The Jersey Devil

Season 1, Episode 5, Aired
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Episode Summary

Mulder's trip to Atlantic City doesn't take him to the glittering casinos or luxury hotels. Instead, he plays a dangerous game of hunter-and-hunted with the maneater that haunts the back alleys and woods surrounding the city. However, it's not long before even Scully, the eternal skeptic, is lured back by the mounting evidence Mulder manages to drag out of tourist-wary local law enforcement agencies.moreless
7.7
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Fan Episode Reviews (24)

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  • Bigfoot in Atlantic City!

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By foxal81, Aug 27, 2010 Report Abuse
    Average. Not Scary. Not a lot happens. Scully has a date. Possibly one of the most uneventful shows of the 1st season! It could have done with a higher body count for a start - one homeless guy, really? The local cops (or one in particular) motives for preventing Mulder from getting involved in the case aren't believeable - why with just the one isolated murder are they bothered about the negative publicity? There's not enough going on in this episode - its mainly deals with Mulders obsessive nature (he cant just leave the case alone, can he) and Scullys life (or lack of it) outside of work. To be honest, its was perhaps to early in the show for Scully to be choosing The X Files over a life - she's only investigated 5 cases so far!! Despite all of this, the premise of the show, and some of the dialogue, is pretty good, but its just as well, because without it this would have been the shows first stinker.moreless

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    2 0

  • Meh!

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By Cristina_chavia, Aug 09, 2010 Report Abuse
    The main problem with Jersey Devil is the pacing. For much of it, nothing much seems to be happening. In fact, Scully's dull date actually seems more interesting than Mulder wandering about achieving nothing. We know there's a devil out there, but Chris Carter's thing that not seeing is scarier than seeing falls flat here. There's no dramatic tension to pull you in since the local police seem so petty. The sub plot with Scully's date reeks of desperation. Five episodes in and the poor woman's already feeling on the shelf. It's the back and forthing that rankles. In Jersey for an hour or so. Back. To Jersey for breakfast. Back again. And what is the result of this? Nothing, except it shows Mulder is a bit obsessed. Good grief he's Mulder. We know he's obsessed! We didn't need an episode chasing urban folklore to learn it.

    And the kid at the end? Could any child have looked less feral? Perhaps we were supposed to empathise with the humanity of the creature, but she did just look confused and a bit bored. And by that point, so were we.moreless

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    0 2

  • Not the best episode, but had some great character moments.

    7.5
    "Good"
    By NeekBreek, Aug 09, 2010 Report Abuse
    Of course Mulder and Scully had to investigate Bigfoot at some point! The plot is decent, even if there is some dodgy science and very little mystery - the big surprise is the gender of the "devil", and that seriously lacks punch. However, it's an entertaining episode whenever Mulder and Scully get to have little character moments, Mulder being his crazy obsessed self (Who doesn't love Scully busting Mulder out of the drunk tank?) and Scully trying to have a personal life - good luck in this series!

    The whole episode is worth watching just for Mulder and Scully's last bit of dialogue. "Eight million years out of Africa, and look who's holding the door" - great stuff.moreless

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  • Filler Episode

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By JustA90sChild, Aug 09, 2010 Report Abuse
    What can I say? This episode was not very good to be honest. The storyline was good and could have been great if the writing and direction was better. There wasn't really any character development going on in this episode and it did not draw me in at all, in fact there were times where I was not even paying attention properly because nothing was happening. I think if there was more suspense injected into it the episode would have been much more interesting. Overall I think that this was just made to be a filler episode and not much thought went into it.moreless

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    1 1

  • A Jersey Devil? Awesome! WARNING: SPOILERS

    9.6
    "Superb"
    By OuroborosSnyder, May 26, 2010 Report Abuse
    So, I actually really love this episode. I'm surprised by the lack of 'loving' I must say!

    This episode was awesome. I was NEVER bored and continue to love this episode! It's one of those...'on the edge of my seat' kinds! It was well written and explored a new phenomanon. So...yeah, Mulder got 'injured,' of course...but Scully was right by his side. It looked like she almost understood him until she lashed out at him...too bad. LOL I loved how Mulder was in the drunk tank. The look on Scully's face when he called her at work...all, priceless! In the end...quite sad that she was shot and killed. That cop was an a**. I thought Mulder was going to deck him for sure! Then, the end with the daugter in the woods. Hmmm...
    ~Snyder~moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Principal setting: New Jersey. Edit
    • When Mulder finds the NJ Park Service number in the phone book, you can see a seasonal number listed through "Labour Day". Since this episode was filmed in Canada, this prop was clearly made by someone who did not know that in the United States, Labor Day is spelled with an OR and not OUR. Edit
    • Factual Error: When Mulder looks in the phone book, he finds the listing Parks Service - State of New Jersey. In the white pages, such a listing would normally appear as New Jersey, State of - Parks Service. This made it easier to find government offices arranged by administrative unit. By the 1990's, most white pages directories separated government listings into a color-coded special section (usually with blue pages) arranged by federal, state, county and municipal divisions. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The actor who plays the dad in the 1947 sequence at the beginning of the episode also plays the dad in the ending sequence. Edit
    • The NHL team the New Jersey Devils is named after the legendary creature referenced to in this episode. Edit
    • The outline that Mulder holds up is an outline of a female "Bigfoot" taken from the Patterson film in the late 60's. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Scully: Yeah well, I have got to get back to Washington by 7:30, so er.. Mulder: Another birthday party? Scully: No. I have a date. Mulder: Can you cancel? Scully: Unlike you Mulder, I would like to have a life. Mulder: I have a life! Edit
    • Scully: Oooh, you're amazing. Ellen: What? Scully: You're just such a natural at all this, I don't know how you keep it all together. Ellen: Mommy radar. Scully: Mmmm, I don't think I'm cut out for this El. Ellen: Dana, you went through the FBI academy, what better training could there be for motherhood. Edit
    • Scully: He was perfectly in his rights. The FBI has no overriding jurisdiction in a murder case. Anyway, you'd feel the same way if someone was horning in on your work. Mulder: Yeah, chances are he's without a clue. He'll probably be scratching his head when they bring the next body in. Scully: You missed your opening Mulder, you could've really humiliated him and er, told him who the perpetrator was, The Jersey Devil. Mulder: Hey whatta you say, we grab a hotel, take in a floor show, drop a few quarters in the slots, do a little digging on this case. Scully: You're kidding, right? Mulder: Ok, we can skip the floor show. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Det. Thompson: Whether it's Hannibal the Cannibal or Elmer Fudd, I've got a job, to protect people. Hannibal the Cannibal is a reference to the fictional character of Hannibal Lector created by author Thomas Harris. Lector is a very intellectual serial killer who likes to eat certain parts of his victims. Elmer Fudd is a fictional Looney Tunes cartoon character. In most cartoons he is seen hunting down Bugs Bunny. Edit

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