Saul, and Pluribus. Season six of The X-Files had multiple connections to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul not limited to Vince Gilligan. Bryan Cranston guest starred in episode two, Drive, and Michael McKean guest starred in episodes four and five, Dreamland and Dreamland II, which I’m discussing today. Michael Mckean had a recurring role in Better Call Saul as Chuck McGill, brother to the main character in that series.
This two-part episode started with Mulder taking Scully along for the ride as he follows through on a tip about UFO activity near Area 51. They are stopped by the authorities there led by a member of the Syndicate, a Man In Black, by the name of Morris Fletcher (McKean). A UFO suddenly flies overhead and in a bizarre turn of events, Mulder and Fletcher switch bodies. And lives.
Mulder (Fletcher) and Scully leave the scene and it isn’t long before she starts noticing his erratic behavior. Instead of continuing his constant search for the truth despite it ruining his career within the FBI, he becomes a snitch. Working with the very people Mulder and Scully had butted heads with so many times.
Fletcher (Mulder) on the other hand goes home to a wife who is unhappy in her marriage and two children who have no respect for their father. Fitting in there becomes nearly impossible and the struggle marriage is sent over the edge as the wife can’t stand being part of their union now that Fletcher (Mulder) has seemingly forgotten everything about his family.
Real Mulder tries to contact Scully who thinks it is a practical joke at first but once Mulder’s (Fletcher) behavior gets her reprimanded within the FBI, she realizes that there may be something to this switcheroo. As this two-part episode continues, there are a couple other occurrences of people getting switched and in one terrifying instance, to people who had been making out at the time the craft flew overhead get fused together. It is the real Mulder who realizes after visiting a gas station that had burned down days before had suddenly reappeared unburnt that whatever had happened to them was reversing and he needed to get Fletcher back to the place where they switched. After everything is righted, no one remembers what actually happened to them.
This storyline combines a bit of the funnier side of the show with how serious the situation is especially when Morris Fletcher decides he would rather be in Mulder’s body and life than his own. Mulder, for his part, tries his best to fix the broken marriage Fletcher is trying to leave behind knowing full well he is going to be back in his own body if he figures out how to reverse what’s happened. The humor wasn’t well received by some, but I’m a huge fan of the tone of this two-parter. My favorite scene features Mulder dancing in front of a mirror and the reflection is Fletcher’s body. In order to avoid confusion, they filmed these episodes in such a way that the viewer would see David Duchovny when Mulder was inside Fletcher’s body and Michael McKean when Fletcher was in Mulder’s body so having this mirror scene during which the actors had to match choreography is a great scene to watch. I also love that Fletcher redesigned Mulder’s apartment before they switched back to their own bodies and Mulder having to check that he was in the right apartment when he finally made it home makes me chuckle just thinking about it.
Morris Fletcher was such a great character as a Man In Black that he became a recurring character in the X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen which aired on Fox during season seven of The X-Files. The Lone Gunmen appear later in this season in their own episode, and I’ll talk more about this crossover then.
This episode required the entire production to be moved to Lancaster, California for filming. The site in question is named 5 Acres Ranch or Club Ed, a location used by several television and movie productions because of its remote desert location and for the aging buildings that have been erected there. Originally built for the Dennis Hopper film Eye of the Storm, the buildings were left standing as production was completed and the area continues to get used by other productions. Rob Zombie used it for The Devil’s Rejects and films Nothing to Lose and Rubber were filmed there as well as episodes for The X-Files, Star Trek: Voyager, and Sons of Anarchy.
Michael McKean is one of the more recognizable guest stars having had a decades long career that started back in 1977. Beyond his recurring part in Better Call Saul, McKean also starred in This is Spinal Tap, D.A.R.Y.L., Clue, Coneheads, and dozens of guest starring roles in multiple television series. Whenever I see this actor appear in anything, I always think of this role in The X-Files.
