I watched this very late at night but it held my attention absolutely.
This is what I consider to be a perfect X-File episode. It balances all of the elements impeccably! Mwah! A work of art really.
An absolutely hilarious story & Duchovny's acting is SUPERB! The nuances in his performance are a thing of beauty and you can tell he is having so much fun being this character. It's truly a joy to watch his mischievous little smiles and shuffles. People who criticise him as an actor need to see this performance.
The story itself is completely nuts but it works so well as a not-to-be-taken-Seriously comedy or farce episode. I just feel like all of the actors were having a lot of fun with this stellar script. I wish they did more episodes based on those bizarre "news of the world" tabloid stories!
By a complete coincidence I watched This after watching Tim Burton's "Ed Wood" and the two really work together with wacky sci fi subject material and tongue in cheek humour. Great pairing.
Who cares if the science of shape shifting man's abilities doesn't really add up, it's meant to be a laugh, and it so so so is.
Shocked that Darin Morgan wasn't the writer! It has his fingerprints all over it! And there he is in person onscreen, what a treat.
The relationship dynamic between Mulder & Scully is played so well in the final scenes! What a madcap delight.