Vienen was a fantastic eighth season episode which proved that even in later seasons, the show could knock one out of the park when it tried. In fact, the reality is that although fans weren't happy with the reduced role of David Duchovny, who signed on for a half-season's worth of episodes in season eight and almost none in season nine, the quality of the stories actually went up in the final two years (compared to what came immediately before). That was in large part due to the show going back to its darker, scary roots, from which it strayed in the sixth and the seventh seasons. Vienen had Mulder and his occasional replacement John Dogget (the better-than-he-was-given-credit-for Robert Patrick of Terminator 2 fame) teaming up (reluctantly) to investigate the death of a worker on an oil rig - which turns out, of course, to be home to some of the "black oil". The fact that the two leads play off each other so well makes a fan wonder what the show would have been like had Duchovny stuck around a little longer, or at least turned up for more of seasons eight and nine. At least viewers got one last great mythology episode.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