Nora Dunn, who played Fletcher’s long-suffering wife, also starred in episodes of The Outer Limits and CSI: Miami as well as Runaway Jury, Zoolander, and Heartbreakers. Ted White stars in this episode as well and as a horror fan I have to mention it because he was Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
Until next week, the truth is out there.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
Two weeks ago, I discussed the career of Vince Gilligan, series producer and writer for The X-Files. He later went on to create Breaking Bad and its spinoff series Better Call Saul, and Pluribus. Season six of The X-Files had multiple connections to Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul not limited to Vince Gilligan. Bryan Cranston guest starred in episode two, Drive, and Michael McKean guest starred in episodes four and five, Dreamland and Dreamland II, which I’m discussing today. Michael Mckean had a recurring role in Better Call Saul as Chuck McGill, brother to the main character in that series.
This two-part episode started with Mulder taking Scully along for the ride as he follows through on a tip about UFO activity near Area 51. They are stopped by the authorities there led by a member of the Syndicate, a Man In Black, by the name of Morris Fletcher (McKean). A UFO suddenly flies overhead and in a bizarre turn of events, Mulder and Fletcher switch bodies. And lives.
Mulder (Fletcher) and Scully leave the scene and it isn’t long before she starts noticing his erratic behavior. Instead of continuing his constant search for the truth despite it ruining his career within the FBI, he becomes a snitch. Working with the very people Mulder and Scully had butted heads with so many times.
Fletcher (Mulder) on the other hand goes home to a wife who is unhappy in her marriage and two children who have no respect for their father. Fitting in there becomes nearly impossible and the struggle marriage is sent over the edge as the wife can’t stand being part of their union now that Fletcher (Mulder) has seemingly forgotten everything about his family.
Real Mulder tries to contact Scully who thinks it is a practical joke at first but once Mulder’s (Fletcher) behavior gets her reprimanded within the FBI, she realizes that there may be something to this switcheroo. As this two-part episode continues, there are a couple other occurrences of people getting switched and in one terrifying instance, to people who had been making out at the time the craft flew overhead get fused together. It is the real Mulder who realizes after visiting a gas station that had burned down days before had suddenly reappeared unburnt that whatever had happened to them was reversing and he needed to get Fletcher back to the place where they switched. After everything is righted, no one remembers what actually happened to them.
This storyline combines a bit of the funnier side of the show with how serious the situation is especially when Morris Fletcher decides he would rather be in Mulder’s body and life than his own. Mulder, for his part, tries his best to fix the broken marriage Fletcher is trying to leave behind knowing full well he is going to be back in his own body if he figures out how to reverse what’s happened. The humor wasn’t well received by some, but I’m a huge fan of the tone of this two-parter. My favorite scene features Mulder dancing in front of a mirror and the reflection is Fletcher’s body. In order to avoid confusion, they filmed these episodes in such a way that the viewer would see David Duchovny when Mulder was inside Fletcher’s body and Michael McKean when Fletcher was in Mulder’s body so having this mirror scene during which the actors had to match choreography is a great scene to watch. I also love that Fletcher redesigned Mulder’s apartment before they switched back to their own bodies and Mulder having to check that he was in the right apartment when he finally made it home makes me chuckle just thinking about it.
Morris Fletcher was such a great character as a Man In Black that he became a recurring character in the X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen which aired on Fox during season seven of The X-Files. The Lone Gunmen appear later in this season in their own episode, and I’ll talk more about this crossover then.
This episode required the entire production to be moved to Lancaster, California for filming. The site in question is named 5 Acres Ranch or Club Ed, a location used by several television and movie productions because of its remote desert location and for the aging buildings that have been erected there. Originally built for the Dennis Hopper film Eye of the Storm, the buildings were left standing as production was completed and the area continues to get used by other productions. Rob Zombie used it for The Devil’s Rejects and films Nothing to Lose and Rubber were filmed there as well as episodes for The X-Files, Star Trek: Voyager, and Sons of Anarchy.
Michael McKean is one of the more recognizable guest stars having had a decades long career that started back in 1977. Beyond his recurring part in Better Call Saul, McKean also starred in This is Spinal Tap, D.A.R.Y.L., Clue, Coneheads, and dozens of guest starring roles in multiple television series. Whenever I see this actor appear in anything, I always think of this role in The X-Files.
Nora Dunn, who played Fletcher’s long-suffering wife, also starred in episodes of The Outer Limits and CSI: Miami as well as Runaway Jury, Zoolander, and Heartbreakers. Ted White stars in this episode as well and as a horror fan I have to mention it because he was Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
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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