Redrum: Off the Top of My Head (SPOILERS)

Caution: spoiler for next week's ep (based on the trailer) is in
the "Etc." section.

REDRUM:

In a nutshell: a solid MOTW, even if it was Scully-lite
(actually, I thought it was pretty Doggett-lite, too).  The
actor who played Martin was perfect for the role.


What I liked:
-  Well, I just said it, but the actor who played Martin was
great in the role.  In fact, at one point I found myself wishing
that he had been cast as the new agent this year rather than RP.
 Not that I have anything against RP as an actor -- I've only
seen him in his role on "The Sopranos" and thought he was great
-- what I mean is that I like the character of Martin better
than I like the character of Doggett.  Martin was someone that I
had sympathy for even though he screwed up.  He loved his wife,
he loved he daughters, and apparently at one time he loved
justice, but he took a wrong turn somewhere and both he, his
family, and two relative strangers paid for it in a big way. 
But he had passion for his beliefs, something I wish I could see
more of in Doggett (whom I've found to be assertive/aggressive
at time, but not *passionate*, if that makes any sense).  Hmm,
but then I guess I'm describing someone else, aren't I?  Never
mind. <g>
-  Hooray!  This was a story that I found to be engaging, after
a few weeks of plots that didn't work for me.  (YMMV, of
course.)  I couldn't wait to see how it ended.  The one thing
that disappointed me about this ep -- and this is a very minor
point -- was that we knew who the killer was halfway through.  I
was hoping for a surprise at the end, and I almost got it when I
thought that Martin *was* going to turn out to be his wife's
killer.  But still, I was at the edge of my seat.  There were
some points in the plot that didn't make sense to me, but the
story itself was exciting enough that I was able to overlook
them, which I've been unable to do the last few weeks.  This
writing team can come back as soon as they like. :)  (Although
I'd like to see a little more of Scully next time, please. <g>)


What I didn't like:
-  Do we have a new timestamp now?  What was wrong with the old
one?  (And isn't there some other show that does its timestamp
on an otherwise black screen?  I don't really watch much besides
TXF...)  I know the show is being reinvented for Doggett, but is
*nothing* going to remain of the original show aside from its
title?
-  The reference to Scully as Doggett's partner.  Yes, I know
I'm being irrational.  Yes, I know that Scully and Doggett are
working together, and that makes them partners.  I think I'm
worried about the use of Partner with a capital P.  I'm worried
about the day that Scully calls Doggett her "partner" without
blinking an eye.  I'm worried about the continuing lack of
reference to Mulder.
-  Is it just me, or was Scully basically unnecessary to this
story?  Her biggest contribution seemed to be to tell Martin
that the answer might be inside of him -- and then she walked
away.  Did she believe him?  If so, why did she just walk away? 
If not, why did she give him more time than Doggett had?  Try as
I might, I can't even see how her comment spurred Martin on to
his next step, which, IIRC, was to examine the file of evidence.
 Did I miss something that she did that was important?  (OTOH, I
don't know that Doggett did anything important, either, except
for the crucial step of showing up at the very end at the right
time. <g>  That's not a slam against Doggett or the story
itself; it's more a commentary on how the story completely
revolved around *Martin* and how his actions affected the
outcome of the story.)


What's got me puzzled:
-  At the beginning of the teaser (Friday), we see the spider in
its web.  But how could it be there?  Martin killed the spider
on Thursday.
-  Why did Scully call for a "medic" in the teaser?  I realize
she wanted someone to call an ambulance, but is "medic" the term
that someone would really use?
-  I've heard of "nanny-cams" before, but where the heck was the
opening for the lens and the motion sensor on that stuffed
animal?
-  Speaking of the nanny-cam, why didn't the guy with the
spiderweb tattoo just turn it off altogether, rather than
switching it off when he arrived and then back on again when he
left?  Did he really take the time to turn it back on again
after he killed the wife?  And didn't the tape show Martin's
wife, and then a gap (when the wife was killed), and then
Martin?  That would mean that he went up to the girls' bedroom
before he found his wife's body -- does that make sense?  Or am
I remembering this sequence incorrectly?  (That said, I liked
how at the end Martin peeked into the daughter's bedroom in
exactly the same way he looked on the tape.  It just didn't make
sense to me. <g>)
-  Why didn't Martin realize (say on Wednesday) that if time
kept going backwards that he could prevent his wife from being
killed?  He didn't figure that out until he woke up a couple
hours before she was supposed to get killed.
-  Why was Martin arrested after Doggett called him out of the
interrogation room?  I thought they had nothing on him without
the passcard -- and besides, they had a suspect in custody;
wasn't the information they had on him (even with Trina clamming
up out of fear) enough to hold off an arrest on Martin until
they knew more?  What proof was there that Martin killed his
wife, anyway?  And why was the keycard such a big deal?  At the
end of the ep, either Martin or the bad guy had it, and the
other one didn't -- yet they both got in the building.  I guess
the security isn't all its supposed to be. <g>
-  I assume that Martin was in jail at the end on an obstruction
of justice charge (or whatever it was they he discussed with
Doggett in the first scene at Doggett's house).  But why did he
withhold evidence in the first place?  Was he just convinced
that he was putting away a drug dealer, and that the end
justified the means?


Etc.:
-  Doggett lives in a house?  Nice digs. :)
-  I never saw Terminator 2 -- or Terminator, for that matter; I
don't get out much ;) -- so had I not been reading ATXA posts I
never would have know that the actor who played Martin had
worked with RP before.  Did that knowledge "throw" anyone while
they were watching this ep?
-  I was a bit out of sorts about the voice-over at the end. 
IIRC, no one has ever done the end voice-over (or any other
voice-over, for that matter) besides Mulder or Scully.  Why did
Martin -- not a key player on the show -- allowed to do it? 
(Hmm... could it be that TPTB plan to bring Martin back as a
recurring character?  Someone for Doggett to go to occasionally
to get information about a case in the past, or something like
that?  I wouldn't mind seeing this character again at all.)
-  Next week's ep: Once again, I don't know whether to laugh or
to cry.  Next week looks like a retread of "Sleepless" -- and
the past few times I've had a bad "early season rehash" feeling
I was disappointed in the ep.  To make matters worse, it looks
like Doggett is going to be conferring with the Gunmen (please,
God, let me be wrong).  I know I said something like this
already, but a Doggett/Gunmen pow-wow leaves me with a feeling
of dread about how long it will be before we hear Scully refer
to Doggett as her "partner" in such a nonchalant way that it
seems likes she's forgotten Mulder ever existed. ::sigh::  But
at least Skinner will be back.  I'm glad he's recovered from his
encounter with the ABH -- I just hope he remembers who Mulder
is.