The episode Fire is a worthwhile episode which is worth watching mainly for two reasons.The villain Cecil L'Ivley and Mulders old flame Phoebe Green.The inclusion of both these characters is the making of this episode.Cecil L'Ivley is a great villain and his ability to conjure up fire for his own wicked needs is superb.The scene in the bar where the woman asks him for a light is fantastic.Trust me you gotta see it!Its interesting to see apparent jealousy from Scully as Phoebe attempts to re-ignite her past with Mulder.A possible love triangle you never seen coming!A skeleton in Mulder's cupboard indeed.It was also interesting to see Mulders fear of fire
26 Reviews
Firestarter
patpatterson6 September 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I have just gotten back into the X-files after a break of something like 10 years.Fire was the first episode I saw and it got me hooked again!.The story sees M and S following the trail of a firestarter who can seemingly start fires just by using his mind.Several British aristocrats have been burned alive in a strange manner with no signs of any accelerants and no clue how the fires started.As a prominent British family arrives in America,Mulder is approached by his old flame,Phoebe Green,now working for British Intelligence to help find the killer,who she believes has followed the family to America,and to protect the family from harm. This episode is enjoyable for a number of reasons.It sees the appearance of Mulder's old flame Phoebe Green and there is some definite chemistry between them.The relationship between Scully and Green is a frosty one perhaps indicating that Scully herself has deeper feelings for Mulder than just as a colleague.It also has a good performance from Mark Sheppard(who I thought resembled a young Robbie Williams at times)as the firestarting gardener who takes a devilish delight in his evil work.There is a particularly nice moment when he sticks a cigarette in his mouth and we see it ignite on its own.Plus Mulder has an intense fear of fire and it is interesting to see him battle and try to overcome his fear as he trails the killer.Overall an enjoyable episode and one of the better ones from the first season.
Flames, old and new.
Sleepin_Dragon18 September 2020
Internal combustion or arson? Mulder and Scully are on the case, along with a British Detective from Mulder's past.
It's a more down to Earth case for the pair, an episode I really did enjoy, it exposes a fear.in Mulder, and takes away some of his conceit, leaving him vulnerable, it's an interesting twist.
Phoebe, ttsss what on Earth did he see in her? She's terrible, he wouldn't have gone out with her, never. Absolutely loved Cecil L'Ivley, what a terrific character, Mark Sheppard is always so good.
I love in 80's and 90's shows how every guest British actor sounds so incredibly posh, Phoebe and the chap at the beginning are so plummy, it's amusing.
I thoroughly enjoyed, 8/10.
It's a more down to Earth case for the pair, an episode I really did enjoy, it exposes a fear.in Mulder, and takes away some of his conceit, leaving him vulnerable, it's an interesting twist.
Phoebe, ttsss what on Earth did he see in her? She's terrible, he wouldn't have gone out with her, never. Absolutely loved Cecil L'Ivley, what a terrific character, Mark Sheppard is always so good.
I love in 80's and 90's shows how every guest British actor sounds so incredibly posh, Phoebe and the chap at the beginning are so plummy, it's amusing.
I thoroughly enjoyed, 8/10.
That's one of the luxuries to hunting down aliens and genetic mutants. You rarely get to press charges.
alexandercappelli9 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"That's one of the luxuries to hunting down aliens and genetic mutants. You rarely get to press charges." – Fox Mulder.
Episode 12, 'Fire', original air date December 17th, 1993. Written by Chris Carter and directed by Larry Shaw. Monster of the week episode count, 8. Chris Carter's fourth episode of the season as lead writer is rather hit and miss. Featuring an entertaining performance from it's villain as it's highlight and it's weakest link being actress Amanda Pays' unlike-able performance as Mulder's past love interest, Phoebe Green. The antagonist in this weeks MOTW generally takes a back-seat to the character study that Carter is clearly more interested in examining. 'Fire' is all about exploring a more vulnerable side of Mulder and hinting at a deeper connection between himself and Scully. Mark Shepard plays a charismatic psychopath with the ability to control fire, pyrokinetics as it is referred to in the episode. He's been traversing across the English countryside, using his unique gift to cause British politicians to spontaneously combust, presumably just for a laugh. Phoebe Green, a Scotland Yard Inspector makes contact with Mulder under the guise of requiring his assistance with solving the case. Although, as Mulder himself suspects, she's more interested in playing mind games with him, taking advantage of his previous infatuation with her. They attended Oxford together ten years ago and have not spoken since. Phoebe is presented as being irresistible to men, not only does she wield control over Mulder's emotions, other men in the episode enjoy flirting with her and she is caught towards the episodes conclusion, romantically entangled with another married man. The episodes focus is on the relationship between the pair and a decent amount of screen time is dedicated their chemistry, or lack thereof as the case may be. 'Fire's main weakness as an episode stems from the fact that Green is wholly unlike-able as a character and the relationship between herself and Mulder is unconvincing. Almost as an unintended by-product of Pays' unlike-able performance, the audience ends up rooting for Scully to win Mulder back, so to speak. It's difficult to say whether it was premeditated or a serendipitous after thought but 'Fire' actually serves to strengthen the burgeoning relationship between Mulder and Scully.
