Video: The X-Files
Anime: Tenchi Muyo in Love

"The truth is out there, but so are lies."

Our pick:
1 2 3 4 5

• The X-Files
  Beyond the Sea/E.B.E.
• Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
• MSRP $14.95

n the third of a trio of new X-Files videos, Executive Producer Chris Carter offers two episodes from the show's first season which explore both major and minor characters.

In the first episode, Beyond the Sea, Scully (Anderson) must face the death of her father as she and Mulder (Duchovny) attempt to discover whether or not a condemned murderer has psychic abilities that may help them prevent a murder. In the second episode, E.B.E., Mulder and Scully investigate a UFO encounter which may lead to an "extraterrestrial biological entity."

As is customary with the X-Files videos, Carter discusses both episodes during a brief interview at the beginning of the tape. The two very different shows, written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, focus on the series' strength -- mystery. At the same time, both episodes manage to give insight into the characters which make up the intriguing world of The X-Files.

Like the other X-Files videotapes released so far, this installment offers viewers a look back to the very beginning of the show, where foundations were built that are still being explored in today's episodes. They also have more of a campy feel than episodes from later seasons, presenting the series as quirky and appealing while maintaining an oftentimes darkly mysterious atmosphere.

Beyond the Sea in particular gives Anderson the chance to show the vulnerable side of her skeptical Dana Scully as Scully deals with the death of her father. With a terrifically spooky turn by Brad Dourif as the condemned man who may be channeling Scully's father, this episode offers up Scully as the believer and Mulder as the skeptic, an ironic role reversal.

E.B.E. is equally intriguing as it gives insight into one of the show's most mysterious characters, Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin). Hardin, a gifted character actor, gets a chance to shine as the inside source who may or may not be on Mulder's side. His character helped set the stage for the paranoid tone of the series, and this episode explores some of his motives. It is also notable for its introduction of the Lone Gunman, a group of very paranoid people who see conspiracy at every turn.

The X-Files works as a series because Carter keeps a consistent tone, while always focusing on the mystery he's trying to explore. The story lines on this tape move easily from government conspiracy to monsters, without missing a beat. While each episode's mystery may be solved that week, many answers lead only to bigger questions. With intriguing episodes that are well written, excellent actors, and Carter's vision, The X-Files has become The Twilight Zone of the 90s.

While not the most outstanding episodes from the first season, Beyond the Sea and E.B.E. fit nicely into The X-Files mythology, offering plenty of mystery along with insight. -- Kathie

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Space opera and soap opera make a surprisingly good team

Our pick:
1 2 3 4 5

• Tenchi Muyo in Love
• Pioneer Entertainment
• $24.98 subtitled (reviewed)
• $19.98 dubbed
• $49.98 laserdisk
• 90 minutes
• August 1996

enchi Masaki was pretty much an ordinary Japanese boy with an ordinary life -- until he freed a "demon" his ancestors had caged and found himself in the middle of a microcosm of interstellar politics and romance. In Tenchi Muyo in Love, the popular TV star gets his own full-length movie as he goes back in time to save his mother from an intergalactic murderer.

The killer is a protean energy-creature named Kain, a maniacal time-traveler who destroyed 13 inhabited planets before the Galactic Police and the powerful royal house of the planet Jurai teamed up to stop him. A century later, Kain breaks out of a sub-space prison and dives into the past to destroy the Jurai line one by one -- starting with Tenchi's part-Jurai mother in her teen years.

The complex cast of regulars from the TV show are all present and up to their usual antics as they vie for Tenchi's affections, occasionally with pitched physical battles. But the usual feuds take a back seat to the mystery of how and where Kain will strike, and the budding romance between Tenchi's father and mother. As Tenchi and his friends keep a sentimental (if none too subtle) eye on her and wait for the attack, Tenchi gets his first good look at his mother, who died (would die? will die? will have been going to have died?) when he was a very small child.

Tenchi Muyo in Love switches tracks often, veering from slapstick comedy to intense action to romance to horror so often that the movie ends up seeming much longer than it is. Which is a definite bonus. The fact that one film is capable of doing so many things is surprising enough -- the fact that is does them all this well is simply astonishing.

The film's main problem is that it's so complex and fast-paced that it's probably going to be over the head of viewers who haven't seen at least a few episodes of the original series. In particular, the relationships between the half-dozen regular characters are never explained to any extent; the filmmakers assume the audience already knows the whole story.

All of which leaves even more time for animation that ranges from good to breathtaking (especially during the battles), and for plot arcs that range from goofy to genuinely sweet to thrilling. In particular, Tenchi's emotional quandaries are infinitely convoluted and fascinating. His attempt to overcome shyness (and fear of temporal paradox) enough to relate to a long-dead mother who now appears as a beautiful girl his own age could have, in and of itself, made an amazingly ambitious film.

But Tenchi Muyo in Love never holds still long enough to get maudlin or predictable. It may require Cliff's Notes to watch, but it's well worth the effort.

Despite superficial resemblances to Back to the Future or the hugely popular anime/manga series Urusei Yatsura, this is a truly unique and clever series, capped by a truly unique and stunning film. Warning: May be addictive. -- Tasha

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