The Lone Gunmen

This series is everything that the X-Files used to to be: fast, clever, brash and intelligent, but now they've added one more: funny! I love this show with its eccentric characters, intelligent stories and far-out adventures as it takes us into and tries to prove conspiracies and shadow governments. Almost believable in it's execution, the show deserves to be call a "break-out hit," and a worthy occupant in the vacuum left on Friday in the absence of "Freaky Links" and the new "Dark Shadows." If only "Scariest Places On Earth" ran one hour later, then I wouldn't have to tape and watch one or the other.

The Lone Gunmen were such minor characters in the X-Files I wasn't sure if they'd make for good subjects of a TV show. I was wrong (sort of). The show turned out to be much better than could have been expected.

The producers did have the savvy to add a couple of additional characters which strengthened the basic structure of the show. Without Jimmy Bond and Yves Adele Harlow, I think the show would have gotten bogged down with the quirkiness of the trio. In addition, the new characters brought in some fresh blood, which pumped some life into the premise.

Jimmy Bond was a cartoonish, Dudley-Do-Rightish character, but somehow the actor managed to pull it off so that Jimmy was increasingly interesting, and started to have some depth to him.

Harlow, played by Zuleikha Robinson, gave the show some needed class and mystery. She also happens to have been one of the most stunningly beautiful women I've ever seen on TV, and one of the most exotic. Robinson gave Harlow a dry wit and subtle mannerisms that both contrasted with and played off the almost clownish humor of the other characters. Robinson needs more work in film or TV.

The main trio are solid actors, and their characters were interesting. The plots were odd, often humorous, and generally very interesting. The soundtrack to the show was very distinct; I liked the theme, and the way the theme worked its way into the incidental music of the show. Plus, there was some great use of current music, like that of Fatboy Slim.

Overall, this show had a lot of potential, but probably failed to attract viewers due to its offbeat characters. I felt this was a strength of the show, and provided some much-needed variety to network TV. I wish it had lasted at least a full season; the handful of episodes that were made will hopefully crop up somewhere - the Sci-Fi Channel, perhaps? - so that they can be taped.

I've thoroughly enjoyed watching the Lone Gunmen ever since its pilot episode first aired a few months ago. Each episode is witty, original, and very, very funny! I also like its cool opening theme song. I'd say that my two favorite characters on the show are Langly and the naive but good-natured Jimmy Bond. Jimmy is a hilarious character who is dim without being too annoying, and I am deeply surprised that Stephen Snedden wasn't nominated for an Emmy for his performance. If Fox continues the show next fall (which I hope and pray that they will), I think that they ought to do more about Jimmy's relationship with the lovely yet mysterious Yves Adele Harlow(Eve). The final scene of the episode "El Tango De Los Pistoleros" shows you what I'm talking about, as does the cliffhanger season finale, which also shows that Jimmy's not as much of an idiot as most people thought. However, Jimmmy is only one of the many fine characters on this series. Byers, Langly, Frohike and Yves are also complex, interesting characters with their own unique personalities, and all succeed perfectly in this show. If the Fox executives decide for some unknown reason not to continue this great show, I hope that they will at least do two things: 1. Provide a conclusion for the season finale. 2. Put the series on video, so that all may enjoy it.

The watchword of The X-Files may be "trust no one", but we can trust Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz to do right by that series, as well as this, its spinoff. I should have known better than to be skeptical of the team that brings out the best episodes of The X-Files. This show quickly put to rest my fears that it wouldn't work--it does, and in original and inventive ways.

(Contrary to popular belief, Chris Carter is NOT the only person who runs The X-Files or The Lone Gunmen, and certainly isn't the only genius behind either show's greatness!)

The pilot left something to be desired, and the first six episodes, while often better, were still trying to find the series' groove. Starting with "Planet of the Frohikes", though, the series experienced a renaissance, putting out fantastic episode after fantastic episode. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried after "Tango de los Pistoleros" because it was so sad and sweet. "All About Yves", the season finale, also made me cry, but because I was laughing SO HARD. If you gave up after the pilot, believe me, you have missed a LOT.

The prospect of never getting a resolution to that cliffhanger sickens me. I will not settle for a resolution through The X-Files. For anyone else who is upset about the show's cancellation, please make sure you watch it if it gets reruns, and write to the FOX network and tell them that you want it back. This show is too wonderful to let go.

I thought that the 2000-2001 TV season would be a blah year for science fiction after watching the pilot of James Cameron's "Dark Angel." I now see the error of my ways thanks to the Johnny-come-lately superhit "The Lone Gunmen." If I had to sum this show up in a few words, they would be "a futuristic version of 'The A-Team.'" I say that not only because the series follows the extraordinary adventures of four men and one woman who drive around in a van, but also due to the artful mix of adventure, humor, and intrigue that one can look forward to every Friday night with this show. A lot of the pleasure of watching "The Lone Gunmen" derives from the entertaining chemistry among the five main characters (four journalists and a secret agent), all of whom have distinct personalities that transcend stereotype and reveal the best and worst of human nature.

Byers - The straight man. Psychologically, he's the least developed of the five. Cool and professional, he pretty much runs things in the Gunmen's underground newspaper office. Like Fox Mulder from "The X-Files" (the show from which this one was spun off), he wants the truth and nothing but. He's convinced that the U.S. government has countless skeletons in its closet, and he wants to see justice done on behalf of his fellow citizenry. All very admirable, but he doesn't exactly get a lot of yuks.

Frohike - My favorite character on the show. Short, balding, and homely, he nevertheless displays the most humanity of all of them. He's not perfect, and he's often the butt of jokes. Yet even as you laugh at him, you feel for him. He's always ready for action, but his courage is tempered by a somewhat painful realization of the fact that he's hardly flashy and dynamic. Perhaps it's this lack of cockiness that guides Frohike's moral compass; he never fails to help anyone in need. Funny, decent, and eternally sympathetic, Frohike truly is a nice guy who finishes last - but he'll always be first in my book.

Langley - The smarty-pants of the bunch. Nothing out of the ordinary can ever happen without Langley making some sardonic comment about it. With his greasy blond hair, elitist spectacles, and superciliously aquiline nose, Langley would be pretty hard to like if his withering remarks weren't so darn funny. I'd say that roughly 50 percent of the laughs on "The Lone Gunmen" come from Langley's bon mots.

Jimmy - All you really need to know about Jimmy Bond is that he was formerly the coach of a football team composed entirely of blind players. Jimmy is a robust idealist, his eyes so full of stars that one could almost call them galaxies. He can be mind-numbingly naive at times, but his sense of integrity never lets him rest when injustice is done. Don't be fooled by his valley-boy, surfer-dude inflection; Jimmy's more than just another dumb blond.

Eve - This shadowy operative looks and dresses like a grown-up version of Jessica Alba's character from "Angel," and has much of her attitude to boot. Though a casual acquaintance of The Lone Gunmen, Eve is ultimately a tough loner whose penchant for amorality is backed up by a British accent that fairly drips with condescension. Not somebody you'd want to cross, she is. And yet, like all of us, deep down inside all she probably really wants is a few friends. She does manage to help the Gunmen out of many a scrape, and there have been hints that her relationship with Jimmy is not as platonic as it first appears; stay tuned.

Five personalities, all of them strikingly different. Yet when they get together, magic inevitably accompanies the fireworks. It's brilliant ensemble playing like this that puts "The Lone Gunmen" a few notches above the other run-of-the-mill sci-fi shows. On second thought, maybe it's unfair to call it a sci-fi show. I enjoy it simply because it's a humorous, thought-provoking exploration of human nature.