Scully takes control for the first time in her position in the X-Files unit in this episode. While Mulder is distracted by Phoebe's apparent charms, Scully studies the case files and constructs a very accurate profile of the killer which they use to apprehend their suspect. Mulder has never been so vulnerable as he is in this episode. His obsession with Phoebe is crippling to his work, it's a side of him we have not seen until now. Mulder, as a character, is generally very cool and collected, driven only by his determination to his work. Yet here he is barely able to concentrate on the case at hand. To add to this, Carter also decided to attribute one of his personal fears onto the character of Mulder, his crippling fear of fire. This is an interesting angle to take. Clearly Carter is attempting to show a more vulnerable side to this character. Up until this point it seemed that Mulder had no fear at all. We have witnessed him breaking in to top secret military bases, spending the night in the alleys of New Jersey, chasing ghosts and liver eating monsters with no hesitation at all. So it's therefore a reasonable and intriguing concept to explore what, if anything, frightens the man. Pyrophobia is a relate-able fear, many people have a justifiable aversion to fire. However, it's unfortunate and somewhat curious that this is the one and only time that this fear is explored or even mentioned throughout the life of the series. Never again does Mulder appear to have an issue with fire. Perhaps Carter's intention was to have Mulder overcome his fear during the final confrontation in the burning mansion. During this scene, the Marsden's (the worst parents ever) leave their young children inside a burning building to be saved by the one man at the scene who has a debilitating fear of fire. Not the most logical decision. Even Phoebe, who is well aware of Mulder's phobia appears none to concerned with leaving him to re-enter the building. Nonetheless Mulder is able to save the children and perhaps we're to believe this enables him to overcome the phobia. It's a weak justification but it's the only logical explanation available to us at this point.
The strongest element of the episode is definitely Shepard's villain. The scenes exploring his characters interactions with the Marsden family are well written and enjoyable to watch. His constant shifting of accents is a nice touch and it's a MOTW character I would have liked to see re-appear again later down the track. This may have been an intention of Carter's as the conclusion certainly leaves open the option of returning the character. However, due to the poor audience and critical reception, due in large part to the amount of screen time wasted on the uninspired relationship between Mulder and Green, 'Fire' was an overall unsuccessful entry in the series from the fans perspective.
Episode 12, 'Fire', original air date December 17th, 1993. Written by Chris Carter and directed by Larry Shaw. Monster of the week episode count, 8. Chris Carter's fourth episode of the season as lead writer is rather hit and miss. Featuring an entertaining performance from it's villain as it's highlight and it's weakest link being actress Amanda Pays' unlike-able performance as Mulder's past love interest, Phoebe Green. The antagonist in this weeks MOTW generally takes a back-seat to the character study that Carter is clearly more interested in examining. 'Fire' is all about exploring a more vulnerable side of Mulder and hinting at a deeper connection between himself and Scully. Mark Shepard plays a charismatic psychopath with the ability to control fire, pyrokinetics as it is referred to in the episode. He's been traversing across the English countryside, using his unique gift to cause British politicians to spontaneously combust, presumably just for a laugh. Phoebe Green, a Scotland Yard Inspector makes contact with Mulder under the guise of requiring his assistance with solving the case. Although, as Mulder himself suspects, she's more interested in playing mind games with him, taking advantage of his previous infatuation with her. They attended Oxford together ten years ago and have not spoken since. Phoebe is presented as being irresistible to men, not only does she wield control over Mulder's emotions, other men in the episode enjoy flirting with her and she is caught towards the episodes conclusion, romantically entangled with another married man. The episodes focus is on the relationship between the pair and a decent amount of screen time is dedicated their chemistry, or lack thereof as the case may be. 'Fire's main weakness as an episode stems from the fact that Green is wholly unlike-able as a character and the relationship between herself and Mulder is unconvincing. Almost as an unintended by-product of Pays' unlike-able performance, the audience ends up rooting for Scully to win Mulder back, so to speak. It's difficult to say whether it was premeditated or a serendipitous after thought but 'Fire' actually serves to strengthen the burgeoning relationship between Mulder and Scully.
Scully takes control for the first time in her position in the X-Files unit in this episode. While Mulder is distracted by Phoebe's apparent charms, Scully studies the case files and constructs a very accurate profile of the killer which they use to apprehend their suspect. Mulder has never been so vulnerable as he is in this episode. His obsession with Phoebe is crippling to his work, it's a side of him we have not seen until now. Mulder, as a character, is generally very cool and collected, driven only by his determination to his work. Yet here he is barely able to concentrate on the case at hand. To add to this, Carter also decided to attribute one of his personal fears onto the character of Mulder, his crippling fear of fire. This is an interesting angle to take. Clearly Carter is attempting to show a more vulnerable side to this character. Up until this point it seemed that Mulder had no fear at all. We have witnessed him breaking in to top secret military bases, spending the night in the alleys of New Jersey, chasing ghosts and liver eating monsters with no hesitation at all. So it's therefore a reasonable and intriguing concept to explore what, if anything, frightens the man. Pyrophobia is a relate-able fear, many people have a justifiable aversion to fire. However, it's unfortunate and somewhat curious that this is the one and only time that this fear is explored or even mentioned throughout the life of the series. Never again does Mulder appear to have an issue with fire. Perhaps Carter's intention was to have Mulder overcome his fear during the final confrontation in the burning mansion. During this scene, the Marsden's (the worst parents ever) leave their young children inside a burning building to be saved by the one man at the scene who has a debilitating fear of fire. Not the most logical decision. Even Phoebe, who is well aware of Mulder's phobia appears none to concerned with leaving him to re-enter the building. Nonetheless Mulder is able to save the children and perhaps we're to believe this enables him to overcome the phobia. It's a weak justification but it's the only logical explanation available to us at this point.
