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 basically comic relief on "The X-Files". This show is proof that a little is usually just enough. This show doesn't know if it wants to be goofy or serious, and doesn't do well enough at either. Maybe Mr. Carter would have been better off turning the three conspiracy experts' exploits into a graphic novel, than into a weekly TV series.

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 pilot episode of The Lone Gunmen is about a US government conspiracy to create a new type of war in order to be able to fuel arms manufacturing. What did they intend to do? Have a passenger plane crash into the World Trade Center. The theory was that no matter what, there would always be some group ready to take responsibility. The pilot was aired March 4, 2001, six months before the Twin Towers were struck by two passenger planes. Quite a coincidence...or not. How do we know what we read in the papers about who was behind the attack was true? How do we know that the "Arab" terrorists weren't terminally ill Americans, whose families were guaranteed to be taken care of forever if the men gave up their lives a little early? Trust no one.

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.