DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Tom Braidwood as MELVIN FROHIKE Bruce Harwood as JOHN FITZGERALD BYERS Dean Haglund as RICHARD “RINGO” LANGLY Stephen Snedden as JIMMY BOND Zuleikha Robinson as YVES ADELE HARLOW Not Rated Studio: FOX Created by: Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz Back to DVD Review Home |
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There is a lot of tragedy surrounding the tales of The Lone Gunmen. What started out as bit parts on “The X-Files” quickly spawned popular recurring characters in the series. Then, late in the run of “The X-Files,” FOX decided to spin these characters off into their own series.
Unfortunately, “The X-Files” was nearing its own end, and its charm had worn off enough that “The Lone Gunmen” television show never caught on. Like so many shows with plenty of potential, it was never given its chance to completely form. Considering its predecessor “The X-Files” never really caught on until the third season, it’s shame FOX canceled “The Lone Gunmen” after only thirteen episodes. (Although, the Lone Gunmen actors refer to themselves as “the luckiest dayplayers alive.”)
Thanks to the marvels of DVD, fans of these quirky characters finally have a chance to look deeper into the lives of Melvin Frohike, John F. Byers and Ringo Langly.
In watching these episodes, it’s clear to see why the show had some trouble finding an audience. The writing danced around a whole variety of topics - from political sex scandals to midget wrestlers. Nothing was taboo. But “The Lone Gunmen” suffered from having to live up to “The X-Files” while distancing itself at the same time. Sure, comedy was a method the series used to differentiate itself, but it also tried to focus on the down-to-earth conspiracies rather than alien abductions and UFOs.
Two new regular characters were introduced into the series - the good looking jock type named Jimmy Bond (Stephen Snedden) and the equally sexy bombshell Yves Adele Harlow (Zuleikha Robinson). However while such blatant plays for titillating their fans from both genders normally results in irritating characters, Yves and Jimmy Bond clicked with the other Gunmen.
One of the more shocking things about the series was the pilot episode which had an eerie resemblance to the events of 9/11. In the show (which aired on March 4, 2001), a jet was rigged to fly into the World Trade Center. In the wake of the 9/11 commission’s reports and accusations that the government should have thought of the scenario for the 9/11 attacks, it’s hard to believe that they didn’t since the writers of “The Lone Gunmen” sure did. Too bad so few people watched the show.
However, as is pointed out in a featurette, the WTC plan set forth in the episode was far more complicated than what actually happened. Maybe in this high-tech world we live in, people aren’t able to predict the low-tech alternatives.
This three-disc DVD set includes all thirteen episodes of the show, along with “Jump the Shark,” the last season episode of “The X-Files” that explains the final fate of the Lone Gunmen. This “X-Files” episode, along with four of “The Lone Gunmen” episodes feature cast and crew commentary, which move along nicely and present a solid backdrop for the show.
The gem on this DVD set is the “Making of ‘The Lone Gunmen’” retrospective featurette. Often featurettes can be a short fluff piece or overly self-complimentary. However, this featurette - which is almost as long as an episode itself - looks back on the most memorable shows and provides a nice behind-the-scenes peek on these rare episodes.
While none of the episodes of “The Lone Gunmen” was spectacular, they each had their own charm. It would have been nice to see what would have happened if the show had been allowed to gel.
Specifications: Dolby Surround. Widescreen (1.78:1). Spanish language track and subtitles. English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