The strongest element of the episode is definitely Shepard's villain. The scenes exploring his characters interactions with the Marsden family are well written and enjoyable to watch. His constant shifting of accents is a nice touch and it's a MOTW character I would have liked to see re-appear again later down the track. This may have been an intention of Carter's as the conclusion certainly leaves open the option of returning the character. However, due to the poor audience and critical reception, due in large part to the amount of screen time wasted on the uninspired relationship between Mulder and Green, 'Fire' was an overall unsuccessful entry in the series from the fans perspective.
Generic character drama and a lack of Mulder/Scully dynamics hurt "Fire" despite an incredibly memorable performance by Mark Sheppard as the potential pyrokinetic man
SLionsCricketreviews21 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The biggest praise to heap upon "Fire" is the casting and performance of Mark Sheppard in the role of the caretaker who may or may not possess pyrokinetic powers. Beyond this singular heap of praise, "Fire" is an underwhelming episode that could just as easily have been an example of a great, or at the very least, highly entertaining monster-of-the-week case. There were many episodes in the first season, that despite a poor reputation among fans and critics, I enjoyed greatly for the sheer sense of fun but sadly "Fire" is not quite one of them.
THE X-FILES works best, at least in the first eleven episodes, when Mulder and Scully's dynamic is at play. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of "Fire", Scully and Mulder have little to do. It isn't quite to the extremes of "Space" where our two lead FBI agents just occupy the background but here, a new character is introduced. Enter Inspector Phoebe Green, an irritable old flame of Mulder's played irritatingly by Amanda Pays. The episode is a Mulder episode and it suffers because of it. Not because it is a Mulder episode but rather how Chris Carter tackles this. Here we learn of Mulder's apparent fear of fire after an incident from his youth while we also gain a look at his personal and professional life at some previous point in time. While the latter has potential, the former is a ridiculous plot element that is written with the intent of generating suspense but falls apart. There is little that is interesting about Mulder and Green together and what it enlightens the viewer on Mulder's character is not very much of substance.
Mulder's fear of fire is rather disappointingly executed and dare I say, absurd. It lacks any sense of palpability, heightened by David Duchovny's wildly inconsistent and often bewildering performance (in the scenes where Mulder must manoeuvre through fires as he succumbs to smoke inhalation) that is one of THE X-FILES's most outlandish elements yet! It is at once too cliché and contrived and lacks any real exploration that it is almost entirely disposable. Perhaps disposing of superfluous plot elements in "Fire" could have made a tighter and more entertaining hour of television.
With some rather pivotal criticisms aside, there is enough to enjoy about "Fire" that it is by no means an insufferable experience. Scully is excellent and Gillian Anderson easily charms her way through this episode with an abundance of good energy. So too is Mark Sheppard who is very memorable and entertaining as the charismatic antagonist. The scene in the bar is perhaps the episode's most memorable, being both well shot and superbly acted. Sheppard and Anderson provide a wealth of energy to an episode otherwise bogged down by disappointing and/or generic character drama.
"Fire" is worth the watch but it needed a more pure Scully and Mulder angle that would have done justice to the concept and Mark Sheppard's fantastic performance as the evil little man claiming to control fire. For a really wonderful character based episode, see the next episode, "Beyond the Sea" which is a definite X-FILES classic.
THE X-FILES works best, at least in the first eleven episodes, when Mulder and Scully's dynamic is at play. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of "Fire", Scully and Mulder have little to do. It isn't quite to the extremes of "Space" where our two lead FBI agents just occupy the background but here, a new character is introduced. Enter Inspector Phoebe Green, an irritable old flame of Mulder's played irritatingly by Amanda Pays. The episode is a Mulder episode and it suffers because of it. Not because it is a Mulder episode but rather how Chris Carter tackles this. Here we learn of Mulder's apparent fear of fire after an incident from his youth while we also gain a look at his personal and professional life at some previous point in time. While the latter has potential, the former is a ridiculous plot element that is written with the intent of generating suspense but falls apart. There is little that is interesting about Mulder and Green together and what it enlightens the viewer on Mulder's character is not very much of substance.
Mulder's fear of fire is rather disappointingly executed and dare I say, absurd. It lacks any sense of palpability, heightened by David Duchovny's wildly inconsistent and often bewildering performance (in the scenes where Mulder must manoeuvre through fires as he succumbs to smoke inhalation) that is one of THE X-FILES's most outlandish elements yet! It is at once too cliché and contrived and lacks any real exploration that it is almost entirely disposable. Perhaps disposing of superfluous plot elements in "Fire" could have made a tighter and more entertaining hour of television.
With some rather pivotal criticisms aside, there is enough to enjoy about "Fire" that it is by no means an insufferable experience. Scully is excellent and Gillian Anderson easily charms her way through this episode with an abundance of good energy. So too is Mark Sheppard who is very memorable and entertaining as the charismatic antagonist. The scene in the bar is perhaps the episode's most memorable, being both well shot and superbly acted. Sheppard and Anderson provide a wealth of energy to an episode otherwise bogged down by disappointing and/or generic character drama.
"Fire" is worth the watch but it needed a more pure Scully and Mulder angle that would have done justice to the concept and Mark Sheppard's fantastic performance as the evil little man claiming to control fire. For a really wonderful character based episode, see the next episode, "Beyond the Sea" which is a definite X-FILES classic.
White Heat
Dresden_Doll_10131 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Fire is an enjoyable, quirky episode that deals with something every one fears... Fire. This is where Mulder's British ex Girlfriend comes to help (Or hurt) in the investigation. I don't know about you guys, but I didn't really like, she came off controlling and, well, deceiving. Anyway, here are some good and bad points about Fire.
The Good: The way Scully reacts to Mulder's 'Old Flame' when she first sees her. The 'Hi' is priceless. xD
Interesting aspect to change accents. x]
Mulder's fear of fire, kind of reminded me of Frank's (Millienium) fear of drowning. =']
The Bad: Wow, those two boys stayed with the fire for ages and were all right. o_O
Mulders ex was kind of annoying. =/
Conclusion: Fun episode. 8/10
The Good: The way Scully reacts to Mulder's 'Old Flame' when she first sees her. The 'Hi' is priceless. xD
Interesting aspect to change accents. x]
Mulder's fear of fire, kind of reminded me of Frank's (Millienium) fear of drowning. =']
The Bad: Wow, those two boys stayed with the fire for ages and were all right. o_O
Mulders ex was kind of annoying. =/
Conclusion: Fun episode. 8/10
Mulder's Old Flame
Muldernscully13 April 2006
Fire is an episode worth watching just to see Phoebe Green of Scotland Yard, Mulder's love from a time long past. It's interesting to see the uncomfortableness that Scully shows around Mulder and Phoebe. It makes you wonder whether Scully was already developing jealousy over Mulder this early in their relationship. But Scully gets the better of Mulder at the end with help of a British accent. It's hard to see what Mulder saw in Phoebe Green when you see what a floozy she is. Fire is one of a few episodes that doesn't begin in the continental United States. The villain Cecil L'Ively is played well by Mark Sheppard. I think he pulls of an American accent well as Bob the caretaker. As in some other episodes, I think the "villain storyline" is secondary to the triangle of Mulder, Scully & Phoebe. The one thing that bugs in this episode is Mulder's fear of fire. It's a plot device that is very contrived just for this episode. It is never mentioned again throughout the course of the series. But that aside, (here comes the cheesy promotion), get hot for Fire!
Why I loved Season 1
XweAponX5 March 2022
I didn't know Mark Sheppard was William Morgan Sheppard's son... Learn a new thing every day on IMDb.
At the time this episode was made, Amanda Pays had recently been in the first live action "Flash" TV show with Wesley John Shipp, and she was also in a very interesting movie called "Leviathan" which was like "Underwater Alien". So she is definitely X-Files material and she is definitely Mulder's type- she was a lot like Agent Fowley in some ways.
Which is probably why they never brought Phoebe back, ever. They never brought back Mark Sheppard's character either, and they should have.
Recurring characters, if used correctly, can make interesting sequel episodes like they did with Eugene Victor Tooms and Donnie Pfaster. Ironically, Nick Chinlund who plays Donny, also played a character named "Toombs" in "The chronicles of Riddick", who was very Pfaster-Like. It is not like the characters that these actors have played on the X-Files follow the actors around like albatrosses hung around their necks when they are being cast for new shows...
Later in the series they brought back the recurring characters as part of the show, especially in seasons eight and nine. But they were mostly antagonistic fellow agents and FBI directors. Sometimes they were aliens, like Jeremiah Smith (the appropriately cast Roy Thinnes), sometimes they were Kooks, like Absalom (Justin Scott aka Joachim from The Wrath of Khan) . Sometimes they were even super soldiers, but Xena (Lucy Lawless as Shannon McMahon) was only in two episodes and Adam Baldwin moved over to one season of Firefly where the Canton Mudders created a statue of him.
But this first season episode has some great character actors and it brings in somebody who has the power to start fires. And it definitely opened doors for Mark Sheppard, who has played quite an array of criminals and heroes.
They don't really explain how he does it, or even how he survives later. But the fire aspect not only has to do with the antagonist, but also with with Phoebe, Mulder is obviously disturbed by her presence. And, the first inklings of Skully's actual jealousy, long before the tension between Mulder and Scully even started.
All in all, A great monster of the week episode, we didn't have to worry about shape changing alien bountyhunters, clones of Mulders sister, various types of black oil, or syndicates of evil men... yet.
In a way, I wish they never would have brought the mythos elements into the show because the monster of the week thing worked so well especially in season one. It was good to have almost a whole season where there was no mythos. But then they found that flask filled with "Purity" and that changed everything.
And... really who cares about proper English accents? To complain about Amanda Pay's accent... and she is a British actress even. Wait, what?
At the time this episode was made, Amanda Pays had recently been in the first live action "Flash" TV show with Wesley John Shipp, and she was also in a very interesting movie called "Leviathan" which was like "Underwater Alien". So she is definitely X-Files material and she is definitely Mulder's type- she was a lot like Agent Fowley in some ways.
Which is probably why they never brought Phoebe back, ever. They never brought back Mark Sheppard's character either, and they should have.
Recurring characters, if used correctly, can make interesting sequel episodes like they did with Eugene Victor Tooms and Donnie Pfaster. Ironically, Nick Chinlund who plays Donny, also played a character named "Toombs" in "The chronicles of Riddick", who was very Pfaster-Like. It is not like the characters that these actors have played on the X-Files follow the actors around like albatrosses hung around their necks when they are being cast for new shows...
Later in the series they brought back the recurring characters as part of the show, especially in seasons eight and nine. But they were mostly antagonistic fellow agents and FBI directors. Sometimes they were aliens, like Jeremiah Smith (the appropriately cast Roy Thinnes), sometimes they were Kooks, like Absalom (Justin Scott aka Joachim from The Wrath of Khan) . Sometimes they were even super soldiers, but Xena (Lucy Lawless as Shannon McMahon) was only in two episodes and Adam Baldwin moved over to one season of Firefly where the Canton Mudders created a statue of him.
But this first season episode has some great character actors and it brings in somebody who has the power to start fires. And it definitely opened doors for Mark Sheppard, who has played quite an array of criminals and heroes.
They don't really explain how he does it, or even how he survives later. But the fire aspect not only has to do with the antagonist, but also with with Phoebe, Mulder is obviously disturbed by her presence. And, the first inklings of Skully's actual jealousy, long before the tension between Mulder and Scully even started.
All in all, A great monster of the week episode, we didn't have to worry about shape changing alien bountyhunters, clones of Mulders sister, various types of black oil, or syndicates of evil men... yet.
In a way, I wish they never would have brought the mythos elements into the show because the monster of the week thing worked so well especially in season one. It was good to have almost a whole season where there was no mythos. But then they found that flask filled with "Purity" and that changed everything.
And... really who cares about proper English accents? To complain about Amanda Pay's accent... and she is a British actress even. Wait, what?
This episode will self destruct.
Sanpaco1317 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Fire the Limerick
A man controls fire so hot,
And burns Parliament members a lot.
Mulder's afraid
Of the fire he made,
And he burns himself when he is caught.
This is really just not a very good episode. For some reason in Season 1 there are a number of episodes like this where guest characters come in that Mulder or Scully knows from before their time on the X-Files who they may or may not have been romantically involved with and who exists for the sole purpose of...? Just so we'll know that these characters had lives before The X-Files? Yeah we knew that. Do we care? Not really. It seems like when the episode doesn't suffer from this element it is in spite of the fact that they are there. This is episode seems to be one where the entire point of the episode was to introduce us to the less than impressive character of Phoebe Greene who can't seem to keep her nasty slutty hands off anything with opposite sex organs as her. No wonder Scully hates her. I do to. Annoying and unprofessional. Another thing I don't like about the episode, does it seem to anyone else that the British people in this are highly stereotyped? "By jove I believe its time for tea. What a lovely home we have mother! I want some crumpets." Ugh. The only things that redeem this episode from complete failure is the villain does a great job of being completely creepy, and Scully is a pretty good profiler. I liked seeing her full process of building the profile. And the scene in the bar where he lights himself on fire is just random enough that it is hilarious. I give this episode a 5 out of 10.
A man controls fire so hot,
And burns Parliament members a lot.
Mulder's afraid
Of the fire he made,
And he burns himself when he is caught.
This is really just not a very good episode. For some reason in Season 1 there are a number of episodes like this where guest characters come in that Mulder or Scully knows from before their time on the X-Files who they may or may not have been romantically involved with and who exists for the sole purpose of...? Just so we'll know that these characters had lives before The X-Files? Yeah we knew that. Do we care? Not really. It seems like when the episode doesn't suffer from this element it is in spite of the fact that they are there. This is episode seems to be one where the entire point of the episode was to introduce us to the less than impressive character of Phoebe Greene who can't seem to keep her nasty slutty hands off anything with opposite sex organs as her. No wonder Scully hates her. I do to. Annoying and unprofessional. Another thing I don't like about the episode, does it seem to anyone else that the British people in this are highly stereotyped? "By jove I believe its time for tea. What a lovely home we have mother! I want some crumpets." Ugh. The only things that redeem this episode from complete failure is the villain does a great job of being completely creepy, and Scully is a pretty good profiler. I liked seeing her full process of building the profile. And the scene in the bar where he lights himself on fire is just random enough that it is hilarious. I give this episode a 5 out of 10.
Perfect episode of Season 1
nicofreezer20 July 2022
Fire is a perfect Standalone episode, everything is just si great and straigt to the point.
Every element of an X files Monster of the week, a charismatic villain, some great Mulder Scully moment with Phoebe in there to Make things interesting. You cannot ask more from an hour of TV, and the fact the Xfiles can deliver 10 stars episodes just like that without using all their talent , is the reasons why its an all time great.
9.5/10.
Ive read some UK people reviews not happy about the accent of the brittish characters, you cant judge an episode because the english accent is very strong, i think it was done on purpose, Bob is a caretaker for only rich people, and rich english people talk like this.
And Phoebe actress is english btw so you're point is irrelevant.
Every element of an X files Monster of the week, a charismatic villain, some great Mulder Scully moment with Phoebe in there to Make things interesting. You cannot ask more from an hour of TV, and the fact the Xfiles can deliver 10 stars episodes just like that without using all their talent , is the reasons why its an all time great.
9.5/10.
Ive read some UK people reviews not happy about the accent of the brittish characters, you cant judge an episode because the english accent is very strong, i think it was done on purpose, Bob is a caretaker for only rich people, and rich english people talk like this.
And Phoebe actress is english btw so you're point is irrelevant.
Scully: Can I meet you somewhere? Mulder: No, it's just that I'm, I'm kind of anticipating having my hands full.
bombersflyup30 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Fire is about a man with pyrokinetic powers stalking British politicians and the reemergence of an old flame.
An okay to solid episode, it's more about the imposing Phoebe's relationship with Mulder and Scully's bashful protectiveness than the villain. I mean this guy can kill anyone anytime he wants, the only one capable of stopping him is himself. Cecil never to be heard from again, the case unresolved.
An okay to solid episode, it's more about the imposing Phoebe's relationship with Mulder and Scully's bashful protectiveness than the villain. I mean this guy can kill anyone anytime he wants, the only one capable of stopping him is himself. Cecil never to be heard from again, the case unresolved.
Not the best, not the worst
ibsnafu8 June 2019
Ok I'm not from England, but I have known British people and watch a lot of British TV. I know that at least three of the actors are from England (Amanda Pays and Mark Sheppard are from London and the old man Beatty is from Manchester) so I am struggling with the previous review criticizing the accents, I would have thought if the British actors didn't like the way they were speaking or accents used, they would have spoken up and said something. That said, and that I really enjoy Mark Sheppard's acting, I think this is one of my least favorite episodes.
X-Files Fan Hates This Episode Shocker
cleo-4537614 August 2023
Man I love the X-Files but this episode stinks. Not "episode 1 of season 10 stinks", but it's circling close by. I haven't seen such terrible stereotypes of British people since Three Men and a Little Lady. As everyone else has pointed out, and no doubt been marked as unhelpful by clueless Americans, the British characters are completely distracting in their inaccuracies. What makes it worse is Gillian Anderson was brought up in England, can accurately carry off the accent but was obviously not consulted whatsoever, it being her first season, so the screenwriters arrogance in "knowing best" makes itself very clear. As boring as blonde = good and brunette = bad, they play into the stereotypes of British people being evil, but Americans are good and wholesome. This episode goes against everything the X-Files stands for. The truth ain't in this episode. Skip it.
"People don't normally just catch on fire!"
classicsoncall14 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This was the second time in the series when reference was made to fifth and sixth degree burns, something I hadn't heard of before so decided to look it up. There are indeed such classifications for burns that go beyond the surface layer of the skin and which are almost always fatal. Having done that, I had to check out Cecil L'Ively's (Mark Sheppard) preferred choice of fuel accelerant which was called argotypoline. On that one, no dice - it was something made up just for the show. Now that I know that I'll have to consider future episodes naming unfamiliar items in the same vein as "Star Trek", which did this kind of stuff all the time. At least they had an excuse, they were working in the future.
So was Scully getting just a bit jealous here with the appearance of an old flame of Mulder's? That was a neat little subtext to throw into the story with the appearance pf Scotland Yard detective Phoebe Green (Amanda Pays). I don't know that her detective skills were all that pertinent to solving the identity of the British maniac obsessed with starting fires. For his part, Cecil was a pretty determined guy, obsessing over fantasized relationships as the catalyst for his destructive behavior.
For a while at the outset, I thought the story was heading in the direction of spontaneous human combustion, a documented phenomenon that occurs every now and then. That might have been right up Mulder's alley without putting him in harm's way over one of his avowed personal fears. It turns out Scully did the principal legwork here to get to the bottom of identifying the bad guy, and I found it interesting that it would take a story about a pyromaniac to cause a spark of jealousy for her FBI partner.
So was Scully getting just a bit jealous here with the appearance of an old flame of Mulder's? That was a neat little subtext to throw into the story with the appearance pf Scotland Yard detective Phoebe Green (Amanda Pays). I don't know that her detective skills were all that pertinent to solving the identity of the British maniac obsessed with starting fires. For his part, Cecil was a pretty determined guy, obsessing over fantasized relationships as the catalyst for his destructive behavior.
For a while at the outset, I thought the story was heading in the direction of spontaneous human combustion, a documented phenomenon that occurs every now and then. That might have been right up Mulder's alley without putting him in harm's way over one of his avowed personal fears. It turns out Scully did the principal legwork here to get to the bottom of identifying the bad guy, and I found it interesting that it would take a story about a pyromaniac to cause a spark of jealousy for her FBI partner.
Lacking an er.... spark
ametaphysicalshark18 August 2008
Another weak early Chris Carter standalone episode, "Fire" doesn't hold up even if you get past the silly accents and cut straight to the plot. It's just not very good, I'm afraid. The episode holds minor interest for fans as it is the only appearance of an ex-girlfriend of Mulder's, and it's interesting to see Scully's reaction at such an early stage in their relationship, showing that there was some romantic tension from the start.
"Fire" could have been half-decent, but it's just a middling disappointment ultimately. Being a Chris Carter episode you can expect some good character moments and dialogue but other than that it's really just nonsense.
4/10
"Fire" could have been half-decent, but it's just a middling disappointment ultimately. Being a Chris Carter episode you can expect some good character moments and dialogue but other than that it's really just nonsense.
4/10
Not that bad!
shopgirl129331 July 2018
I don't understand all the hate this episode has gotten, it's crazy. It's really not a bad episode. Maybe it's because I think people can use what ever accent they please, like maybe Mark Sheppard did so well with a Irish accent that they just wanted him for the part. I mean there a lot of actors who have used a different accent then what they are used to such as Mischa Barton in The OC, Hugh Jackman in the X-men franchise, Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones Diary trilogy, ectcetera, ectcetera. Anyways, Phoebe I have to admit I found to be a little annoying, but I loved that this was the first time we see Scully being jealous of another woman around Mulder. And we find out that Mulder has a fear of fire. But all in all, this episode really wasn't that bad. I've seen way worse.
I love Mark Sheppard
SleepTight66620 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Although it's not exactly a 'great episode', I can't help but like it a lot. It's certainly flawed, some poor writing in parts and some really awful accents.
But what works for me is the baddie. I love Mark Sheppard. I just do. He's one of my favorite villains of the first season. And I also loved the pretty damn cool Fire effects. I've always liked episodes involving Fire, Fire is pretty, Fire is good.
I'm giving this episode THREE stars because it's not quite a great episode. but certainly enjoyable and underrated. Phoebe character is probably why it gets all the bad rap, but I thought it was nice to bring back someone from Mulder's love life.
But what works for me is the baddie. I love Mark Sheppard. I just do. He's one of my favorite villains of the first season. And I also loved the pretty damn cool Fire effects. I've always liked episodes involving Fire, Fire is pretty, Fire is good.
I'm giving this episode THREE stars because it's not quite a great episode. but certainly enjoyable and underrated. Phoebe character is probably why it gets all the bad rap, but I thought it was nice to bring back someone from Mulder's love life.
One is amused.
RuthAkien24 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
This episode gets serious nostalgia points. Along with Squeeze and Ice, it's one of the few I remember from the one/two x-files seasons I watched when the show aired.
There's still a lot I really enjoyed, but I was stunned how bad some things were.
The good:
-Phoebe Green. Entertaining, but defiantly unprofessional to an extent that should get her fired.
The not so good:
As for the faces-from-the-past-coming-back thing, I sort of like it. It's the kind of thing that could have added more to the show if it had been done better. If some of the people we saw in season one re-appeared later, we'd get an extra element to M and S the FBI outsiders: how friends think they should behave, cases from unusual sources, cases already considered solved or not considered x-files.
7/10
There's still a lot I really enjoyed, but I was stunned how bad some things were.
The good:
- fire power awesome. + like that he has to use an accelerent, makes things more difficult.
-Phoebe Green. Entertaining, but defiantly unprofessional to an extent that should get her fired.
- laced cough syrup genuinely disturbing + death.
- says something about M that he's initially interested in Phoebe even though she's clearly a manipulator.
The not so good:
- The Englishness. Oh, man. That gets me right in my stiff-upper-lip.
- confusing motives of killer.
- convenient fire phobia. would be fine with this if it ever came up again (although I can't remember M having to deal with fire at any later point- opportunity).
As for the faces-from-the-past-coming-back thing, I sort of like it. It's the kind of thing that could have added more to the show if it had been done better. If some of the people we saw in season one re-appeared later, we'd get an extra element to M and S the FBI outsiders: how friends think they should behave, cases from unusual sources, cases already considered solved or not considered x-files.
7/10
Dreadful Accents
annabaria11 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This has to be the worst X-Files episode ever, I had to come on here to see if the actors playing English characters were actually English or not because I couldn't imagine ANY English person talking like that.
I watched the whole thing just grimacing and cringing. For a start the script has Phoebe being posher than the Queen but using phrases like 'bloke' and 'poor bastard', WRONG.
I don't know why Americans think that everyone in the UK talks like they did in 1940s films, have they no concept of modern Britain or the MANY regional accents that exist here???
Also, I was convinced 'Bob' was talking with an Irish accent at the start, what was that all about???
I've spent the 42 years of my life born and bred in England and I have never come across anyone who spoke like Phoebe.
It ruined the entire episode, mind you, it was a pretty weak one anyway, no explanations at to why Bob was killing posh people, no mention of Mulder's fire phobia before this episode or EVER again and I see Scully is back on with the glasses despite being able to read quite clearly without them for the past few episodes (despite needing them in the first few)
I watched the whole thing just grimacing and cringing. For a start the script has Phoebe being posher than the Queen but using phrases like 'bloke' and 'poor bastard', WRONG.
I don't know why Americans think that everyone in the UK talks like they did in 1940s films, have they no concept of modern Britain or the MANY regional accents that exist here???
Also, I was convinced 'Bob' was talking with an Irish accent at the start, what was that all about???
I've spent the 42 years of my life born and bred in England and I have never come across anyone who spoke like Phoebe.
It ruined the entire episode, mind you, it was a pretty weak one anyway, no explanations at to why Bob was killing posh people, no mention of Mulder's fire phobia before this episode or EVER again and I see Scully is back on with the glasses despite being able to read quite clearly without them for the past few episodes (despite needing them in the first few)
We don't talk like that.
carterkev19 November 2021
I'm going through the Xfiles and enjoying them. Some more than others, but this episode was just wrong. English people do not talk and act like that. It's like it's the 1940s talking like the bloody queen. I'm English and I found it annoying. Worse episode so far for me.
Absolute stinker
benprichardsdotcom9 November 2021
I didn't know Mary Poppins worked as a British police officer
ts-6774623 October 2015
For some reason I feel compelled to write this review. I'm guessing I'm motivated to do so because I was a big X Files fan (admittedly I stopped watching after season four) and I had the misfortune to be a British person who watched the episode 'Fire'.
I don't know where to start with this episode. In a nutshell, I am staggered that a man as intelligent as Chris Carter could produce such an inaccurate portrayal of British people. In fact, the writing is so cringeworthy, so 'watch behind your fingers' embarrassing, it borders on the xenophobic and jingoistic.
To start with, the way the British people are dressed is bizarre. Phoebe wears clothes Princess Anne wouldn't have touched with a barge pole in the 1970s, and the children of the aristocrats are dressed like William and Harry in the 1980s. If any of the production team had bothered to visit the UK, they'd know that absolutely no one in the UK dresses like this, least of all London police officers.
And then there is the script: 'Some clever bloke has been giving the aristocracy a good scare' and 'bloody little cur, I'll skin you alive' are just a couple of examples where the attempts to sound British are appalling. I have never heard anyone speak like this in Britain, ever. It sounds absolutely weird. If I met a couple of police officers in the UK who spoke like this, they'd be reported for being weird. And Amanda Pay's accent is affected (along with other cast member's accents which are pretty bad). She speaks like a 1940s aristocrat – I have never heard anyone in the UK speak like this.
And then there is the cliché Hollywood story of the British being evil and stupid, and the Americans coming to save the day. Mulder's patronising suggestion of the 'Irish Republican Army' being responsible for the crimes is mind numbing (as if experienced officers and specialised intelligence units in the UK hadn't considered this, you fool).
Phoebe Green is a comic book villain who is deeply unprofessional and acts like a promiscuous airhead on duty, prancing around in an evening dress. It's like British police officers don't work nights, solve modern crimes or face disciplinary procedures.
In contrast, Scully is on the ball, writing profiles despite being untrained in criminal psychology (as though the British don't use profiling), and acts like a saviour. And Mulder saves the day and also British backsides. Basically, the whole thing is designed to flatter the American ego by insulting their friends on the other side of the pond.
I am really surprised this was actually broadcast in the UK, considering 'Fire' is so bad and offensive. Chris Carter seems oblivious to how bad 'Fire' is in subsequent interviews and I wonder how accurately they portray other communities they visit because of this episode. I also wonder about the ethics of hiring British actors when there is such an inherent disrespect for the background they come from.
I don't know where to start with this episode. In a nutshell, I am staggered that a man as intelligent as Chris Carter could produce such an inaccurate portrayal of British people. In fact, the writing is so cringeworthy, so 'watch behind your fingers' embarrassing, it borders on the xenophobic and jingoistic.
To start with, the way the British people are dressed is bizarre. Phoebe wears clothes Princess Anne wouldn't have touched with a barge pole in the 1970s, and the children of the aristocrats are dressed like William and Harry in the 1980s. If any of the production team had bothered to visit the UK, they'd know that absolutely no one in the UK dresses like this, least of all London police officers.
And then there is the script: 'Some clever bloke has been giving the aristocracy a good scare' and 'bloody little cur, I'll skin you alive' are just a couple of examples where the attempts to sound British are appalling. I have never heard anyone speak like this in Britain, ever. It sounds absolutely weird. If I met a couple of police officers in the UK who spoke like this, they'd be reported for being weird. And Amanda Pay's accent is affected (along with other cast member's accents which are pretty bad). She speaks like a 1940s aristocrat – I have never heard anyone in the UK speak like this.
And then there is the cliché Hollywood story of the British being evil and stupid, and the Americans coming to save the day. Mulder's patronising suggestion of the 'Irish Republican Army' being responsible for the crimes is mind numbing (as if experienced officers and specialised intelligence units in the UK hadn't considered this, you fool).
Phoebe Green is a comic book villain who is deeply unprofessional and acts like a promiscuous airhead on duty, prancing around in an evening dress. It's like British police officers don't work nights, solve modern crimes or face disciplinary procedures.
In contrast, Scully is on the ball, writing profiles despite being untrained in criminal psychology (as though the British don't use profiling), and acts like a saviour. And Mulder saves the day and also British backsides. Basically, the whole thing is designed to flatter the American ego by insulting their friends on the other side of the pond.
I am really surprised this was actually broadcast in the UK, considering 'Fire' is so bad and offensive. Chris Carter seems oblivious to how bad 'Fire' is in subsequent interviews and I wonder how accurately they portray other communities they visit because of this episode. I also wonder about the ethics of hiring British actors when there is such an inherent disrespect for the background they come from.
Subpar episode just never catches fire
rwalker2515 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Monster of the week episode that is only worth watching for the scenes where Scully's jealousy is evident. Opinions vary about the Phoebe Green character but as far as I'm concerned there is zero chemistry between her and Mulder. Mulder's fear of fire just seems contrived for this episode as other reviewers have commented, and in general Duchovny seems lost in a number of scenes which I blame on bad writing rather than the actor. Scully has the idea of running background checks on employees of the arson victims, as Scotland Yard apparently did not think of doing. The monster of the week, who appears to start fires with mental power, just is not very interesting which again I blame on the writing, not the actor. The whole thing just doesn't hang together. Not worth seeing twice.
One of the worst.....
bigblue1234 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
For me this is one of the worst X-File episodes ever. Many people feel that 'Space' and '3' are classed as the worst and I would agree with them about '3' but not 'Space'. Nevertheless 'Fire' has very few redeeming features. Apart from an insight into (a) Mulder's past and (b) Scully's feelings for Mulder this episode has little else to offer. The plot is simple - it involves a man, with pyrokinetic powers, that is terrorising the aristocracy. Although the scenes with the fires are well done, this episode lacks any real atmosphere, tension and excitement and overall is quite boring. The acting is passable but the accents are somewhat annoying. Mulder's fear of fire is mentioned only for the sake of this episode and is never brought up again. The villain is not threatening in the least but is more of a caricature. What had the potential of being a creepy and exciting X-File ends up being a lesson in how not to do a X-File.
I couldn't watch it
superkevski7 January 2008
This could have been a good episode but I simply had to turn it off. The British representation was horrible to watch. Have the makers ever set foot in Britain prior to filming? At least set foot in England?? I don't think any British person have had such an accent apart from a comedy skit of The Royal Family! Also with the 2 English boys... well I don't think any English boy has acted, spoke or dressed like any English kid in the history of the British nation since Prince William and Harry's preteen public appearances. To American film makers.. There is more than 1 country in the UK. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.. meaning more than 1 culture! I can handle some stereotyping but this was so bad I could not watch it. Fire looked cool though!
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